Outside, the generals, the fleet commanders, Goddess Nexus, and even Commander Vulcan, who was usually unshakeable, almost fell over from their perches on the mountain.
Their jaws dropped so low they nearly hit the ground. 'Cakes?!' they thought. 'While their disciples are battling monsters and Shadow Rats inside a death trap?! These two are truly something else!'
Some secretly wondered if they could get a slice of whatever cake Shen Huai was thinking of, just for the sheer audacity of it all.
At this moment, Goddess Nexus just couldn't take it anymore. She walked straight to the lavish table where Shen Huai was still enjoying his tea, maybe still wondering if she could get some cakes.
Commander Vulcan followed right behind her, his face stern. He looked at Huai and Wuhe and said sharply, "Did you not see Her Highness? Why didn't you salute her?"
Huai looked at him, genuinely confused. "Why should I?" he asked.
Commander Vulcan grew furious. "Do you know what you're doing?" he demanded, his voice rising.
Huai tilted his head to one side. "Enjoying my tea?" he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Vulcan almost cursed out loud right then and there. But at that moment, Nexus shook her head slightly, warning him to stop. She even sent him a telepathic message,
'Don't curse! Or be disrespectful to him. He doesn't need to show me respect.'
These words completely shook Commander Vulcan. He looked at Huai with new understanding, a mix of awe and bewilderment.
Then, Nexus spoke, "Citizen Huai, what are you doing here?"
Huai gestured broadly. "Can't you see, like him too? I'm enjoying my tea!"
Nexus looked a bit flustered. "No, I mean, why are you enjoying your tea at this time?"
Huai looked up at the sky; it was early morning now. "What, can't I even drink tea in the morning?" he asked innocently.
This time, Nexus almost cursed him out loud, but she managed to stop herself. "No, I didn't mean the exact time," she explained, trying to keep her composure. "It's about the time when people are in danger in the Secret Realm."
Huai sighed, then said, "It's okay! At least my Eternal Sect people should be fine. I don't need to worry about them."
Wuhe also nodded in agreement. "Yes, they are definitely okay!" he added.
These remarks made Nexus and Commander Vulcan even more puzzled. No one else knew what was truly happening inside that dangerous Secret Realm, yet these two were so sure their sect members would be perfectly fine.
Nexus sighed again, then sat down on the empty seat beside Huai. Huai, being polite, poured a cup of tea for her.
Then, suddenly remembering something, he scratched his head. "Umm, I'm sorry, but I didn't realize that you are an artificial intelligence, so you can't drink, right?" he asked, looking embarrassed. "You should drink data, right? Do I need to give you the parchment containing the tea recipe or something?"
These words didn't just make Nexus almost fall off her chair, even Vulcan nearly toppled from his own spot. Both were stunned into silence.
Nexus didn't say anything. She just picked up the cup and took a sip.
While Huai and Wuhe were calmly enjoying their tea outside, surrounded by the anxious gaze of powerful figures like Goddess Nexus and Commander Vulcan,
a drastically different reality was unfolding within the Secret Realm. There, amidst the perilous landscapes and hidden dangers, a darker,
more sinister plot was being orchestrated by figures who had long forsaken their humanity.
Deep within the Secret Realm's central land area, a place often described as desolate and unforgiving, five shadowy figures manifested.
They appeared not from thin air, but as if the very shadows had coalesced to form their cloaked forms. These were not mere monsters or beasts of the realm; these were humans, or at least they once were.
They had betrayed their own kind, defecting to extraterrestrial races, becoming tools of destruction for the powerful, malevolent Nether Shadow Clan.
Their presence pulsed with a cold, unnatural energy, a stark contrast to the life-force that typically flowed through human cultivators.
The first figure, a tall and unnervingly slender shape, was the first to break the heavy silence with a piercing, cackling laugh. It wasn't a sound of joy, but of pure, unadulterated malice.
"Hahahaha! Hahahaha! Those fools from the Central Region!" he rasped, his voice echoing slightly in the barren expanse. He seemed to relish every word, every syllable dripping with contempt.
"Many of them lost their comrades. And now they are running! Running from their pitiful lives! Hahahahahah..." He savored the mental image of the once-proud cultivators from the Central Region, now broken and terrified,
fleeing for their very existence, their numbers dwindling with every passing moment. Their suffering was his entertainment.
The second person, a more robust and imposing figure, spoke next, his voice a low, guttural rumble. He sounded like a predator describing a successful hunt. "In my forest area too," he began, referring to the region he oversaw.
"Those people from the Northern Region never imagined we'd send those thousands of Nether Shadow Rats towards them." He chuckled, a deep, unsettling sound.
"They were attacked while off guard and many of them died. Hahahaha." He recounted how easily the Northern cultivators, renowned for their discipline,
had been caught unaware, overwhelmed by a ceaseless tide of shadowy vermin. Their screams, he implied, had been music to his ears.
Then came the third figure, whose voice carried a sly, almost playful tone, yet still hinted at profound cruelty. He spoke with a victorious smile that could practically be heard in his words.
