The commander was a burly, middle-aged guy, wearing a deep green khaki uniform with the Human Federation's emblem engraved on it. He looked at the people below, then with a stern face, wary of the surroundings.
He said to Nexus, "Your Highness! I am Commander Vulcan. I have the privilege of operating the 'Vulcan Extreme Fleet'."
"We are all ready to take action by your order at any time, without thinking a second time. But before that, let me introduce you to the manpower we hold at the moment."
He looked at the well-mannered soldiers who were steady in their respective positions and waiting for the announcement of war. All stood with utmost bravery and straight spines, as if made of steel.
He said to Nexus,
"Sovereign! Our Vulcan Extreme Fleet consists of one main battleship, known as the Vulcan Air 1. This battleship always accompanies four heavy cruisers and twenty smaller light frigates."
"All twenty smaller battle frigates are now on high alert outside the Blue Star planet, ready to take action at any time."
"As you can see, we have a total of 10,000 soldiers with me right now."
"An additional 20,000 soldiers are posted inside the other twenty smaller battle frigates."
"Excluding me, in our Vulcan Extreme Fleet, there are twenty-five Fleet Captains who have the responsibility to control the four heavy cruisers, the main battleship, and the other twenty smaller frigates."
"There are also seven Wing Commanders, responsible for controlling and coordinating the specialized wings, strike craft squadrons, and boarding operations. Each of them controls around 1,000 elite soldiers."
"There are also a total of 10,000 elite soldiers in the main Vulcan battleship, 2,000 in each of the four battle cruisers, and in the other twenty smaller frigates, there are a total of 12,000 soldiers."
"Now, with us, we have only brought a total of 10,000 soldiers with our five battleships; the rest of them are waiting for the command outside Blue Star planet."
"Excluding all these members, there are still soldiers for the management area of the battleships, around 5,000 of them."
Nexus nodded at Commander Vulcan, then said, "We can't interfere in this particular Secret Realm, so we need to wait until they get out of the Secret Realm. Everyone, be ready in your positions to take action at any time."
Hearing the command, Commander Vulcan gave a salute to Nexus. Then he returned to his fleet's battleships. All the soldiers formed a formation to block the entrance of the Ten Thousand Mountain Secret Realm.
The people from the Central, Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Regions all watched everything with cold eyes. They never expected that their sect's future disciples would be in this kind of accident.
At the side, Huai and Wuhe both were watching everything with calm minds. They never took this situation with great interest. They had already given everything they could give to their sect members. Wuhe even gave eight specially made tokens to those eight children.
The most important matter is that he hadn't said anything about the token, but Huai knew just how important that token was. That token was made out of the essence from an immortal saint.
It can even withstand full force attacks from immortal saints, and even has the attack power of a peak Immortal saint.
If they knew the things they carried could annihilate the whole Human Federation and even this whole plane, Huai didn't know what his brothers and sisters would think in return.
Just how much they'd revere their new Grand Elder.
Nexus looked at Huai to see if he was going through tension or not, but met a calm, powerful gaze from Huai. She never thought that Huai would be this calm. The person who loves his sect members as if they were his own children, how could he still be okay after knowing the fact that the Secret Realm was already invaded by extraterrestrial races?
'Or else he has some trump cards left, with which he can save his sect members,' she thought to herself.
But she didn't know that Huai and Wuhe both were anomalies themselves in this lower plane, and this Secret Realm was nothing in their eyes. They could easily break the restrictions and enter the Secret Realm to rescue their people. They just wanted their sect members to gain some experience so that they could reach a height in cultivation from where they could look down on every cultivator.
Inside the secret realm,
The moment everyone stepped through the shimmering purple-gold vortex, the world spun. It wasn't a gentle turn, but a dizzying,
disorienting rush of colors and feelings. One moment, they were standing with their friends, the next, they were alone.
The vast, swirling gate swallowed them whole, then spat them out into unknown parts of the Secret Realm.
No one landed together. The Central Region cultivators, who entered first, found themselves scattered across a huge, open plain.
The Northern Region disciples appeared deep within a sprawling forest.
Eastern Region cultivators found themselves on the edge of a great, sparkling lake.
The Southern Region landed near tall, jagged mountains,
and the Western Region disciples, including the Eternal Sect members, ended up in a tangled, ancient jungle. It was clear the Secret Realm had its own will, carefully separating everyone upon entry.
The inside of the Ten Thousand Mountain Secret Realm was like many different worlds stitched together.
It wasn't just one big area, but a huge, changing landscape with many different parts.
Imagine a giant, beautiful land, but everything is bigger, older, and filled with more spirit energy than the outside world.
The air itself felt thick with power, making every breath invigorating.
For the scenery of Open plains, These were vast, rolling fields, covered in strange, glowing grasses that hummed with energy. Huge, slow-moving beasts grazed here,
Some are as tall as houses, their hides shimmering with protective scales. Scattered across the plains were ancient ruins, crumbling stone structures covered in moss and strange carvings.
