Chapter 127: Skeletons and Stone Statues

Conquering the Demon Realm completely in a short time was certainly challenging. Yet, Luo Yong had no other secret realms at his disposal.

So, once again, he ventured into the underground palace.

Two level-12 spider monsters lay silently in slumber. If left undisturbed, perhaps they would never awaken.

Ahem.

Without such moments, there would be no heroic tales in the world...

“Polya, use Petrification Spell.”

Luo Yong’s curiosity was piqued. He wanted to see whether turning these two spider monsters into stone would cause new ones to appear next time, or if the petrified spiders would simply vanish.

The name Polya seemed to please the Empress. Though still proud and aloof, she executed Luo Yong’s command swiftly and without emotion.

The two spiders turned to stone in their dreams.

Luo Yong bypassed them and opened the treasure chest they guarded, retrieving a wish scroll.

“I want a secret realm.”

Luo Yong made his wish directly.

Magic surged through the scroll; a flash of light, and a key to a secret realm appeared in Luo Yong’s hand.

“Skeleton Realm?!”

Staring at the pattern on the iron token, Luo Yong was momentarily speechless.

Though he had studied necromancy and was familiar with skeletons, and the camp was often surrounded by skeleton monsters, an entire realm filled solely with skeletons...

Ahem.

It was somewhat unbearable to contemplate.

Why did such a realm exist?

Where did all those skeletons come from?

The thought was chilling.

“Sigh!”

Standing by the stone circle, Luo Yong opened the entrance to the realm, glanced at the human heroes who had turned to stone beside him, then turned and entered the Skeleton Realm with an emotionless expression.

Upon entry, he saw...

A pitch-black earth, wild and overgrown.

At the horizon, a pale moon cast a mournful light, chilling and eerie.

In the distance, dense woods and a lake could be glimpsed.

“Hmph!”

The Empress seemed displeased by the environment, snorted, then transformed into a figurine and returned to Luo Yong’s shoulder.

“Alright then...”

Luo Yong sighed and proceeded alone, donning the bracer containing several rune gems that he had reclaimed from Pang Ding.

This boosted his level by 10, raising his spellcasting level to 25.

Crack, crack!

With Luo Yong’s spellcasting, five level-25 skeleton monsters, each armed with gleaming bone knives and golden arrowproof shields, appeared as his guards, surrounding him.

This was the true presence of a necromancer.

Luo Yong explored the realm alone, traversing the dense forest and the lake, yet not a single skeleton monster appeared.

“Could it be they only emerge when sensing intruders?”

Luo Yong knew that these skeleton monsters usually lurked underground, dormant like other monsters...

But if they wouldn’t come out, could he just dig them up?

How was he supposed to farm monsters then?

Luo Yong resolved to bring that fat fellow Pang Ding along next time, letting him lure monsters forward while Luo Yong collected them — a perfect team effort.

“Sigh, if only he weren’t crazy, he’d be a great partner,” Luo Yong lamented, shaking his head as he opened the realm’s exit and left.

Once more, standing within the protective barrier of the stone circle, waiting for it to close automatically, Luo Yong glanced at the row of stone statues beside him and thought with some malice that it would have been better if these people hadn’t been turned to stone...

As the barrier’s light faded, Luo Yong stepped out of the stone circle and was about to open a teleportation scroll when suddenly, the sharp whistle of an arrow pierced the air.

With a whoosh, a feathered arrow landed at his feet.

Had he been slower, it would have struck his foot.

“What’s going on? Again?”

Luo Yong realized he had a peculiar connection to this stone circle; many things seemed to happen here.

“Don’t say this mountain was made by me, or that this tree was planted by me. The stone circle here was laid by my ancestors. Since you’ve used it, leave something for us!”

“Heaven is unjust! You alone hold the keys to secret realms, possess boundless wealth, and enjoy worldly splendor, while we suffer in poverty!”

“We will uphold justice on behalf of Heaven!”

Swish, swish, swish!

In the blink of an eye, a group of people leapt out.

Luo Yong observed carefully; they were all heroes of modest level, each bearing a distinct insignia on their clothing — likely members of a particular team.

For some reason, they had their eyes set on the stone circle.

“My secret realm isn’t all that great. You probably wouldn’t want to enter,” Luo Yong said calmly.

Having no quarrel with them, he didn’t want to deceive them outright.

Unless they brought trouble upon themselves.

Then no one could blame him.

