I can find treasures in my dreams.

"【Battle Spirit Badge】: Using this badge will directly increase your Physique and Spirit by 80 points, greatly enhance your understanding of power, and has a certain chance to help you awaken the Rock Lord's Rock-type ability. Would you like to use it now?"

This was the badge that appeared in front of Yang Donglin.

Compared to the War Soul Badges obtained by other warriors, this badge has a dark golden luster and shimmers with a mysterious light in the sunlight.

This distinctive color undoubtedly represents a higher quality.

As the true mastermind behind the hunt for the Stone Lord, his contribution is undoubtedly paramount, hence the substantial reward he received.

To be honest, this thing's properties far exceeded his expectations.

The 80-point increase in both physical and mental attributes, along with the increased promotion probability, were already substantial rewards. The fact that there was a "certain chance of awakening the Rock Lord's Rock-type ability" truly surprised him.

Ghost Eye emerged from the Ghost Head Bronze Mirror, its tone full of flattery: "Great master, the reason why the Stubborn Stone Lord is so powerful is because it possesses a mid-grade superpower called 'Soul-Locking Stone Eye'."

"With your unparalleled wisdom, you must have realized that the Soul-Locking Stone Eye possesses an extraordinary ability to control rocks. Just now, it instantly created a stone shield. If the Azure Civilization hadn't prepared weapons made from level-three exotic materials, I'm afraid several hundred warriors wouldn't have been able to shake the stone shield at all."

"But the most powerful aspect of the Soul-Locking Stone Eye is that it possesses terrifying stone eye power, which allows it to erode the target's soul through visual contact, and soul attacks are precisely the most difficult type of attack to defend against."

"If you master the Soul-Locking Stone Eye, defeating an opponent who is a minor rank higher will not be difficult at all. In other words, after you are promoted to knight, you will be able to defeat a mid-rank knight with the help of the Soul-Locking Stone Eye."

The Moon Spirit Warrior Livin stood to the side, just in time to hear Ghost Eye's endless chatter.

She stole a glance at the badge hanging in front of its owner, feeling both surprised and envious.

For any civilization, the ability to challenge those of higher levels would be something any knight would covet.

Ghost Eyes couldn't resist adding a compliment at the end: "I always thought that only a superpower like the Soul-Locking Stone Eye was worthy of Master's extraordinary talent, and with Master's talent, you will surely be able to comprehend the Soul-Locking Stone Eye very quickly."

Yang Donglin glanced at it, feeling a bit annoyed by the fact that this thing was spouting too much nonsense.

The ghost eye instantly sensed its master's disdain and obediently shut its mouth.

Yang Donglin knew perfectly well why Ghost Eye had said, "You will definitely be able to understand it quickly."

The reason is simple—he has an incredibly powerful father.

Even though the chance of awakening is only 1%, it's not a problem to increase the chance to 100% with a little manipulation from Dad.

Yang Donglin stretched out a hand and gently touched the Battle Soul Badge with his fingertips.

"Oh!"

With a soft sound, the badge instantly transformed into a thick black mist, flowing from the fingertip into the body.

Yang Donglin felt a surge of heat rising from his limbs and bones, and his heart was filled with more respect for his father.

A few days ago, I was communicating with my father remotely.

He remembered very clearly that his father had said something like, "This fallen ancient god is an interesting big shot. His ideas are quite advanced among the many ancient gods. He actually designed a gamified secret realm, which contains a lot of good things."

"Players who participate in the game can directly obtain attributes to enhance their strength, acquire various supernatural abilities, and have the opportunity to obtain all sorts of bizarre supernatural items."

"I suggest you stay in the secret realm for a while longer, and leave after you are promoted to knight."

This statement has now been fully proven true.

At the time, he still had some doubts about "becoming a knight in a secret realm," but now all doubts have vanished.

Dad really is Dad!

My dad is always right!

at this time.

Yang Donglin suddenly felt an invisible pressure enveloping him, as if a pair of cold eyes were secretly watching him.

He subconsciously looked up at the sky, only to see that the sky had not changed at all, and was still bright and clear.

On the surface, it seems that nothing has changed.

But Yang Donglin frowned and decisively decided to stop.

"Everyone!"

His voice suddenly rose, carrying a hint of barely perceptible urgency: "The Lord of the Stubborn Stone has fallen, the game's progress has been forcibly altered, and the will of the secret realm may detect the anomaly at any moment!"

He paused, then said in a deep voice, "Time does not allow us to delay any longer; we must evacuate immediately!"

"understand!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers' excitement vanished instantly, replaced by solemnity.

Many soldiers took one last, reluctant look at the remains of the Stone Lord.

The supernatural perception system built into the Skycraft Armor has determined that there are many rare substances in the remains.

It contains 100% precious level-three rare materials, and it's even possible that it contains level-four rare materials.

Unfortunately, these resources were wasted.

