A Comprehensive Network: An Endless Adventure Begins as a Wanderer

Chapter 91 Darkness and the Secret Realm

Within the palaces and temples, everything was dilapidated.

Amidst the ruins, only flowing shadows remain, nothing else.

Cheng Yi stroked his chin, examining the ruins.

The texture of these ruins appears no different from the mountains and landforms formed in the shadow realm, all resembling a shaped shadow.

He also didn't find anything noteworthy in these surrounding ruins.

Following the throbbing in his heart, Cheng Yi looked toward the source of the sensation.

The throbbing originated in the center of the ruins, where there is a relatively well-preserved main hall.

Cheng Yi stood in front of the main hall. Although these buildings were essentially shadows, he still inexplicably felt a sense of otherworldly grandeur and solemnity.

Above the main hall hangs a tattered, ancient plaque with the three large characters "Shang An Dao" written on it.

The palace doors were tightly shut, and shadows shifted.

He tentatively pushed the door, only to find it unmoving. The shadows cast upon it seemed to act as a seal and barrier, preventing others from peeping.

Cheng Yi pondered for a moment, then stretched out his hand again. Unlike last time, his hand was now covered with a layer of dark, inky shadow.

The shadows and textures on the door dissolved into each other and eventually disappeared.

The door opened.

Cheng Yi looked up and saw a massive, shadowy, paradoxical star suspended above the dome of the main hall.

The thrill originated from there —

Cheng Yi tentatively placed his hand on it.

[Network notification: You have discovered the dimensional secret realm "Shadow Demon Realm"]

[Network notification: A fluctuation of dimensional consciousness has been detected. You have obtained the item "Chronicles of the 371st Year of the Dark Path"]

"The Film Contract Directory"

Before Cheng Yi could even look down at the extra booklet in his hand, the shadowy star above the projection suddenly emitted a dazzling, eerie light.

Dark purple light flowed and spread within the sphere, then cracked open in front of Cheng Yi.

The throbbing in Cheng Yi's heart slowly subsided.

It seems that perhaps the consciousness of this plane guided him here?

Cheng Yi looked at the notification message from the integrated network.

Dimensional Realm: Shadow Realm Type: Large Dimensional Realm / Public Entry Level: 5-20

Mysterious Realm Monsters: Unknown. Current Mysterious Realm Seal Integrity: 26% (Sustainable for 2530 calendar years).

Description of the Secret Realm: The sun and moon lost their color, heaven and earth collapsed, yin and yang reversed, and order was overturned. In that wild and chaotic place, hordes of demons emerged from beyond the heavens, appearing and disappearing without a trace, ravaging all living beings. There was a Taoist from the Eastern Azure Land, wielding a sword to ward off shadows, who stood in the darkness above the path, sealing the demons within the realm with boundless shadows, and occasionally sending his disciples into the realm to exorcise the demons, for the purpose of training them.

After entering the secret realm, characters will enter different levels of demon-sealing areas based on their own level, complete demon-slaying trials, obtain rewards, and use these rewards to fill the seal progress.

Secret Realm Rewards: Universal Experience, Cross-Network Disaster Coins, Related Shadow Materials, Eastern Civilization Genealogy Items. Note: When the Secret Realm's India is reset, the Secret Realm's monsters will appear in the Prime Material Plane.

The "Chronicles of the 371st Year of the Dark Path" transformed into an invisible stream of information that flooded into Cheng Yi's mind.

It was the handwriting of an unknown Taoist priest, the handwriting changing from neat to messy, from clear to blurry, as if the writer was gradually growing old with each stroke.

Cheng Yi closed his eyes, and the words unfolded in his mind—

"Shang An established the Dao for 371 years, and I, with my frail body, have guarded this temple, having lost count of how many springs and autumns have passed—"

"The calamity of the Dharma-ending Age is not a natural disaster, but a man-made one. The depletion of spiritual energy is not due to the depletion of the earth, but to the depletion of the heart."

