Zhou Huai's consciousness sank into Zhuge Kongming's body.

He opened his eyes and looked at the stone wall in the underground secret room, which he had carved over a hundred times.

So many days of secluded cultivation had almost exhausted the millions of Materials purchased by Moli.

Now, it was time to witness the results.

Zhou Huai raised his hand and slowly injected the surging mana in his body into the intricate Formation patterns on the wall.

The mana value of LV10 Zhuge Kongming was ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) no longer what it used to be.

But even so, when he poured in the last trace of mana, he still felt a sense of exhaustion.

Buzz—!

The entire wall suddenly erupted with brilliant earthy yellow light.

Within the light, a thick and solid phantom of a Black Tortoise let out a silent roar, coiling within the narrow secret room.

An indestructible and heavy aura instantly filled the entire space.

It's done.

Level Four Defensive Formation, 【Wall of the Black Tortoise】.

It was enough to withstand the full onslaught of a Rank 40 beast.

Zhou Huai looked at the masterpiece in front of him, a smile appearing on his face.

To just scrape it off like this would be too wasteful.

With a thought, he activated the exclusive skill of the Heavenly Artisan.

“ 【Sticking to the Rules】 .”

As his voice fell.

The shining Formation on the wall instantly transformed into a stream of light, detaching from the stone wall and merging into Zhuge Kongming's palm, condensing into a small earthy yellow talisman seal.

Zhou Huai pushed open the door of the secret room and went straight to the first floor lobby of the Guild headquarters.

He walked to the heavy alloy door and gently pressed the talisman seal in his hand onto the door.

The talisman seal merged into the door and disappeared.

The next second, an invisible energy fluctuation enveloped the entire building.

The Eternal Night Guild finally had its own Guardian Formation.

However, to keep this grand Formation running long-term, a stable energy core was needed.

The best energy source was undoubtedly magic crystals.

As soon as he thought of magic crystals, Zhou Huai's mind involuntarily conjured up the mountains of crystals piled up in the underground cave of the Radiant Alliance.

Coincidentally, he also needed magic crystals to engrave the Teleportation Formation.

A cunning smile appeared on Zhou Huai's face.

It was time to “borrow” some back.

His consciousness instantly withdrew, crossed space, and descended upon Moria in the Secret Realm.

After nearly a month of frantic leveling, Moria's Rank had already reached LV28.

Yasuo and Xiang Yu had also each risen to LV27.

Although not as fast as Gandalf's rocket-like speed, the improvement was still quite significant in this resource-rich Secret Realm.

He left instructions for Yasuo and Xiang Yu to continue advancing deeper into the lake.

He then manipulated Moria to grab a handful of damp soil from the ground and carefully put it into his Storage Ring.

This was the most important spatial Dao marker for constructing a Teleportation Formation.

After doing all this, he began to return the way he came, relying on the faint Soul link between him and Qin Ming.

Not long after, the familiar ghost Stone Forest reappeared before his eyes.

Within the stone forest, it was still a busy and oppressive scene.

Coming and going, the professionals, under the scolding of the overseers, risked their lives to climb the stone pillars and mine magic crystals.

What surprised Zhou Huai was.

At this moment, Qin Ming was not among those sweaty miners.

He had changed into a black uniform, with a standard long saber at his waist, and was standing on a high ground, supervising others at work.

His expression and posture had the air of a small leader.

Zhou Huai manipulated Moria, his figure transforming into an inconspicuous shadow, silently sliding to Qin Ming's feet.

“Qin Ming.”

A voice that only he could hear echoed in his heart.

Qin Ming, who was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, suddenly stopped.

His face remained expressionless, his gaze swept around, and after confirming that no one was paying attention, he slowly walked to an uninhabited corner.

“Master?”

He lowered his voice, with a hint of excitement in his tone.

“Is that you?”

Zhou Huai's consciousness asked from within the shadow.

“What's with your attire?”

Qin Ming chuckled, a hint of pride on his face.

“Master, don't even mention it, that supervisor named Zhang is quite easy to fool.”

“A while ago, I deliberately showed off a bit in front of him and pretended to be loyal to him, and he actually believed it.”

“So, he directly promoted me to a squad leader, and now I'm in charge of more than twenty people.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Huai also felt a surge of speechlessness.

Good heavens.

How long had it been, and he was already a cadre?

This kid, it was a waste of his talent not to go into undercover work.

Seeing that Zhou Huai didn't speak, Qin Ming thought his Master was praising him, and the smile on his face grew wider.

He lowered his voice again, speaking mysteriously.

“Master, I'm telling you, there's probably going to be a big move in this Secret Realm recently.”

“I've seen many new faces, and each one of them has an incredibly powerful aura. I estimate they are at least Rank 50.”

“Oh?” Zhou Huai raised an eyebrow, “Do you know their origin?”

“I know!” Qin Ming immediately replied, “I overheard Head Zhang mention it when he was drunk.”

“He said those people were all experts sent by the Imperial City Liu Family.”

“This time, it seems even the third son of the Liu Family head has come personally.”

The Liu Family?

Zhou Huai's eyes grew a little colder.

It seemed there was indeed something extraordinary hidden in this Secret Realm.

Even the Zhou Family found it too hot to handle and had to invite this powerful figure from the Liu Family.

Qin Ming paused, then added.

“Oh, and Master, they've recently expanded their exploration range. If you and those two adults are leveling inside, be extremely careful not to be discovered by them.”

“Mm.” Zhou Huai responded, “You continue to stay here, act cautiously, and investigate their purpose.”

“I believe it won't be long before this Secret Realm becomes our territory.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming's spirits lifted, and he immediately straightened his back.

“Yes! Master! I guarantee to complete the mission!”

Zhou Huai then gave him two thousand strands of Devilish Qi to save his life at critical moments.

Afterward, he no longer lingered.

Manipulating Moria, he silently blended into a team transporting magic crystals and left the Secret Realm.

Passing through the huge gray-white vortex, he returned once again to the massive underground cave.

Moria's figure moved through the shadows, skillfully arriving at the small mountain of magic crystals piled up in the depths of the cave.

Zhou Huai observed from the shadows for a moment.

Compared to last time, the quantity of magic crystals was noticeably less by about a quarter.

His heart ached.

These were all his future assets.

He no longer wasted time.

From the shadows, a pale hand silently reached out.

Its fingertip touched a magic crystal the size of a soccer ball.

The crystal felt cold to the touch, and within it, a galaxy seemed to flow, emitting pure energy.

The next moment, the magic crystal disappeared into thin air, collected into his Storage Ring.

Zhou Huai's heart filled with joy, and he continued his actions without stopping.

The second, the third, the fourth...