ETR | Chapter 94

All the scenes shattered before Xiao Xueman's eyes, and the white sky above him disappeared, reverting back to the previously tattered and glaring sky.

However, it was slightly different from the sky he had seen before. There seemed to be a semi-transparent light film in the middle, making the mixed sky appear blurry and not very clear.

Xiao Xueman transformed back from a tree to a human form. He looked around and realized where he was.

He was still in the water.

A droplet of water enveloped him, which must have splashed out from the nearby rushing river. It was now hanging on a blade of grass beside the river. This transparent droplet was like a tiny mirror, reflecting the scene of two or three small slopes not far away.

Now, wrapped in this droplet, Xiao Xueman glanced at the river ahead.

In front of the river was a waterfall cascading down a cliff. He probably flowed from a cave in the mountain to this place.

Qin Lou, seeing him taken by the cave, probably wouldn't stay in the same spot.

Xiao Xueman stepped out of the transparent droplet with little effort, making a "pop" sound as he left. The droplet burst from the inside out, could no longer cling to the grass blade, and fell to the ground, quickly merging into the soil.

Xiao Xueman's body, previously compressed by the water, gradually returned to its original form after stepping out.

Could Qin Lou also be in one of these droplets?

He was purely fire-type, naturally suppressed by water, and now injured. Xiao Xueman couldn't help but worry.

Xiao Xueman tried using spiritual power to attack the river, but his wood-type spiritual power was completely absorbed by the water, having no effect at all. The same went for the nearby grassland. He tried different probing methods, but they were equally ineffective. Spiritual power seemed useless here.

The heart's blood necklace Qin Lou gave him lost its connection once it left his body.

Xiao Xueman felt somewhat helpless, temporarily only able to stare at the river, checking the grass blades around him to see if any droplet was special, but he found none.

Indeed, searching like this was no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

Besides, there was something puzzling.

What was the slight vibration he felt inside the droplet? It seemed to have some rhythm, but the intervals weren't consistent, making it unpredictable. While inside the droplet, Xiao Xueman mostly relied on his reaction speed.

Soon after, Xiao Xueman realized what that vibration was.

The river meandered into the distance. The scene here was also a mix, but not as glaring as before. The green grassland had some undulations, with a few gray trees scattered around. The river meandered into the distance. After stepping out of the droplet, Xiao Xueman looked up to see the sky still covered with a light film.

Qin Lou hadn't been found yet. For now, it was just Xiao Xueman here, with only the roaring sound of the river.

But during his search for Qin Lou, he witnessed something unusual.

In the distance, a blue light ball suddenly shot up from the ground, heading straight for the sky. Xiao Xueman watched as it passed through the light film and disappeared. The light film rippled when the blue light ball passed through, and at that moment, the world trembled slightly.

This slight tremor was the same as what Xiao Xueman felt inside the droplet.

When he first saw it, Xiao Xueman was puzzled. He tried to fly up like the light ball, but when he touched the light film, he was bounced back.

Could this occasional tremor help him leave the droplet and also help him find Qin Lou?

The tremor occurred when the light ball broke through the light film, meaning the time from when the light ball leaped from the ground to the light film gave Xiao Xueman a moment to prepare, better than being inside the droplet.

Qin Lou should be in this area, not too far from him.

Indeed, using spiritual power in a stable state here was useless. It seemed to be absorbed when used, but as long as he caught that moment, the effect was different.

When the next light ball appeared, Xiao Xueman mobilized his strongest spiritual power to probe. At the moment the ground trembled, he clearly saw a flash of red light on his right.

There!

Next, he gradually narrowed the range until he locked onto a few droplets on a grass blade.

At the next tremor, Xiao Xueman used his wood-type spiritual power, targeting the droplet he had identified, and with a "boom," the droplet burst.

At that moment, a lotus flower made of fire-type spiritual power bloomed on the grass blade and quickly dissipated. It was the mark of the Eternal Heart Lotus, indicating Qin Lou had also used spiritual power to break through inside, coinciding with Xiao Xueman's.

Xiao Xueman watched as the tiny, needle-like Qin Lou gradually returned to his original form.

Qin Lou was momentarily unresponsive, moving his limbs in a daze until he saw Xiao Xueman's face and realized where he was.

