The young skeletal creature named Little Red quickly ran into a Darkwood Forest.
Darkwood is an extraordinarily tall tree, and walking in this forest entirely made up of Darkwood feels as if one has entered a world of tiny people. Moreover, the lush foliage of the Darkwood blocks out the sky, making the entire forest eerie as if it were a Ghost Phantom.
Sanders walked nonchalantly through the forest, ignoring the occasional flickering figures in the Darkwood Forest.
These figures looked like phantoms, moving swiftly with eyes glowing greenly, presenting quite a frightening sight in the dark woods. However, Sanders knew well that these phantom figures were actually a kind of True Illusion Trick used to monitor disturbances in the forest.
This familiar method was undoubtedly the handiwork of Sumishe.
"Only trick-level Phantom of True Illusion; it seems Sumishe indeed suffered a severe injury this time," Sanders mused inwardly.
Soon, Little Red brought Sanders to a crossroads and stopped, turning his head to look at Sanders, as if trying to convey something.
With just one glance, Sanders understood that this so-called crossroads was a psychological suggestion in illusion, compressing the choice at hand into either going left or right.
But in reality, neither choice was correct, as the exit wasn’t at the crossroads.
Going against the direction of the crossroads, Sanders took a step forward, stretched out his finger, and gently pointed. The densely packed Darkwood, as if alive, suddenly parted to reveal a winding path.
Little Red, excitedly holding a rose wreath, rushed down this path.
In the next ten minutes, Sanders faced many such crossroads, some with psychological suggestions, some genuine, and others leading to dangerous nests. Finding the correct path in this maze-like Darkwood Forest required mastery of illusion and an understanding of the caster’s psychology.
This was very simple for Sanders.
After choosing the right path once more, Sanders saw a small cabin lit by candlelight in the forest.
Instead of entering the cabin, Sanders circled around it and gently knocked on the tree stump with an axe embedded in it at the back of the house. The stump’s patterned surface flickered like a ripple, instantly forming a pitch-black passage.
The cabin was still a trap. Here, this was the true final door.
After jumping into the ground hole, guided by Little Red, Sanders walked about a hundred meters down and finally saw a cave situated by an underground river.
Deep within the cave was a castle entwined with dark rose vines.
This Rose Castle was a special Mana Hut, and judging by the style, it was obviously the work of Flora.
In front of the castle was a diminutive crimson figure.
She wore a red long dress, a black veil, no shoes, hovering barefoot in midair, holding a glamorous parasol, and drifted towards Sanders.
Upon closer look, it was Flora, whom he hadn’t seen in ages.
Little Red, upon seeing Flora, excitedly ran over, leaped into her arms... and then vanished.
After Little Red disappeared, an adult skeleton slowly appeared behind Flora, nodding gently towards Sanders before attaching itself to Flora’s back, remaining motionless.
When Flora saw Sanders, her expression and gaze held a hint of excitement. Only when saluting did she restrain her emotions: "Mentor."
Sanders, however, remained calm from start to finish, nodding slightly, neither inquiring about unnecessary matters nor asking why they were still in the radiation zone of the Red Plague followers, directly bypassing her and heading into the castle.
"Sumishe is in the boiling Bloodbath Pool in the basement," Flora, knowing Sanders’ character well, quickly followed and said as they walked.
Sanders: "How has he been these days since contacting me?"
"As long as he doesn’t use illusion technique-level spells tainted by Nightmare Illusion, he’s fine for now."
Sanders raised an eyebrow: "So you haven’t encountered any Red Plague followers these days."
Flora: "Half a month ago, the Extreme Sect sent a team of Heretical Judgment Hall priests here to train, targeting the Red Plague followers. They attracted all the Red Plague followers’ attention, so they haven’t had time to find us."
Sanders said flatly: "Then you were quite lucky."
The Extreme Sect occasionally sends peak apprentices of the Heretical Judgment Hall to train in areas frequented by Demon God followers and territories of Otherworld life, with formal bishops restraining the top-level Transcendents on the other side, while the peak apprentices cleanse various followers. This kind of training has a high mortality rate, with each training being a near-death experience, and those who finally survive become red-robed priests of the Heretical Judgment Hall.
Red-robed priests are the most powerful in the Extreme Sect, and facing Red Plague followers gave Flora and Sumishe some breathing room.
"Are you still planning to pursue the blood fusion incident investigation?" It was the first time Sanders gave Flora a direct look.
The latter hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, this is my opportunity."
Sanders expressionlessly nodded, not making any comments on it. In fact, seeing Flora still in the area of the Red Plague followers, he had already guessed her choice.
He specifically asked just to gauge Flora’s resolve.
Seeing Flora’s unwavering stance, though not outwardly visible, Sanders actually approved in his heart. Once deciding to pursue the path of True Knowledge, no opportunity should be easily passed up.
Of course, blindly disregarding danger is also wrong. However, Sanders knew well that Flora wasn’t someone thoughtlessly reckless.
Soon, led by Flora, they arrived at the underground boiling Bloodbath Pool.
A pungent blood smell, mixed with a stinging sulfuric scent and steaming white mist, wafted over.
Through the thick mist, Sanders saw Sumishe.
He was not in the blood-colored pool but dressed very formally, sitting beside a table outside the pool, enveloped by a clean force field, holding a teacup in one hand and flipping through a skin scroll on the table with the other, resembling an elegant nobleman.
With a gentle wave of Flora’s hand, the surrounding blood mist instantly disappeared.
It was then that Sumishe noticed the visitors at the door.
"Mentor." Sumishe’s eyes flashed with light as he stood up to salute Sanders.
Sanders nodded, acknowledging the greeting.
Without further pleasantries, Sanders directly inquired about Sumishe’s current condition: "Can you still activate the Nightmare Realm?"
Sumishe hesitated for a moment: "The Nightmare Realm has already been damaged by nearly eighty percent and can no longer be activated independently. Forcibly activating it would require the aid of a Mare Stone. But, after activation, the Nightmare Realm would likely continue to crumble."