Chapter 184: Entering the Secret Area

The location of the ancient cave was in a place called Sanzhu Mountain.

It was quite far away, and Su Nan could see three triangularly arranged peaks in the distance.

The stones on the peaks were all red, as if they had been dyed red by blood.

After countless years of erosion, the three mountains, though still towering, were somewhat shorter compared to the peaks depicted on the treasure map.

Qian Yu led Wang Nan into the valley, where dozens of players were stationed.

After some twists and turns, the group finally arrived at a cave entrance at the foot of one of the mountains.

"To enter the cave, you need to pass through a formation, and that formation is at the end of this cave," Qian Yu explained as he led Su Nan to the end of the cave.

There, at the end of the cave, was a massive stone slab with a diameter of ten meters, covered in intricate patterns. In the center of the stone slab, there was a silver sword inserted.

The sword seemed out of place, contrasting with the intricate patterns on the stone slab.

"That is... the key to enter the cave!" Su Nan's heart skipped a beat as he instantly understood that the sword should be the key to enter the cave, just like the treasure map he held.

Noticing Su Nan's gaze, Qian Yu calmly explained, "That sword is the core of this formation and cannot be pulled out. Once it's removed, the formation will be destroyed."

Qian Yu clearly didn't want Su Nan to know the true purpose of the sword, so he casually made up a reason to discourage Su Nan's interest in it.

Su Nan couldn't help but smirk inwardly. He didn't expose anything either and shifted his gaze away from the sword, focusing on the information he received from his panel.

[Following several outsiders, you have arrived at the entrance to the ancient cave as recorded on the treasure map.]

[Stepping onto the formation plate to enter the cave, with the activation of the bloodline power of one of the outsiders, the formation plate activates, and you, along with several outsiders, enter the ancient strongman's cave.]

[Just like the information you knew, this cave is located in a small space. The entire space is dimly lit, and you continue to follow the outsiders.]

[One minute later, you encounter a common-ranked monster unique to the cave. You dispatch it effortlessly.]

[Two minutes later, you arrive at a small hill, the territory of a spirit-ranked monster. Without detouring, you directly kill the monster and pass through.]

[Three minutes later, you kill another common-ranked monster.]

[The first precognition ends. Do you want to continue precognition?]

"No."

Su Nan chose not to continue.

According to Qian Yu, the secret area within the cave was deep inside, and after entering the cave, they would need to travel for another twenty to thirty minutes. This meant that if he continued using precognition, he would need to waste more than ten uses.

Although he now had a total of 54 uses of precognition, it was still better to conserve them. After all, the secret area was his main goal.

The cave space had been explored many times and was relatively safe. In contrast, no one had ever entered the secret area, and nobody knew what would happen inside. He needed to save enough precognition uses to ensure his safety.

"Wang Nan, let's go inside."

As if to prevent Su Nan from having any reservations about the stone slab, Qian Yu took the lead and stepped onto the giant stone slab.

"Alright!" Since precognition ensured his safety, Su Nan had no reason to be concerned. He also stepped onto the stone slab.

The other members of the Nine Heavens Guild followed suit. With Qian Yu's guidance, they activated the massive stone slab, and the runes on it started to glow.

In the next moment, Su Nan felt a momentary blur, and when his vision cleared, he found himself in a dimly lit space.

"Is this the cave?" Su Nan was curious. With a quick glance, he realized that this place was entirely different from the space in the Bone Burial Cave.

Other than the absence of stars and moon, it was almost indistinguishable from the outside world.

Under their feet, there was still a massive stone slab with a diameter of ten meters, almost identical to the one they entered from.

Qian Yu led the way, and the group continued forward.

Su Nan didn't know that the moment he entered the cave, the members of the Fate Society in the real world immediately received information about his actions.

"Qian Yu actually brought Wang Nan into the ancient cave?"

"What does Qian Yu want to do? Wang Nan's current strength is not something we can easily deal with. Qian Yu actually dares to bring him into the ancient cave. If he gains any benefits inside, our plans will be disrupted!"

"This might not necessarily be a bad thing. Perhaps it's also an opportunity for us. According to Qian Yu, there's only one exit in that cave. If we set up traps at that exit, we might get unexpected gains."

