Chapter 241: Blood Moon

When the thick stone door was opened, the familiar white staircase appeared, leading straight upward to some higher place.

After exchanging a glance, Wang Yu and Ximen Mei stepped onto the stone steps one after the other, heading straight upward.

After walking about a hundred meters, a iron plate, like a lid, blocked the exit ahead.

Seeing this, Wang Yu's eyes flashed with a faint glow; he quietly stepped forward and pressed his ear lightly against the iron plate.

Not knowing whether anyone was outside, he dared not release his spiritual sense, lest he alert whatever might be lurking.

At this moment, he held his breath and relied solely on his super-hearing in overdrive mode to carefully listen for any movement beyond the plate.

Seeing this, Ximen Mei's expression subtly shifted, yet she made no move to stop him.

After more than a dozen breaths, Wang Yu's expression relaxed; he gave Ximen Mei a cautionary gesture, then grabbed the handle on the iron plate and silently slid it aside.

He stared at the open exit, waited quietly on the steps for a moment, then finally shifted his body and leapt out.

Ximen Mei followed right behind him.

"Cough, cough… Where is this…?"

As soon as they stepped out, their feet sank into a thick layer of dust; caught off guard, they were choked by the swirling dust and quickly held their breath.

Only then did they have a chance to observe their surroundings, both showing expressions of surprise.

They found themselves in what was clearly an ordinary side room.

There was a bed, a table, chairs, and even a bookshelf placed against one wall; the passage they emerged from was right beside the head of the bed.

The only abnormal thing was that every surface—the floor, the furniture, the bed—was covered in a thick layer of dust, as if no one had set foot here for years.

Wang Yu looked down again at the moved iron lid and saw that some dust had fallen off, revealing a color nearly identical to the floor—clearly a deliberate disguise.

The scene before them eased their minds slightly; it seemed no one else was nearby.

Yet Wang Yu's gaze swept across and landed on an object hanging on the opposite wall: a string of pale yellow beads.

He walked over quietly, reached out to take it down—but the moment his fingers touched it, the entire string "puffed" into a cloud of ash.

Only one round bead fell from the ashes; he snatched it up swiftly and held it close to examine it.

The bead's surface was smooth and round, pale yellow, seemingly made of bone-like material; on one side was engraved a faint golden character: "Buddha."

On the other side, Ximen Mei had approached the bookshelf; before she could inspect anything, the shelf suddenly collapsed into ash.

As if infected, the table and bed followed instantly, crumbling into dust.

Even the tightly shut door of the side room disintegrated into ash, revealing a quiet little courtyard beyond.

Seeing this, Ximen Mei paused, then immediately understood; she covered her mouth and nose with her hand, shifted her body, and stepped out of the room into the courtyard.

Wang Yu did not rush out; instead, his eyes flickered as if he had spotted something else. Without regard for the swirling dust, he walked back to the former bookshelf, felt around on the ground, picked up another object, then exited the room.

Outside, he saw that the side room had its own courtyard, and on either side, faint outlines of similar-style rooms could be seen.

In the courtyard, Ximen Mei was scanning the surroundings; when she saw Wang Yu emerge, she immediately pointed in one direction and said:

"Younger brother, look over there?"

Wang Yu followed her finger and saw in the distance a tall white stone pagoda, over twenty zhang high, with seven or eight tiers, no more than two or three li away.

Beyond that, Wang Yu also faintly glimpsed walls and grand pavilions and halls near the stone pagoda.

Wang Yu suddenly realized something; his expression changed slightly as he looked again at the object he had picked up.

The object was black, round, seemingly hollow, very light, with one side flat and the other rounded.

"What is this?" Ximen Mei also noticed the object in Wang Yu's hand and asked curiously.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be a wooden fish, but apparently made of iron essence," Wang Yu said slowly, touching the object.

"A wooden fish! Are we inside a temple?" Ximen Mei, quick-witted as ever, was startled.

"Almost certainly."

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes and handed the round bead to her.

"This is a Buddha bead—carved from the relics of a high monk," Ximen Mei examined it, then her expression changed again.

"It's almost certain—we're inside a temple, and a large one at that; the entire area spanning more than ten li likely belongs to this temple," Wang Yu said thoughtfully, glancing at the distant pagoda, then back at the side room.

"Logically, we should still be in the Jialan Secret Realm. How could such a vast temple remain undiscovered?"

"Could this be the hidden treasure vault of Jialan the Elder? Did we stumble upon it by accident?" Ximen Mei seemed to realize something, her voice tinged with excitement.

"If there are seals or arrays concealing it, such a large place could easily remain hidden. And since Jialan the Elder came from the Fomen, building a temple within the Secret Realm is understandable."

"Whether it's a treasure vault, I can't say—but this place is certainly no safe ground," Wang Yu said slowly after thinking.

"No safe ground? What do you mean, younger brother?" Ximen Mei's earlier excitement faded as Wang Yu spoke.

"Didn't you notice what's in the sky?" Wang Yu sighed.

"The sky?"

Ximen Mei looked up, and her face instantly darkened.

Hanging in the hazy high sky was a silver crescent moon—but its surface bore faint streaks of crimson, as if stained with blood, appearing deeply unnatural.

"When did the Secret Realm gain a moon? Are we no longer in the Jialan Secret Realm? Have we been teleported outside?" Ximen Mei murmured, staring at the strange crescent.

"Not outside—we're still within the Jialan Secret Realm. We're inside some larger array or seal," Wang Yu said slowly, gazing at the crescent.

"That's right—the teleportation array couldn't possibly have the power to send us beyond the Secret Realm. That moon in the sky must be a manifestation of some seal," Ximen Mei realized, enlightened by Wang Yu's words.