Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

Xiao stared intently at the center of the explosion, trying to see through the layers of thick smoke to make out what was inside, but the smoke was too thick for even him to see clearly.

Zhongli's eyes revealed a few golden glints. He could see that the Frost Nail was like shattered glass, covered with cracks of all sizes. These cracks emitted a faint blue light, trying to maintain the basic shape of the Frost Nail.

However, with too many cracks, under the continuous pressure of the explosions, this nail of ice and snow could no longer resist and turned into fragments of stone, floating in mid-air in a way that defied gravity.

The ice beneath it shattered completely. The once indestructible ice melted in the heat of the explosion, and the ice that had held the Frost Nail back also lost its power to restrain it.

A hidden realm, frozen for many years, has been partially revealed after the ice melted.

Jiang Bai and the others couldn't see what was happening inside, and they were on tenterhooks the whole time. After the explosion completely stopped, Jiang Bai silently manipulated the wind element to gather a gust of wind and blow away the billowing smoke.

As the thick smoke dissipated, the shattered Frost Nail was revealed.

"We did it! That wretched big nail has been defeated!"

Klee jumped up excitedly, and the others also smiled with relief.

At this point, the Frost Nail had turned into pieces and was completely detached from the ground; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it had been pulled out.

Seeing this scene, Katis was extremely excited. Even though he was in a soul state and could not shed tears, he still shed tears, which was rare for him.

He looked up at the sky, tears streaming down his face, disappearing just before they hit the ground.

The scene at this moment was no longer a dream that the people of the ancient snow mountain kingdom could only dream of; it had truly happened.

The long nail that destroyed the ancient kingdom has finally been pulled out!

The suffocating feeling that had been lingering in his heart dissipated, and his body felt light. For a moment, he was so transparent that he could hardly be seen.

“Let’s go,” Zhong Li said, standing atop the mountain.

The answer has been obtained; there is no need to stay here any longer.

"Mm." Xiao nodded.

The two appeared silently and disappeared just as silently.

No one noticed their departure; Jiang Bai and the others were all drawn to other things.

Seeing that Katis's soul was unstable, Hu Tao quickly took out a talisman and stuck it on Katis's forehead, then put it into her diary.

After doing all this, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, all she has to do is get Katis to the border, and her mission will be complete.

Jiang Bai watched this scene intently. Seeing that Katis's soul was so faint as if it were about to disappear, he suddenly remembered something, and his relaxed expression immediately turned tense.

"Master, Katis promised to take me to the snow mountain to find the treasure! He has to keep his word!"

He's been on the move these past few days and hasn't had a moment to spare, let alone search for treasure.

If he hadn't seen that Katis was about to disappear, he wouldn't have remembered this matter at all.

Hu Tao closed her notebook and looked at him with a hint of disdain.

"Besides Mora and treasure, what else is on your mind?"

"And there are sweet flowers!"

Jiang Bai was unreasonable but also arrogant.

These treasures are his rightful reward; Walnut shouldn't even think about keeping them for himself!

"Treasure? What treasure!" Klee turned around excitedly when she heard something that interested her.

"Is Brother Jiang Bai going to find treasure? Ke Li wants to go too!"

"Keli, you misheard." Jiang Bai picked her up and turned her around, making her face the Frostfire Nails again.

Seeing that Claire was still somewhat unwilling, Abedo glanced at her and lectured her:

"Klee, things aren't finished yet, you can't be naughty."

Although she wasn't very willing, Klee obediently nodded, "Oh..."

"Is everything over here now?" Hu Tao asked.

The nail is broken, so there's no point in pulling it out. Although the fragments floating in the air aren't very pretty, there's not much else to do.

Perhaps one day, a clever and wise adventurer will unveil the snow mountain's secrets, allowing this broken, icy nail to rise high into the sky and return to its rightful place.

"Not yet." Abedo shook his head, looking at the corner of the secret realm exposed by the explosion.

These secret realms are similar to leyline anchor points; most of them are derived from leylines and are not man-made.

Because ley lines have the function of recording information, these secret realms usually record some things.

The way it's recorded is very special, and you need to use certain methods to find it.

He slowly began, "I still have many questions, about this Frostfire Nail, about this snow mountain, about that ancient kingdom..."

The information provided by Katis is incomplete, and much of it is missing. This is partly because much of it has been lost to time, and partly due to the limitations of his identity as an adventurer.

He wasn't a scholar who specialized in this area; even if he were presented with something, he might not be able to understand its meaning.

But this revealed secret realm can complete all of this, allowing them to fully understand the story of the past.

"I'm planning to explore the secret realm. Do you want to come along?"

"A secret realm? Where is there a secret realm?" Jiang Bai, being a complete novice, had no idea that the exposed corner of the building was a secret realm.

"That's the one." Hu Tao pointed to the building nestled among the ice.

This shouldn't really be called a building, since before the secret realm was opened, it looked like a large rock, and only someone with extensive knowledge could recognize it.

"Master, are you going?"

Jiang Bai was eager to see it; he had never seen anything like a secret realm before.

"Of course! This hall master certainly wants to see this unexplored secret realm!"

Klee raised her little hand, "Klee wants to go on an adventure in the Secret Realm too!"

"Then let's all four of us go in together!" Jiang Bai said eagerly.

Several people jumped into the crater created by the bomb, where architectural traces left by [Shar Fendenil] from a thousand years ago were still visible.

Because of the impact of the Frostfire Nail, these shattered buildings are now tilted at a 45-degree angle. Standing on these ruins, one has to tilt their head to ensure a normal view.

