102: Chapter 102 The Heart of the Secret Realm

They flew for about ten minutes.

An active volcano that looked ready to erupt at any moment appeared at the edge of their vision.

The compass needle trembled even more violently now, pointing precisely toward a cave entrance at the base of the volcano that was illuminated a bright red by molten lava.

The space inside the cave was extremely vast; the rock walls, scorched year-round by subterranean fires, took on a glazed, dark red, almost black luster.

However—it seemed quite a few Beast Tamers and spirit beasts had already gathered here. At a rough estimate, there were at least seventy or eighty people, including both Dragon Country people and Indians!

Many remains of fire-attribute magical beasts could be seen around; they had likely all been cleared out by them.

They were divided into five or six distinct small groups, maintaining a wary distance from each other.

They neither communicated with one another nor seemed to be digging or searching for anything.

What were they all doing gathered here?

"So many people? What are they doing here? Having a bonfire party? Lighting a fire in this place would probably roast them alive—"

Su Taotao hid behind Chen Yi, poking her small head out and whispering curiously in a low voice.

Chen Yi frowned, his mind filled with doubts.

The treasure seeking compass was clearly pointing here, and its vibrations were so intense, indicating there must be a significant treasure in this place!

Could the treasure be hidden on someone?

Or rather—underground?

At this moment, the crowd also noticed the arrival of Chen Yi's group.

Discovering that Chen Yi was followed by six women, they were all quite shocked.

Could he be a Rank 6 Beast Tamer?

However, after sensing that Chen Yi's aura was only at Rank 3, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Either three of the spirit beasts were someone else's Contracted Spirit Beasts, or he possessed an S-rank talent—Multiple Contracts.

Regardless, it was better that another five-person team had arrived!

Thinking of this, several unfriendly gazes were immediately cast their way.

Amazement, lewdness, jealousy, possessiveness—all sorts of emotions were present!

"Tsk, another group here to snatch the food—"

An Indian man with a scar on his face spat and cursed under his breath.

"Look at those girls—tsk tsk, they're simply the best of the best! I wonder what kind of sounds they'll make—"

Another short Indian man licked his parched lips, a lewd glint flashing in his eyes.

"Idiot! Shut up!"

A tall Indian Beast Tamer beside him barked sharply, "Anyone who dares to bring so many beauties deep into such a dangerous place is either a playboy with a background so deep he's not afraid of death, or someone with strength so terrifying they have nothing to fear! Does he look like the first type to you? Don't cause trouble for me! Wait until the door opens!"

As soon as he said this, his other two companions agreed, and the speakers sullenly shrunk their necks back.

Having money but no life to spend it—avoiding provocation of those from great families was the true way to survive!

The gazes from the other small groups were also full of scrutiny and wariness; in the end, they all chose to remain silent and watch.

Obviously, no one wanted to cause unnecessary trouble at this critical moment.

Chen Yi scratched his head.

The location the treasure seeking compass pointed to was the central area of the cave.

But many people were gathered there; could the treasure really be on someone?

"Rumble—"

Just as Chen Yi was wondering.

Suddenly, a dull, thunderous sound came from deep underground, and the entire volcanic cave began to shake violently!

Fiery red gravel fell rustling down, hitting the ground with heavy thuds. Dust filled the air, giving the impression that the cave was about to collapse.

However, the Beast Tamers and spirit beasts gathered here showed no fear; instead, their faces were instantly replaced by a near-fanatical excitement and greed.

"It's open, it's finally open! It really was true!"

"Damn it, I've waited for nearly three days. If it didn't open soon, I'd have been roasted into jerky!"

"Everyone, pay attention! Follow the original order! Armed Forms fully activated! Prepare to enter!"

"Quick, move fast! The portal's opening time is limited. Go, go, go! Whether we feast or just get the scraps depends on this exploration!"

---

Under the focus of everyone's fanatical gazes, the rocky ground in the center of the cave split open without warning!

Countless spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly in all directions at an alarming speed!

A blast of searing air erupted from the cracks like a physical force, carrying a pungent smell of sulfur and devastatingly high temperatures!

The cracks widened further, and the red light grew more intense, as if a heart were throbbing violently beneath the earth!

"Clang!!!"

Finally, with a massive sound.

The central rocky ground completely collapsed, and a deep red pit over ten meters in diameter appeared.

It was a lake of bubbling lava, radiating a golden light.

But that wasn't the most shocking part!

It should have been a terrifying scene.

Yet those Beast Tamers and spirit beasts jumped in one after another, swallowed by the lava lake, seemingly unafraid of death!

Then, a bizarre sight occurred!

The moment their bodies touched the lava, they weren't burned to ashes. Instead, like stones thrown into water, they merely created a faint ripple and vanished instantly!

It was as if this lava lake were some kind of Teleportation Array!

Luo Shiyin raised an eyebrow and murmured, "Could it be that this lava lake is actually the heart of the secret realm?"

At those words, Chen Yi and The girls' eyes widened in disbelief.

The so-called heart of the secret realm was a special area similar to a secret realm's core.

If a secret realm were compared to a human body, then the heart of the secret realm would be the heart, the gathering place for the entire realm's spiritual energy!

Every secret realm has a heart of the secret realm, located in some corner of the realm, and its position never changes.

However, there was no pattern to when the heart of the secret realm would open.

Sometimes it was a week apart, sometimes one might have to wait a month; it was completely random!

Even more frustratingly, it only stayed open for a few short minutes each time, gone in the blink of an eye.

Under normal circumstances, there was no way to detect any sign of it!

Without heaven-defying luck, one might spend their entire life immersed in secret realms and still never discover the existence of a heart of the secret realm!

Among the 365 recorded secret realms in the world today, countless senior Beast Tamers had explored them.

Yet, after long ages, only a mere four hearts of the secret realm had ever been discovered, which showed just how difficult they were to find!

Of course, a thing wouldn't be sought after just because it was rare.

This heart of the secret realm contained an independent space within itself, essentially a secret realm within a secret realm.

Since it was the core where the spiritual energy of the entire secret realm converged, it naturally nurtured all kinds of heaven and earth spiritual treasures, while also giving rise to various powerful magical beasts.

Anyone lucky enough to find some extremely rare heaven and earth spiritual treasures probably wouldn't have to worry about their livelihood for the rest of their lives!

It could be called a supreme opportunity that one could only encounter by chance!

No wonder so many people braved the intense heat and were willing to wait here for days!

So it turns out this is the entrance to the heart of the secret realm?