“Oh? Are there secret realms that can’t be entered?” A melee hero with a red cord tied around his head stepped forward, hands on his longsword. “I’d like to see what kind of secret realm is off-limits!”

“Me too.”

“We all want to see.”

The group stepped forward simultaneously, hands on their weapons, ready to strike at any moment.

“Tsk, tsk, I’m kind-hearted, but alas... alas...” Luo Yong sighed deeply, spreading his hands, and finally asked, “Do you really want to enter this secret realm?”

He waved the Skeleton Realm key before them. Under the blood moon’s glow, they could only see an iron token that looked like a key, but its details were obscured.

Otherwise, they might have thought twice.

“Of course! No time for talk!”

One human hero raised his longsword in a chopping motion. “Open the secret realm’s gate quickly and take us in. No tricks, or watch your life!”

“Why... push people so far?” Luo Yong said with a peculiar expression.

“You!” Someone thrust a gleaming longsword toward Luo Yong’s face, the tip pointing at his eyes. “One more word, and you’re done for... I heard that many magical items can be dropped upon death even if bound. If not, we’ll try it ourselves. If luck’s on our side, maybe it’ll drop...”

“Hahaha! Let’s try it now! My brothers can’t wait!”

“Hmph!”

As Luo Yong was about to respond, an angry snort echoed. Polya, the Empress, seemed enraged and intended to materialize and have a stern talk with these soon-to-be statues.

“Uh... um...” Luo Yong hesitated.

Suddenly, a flash of pink light; the Empress appeared, her face cold and stern like frost, yet stunning beyond compare.

“Oh wow! Where did this beauty come from!”

“Brothers, we’re blessed!”

“Quick! Capture her! Don’t let her escape!”

“Beauty, come with us. Standing here is tiring; I have a bed, big and comfortable!”

This group of unknown heroes revealed an ugly side, their words despicable and offensive.

Swish, swish, swish!

A volley of arrows swiftly wiped them out.

The heart-gripping Petrification Spell left no chance for escape.

Though not powerful in magical fluctuation, once hit, the victim turned to stone instantly — utterly unstoppable.

This spell appeared to be a weak physical attack but was actually a potent curse.

“Great, another batch turned to stone!” Luo Yong looked at the now-open secret realm gate, feeling somewhat speechless.

Such magical items were sometimes too intelligent, interfering with plans and creating unexpected complications.

“Forget it, I was going to find that fat fellow anyway.”

Ahem.

Not all fat people deserve the title “fat fellow,” but Pang Ding certainly did.

One wonders if he was still trapped in the ancient devourer’s grasp.

If he could keep spending until now, his resources must be impressive.

Still, he treated wealth as his enemy, spending to soothe his anger — perhaps a justified indulgence.

Retracing his steps, Luo Yong returned to Sunset Town with the Empress. Both cloaked, they disguised themselves to avoid unwanted attention.

By now, the tales of Luo Yong’s fierce exploits in the ancient devourer likely spread throughout the town.

Upon entering the Nazdak tavern again, Luo Yong didn’t find Pang Ding; the staff had changed and was no longer the rabbit person.

Apparently, Pang Ding’s kitchen lion had frightened the previous employee into leaving.

“Ruined town, nothing worth exploring!” The Empress Polya, usually enthusiastic about shopping, was disappointed. The long street was desolate, with barely a soul in sight.

The tavern was equally empty.

“Where has everyone gone?” Luo Yong found it odd; last time it had been fine.

“What’s this?” The Empress glanced around the shop but was drawn to the ancient devourer.

“This is how you play,” Luo Yong said, inserting a gem and choosing the Ox Devour.

Swish, swish, swish!

The ancient devourer produced three bronze cards, each with different patterns.

It was hard to imagine how much Pang Ding had manipulated the odds here.

“What’s fun about this?” the Empress asked, puzzled.

“It’s a lottery game...” Luo Yong glanced at her strangely. Last time they came, she had been sulking over the Demon Realm, turned into a figurine, and shut off her senses — unaware of what was happening here.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be asking now.

Luo Yong demonstrated again. This time, the ancient devourer still produced three bronze cards, but the patterns were increasingly similar.

Then, emotionlessly, Luo Yong kept feeding gems, grinding the probabilities.

Soon, the patterns on the three bronze cards matched perfectly, spawning a bronze-level light orb.

“This thing...” The Empress reached out to touch it. The light flickered, and the item was immediately bound to her.