These ruins often held hidden doorways leading to underground passages or small, forgotten chambers filled with old treasures or dangerous traps. The sky above the plains was always bright, a clear, endless blue.
As For this was a place of giant trees, their trunks wider than a carriage, their branches reaching so high they almost touched the clouds.
The leaves were a deep emerald green, and strange, luminous flowers bloomed on the forest floor, casting soft light. The air here was damp and smelled of rich earth and unknown blossoms.
Thick vines hung everywhere, and ancient, winding paths snaked through the undergrowth. This forest was home to many smaller, faster beasts, and sometimes, spirit fruit trees could be found,
their fruits glowing with internal energy. Hidden within the deepest parts of the forest were forgotten altars, where ancient beings once made offerings in that area .
For the sparkling lake, a massive body of water, so clear you could see deep into its depths, where giant fish with shimmering scales swam. The water itself glowed softly, especially at night, reflecting the sky like a second,
inverted heaven. Around the lake were shores of smooth, colorful pebbles and towering cliffs that plunged straight into the water.
Mysterious caves dotted the cliffs, some leading to hidden springs of pure spiritual water, others to dark, watery tunnels.
Sometimes, glowing water lilies float on the surface, their petals offering rare healing properties.
As for the mountains ,
These mountains were sharp and menacing, their peaks scraping the sky. They were made of dark, crystalline rock that glinted in the light, and snow often capped their highest points.
The air here was thin and cold, and strong winds howled through the passes. Climbing these mountains was difficult and dangerous, with narrow ledges and sudden drops.
But within their rocky hearts were rich veins of rare ores, gleaming minerals, and sometimes, mountain-dwelling spirit beasts with tough hides and sharp claws.
Hidden deep inside were often ancient caves that housed powerful, slumbering creatures or rare cultivation techniques carved into the stone walls.
And for the jungle,
This was the wildest and most chaotic part of the Secret Realm. Everything grew thick and fast here. Giant ferns, towering trees wrapped in thick vines, and strange, bioluminescent plants that pulsed with soft light.
The air was hot and heavy, humming with insects and the calls of unseen creatures. The ground was often muddy and difficult to traverse, with hidden pits and quicksand.
This jungle was home to venomous beasts, cunning predators, and rare medicinal plants that thrived in the rich, humid environment.
Ancient, crumbling temples, overgrown with vines, were sometimes found deep within, guarding powerful artifacts or trials.
Connecting these different regions were invisible, shifting pathways. Sometimes, a path would appear, clear and inviting, only to vanish moments later, leaving a confused cultivator stranded.
Other times, a hidden portal would shimmer into existence, offering a shortcut to another zone, but without warning, it could also lead to a dangerous trap.
The Secret Realm was alive, constantly changing, and always full of both wonder and danger. It was a place designed to test cultivators to their limits, offering immense rewards to those strong and clever enough to survive.
High up in the sky of the Secret Realm, there was a giant, ghostly tower. It wasn't fully bright yet; it looked dimmed, like a light that was turned down low. This was the famous Tower of Ten Thousand Mountains.
It didn't stay in one spot. Instead, it slowly floated and moved around the sky, like a cloud. Even though it was so big, it was hard to see clearly, as if it was made of thin mist or starlight.
No matter where you were in the Secret Realm whether in the forest, by the lake, on the mountains or in the vast open plains you could usually see this tower. It was like a silent watcher over everything.
Even being so far away and dim, the tower gave off a strong, heavy feeling. It wasn't scary, but it felt very powerful, like a big, ancient thing.
It was just waiting, almost like it was asleep, for the right moment to open up for people who had special tokens.
But something was wrong inside the Secret Realm. A feeling of unease began to spread, like a cold chill on a warm day. It started subtly, then grew stronger.
A dark, heavy energy, like smoke but not quite smoke, started to come from every hidden corner of the Secret Realm. It seeped out from deep caves in the mountains,
from the darkest parts of the forest, from under the surface of the glowing lake, and from the tangled roots in the jungle. It wasn't just a faint wisp; it was a constant, growing flow of gloom.
As this dark energy spread, strange shadows began to appear. These weren't normal shadows made by the sun. They moved on their own, twisting and stretching,
even in places where there should be light. They looked like shapeless blobs at first, then sometimes they would seem to reach out, like long, shadowy arms.
These shadows were wandering everywhere. In the open plains, they drifted like dark clouds close to the ground, making the bright grass seem dull and lifeless. In the forest, they slithered between the giant trees,
making the glowing flowers dim. By the lake, they crawled onto the shores, turning the sparkling pebbles black. Even on the jagged mountains, they moved along the cliffs, making the strong rock feel fragile.
It felt like these shadows had a hungry mind of their own. They didn't just move; they seemed to want to devour everything in their path. When they passed over a patch of glowing grass, the light would dim,
almost as if the grass's energy was being sucked away. When they touched a clear stream, the water would briefly turn murky. The air grew heavier, colder, and harder to breathe.