Upon their arrival, Yin Muqing, who was previously at the front of the team using a shielding device to communicate remotely, immediately stopped what she was doing.

She put away the shielding device, then the surface of her silver combat suit emitted a soft glow. With that, she naturally took to the skies and went to greet the two individuals from the Egersis Organization.

"Ah..."

Lu Yuan saw Yin Muqing and the two others conversing in mid-air, each of them shrouded in the unique glow of a Starry Sky Martial Path practitioner.

He finally had to admit it.

At least in one aspect, Pure Martial couldn't match the Starry Sky Martial Path.

With the Starry Sky Martial Path, once you opened a Star Cave within your body, you could control a considerable amount of cosmic energy, enough to overcome gravity and easily achieve flight.

At best, I can only manage a brief levitation right now. I wonder if continuing to increase the blood sphere can elevate the energy of my life magnetic field to the point of ignoring gravity, like in the Demon form...

Lu Yuan watched as Yin Muqing and the two Supernova Members from the Egersis Organization, who were associated with Havel, communicated expressionlessly.

He casually summoned the robot that had just delivered his supply pack and requested ten more portions of high-energy food, replacing the useless potions and other items in his supply pack.

After Lu Yuan expended his blood sphere, eating was the fastest way to replenish it.

These ultra-high-energy compressed foods were equivalent to blood vials for him.

The Starry Sky Martial Path allows practitioners to easily absorb a large amount of cosmic energy from the air through their Star Caves to replenish their own consumption. In this regard, the Pure Martial system is at a disadvantage yet again... Of course, Pure Martial also has advantages that the Starry Sky Martial Path can't compete with. Its structure is more complete; it forms a whole with balanced abilities in all aspects and virtually no weaknesses. Control over strength is meticulous, and combat performance is extremely stable. It feels self-sufficient, like its own small, self-contained world. If only I could combine the strengths of both systems to create a new one... Of course, that possibility seems even more remote than me finding a way to ensure I "wouldn't die" while successfully transitioning to the Starry Sky Martial Path. He was just casually pondering the idea.

Just as Lu Yuan was about to initiate a Grandmaster Meditation Battle to spar with the two Supernova Members from Havel's group, the three people in mid-air swiftly finished their conversation.

Each of them returned by the same route they had come.

Not long after, Lu Yuan received a notification to prepare to enter the Elephant God Secret Realm.

He could only rise quickly and follow the Yellow Bear Members towards the giant black vortex entrance on the nearby Gobi terrain.

Han Xun had unknowingly appeared by his side and whispered, "We provided most of the keys to the Secret Realm, so we can enter ten hours in advance..."

Lu Yuan's eyes flickered slightly. He nodded without speaking.

They quickly reached the black vortex.

Yin Muqing took the lead, transforming into a silver streak that rapidly disappeared into the vortex.

The Flying Bear Generals behind her followed suit.

Lu Yuan glanced towards the Egersis members, noticing their two Supernova Members quietly watching everything.

He averted his gaze and, along with Han Xun, walked into the vortex.

HUMMM—

As soon as Lu Yuan stepped into the Secret Realm, before he could register the changes in air, temperature, and light, the first thing he felt was a sudden pressure on his body.

A gentle spin of the blood sphere in his chest, and the sudden pressure vanished.

He looked up and saw a faint energy glow also appear on many of the Flying Bear Generals, but it mostly flickered and faded instantly.

Gravity! The gravity here was much stronger than in the outside world, probably about twenty times greater.

Of course, this extremely strong gravitational force, enough to crush an ordinary person until their internal organs ruptured, meant nothing to the Flying Bears present, all of whom were at least SS-rank in strength.

"The air contains trace toxins; the FGJ index exceeds 4.0..." someone from the team rattled off a series of readings, and everyone quickly began making adjustments.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan observed the environment.

The sky was, as expected, a blackish-gray. It resembled a bowl of spilled black sesame paste, but in the far distance, a thick, vivid red hue shone through, with the blackness at the edge resembling the rim of a bowl.

Underfoot, the ground was uneven, covered in sharp black gravel. Faint red light seemed to glow from the gaps between the fragments.

Surrounding them were bizarrely shaped trees, though not densely packed; their branches and leaves intertwined like monstrous fingers.

So, the place they had emerged into... was a forest? Lu Yuan wasn't entirely sure.

Suddenly, the Elephant God's curse on his right chest burned intensely!

In fact, the skin temperature on his right chest hadn't changed; this scorching sensation originated from his consciousness.

Lu Yuan abruptly looked up, his eyes fixated on a specific direction. But he quickly composed himself.

"Everyone, take out your collectors," Yin Muqing's voice sounded. She was now radiating a faint glow, and a silver-white alloy long knife had appeared in her hand at some point, standing out sharply in the dim environment.

"Collectors?"

Lu Yuan was taken aback, quickly understanding that the so-called collectors were the human-head-sized spherical objects given to everyone before entering the Secret Realm.

Without attracting attention, Lu Yuan followed suit, activating his sphere's switch like the others.

Once activated, it automatically hovered at his side.

Immediately after, a faint white light began to glow from the base of everyone's sphere.

Lu Yuan felt a slight suction force from the white light. Then he saw tiny, scarlet, dust-like particles being drawn from the gaps in the gravel beneath his feet, quickly entering the spherical device.

