Chapter 259 - Control Over the Secret Realm

The devastating state of the Undead Cult headquarters left Lu Ran in silence. He had no idea what happened since he made an appearance in that secret realm. Even Blue Planet’s archaeologists had not thoroughly unearthed this part of history. Lu Ran could only fill in the blanks with his imagination.

One possibility was that the Undead Cult had been crushed by the Beastmaster Empire. However, in its later years, the Beastmaster Empire had struggled to hold itself together. The true goal of the Undead Cult was never to overthrow the empire, so the likelihood of an all-out war between them was low.

Another possibility was that the Necromancy Master had led the Undead Cult to take the step forward to challenge the Legendary realm. And the result...

“Ah, whatever. It’s been who knows how many hundreds of millions of years.” Lu Ran quickly dismissed the thought.

What would knowing change?

The enemies were long gone. Even if they weren’t, his identity as the Undead Holy Son was entirely false. He had left no mark in the real history of the Stellar Moon Continent. Who was there to take revenge on? There was no justification for it.

If his opponents were Legendary beings, then one day, fulfilling the Necromancy Master’s wishes might be the best way to repay everything.

While Lu Ran had been lost in thought, the first wave of vicious spirits in the trial had already attacked. Without summoning his familiars, he stood motionless. He allowed the flames rising around him to transform into a Flame Blade, effortlessly devouring the vicious spirits.

“Let’s focus on challenging the secret realm first.”

From the level of the first wave of vicious spirits, Lu Ran could tell that this trial realm followed a fixed mechanism. It adjusted to the trial participant’s level. The Youxiong Clan’s and the Other Shore’s secret realms followed the same rules. There was no fundamental difference in difficulty.

After Lu Ran summoned Dark Crow and the others, he swiftly eliminated all ten waves of vicious spirits. The process was smooth and uneventful. The final boss was still a Low Overlord, which made things much easier than it was for Lin Nian. She encountered a Low Overlord as early as the seventh wave.

[Congratulations on completing the secret realm mission!]

[Score: SSS]

[You have received the beastmaster skill: Undead Resurrection.]

[You have received a trait crystal: Soul Burn (Allows the user to burn their soul power to exponentially unleash their combat potential.)]

[You have received an exclusive secret realm card.]

The rewards were average. There were only beastmaster skill cards and trait crystals that were commonly seen. The only exception was the exclusive secret realm card. It was a major gain.

As Lu Ran had guessed, the moment the exclusive key to this secret realm was lost in the ascension realm, the secret realm had immediately become unclaimed. Now that he had cleared it perfectly once more, the ownership of this real secret realm would be his to decide.

[Name: Exclusive Secret Realm Card]

[Description: The exclusive secret realm card of the Undead Secret Realm. It allows a designated item to be transformed into a secret realm key. The keyholder will possess the authority to close or open the secret realm.]

As Lu Ran held the exclusive secret realm card, a smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

From now on, this Undead Secret Realm would no longer be accessible to just anyone. Even if certain high-ranking members of the Other Shore leaked its entry method, that method only worked while the secret realm was unclaimed. As long as he shut the secret realm, no one else would be able to enter.

“What should I transform into the key?”

A tooth? A scale? An eyeball?

Lu Ran glanced at Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, and Dark Crow, who were busy inspecting the secret realm.

After engaging in combat, Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King had realized that this place felt incredibly familiar. They knew where this was. Meanwhile, Dark Crow had been entrusted with the task of investigating the secret realm thoroughly as the designated scout of the team.

Soon, the entire Undead Secret Realm was mapped out under Dark Crow’s gaze.

“My king, I couldn’t find a deep-space layer!

Wuwu,

maybe my skills just aren’t strong enough!”

After an exhausting scouting session, Dark Crow whimpered. During the fight, Lu Ran had asked it to search the surface layer of this space for an entrance to any deeper layers. But Dark Crow had found nothing.

Lu Ran had been searching for the same mysterious space the Necromancy Master had taken him to before. It was known as the Chosen Land. That place contained a Legendary power belonging to the Death Dragon’s Kin, capable of transforming humans into an undead species.

Lu Ran himself had undergone that transformation. As the Necromancy Master had once told him, even if his physical body perished, his soul would remain undead. It allowed him to revive in the form of an undead.

If Lu Ran could take control of the Chosen Land, it would be an immeasurable gain. But unfortunately, this Undead Secret Realm was likely just a projection of the Undead Cult’s headquarters. It was not the real location.

After all, this secret realm allowed multiple participants to enter simultaneously. If it weren’t a projection, how could different participants be battling within the same secret realm but in separate spaces?

Clearly, Limitless City had only projected the surface layer of the Undead Cult’s realm, leaving out the deep-space layer that housed the Death Dragon’s Kin’s power.

“Forget it.”

Lu Ran had expected Dark Crow to fail in locating the entrance. Then again, maybe Dark Crow was right—perhaps its abilities were simply insufficient.

