Wu Yin was suspended in midair, utterly furious with Wang Xuan. It was that guy again, and he had just kicked her. The pain felt eerily familiar, as if it were a replay of yesterday.

She was genuinely contemplating murder; this was even worse than last time. Today, she was surrounded by acquaintances, and in front of so many eyes, she had ungracefully flown through the air after being hit.

A quick glance revealed many people staring in shock at her and Wang Xuan.

Wu Yin's face flushed red. She felt feverish all over, her anger surging as she hung in the air.

As for Zhong Cheng, he had been knocked far away, rolling and clutching his waist in pain, clearly injured and repeatedly shouting out in agony.

Wang Xuan stood firm with his sword, waiting for whatever was beneath the ground to show itself. But the earth remained quiet, and nothing happened.

His expression changed instantly. Was this some kind of trap? Were the bugs in the Secret Realm this intelligent? He was furious; if nothing came out soon, he would be in deep trouble!

So, he thrust his sword down hard into the ground.

When Big Wu landed, she stumbled but quickly steadied herself, discreetly rubbing her pain before turning to glare at him, her eyes ablaze!

She gritted her teeth, itching to say, "It's you again!"

Then she prepared to retaliate. If she didn't get revenge today, she wouldn't be able to swallow this grievance. She had just arrived in the new world, and this was how it began—a terrible introduction.

"There's something underground!" Wang Xuan explained, still poking at the ground, trying to clear his name. "My strength may not be as great as many, but my spiritual perception is sharp."

Many turned to look at him, expressions mixed with surprise.

However, the New Technique master Yang Lin was listening intently, clearly sensing something. Not just him; others in the team who had reached a similar level also felt it.

Even experienced old explorers changed their expressions.

"Run, get out of here! There are dragonworms underground!" someone shouted, leading the way to flee.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Everyone sprang into action; in this unfamiliar territory, even the slightest rustle could send new adventurers into a panic.

The three teams totaled over a hundred people, most of whom were novices. Now, they were all running frantically, creating a chaotic scene that resembled a fleeing army.

Without a word, Wang Xuan ran too. If no one had shouted to help him out, he wouldn't have been able to clear his name even by jumping into the Yellow River.

Zhong Cheng had just gotten up when he was knocked over again by a new member of the Wu family's exploration team.

As Wang Xuan passed, he grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up.

Bang!

In a flash, the wild grass behind them was uprooted, soil and stones flying everywhere, as something burrowed out from the ground.

A worm as thick as a bucket shot up, its mouth peculiar and round, matching the width of its body, lined with sharp, dense teeth.

"Little Wang, thank you! I owe you one!" Although Zhong Cheng was knocked to the ground by Wang Xuan, he still had to express his gratitude, even while grimacing in pain.

Wang Xuan pushed him towards Zhong Qing, as the master of the New Technique had arrived, grabbing Zhong Cheng and running away.

Boom!

In the rear, the ground kept shattering, and over twenty massive worms erupted from the earth, each nearly ten meters long, quickly pursuing from behind.

Clearly, the first worm had hesitated to emerge, waiting for its companions; these creatures had a certain level of intelligence and were preparing for a group attack.

Fortunately, everyone had fled in time, or many would have certainly died.

"A swarm of dragonworms!" someone exclaimed, recognizing the creatures.

They resembled earthworms, but were far more terrifying, usually measuring ten meters in length. Their skin had a tough, chitinous layer, and their mouths could easily bite through human flesh.

Ordinary people wouldn't stand a chance against them; escape would be impossible. Besides burrowing underground, they could also crawl rapidly on the surface.

Everyone present were cultivators, so they escaped quickly. Except for a few massive individuals as thick as water tanks, most of the dragonworms were left behind.

"Didn't scare you, did it?" Wang Xuan, while running, spotted Big Wu not far ahead and moved closer to ask.

