Walking into this strange and silent secret forest, a surge of uneasiness instantly rose in Vlad's heart.
But since he had already made up his mind, Vlad naturally wouldn't back down just because of a little discomfort.
"It's really quiet—and there aren't even any bones on the ground," Vlad said as he walked through the dense forest, observing the surroundings.
"It seems the true secret must lie deeper within."
With that thought, Vlad hesitated no more. Several bats flew from his body and scattered into the depths of the forest.
A strange red light flashed in his eyes, and the visions of the bats appeared before him.
As they continued deeper into the woods, more and more scenes were transmitted to Vlad's mind.
The trees grew thicker and taller, the surroundings dimmer, and the flora stranger—exotic flowers of unknown kinds bloomed wildly.
As they went deeper, the bizarre plants became even more numerous.
Among them were quite a few magical plants radiating elemental energy.
"This place is truly a treasure trove," Vlad couldn't help but murmur in awe.
As one of the bats reached the depths of the forest, a massive crater gradually came into view.
It was filled with corpses—possibly tens of thousands.
"Such a powerful dark energy…"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Vlad's eyes flickered, and he suddenly lost the bat's vision.
"What just happened!?" His eyes glowed red in alarm.
"It seems all the secrets are buried there."
After a moment of thought, Vlad dashed into the forest's depths without hesitation.
The crater was colossal—its diameter no smaller than the entire secret realm itself. At a glance, the edge couldn't even be seen.
As Vlad emerged from the dense forest and reached the rim of the crater, what he saw left him in shock.
There were corpses everywhere. Not just the tens of thousands he saw earlier…
But tens of millions.
Piled so densely, they stretched out to the horizon.
It looked like the burial ground of the world.
What had happened here? A flash of confusion crossed Vlad's eyes.
"No… this secret realm shouldn't be this vast!"
Vlad quickly looked behind him—and found that the forest had vanished completely.
"What's going on?"
"Could this be another secret realm?" Vlad muttered in disbelief.
There was no other explanation that made sense.
After calming himself, Vlad spread the bat wings from his back and shot into the sky, soaring thousands of meters upward.
But as he flew higher, what he saw became even more surreal—and the fear in his heart began to grow.
Had he ever seen mountains of corpses hundreds of meters tall?
Had he ever seen crab shells the size of mountains?
Or dragon corpses nearly 100 meters long—yet they looked like infants compared to the rest?
Yes. And not just one—there were dozens in sight.
And this was only the part he could see. Who knew how many more were hidden beyond the horizon?
Where… is this place?
Vlad couldn't help but wonder again.
Then, a faint wave of energy came from deep within the crater.
Had his mental perception not been so sharp, Vlad might have missed it entirely.
Focusing his senses, he tracked the faint pulse.
Curiosity piqued, he followed the strange signal.
As he flew deeper, the surroundings became even more macabre.
All around were horrific corpses—grotesque, rotting, and from races far beyond humans.
Humans were a minority here.
The rest were mixed together so chaotically that Vlad couldn't even begin to identify them all.
Yet, he could still distinguish at least a dozen different species among the remains.
Folding his bat wings, Vlad passed through the massive skull of some long-dead giant—a skull hundreds of meters wide, pierced through the forehead.
And what lay beyond left him breathless.
A towering figure stood silently, horned, with a hideous face, black bone armor wrapped around its massive frame, faint blue flames still licking its limbs, and muscles that radiated sheer power.
It was at least a thousand meters tall—a demon straight from hell, horrifying beyond words.
Looking around, blue flames still burned, and within a thousand-meter radius, no other corpses could be seen.
This was the only corpse in the entire area that still had an intact body.
If not for the massive broken sword—hundreds of meters long—pierced through its chest, Vlad might have believed it was still alive.
"This… this was once a battlefield," Vlad muttered, breath caught in his throat.
"Who could have fought them?"
He stared at the dead giant with awe and terror. Though dead for at least thousands of years, it still emitted a dreadful aura.
Vlad inhaled deeply, suppressing his panic, and fixed his gaze on the creature's chest—where the energy fluctuation had originated.
Sure enough, the strange pulse came from the wound.
Vlad squinted, observing carefully. After confirming no danger, he flew toward the dead giant.
Landing on the broken sword, Vlad peered into the massive wound at the figure's chest—and spotted a diamond-shaped crystal, multi-faceted and gleaming faintly.
"What's that?"
"A magic crystal? A heart core? A godhead?" A spark of joy lit up his face.
He quickly reined in his excitement. Whatever it was, it was an unimaginably valuable treasure.
If he was right, then this demonic being had been a god-tier existence.
Even now, its lifeless form exuded a pressure that burdened Vlad's mind.
As Vlad drew closer, the diamond crystal began to glow softly, as if welcoming him.
Unaware of the danger, Vlad hesitated briefly, then focused his eyes and reached out his hand to grasp it.
But before his fingers could touch it, the glowing crystal suddenly flared with dazzling light—
And, carrying a terrifying aura, it shot straight into Vlad's palm.