Shen Jue took a deep breath and stepped inside. The moment her foot touched the ground, the stone door behind her slammed shut, plunging the surroundings into complete darkness.

She held up the core crystal in her hand, which emitted a faint light that barely illuminated the surrounding environment.

She found herself standing in a narrow passageway, the walls on either side of which were covered with ancient murals. The murals depicted a group of jellyfish sacrificing to a giant sea monster, whose eyes gleamed with a scarlet light.

The meaning of the mural is that the jellyfish's ancestor seemed to be very afraid of this sea beast. If she is not mistaken, the creature that is about to awaken in this sacred secret realm is very likely to be it.

Because other creatures wouldn't have allowed jellyfish to use murals to record their existence, and these murals have survived to this day.

This sea creature must hold a high position among jellyfish.

If that's the case, then everything makes sense.

Shen Jue walked forward along the passage, which led to a circular hall. In the center of the hall floated a crystal, its surface covered with cracks from which wisps of black mist seeped.

Around the crystal are twelve stone pillars, each engraved with different rune patterns.

Shen Jue approached the crystal and discovered a frozen fossil in the shape of a jellyfish curled up inside.

Through this transparent crystal, Shen Jue could see that the jellyfish's bell had turned black.

The tentacles were covered with tiny black spots, making them look almost alive.

Even more strangely, Shen Jue always felt like she was being watched by something, even though her illusory eyes didn't detect any danger.

Although there is no danger now, this is still a sacred and secret realm, so she still needs to be careful. So far, Shen Jue has not felt any danger anywhere.

Having experienced so much, she had long since developed an exceptionally keen sense of awareness. Her ability to consistently stay away from danger before it arises provided ample protection for her life.

The sacred realm was vast, but she didn't actually see any particularly valuable materials.

It feels like this place has been emptied out; she's probably come to a fake secret realm.

Apart from that fossilized crystal, there was nothing else in this area. The creatures that had entered the sacred realm earlier were like bandits. The only clue was still that fossilized crystal.

We still need to go back and explore it again.

When Shen Jue returned to the crystal, she took a closer look and noticed something different. It looked even more real than before. Could it be coming back to life?!

Just as Shen Jue was feeling a bit confused, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

"After a thousand years, we've finally waited for outsiders to come in."

Faced with the sudden sound, Shen Jue remained calm; she had experienced similar situations many times before. This inexplicable sound recurring in her mind was definitely related to the jellyfish fossil before her.

No, it can no longer be called a jellyfish fossil; it's more appropriate to call it a spirit.

The spirit's voice rang directly in Shen Jue's mind, "I've been waiting for a long time..."

Shen Jue: "I know you've waited a thousand years. Can we start this conversation differently?"

Jellyfish Spirit: "I am the first High Priest of the Jellyfish Clan," the spirit's voice tinged with weariness, "the first jellyfish to be corrupted..."

If this jellyfish is allowed to live, it will become the original source of the virus.

Unexpectedly, even without a physical body, it can still transform into another form and communicate with people. No wonder it's a jellyfish that served as a high priest a thousand years ago.

Afterward, the jellyfish revealed the information he was willing to share. Shen Jue's pupils constricted slightly, and he reacted appropriately, asking in surprise, "You mean, the source of the pollution is you?"

The spirit nodded: "That's right. Our jellyfish clan originally relied on the power of crystals to maintain the prosperity of our clan, but one day, the crystals suddenly mutated. I tried to purify the crystals, but instead, I was corrupted by them. In order to prevent the corruption from spreading, I sealed myself here, using my last strength to maintain the balance of the sacred land..."

Shen Jue's gaze turned serious: "Then what about the inheritance core outside?"

The spirit's voice carried a hint of bitterness: "That was the last line of defense I left behind. If the sacred land is completely corrupted, the core of the inheritance will collapse, burying the entire Jellyfish Clan at the bottom of the sea..."

Just then, the stone pillars around the hall suddenly began to crack, and black mist poured out from the cracks, quickly spreading towards Shen Jue.

The spirit's voice became urgent: "Seal the crystal quickly! Otherwise, everything is over!"

Shen Jue quickly took out several cards and affixed them to the stone pillars surrounding the crystal. The cards began to flash, gradually forming a huge energy field that suppressed the black mist.

However, the power of the black mist was too great, and the energy field probably wouldn't last much longer.

"No! I can't suppress it!" Shen Jue gritted his teeth and took out a dark gold card from his pocket. He decided to use this card.

"With blood as the catalyst, with soul as the pact!" She bit her fingertip, dripping blood onto the card. The card erupted with intense light, illuminating the entire hall as if it were daytime. The black mist gradually dissipated in the light, and the cracks on the crystal's surface began to heal.

As the light faded, Shen Jue found herself standing on a vast, empty underwater plain. In the center of the plain stood a massive stone tablet, inscribed with an ancient line of text:

"The secrets of the deep sea begin in chaos and end in purification."

Shen Jue approached the stone tablet and discovered a groove at its base, shaped exactly like the crystal in her hand. She placed the crystal into the groove, and the stone tablet suddenly began to vibrate, a beam of light shooting out from it and soaring into the sky.

“This is the true secret of the Holy Land…” Shen Jue murmured to himself.