"Moreover, if Wang Nan doesn't have a way to leave the cave, I might seize this opportunity to trap him permanently in that space."

"Let's give it a try. This is an opportunity after all."

In the cave space, under Qian Yu's guidance, Su Nan quickly headed deeper into the cave.

Three minutes later, Su Nan had killed two monsters.

He noticed that the monsters here seemed somewhat robotic compared to those outside.

"These monsters lack intelligence," Su Nan was surprised and instantly realized the significance of this place to the Nine Heavens Guild.

Monsters without intelligence meant that they were easier to hunt compared to those outside. For players, monsters meant monster power, and having such a place with monsters that were easier to hunt would greatly benefit the Nine Heavens Guild.

"No wonder your guild has been able to nurture so many talents. You have a treasure trove like this," Su Nan praised as he glanced at the players Qian Yu had brought with him.

In addition to the two spirit-ranked players, one fat and one thin, Qian Yu had also brought fifty common-ranked players.

All of these players had mastered the fourth type of common-ranked monster technique to perfection!

"You're too kind, Wang Xiong. In your eyes, these might not be much," Qian Yu smiled, seemingly downplaying it, but his eyes held a trace of pride.

This place had become his headquarters, and if Su Nan didn't have an essential item to enter the secret area, he wouldn't have allowed Su Nan to come here.

Half an hour later, the group finally arrived at the so-called secret area.

What surprised Su Nan was that the entrance to the secret area was just an ordinary-looking stone.

The stone was plain and inconspicuous, the kind of stone that would go unnoticed among the scattered rocks.

"No wonder the cave has been discovered for over five hundred years, and no one found that there's a secret area here," Su Nan marveled.

"It's quite a coincidence. Back then, we encountered a spirit-ranked monster here. I fought with it and accidentally discovered that this stone was exceptionally hard, unlike the other stones. Upon closer inspection, I found it to be the entrance to a secret area."

Was it really just a coincidence? Su Nan couldn't help but doubt Qian Yu's words.

In his view, Qian Yu must have concealed many things. However, these details were not important. With precognition, he was confident that he could easily overcome any obstacles Qian Yu might present.

Chapter 184: Entering the Secret Area

"Precognition!"

With a thought, Su Nan began precognition once again.

[You followed another outsider to the entrance of a secret area within an ancient cave. You know that to enter the secret area, you need two items, and you happen to have one of them.]

[You and the other outsider take out your respective items and place them on the stone in front of you. At that moment, the entrance to the secret area appears before your eyes.]

[Seeing the entrance actually appear, the other outsider is very excited and agrees with you that once inside the secret area, you will explore independently without interfering with each other.]

[You readily agree, and the other outsider, eager to explore, leads the rest of the outsiders into the secret area. Seeing this, you no longer hesitate and also enter the secret area.]

[The scenery before you changes, and you successfully enter the secret area.]

[The place you are in is a vast desert, stretching as far as the eye can see. The wind howls, kicking up a flurry of yellow sand.]

"As expected, the first area of the secret area is a desert."

Qian Yu had mentioned on the way here that the secret area was divided into three regions: desert, swamp, and ice field.

Right after entering the secret area, they found themselves in this desert, confirming that Qian Yu had not deceived him.

[The other outsiders appear not far from you. The leader of the other outsiders bids you farewell and leads the rest of them to the east.]

[After a brief hesitation, you decide not to follow the other outsiders but choose to head south. The wind and sand howl, quickly covering any traces you leave behind.]

[Your progress in the desert is not very fast. You know that, even though it appears safe, there may be hidden dangers.]

[One minute later, you have walked over a kilometer, and there is nothing but the howling wind in your ears.]

[Two minutes later, you climb to a relatively high sand dune to look around, but apart from endless yellow sand, there is nothing else.]

[Three minutes later, you haven't encountered any danger and continue to move forward.]

[The first precognition ends. Do you want to continue?]

"Continue!"

...

The desert was vast, boundless, with no end in sight. In the beginning, Su Nan was cautious when he started precognition and didn't walk too quickly. However, as time passed and he realized that there seemed to be no danger in the desert, he began to move at full speed.

