A hundred of them were transported into the special realm in the first wave, including Han Wu. Outsiders like him were unaware of a hidden contest rule.

Those who killed the rule breakers had a higher chance of being selected for transport. Since Han Wu had killed the most, his chance of entering during the first wave was the highest, so his selection was no surprise.

He arrived in an unfamiliar space without his allies and decided to scout the area first. The secret realm appeared to be an abandoned city. Vegetation covered the walls, and sections had collapsed.

Han Wu frowned a little because the dilapidated place felt off, though he couldn’t identify why. “I need to figure out this place as soon as possible.”

He summoned his Divine Weapon, the Gluttonswarm Ring, summoned 100,000 Glutton Locusts, and spread them throughout the area. He could see what the locusts saw and checked every building within a 2.5-kilometer radius. What he found shocked him. This place wasn’t abandoned at all.

Almost every building contained several mummified corpses. They appeared completely drained of fluids. Some were humanoid, while others had beast-like forms. Worse, they were hostile.

If he had barged into the buildings himself instead of using the locusts, he would have most likely attracted dozens of them at once.

He had his Abyss Armor, whose mighty defensive power meant he wasn’t afraid of getting surrounded. Still, he wouldn’t provoke those unknown corpses and get surrounded on purpose.

“I don’t have any information about this place or the legendary Armament Spirit. I should prioritize finding my friends first,” he murmured.

He then summoned his Locust Soul Orb and called forth Ah Mao. Using the latter’s compass, Han Wu started tracking down Qin Shuang. The compass spun and pointed in a certain direction.

Han Wu summoned his Explosive Locust Blade, turned it into the Firebat King, mounted it, and flew toward the indicated direction. From above, he saw an astonishing sight. Countless mummies were pursuing the life forms that had been transported there.

The mummies appeared to be unkillable. Even when smashed to dust, they reformed after a while and resumed their attacks. It also seemed that the mummies regained some vitality when they devoured contestants.

Han Wu also noticed something unusual. Mummies that had eaten nothing bore no markings, but those that had fed carried the number 1 on their bodies. He didn’t understand its meaning for now, so he set it aside and continued toward Qin Shuang.

Elsewhere, Lady Huang had been fortunate enough to enter the secret realm in the first wave. Unlike the outsiders and the independent cultivators, she already knew how this secret realm functioned.

She first observed her surroundings before taking out a map, a Divine Weapon that sketched its environment in real time. She activated it, and everything within a 100-meter radius of the map was displayed. As she moved, the map updated with her position. It was highly detailed, and she could check the layout of every building.

Lady Huang located a house without any mummies and crawled inside through a window.

The house was old and coated in dust. No one had lived there for a very long time. She, however, felt a surge of excitement and started rummaging through it as if she had found a treasure chest. She checked the closet and found a Divine Weapon shaped like a staff.

Elated, she quickly grabbed it and channeled her energy into it. It wasn’t particularly powerful, so she quickly refined it. It was only a Common-grade Divine Weapon, but it had a special property.

Only a Divine Weapon originating from this secret realm could kill the mummies. The mummies also contained something valuable. Over the past ten years, their bodies had accumulated a special metal that attracted the legendary Armament Spirit. If one gathered enough of that metal and forged a Divine Weapon from it, the legendary Armament Spirit could be attracted to them.

Now that she had a weapon capable of killing the mummies, she no longer crept about like a thief. Instead, she stepped into the street and struck the buildings with her staff to lure the mummies out.

As she had expected, they heard the noise and rushed out to hunt her down.

At that moment, she activated her Divine Weapon, the Celestial Shackles. Numerous chains burst from her and bound the nearby mummies. The rule stated that regular Divine Weapons couldn’t harm them, but since the Celestial Shackles only restrained rather than injured them, she could bypass that limitation.

She stabbed the staff into a mummy’s heart. Once struck, the mummy crumbled into dust. Almost every mummy left behind a speck of metal. She gathered them all, as she would need them to forge a powerful Divine Weapon to serve as a vessel for the legendary Armament Spirit.

While she was on her killing spree, an outsider suddenly appeared down the street, with countless mummies chasing him. He had tried to use his own Divine Weapons to kill them, but they never stayed down; they regenerated and continued their pursuit. Worse, the faster he ran, the more mummies he attracted. He was already exhausted, but he still couldn’t shake them.

When he spotted Lady Huang, a devious plan formed in his mind. Since the mummies craved living flesh, he decided to run past her and pass them onto her! To him, as long as Lady Huang could distract them, he could escape.

He sprinted toward Lady Huang and inadvertently entered her Celestial Shackles’ range.

“You are lucky. I don’t have time to kill you. I will leave these mummies to you instead!” he said wickedly.

He tried to flee, but the Celestial Shackles were faster. A chain shot out and bound him.

“Did I say you could leave?” she asked calmly.

“Let me go! Do you know who I am? I will smash your stupid chains with my Divine Weapon!” he shouted and attempted to summon his chainsaw to cut himself free. In the next instant, he realized that he couldn’t summon his Divine Weapon at all!

The Celestial Shackles had not only bound him but also his energy. Without it, he couldn’t summon anything.

“I think you should deal with the mummies that have been chasing you.” She chuckled and threw him into the horde of mummies. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Bound by the chains, he couldn’t resist. The mummies tore into him, and he soon died under their bites. Surprisingly, the mummies took the Divine Weapons he dropped. One of them, marked with 1, seized his chainsaw. The moment it did, the number changed to 2, and it grew stronger.

It revved the chainsaw and attacked Lady Huang. The weapon roared and appeared to carry unstoppable power, but the moment the Celestial Shackles bound the mummy, the chainsaw stopped.

“A higher-grade mummy drops more metal. Let me see how much you will yield.” She held her staff and stabbed it into its heart.