"Hehe! I was the one who was watching them from here until those Eastern bastards thought that they'd just got treasures by defeating those water beasts." His tone mocked their fleeting victory, their short-lived celebration.
"But hehe," he continued, a sinister glee entering his voice, "I sent thousands of rats in response. And then..... hahahahhaha!" He revelled in the sudden turn of events,
the moment their triumph had transformed into terror under the onslaught of his dark creatures. The irony of their shattered hopes clearly delighted him.
The fourth one, with a voice that was flatter, colder, almost devoid of emotion, reported his success. "In my area many of those Southern Region people died," he stated matter-of-factly, as if discussing mundane business.
"I sent thousands and thousands of Shadow Rats towards them while they were fighting those mountain bandits." He explained his tactical maneuver, using existing threats to mask his own, ensuring maximum chaos.
"Now their number is so small that they are running for their lives." He found satisfaction in the sheer efficiency of his extermination, reducing a formidable force to a handful of desperate survivors.
However, the fifth figure remained silent, his cloaked form radiating an unusual tension. The other four, their celebratory mood beginning to wane, turned their attention to him. His posture seemed slumped,
his very presence dull and heavy. He was staring gloomily at a crystal he held in his hand, its faint, inner glow doing little to alleviate the pallor that seemed to hang over him.
Finally, he spoke, his voice lacking any trace of the others' sadistic joy; instead, it was filled with profound frustration and a hint of disbelief.
"Those fools from the Western Region," he began, almost spitting the words out.
"Although some of them died, in a single day some anomalies appeared. Even killed thousands and thousands of my Nether Shadow Rats."
His words hit the others like a cold shockwave. Their faces, though hidden by shadows, visibly sharpened, their malicious amusement instantly replaced by alarm. They exchanged swift, disbelieving glances.
The first figure, his previous cackle now replaced by a stunned gasp, voiced their collective disbelief.
"No way! Who can kill thousands of Nether Shadow Rats at the same level or higher?" He knew the inherent power of their creatures and the restrictions placed on the human cultivators within the realm. Such a feat seemed impossible.
The fourth one, ever practical, echoed the sentiment with a chilling certainty. "It's impossible to kill them," he affirmed, his voice tight with concern.
"With our Cultivation level it's possible. But those guys are restricted to enter." He referred to the immense power disparity, highlighting that only beings of their augmented strength could achieve such a massacre, but the human cultivators were far below that tier.
The second one added, his voice now serious and urgent, "Yes if not the headquarters used that treasure from Nether Shadow Clan they can't send us either here."
He reminded them of the immense resources and ancient artifacts required to circumvent the realm's protective barriers and allow them to operate with such power.
For mere cultivators to overcome their rats was an insult to the Clan's efforts.
The third one, sensing the shift in mood and the need for immediate action, quickly interjected. "It's not time for us to discuss those things guys," he urged, trying to refocus their scattered thoughts.
"You know them better. The boss is waiting for us in the central area. We need to contact him and inform what happened in the 5th brother's area soon." The mention of their 'Boss' instantly instilled a sense of dread and urgency,
reminding them of the higher authority they served and the consequences of failure.
The fifth figure, still clenching the crystal, nodded grimly, his face set in a mask of grim determination.
His frustration had now hardened into fierce resolve. "I'll kill them myself if I found out who did this," he vowed, his voice laced with venom.
"How dare they disrespect our Nether Shadow Race." His anger was palpable, a promise of brutal retaliation against whoever had dared to defy the might of the Nether Shadow Clan.
These were not just human traitors, they were fanatics, bound to their new masters, and any slight against their adopted race was an unforgivable offense.
While the five shadowy figures discussed their recent setbacks and plotted their next moves, an even more powerful,
and far more unsettling, presence was stirring in another part of the Secret Realm.
Deep within a secluded, ancient cave a place where shadows seemed to gather and cling even in the brightest light a creature of shadow meditated.
He looked human, perfectly formed, but his aura was completely black, like solidified darkness.
This shadowy essence swirled around him, a visible, almost tangible force that pulsed and ebbed with his breathing. Inside the cave, this dark energy fluctuated, making the air heavy and cold.
This being was immensely powerful, far beyond the limits usually imposed on cultivators in this realm.
His cultivation realm was Mahayana, a level almost unheard of for someone so young.
Indeed, he was not old at all, appearing to be around 25 or 26 years old. Yet, he commanded power that dwarfed everyone else within the Secret Realm. He was, without a doubt, the strongest being there.
He wasn't just some random powerful individual; he was a genius from a "7th-tier higher-level force" in the Central Region.
This force was known by a mysterious and unsettling name: "The Shadow God Clan." No one truly knew why they were called that, or what "god" they worshipped.
But the chilling reality was that the "god" they revered and served was none other than the extraterrestrial Nether Shadow Race the very beings pulling the strings of the war currently unfolding in the Secret Realm.
This young man was a key figure in their grand scheme, a direct descendant of those who had sworn allegiance to the enemy.
He was the young master of this secretive and powerful Shadow God Clan. His name was Venus.
He was assigned to take care of this Ten thousand mountain Secret Realm. He came here with 5 Fusion realm elders from his sect