Duan Chen paid little attention to the two sisters before him. His mind wasn't on women; instead, he turned his head to speak with Jun Ci.
Jun Ci's expression was grave.
He spoke softly, "Do you know about the Gate?"
Duan Chen was somewhat surprised.
But he immediately nodded.
The existence of the Gate wasn't a complete secret, but not everyone could know about it. This made him value Jun Ci even more.
Jun Ci also breathed a sigh of relief.
Since his companion knew about the Gate, which was a secret close to his own, they could communicate better.
He should have said, "Since you know about the Gate, I don't need to explain much. I suspect there's a Gate at the bottom of this abyss."
But...
This was precisely what baffled him.
This was a secret realm!
How could a secret realm possibly have a Gate!
Logically, no, it should be said by common sense, or by experience, secret realms were supposed to benefit humanity, how could they be connected to the evil gods?
Jun Ci's heart sank. He exchanged glances with Duan Chen.
Almost simultaneously, both of them blurted out a sentence.
"This secret realm is probably not that simple!"
"There's something wrong with this secret realm!"
After speaking, they both fell into silence.
It was clear that they had both realized the gravity of the situation.
They unconventionably moved away from the crowd, gathering in a corner where only the two of them were. Watching Yuan Qingqing and Yuan Yuan, who were getting closer, they felt a slight sense of calm.
The small icons on their displays were drawing closer, indicating that the two had also spotted them and were heading their way. The closer, the better.
This way, they would have time to deal with the current situation.
"We need to think of a way..."
Jun Ci spoke softly, but before he could finish, Duan Chen picked up where he left off.
"We absolutely cannot let the Gate open."
Having witnessed firsthand the consequences of a Gate opening, he knew how much it would help the evil gods.
Right now, their side...
He couldn't help but rub his temples with a headache.
Wu Suowei had been gone for a long time. He wondered if that elusive figure could also be elusive in this secret realm.
However, it was clear that he couldn't rely too much on Wu Suowei.
What he could determine was that at the bottom of the long abyss spanning before them, there was definitely a Gate.
He didn't know what kind of structure this Gate had, nor how much it had opened.
Lingering doubts filled Duan Chen's mind.
The last Gate had only been opened a crack, and a sliver of the evil god's soul had escaped. But this time, why could they only see the contamination brought by the Gate, but not the evil god?
Had the Gate not opened?
He hoped the Gate had not opened. If it had, with their current strength, they could do nothing here.
Not only would they be unable to act, but they might also get trapped themselves, losing their lives for nothing.
His heart grew heavy.
Within this secret realm, there were many people, most of whom had been lured into this secret realm for special training.
Duan Chen had once thought that those people were only tricked into exploring the secret realm because of the treasures it might contain.
At that time, he had entered with the mindset of "a willing buyer and a willing seller."
But he had never imagined that there would be a cause and effect related to the evil gods!
And where was it related?
It was practically written on his face!
He couldn't help but curse inwardly, but quickly calmed down.
In their current predicament, anger and anxiety were useless. It was better to think of a way to break this deadlock.
His brows furrowed slightly, and his gaze fell upon the protruding part of the cliff.
His gaze was captured by Jun Ci, who felt a bad premonition.
He immediately grabbed Duan Chen's arm and asked nervously, "Are you crazy? Don't tell me that look in your eyes just now meant you wanted to go down and investigate?"
He looked at Duan Chen in shock and received a confirmed emotion in Duan Chen's eyes.
Jun Ci slightly released his grip and took a step back.
But what followed was even deeper shock.
He said in a low voice, "Don't cause trouble. This is not our responsibility. In the face of such matters, it's best to protect yourself."
"If there's any problem, once we get out, we'll reveal the truth of this place to the world, and it will definitely be resolved."
Duan Chen's heart agreed with Jun Ci's reasoning.
However, that was before he fused with Wang Qi.
Now that he had fused with Wang Qi and officially became a person of the White Faction's divinity, it was his duty to actively target the Black Faction and the evil gods.
He couldn't ignore the possibility of a Gate here and just stand by.
If the Gate here were to be accidentally opened, the evil god's power would be further enhanced.
With the evil god's power enhanced, the power of his apostles would increase. Similarly, Wu Suowei's power would be suppressed, and the power of those on the White Faction, like himself, would also be suppressed.
This was something he absolutely would not allow.
A look of determination flashed in Duan Chen's eyes.
He had not yet found his parents, nor had he obtained his future. He absolutely could not allow the evil god to so easily destroy what he had worked so hard for.
So, he patted Jun Ci's arm reassuringly and said, "Don't worry, I won't do anything unprepared. I just want to go down and investigate, and I won't do anything excessive."
The shield form of the Thousand Illusions Pandora could help him resist the contamination of the evil god.
There might be a Gate below, but Duan Chen, who had been exposed to the Gate a long time ago when he was with Old Zhang, possessed extremely powerful mental strength, which could resist the mental contamination of the Gate.
He was much more resilient in this aspect than others.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Duan Chen no matter what, Jun Ci rubbed his scalp in annoyance. Then, he took a deep breath.
"Forget it. Tell me, what's your plan for going down? Is there a way to bring a second person?"
Duan Chen looked at him in disbelief.
Jun Ci said with a sour face, "Do you think I'm going to let you go alone?"