In an instant, the entire Yellow Bear Exploration Team seemed to be shrouded in a hazy, dreamlike red mist.

"This is..."

Lu Yuan was amazed. Han Xun, beside him, explained, "It's a kind of mysterious extraordinary matter. It has a wide range of uses and is one of the key raw materials for superalloys, weapons, Mechas... It's needed in many fields and considered an important strategic resource. But it's usually only found in Secret Realms tied to Evil Gods..."

Lu Yuan initially wanted to ask why he hadn't seen anyone collecting this stuff when he entered the Lament Ruins last time. But he quickly had another thought. Since it's an important strategic material, it's most likely completely harvested as soon as a Secret Realm opens. It would be a miracle to find any in an "old" Secret Realm like the Lament Ruins. No wonder for the opening of this Elephant God Secret Realm, even though Yellow Bear provided most of the keys, they only negotiated with the Egersis Organization for the advantage of entering ten hours early. Lu Yuan hadn't quite understood it before, but now he did. Ten hours should be enough for their group to collect a significant portion of this extraordinary matter.

WHOOSH—

Just then, a sharp sound of something slicing through the air suddenly rang out by his ear.

Lu Yuan quickly looked up and saw a flash of silver light pass before his eyes.

Then he saw Yin Muqing, at the head of the team, suspended in the air, slowly sheathing her long knife with an indifferent expression.

Under her feet lay a strange creature, cut in half. It was pitch black, about the size of a goat, with a ferocious appearance. It was, of course, thoroughly dead.

Yin Muqing's collector was extracting some reddish-black, viscous liquid from the dead creature.

"Dispose of the corpse." Yin Muqing casually shook the bloodstains from her long knife and instructed a Double Winged Flying Bear beside her.

Then, she scanned everyone present from her vantage point and said coldly, "Everyone, form groups of two or three and explore in different directions. We'll regroup at the edge of the forest..."

"Yes."

The Flying Bear Generals wasted no words and quickly dispersed.

"Old Han!" Lu Yuan saw a middle-aged man with a Four-winged Flying Bear emblem on his chest calling out to Han Xun.

Han Xun shook his head. The man glanced at Lu Yuan without saying anything, then quickly formed a group with two others and left in one direction.

Han Xun said to Lu Yuan, "Let's go."

Lu Yuan nodded and, assuming an obedient demeanor, followed Han Xun.

Before leaving, he glanced in Yin Muqing's direction and saw the woman directly take to the air, flying forward like a large, glowing light bulb.

She didn't seem at all afraid of attracting the unknown entities in this eerie forest.

"During the exploration of a new Secret Realm, be extremely careful. Never underestimate any potential danger," Han Xun advised as they walked. "Every Secret Realm guide is written with the blood of countless lives..."

Lu Yuan followed Han Xun towards the west.

Along the way, Han Xun imparted his experience while leading. An ice-blue long knife materialized in his hand, and frost spread under his feet. From time to time, he would unleash arcs of frosty blade energy, glinting with cold light, to cut through the tangled branches and vines blocking their path.

Suddenly, SWISH—! Several large shadows leaped out from the dark forest, blocking their path.

Lu Yuan looked closely, his eyes reflecting three ferocious and bizarre creatures. They were the size of lions or tigers, their bodies pitch black, and their skin seemed to be covered with fine black scales. Their heads resembled those of the Elephantmen Lu Yuan had encountered many times, but below their trunks were gaping maws filled with sharp teeth.

The three Ancient Elephant God's creatures stared at Lu Yuan and Han Xun with cold eyes, a rather strong Evil Energy Fluctuation radiating from them.

S+, SS, SS-... The Evil Energy level assessments of the three Ancient Elephant God's creatures flashed in Lu Yuan's mind's eye. Two of them were actually at the Walker Level! He couldn't help but be inwardly alarmed. They hadn't even gone far from the Secret Realm's entrance, yet they'd already encountered ancient evil deity creatures of this caliber! No wonder this Elephant God Secret Realm was rated SSS Sub-legendary level. Those elite mini-bosses he had farmed in the Lament Ruins would probably only count as common mobs here. Then another thought struck him. If a Sub-legendary level Secret Realm was already this difficult, how perilous would a true Legendary Level Secret Realm be? No wonder it was said that Flying Bear Level experts underwent "Reforging" daily in the Ash Mountain Secret Realm. Extrapolating from this, if I went to Ash Mountain now, I'd probably get myself killed if I wasn't careful...

As Lu Yuan was thinking, a figure as cold and imposing as an iceberg stepped in front of him.

Then, Han Xun's voice sounded calmly, "Your strength is average. Try to avoid fighting as much as possible. Preserve your strength and protect yourself. I'll deal with them..."

"Uhhh...."

Before Lu Yuan had a chance to speak, Han Xun had already transformed into a deep blue torrent of frost, surging fiercely towards the three Ancient Elephant God's creatures.

The three Ancient Elephant God's creatures immediately let out low roars, a crimson, malevolent light radiating from the single eye on each of their foreheads, as they all pounced towards Han Xun.

SWISH—

With a flourish of his long knife, Han Xun unleashed a terrifying torrent of frost that instantly froze the surrounding area.

He casually slashed out, cutting one of the Ancient Elephant God's creatures cleanly in half.

Just as he was about to turn to the remaining two, the thick layer of ice suddenly exploded, and the two Ancient Elephant God's creatures assaulted Han Xun from the left and right.

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