Galor pointed to the entrance of the Secret Realm.
“Bai Xiaodu, do you know whose death formed this place?”
Seeing him shake his head blankly, Galor's expression turned solemn.
“This was formed by one of our genius compatriots!”
“Cultivating the spell list, refining the spiritual land, seven thousand Origins transforming into a Domain.”
“But she failed in her attempt to ascend to Domain Lord and ultimately perished here. Her cultivation and thoughts scattered, transforming into this blessed land.”
Bai Xiaodu frowned.
He keenly sensed an anomaly.
“Transforming into a Secret Realm after death?”
“If she died failing to ascend to Domain Lord, she should have still been at the transcendent rank. How could she have had her own Domain, let alone have it transform after her death?”
Galor shook his head and offered a mind-boggling answer.
He said softly,
“What if I told you that she had already finished refining her Domain before she died?”
“How is that possible?!”
If it were truly a trap, it should have been triggered right when the ceremony began.
Allowing someone to complete their Domain and become a Domain Lord—wouldn't that just be adding unnecessary risk to oneself?
Bai Xiaodu was about to object, but his wine-red eyes suddenly widened.
Why wouldn't it be possible?!
He thought of certain extraction shooter games from his past life that had no insurance mechanisms.
The routes to spots where good loot spawned were winding and filled with endless traps, not to mention the competition from other players.
On top of that, there were overpowered NPC monsters. After spending ages carefully looting, one careless mistake would get you headshot, sending you to a red screen.
In those games, a different playstyle emerged.
Extract camping.
Equipping top-tier gear, camping at the extraction point, and gunning down any “rats” that ran by.
While others looted golden chests, they looted the “rats’” corpses.
As for why they camped at the extraction point instead of hunting people down directly?
Of course, it was to patiently give the rats enough time to run around and collect things, so they could take the gear the rats had painstakingly gathered and organized!
Since it was a trap, maximizing profit had to be the priority.
At the transcendent rank, the only valuable things were a few Origins. But a Domain Lord possessed an entire Domain of Origins separated from nature!
Fucking hell!
That is way too scummy!
Bai Xiaodu couldn't help but feel a lingering wave of dread.
Once those lizardmen settled down, he had planned to use his cultivation resources to aggressively level up.
If Galor hadn't come to warn him, he would probably have met the exact same end in a year or two!
Galor nodded.
“It seems you've realized just how dangerous it is.”
“That's good. Rumor has it that this compatriot died during her ascension ceremony when a sudden mana tide erupted, leaving nothing of her behind.”
Galor changed the subject.
“However, I once stole some confidential files and videos, and I discovered something interesting.”
“The mana tide didn't fall from the sky. Instead, a giant bird covered in feathers with a silvery metallic sheen, possessing red eyes and a golden beak, quietly appeared in the sky and flapped its wings to cause it.”
“But for some reason, not a single person involved in the recording mentioned this giant bird, as if it didn't exist in their memories at all.”
“Later, I concluded through experiments that this giant bird indeed does not exist in the vision of other races. Only we, the silver fox-kin, can see it.”
“We know nothing of the specifics, but one thing is clear for now: at the very least, it's coming for us.”
Bai Xiaodu was lost in thought.
“So, you plotted to control Xian Ling and had her intentionally instigate a rebellion, all to explore the Secret Realm while the new Domain Lord was too busy to notice?”
Galor nodded candidly.
“Exactly.”
“However, I didn't expect that the new Domain Lord coming here would actually be a fellow compatriot.”
“You want to know the specific details too, don't you, Bai Xiaodu? Why don't we enter the Secret Realm together?”
Bai Xiaodu pondered for a moment.
To be honest, Galor was a bit suspicious.
He hadn't even known the guy before, yet he had suddenly jumped out and shared a whole load of information.
But thinking about it carefully, there didn't seem to be a better option.
Meeting his expectant gaze, Bai Xiaodu spoke.
“Alright, but I've looked at the data for this Secret Realm beforehand. It allows a maximum of three people to explore in a party.”
“...So, I'm going to bring someone along.”
He narrowed his eyes, wanting to observe the other's expression to gauge his reaction.
To his surprise, Galor agreed extremely readily.
“Fine, but I need to hide my identity.”
“So I won't be moving with you guys. After all, I need to investigate multiple locations to find clues.”
“Since this is your Secret Realm, we will share the final information we gather. Is that fine?”
“No problem.”
...
The Secret Realm of the Silver Hero was very much like a large-scale role-playing game world. In short, it was a story of a hero fighting a demon king.
So, naturally, Bai Xiaodu went to find Lingxin.
He hugged one of Lingxin's fair arms, his silver tail wagging constantly.
“Sister Lingxin! Take me with you to get familiar with the Secret Realm!”
Lingxin naturally couldn't resist this kind of treatment. She nodded happily, practically letting herself be pulled out by Bai Xiaodu.
“Come to think of it, I haven't played a game with Xiaobai in a long time.”
Lingxin smiled, her eyes curving like crescents.
Today, she was still wearing that casual hoodie, which accentuated her slender upper body, looking full and plump, while her lower body was in blue and white jeans, giving her a very cute and energetic look.
Meanwhile, Bai Xiaodu only noticed that her assets were massive.
At the door, she couldn't help but pause and said hesitantly,
“Um, Xiaobai, I still have a lot of official documents to review and sign...”
She had originally thought that coming to the university would mean a world of just her and Xiaobai, being lovey-dovey together every day—just thinking about it made her happy.
But before she could even enjoy it, a mountain of work had swarmed over her like moths to a flame.
Bai Xiaodu blinked.
“Just let Vervia handle it for now.”
Lingxin became even more hesitant.
“Ah, that doesn't seem very nice...”
“Does Sister Lingxin not want to go out and play with me anymore?”
Hearing this, Lingxin quickly denied it.
“Of course not!”
“I'm just worried that if Vervia wakes up to find there's no food and she has to help with paperwork, she might eat the computer out of frustration.”
Bai Xiaodu: “...”
That did sound like something that dragon would do.
Regardless, Lingxin ultimately agreed.
After all, she had come here solely for Bai Xiaodu. Personally, she didn't care much about the university's affairs, as long as she could just scrape by.
The two of them quickly arrived in front of the Secret Realm.
Galor was still wearing that cloak, completely covering his body.
Lingxin pointed.
“Who is this?”
Bai Xiaodu introduced him casually.
“A friend of mine. He came specifically to experience the Secret Realm. Of course, he won't be going with us.”
Lingxin didn't mind.
She had come here to enjoy some quality time alone with Xiaobai, fight monsters, open treasure chests, and look at the scenery.
It would be even better if they could find a small cave to experience the thrill of exploration.
Though, it might mean Xiaobai would have to work hard to lead the way inside.
Without saying a word, Galor entered first.
Bai Xiaodu followed closely behind. However, just as he was about to step inside, Lingxin gently tugged on his sleeve.
Her beautiful, blood-red eyes narrowed slightly.
“I smell the scent of 【Trickery】.”
“Xiaobai, is this friend of yours trustworthy?”
Rate on N.U.