Yang Donglin dared not delay for a moment. With a thought, the gilded soul card album instantly appeared, and the [Door] card flashed out.

"when!"

With a resounding clang like a great bell, the ancient, weathered stone gate slowly emerged from the darkness.

The door opened inwards at several times the speed of before, revealing a tree-hole-like spatial passage to everyone.

The soldiers quickly lined up and surged into the stone gate, disappearing one by one into the surging green lights inside.

Just twenty seconds later.

All 366 future Azure Knights evacuated the secret realm and returned to Azure Star.

The battlefield returned to silence, leaving only Yang Donglin and his two companions.

Zhou Furui did not leave because he was a player chosen by the secret realm, essentially equivalent to a "game account".

Removing an "account" through abnormal means will leave a loophole, which is very likely to be detected by the consciousness of the secret realm.

The other soldiers' accounts were abnormal, or more accurately, accounts secretly created by hackers who cracked the database. Dealing with them would actually make things safer.

"when!"

The stone gate slowly closed.

Livin stared blankly as the stone gate transformed back into a [door] card, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

For the Moon Spirit Warrior, this journey to the secret realm was the most bizarre experience of her life, and many things that happened within the realm completely overturned her understanding.

Yang Donglin turned and glanced at the newly acquired maid, then lowered his voice and revealed a small secret: "Among the many materials used to forge the [Door] Card, one comes from a very ancient and powerful being."

Livin exclaimed "Oh!" as she came to her senses, then realized, "No wonder the [Door] Card can open the spatial passage to the secret realm."

The so-called "very ancient and powerful beings" are actually the remains of ancient gods.

Even Yang Donglin didn't know where his father had gotten his hands on the remains of an ancient god.

He only knew one thing—his father was incredibly powerful and his methods were unfathomable.

Just two seconds later, the once clear blue sky suddenly darkened.

It wasn't that dark clouds were obscuring the light, but rather that an invisible force was devouring it, causing the brightness of the world to fade at a visible rate.

Yang Donglin's heart tightened suddenly, and he whispered, "They're here!"

He suddenly turned his head to look at the gilded soul card album floating in mid-air.

"Crash-!"

The pages of the card book flipped rapidly.

The next moment, a dusty gray card broke free and hovered in front of the three of them.

This card is thicker than a regular soul card, with severely worn edges and a layer of indelible dark grime covering its surface, as if it had been pulled from the dust of ages past.

The card was prominently printed with a black oil lamp that looked extremely old.

The lamp base was carved from the bone of an unknown animal, its surface mottled and peeling. The lamp post was engraved with dense, eerie runes, blurry yet sinister. The wick was a piece of blackened, withered wood, burning with a cluster of dark flames.

Livin's gaze froze the moment it touched the card.

An irresistible pull came from the card, and her gaze was uncontrollably locked onto the black oil lamp.

The Moon Spirit Warrior tried to look away, but her eyes felt as heavy as lead, making even blinking difficult. Her mind was blank; all her vigilance and doubt had been drained away, leaving only that flickering black flame.

It seemed to possess some kind of magic, giving her an almost obsessive urge to just watch it quietly, for all eternity, never to look away.

"Crack——!"

A crisp, piercing sound broke the silence, and a new crack suddenly appeared on the surface of the card.

Something weird happened!

It was as if an invisible hand was holding an eraser, slowly wiping away the oil lamp from the card.

First, the cluster of dark flames dimmed instantly, as if blown out by the wind. Then, the strange runes on the lamp post disappeared little by little, followed by the mottled animal bone lamp base.

At the same time, everything around them was disappearing in sync.

The massive corpse of the Stone Lord and the devastated battlefield were fading away at an alarming rate, as if they had never existed.

The colors of the world faded quickly, leaving only monotonous gray and white, interwoven into an endless void.

I do not know how long it has been.

Livin's consciousness finally broke free from the chaos.

A hint of confusion flashed in her silver-gray eyes, before she was startled by the sight before her.

The world was deathly silent; there was no wind, no light, no sound, and even time seemed to be frozen.

She subconsciously raised her hand to touch her cheek, and felt a cold sensation on her fingertips, only then realizing that she was covered in cold sweat.

at this time.

Livin's gaze was drawn to the object in her master's hand.

This is an old black oil lamp, and its shape is exactly the same as the oil lamp on that strange card!
The lamp base was still made of mottled animal bone, and the runes on the lamp post were faintly visible, but the flame burning on the wick had changed.

It was no longer a dark, light-devouring void, but a pale, almost transparent color.

The flames, like the breath of a dying man, exuded a deathly chill.

"Gudu——"

Livin couldn't help but swallow hard.

Unbeknownst to her, her consciousness was becoming hazy again.

"Don't stare at it for too long," Yang Donglin's voice rang out at the right moment. "More than 99% of the power of this lamp has been sealed, but it is still extremely dangerous."