But something strange happened.

The second precognition ended, and he hadn't encountered any danger.

The third precognition ended, and he still hadn't encountered any danger.

The fourth precognition ended, and there was still no sign of danger.

Including the first precognition, he had gone through five consecutive precognitions, and he had not encountered any danger at all.

This was puzzling.

Even if this was a space within the ancient cave, it should still be filled with dangers.

Even in the real world, after such a long time, he should have encountered some danger, big or small.

With his current speed, he could easily cover several kilometers in just one minute.

Fifteen minutes had passed in the precognition, and he had covered at least sixty to seventy miles. He should have already left the desert by now, or at the very least, encountered some kind of danger.

"Could it be because I chose the wrong direction?"

Su Nan thought of a possibility. In the precognition, Qian Yu had headed east, while he had gone south.

If Qian Yu had chosen a direction at random, it wouldn't matter.

But if there was a purpose behind his choice, maybe following Qian Yu would lead to some discoveries.

Thinking of this, Su Nan decided not to continue with the precognition. He planned to start over.

"Brother Nan, now all you need to do is take out the short sword, and we can open the entrance to the secret area."

During the few precognitions, Qian Yu had already taken out his item, a rusty knife. "Alright." Su Nan didn't hesitate and took out the short sword.

The two of them placed their respective items on the stone, and suddenly, a beam of light shot up from the stone, forming a towering column of light in front of them.

"It's opened!"

Seeing the column of light, Qian Yu was overjoyed.

He had been planning this secret area for a long time. Although his original plan had been disrupted by Su Nan's sudden intervention in the auction, as long as he could enter the secret area, he still had control over everything.

Suppressing his impatience, he looked at Su Nan and said, "Brother Wang Nan, in the secret area, opportunities depend on individual abilities. Once we enter the secret area, there's no need for us to continue following each other. Whether we can gain anything or not depends on our own luck."

"Of course," Su Nan nodded.

Even if Qian Yu hadn't said it, he would have chosen to separate.

After hatching the Dragon Turtle, his luck had doubled. If there were any real opportunities, he didn't believe he would miss them.

Moreover, many of his abilities were kept secret, and it would be inconvenient to use them if he were with Qian Yu.

Qian Yu took the lead and walked towards the column of light. The moment his body entered the light, he disappeared from everyone's sight.

The other members of the Nine Heavens Guild reacted quickly and one by one entered the column of light.

Su Nan also entered the column of light, and his surroundings changed. He found himself in the desert.

The information from the previous precognition had told him that there was a black wind blowing in the desert.

Just from reading the text in the precognition, he didn't have a real sense of it.

Now that he was truly in the desert, he understood what the black wind meant.

The entire space was gloomy, and the wind howled. Looking up at the sky in the distance, it seemed like a gaping mouth ready to swallow the entire desert below.

Qian Yu obviously didn't want Su Nan to follow him. As soon as his members were assembled, he immediately led them to the east, moving quickly, seemingly afraid that Su Nan would follow.

Su Nan didn't move and stood still, observing his surroundings, as if he were contemplating which direction to choose.

Seeing this scene, one of the Spirit-ranked players in Qian Yu's group, the fat one, said, "Boss, that Wang Nan didn't follow."

"It's best if he didn't. If he followed, it would be detrimental to our actions in the future."

Qian Yu didn't show any concern, but he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Little did he know that in Su Nan's precognition, Su Nan had already followed them and had walked for several kilometers.

[Looking at the desert before you, you know that this desert is very strange, and it's difficult to navigate if you walk randomly. You choose to follow the group of outsiders to advance.]

[The leader of the group of outsiders notices that you are following them, and although he is secretly angry, he has no way to do anything about it.]

[One minute later, you have walked thousands of meters with the group of outsiders.]

...

[Three minutes later, the group of outsiders ahead has not encountered any danger, and you are still following them about a kilometer away.]

[The first precognition ends. Do you want to continue?]

"Continue."

Next, just like in the previous precognition outside the secret area, in Su Nan's precognition, everyone continued to travel.

However, slowly but surely, Su Nan began to frown.

(End of this chapter)