Qin Ming continued along the only gravel path, heading deeper into the Abyss of Mist.

Through the thick fog, sharp roars of exotic beasts and the clang of metal from afar could be faintly heard.

As he walked, he quickly explained the situation in a voice only he and Zhou Huai could hear.

"Master, the Zhou Family must have discovered this Secret Realm quite some time ago."

"But based on my observations, their development here is probably less than ten percent." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"The place I'm heading to now is the Phantom Stone Forest in the southwest."

"That's where they currently find the highest Devilish Qi crystal yield."

Qin Ming paused, a hint of solemnity in his voice.

"Besides here, there are at least six or seven other directions they haven't explored at all."

"The range of this Secret Realm is vast, and the fog is too thick; one can easily get lost if not careful."

"We can only rely on this gravel path beneath our feet to orient ourselves."

As he spoke, the mist ahead gradually thinned.

The outlines of giant stone pillars, resembling monstrous fangs, began to become clear.

Even from a distance, Zhou Huai could distinctly feel the intense battle fluctuations coming from ahead.

The roars of professional combatants, the cries of exotic beasts, and the continuous explosions of elements intertwined.

Soon, Zhou Huai finally saw the appearance of the exotic beasts.

They were creatures similar to bats, but several times larger.

With a wingspan of three or four meters, their wing membranes were a sickly grey-white.

Their limbs were long and slender, ending in sharp, blade-like bone claws; their faces had no eyes, only a gaping, blood-red mouth that stretched to their ears, filled with dense, sharp fangs.

【Mist-Hidden Blood Bat LV32】

At this moment, dozens of professional combatants were entangled in battle with these Mist-Hidden Blood Bats.

They fought and retreated, barely protecting their companions who were climbing the stone pillars behind them.

Those people clung to the stone pillars like geckos, using specialized tools to strenuously chisel out Devilish Qi crystals embedded in the rock face.

However, mining Devilish Qi crystals was not a safe job.

From time to time, a Blood Bat would silently rush out of the thick fog, its sharp bone claws slashing across, and a climbing professional combatant would scream and fall from a great height.

Even worse, some were directly seized by Blood Bats, dragged into the depths of the thick fog, leaving behind only a string of desperate wails.

Just then.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

A dense and piercing sound of flapping wings came from the mist in all directions.

The sound grew from far to near, becoming louder and louder, as if a mighty army was approaching.

On the ground, everyone's face instantly changed dramatically.

A black-clad man in charge of commanding shrieked at the top of his lungs.

"Beast tide! It's a beast tide!"

"Everyone! Find cover immediately! Quick!"

Qin Ming reacted extremely fast; almost the instant he heard the sound, he flashed and hid behind the thickest stone pillar.

In the shadows, Zhou Huai calmly asked.

"What's going on?"

Qin Ming's voice carried a hint of solemnity.

"Master, it's an attack by a horde of exotic beasts."

"The number of exotic beasts in this Secret Realm is extremely exaggerated; we encounter beast tides of this scale several times almost every day."

Before he finished speaking.

A dense mass of Mist-Hidden Blood Bats, like a breached flood, surged madly from the thick fog.

Their target was the unarmed professional combatants in the field.

Those who reacted half a beat too slow and couldn't find cover were instantly engulfed by the Blood Bat swarm.

"Ah—!"

A warrior professional combatant roared, swinging his great axe, killing several Blood Bats.

But the next second, even more Blood Bats swarmed him.

Sharp fangs and bone claws furiously tore at his body.

His armor was like paper, instantly ripped apart, blood and flesh flying.

"Save me! Save me!"

Another mage's leg was bitten tightly by a Blood Bat; he frantically released fireballs, but it was useless.

He was dragged to the ground, sliding towards the depths of the thick fog.

He stretched out his hand, desperately calling for help to his companions around him.

However, everyone hid behind cover, their eyes cold and indifferent.

No one would put themselves in danger to save an unrelated person.

Here, everyone's life belonged only to themselves.

In this short moment, more than a dozen people had already died tragically under the Blood Bats' claws.

The scene was like a living hell.

Just then.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several cyan wind blades appeared out of thin air, precisely slashing across the necks of several Blood Bats that were tearing at corpses.

The Blood Bats' movements ceased abruptly, their enormous heads flying into the air.

Immediately after, an aged figure, treading on the clear wind, flew through the air from afar.

