Chapter 205: Chapter 161: The Secret Realm That Has Never Been Reset (Part 2)

"Let’s go." Beiyou emerged from the Demon Slaying Hall, with murky paint smeared on his hair, clothes, and face. He even tasted the paint on his fingers.

Everyone withdrew their gaze and followed Beiyou to the forbidden territory behind the mountain stronghold.

This place was heavily guarded, blocked by fortresses. When the group entered, Yan Qing noticed the guardians here didn’t seem to be renegades, suggesting they hadn’t succumbed to the Demon Dao. Unlike the lunatics outside, these people were highly valued controllable talents of the stronghold, able to be assigned to this place, showcasing the importance the three Great Guardians placed upon it.

After passing through a long corridor, they quickly approached a grove. Outside the grove floated a pale green ripple, with related information popping up on the screen:

"Corpse Bone Forest"

"Background: Corpse Bone Forest was originally Juxian Manor, with its Manor Master Dragon Roaming known throughout Jiangnan and beyond as a heroic knight. Upon learning that the current roaming monk Fuxiang was actually a descendant of the Blood Demon Sect and had betrayed the righteous path by murdering friends and family, Dragon Roaming summoned friends to Juxian Manor to discuss how to deal with Fuxiang. Unexpectedly, Fuxiang took the initiative and destroyed Juxian Manor. Due to the immense resentment of Dragon Roaming and others, Juxian Manor transformed into a highly sinister place, with countless ghosts roaming the area. Perhaps only avenging them can resolve the karma here..."

"Challenge Level: 35~45"

"Challenge Number: Maximum 20 people"

"Objective: To kill the ’Corpse King’ Dragon Roaming"

A Secret Realm of level 35 to 45?

Yan Qing was slightly stunned, though he wasn’t very familiar with "Messenger," such a cross-level implies... this Secret Realm might contain Third-Turn rewards and might even have Fourth-Turn rewards!

More importantly, it’s indeed possible for Third-Turn Messengers to conquer this Secret Realm!

No wonder Si Wuxie’s legacy has been here for almost a hundred years without any Foundation Establishment Messenger claiming it, because for Foundation Establishment Messengers, this is truly a Fourth-Turn Secret Realm! Too few people can’t beat it, too many people lessen the rewards, making it very enticing for Third-Turn Messengers, but somewhat pointless for Foundation Establishment Fourth Transition.

Moreover, Si Wuxie was a Demonic Messenger, meaning his most powerful weapon token must be an Asura Token that others couldn’t use!

"By the way," Prajna suddenly said, "Have you ever wondered why those qualified to govern Secret Realms at Shu Dao Mountain are called Great Guardians?"

"It sounds nice," Rabbit Heroine said leisurely, "If it were me, I wouldn’t like being called Chief like a bandit leader."

"Partly for that reason," Prajna chuckled, "But mainly because we truly protect the dharma. You may think I’m just boasting, but once you go inside, you’ll understand." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

With that said, they entered the Corpse Bone Forest one by one, and Yan Qing noticed Pharmacist’s Wish was a step behind, seemingly hesitant, but quickly caught up, entering the Secret Realm alongside Rabbit Heroine.

Contrary to its name, Corpse Bone Forest wasn’t as terrifying as imagined, merely shrouded by a chilling wind. Within the forest was an exceedingly grand manor house, with no name on the entrance plaque, and white lanterns hanging on either side, bearing the word ’Condolence.’ As Prajna and the others approached the door, the light in the white lanterns abruptly extinguished, not terrifying per se, but somewhat startling.

"Sister, aren’t you scared?"

Rabbit Heroine looked at Pharmacist’s Wish, noticing her hand holding the Soul-Breaking Spear trembled slightly.

"Only my brother is afraid of such things. Are you sure you’re alright, big sister?"

Yan Qing thought, I’m not scared at all, I’ve played Resident Evil, "Messenger" is an all-age online game; there’s no way it has overly disgusting scenes that could scare me.

"How could it be? I’m just worried you might be scared!" Pharmacist’s Wish retorted firmly, yet when Rabbit Heroine moved forward, she quickly followed, saying, "Be careful, we’ll go together!"

They arrived at the front hall, discovering Prajna and the others were standing at the entrance waiting. When Prajna saw them approaching, he stepped aside so they could see the scene inside the front hall: "Look."

"Impossible!" Pharmacist’s Wish exclaimed in shock.

Inside the front hall, a massive pile of skulls, layered upon each other, seemingly forming a new life, indeed was a demonic unit called "Undying Skull Tower."

But what surprised Pharmacist’s Wish wasn’t it, but the six zombie demons surrounding it! Each wore a conical hat, carried a long blade, with eyes flickering with ghostly green flames, heavy and rigid, like nine iron towers!

"We’ve just entered with five people, how could there be so many demons?" Pharmacist’s Wish’s expression was grave: "The number of demons corresponds closely to the number entering, for seven demons to appear simultaneously would require at least fourteen people entering!"

Indeed, Yan Qing had long noticed the fewer people, the fewer demons in the Secret Realm, though there was a minimum limit. If Jiang Shi soloed the Zhen San Mountain instance, at least three batches of demons would appear, same as when Jiang Shi entered with a group of six.

"If we retreat and only one enters, they would still see seven demons," Prajna stated.

"Could the front hall have a minimum appearance of seven demons?" Rabbit Heroine speculated.

"Before Si Wuxie set up the legacy, this Secret Realm had been explored," Beiyou said calmly, "According to predecessors’ notes, the Corpse Bone Forest front hall would’ve had at least four demons."

Then why are there consistently seven demons here?

When Yan Qing pondered this question, he immediately thought of the most likely answer.

"Could it be..." Pharmacist’s Wish’s gaze crossed the front hall, looking towards the manor’s depths: "This Secret Realm, has never been reset?"

Prajna nodded slowly, "Exactly, explaining why the Corpse Bone Forest’s demons persist in abundance. If a Secret Realm isn’t reset, the more people concurrently present, the more demons will appear. Even if Messengers leave later, the demon count won’t decrease. Thankfully, demon intensity changes with Messenger strength, otherwise, we’d now be seeing Fourth-Turn Demon Fiends."

"We are called Great Guardians because we continuously control the maximum number entering the Corpse Bone Forest at once. If numbers exceed, demons again permanently increase unless we manage to conquer the Secret Realm."

"Yet we haven’t seen others along the way, and the front hall’s demons remain." Rabbit Heroine scanned around: "A Secret Realm would reset in the absence of anyone."

"Yes, it would reset," Beiyou confirmed the statement.

The reverse suggests there’s only one situation for the Secret Realm not resetting.

"Inside the Secret Realm, someone must still be present?" Pharmacist’s Wish enunciated, her tone unable to hide astonishment: "Could it be... Si Wuxie!?"