After all, when the Necromancy Master had tried to unlock that space, he had gone through extensive preparations and spent a great deal of effort. If Lu Ran could crack it so easily, that would be the real problem.

For now, owning this Undead Secret Realm was already a massive gain. Beyond obtaining a stable means of undead conversion, he had also secured a Land of the Dead!

“Captain Doofus, give me Winter Fang.”

Lu Ran called out to Captain Doofus, who had been sniffing around the ground. It slowly lifted its head, then flung the greatsword like a throwing dart.

Catching it, Lu Ran drove the Winter Fang straight into the ground. A faint glow pulsed from the blade, and mysterious runes flickered along its surface before vanishing in an instant.

“

Caw,

my king. What does this mean?”

Dark Crow hovered in the air, confused. As it never experienced ascension realms before, it wasn’t familiar with these things.

“This sword was forged using the Soul Forging Technique. Weapons crafted through soul forging have a high chance of developing a weapon spirit when nurtured in the Land of the Dead. I’m just testing it out. If I do this a few more times and Winter Fang really does develop a weapon spirit, then Captain Doofus will have his first kin.”

Lu Ran clapped his hands, pleased with his plan.

However, as he stared at Winter Fang, he began to feel a headache coming on as it showed no reaction.

If only there was a progress bar.

Even if the nurturing process took a long time, at least he’d have something to look forward to.

Who knew how long this would take?

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Forget it, I’ll just take my time.

Besides working on a weapon spirit, Lu Ran was also considering how to awaken the consciousness of Longleaf Swordgrass. Two routes were progressing simultaneously. One of them was bound to succeed first.

***

After clearing the secret realm, participants could remain inside for a while. Just like any trial realm in Limitless City, this extra time allowed Lu Ran to focus on nurturing a weapon spirit.

However, Lu Ran was frustrated that he didn’t gain any significant privileges even after converting a single crow feather into a secret realm key and claiming ownership of the secret realm.

The only authority he had was to open and close the entrance. He couldn’t turn this Undead Secret Realm into his personal backyard. At its core, this secret realm was still a trial realm—one pre-designed by Limitless City for participants. This meant that nurturing a weapon spirit would be a hassle. Lu Ran would have to enter and exit the secret realm repeatedly.

By the time he stepped out of the secret realm, several hours had passed. Outside, Lin Nian and Manager Ying were waiting anxiously.

Why is Lu Ran taking so long? With his strength, clearing this Undead Secret Realm shouldn’t be this difficult.

But as soon as they sensed him stepping out, they both let out a breath of relief.

Good. He didn’t die in there.

“Hey, hey, hey! What took you so long?”

The two of them had assumed Lu Ran had been caught in a fierce battle, which was why he had been delayed. But when they saw him walk out with his Undead Holy Robe in mint condition, they immediately sensed that something was off.

As Manager Ying stepped forward, Lu Ran glanced at them and casually said, “I spent some time exploring the secret realm. This place...”

“Hmm?”

“This secret realm is actually the headquarters of the Undead Cult on Stellar Moon Continent. I stayed there for half a month, so I remember it well.”

“Huh? So as the Undead Holy Son, this is basically like going back to your home? Don’t tell me the Undead Cult had a hidden treasure vault in there, and you’ve been busy inheriting their fortune?”

Lin Nian’s suspicion wasn’t unreasonable. Lu Ran had always been an anomaly. At this point, Lin Nian wouldn’t find it surprising if he somehow caused trouble inside a Real Secret Realm.

“How could that be?” Lu Ran laughed bitterly. “Even though the setting is the Undead Cult’s headquarters, this is still just a projection. It’s a trial space created by Limitless City. Do you think they’d be generous enough to leave behind any actual treasures? Even if the Undead Cult did have some real inheritance, it wouldn’t be here.”

“So, you cleared the secret realm, right? Did you get an exclusive secret realm card?” Manager Ying cut straight to the point.

“Of course.” Lu Ran nodded. “I now have full control over this secret realm. As long as I don’t die inside an ascension realm, no one can take it from me.”

“Not bad. Now we don’t have to stay in this creepy place anymore. Let’s get Pig God to guard it and call it a day.”

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t be in such a rush, sis! I want to stay here for a few more days to train,” Lu Ran said. “Even though it’s a projection, I feel like there’s still value in exploring it. It all depends on how thoroughly Limitless City replicated this secret realm.

“If it’s anything like an ascension realm, then even a projection might hold some valuable discoveries. Besides, I don’t trust Pig God to guard this place properly...”

Lu Ran had his reasons for staying. Beyond continuing his exploration and nurturing a weapon spirit, he also wanted to use this Undead trial realm for training.

For him, clearing it alongside Sudden Death King and Dark Crow was as easy as drinking water. But if Captain Doofus were to challenge it alone? That would be a real challenge.

Before Captain Doofus’ next evolution, Lu Ran planned to use this secret realm for his training. He would be treating the Superior-King and Low-Overlord vicious spirits as whetstones for sword domain training.

For now, Lu Ran felt like he still needed his battle-hardened big sis to keep watch.