Both Xiao Xueman and Qin Lou had almost exhausted their maximum spiritual power, but the grass blade where Qin Lou had been only trembled slightly, with no other changes.

This was the same as Xiao Xueman's previous experience. Their spiritual power had almost no impact here, as if it was absorbed, except for the moment the light film was pierced, like finding a loophole.

"Xueman!"

As soon as Qin Lou emerged from the droplet, he couldn't help but hug him tightly.

He was visibly tense, only calming down a bit after holding Xiao Xueman in his arms.

"I'm fine," Xiao Xueman didn't push him away at this moment, gently patting his back. "Let me see your injury."

Qin Lou obediently extended his arm for him to see, his eyes still fixed on him, afraid he might disappear again.

They had actually been inside the droplet for quite some time, not to mention they were unconscious for a while before entering the droplet, unsure how long they had been out.

Qin Lou's injury hadn't improved. The earth-type spiritual power injury required rest, and the more he used spiritual power at this time, the worse the injury would get.

According to Qin Lou, he had just woken up not long ago and had noticed the tremor inside the droplet. Before he could try a few times, Xiao Xueman had already saved him.

During their conversation, another golden light ball emerged. This one was the closest to them, almost right in front of them, and particularly large, larger than any Xiao Xueman had seen before.

The two exchanged a glance, both having some guesses in their hearts.

"This is indeed the center of the Secret Realm, or rather, the bottom of the Secret Realm," Xiao Xueman said. "That light ball is a treasure produced in the Secret Realm."

Qin Lou's Eternal Heart Lotus came from this.

The treasures in the Illusion Realm could be obtained in various ways. Some required defeating guardian spirits, some needed to be found and dug up, and some depended on luck. One such way was like this, where treasures suddenly appeared, as if falling from the sky.

However, obtaining them wasn't as simple as a pie falling from the sky. It required competing with others because this method caused a huge commotion, making it impossible to keep it a secret.

And treasures produced in this way were generally of high quality, better than those that existed stably in the Illusion Realm.

Take Qin Lou's Eternal Heart Lotus, for example. It's a once-in-a-millennium treasure, considered top-tier fire-type spirit equipment in the history of the Spirit Realm Continent.

The first blue light ball Xiao Xueman saw was a water-type treasure, and the recent golden light ball was a metal-type one.

Perhaps the Eternal Heart Lotus was indeed a rare treasure, and the place that produced it had some special connection, guiding them here.

The main purpose of the Illusion Realm is to obtain cultivation resources. The stronger you are, the more you can get. Xiao Xueman and Qin Lou went through hardships to reach here. Others without such strong spiritual power couldn't, which aligns perfectly with the purpose of the Illusion Realm—if they wanted, they could intercept these treasures before they emerged.

Xiao Xueman actually tried it. Spiritual power could be used here, and he successfully intercepted several treasures, even obtaining a top-grade nine-star herb, just in time for the Alchemist Association's favor—if he could get out, that is.

But the things he intercepted were of no use to Qin Lou's current injury.

They had reached their destination, and Xiao Xueman was happy for a moment, but he quickly realized he came for the rules, not for these external objects.

If this is the center of the Illusion Realm, where is the center of the center? Is there really a power there that can let him exploit a loophole in the rules?

Xiao Wan's stone was also taken out by Xiao Xueman, but it had no reaction.

And during this process, the worst-case scenario happened.

Time waits for no one. They had already spent a long time in the Illusion Realm.

Xiao Xueman knew before coming that even if Xiao Wan stopped cultivating, once he awakened his domain, he would eventually be recognized by the rules, and this wouldn't take long.

As Xiao Wan was gradually recognized by the rules, the talent belonging to the Tianxi Divine Tree on him would be extracted, a zero-sum game, an iron law.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, in the center of the Secret Realm, as long as they didn't compete for the light balls, having or not having talent didn't matter. They couldn't use it anyway. Even if there were some changes in themselves, it wouldn't have much impact here.

Qin Lou's injury gradually improved during this process, but Xiao Xueman clearly felt his power draining away.

At first, he didn't mention it, but given Qin Lou's current level of attention to Xiao Xueman, almost like watching his own eyes, he quickly noticed.