The Cloud Realm had opened, and without a second thought, the others followed one by one, passing through the rotating entrance into the secret realm.
Ivan was no exception.
He stuffed the Scented Butterfly and Wind Moth into his pocket, letting the insect aura permeate his entire body; at that moment, judging by aura alone, he was an insect.
Then, without any hesitation, he stepped into the vortex-like entrance passage.
After several seconds of dizzying disorientation, Ivan found himself completely lost, surrounded by wispy and dense clouds of smoke. If he carefully sensed the aura around him, he would come to realize that this secret realm seemed to be composed of insect auras.
In fact, it was highly probable.
According to the hypothesis of Insect Control Masters, the Red Cloud Realm could have been the result of high-level insect creatures’ remnants transforming into a special secret realm over countless millennia by mere chance.
“According to their hypothesis, the richer the insect aura on one’s body, the closer the connection with the swarm, the more likely one is to be sent deeper into the realm, thereby finding more valuable resources.”
“I don’t know where it will take me.”
By now, Ivan could no longer see anyone else’s tracks.
After drifting with the mysterious forces of the realm for quite some time, he finally broke through the layers of smoke clouds and landed in a dimly lit solid ground.
The surroundings looked like a world constructed of stones, with smooth rocks of varying sizes and shapes forming an endless ground, building up into towering columns and stacking into small mounds of hills.
Further adorned with soil and weeds, it was a scenery of its own kind.
If one looked more closely, they would discover another layer of truth – the so-called smooth stones were all insect eggs. Wherever the eye could see, there were innumerable eggs.
This place was an area composed entirely of insect eggs.
Even as an official sorcerer, Ivan felt a sense of goosebumps in such a place.
“Indeed, it’s different from what Randall had described. It’s unclear whether what the first person to enter the secret realm said was true or false. If true, everyone would benefit following suit.”
“So many eggs, the number and variety of which are hard to estimate, what a pity.”
He looked around and shook his head slightly. In the past, many sorcerers had brought eggs out of the secret realm, but after hatching, the insects would quickly die as if severely incompatible with the environment.
Without exception.
After various methods of verification, the sorcerers concluded that the eggs contained a stubborn essence of death, which led to the insects’ very short lifespan.
Once the conclusion became known, the sorcerers gradually lost interest in bringing eggs out of the Cloud Realm.
“Since I’m here, I might as well make the best of it.”
Ivan discerned the direction ahead and walked deeper into the secret realm, controlling the force of each step he took, so light and cautious.
The further forward he went, the larger the size of the eggs and the more bizarre their shapes became.
However, aside from the eggs, mud, and weeds, there was nothing else, naturally not finding any special resources, which was somewhat disappointing to him.
“Come out, there should be no danger here.”
At the sound of his voice, the Scented Butterfly and Wind Moth couldn’t wait to wriggle out of his pocket, and the Silkworm Queen also crawled out of the nest, swiftly climbing up to the back of his hand.
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“Gnng-gnng.”
“Mother smells an enticing aroma; in fact, the Scented Butterfly does too.”
“That’s right, just ahead—let’s hurry over.”
After the three insects emerged, they all appeared somewhat agitated, as if something deeper in the secret realm was attracting them, making them eager to rush over for fear of others getting there first.
“Then let’s take a look. Remember, wait for my command before you act. Whoever messes up will guard the Twin Towers for me next time,” Ivan warned, and after receiving affirmative responses from the three insects, he proceeded at an unhurried pace.
The sky was high but gloomy; the land was vast but filled only with insect eggs.
Walking in such a strange place felt like making a pilgrimage to some wicked deity.
Ivan had no choice but to be more vigilant and prepare for the possibility of retreating from the secret realm at any moment.
However, the reality was quite the opposite; along the way, despite the unusual atmosphere, he encountered no dangerous creatures and met not a single sorcerer, until he reached the end of the field of insect eggs.
It appeared he had also reached the end of the secret realm. Beyond lay a dark, hulking range enshrouded in veils of mist, blocking the way ahead.
Upon closer inspection, what seemed to be a mountain range was in fact the massive carcass of an insect, its head the only part visible to him amidst the surrounding veils of mist, rendering the sight quite unclear.
Not far away stood another sorcerer, who had clearly arrived there before him.
“Oh, to have someone else make it this far, welcome, welcome.” The person turned around; it was the masked sorcerer who previously warned everyone.
From his earlier remarks, it wasn’t hard to guess that he was the seller of the insect aura potions.
Ivan hadn’t expected to meet this person here, which suggested he himself had been sent to a remarkable place.
The two locked eyes from a distance, appraising each other.
Ivan noticed the other’s mask was somewhat strange but affixed firmly to his face, making it impossible to see the covered part; only his youthfulness was discernible, indicating he was a young man.
“Do you know? This here is the core of the Dead Insects Cloud Realm. To get here, one must fulfill a very important condition: either possess an insect-related treasure, or make a significant insect-related discovery or contribution,” the masked sorcerer said.
“What’s an insect-related contribution?” Ivan couldn’t help asking.
“You can think of it as something that can promote the development of insects, something crucial that likely pertains to a new discovery made by you,” the masked sorcerer explained, then asked, “I belong to the former category. How about you, sorcerer from Mongna Ant Land Cottage?”
“I should be the latter.”
Hearing the man’s words, Ivan immediately thought of the Insect Breathing Method, but this was only one person’s claim—no one had mentioned this before, and he couldn’t tell if it was true or false.
He had a feeling that what this man said was probably no lie.
“I see, so it’s you. My name is Solomon. May I know how to address you?” The masked sorcerer nodded, his guess confirmed.
“Ivan,” Ivan responded without concealment—it was just a name, after all.
“Ah, Ivan Marichadon, the sorcerer who developed the ‘Black Magic Wind Array’, your array dais has caused quite a stir in recent years,” the man’s eyes brightened.
Ivan felt a bit puzzled; the other person actually knew about this.
Considering that the Three Great Families certainly wouldn’t promote his name, they naturally omitted the name of the creator when selling the arrays.
“Sorcerer Ivan, don’t just stand there, come over quickly, the good stuff is about to appear,” the masked sorcerer, about to say something, sensed another movement and extended a friendly invitation to him.
Ivan glanced at the three impatient insects and approached. In front of him were five stone pools made from real stones, each about two meters in diameter and empty.
Along the upper side of the pools was a small channel, one end connected to the pool and the other to the colossal insect carcass at the far end.