Ye Xuan honestly shook his head. "I don’t know."
Gongsun Yanran sighed. "They treat you as a sacrifice."
"A sacrifice? What exactly is the Forbidden Area?"
Gongsun Yanran explained, "Not even the Gongsun family knows what it is. All we know is that going in means certain death. Very few make it out alive. And even if they do, do you know the consequences?"
"Mom, what consequences?"
"They become idiots. They spend all day in a daze, knowing nothing but eating and sleeping."
"Mom, are you saying they turn into pigs?"
Gongsun Yanran was trying to be serious, but Ye Xuan almost made her laugh. She said, caught between tears and laughter, "Be serious, I’m not joking! Do you know what those who survive like to eat?"
"What?"
"Fresh blood. They must consume it every day, otherwise, they go mad and ruthlessly attack every living creature in sight. It’s as if they are no longer human, but have turned into unknown wild beasts."
"Huh? Did they catch some kind of manic disorder?"
"I don’t know either. I only know that the Forbidden Area opens once every ten years. Each time, two people must go down. If no one goes down for ten years, the Forbidden Area will riot and tremble, as if some great, ominous evil is trying to break out. But as long as two people are sent down, it will return to peace. It’s just that almost no one who goes in ever comes out. Xuan’Er, do you know how many years the Gongsun family has ruled Dapeng City?"
"I don’t know."
"One thousand five hundred years!"
"That long! Then why are there so few people?"
"You’ve only seen the Direct Lineage, so of course it seems like a small number. If you went to the courtyards of the Side Branches, you’d find huge crowds and countless compounds, each filled with children playing. Sigh, why did I let you distract me? What I wanted to say is that over these past one thousand five hundred years, only five people from the Gongsun family have ever walked out of there alive. And even though they survived, they all developed that manic disorder."
"Mom, are you worried that even if I make it out, I’ll turn out like that?"
"Of course. This was always a path to certain death! Otherwise, why do you think my second brother tried every trick in the book to bring you back? His goal was simply to have you replace his own children in entering the Forbidden Area."
"I see. But there’s still one thing I don’t understand."
"What is it?"
"Mom, the Direct Lineage holds a noble status. Why don’t they just grab people from the Side Branches and force them into the Forbidden Area?"
"It used to be like that. But every time, the people from the Side Branches had to endure tearing partings, and over time, they grew to hate our Direct Lineage. A thousand years ago, a genius suddenly emerged from the Side Branches. He fought his way up against all odds and ultimately became the City Lord. He decreed a new family rule: those entering the Forbidden Area could only be chosen from the Direct Lineage. Since the Direct Lineage enjoyed the vast majority of resources, they had to bear this responsibility. From then on, the Direct Lineage began drawing lots. Whoever got picked could only curse their bad luck."
"I see. Mom, then why is it the younger generation that goes in instead of the elders? Wouldn’t the elders have a better chance of surviving?"
"Because people with a cultivation base that is too strong simply cannot enter the Forbidden Area. Only those below the Demon Spirit Realm can go in."
"Huh? There’s such a restriction?" Ye Xuan was stunned. He wondered why there would be such a strange limitation. Perhaps this Forbidden Area had been artificially set up.
"Mom, has the Forbidden Area always existed?"
"Yes, it has been there for a very, very long time. It’s recorded in the historical annals of every past City Lord."
"That’s interesting. I’m actually starting to get interested in the Forbidden Area. I’m really curious about what exactly is inside."
"Xuan’Er... you." Gongsun Yanran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. They were discussing something so serious, a matter of life and death, yet he was smiling like a rogue.
"Mom, how do you get out of the Forbidden Area? Do you have to find the exit yourself?"
"Probably."
"Understood. Mom, don’t worry about me. I’ll come out alive. It’s just that, if I do make it out alive, will the Gongsun family keep their promise and stop causing trouble for us?"
"They will. Our Gongsun family won’t go back on their word."
"That’s good. Mom, when does the Forbidden Area open?"
"In five days. Xuan’Er, let your mother spend some quality time with you over these next five days. I really... can’t bear to let you go..."
"Mom, why are you crying again? Didn’t I say I’ll be fine?"
Time flew by, and five days passed in the blink of an eye.
These five days were some of the happiest times of Ye Xuan’s life. However, happy times were always short-lived. Today, he had to enter the Forbidden Area, which was located right in the main courtyard. At this moment, Gongsun Yanran gripped Ye Xuan’s hand tightly, unable to bear letting go.
"Little sister, let go." The voice of Gongsun Xin drifted over from the side. He was responsible for opening the door to the Forbidden Area.
Gongsun Yanran finally relented. "Xuan’Er... you have to come back. Mom will cook and keep waiting for you."
Ye Xuan smiled. "Mom, go on back and take good care of my sister. I’ll definitely be fine."
"Brother, we will wait for you."
"Alright, head in." Three minutes later, Gongsun Xin used a Secret Technique to open the door to the Forbidden Area. The door was situated underground.
"Oh, take this. Although it might not be of much use, I still hope you survive." Gongsun Xin discreetly slipped a talisman to Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan glanced at it. It appeared to be a Protective Talisman. On its back were the characters for "Five" and "Mid," indicating it was a Rank Five Mid-Grade Protective Talisman. He thought to himself that this eldest uncle of his seemed like a decent person, whether towards his mother or himself. Ye Xuan tucked away the Protective Talisman and stepped through the underground door.
This doorway appeared to lead underground, but in reality, it held a world of its own. As Ye Xuan stepped through, a wave of dizziness hit his head, followed by a sensation of weightlessness beneath him. He looked down to see a pool of water directly below. He was falling!
He immediately released his Spiritual Qi, ensuring that even if he plunged into the water, his clothes wouldn’t get wet.
After pulling himself ashore, Ye Xuan looked up. Above him was a blue sky dotted with white clouds—a picture-perfect scenery. It was obvious that the Forbidden Area was actually a Secret Realm.
"To think the scenery here is so beautiful..." Ye Xuan looked around, slightly surprised. For the past few days, Gongsun Yanran had described the Forbidden Area as a place of great ominous evil. He had expected it to be a gloomy and terrifying wasteland, but it turned out to be the exact opposite.
"Is there no danger?" Ye Xuan stood by the lake for a long time, yet he encountered zero threats.
The area seemed to be a forest. He followed a small path outward. After walking for about two and a half miles, Ye Xuan finally sensed that something was wrong. It was too quiet! Although beautiful, the place seemed utterly devoid of life. There were no people, no beasts, and not even a single snake, insect, rat, or ant.
Ye Xuan even had the fleeting illusion that the people who had entered the Forbidden Area never made it out simply because they exhausted all the rations in their Qiankun Bags and eventually starved to death inside. That would also explain why those who managed to escape spent their days doing nothing but eating and sleeping.
However, that explanation was obviously unreasonable.
"Forget it. I’ll just take it one step at a time," he murmured.