"Brother Xiao, what did you see?" Yu Lin asked in shock.

Xiao Shou blinked his eyes in surprise and pointed ahead. "There is a huge pitch black cave entrance over there. There is no light at all. It does not look like an exit. Can’t you see it?"

Xiao Ran, Yu Lin, and the others exchanged glances, all frowning slightly.

Chi Jia spoke directly, "I can’t see anything. Ever since we killed the last of the stone beasts, everything around us has been in complete darkness. Even divine sense is suppressed. The luminous stones only light up about one meter around us. How can you see anything?"

"I’m not sure either, maybe..." it is because of my awakened Eye of Ishvara, Xiao Shou thought, but this was one of his hidden methods. He could not reveal it to people he did not trust. "Then what should we do now? Go back and find a way to deal with the black fog moths or go into that cave and take a look?"

"There is no going back," Xiao Ran said coldly. "At the moment all the stone beasts died, I sensed a fluctuation in space. We have likely already stepped into another space."

After speaking, she glanced at Xiao Shou’s eyes and secretly wondering why he alone could see when no one else could.

Were his eyes also special?

As expected, he was the one favored by fate.

After Xiao Ran finished, Gou Yumeng and the others nodded.

He took out a formation disk shaped artifact from his storage bag and began operating it while channeling spiritual energy.

"I also felt the spatial fluctuation. None of us possess a spatial spiritual root, so it will be difficult to find the coordinates to return. The simplest option now is to go inside and take a look, though we do not know whether it is fortunate or dangerous."

Gou Yutong also took out an identical artifact and performing actions incomprehensible to outsiders as he said, "Let us brothers first determine whether it is fortune or danger, life or death. If this truly is a secret realm, there should not be a place of certain death."

After hearing them say this, everyone fell silent.

Xiao Shou casually rubbed the Void-Time Calyx in his hand and thinking that if they were not here, he could use it to preview the situation inside the cave.

Well, at most it would take about a week before he could get out anyway.

No matter how dangerous it was, with his current defensive capabilities, the worst outcome would be serious injury.

Death was unlikely.

In that case, he might as well take a look.

...

"Do not appear before me in this form. Seeing you like this only makes me want to destroy you all."

As the voice sounded, a figure flickered in and out of view within a vast surge of blood colored spiritual energy.

Before the words even finished, the blood colored energy suddenly burst outward like a hedgehog’s quills, piercing through the surrounding figures.

Strangely, those blood colored figures all looked exactly like Xiao Shou in facial features.

The only difference was they are crimson in color.

On his forehead, between his brows, a third eye stood vertically like a ruby, wrapped in intricate blue patterns that carried an ancient and mysterious elegance.

His clothes were spotless and untouched by dust.

Standing upon the blood red ground, endless streams of blood colored spiritual energy extended from beneath his feet.

They surrounded him in a dense, almost solid state, like loyal guardians.

Fu Young looked on expressionlessly as the pierced figures, all bearing the same face as his master, melted into liquid and merged into the blood energy around him.

As the third eye on his forehead slowly opened and closed before disappearing, his indifferent voice sounded again without a trace of emotion.

"Well, saying this changes nothing. They just keep coming endlessly. I wonder what lies at the end of this blood colored hell. Master, where are you now? Whatever you do, do not come here. I... I only hope you never see me like this."

...

Huh?

Just now, it sounded like Young’er’s voice.

Could he be nearby?

Xiao Shou’s heart skipped a beat.

Realizing this possibility, he no longer had the patience to wait.

On top of that, he had never wanted to get too close to Xiao Ran and these original story characters anyway.

With his increased cultivation and confidence in his strength, he did not hesitate.

He turned his head and glanced at the five of them.

"I’ll go in first and take a look. If this really is a secret realm, it would be a pity to miss opportunities everywhere."

Even as he said this, Xiao Shou deliberately put on a greedy expression.

Without waiting for the others to respond, he prepared to activate the defensive power of the Void-Time Calyx and rush toward the cave entrance.

Unexpectedly, before the Void-Time Calyx could be activated, a cold hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"What’s the hurry?" a chilly voice said.

"Wait, Xiao Shou. Let’s move together. Going alone is too dangerous," Yu Lin added anxiously from the side.

Xiao Shou’s pupils contracted sharply.

His expression darkened slightly, but he instinctively concealed the spiritual fluctuation of the Void-Time Calyx.

He glanced at Xiao Ran and said with a faintly bitter tone, "Sister Xiao Ran, your skills are impressive. I really can’t compare to you."

During these past days, he had only noticed that Chi Jia was the main force attacking the stone beasts, while Xiao Ran focused more on defense.

Combined with the original story’s portrayal of the protagonist being relatively weak in the early stages, he had assumed that his own combat strength currently surpassed hers.

He had not expected that she had never truly made a move.

The reason he appeared so strong was largely due to the special properties of the Dark Night Spirit Sword.

If it did not have its armor breaking effect...

Yet just now, even when he was on guard, she had seized his wrist in an instant.