Chapter Thirty-Six: The Secret Tome

The appearance of the secret door did not surprise Shadow in the least. This was, after all, the most convenient route out of the Black Soil; after obtaining the ultimate item, why would anyone bother to take a detour back? Such a notion was absurd.

They entered the secret door, and not far ahead was a portal shimmering with light. Li Ren followed behind Shadow, the portal radiating dazzling colors in the darkness, illuminating the surrounding area brilliantly.

Suddenly, a faint golden light flashed before Li Ren’s eyes.

“Wait!” Li Ren called out to Shadow, who was walking ahead.

Shadow halted and turned to look at Li Ren. “What is it?”

“Hold on, something felt off just now.” Li Ren spoke, retreating slowly while subtly adjusting his position.

The dim golden light flickered again!

“Here!” Li Ren pointed above him, slightly to the front. “There’s something up here!”

Shadow followed Li Ren’s finger, and upon focusing, indeed noticed something different.

“A Darkgold Chest?!” Shadow was puzzled. “A Darkgold Chest? Why do I have no memory of this at all?!”

While he was still pondering this, Li Ren sprang into action.

The Gate of Darkness outside was merely kept in a golden chest, yet here, hidden in such a secret spot, appeared a Darkgold Chest—something he would never have discovered if not for that reflected ray of light!

Luckily, the passage wasn’t high. Stretching up with both hands, Li Ren carefully took the chest down.

Without waiting for Shadow to speak, he opened the chest. As a wave of darkgold light washed over them, its contents were revealed.

A cluster of red flames and a peculiar iron shard.

“Oh, heavens! What is this?!” Shadow snapped out of his contemplation, his exclamation filled with excitement.

“The Red Skull Spirit Flame! And this…” He picked up the black iron shard. “Is this… a Secret Codex?” He seemed uncertain, turning the shard over in his hands for a long while.

“Yes! I’m sure of it! It’s definitely a Secret Codex! A Secret Codex, Li Ren! We… we…” Shadow was so excited he could barely speak.

Li Ren glanced at the shard in Shadow’s hand and suddenly remembered he had obtained a similar one in the Woma Temple. He rummaged through his backpack and pulled it out.

Shadow watched in astonishment as another identical iron shard appeared in Li Ren’s hand. He looked from his own shard to Li Ren’s, momentarily stunned.

“Hey, brother, snap out of it!” Li Ren shook Shadow a couple of times, finally bringing him back from his stupor.

A flush of intense excitement colored Shadow’s pale face, and though he tried to calm himself, the trembling of his body betrayed him.

Li Ren handed the shards over. Ever since obtaining his own piece, aside from absorbing his experience to level up from fifty-three to fifty, he hadn’t noticed anything special about it.

Shadow held both shards for a long moment, then took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, handing them back to Li Ren. “What a pity. These two aren’t from the same volume.”

Li Ren looked at the shards in his hand. “Same volume?”

“Yes, same volume.” Shadow spoke slowly, his gaze still fixed on the shards.

“The Secret Codex, a legendary artifact, consists of three volumes. No one knows what powers all three volumes combined would possess. Even a single volume is considered a treasure capable of ruling a region. In the past, we only had one fragment, never able to piece a full volume together, and its location was definitely not here—I’m certain of that.” Shadow’s excitement grew as he spoke.

“So, we have a chance to assemble a complete volume?”

“Indeed! My lord.” Suddenly, Shadow knelt.

“What are you doing? Get up!” Li Ren was startled by his abrupt gesture.

“I will assist you in fulfilling your past life’s wishes, make up for previous regrets, and destroy the enemies of our former existence!”

Seeing Shadow bowing, kneeling on one knee, Li Ren hurried to pull him up. “Though I don’t know who you truly are, the fact you know my innermost secret tells me you must be my brother. I trust you as I trust myself. What I need is a friend, not a servant who only obeys, just as perhaps I once told you in another time and place—my steward?”

“Yes! Your steward, your grandfather.” Shadow stood with Li Ren’s help and continued his words.

Li Ren smiled, all doubts about the man before him vanished.

“Now you must tell me something, don’t always be so mysterious,” Li Ren punched the slender man lightly.

Shadow rubbed his shoulder where Li Ren had struck him. “I’ll tell you when the time is right. If I haven’t told you, it’s because of a promise we made in a past life. And now, you were correct—the world has changed. So I must keep my silence.” He spoke with implied meaning.

“At least tell me what this thing is!” Li Ren no longer pressed him, merely pointed in feigned annoyance at the red flame.

From the moment they met, Li Ren had felt an inexplicable trust toward the man before him, as though they had known each other for ages. The feeling was astonishingly powerful.

Looking at him, Li Ren mused privately, “Could there really be past lives? Why did he abandon everything to return here? Is this truly the road ahead…”

“Hey, are you listening?”

“Yes, yes, I am.” Li Ren replied distractedly, not really caring what Shadow had just said.

“Come on, pay attention!” Shadow observed Li Ren nodding repeatedly, sighing inwardly. “You truly haven’t changed at all.”

“The Skull Spirit Flame has levels. Simply put, your clan of skeletons can be distinguished by their spirit flames—like you, or the Skeleton King.” Shadow paused.

“The Skeleton King’s red flame is naturally a level above your green one. The lowest is your current green. Usually, once a skeleton evolves to a certain stage, it possesses such a spirit flame. The next stage is the Skeleton King’s red flame; above that is the blue Skull Spirit Flame, then the purple Sacred Flame, and finally the black Divine Flame.”