Beastmaster? Monsters are beasts too!

"Keep your voice down!" Chen Xiu hissed. "This place is so eerie, we don't want to attract any ghosts."

Luo Shiyi choked, she wanted to explode, but she knew in her heart that she was in a bad mood.

Now that his leg is broken, he can't survive in this secret realm without Chen Xiu.

She could only snort in dissatisfaction.

"snort!"

They both fell silent as they took a step forward.

Before me lay a massive underground cavern, and everywhere I looked were ancient buildings.

In the very center stood a tall blue stone altar, about ten feet high.

The altar has three levels, with nine steps on each level.

The four dragon-shaped pillars pierce the cave ceiling, with dragon claws gripping the pillars. The stone beads held in the dragons' mouths are covered with cracks, as if they might shatter at any moment.

Some bronze tripods were scattered around the altar, their bodies engraved with patterns that blended seamlessly with the patterns of the circular array.

The patterns radiated outwards from the altar, and the remaining lines gleamed with a faint golden light.

The light that Chen Xiu and the other person saw was emanating from these patterns.

"How can it still function after being so long ago?"

Chen Xiu found a large rock and put Luo Shiyi down on it.

The latter looked up and surveyed his surroundings with unusual excitement.

"Could this be the remains of a true dragon? How did we manage to find it like this?"

Chen Xiu squatted down and ran his fingertips along the array patterns on the ground.

The Eye of Insight is activated.

The Four Symbols Guiding Array guides the outer central energy source, gathers spiritual energy, and enables long-distance transmission.

"It should just be an ordinary sacrificial altar." Chen Xiu raised his chin. "Judging from the patterns and bronzes, it's clearly been artificially repaired."

Luo Shiyi opened her mouth in surprise: "So, this only counts as an escort?"

"Yes." Chen Xiu's gaze fell on the road leading into the darkness to the left of the altar.

The road is paved with stone slabs, and every hundred steps on either side stands a stone dragon statue, as if to indicate the way.

After circling the altar, he suddenly noticed the stone wall to the side.

The stone wall is covered with continuous totems, which remain clear despite thousands of years of erosion.

Chen Xiu stared at it for a long time but still couldn't understand its meaning. Helpless, he activated the basic reconnaissance eye again.

The ancient symbols instantly transformed into characters, which fell into Chen Xiu's eyes.

[At the end of ancient times, an evil spirit from beyond the heavens descended upon the world. A true dragon sacrificed itself for the cause, its body transforming into dragon energy, which, along with its remains, suppressed it underground.]

"An evil spirit from outer space? A true dragon martyred?" he murmured, recalling the introduction to Luolong Waterfall during the day.

Suddenly realizing, "What if that old monster is still alive? Wouldn't this place be extremely dangerous?"

Luo Shiyi sat on the boulder, listening to Chen Xiu's words from afar, not knowing what he was rambling on about.

She said nonchalantly, "This place is at least tens of thousands of years old. Even if there were some kind of ghost, its bones would have rotted away by now."

"Let's hurry and look for any treasures; we can't have come all this way for nothing!"

A close examination of the bronze tripods around the altar reveals that most of them are rusted and blurred by the passage of time.

The offerings that were originally placed inside had long since turned to ashes.

He opened three cauldrons in succession, and only found a few transparent crystals the size of fingernails at the bottom of the last cauldron.

It feels cool to the touch.

Shattered Dragon Crystal

[Contains trace amounts of true dragon power, which can slightly increase the purity of dragon-type beast taming bloodlines]

"Something is better than nothing." Chen Xiu stuffed the dragon crystal into his pocket and then found a dark green jade pendant in the gap of the altar.

The jade pendant is engraved with a simple dragon pattern. The edges are badly worn, but it feels warm to the touch and exudes a cool aura.

【Dragon Pattern Jade Pendant】

Originally a storage jade pendant containing fifty cubic meters of space, it was later refined by dragon energy stored for ten thousand years, which can nourish the mind and resist some mental attacks.

"This is a good thing." Chen Xiu's eyes lit up, and he silently stuffed it into his pocket.

