Outside the secret realm, beyond the 7005th Node, the void rippled violently.
One after another, three overwhelming auras descended, distorting space-time itself. The Universe Lords of the Three Major Groups had arrived.
Lord Meng Wan of the Monster Race stared at the terrifying secret realm barrier ahead, his expression still carrying a trace of disbelief.
"Meng Zuo," he said slowly, "are you certain that the Human Lord of Hunyuan truly piloted his divine boat into the secret realm wall?"
Even now, he found it difficult to accept.
"Lord Meng Wan, I witnessed it personally," the Monster Race Venerable Meng Zuo replied without hesitation. He immediately projected the footage recorded by his intelligent assistant. The image clearly showed the colossal palace treasure plunging straight into the violently surging barrier, vanishing without a trace.
Lord Meng Wan fell silent.
The secret realm wall before them radiated power so terrifying that even peak treasures could be crushed. And yet… it had been breached.
"Is that Human's divine boat really only a peak palace treasure?" Lord Meng Wan muttered.
"Probably not," a pleasant but cold voice interjected.
Lord Bilong of the Insect Race stepped forward, her figure elegant and calm. Beside her stood Lord Moyuan of the Automaton Race, his mechanical body humming faintly.
"Our Queen Mother has already analyzed the situation," Lord Bilong continued. "The Lord of Hunyuan's divine boat is very likely a palace-type supreme treasure. Otherwise, it would be impossible for it to withstand the current pressure of the secret realm wall—let alone force its way inside."
Lord Moyuan nodded, his metallic voice resonating. "After cross-referencing with our race's internal database, the probability that the divine boat is a supreme treasure is extremely high."
Lord Meng Wan's expression darkened.
"Bilong. Moyuan. Aren't you worried?" he pressed. "That Human Lord of Hunyuan has already seized the initiative. By the time the barrier weakens enough for us to pass through, everything valuable inside may already be gone!"
His intent was obvious—to provoke the other two into pressuring their races for stronger palace treasures.
Unfortunately, neither of them took the bait.
"If you can obtain a peak palace treasure from your race," Lord Bilong said coolly, "then you're welcome to try entering first."
Lord Moyuan's tone was equally indifferent.
The development of a new secret realm was never about hoarding benefits alone. It was meant to temper newly promoted Universe Lords. If races simply supplied treasures without restraint, what training value would remain?
More importantly—
Even if they were supplied with better treasures, could they truly compete with Bai Yue?
The brief clash with Beiqiu Prison Master had already settled the matter. The Lord of Hunyuan was universally acknowledged as a top-tier Universe Lord.
A top-tier Universe Lord, wielding a palace-type supreme treasure.
Even if the First Ancestors of the Three Major Groups personally descended—while suppressed by the Primordial Universe—they would still be unable to do anything to him.
Without absolute certainty, none of them dared provoke Bai Yue directly.
After all, they had no clones.
If they fell here before reinforcements arrived, death would be final.
Inside the secret realm.
After the Human Race Universe Exalts dispersed in all directions, Bai Yue remained near the region that would eventually reconnect with the Primordial Universe.
He calmly laid down a large-scale warning-type secret technique.
He never intended it to stop the other races—it was merely a declaration.
With his prior experience deploying similar techniques around the Galaxy, the process was effortless. In just a few days, the formation was complete.
Leaving a clone to maintain it, Bai Yue sent a trace of consciousness into the Virtual Universe.
The moment he entered the group chat dedicated to the secret realm operation, he was greeted by a notification count that had already exceeded 99,999+.
After quickly scrolling through the records, Bai Yue gained a clear picture of the past few days.
Before even leaving the Feiyuan Divine Boat, the Universe Exalts had already organized themselves into familiar teams. Once inside the secret realm, they acted decisively, sweeping through surrounding regions according to long-honed experience.
In just a short time, many had already gained substantial harvests. Screenshots of rare materials and unusual phenomena filled the chat, drawing envy and excitement from those who had yet to begin serious exploration.
More importantly, the explored territory expanded rapidly.
According to the continuously updated star map shared in the group, Venerable Xueyu had already reached a distance close to 100,000 light-years from the entry point. Other Universe Exalts were scattered throughout this vast region like blooming stars.
A distance of 100,000 light-years sounded immense—but for Universe Exalts, whose single teleportation range reached 1,000 light-years, it was merely a hundred jumps away.
Of course, no one dared teleport recklessly in an unknown secret realm.
The standard approach was cautious: probe first with detection equipment or domain treasures, confirm safety, then advance step by step. This method was slower, but it ensured that hidden treasures were rarely missed.
Even so, in only a few days, it was impossible to fully explore such an enormous area. More than half remained unknown.
Still, discoveries were already piling up.
In several regions, explorers had encountered indigenous life—not just once, but multiple times.
Some existed on planets similar to those in the outside universe. Others lived on massive void continents, much like Blood Luo World.
Where there was life, there was civilization.
And where there was civilization, there were records.
For an exploration force whose weakest members were Universe Exalts, extracting information from such civilizations was effortless.
