After Yu Heng swept up his own people and charged into the Immortal's Cave, the Outer Cosmos beings of the other races also began to move.

They had come here for fortune from the very beginning. The only reason they had not entered earlier was because that mythical secret realm had not yet fully opened. Now that entry was finally possible, they naturally had no reason to hesitate.

The next moment, figure after figure turned into streaks of light and rushed desperately toward the entrance of the secret realm. In their minds, they felt that if they could enter ahead of the others, then their chances of obtaining the fortune within would naturally be greater.

Guang Chengzi was no ordinary immortal. He had once shaken the cosmos and possessed incomparably great power. Among those great races with sufficiently ancient inheritances, almost all knew at least something of the legends surrounding him.

Also, the Immortal's Cave differed from an ordinary Dao ground. This was the place where he had attained the Dao. If fortune truly lay within it, it would still be something exceedingly rare even for the experts of those great races from the top hundred starfields.

For that reason alone, no one present would want to miss such an opportunity. In only a brief instant, more than half the beings in the surrounding area were gone.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan withdrew his aura and did not continue pursuing the members of the Eternals. As far as he was concerned, so long as they remained on Earth, they would meet again sooner or later.

And perhaps before long, the Immortal's Cave itself would become a battlefield.

"King Lu."

At that moment, when Zhu Qingyu and the others saw Lu Yuan return, they immediately hurried over. As they looked toward the Immortal's Cave, anxiety appeared on their faces.

Clearly, they too believed that immense fortune surely lay within. Now that most of the Outer Cosmos beings of the various races had already entered, they felt they could not afford to hesitate any longer.

On the other hand, however, Jiang Haokong was not in a hurry. He simply frowned, saying, "You felt it too, didn't you?"

What he referred to was that strange aura emanating from the Immortal's Cave. It was something that did not belong to this world, something he himself had never sensed before.

For that reason, he remained somewhat cautious.

"I know what you mean." Lu Yuan nodded and could not help saying, "This aura is very strange. I can even sense a hint of danger within it. As for what exactly it represents, though, I can't put words to it."

"It seems like we can only properly investigate after we enter," Jiang Haokong replied, knowing that there was no way to discern the truth from outside.

After a brief pause, he continued, "Don't worry. Once we're inside, I'll protect these people. There won't be any problem."

He had already promised Lu Yuan before that, since he was coming along this time, he would provide protection for Zhu Qingyu and the rest of the younger generation. And so long as things were not yet over, Jiang Haokong naturally would not go back on his word. Especially because he understood very clearly that this was one of Lu Yuan's main concerns.

In truth, under ordinary circumstances, Jiang Haokong would not have bothered. As the Holy Son of the Jiang Clan, he had his own pride and dignity in such matters.

But Lu Yuan was different. He had a good relationship with Jiang Ningxian, and their temperaments also suited each other, so there was no issue.

"Thanks," Lu Yuan replied with a nod. He knew exactly what Jiang Haokong was thinking.

After all, neither of them was a fool. There were some things they both understood without needing to spell them out.

And precisely because of that, Lu Yuan offered his thanks. It was only proper.

"Come, follow me. We're entering the Immortal's Cave."

Lu Yuan did not dwell on those thoughts any further. A sharp glint appeared in his eyes.

He already had a premonition that danger would certainly arise inside. But he had no idea what kind of danger it was. It might come from the secret realm itself, or it might come from those Outer Cosmos beings. But with Jiang Haokong's help at a time like this, many of his worries could be put aside.

With that, no one said anything more. Like the others before them, they charged directly into the Immortal's Cave.

Boom!

At the very moment they entered, a violent aura swept over them in an instant. It had come far too suddenly. Even for Awakened at the Unfettered Realm, it would have posed a threat.

But what kind of existence was Lu Yuan? In just a moment, he blocked all of it from the group.

At this point, the group finally saw the true scene within the Immortal's Cave.

Heaven and earth were both dyed a blood-red hue. A boundless wasteland stretched out beneath their feet.

Ferocious gale-force winds as sharp as blades swept over them unceasingly. When they struck one's skin, they actually produced a faint sensation of pain.

In the distance stood an enormous mountain piercing toward the heavens, peeking out every now and then through the clouds. If one looked carefully, one would discover that even this mountain was entirely blood-red.

A word immediately came to everyone's mind.

Desolation.

This was their immediate impression of the world. It felt like an uncivilized primordial age. The reason it gave off such a feeling was entirely because of that strange aura permeating it.

"How can a mythical secret realm look so different from what we imagined?"

After seeing the appearance of this world, confusion filled Zhu Qingyu's eyes. They had never entered the secret realm at Kongtong Mountains before, but this place was still clearly very different.

This did not resemble a land of great fortune at all. It resembled hell instead.

"This place seems to have undergone a great battle, "Jiang Haokong commented.

He crouched down and observed carefully, then finally reached a conclusion. He believed that a long time ago, an extremely brutal battle had once erupted here.

Lu Yuan nodded. This point, at least, seemed somewhat similar to Kongtong Mountains before.

Even so, he still found it strange in his heart. That strange aura within the Immortal's Cave was something he had never felt before.

Roar!

Just then, a violent howl rang out directly from the distance.

Everyone turned their heads toward that direction, and saw one shadow after another had appeared.

These shadows were entirely blood-red. They were roughly human in shape, but lacked physical bodies, and their killing intent was intense to the extreme.

"Are those Secret Realm Wraiths?" Zhu Qingyu asked. They had also encountered such existences in the secret realm of Kongtong Mountains before.

Jiang Haokong suddenly stepped to the very front and said, "They are Secret Realm Wraiths, but they've been affected by some kind of special force. Be careful." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

It was not as though he had never seen Secret Realm Wraiths before. But the ones before them were completely different from those he knew. Their killing intent was far too heavy.

Lu Yuan, however, did not hesitate in the slightest. He stepped forward directly, and his vital qi surged out around him.

Golden vital qi turned into rolling waves, shaking the surroundings. In an instant, he directly shattered that entire group of strange Secret Realm Wraiths.

Strands of heaven-earth energy emerged from their bodies, but quickly dispersed, and could not be absorbed.

"These are indeed Secret Realm Wraiths. But they've been affected by some sort of force, and are no longer pure. It's impossible to absorb the power within them," Lu Yuan spoke, though his heart was filled with deep confusion.

By all logic, Secret Realm Wraiths should not be like this. Those within the Immortal's Cave felt more as if they had been corrupted.

Yes. Corrupted.

Within this mythical secret realm existed a kind of force that did not belong to this world. And that force was the very source of the strange aura that had made him feel so uneasy.