Wu Yin had a great figure, and when she ran, there was a certain rhythm to her movement. The curves of her body had a certain grace, even as she sprinted for her life.

Holding an alloy knife, she had been ready to attack, feeling a primal urge to take her anger out on Wang Xuan. Now, she was just angry but didn't know whom to attack.

She wanted to say thank you, but her pride held her back.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"You've got dirt on your back, wipe it off quickly." Wang Xuan reminded her, mainly worried that in a crowded place, she might want to take her knife and attack someone.

Wu Yin turned to look and saw a large footprint on her back, making her want to scream again; the spot where she had been kicked was too obvious.

How many people had seen this? She quickly glanced around, relieved that no one seemed to be paying attention, and adjusted her clothes.

When she looked back again, she found that Wang Xuan had already disappeared, clearly avoiding her, and then she noticed Little Zhong was staring at her.

"Are you escaping, or are you just watching? Watch out for needle eyes!" she glared at Little Zhong.

"It's fine; just two particularly huge dragonworms followed us, and we've killed one," someone called out.

Then a New Technique master turned around and stopped, but didn't seem inclined to get involved.

Wang Xuan also ran back, swinging his sword among the crowd.

He tried to restrain his sword's power and didn't unleash his master-level strength. A glimmer of cold light fell as he struck at the large worm.

Poof!

A stream of dark green liquid gushed out—dragonworm blood. The blade penetrated deeply, but it was far from severing the worm's body, and he quickly withdrew.

A few old hands from the exploration organization, who had been to the Secret Realm two or three times, swiftly surrounded the two massive worms and soon decapitated their heads.

During this time, Big Wu rushed over, finding an outlet for her pent-up energy, wildly hacking away at the worm's remains, even after its head was gone.

Only when she finally came to her senses did she start to retreat, nearly retching.

She genuinely didn't know if she had been chopping the worm or imagining attacking someone.

All the novices felt uneasy; having just arrived in the Secret Realm, they were already educated on the dangers lurking underground. A moment's negligence could lead to disaster.

"Little Wang, quick response!" an old explorer commented.

"Exceptional spiritual power!" a New Technique master remarked, nodding in agreement.

Wang Xuan replied, "Yes, my spiritual perception is quite sharp. Everyone, my combat experience is lacking, but if I can sense movements early, I'll help alert you, but you need to protect me."

Everyone nodded and continued walking forward for a while before stopping to rest.

Until this moment, people finally had the time and mood to carefully observe this new world.

It was a forest area, lush and vibrant.

Under the nearby towering trees were many large mushrooms, all golden and two to three people high, resembling golden umbrellas stuck into the ground.

"Be careful, those mushrooms are highly toxic, but overall, this area is relatively safe. Just don't touch the mushrooms," said an old explorer.

Wang Xuan carefully examined his surroundings, noting many ancient trees that required seven or eight people to hug around—truly towering giants.

Most importantly, this new world had various energy substances, and he could even sense mysterious particles actually falling into the real world!

This left him profoundly shocked. Although the mysterious particles were thin and nowhere near comparable to those in the Inner Landscape, it was still an incredible phenomenon.

He speculated: could this world be related to the Old Technique?!

His body's vitality was strengthening, his flesh rejoicing, as if yearning to merge with this world. Wang Xuan truly wanted to stretch his body, unleash his full power, and fight a great battle.

"Should we still split up?" Wu Yin asked.

Originally, the three groups intended to separate and advance together into the depths of the Secret Realm. However, she now felt that this world was too dangerous; having experienced such an ambush right upon arrival, they had no idea what else lay ahead, so it was best to stick together.

"Let's not split up; let's go together," Zhong Qing said.

"I also think it's better to stay together," Zheng Rui agreed.

Zhao Qinghan nodded in agreement.

In the end, that's how they decided.

After all this commotion, it was already noon. Everyone took out their food to satisfy their hunger and had a brief rest.

