Everyone had awakened.

  Within the dim stone chamber, a suffocating chill hung heavy in the air.

  “Where is this place?”

  “My spiritual energy why is there not a single trace left?!”

  “Damn it, there’s something wrong with this secret realm!”

  Whispers, curses, and panicked cries overlapped one another. Fear spread like a plague through the crowd.

  Then—

  A clear, cold voice cut through the chaos.

  “Silence.”

  At some unknown moment, Senior Sister had already stepped to the front.

  Her gaze swept across the room, her eyes calm and unruffled.

  There was something strange about her presence an invisible steadiness that gradually quieted the restless cultivators.

  Without realizing it, everyone began to look toward her.

  Unconsciously, she had become their temporary leader.

  “I will explain the current situation,” she said. Though her voice was not loud, it carried distinctly to every ear. “We are trapped in a sealed chamber. Our spiritual energy has been completely drained. The only exit is the stone door before us. To open it, we must unlock the Five Elements seal attached to it.”

  Her slender finger pointed toward the massive bronze lock.

  “The rules are simple. Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth choose one. If the choice is correct, the door opens. But we only have two attempts. If we fail twice, the door will seal permanently.”

  She continued explaining calmly.

  Her steady tone gradually soothed the crowd.

  But as he listened, Wen Shan’s thoughts drifted.

  One reason was simple: everything she was saying, he already knew. As the first to awaken in this chamber, he had explored it thoroughly before the others stirred. He understood their predicament clearly.

  The more important reason, however, was another question that lingered heavily in his mind.

  What is going on?

  Why is Senior Sister here?

  He had always assumed she was merely the leader assigned to guide this expedition. A cultivator of her level would never lightly risk entering such an unpredictable secret realm.

  After all, in a Decline-of-Dharma realm, no matter how powerful one was, cultivation would be forcibly suppressed to the Qi Refining stage. One’s heaven-shaking abilities would be reduced to almost nothing.

  Few senior experts would willingly accept such danger.

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  And yet…

  She had truly entered.

  That realization startled Wen Shan.

  Then what about Zhou Hairui of Blood Feast Valley?

  Had he entered as well?

  Although Qin Yi’s side had not seen Zhou Hairui, it was entirely possible he had been teleported elsewhere.

  If that were the case, this secret realm expedition might be far more complicated than Wen Shan had anticipated.

  “Xiu Xiu, what do you think?”

  Senior Sister’s voice abruptly cut through his thoughts.

  She was not speaking to him, yet the sudden address made him instinctively refocus.

  Huang Ling’er no, she should now be called Huang Xiu Xiu still wore the same hollow-eyed, expressionless look.

  But when called upon, she answered in a flat, emotionless tone.

  “This is the Hai-Suan Secret Realm. To open the door, one cannot rely on luck. Calculation is required.”

  Senior Sister nodded slightly.

  “And how do we calculate which orb to destroy?”

  Huang Xiu Xiu shook her head.

  “Insufficient information. Unable to deduce.”

  A nearly imperceptible crease appeared between Senior Sister’s brows.

  She had never expected to rely entirely on Huang Xiu Xiu to clear the trial, but encountering a dead end so quickly still stirred a trace of irritation within her.

  After a brief pause, she issued an order.

  “Search the room thoroughly. If this realm tests ‘calculation,’ then it must leave traces. Without clues, how could we compute anything?”

  The righteous disciples present did not question her command. They dispersed immediately, conducting a meticulous search of the small chamber.

  Wen Shan joined them.

  Though he already knew most of them would find nothing.

  He had awakened first. He had examined every corner already yet discovered nothing.

  Still, he could not openly challenge Senior Sister.

  First, the difference in their status was too great. Speaking rashly would only seem presumptuous.

  Second, he could not be entirely certain he had not overlooked something subtle.

  Perhaps, with so many people searching together, someone might notice what he had missed.

  In any case, another thorough inspection could do no harm.

  The lock had no time limit.

  They could afford to remain here as long as necessary so long as they eventually found the correct solution.

  At this very moment, far away in another sealed chamber, Qin Yi was experiencing the same scene.

  Two chambers.

  Two groups.

  Conducting identical searches.

  Time ticked by.

  Neither side found anything of significance.

  But Qin Yi’s side was under greater strain.

  He had already become the center of scrutiny. If he failed to produce a convincing plan, the backlash would be severe. He would not only lose their trust—he might even be isolated by the more volatile demonic cultivators.

  On Wen Shan’s side, Senior Sister’s presence kept order from collapsing. Yet as time passed, patience thinned and the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy.

  Realizing this, Wen Shan stopped searching ahead of the others.

  He took a deep breath and approached Senior Sister.

  “Senior Sister, everyone has searched for quite some time with no results. Perhaps… we should change our approach?”

  She glanced at him.

  There was no anger in her eyes—only mild curiosity.

  “Oh? And what approach do you suggest?”

  Wen Shan’s heart tightened.

  He had not expected her to throw the question back at him so directly.

  This was both a test—and an opportunity.

  If his answer failed to satisfy her, his standing in her eyes would plummet.

  But if he impressed her

  Then after leaving the secret realm, upon returning to the sect, she might regard him differently.

  The righteous sects were not as brutally straightforward as the demonic ones.

  Though Senior Sister was strict—and perhaps somewhat unstable she was not like Zhou Hairui, whose temper turned faster than a flipped page.

  The problem was

  What answer would satisfy her?

  For a moment, he truly had none.

  Instinctively, Wen Shan looked around.

  And in that glance

  A spark ignited in his mind.

  Within this secret realm, he possessed two perspectives.

  One here.

  The other through Qin Yi.

  If he had only one viewpoint, he might never have noticed anything unusual.

  But comparing the two

  A glaring difference suddenly became obvious.

  The cultivators in these two chambers were completely different.

  On Qin Yi’s side, every person wore the attire of demonic sect branches, their auras sinister and twisted.

  Here, on his side, everyone wore righteous sect robes, their presence upright and dignified.

  Could this difference… be the clue?

  Without further hesitation, Wen Shan spoke.

  “Senior Sister, since we cannot find clues from external objects, perhaps we should begin with ourselves.”

  “I suggest we stop searching and have everyone state which sect and branch they belong to.”

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