278: Chapter 278 The Single-Plank Bridge

Just as everyone had finished packing and was preparing to continue forward,

the sharp-eyed Hua Xingtong discovered something unusual again.

"Look! There's light where that spatial portal disappeared!"

Everyone drew closer to take a look.

At the original location of the spatial portal, ten faint and pure beams of light floated, resembling hazy moonlight.

"Could this be—Moonlight Jade?"

The well-traveled Luo Shiyin once again recognized the true nature of these items and explained, "This is a special heaven and earth spiritual treasure that can automatically absorb and store Moonlight Spiritual Power! On a clear night, a single piece can store the equivalent spiritual energy of about three Fifth Rank magic beast crystal cores per night. The spiritual power can accumulate infinitely and be refined and absorbed at any time!"

"It sounds like it doesn't directly increase strength as much as the Crimson Pearl Immortal Grass?"

"This is equivalent to a mobile power bank that can be recharged infinitely! Although the single-session accumulation is slow, its strength lies in the steady, long-term flow, and it has no side effects. In the long run, its value is immeasurable, and it's an excellent collectible."

"Yes! Our Yun Family's ancient records mention a Beast Tamer family from a thousand years ago that collected thousands of Moonlight Jades to set up a Spirit Gathering Grand Array. Its effect was comparable to a blessed land! They didn't even need to purchase heaven and earth spiritual treasures from outside to keep upgrading!"

"In the spirit of 'a thief never leaves empty-handed'—ahem, I mean, the principle of leaving no regrets when exploring a secret realm, we naturally have to take them!"

With a large wave of Chen Yi's hand, the ten Moonlight Jades fell into his palm.

At this point, everyone was completely certain!

This secret realm was a Rule Secret Realm!

By killing specific guardian magic beasts, one could obtain corresponding rewards!

Su Taotao waved her small fists excitedly: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go back! Let's cross that energy barrier again and see if we can farm another wave of shrimp soldiers and immortal grass!"

This proposal received unanimous approval from everyone.

However, when they excitedly returned to the location where they had previously crossed the energy barrier,

they found that the soft barrier still existed, but no matter how many times they crossed it, they could no longer summon any magic beasts.

"It seems each area can only be challenged once."

Chen Yi rubbed his chin. "It's truly a bit of a pity that we can't fleece the sheep infinitely! No matter, there are bound to be more opportunities ahead! Let's go, don't linger here!"

"Alright!!!"

---

The group continued forward.

Along the way, they experienced several different areas and encountered various magic beasts.

With the efforts of the Spirit Beast Girls, every battle was passed without any real danger!

And each time, they obtained corresponding heaven and earth spiritual treasures!

There were Soul Infant Fruits that strengthened the soul, Wind Spirit Fluffs that increased speed, and Fire-Wash Silks that increased fire resistance—any one of these could allow an ordinary family of three to live a prosperous life forever!

In any case, each one was an extremely rare heaven and earth spiritual treasure, and their harvest was bountiful!

Finally, they arrived at a strange boundary.

Ahead was a massive stone bridge connecting the two ends of the palace.

The bridge's surface was wide, enough to accommodate several cars driving side-by-side.

However, beneath the bridge was not flowing water or an abyss, but churning, boiling crimson lava!

A scorching heat wave hit their faces, and the air was thick with the scent of sulfur.

The lava emitted a terrifyingly high temperature. Occasionally, bubbles would burst, and the resulting sparks carried destructive energy, leaving no doubt that even a Seventh Rank spirit beast would find it impossible to survive if they fell in.

"This lava—I feel like except for Sister Jiu Yue and little sister Feiyu, we'd definitely be toast if we fell in—"

"That's for sure! The high temperature of lava can only be withstood by spirit beasts of the Tenth Rank or above. For us right now, it's still far beyond our reach."

"They call it a narrow bridge, but it's actually quite wide!"

"That's only compared to those big guys we met before! Those magic beasts were like small mountains; if they walked on this narrow bridge, wouldn't it be just like a Single-Plank Bridge to them?"

---

The girls discussed animatedly and felt this metaphor was quite apt, so they began calling the bridge the Single-Plank Bridge!

However, what attracted their attention at this moment

was not the appearance of this Single-Plank Bridge, but the fierce battle taking place upon it!

In the central area of the Single-Plank Bridge, a seven-person team was besieging a giant avian magic beast.

The avian magic beast looked like an owl but was entirely crimson, covered in flame-like feathers. Its wingspan blotted out the sun, its claws were like hooks, and its beak was sharp. It was surrounded by eternal flames and emitted a powerful pressure, having reached the Third Stage of the Seventh Rank!

Even more striking was that it seemed to possess the Phoenix Attribute; its wounded areas were healing at a visible rate amidst the surrounding flames!

"It's a Crimson Owl!"

Luo Shiyin recognized this troublesome magic beast. "This thing has the Phoenix Attribute and extremely strong self-healing abilities. It's very difficult to deal with!"

And the one fighting it was none other than the genius Beast Tamer from Su Country, Ivan!

He was accompanied by six Spirit Beast Girls, all with extraordinary bloodline ranks, likely at the SS-rank.

Their cooperation was extremely seamless, their discipline strict, and their offensive was like a rising tide. Although their individual strength was inferior to the Crimson Owl, by relying on exquisite tactics and continuous attacks, they actually suppressed the Crimson Owl to the point where it could only defend!

Though it occasionally counterattacked, it found it difficult to break through their defensive formation.

Victory seemed to be only a matter of time.

"Eh? Someone is actually faster than us?"

"It's Ivan from Su Country. I've seen his tweets; he looked like he totally looked down on Brother Chen Yi!"

"They're fighting with some semblance of skill, but—that's about it!"

"Indeed, how can someone so weak have the nerve to mock my husband?"

---

Most of the other girls also maintained the posture of bystanders, not taking the strength of Ivan and his group too seriously.

After all, they truly had the confidence to do so!

If that Crimson Owl were handed over to them, they could win in a 1-on-1 fight even without needing Chen Yi's whip or strengthening cards for a boost!

At this moment, seeing the Crimson Owl gradually falling into a disadvantage, the corners of Ivan's mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

He finally had the chance to catch a glimpse of the secret treasure at the deepest part of this palace!

After entering the secret realm, the Su Country team had also quickly encountered a Beast King attack and understood the rules after killing the leader.

To seize the initiative, Ivan decisively chose to separate from the main force, crossing the first and second layer areas in succession.

And by relying on an ancestral Barrier-Breaking Talisman, he had painstakingly crossed the third layer area—the Misty Jungle—and arrived at the fourth layer area—this vast ocean!

Ultimately, he paid a significant price to reach this Single-Plank Bridge!

The only opponents he acknowledged were a few individuals like Gu Fan of the Dragon Country, David of the Eagle Country, and Midland of the Surrendered Country!

He was single-mindedly focused on being the first to clear the realm and obtain the final reward, thereby crushing his rivals.

As for Chen Yi or whoever, he had never even spared them a glance!

Based on the hint from the seven dragon pearls on the palace dome, he speculated that there should be a total of seven magic beast stages in this palace.

And the Crimson Owl before him was the guardian magic beast of the final stage!

Previously, their team had already used countless trump cards and secret treasures to kill six Crimson Owls!

By defeating the last one, he would gain everything!