**Chapter 519: Who Really Profited? It’s Hard to Say**
Antares proposed three transactions, but Lin Moyu refused. The price kept dropping, and after some "friendly and cordial" bargaining, they finally agreed on a single transaction as a deposit.
Antares provided the Soul Fusion Array and the Soul Fusion Elixir in exchange for Lin Moyu’s promise to complete a transaction. Lin Moyu agreed to go to the Dragon King’s Palace dungeon after his third job transition to obtain the Dragon Pearl located there for Antares.
In reality, Lin Moyu only made a verbal promise and didn’t give anything else, yet he got what he wanted for free. It wasn’t until after Lin Moyu left that Antares realized it seemed to have gained nothing. After thinking it through, it muttered, "This guy is really shrewd."
"But I didn’t lose out either. The Soul Fusion Array was meant to be given to him anyway. I didn’t expect the Soul Devourer to really emerge." "This world is really going to produce a supreme expert, and I will soon be free."
Antares’ eyes sparkled with a gleam. If Lin Moyu saw this, he would definitely wonder if he had been taken advantage of. Perhaps even the promise was unnecessary.
In the Great Swamp Secret Realm, all the trial secret realms of Jiangning Academy had monster levels below 20, making it a low-level secret realm for new students’ trials. This secret realm was very safe and had not had any incidents for over a hundred years.
However, since Gaoyang’s incident, this secret realm had been sealed off. It wasn’t until a few hours ago, when Meng Anwen and others arrived, that the secret realm welcomed new visitors again. Meng Anwen did not alert anyone at Jiangning Academy and used his own methods to bring everyone directly into the secret realm.
The Shenxia Tower possessed many magical abilities, and Meng Anwen only used a small part of them. Breaking into a mere secret realm was not difficult for him.
Gaoyang had already recovered, thanks to a god-level healer found by Shuyao Shen. After several top-level healing spells, Gaoyang’s limbs quickly regrew. Although his strength had not fully recovered, he could move like a normal person.
The group quickly advanced in the dungeon. With a point of Meng Anwen’s finger, light clusters appeared on Gaoyang and Shuhan, giving them the ability to fly.
"Lead the way!" Meng Anwen said in a low voice.
"Yes, sir!" Gaoyang immediately flew forward.
The secret realm was not large, and they soon arrived at the place where Gaoyang had the accident. Gaoyang pointed to a small swamp below, "It’s here."
At first glance, there was nothing unusual. Meng Anwen pointed his finger, and the Shenxia Tower appeared in the air. A beam of light fell, causing all the mud and stones in the swamp to fly away. The swamp was only a little over a meter deep, making it extremely safe for a new student’s trial. Even if someone fell into the swamp, there would be no life-threatening danger.
The main purpose of the secret realm was to cultivate the students’ ability to cooperate with each other. The swamp quickly reached the bottom, but nothing was found. Meng Anwen pondered for a moment, then hummed softly and made a few hand seals.
The Shenxia Tower expanded dramatically, unleashing a powerful suction force that emptied the mud and stones from several nearby swamps. Dozens of large and small swamps were exposed to the bottom. This time, Meng Anwen was more thorough, scraping the bottom several times and removing a large amount of mud and stones.
At this point, several people noticed something unusual. Shuhan said softly, "The bottom of this swamp seems to have another space."
The bottom of the swamp was not made of mud and stones; some areas were semi-transparent, like mirrors. Through these areas, it was clear that there was more space below.
Shuyao Shen took out a bottle of elixir, and with a point of his finger, a few drops of the elixir flew to everyone’s eyelids. Their vision instantly improved, as if they had X-ray vision, allowing them to see the things underground.
Shuhan exclaimed, "I see them! There are many Soul Devourers below." Gaoyang also saw them, "So that’s what it is."
His eyes were filled with fear and deep hatred. For the past six months, he had been living a life worse than death. He later learned that he had been parasitized by a monster called the Soul Devourer.
Meng Anwen said, "That day, Gaoyang must have accidentally broken a hole in the bottom of the swamp, causing the Soul Devourers to escape."
"Don’t touch them for now. I will completely seal this secret realm later, and no one will be allowed in."
"Let’s search first. According to the records, the items needed to deal with the Soul Devourers should be nearby."
Shuyao Shen said softly, "In the world, everything has its counter. Near poisonous creatures, there will be things that restrain them. The Soul Devourers should be no exception."
The Shenxia Tower buzzed, and all the mud and stones returned to their original places, as if they had never been moved. The four began to search around, flying in the air without touching the ground.
This secret realm had existed for countless years. After being designated as a trial secret realm for new students by Jiangning Academy, several batches of students entered every year. Gaoyang had thoroughly studied the secret realm’s records before entering and was familiar with everything inside.
But he never expected that the bottom of the swamp was the lair of the Soul Devourers. After searching for a long time, they seemed to find nothing.
Suddenly, Shuhan called out, "This thing seems unusual!"
Everyone flew over to see what Shuhan had found. On a protruding rock, there were some pink, shell-like objects. This was not the seaside, so it was very unusual for shells to grow on rocks.
Shuyao Shen took some shells from a distance and began experimenting on the spot. He directly took out an experimental table filled with various bottles and jars. Shuhan quietly retreated more than ten meters and signaled Gaoyang to do the same.
Gaoyang was puzzled, "What’s wrong?"
Shuhan said, "When my grandfather does experiments, we need to stay far away because it can be dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Gaoyang didn’t understand.
Shuhan pointed to Meng Anwen. Not only them, but even Meng Anwen had retreated far away, even farther than they had.
Boom!
An explosion suddenly occurred, filling the air with smoke from the elixir. Shuhan quickly covered his nose, "Don’t breathe, move back."
Gaoyang immediately complied and retreated far away. Then, one explosion followed another. The power wasn’t great, but each explosion filled the air with smoke.
Gaoyang saw with his own eyes that the smoke caused many flowers and plants on the ground to wither and die. Shuhan explained, "When my grandfather experiments with elixirs, he often creates some toxic substances. If the experiment fails, it can cause explosions."
"For safety, we should stay away."
Gaoyang understood the reasoning. Not only flowers and plants, but he also saw that monsters in the secret realm would die within five seconds of coming into contact with the smoke. This wasn’t just a healer; it was a poison master.
A healer could cure diseases and save lives, but they could also poison and kill enemies. Whether it was medicine or poison depended on their intention.
Gaoyang muttered, "What a powerful poison."
Shuhan said softly, "My grandfather’s poisons are also very powerful."
Gaoyang nodded repeatedly, indeed very powerful.
After a long time, Shuyao Shen finally stopped experimenting and put away the experimental table. "I’ve tested it. These shell-like things are actually a type of mineral."
"These substances have a special component that can affect the soul."
Meng Anwen’s eyes lit up, "Then it must be this."
Shuyao Shen said, "Although it can affect the soul, it’s still far from being able to kill the Soul Devourers."
Meng Anwen said, "Then it will be up to you to concoct the elixir."
Shuyao Shen’s eyes sparkled, "I haven’t encountered such an interesting thing in a long time. Leave it to me; I will definitely create the appropriate elixir."
At this moment, Meng Anwen’s communicator vibrated. He glanced at it and smiled, "Lin Moyu is back."
The Shenxia Tower formed a teleportation array, and the next moment, Lin Moyu appeared in the secret realm.
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