"Wang Xuan, I can't believe you left the old land and actually came to the Secret Realm! Impressive!" Zhou Kun sneaked over and sat next to Wang Xuan.

"Old Zhou, long time no see! I really missed you," Wang Xuan greeted warmly, genuinely grateful for him; the five-page gold book had had a huge impact on him.

"Call me Brother Zhou," Zhou Kun said with a glare, then leaned in to whisper, "You didn't talk about our sparring, did you?"

Wang Xuan was speechless. Zhou Kun was so proud; he had a buzz cut, fierce eyes, and a rebellious spirit, yet he was worried about the sparring incident getting out.

"No, I didn't."

"Good, keep your mouth shut and don't say anything," Zhou Kun said, visibly relieved. Before standing up, he added quietly, "I've now mastered the New Technique; I can take on eight of you alone, but I won't bully you, especially since we need to work together now."

Wang Xuan smiled and nodded, finding Zhou Kun amusing. He thought about giving him a good beating someday, but decided against it; constantly picking on him wouldn't be right.

"Buzz!"

In the distance, something stirred, and someone climbed up a tall tree to observe, instantly making their skin crawl.

"Wild bees, swarming wild bees, it's terrifying!"

Someone below scoffed, "Are you afraid of wild bees?"

"They're not just ordinary wild bees; they're over two meters long, bigger than cattle!" the person in the tree seemed genuinely frightened.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed, and they quickly climbed the trees to look into the distance.

"Those are killer bees, poisonous bees! We must not leave this mushroom area; two groups of poisonous bees are clashing!" An old explorer's voice trembled.

Wang Xuan climbed up the tree and saw countless dark figures in the distance, blotting out the sky like a black cloud!

Two groups of poisonous bees were colliding and battling, with bodies constantly falling.

Some of the poisonous bees were not far away, and he could see clearly that they were indeed over two meters long. If stung by such creatures, death would be certain!

Soon, he noticed a beehive farther away, resembling a small mountain, towering over three hundred meters high and appearing gray and eerie.

That place was definitely a forbidden zone!

"Let them finish their fight first; we'll move afterward. Don't show yourselves now."

The poisonous bees flew everywhere but didn't approach the poisonous mushroom area, which surprisingly became a safe haven.

Until sunset, they couldn't move elsewhere and had to spend the night here.

After dinner, they stayed up until around nine, then decided to sleep early. They had wasted the entire day and hadn't explored at all.

"Wang Xuan, come over here," Zhao Qinghan called him.

Wang Xuan walked over, opened his sleeping bag, and lay down about two meters away from Zhao Qinghan, preparing to sleep.

Some people exchanged glances; they had suspected Wang Xuan had connections, and now it seemed confirmed.

Even masters like Yang Lin and Zheng Rui were in another area; Zhao Qinghan clearly wanted to stay close to him, obviously looking out for him, worried something might happen.

What could Wang Xuan say? He couldn't exactly tell everyone that anyone near him would be safest.

But he felt very grateful to Zhao Qinghan. She was indeed looking after him, the "connected one."

In the dead of night, Wang Xuan suddenly felt a jolt of fear and woke up abruptly, seeing a shadow in the distance flickering away.

Moments later, someone got up in the night and quickly shouted, their voice trembling, "Where are the people next to me? They're all gone?!"

In the stillness of the night, this shout startled everyone awake, sending chills down their spines.

"I'm missing five people over here!" someone's lips trembled.

"I'm missing four people here!"

…

People were terrified and reporting the number of those who had disappeared from different directions.

In the middle of the night, thirty-seven people were unaccounted for. No one had noticed anything; how did those people vanish?

In the dead of night, this was truly chilling; everyone's scalp felt numb, and no one could fall back asleep.

Zhao Qinghan even got out of her sleeping bag, clearly anxious.

Wang Xuan sat nearby and said, "Don't be afraid; it's okay!"