He was gaunt, dressed in a grey robe, with an ordinary face but eyes as sharp as knives.

Dozens of Blood Bats seemed to realize the deadly threat emanating from the old man and immediately changed direction, shrieking as they pounced on him.

The old man looked at the swarm of Blood Bats rushing towards him and merely let out a disdainful snort.

He didn't even make any extra movements.

An invisible storm, centered on him, suddenly expanded.

Countless tiny wind blades, almost invisible to the naked eye, spun at high speed within the storm.

Puff! Puff! °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Puff!

The Blood Bats at the very front were instantly cut into countless fragments, blood, flesh, and internal organs raining down.

Seeing this, the remaining Blood Bats let out a terrified shriek, no longer daring to advance, and turned to flee back into the thick fog.

They came quickly and left just as quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the stone forest returned to peace, leaving behind only a ground covered in severed limbs.

Qin Ming, hiding behind the stone pillar, lowered his voice.

"Master, he is one of the two Rank 50 powerhouses I mentioned to you before."

"Although he's not S-Rank, his strength is unfathomable."

"A-Rank professional, Wind Speaker, nicknamed Wind Ghost."

"Whenever there's a small-scale beast tide like this, or a BOSS appears, he's the one who comes forward to resolve it."

Zhou Huai nodded in understanding.

He looked at the exotic beast corpses on the ground, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

This Secret Realm, though extremely dangerous.

For his Clone, however, it was also an excellent place to level up.

He was just worrying that Moria, Xiang Yu, and Yasuo's Rank progression was too slow.

Isn't this like someone bringing a pillow when you're sleepy?

The next second.

A surge of pure Devilish Qi, extremely covertly, gushed from Moria's body, silently transferring into Qin Ming's body via the Soul link.

Qin Ming's body trembled violently, a hint of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

He immediately suppressed the tremor in his heart and quietly asked.

"Master, you are...?"

"Don't speak, just absorb it well."

In the shadows, Moria's hoarse voice came through.

As Moria's demonic slave, Qin Ming's body naturally also possessed the ability to absorb Devilish Qi.

As long as Zhou Huai allowed it, he could also release Devilish Qi to attack, or use Devilish Qi to heal his own injuries.

This time, Zhou Huai was very generous, infusing him with nearly a thousand strands of Devilish Qi.

"Use this Devilish Qi sparingly; it's enough for your self-preservation during this period."

"You continue to lie low here."

"I'm going to explore this Secret Realm."

Qin Ming felt the surging power within his body, and a warm current rose in his heart.

He quickly expressed his gratitude, then reminded him with some concern.

"Master, this mist is too vast; it's easy to get lost."

"You must be careful."

Zhou Huai smiled.

"You don't need to worry about that."

"I have my ways."

After speaking, he controlled Moria, whose figure once again transformed into a pool of flowing ink, merging into the shadow of the stone pillar.

After several 【Shadow Sneak】s.

Moria's figure had silently left the crowd, completely disappearing into the thick mist in the distance.

Zhou Huai planned to find an area far from the Zhou Family's control to serve as a leveling ground for his Clones.

Once the Clones' strength was sufficient, he would return to claim those Devilish Qi crystals.

Developing directly under the Zhou Family's nose.

Just thinking about it was a bit thrilling.

Zhou Huai controlled Moria, moving unhindered through the thick mist.

He wasn't worried about getting lost at all.

Here, the Soul link between him and Qin Ming was the best coordinate.

As Qin Ming said, in this Abyss of Mist, there were a large number of exotic beasts.

If Moria hadn't been able to skillfully hide in the shadows, he would probably have been besieged by an endless stream of exotic beasts as soon as he left the crowd.

But this number was far from enough.

He needed to find a better location.

A place where his three Clones could grind to their heart's content.

Thus, Zhou Huai controlled Moria, searching in the mist for a long time.

He continuously advanced deeper into the Secret Realm, moving away from the Zhou Family's only gravel path.

Finally.

In an area no one had ever set foot in, he stopped.

Ahead was a huge lake.

The lake water was a strange dark green, as calm as a mirror, without the slightest ripple.

Along the edge of the lake, countless exotic beasts were densely stationed.

They varied in form, possessed powerful Qi, and surrounded the entire lake so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass.

And at the center of that lake.

A brilliant golden light was shooting into the sky.

Even under the shroud of layers of thick fog, its sacred and dazzling light could not be concealed.