"Otherwise, you should know better than anyone what will happen to you later."
Hearing Zhou Yan's threatening tone, the old woman's face changed. Then, she lowered her head and fell silent.
A mocking smile played on Zhou Yan's lips. He then stood up and walked outside.
"Since you want to play deaf and mute, then I'll give you a chance."
"I'll give you five days to think it through. If you still refuse to reveal your so-called secret after five days, then I will personally send you on your way."
"Don't worry, I always keep my word."
Zhou Yan glanced indifferently at the old woman.
Upon hearing this, a look of despair appeared in the old woman's eyes. It was clear that what the other party said was true.
Zhou Yan left the old woman's room.
He did not return immediately but wandered around nearby.
This was because he wanted to observe the mansion first.
Every blade of grass, every tree, every brick, and every tile here exuded a mysterious aura.
On the surrounding walls, there were various formations and restrictions, all of which indicated that a very profound formation master resided in this mansion.
However, Zhou Yan was unfazed.
He knew that although the formations in this mansion were formidable, they could not stop his progress.
Soon, Zhou Yan reached the backyard of the mansion.
The backyard was a garden.
A vast lake appeared before Zhou Yan.
The lake water was clear and azure, reflecting the sunlight, sparkling and exceptionally beautiful.
Zhou Yan stood on the shore, looked up at the lake, and fell into thought.
He had never been to this lake before.
However, from the attitude of the old woman just now, Zhou Yan could tell that this lake was definitely not simple.
Moreover, Zhou Yan sensed that something seemed to be hidden within the lake water.
Zhou Yan slowly walked into the lake.
As Zhou Yan stepped into the lake, he felt an extremely icy aura rush towards him, making his skin involuntarily shiver.
However, as Zhou Yan approached the center of the lake, he discovered that the surrounding water had not frozen. Instead, a thin mist enveloped the entire surface of the lake.
Zhou Yan carefully sensed it and found that the temperature of the lake water was no different from ordinary lake water.
With a thought, a pearl the size of a fist suddenly flew out from Zhou Yan's sleeve, hovering in his palm.
This pearl was a spirit beast bead that Zhou Yan had obtained from the auction house of the Tianyuan Merchant Guild.
This spirit beast bead was a spiritual artifact.
However, after Zhou Yan refined it, this spirit beast bead had no effect.
This puzzled Zhou Yan greatly. He knew that among the ranks of spiritual artifacts, the higher the level of the spirit beast, the higher its value.
But in this spirit beast bead, it had no use whatsoever, meaning that the pearl's function was not related to spiritual artifacts at all.
What secret was hidden within this spirit beast bead that made it unusable as a spiritual artifact?
Zhou Yan, unable to figure it out, focused his gaze on the spirit beast bead.
As Zhou Yan stared at the spirit beast bead, a system prompt suddenly sounded in his mind.
"Ding dong!"
"Congratulations, player, on obtaining the Spirit Beast Bead."
"Spirit Beast Bead: Heart of the Spirit Beast!"
"The Heart of the Spirit Beast is the core of the spirit beast's essence. The Heart of the Spirit Beast contains immense power that can help you directly ascend to the Spirit King realm!"
"Do you wish to merge?"
"Yes!"
Zhou Yan unhesitatingly chose to confirm the merge.
After Zhou Yan confirmed the merge, he felt as if something had been added to his mind.
Immediately after, a vast amount of memories flooded into Zhou Yan's mind.
As Zhou Yan absorbed the memories, his eyes gradually widened, and his expression turned grim.
This was because he discovered that he had actually obtained a cultivation technique.
This cultivation technique was named "Xuanwu Jue."
"This is a cultivation technique?" Zhou Yan muttered with a frown.
Then, Zhou Yan began to peruse it.
The "Xuanwu Jue" was divided into nine layers, with each layer further divided into upper, middle, and lower tiers. Cultivating to the final three tiers could achieve a double amplification of both body and spirit!
After Zhou Yan finished reading, his eyes widened.
This was because he discovered that in the last few pages of this cultivation technique, the words "Xuanwu Spirit Beast" were prominently displayed.
Zhou Yan studied it carefully.
When he finished reading the entire cultivation technique, his face broke out in a look of ecstatic joy.
"The cultivation technique of the Xuanwu Spirit Beast is indeed extraordinary. This Xuanwu Spirit Beast possesses a skill that can devour all things."
"As long as a cultivator is within the Xuanwu Spirit Beast's attack range, they will be devoured and become its food."
"The level of this cultivation technique has reached the Spirit Emperor realm, and its quality is extremely excellent, by no means ordinary!"
Zhou Yan put away the cultivation technique.
He was not worried about others stealing it.
Because he knew that although the cultivation technique was excellent, not everyone could obtain it.
His cultivation was too weak, and he was not qualified to practice it.
"The value of this cultivation technique is astonishing. It seems I must hand it over to the old woman."
"However, the contents of this cultivation technique are too complex. The old woman probably doesn't know which technique it is. I'm afraid I can only find her and learn its mysteries from her."
"This time, I am truly indebted to them. Otherwise, I probably would never have known that there was a secret realm hidden in this world."
"Now, the entrance to this secret realm should be beneath this lake."
"I shall name this lake 'Ice Lake'."
"How do I enter it?"
Zhou Yan pondered for a moment, then took the spirit beast bead in his hand and began to try to activate it.
However, this attempt was unsuccessful.
Zhou Yan's expression changed slightly.
This was because he discovered that the spirit beast bead could not be activated at all.
This made Zhou Yan perplexed. Logically speaking, this spirit beast bead should be a spiritual artifact embryo. How could it not even be activated?
Could it be because he was too weak?
Zhou Yan frowned and pondered for a moment, then a determined look flashed in his eyes.
Since he couldn't activate the spirit beast bead, he had no choice but to use this method to enter.
His figure disappeared from where he stood and then reappeared beside an ancient well.
After Zhou Yan landed here, he began to probe with a trace of his divine sense.
This lake was not very wide, only about twenty to thirty meters in scope.
Around the lake, various strange spiritual herbs grew in abundance.
Some of these spiritual herbs grew at the bottom of the lake, some outside the lake, and some on the ground.