"So what do we do? Do we keep chasing?"
Under the bear barbarian leader's roar, the colossal monster had already returned to its normal size, now lying on the ground with a thoroughly wretched expression.
"Or we could just destroy this entrance!"
The golden-furred bear barbarian suggested.
"Are you insane? A secret realm this valuable — destroying it would be a terrible waste, and our people wouldn't agree to it!"
The green-skinned barbarian shook his head. "Besides, those Wizards can simply escape through other spatial rifts. That would be the most idiotic plan of all!"
"Hmph!" The bear barbarian leader snorted coldly and brandished the enormous banner on his back.
"Alright, alright! We're still allies for now — let's discuss how to deal with these common enemies!" The human wizard stepped between the green-skinned barbarian and the bear barbarian.
"What else can we do? If we don't want them scavenging freely through our secret realm, we have to send people in! But you've seen their strength — ordinary members would just be sending themselves to their deaths!"
A trace of helplessness flickered through the green-skinned barbarian leader's eyes.
"Then send Wizards with Liquidation or Crystallization-level strength! We can afford to give up other territories — let's consolidate our forces here first!"
The human wizard leader spoke up first.
"Since you put it that way…" The green-skinned barbarian and the bear barbarian leader exchanged a glance. "Then it's decided! We send the signal immediately!"
…
"So this is the secret realm that the Quicksand organization established in ancient times?"
Lei Lin was now standing upon an enormous plain, where wisps of thin fog could occasionally be seen rising from the grass.
"Judging by the energy particle spectrum, the concentration here has essentially recovered to the average level of the outside world — it shouldn't have any impact on spellcasting!"
Lei Lin checked the data collected by the Chip and nodded.
During the great battle in the underground dark river, the scarcity of energy particles had actually prevented him and the other warlocks from unleashing their full strength. Here, however, the situation was entirely different.
Of course. Everything has two sides — under this concentration of energy particles, the opponent's Crystalline Wizards could also unleash their full power, rather than being restricted as they were in the outside world.
Whoosh! A flash of silver light, and
He glanced around, a look of satisfaction on his face: "Good! This is the Purple Earth Grass Plains — not far from the central
"Where are you headed? If you plan to scavenge other areas, we'll have to part ways here!"
He looked to Lei Lin and Kasha for their opinions.
"I'm obviously heading for the core Wizard structures!" Lei Lin said as if it were the most natural thing in the world — the Serpent Woman's hair strands could only exist in the heart of the secret realm; why would he go anywhere else?
"Same here!" Kasha nodded along. Every secret realm followed a common pattern: the innermost core always held the richest resources, and there would be Wizard ruins there too — surely with storerooms and laboratories of their own. It was where the true treasures lay.
"Then it's settled! We'll head to the central ruins together and split up once we get there!" Robin nodded. "Besides, the ruins are enormous — we might not even run into each other..."
Since there was still a possibility that Wizards from the three major factions had entered the secret realm ahead of them, and pursuers could show up at any moment from behind, moving together naturally offered a higher margin of safety.
Furthermore, to make every minute count, Robin immediately announced their departure.
Though the warlock group had lost two members, the remaining ten had fierce, burning light in their eyes as they transformed into ten streaks of black radiance and tore across the sky.
*Thud!* A green-skinned barbarian Wizard was thrown onto the ground. Its eyes were vacant, and a horrifyingly large hole gaped in its forehead — the brain tissue inside, now completely destroyed, was faintly visible, looking like nothing more than a mushy pulp.
This green-skinned barbarian Wizard had originally possessed second-tier strength, but with its brain destroyed and no backup spells such as clone seeds planted in advance, death was a certainty.
Its body twitched, the flame of life flickering out bit by bit.
Beside it, Kasha produced a gold-bordered handkerchief and wiped the brain matter from her hands.
"I've already extracted some fragments. It was a sage of the green-skinned barbarian tribe — it came in to gather potion ingredients and resources. According to its memories, we haven't strayed far from our route. We're almost at the core Quick Sand Ruins!"
Kasha addressed the ring of warlocks around her.
Upon hearing her words, the warlocks' faces all lit up with a trace of joy.
It had been two days since they entered the secret realm.
Inside this secret realm, not only were there scattered Wizards from the three major factions who had entered earlier, but also a pursuit squad composed entirely of Wizards at the liquidization level or higher!
This squad was led by a crystallized Wizard and had been relentlessly chasing them from the moment they entered the secret realm.
Fortunately, Lei Lin's group were all bloodline warlocks, and their true combat power exceeded the ordinary level, allowing them to fight and retreat along the way. However, they had strayed from their original route.
