“We’ve reached. It’s right ahead!” Kaison yelled, gazing at a spot where the snow and ice had melted.
“What a strange place this is. Why does it seem warmer here? Even the snow has melted,” Sunny commented.
“It appears there’s a warm breeze coming from the front. How could there be a warm current in a location as icy and snow-covered as this?” Loften wondered out loud, equally baffled.
“Let’s hurry. We’re about to find the entrance to the treasure,” Kaison urged. Upon reaching the entrance, they discovered that someone had already unlocked the gateway to the area, and there was no one in sight outdoors. However, a warm breeze was still coming out from inside the door.
“The door’s been opened?” Jared knitted his brows. He had the real key to the treasure, so how did others open the door?
Might this be a fake treasure? The leader of the Archaic Body cultivators previously mentioned the presence of numerous counterfeit treasures scattered about. If this entrance is wide open, it probably contains false treasure. But if the treasure within is fake, then what’s up with the warm currents? They can’t have put plenty of magical items in there too, right?
“Mr. Chance, what do we do now?” Kaison asked upon seeing the opened door. Jared hesitated for a second before saying, “Let’s head in.”
Regardless of whether or not the treasure within was fake, Jared was going to take a look. After all, if this was where the real treasure was hidden, he would be passing up the opportunity to obtain it if he simply left.
The group then slowly ambled in, with Jared leading the way cautiously. Upon entering, they were welcomed by a colorful display of spiritual energy. The scene was so enchanting that it felt like they were strolling down a path into a realm of fantasy.
The deeper Jared guided them, the more the temperature rose. Suddenly, a brilliant light illuminated their path, causing them to instinctively shut their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, they were startled to find out that they were now in an unfamiliar place.
They found themselves surrounded by verdant trees, with a mist-shrouded valley stretching. out before them. “W-What’s… going on? What happened?”
“How can a place like this exist in the far north?
This is impossible!”
“We haven’t entered an illusion array, have we? Are we mass hallucinating?”
The sudden change in scenery sent a wave of panic coursing through the people. Even Jared was taken aback by the sight before him. When the white light had flashed earlier, it appeared they had passed through some kind of barrier and been transported away by some mysterious force.
Nonetheless, Jared was sure that the scenery before them was no hallucination. It was impossible to confuse Jared with an illusion array. He was an array expert, after all. No mere illusion array could trap him.
“This isn’t an illusion array. We’ve come to another place. There’s also a possibility that we’re still in the far north but far underground,” Jared explained.
“Mr. Chance, if this isn’t an illusion array, could this place be a secret realm? I recall Mason mentioning that the far north wasn’t always a frozen wasteland. In the past, it was a region where lush vegetation and flowers flourished. Could he have been referring to this place? Is this a secret realm associated with an immortal?” Kaison suggested to Jared.
However, Jared shook his head. “This place doesn’t seem like a secret realm, but we’ll have to check it out before coming to a conclusion.”
With that, he released his spiritual sense and let it head toward the misty valley. However, he soon found something highly peculiar about the mist-his spiritual sense could not enter it.
Right then, Sunny said, “Mr. Chance, something’s up with the mist. My spiritual sense can’t explore it.”
It seemed like he had tried to let his spiritual sense study the place as well. Jared nodded and proceeded to approach the mist, extending his hand into it.
A beat later, he retracted his arm.