"With all my disciples gone, the seal has weakened. I'm using my last strength to reinforce the demon-sealing array, but my energy is exhausted, and I fear it won't last long—"

"If any future generations see this note, they will know that the lineage of Shang'an does not seek immortality or supernatural powers, but only seeks to subdue demons with shadows and protect all living beings."

"The Shadow-Slaying Technique is a secret passed down only by the Supreme Darkness. However, in this degenerate age, this secret technique is about to be lost. I cannot bear to see the ancestral master's hard work go to waste, so I have recorded it here, hoping that someone with the right affinity will come along."

"Its method uses shadows as swords and intentions as its edge, transforming one's own darkness to sever the shadows of all things. When cultivated to its highest level, it can slay demons invisibly and eliminate evil before it even sprouts."

"However, in this degenerate age, spiritual energy is no longer present, making this method difficult to master. If a future generation were to obtain this method and succeed in its cultivation, it would be the day when the Shangyan lineage is restored to its former glory."

The last few lines of the journal were so illegible that only the last sentence remained relatively clear: "I am leaving————".

After receiving a flood of information, Cheng Yi opened his eyes.

He looked down at the thin booklet in his hand—the "Register of Shadow Contracts".

Turning to the first page, there were only a few lines of text: "The Shadow Pact is a covenant between the disciples of Shangyan and the Shadow Realm. Once the pact is established, the disciple can borrow the power of the Shadow Realm—"

"In the end times, most of the covenants will be lost. Only a few remain, which will be scattered among the people at an opportune time, awaiting the Lord's awakening."

The register records the locations of those who have entered into shadow pacts and the corresponding information about the beings in the Shadow Realm, but most of it is already blurred and unclear. Only the last entry is still complete: "Seven days ago — the shadows trembled, and those who were sincere received a shadow pact —"

"In Yan, with the surname Bai, the Shadow Contract remains unawakened, awaiting the destined one to activate it—"

Holding the list, Cheng Yi could vaguely sense the location corresponding to that shadow contract.

Cheng Yi closed the list, not in a hurry to do anything.

In his view, this already resembled the legacy of a sorcerer.

However, the contract was no longer signed with a specific sect leader, but with this vast shadow realm.

However, there are more important things to do right now than searching for a Shadow Contract holder you've never met.

To restore the integrity of the secret realm's seal.

Although it can last for another 2000 years, the most reassuring thing is to seal these things with 100% integrity.

He looked up at the crack, the shadowy fissure that seemed to split open, leading into the depths of the secret realm.

The ancient splendor revealed by the secret realm captivated him.

Boundless shadows sealed all demons within a single realm. What immense power this is!

Then he even transformed the demons into resources for his disciples to train.

Although the end of the Dharma has arrived, this secret realm has continued from ancient times to the present.

Oh, my charming ancestor—

Cheng Yi decided to enter the secret realm first to check the situation.

[Enter the Dimensional Realm: Shadow Realm?]

"Yes."

Cheng Yi stepped in.

Cheng Yi is now filled with regret.

The passage leading to the secret realm is far too long.

Cheng Yi felt as if a straw had been stuffed into him, and he was being sucked in by some indescribable force.

All around were swirling bands of dark purple light, and the wind howled in my ears, occasionally interspersed with a few indistinct curses that seemed to have come from ancient times.

People from the past and people from the present deeply empathize with each other at this moment.

"Could you please add a slide next time?!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was vomited up.

Cheng Yi lay sprawled on a gray-black wasteland in a rather ungraceful posture.

He sat up abruptly, expressionlessly wiping the dust off his face and patting off imaginary dirt from his body before looking around.

The sky was crimson, devoid of sun, moon, and stars, with only distorted bands of light slowly moving across the celestial canopy, like some enormous creature swimming beneath translucent skin.

The ground was cracked black rock, with dark red light surging from the cracks.

In the distance, there are mountains, their outlines blurred and indistinct, as if they might be blown away by the wind at any moment.

The air was filled with a mixture of sulfur and putrid odor.

It's like someone boiled a pair of socks in a hot pot?

Cheng Yi wrinkled his nose.

"This flavor is... pretty addictive."

He opened the panel and glanced at the secret realm information.

Exorcising demons—or so it seems.

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