Livin looked away as if she had been electrocuted, her heart filled with lingering fear.

Yang Donglin continued, "The consciousness of the secret realm has detected the anomaly and has deployed a 'Secret Realm Eye,' which is currently conducting a comprehensive search of the battlefield."

"The Eye of the Secret Realm?"

Livin was startled and subconsciously looked up at the sky.

The sight that came into view almost made her scream out loud.

Above the gray sky, a gigantic black eyeball, hundreds of kilometers in diameter, floated, resembling an inverted planet.

The surface of the eyeball was covered with a thick black mist, within which countless tiny tentacles could be vaguely seen wriggling.

At the very center of the eyeball is the main pupil, which occupies two-thirds of the area. There is no light in the pupil, only a bottomless void.

Around the main pupil, there are thousands upon thousands of tiny secondary pupils, like a sky full of stars.

An indescribable sense of oppression descended from the sky, like an invisible giant hand gripping Livin's heart, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

"Okay, stop looking!"

Yang Donglin added another reminder.

Livin quickly looked away.

She had an unusually strong intuition that the eerie gray-white world she inhabited was like an invisible barrier, preventing the giant eyeball from searching.

Yang Donglin, carrying the old oil lamp, turned and walked forward, saying, "Let's go."

The eerie scene reappeared.

With each step he took, the oil lamp in his hand would sway gently, the pale flame on the wick flickering accordingly, and the gray world seemed to sway in sync.

It was as if this eerie space existed solely because of this oil lamp.

Livin felt uneasy watching this and could only follow closely behind.

Zhou Furui remained dazed and followed at the back, like a puppet on a string, even his steps seemed stiff and mechanical.

The three walked for an unknown amount of time, but the surrounding scenery remained unchanged, as if they would never reach the end.

Livin's curiosity finally overcame her fear, and she couldn't help but ask, "Master, is the material of this oil lamp also from an ancient and powerful being?"

In her view, since the creator of the secret realm was an "ancient and powerful being," then the treasures that could resist the consciousness of the secret realm must also be creations of the same level.

Yang Donglin continued walking and gave a faint "hmm": "That's right."

In fact.

Just as the Moon Spirit Warrior had guessed, the main material for making the oil lamp, the blackened, withered wood-like wick, also originated from the remains of an ancient god.

He had always been curious about how many ancient god fragments his father was hiding.

Liwen's beautiful eyes flickered, and her awe of the Azure Civilization deepened even further.

A thought couldn't help but pop into her mind: "I wonder if the Moon Spirit Civilization has such a treasure?"

She felt that the possibility of it not being true was very high.

Yang Donglin paused for a moment, then added, "We are very safe now. This lamp can shield us from the spying of the secret realm's consciousness, and it will never be able to find us."

Livin glanced quickly at the oil lamp out of the corner of her eye, and exclaimed inwardly, "The Azure Civilization is truly amazing!"

Another half hour passed, and the surroundings remained a deathly, gray-white silence.

Just as Livin was about to lose her sense of time, Yang Donglin suddenly stopped.

"Okay."

He said softly, "The consciousness of the secret realm has been gone for ten minutes and there is no sign of it returning. We should have passed this test."

After he finished speaking, he gently shook the oil lamp in his hand.

"Click! Click!"

A series of crisp cracking sounds suddenly rang out.

Suddenly, the surrounding gray-white world was covered with countless cracks, through which light from the outside world pierced and fragmented the gray-white space.

As the cracks spread, the gray-white barrier peeled away layer by layer like shattered glass, revealing the true scene behind it.

The sky turned azure blue again, and the air was filled with the familiar scent of sand and dust.

Livin subconsciously looked around, her heart tightening slightly involuntarily.

They had suddenly found themselves in an unfamiliar Gobi Desert region.

The scene here is completely different from before. The stone carvings on the ground are no longer scattered, but piled up densely, like a strange stone forest.

The stone sculptures are generally over five meters tall, significantly larger than the ones we've encountered before, and quite a few are over ten meters tall.

Many of the stone carvings are covered with dark brown rust, exuding a chilling aura of danger.

Her hand involuntarily tightened around the bow handle at her waist, and she already knew in her heart that the danger of this Gobi Desert far exceeded that of the areas she had passed through before.

Ignoring his surroundings, Yang Donglin turned to the ghost-headed bronze mirror floating beside him and calmly commanded, "Observe the area where we just fought."

"Yes, sir! Great master!"

Ghost Eyes's fawning yet shrill voice immediately rang out.

The next second, the surface of the Ghost Head Bronze Mirror rippled like water with a pebble thrown in.

The ripples spread rapidly, then quickly receded, eventually coalescing into a clear image on the mirror surface.

Livin's gaze instinctively fell upon the mirror. After just one glance, her pupils contracted sharply, and her face instantly contorted with disbelief and shock. (End of Chapter)