Chapter 932: Chapter 465: Secret Realm Descends (Part 2)

He led the other professionals, including Xia Nan, off the ship to explore the surrounding area.

"Be careful, don’t let your guard down."

Lorin instructed the crew members remaining on deck with a serious expression.

Then she turned to the twin brothers:

"You two also need to pay attention, if you notice anything unusual, remember to signal us immediately. We’ll rush back as soon as we hear it."

Twin Canyon seemed magnificent, but in reality, it was flanked by towering cliffs on both sides.

The Vengeance Blade docked between the cliffs, any slight noise would be heard by the explorers even from a distance, ensuring they could return to provide support in time.

After meticulously reminding them of a few precautions, Lorin led Xia Nan and the others, who were already prepared, down the gangplank.

In a unique environment like Twin Canyon, the pier was hardly large, ending in sight at a glance.

Deserted.

There was no useful information to be obtained, only sparse bloodstains on the ground suggested a battle might have occurred here.

After some discussion, the group decided to continue upward, hoping to find a local resident or two to clarify what exactly happened here.

In an unfamiliar environment that might hide danger, the investigating group naturally arranged themselves into formation.

With Druid Hai Yin as the center, the tattooed brawny Akken, who served as [barbarian], took the frontline, and Captain Lorin followed closely behind;

The petite Alton stood further back than Hai Yin, while Xia Nan and the Spotted Cat race member, Sasha, trailed behind, protecting the flanks.

The group of six proceeded cautiously forward.

The human settlement in Twin Canyon had living conditions noticeably better than the fishing villages on Wild Rabbit Island and Cliff Island.

Due to the canyon’s unique environment, there were hardly any wooden buildings visible from the outside; people lived in hollow spaces on the cliffs, interconnected by corridors.

Xia Nan recalled seeing a similar way of life in his previous life, and encountering such a resemblance in the Otherworld kept him on alert but also amused him.

But as the group followed the spiral stone steps carved by the locals from the pier to the living area,

something strange happened.

It was a giant stained glass rose window.

Composed of countless colorful glass pieces—deep red, indigo, emerald, golden—dreamlike and magnificent, with intricate and ornate patterns painted on the window frame’s surface.

Of course, Xia Nan had seen similar things.

Neum and Sheep Horn Town’s churches boasted similar stained glass windows.

The kind so large that it almost covered an entire wall, its dazzling and vivid colors complemented by the church’s solemnity during daylight, providing a deeply sacred and awe-inspiring impression.

Under normal circumstances, no adventurer in the group would find this kind of stained glass window unfamiliar.

But what was peculiar was that this window was forcibly embedded in the wall.

Yes, behind it wasn’t the radiant sunlight or the expansive blue sea.

But a barren, stark stone wall.

No light source, no scenery; situated in the stone staircase corridor from the pier to the living area, what was the point of this window’s existence?

Could it be merely for decoration?

Even if the people of the canyon lived relatively well, Xia Nan didn’t think they were wealthy enough to use such large stained glass as mere wall decor.

"These patterns don’t look like the style popular in the Southern Islands."

Hai Yin moved closer to examine the window frame carefully and hinted thoughtfully.

Xia Nan wasn’t skilled in art, but upon hearing this, he focused his gaze.

He noticed that the orderly and intricate oval patterns on the window frame, indeed, were not something he had encountered in Suo Yu Bay.

His sharp perception ability, once focused, also brought to light another detail.

—The window appeared to be framed and embedded into the wall on the surface, but on closer inspection, the window itself wasn’t flat. It was asymmetrically inserted, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, against the wall.

A thought struck Xia Nan, and he took two steps forward, bending down under his teammates’ curious gazes and reached for the bottom part of the window frame with his right hand.

He grasped it and exerted strength.

"Creak!"

The wooden board broke, and the intricately carved window frame was torn away by him.

Just as Xia Nan had guessed, like a layered cake, after removing the prominent window frame, within wasn’t the expected stone wall but a layer of wood fiber that had deeply embedded itself into the sea rock.

The window frame and wall were fused together.

Looking at the bizarre scene at the junction in front of him, Xia Nan suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

As if he had seen the same scene somewhere before.

"How is that possible?"

Behind him, the bald brawny Akken, wielding his anchor-like giant axe, instinctively blurted out.

"How did these fishermen fuse stone and wood together? Is there a mage living here?"

The group marveled at this window’s connection to the wall, but after a brief discussion found no other clues, so they continued upward, following the steps to the living area on the cliffs.

And as the group of six ventured deeper, the frequency of strange scenes increased.

There were doors inexplicably hinged into the stone walls; flying buttresses thrust out at odd angles without supporting anything; metal railings spanned across spaces with no discernible function...

Most striking was the half-stone tower, situated in the largest hollow within the living area.

Constructed entirely of gray-white bricks distinct from the surrounding sea rock, it appeared exceptionally solid, with several narrow arrow slits in the walls, designed for shooting outward, and a square battlemented top with a stone walkway behind for guards.

Usually, such towers were erected at border regions for surveillance and defense against enemies.

But now, it was bizarrely built deep inside a cave away from any entry points.

It was hard to imagine how it could serve its purpose.

What was even more perplexing was that it was only half a tower.

And it was cut vertically.

The complete cylindrical structure had the front part intact; the rear half was completely embedded in the stark stone wall.

To be honest, the building complexity was even higher than normal construction.

As the group grew increasingly confused, Xia Nan suddenly realized something.

Exotic-style items, distinctly different and seemingly spontaneously appearing structures, and connections reminiscent of game bugs between objects...

His expression turned peculiar.

Isn’t this the sign of a Secret Realm’s arrival!

The number of Secret Realms Xia Nan experienced wasn’t large, some of which were like the Newm Sheep Deer Statue type with only item transmissions.

But in others, like the Giant Snake Cave where he acquired [Green Pine] and [Copper Bones], and the Residual Fire Ash Valley where he obtained [Embers Resonance] and [Melted Ash Silver Ingot], he encountered numerous unique structures from the Secret Realm World. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Feeling such intense déjà vu now, he secretly grew more vigilant.

Secret Realms usually appeared with accompanying dangers.

Before the Giant Snake Cave, there were numerous poisonous snakes and scorpions and Petrified Lizards hidden in the shrubs; in the Ruins of Ashvale, there were the formidable Mummified Knights.

Now, if this village in the canyon truly merged with a Secret Realm, who knows what might emerge? He needed to be extra cautious.

As Xia Nan’s thoughts raced, pondering the exotic background from which this Secret Realm originated,

ahead, the Half orc Alton seemed to discover something and whispered to the others, beckoning them:

"Hey, over here! Look at this!"