After dismissing the Feiyuan Divine Boat, Bai Yue followed the coordinates marked on the star map.
After only a few teleports, he arrived above a vast continent nearly one light-year in diameter.
According to the information gathered earlier, the natives called this land Ailasuo Continent.
The name originated from the first—and only—god ever born here: Ice and Snow Great Emperor Ailasuo.
The ruling power of the continent was the Ice and Snow Shrine, founded by Ailasuo after his ascension to godhood.
At the center of the continent stood Ice and Snow Divine Mountain. At its peak lay the shrine's headquarters and the sacred throne that only Ailasuo was meant to occupy.
Yet now—
Seated casually upon that divine throne was Ji Xue Venerable, his vine-woven body exuding an aura that suppressed the entire shrine.
Below him, the semi-divine elders—existences comparable to World Lords—stood respectfully, not daring to show the slightest resistance.
They accepted Ji Xue Venerable's presence as if it were only natural.
Ji Xue had initially intended to seize Ailasuo directly. An Immortal God possessed more information than the entire continent combined—far faster than slow exploration.
However, after quietly infiltrating the shrine and thoroughly investigating the divine mountain, he found no trace of Ailasuo.
Disappointed, Ji Xue used soul secret techniques to control the shrine's elders and learned the truth.
Long ago, Ailasuo had received a summons from the Overlords of the divine system he served. He led an army of sword saints and semi-gods away from the continent, heading toward the center of the universe to participate in a divine war that shook the entire Nebula World.
He never returned.
Only the continued connection of his divine artifacts and tokens proved that he still lived.
The elders knew little else.
They only knew that this world was called the Nebula World, ruled by mysterious divine-system Overlords.
Ailasuo had never established a fixed God Kingdom passage—likely because the cost was too high. Instead, he relied solely on teleportation tokens.
"Ji Xue."
Bai Yue's voice suddenly echoed.
Ji Xue Venerable instantly rose from the throne and appeared in the sky outside the shrine, bowing deeply.
"Greetings, Lord of Hunyuan."
"Any further information?" Bai Yue asked directly.
Ji Xue's expression turned bitter as he reported everything he had learned.
After listening, Bai Yue brought Ji Xue to the location from which Ailasuo had last teleported.
Space-time twisted.
The flow of time reversed.
Scenes from the distant past replayed again and again—until, finally, a burly silver-haired figure appeared.
From the Immortal aura alone, it was clear: Ice and Snow Great Emperor Ailasuo.
The moment this image appeared, time snapped back to normal.
In the vision, Ailasuo rallied the masses below, stored his followers in a world ring, and activated God Kingdom teleportation.
Bai Yue smiled faintly.
He had already pinpointed the location of Ailasuo's God Kingdom.
After instructing Ji Xue not to resist, Bai Yue executed a short-distance teleportation.
In an instant, they arrived within a God Kingdom roughly three million kilometers in size.
It was carelessly placed—anchored to the spatial layer corresponding to the continent itself.
A fatal mistake.
The moment Bai Yue appeared, the entire God Kingdom fell under his absolute control.
On the divine throne within the central shrine sat Ailasuo himself, eyes wide with terror.
Space-time froze.
With a thought, Bai Yue pulled Ailasuo before them and released the restraint just enough for him to speak.
"Who—who are you?" Ailasuo shouted in panic. "This is my God Kingdom! I serve Overlord Linglong of the Water System—leave immediately!"
His divine body had suffered severe damage in the divine war. Even now, it had recovered barely half its former strength.
Before these two figures, he felt utterly powerless.
Ji Xue stepped forward, his aura pressing down mercilessly.
"The one before you is the great Lord of Hunyuan of the Human Race. Answer truthfully."
Seeing Bai Yue remain silent, Ji Xue began questioning him.
"What is the true name of this world? Who are its strongest rulers? What treasures exist here?"
Ailasuo froze. "World? Secret domain? I don't understand—"
"Your world," Ji Xue snapped coldly, increasing the pressure.
"Our world is called the Nebula World," Ailasuo blurted out. "Legend says it was created by the Genesis God Arceus, though no one has ever seen him."
"The rulers are the Overlords—Water Overlord Linglong, Thunder Overlord Elvis… and the strongest of all, the Light Overlord Bilus!"
Fear seized Ailasuo's heart.
Realizing the danger, he secretly split off a thought and activated the token bestowed by Overlord Linglong.
A surge of spatial god-power erupted—
"You're courting death!" Ji Xue roared.
With complete mastery of Space Law, he sealed the area instantly. His soul power surged forward, enslaving Ailasuo's weakened soul in a heartbeat.
Only then did he release the seal.
Ji Xue immediately turned and bowed. "My apologies, Lord of Hunyuan. I acted without permission."
Bai Yue waved his hand calmly. He did not mind.
"Have him explain everything in detail," Bai Yue said. "This secret realm is far from simple."
"Yes, Lord of Hunyuan."
Ji Xue turned back.
"Tell us everything you know."
"Yes… Master."
Ailasuo's eyes burned with fanatic devotion as he began recounting the true structure of the Nebula World.
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