88: ghost baby

After spending three days turning the purchased materials into spirit food and potions, and delivering Jing Xing and the other three's shares via express delivery, Xu Yan, having completed his preliminary preparations, set off on his training journey after his application was approved.

The Eerie Secret Realm was unlike the two Secret Realms Xu Yan had visited before, which were attached to the space surrounding a certain city in Huaguo; its location wasn't even on the Blue Star.

Instead, it was situated in the starry sky outside the Blue Star. The big shots from Huaguo captured its coordinates using a special method that Xu Yan couldn't yet access. After determining the general situation through preliminary investigation by the Beidou System, the coordinates were distributed to various eligible factions, allowing them to establish their own teleportation channels and conduct exploration.

According to the information investigated by Wuxiang, a large portion of the Third Academy's training Secret Realms are of this type, appearing in both the recommended and non-recommended lists, the only difference being the degree of exploration.

Arriving at the Third Academy's dedicated Secret Realm Teleportation Point, Xu Yan stepped onto the Teleportation Platform. After presenting his approved application, a white light shone on the platform. After a brief dizzy spell, Xu Yan arrived in a dark, dense forest.

He quickly summoned three Spirit Beasts from his Beast Taming Space. Zhu Yan immediately merged into his shadow, and Wuxiang transformed into a pair of virtual-framed glasses which Xu Yan placed directly on his nose.

As for Xiong Nian, due to its Mental Attribute, it has a certain restraining effect on the abilities of Ghost Spirits and similar Spirit Beasts and Exotic Beasts. At Xu Yan's call, it shrunk its body to the size of a young puppy and was held in Xu Yan's arms.

Regarding the two Wind Flame Lion Kings who voluntarily followed Xu Yan, before Xu Yan arrived at the Teleportation Platform, they had already entered the two Flame Markings imprinted on Xu Yan's wrist after signing the Dominion Contract with him.

After completing these actions, before Xu Yan could make a move, he felt a chill run through his body as a cold, sinister aura quickly approached him.

A string of code flashed across the virtual-framed glasses that Wuxiang had transformed into. The previously empty area ahead suddenly gained a creature that looked like a human infant, entirely black and radiating Black Energy, flying menacingly toward him.

However, just as the black infant, who had been full of rage as if provoked, was about to approach Xu Yan, it seemed to sense something. With a “thud,” it dropped directly onto the ground, its five limbs splayed out, trembling before Xu Yan in a gesture of submission.

Looking at the Black Energy Infant lying trembling before him, radiating the aura of a Commander Rank creature, and then at the three General Rank Spirit Beasts he had summoned who were on high alert, Xu Yan was bewildered.

After only a moment of thought, Xu Yan tightly gripped the Jade Pendant Mo Yi had given him on his chest. He took out the Illusion-Breaking Talisman he had prepared earlier from his Storage Device and used it immediately, while simultaneously having Xiong Nian activate a Mental Barrier to carefully test if they had fallen into an illusion.

However, Xu Yan's series of actions had no effect whatsoever. The situation remained exactly the same as before he performed these operations.

Finally, after consulting the two Wind Flame Lion Kings and wasting one use of Heavens Mandate Guidance for confirmation, Xu Yan determined that he was not under an Illusion Technique.

Or rather, if he really had fallen into an illusion, he wouldn't have the ability to fight against an entity capable of creating such a powerful illusion, so he might as well accept his fate.

Sensing that Xu Yan had remained silent for a long time, the black infant slowly raised its head, driven by the desire for survival, and made several “wa la wa la” sounds at Xu Yan, seemingly pleading for something.

As early as when Xu Yan's application to enter the Eerie Secret Realm was approved, he received the Eerie Secret Realm Language Translation Package collected by the Beidou System and loaded it onto Wuxiang. The creature's words were quickly synchronized and transmitted to Xu Yan's ears by Wuxiang, after being translated into a format more suitable for Huaguo people.

"My lord, please don't eat me! I am willing to submit. I am willing to offer this territory to you, and I can find more food for you!!"

The words translated by Wuxiang only made Xu Yan more confused.

A Commander Rank Ghost Spirit-type Spirit Beast calling a General Rank Beast Tamer “My Lord”? Moreover, setting aside the fact that he doesn't eat Eerie creatures, even if he did, given its current appearance, he couldn't bring himself to eat it.

After a completely nonsensical conversation, Xu Yan finally gleaned the general information he wanted from the creature's words.

Firstly, the area Xu Yan had teleported to belonged to the Ghost Infant (temporarily named) before him.

When Xu Yan suddenly arrived and summoned three Spirit Beasts earlier, he hadn't intentionally concealed their auras. The life force of living beings, combined with the aura naturally radiating from their bodies, was immediately captured by the Ghost Infant.

Although the aura was extremely faint, in this Eerie World where almost everyone possessed a decent level of concealment, the aura emanating from Xu Yan and the three Spirit Beasts was as conspicuously obvious as an ordinary flame.

As a Commander Rank Spirit Beast, the Ghost Infant felt greatly provoked by the man and three Spirit Beasts who dared to recklessly emit their aura in front of it (from the Ghost Infant's perspective), especially since they only possessed the meager aura of the General Rank. It rushed toward the source of the aura, intending to tear apart the existence that dared to challenge it.

However, the scene that appeared before it just as it was about to approach Xu Yan reminded it of a previous experience.

A few months ago, it detected the aura of General Rank food in its territory and was rushing over, intent on tearing it apart and devouring it. But as it approached the source of the aura, it found that the General Rank food it had sensed was being held in the arms of a Female Eerie Creature and was struggling frantically.

The aura it felt was precisely what the General Rank food emitted while struggling frantically.

The Ghost Infant, which hadn't sensed any aura from the Female Ghost, approached, intending to tear them both apart and eat them, only to be heavily wounded by a casual strike from the Female Ghost using a special power.

If that Female Ghost hadn't sensed something and stopped attacking the Ghost Infant, leaving immediately instead, Xu Yan wouldn't even be seeing the Ghost Infant today.

After surviving by chance, it spent a large amount of time recovering from its injuries and was almost eaten by the ghost next door because of its wounded state, leaving the Ghost Infant with intense psychological trauma from the experience.