The moment Chen Jie stepped into the cave, the giant bat followed closely behind. Its enormous, rat-like head pressed frantically into the cave entrance.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
Seeing its prey slipping away, the bat opened its mouth wide, screaming wildly.
Seizing this brief moment while the bat was stuck, Chen Jie swung the Open Heaven Axe.
"Open Heaven, Split Earth!"
He poured all his strength into the strike, aiming at the bat's head at the entrance.
Slash!
The axe left a deep gash on the bat's head, sinking half of the blade in.
Squeee—!
The giant bat let out a pained shriek, quickly retreating its head.
Yet even with blood running down its head, its eyes remained locked on the cave entrance.
It wouldn't leave anytime soon.
Chen Jie retracted the axe, paying little attention to the bat, and proceeded deeper into the cave.
A constant wind blew from within, indicating the cave was interconnected.
Perhaps there was an exit inside.
With his current strength, he could fight the bat, but wasting too much energy on it wasn't worthwhile.
After just a few steps, Chen Jie noticed both sides of the cave were covered with blue-glowing flowers.
He used True Vision Eye to investigate.
Soon, he obtained their information:
Sea Blue Flower: A mutated type of orchid. When used by an awakened, it can greatly enhance physical constitution and significantly aid in raising one's cultivation level.
The effects were incredible!
Chen Jie was overjoyed.
Not only were these flowers powerful, but the cave was full of them.
The entire cave walls were covered with Sea Blue Flowers.
With a thought, Chen Jie produced a large sack and a shovel.
He began digging furiously at the flowers along the cave walls.
Half an hour later, what had been a sea of blossoms was completely cleared by Chen Jie, leaving only a few sparse flowers.
"Exhausting!"
Chen Jie wiped the sweat from his brow, but his heart was elated.
Opportunities to gather treasures like this didn't come often.
"Intruder! You've gone too far!"
A deep, muffled voice echoed from the depths of the cave, carrying a piercing resonance.
"Who are you?"
Chen Jie responded calmly.
Intruder? In this space, it was nothing more than a wilderness.
When did a remote cave ever count as having an owner?
He summoned two streams of Hongmeng Purification Qi, illuminating the space and tracing the source of the voice.
With the bat guarding the entrance outside, escape wasn't an option. Exploration was the only choice.
After barely three minutes, the cave's darkness began to recede.
Light gradually filled the space ahead.
A few steps further, Chen Jie entered a massive cavern.
Crystals of various kinds jutted up from the ground, glowing with radiant light that illuminated the entire cavern.
On the cavern floor, a river formed a circle around a colossal crystal pillar.
Four iron chains were bound to the pillar.
At the end of the chains hung a frail old man.
His hair was already gray, and his ribs protruded sharply from his chest.
"Was that you speaking just now?"
Chen Jie asked the old man.
"Young man, you're very bold to find this place!"
The old man's mouth didn't move, and his throat showed no sign of action—the voice seemed to come from nowhere.
"How did you end up bound here?"
Chen Jie was curious.
The apocalypse had only lasted a few days, yet this cave already held a bound man—it was strange.
Moreover, the old man appeared to have been restrained for a long time.
He was shrouded in mystery.
"Hahaha, why I'm bound here? I don't know… it's been over a thousand years. What dynasty is this now?"
The old man remained motionless.
Looking at his clothes, Chen Jie realized he was not from this era.
Combined with his words, Chen Jie concluded the old man definitely wasn't from this time.
"Dragon Kingdom, 2050!"
Chen Jie answered directly.
"Dragon Kingdom? What era is that? I've been trapped here all this time?"
The old man's voice was filled with weariness and regret.
"You look a lot like me. What era are you from? Were you trapped here as long as I was? Could it be the Ming Dynasty?"
Based on the old man's time trapped, Chen Jie guessed his era.
Even so, being trapped in this era was astonishing.
Could it mean the apocalypse had occurred before?
Yet why was there no record in history books?
It was puzzling.
Chen Jie had never heard of previous generations existing in the secret realm in his past life.
"Ming Dynasty… Ming…"
The old man muttered repeatedly, his tone sorrowful, as if savoring a bitter cup of tea.
He clearly harbored great secrets.
"Young man, help me! Help me!"
Suddenly, the old man grew frantic. His once lifeless body began moving.
The iron chains rattled violently.
"Help? Help with what?"
Chen Jie was bewildered by the old man's sudden outburst.
"The aura on you… it feels the same as mine. If I'm not mistaken, we share the same bloodline!"
"Of course! We're both descendants of Yan and Huang!"
"Hahaha, good, good. Descendant of Yan and Huang, come! Accept my gift! Time is short; the creature refined by Sang Kingdom should be returning soon!"
The old man stretched his gaunt face toward Chen Jie.
His eyes and mouth were missing, giving him a horrifying appearance.
"You say go, and I go?"
Chen Jie readied the Open Heaven Axe, wary of the old man.
He had seen many schemes of "offering a treasure, then ambushing" before.
"Young man, look at this!"
Sensing Chen Jie's caution, the old man released a glowing orb from his chest.
Inside the orb was a box.
It looked ancient, clearly a relic from a past era.
"I can't hold on much longer. Leaving this to someone of my bloodline completes the task my ancestor gave me."
"Young man, remember, human mutation is just a stage… just a stage…"
Before finishing, the old man's head tilted, and he went completely still.
Roar!!
The moment the old man fell, a terrifying roar echoed from outside the cave.