They all knew that a legendary figure had emerged in the Capital City, repeatedly solving major cases and earning high prestige. He was the fastest-promoted official in the history of the Sky Scale Guard, yet, when they saw that face, they were still surprised—

Isn't this person a bit too young!

"Miss An, you flatter me."

Chen Mo didn't want to get too involved with them. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he took Ling Ningzhi and left.

As she watched that tall and straight back, An Mengni pinched her chin with her fingers and murmured to herself, "Tsk, more handsome than I imagined. I remember he seems to be unmarried?"

?

Yu Hongyin immediately got anxious upon hearing this, "I warn you, don't have any ideas about Mr. Chen!"

"I was just saying it casually, why are you so nervous..."

"Oh—"

Halfway through her sentence, An Mengni realized and her rosy lips curled up as she smiled and said, "Could it be that our Hongyin has been stirred, falling for Mr. Chen?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Who, who likes him?" Yu Hongyin was both embarrassed and angry, gritting her teeth, "Besides, Mr. Chen already has a Dao companion, how could I possibly have such thoughts?"

"Who says a person can only have one Dao companion?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Chen seems to have quite a few ladies around him, right?"

An Mengni grabbed her wrist and said softly, "I have experience in this area. Tell me, how far have you two progressed? I can give you some tips."

"No need!" Yu Hongyin said irritably, "What experience do you have? You're old enough and still unmarried, better take care of yourself!"

With that, she stomped her foot and turned away.

After several people left one by one, An Mengni's smile gradually faded. She exchanged a glance with the man with a scarred face, and a strange gleam flashed in her eyes.

...

...

As evening approached,

The air was filled with a darkness deeper than the night.

Once the World Gate was confirmed to be fully stabilized, everyone was ready to embark on their journey.

Disciples from the Martial Saint Mountain and Tianshu Pavilion gathered together, led by Jiang Zhiyun and Zhu Huai, while the people from the Wuwan Temple stood far off in a corner, chanting sutras softly.

Chen Mo glanced roughly, estimating that nearly two thousand people were preparing to enter the Secret Realm this time.

Besides the top sects sending Grandmaster Strong Persons to protect the path, most medium and small sects and Loose Cultivators were mostly at the Transcendence Realm.

What caught his attention the most, apart from Hui Neng, were those two families.

The Wan Qi Family sent ten people this time, all of whom were strong and robust, with Qi-Blood like dragons, almost all at the Divine Sea Peak of martial cultivation.

The leader was a slender man with a clean-shaven face and an extremely restrained aura, so much so that even Chen Mo couldn't discern his exact realm.

The Sikong family was quite peculiar, only sending five people, all with their faces shrouded in hoods, giving off an eerie vibe.

Especially the figure engulfed in the black mist, giving one a spine-chilling feeling, obviously not simple either.

"Let's go."

Chen Mo lifted his leg and walked towards the World Gate, with Ling Ningzhi and others following closely.

As they approached the World Gate, the pitch-black fissure enlarged before their eyes, resembling a bottomless abyss or a giant mouth ready to devour, inevitably evoking a sense of dread.

The moment they touched the darkness, a massive suction force came, and their figures suddenly vanished.

Seeing the Three Saint Sect enter the Secret Realm, the others naturally were not willing to lag behind and followed suit, stepping into the World Gate one after another.

In just the time of half a stick of incense, the surroundings became empty. Besides the soldiers guarding around, only Huo Wuya and Ji Hongxiu remained there.

"Daoist Venerable, let's go too. They probably won't return for a while." Huo Wuya spoke up.

"You go ahead. I'll stay here and wait."

Ji Hongxiu waved her hand, brushed off the dust, and sat cross-legged directly on the ground.

Huo Wuya frowned and said, "This World Gate lasts for at least half a month. As long as you have someone guarding here, there's no need to stay personally, right?"

Ji Hongxiu shook her head and said, "Everything you know comes from the records of predecessors, but who knows the exact situation? Secret Realm exploration has always been like groping stones across a river. If I'm here and anything unexpected happens, I can make timely help."

She calculated whether Chen Mo and Ling Ningzhi's journey would be safe, but the result was unclear, as if the Heavenly Secret were veiled by some force.

Not feeling at ease, she decided to just stay.

"This..."

Huo Wuya hesitated for a moment.

The Daoist Venerable made some sense, and moreover, leaving her here alone didn't seem right.

Finally, he let out a helpless sigh, sat down not far away, closed his eyes slightly, and began to meditate.

...

...

Chen Mo only felt as if he were floating aimlessly in the cosmic void, with time and space losing all meaning.

It was unknown how long this lasted—it could've been a year, or just an instant—when suddenly his vision blurred, and he felt solid ground underfoot.

All around was pitch black, where one couldn't see their hand in front of them.

However, this had no effect on him. His eyes gleamed with a purple-gold light, clearly taking in everything around him.

He found himself in a dome-shaped cave, vast in area, with dark-red rock walls interspersed with green-black veins.

"Hmm? Where is Zhi'er?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Chen Mo scanned around, but he didn't find Ling Ningzhi's figure, nor could he see the other disciples from the Holy Sect.

Clearly, they had all entered together, yet were in different locations...

"Is each person's teleportation point random?"

Crack—

At this moment, a flame ignited, illuminating that handsome face.

Yu Hongyin pinched a spell, a flame floating in front of her, dispelling the surrounding darkness.