"We need to get there as quickly as possible, find what we're looking for, and then leave immediately! Our traps won't hold them back for long!"
Robin's face was gloomy. The small squad was biting hard at their heels, leaving them no time to rest, let alone search for useful resources.
Even though they had set traps again, combined with Lei Lin's burst of power to trap all the wizards in one place, it wouldn't last long.
In fact, the enemy was very well aware of their destination.
Once they entered the secret realm, their target was undoubtedly the Quicksand Ruins in the central area. This was something Lei Lin and the others had never tried to hide, nor could they have.
The scorching, blazing sun hung in the sky, pouring down fiery rays.
Although this was merely a projection of the sun from the outside world, terrifying waves of heat continued to rise, causing the surrounding temperature to surge upward.
Lei Lin's group, clad in white cloaks, traversed a vast desert.
The yellow sand stretched endlessly, without a single cactus in sight, nor any other plants or animals. Everywhere was a scene of death.
"Although this is a desert, this climate environment is far too abnormal!"
Lei Lin grabbed a handful of sand, the scalding heat transferring to his palm. "This temperature is almost exceeding 100 degrees Celsius. Forget about animals and plants—even ordinary apprentices or even first-level Wizards probably couldn't linger here for too long..."
Lei Lin opened his palm, letting the scorching grains of sand slide through his fingers.
"Furthermore, I've sensed an extraordinary aura from this land. It seems to be some kind of ancient creature!"
"You noticed it too?" Robin walked over from the side.
"Mm! It seems traces of some ancient, high-energy creature activity are present here, and it's the most scorching, fiery attribute!" Lei Lin nodded firmly.
This kind of unconscious, large-scale alteration of the environment was already very similar to how Solar Wizards changed their surroundings.
"I once heard a rumor that within the ancient Quicksand organization, there was a warlock with the Son of the Sun bloodline who successfully underwent ancestral reversion, transforming into a true, ancient Son of the Sun!"
Robin gazed out at the vast, endless desert, a look of wistful wonder on his face. "For all we know, that Son of the Sun may have once set foot here and unleashed his power…"
"An ancient Son of the Sun!" Lei Lin flicked through the Chip's data, his expression shifting slightly.
That was no mere bloodline creature anymore. Its flames could burn through space itself, warping the very concept of time. In some smaller worlds, the sun blazing in the sky wasn't a true star at all—it was an adult Son of the Sun!
Once such a creature departed a small world, it would bring the most catastrophic disaster imaginable to that realm.
"Relax. Even if that Son of the Sun surpassed the Dawn rank and entered the far more unfathomable seventh tier, it perished long ago in the Ancient Final War…"
Robin spoke with considerable confidence, and Lei Lin nodded in agreement.
Though the ancient Wizards had been incomparably powerful, their enemies—the gods—were equally beings who had grasped the Laws. They could even exploit those Laws to erase a Wizard's very existence from its source.
Once one fell in the Ancient Final War, there was no possibility of survival. Even contingencies such as doppelgängers or hidden clones would be utterly annihilated at the instant of the original's death, rendered completely meaningless.
Given that Son of the Sun's strength far surpassing even Morning Star Wizards, he had most likely been conscripted into the war and ultimately perished in battle.
"Everything in this world, no matter how magnificent as the sun itself, cannot escape the fate of extinction. Nothing can exist eternally!"
Lei Lin sighed.
"I wonder… can a ninth-tier Wizard truly achieve immortality?"
That was his highest aspiration—his greatest longing and the unwavering path he had dedicated his life to!
Even if he reached the pinnacle of ninth-tier Wizardry and discovered that true immortality was impossible, he would press onward without a flicker of hesitation, searching for every last hope and opportunity!
A flame seemed to ignite within Lei Lin's eyes, though it was quickly concealed once more.
"We're here!" Up ahead, Luo Ya suddenly called out in excitement.
"Hm? Let's go take a look!" Robin and Lei Lin exchanged a glance and walked forward.
After cresting a small sand dune, they beheld a colossal black fortress standing silently amid the golden desert. Shimmering waves of heat made the structure flicker in and out of clarity, but even from only a portion visible, they could estimate its staggering scale.
"We've made it—the Wizard ruins here: the Quicksand Fortress!" Robin broke into a smile.
Surrounding the fortress, a number of temporary artificial structures had been erected. Bear-folk, Green-skin barbarians, and human Wizards had come together to form a cohesive community. Occasionally, a Wizard would set off alone, transforming into a streak of light that shot into the fortress.