Jiang Bai tilted his head and looked at the neatly arranged large rock in front of him, thinking about how to activate the ley line anchor point, and tentatively reached out to touch it.

Chapter 141 So this is what the secret realm is like

Upon touching it, he also sensed a massive network of earth veins, and the node representing this secret realm was now illuminated.

Shortly after Jiang Bai touched the secret realm, the large, well-formed rock emitted a blue halo, just like the Seven Gods statue.

The stone slowly shifted, transforming into an ancient-style gate.

The gate is carved with intricate designs and features unique triangular patterns that emit a faint blue light.

The stone pillars on both sides of the gate are regularly shaped, not naturally formed, but rather man-made.

Jiang Bai found this change quite magical, but in this fantastical world, anything could happen.

"The secret realm has opened; we can go in now."

Apart from Jiang Bai, the others were all very experienced and seemed unfazed, even the youngest, Ke Li, was no exception.

Clearly, this has become common knowledge.

"How do I get in? Do I just push the door open?"

"Yes."

Jiang Bai pushed open the gate, and the two stone doors slowly opened inward, revealing an interior that was as dark and deep as the starry sky.

Abedo led Keli inside first, and Hu Tao glanced at Jiang Bai, who was stunned by the sight, and pulled him in as well.

Passing through the barrier, which was as deep as the starry sky, the two arrived at an unfamiliar place.

This is a huge cave with many interconnected passages. Blue light diffuses from the cave entrance at the top, preventing the interior from becoming too dark.

The cave contains many broken and collapsed buildings, which, along with rocks, are scattered around, making the cave's terrain extremely complex.

The only flat surface on the ground was the frozen water.

The ice was extremely thick, and a chill emanated from it.

Judging from the course of the water, this should be a river, but unfortunately it is completely frozen over.

Snowflakes danced inside the cave, gusts of cold wind blew in from the entrance, and a layer of cold mist drifted through the air.

They were now standing on a perfectly intact, enormous platform. The deep barrier they had come from had vanished, and all they could see was the massive platform beneath their feet.

The platform appears to be supported by a giant tree root, its gnarled roots piercing through the rocks, placing this platform independently on the cold ice. Ice-blue cubes stand around the platform, providing light.

"This is where?"

Jiang Bai was like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden, finding everything strange and wonderful.

He walked to the side and looked down, but all he could see was a thick white fog, and he couldn't make out anything.

"This is the inside of the secret realm," Hu Tao said, arms crossed, answering her little brother's questions.

“The interior of each secret realm is different. This secret realm should reflect the snow-capped mountains from a thousand years ago.”

"Mapping? Does that mean these scenes we see aren't real? We can't touch them?"

Abedo nodded and added to Hu Tao, "Yes. This is just a projection in the long river of history, intercepted by the earth's veins and presented to us."

"All we can go to and touch are the things on this platform and the petrified ancient tree at the end of the platform."

Following Abedo's words, Jiang Bai looked ahead and saw a white tree without any branches or leaves growing at the end of the platform.

Behind the tree was a huge mural, but because he was too far away, he couldn't see what was depicted on it.

"How are we supposed to find out about the ancient kingdom? Through that petrified ancient tree? And wasn't the ancient tree in the snow mountain destroyed? How come it's still here?"

Jiang Bai has so many questions.

“Each secret realm contains a petrified ancient tree. According to my guess, these petrified ancient trees should be nodes left by the ley lines to record things. Although they are also petrified ancient trees, they are different from the ley line trees in the outside world.”

To put it in a more understandable way, the ley lines can be thought of as a large server, and the individual ley lines on the continent of Teyvat are like large terminals connected to the server.

The secret realms and the ley lines within them are more like USB drives storing data. The USB drive copied this information from the server and made a backup.

It can be plugged into the terminal, or it can be unplugged.

"Is that so?" Jiang Bai felt like he understood, but also felt like he didn't.

The relationships between the ley lines, ley trees, and Rift Points in Teyvat are truly complex, and it's difficult for someone encountering them for the first time to understand them clearly.

"If we walk up to that petrified ancient tree and touch it, we can get the information we want?"

Jiang Bai felt that many things in Teyvat were very easy to use; you could just touch them.

"Ah."

"Then let's just go there!"

"It's not that simple. Generally speaking, there are some monsters in each secret realm. These monsters may be formed from the pollution of the earth's veins. You must eliminate these monsters before you can reach the petrified ancient tree."

Jiang Bai took two steps and then turned back.

"Will these monsters be very strong?"

He has only fought common monsters like Hilichurls, Abyss Mages, and Dragon Lizards so far, and hasn't encountered any particularly difficult monsters yet.

"I don't know. The monsters in each secret realm are different; we'll only know once they appear."

Abeldo exhaled a puff of white mist and continued:

"Moreover, due to the abnormality of the earth's veins, some of the characteristics of the secret realm itself will affect our strength. I don't know if you have noticed, but this secret realm is very cold, even colder than the area near the original Frost Nail."

It was a chill that could freeze bones. Even he felt a chill creeping in from all directions, trying to freeze him right there.

It would have been better if Abedo hadn't mentioned it; the moment Abedo brought it up, Jiang Bai felt a chill run down his spine.

This kind of cold can't be kept out by clothes; no matter how much he wears, it won't keep him warm.

Klee was already warming her hands with her Eye of God. Her artifact appeared behind her, and under the activation of the fire-type Eye of God, a thin layer of fire element floated around her, providing her with warmth.

This is a new method she discovered while planting bombs. Even in the snowy mountains, she stays warm and is no longer afraid of the cold!

If the amount of fire element is not controlled properly, it can easily catch fire.