Chen Xiu thought Luo Shiyi hadn't noticed, but in fact, Luo Shiyi had seen through his little actions.

Luo Shiyi paused for a moment, then thought about it.

"I didn't expect this guy to be so greedy. Rather than letting others benefit from the resources, he might as well..."

Everything around him shattered at the slightest touch, and Chen Xiu could find nothing of value left.

So he walked up to Luo Shiyi and half-squatted down: "Come on up, let's walk along this path."

Luo Shiyi didn't hesitate and quickly climbed onto Chen Xiu's back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

The girl's faint fragrance wafted into his nostrils again, and Chen Xiu frowned slightly.

But their steps didn't stop; they stepped onto the blue stone avenue that stretched into the darkness.

The stone dragon statues on both sides of the avenue have different expressions. Some are roaring with their heads held high, while others are crawling on the ground. After thousands of years of wind and frost, the stone surface is covered with cracks.

The further you go in, the more humid the air becomes, and the stronger the smell of blood grows.

"What's that smell? It's so stinky!" Luo Shiyi wrinkled her nose and buried her face in Chen Xiu's back.

Chen Xiu didn't speak, but slowed his pace a bit.

Using the faint glow of the moss, he could see the scene ahead.

A body lay across the stone pavement, its neck broken when it fell.

As you walk further ahead, you see more and more corpses.

Some were smashed into mincemeat by boulders, while others had their chests torn open by sharp claws.

Judging from their appearance, these are all scions of noble families who were swept in by the waterspout earlier.

Even if they survived by sheer luck, they would be killed by the monsters roaming nearby.

Luo Shiyi was startled: "So many dead people..."

She couldn't help but feel fortunate that she hadn't been too far away from Chen Xiu from the beginning, and that they had come in relatively close together.

"Secret realms are inherently dangerous." Chen Xiu said calmly, his gaze sweeping over the fingers of a corpse.

It was a huge ring, so he reached out and took it off.

He casually stuffed it into the backpack on his chest.

"You... how could you take things from a dead person!" Luo Shiyi's eyes widened.

"It's a waste not to take them," Chen Xiu said without turning his head. "They don't need them anymore, wouldn't it be better to leave them for those who do?"

Luo Shiyi was speechless for a moment and could only watch helplessly as Chen Xiu walked and picked up things along the way, soon filling his backpack with good stuff.

"Hehe, these are good stuff. Even on the black market, they'd be worth at least a million!"

Just then, a low growl suddenly came from the darkness in the distance.

Chen Xiu immediately became alert and placed Luo Shiyi behind a boulder: "Stay here and don't move. I'll go check it out."

He turned a corner and saw three demonic beasts tearing at a corpse.

Sensing someone approaching, it immediately turned its head, revealing its gleaming white fangs.

[Blue-haired Wolf]

【Attribute: Corrosion】

[Rank: Bronze Six-Star]

"Three small fry." Chen Xiu sneered, and taking advantage of Luo Shiyi's inability to see, he summoned Dark Spark and swept his spear out horizontally.

Three flashes of cold light appeared, and the three blue-haired wolves were decapitated before they could even let out a scream.

……

Gong Xiaoyao looked at the list in his hand.

Silver Nine-Star Peak, Dynasty Descends

Silver Nine-Star Peak, Xiao Yifu

Silver Nine-Star Peak, Luo Chengdui

And many members of aristocratic families at a similar level.

Although his cultivation level was low, he didn't expect these people to help him at all; it would be best if they died inside...

"Remember, the primary task is to scout the terrain, ensure safety, and do not venture too far in."

"yes!"

Ten exploration team members, all dressed in uniform, responded; all of them were at the Gold level.

They were the first to step into the dark golden entrance to the secret realm.

Following closely behind were the various powerful families, with Xiao Junyi prominently featured. He was accompanied by several Xiao family stewards, their expressions haughty.

"Junyi, be careful once you go in. If there's any danger or amazing treasure, crush this thing," Xiao Lie whispered, handing Xiao Junyi a wooden plaque.

"Don't worry, Dad, the good stuff will definitely be from the Xiao family." Xiao Junyi's lips curled up as he stepped inside.