For the past seven days,
the Hanging Sky Cave Elder and Yu Fei had not been idle.
The Elder took out a xing luo chessboard from his Storage Ring, and the two smiled as they played.
Although there was fierce fighting on the board, their auras were serene and peaceful, as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for years.
But in reality, the Elder and Yu Fei's magic power and Divine Sense clashed and contended with each other.
It was not much more harmonious than the chessboard.
During this process, neither of them noticed that a jade talisman, originally on the Pan Mountain Tiger's corpse, had quietly disappeared.
————
Under the Daosheng Qingwen Banyan,
Li Zhuo was Cultivating cross-legged.
The increase in his Cultivation and the changes in his Shanzhong Acupoint made him happy, and at the same time, he yearned even more for a method of Spirit Refining.
At a certain moment, Li Zhuo suddenly felt that the magic power around him was somewhat disharmonious.
Opening his eyes, he saw that the originally quiet sound transmission jade talisman was emitting a faint light.
Li Zhuo was startled.
He was about to throw this jade talisman outside the Safe Zone when he suddenly heard a very familiar voice coming from it.
"Master~"
Li Zhuo was stunned: "Little Butterfly?"
"It's me. Something really happened in this Secret Realm..."
And so, the Divine Hidden Butterfly reported everything that happened in the Secret Realm to Li Zhuo.
It was very detailed.
After listening, Li Zhuo murmured in a low voice: "The Pan Mountain Tiger clan has been annihilated. I can take that territory as my Safe Zone."
"But who should I send to guard it?"
"And there's even a Great Secret Realm, which might attract even more powerful forces."
"With Little Butterfly here, I can control the movements of nearby Spirit Beasts."
"But I know nothing about the cultivation world outside the mountains."
"What if the entrance to the Great Secret Realm is also in Wanshou Mountain? If Cultivators swarm in, wouldn't that just cause me trouble?"
"Should I subdue a Human Race Cultivator and have him relay information for me?"
"But the Human Race isn't as easy to trick as Spirit Beasts. How can I guarantee their loyalty?"
"And there's the method for Spirit Refining..."
Li Zhuo never expected that a mere Secret Realm would bring him so many problems.
The most important of which was information.
With accurate information, he could prepare for the unexpected.
But the problem was, if he wanted to control the news in the cultivation world, he had to subdue Human Race Cultivators.
What should he do?
Li Zhuo looked down at his hands.
He relied on the Myriad Things Modifier to subdue Spirit Beasts.
But Human Race Cultivators were different.
Although Li Zhuo wasn't sure if his cheat could modify other Human Race Cultivators, even if it could, the risks of doing so far outweighed the benefits.
It simply wasn't worth it.
Therefore, Li Zhuo had already made up his mind never to use his Myriad Things Modifier on any Human Race Cultivator.
But besides his cheat, what other means did he have to subdue Human Race Cultivators?
"Only investigate the 【favorability】 of Human Race Cultivators who pass the assessment once, and make absolutely no modifications!"
"Make them swear a Heavenly Dao oath never to reveal any information about me."
"Even if a Human Race Cultivator's favorability towards me is maxed out, I must never reveal the location of the Safe Zone, and even less allow them to enter the Safe Zone!"
Although Li Zhuo knew almost no Human Race Cultivators and didn't know how to assess their loyalty to him,
at least he had a general direction, which made him feel a little better.
"See who obtained the Spirit Refining method, keep an eye on him, and stay in contact with me at all times!"
After giving the Divine Hidden Butterfly the order, Li Zhuo continued to sit cross-legged under the Daosheng Qingwen Banyan, Cultivating.
Only, his heart was far from peaceful.
————
Outside the Secret Realm,
apart from a few injured Disciples, all the Sects had reaped abundant rewards.
After obediently paying a portion of the "toll" to the Hanging Sky Cave and Bi Xiao Palace,
the various small Sects happily returned to their mountains.
Only the Hanging Sky Cave and Bi Xiao Palace remained outside the Secret Realm.
These two Sects, one obtained the "key" and the other obtained the Secret Realm Legacy.
They were considered the biggest winners of this Secret Realm exploration.
The Hanging Sky Cave Elder and Yu Fei exchanged a smiling glance.
They began to bargain!
Ultimately, the Hanging Sky Cave was moved by Bi Xiao Palace's "sincerity," and the two Sects agreed to jointly open the Great Secret Realm.
"I must return to the Sect as soon as possible. I will use the xing luo chessboard to deduce the best time to open the Secret Realm. Farewell!"
With that, the Hanging Sky Cave Elder led his Disciples and turned to leave.
As he left, the Elder also put the tiger corpse on the ground into his Storage Ring.
These were all one-star Spirit Beasts, they couldn't be wasted.
Having lost the "key," there were no other treasures to sustain the existence of the Secret Realm.
It would likely dissipate soon.
Yu Fei glanced at the violently shaking Secret Realm, smiled, shook her head, and also left with her Disciples.
On the way back, she looked at her Disciple, praising with a smile: "Xier truly has profound Luck; she actually managed to obtain the Secret Realm Legacy~"
Zhao Xier sweetly replied: "Oh, no, no, this is all thanks to Master's good fortune~ Listening to Master's teachings every day, even an unlucky person would become someone with profound Luck~"
The perfectly timed flattery hit Yu Fei's heart, making the charming mature woman giggle.
The other Disciples of Bi Xiao Palace had naturally all gained something and also laughed and teased.
"Oh, oh, oh, look at Junior Sister Xier~"
"Beautiful and sweet-tongued~"
"No wonder Junior Sister Xier wanted to come to the Cangmang Mountains~ This is called a stroke of good fortune!"
"That's right, that's right, this is great Luck... Speaking of which, Junior Sister Xier, what are you looking for?"
Since entering the mountains,
both Yu Fei and the other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters had noticed Zhao Xier's abnormality.
She was looking around, her eyes eager, expectant, regretful, and conflicted...
She must have been looking for something.
Even Yu Fei became curious: "Yes, Xier, what are you looking for?"
Looking for what?
Of course, she was looking for Fellow Daoist Li!
Zhao Xier responded in her heart, but only replied: "N-nothing, I just found the scenery in the mountains different from the Sect, and I'm a little curious."
"..."
"The mountain scenery is chaotic and unorganized. It seems a bit strange at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it's far less wonderful than the Sect's beautiful scenery."
"Yes, perhaps Junior Sister is tired of the Sect's scenery and is taking the opportunity to look at the mountain scenery while out~"
"You're longing for the mortal world, aren't you~"
A light tease immediately made Zhao Xier blush.
"H-how could I be longing for the mortal world... We Cultivators should, should be single-mindedly devoted to the Dao, and not be disturbed by worldly affairs..."
Zhao Xier's reply actually made the teasing Senior Sister pause.
Something's going on!
The Senior Sister chuckled, then gave Zhao Xier an "I understand" look and changed the subject.
Behind this group of people, the Divine Hidden Butterfly quietly followed, reporting various situations to Li Zhuo in real-time.
Li Zhuo had a headache.
He already knew that Zhao Xier had obtained the Legacy. Was there any way to get this Spirit Refining method?
Should he give up?
If he did, he would likely have to abandon Cultivating Divine Sense.
After all, with the level of the nearby small Sects, they probably wouldn't have a method for Spirit Refining.
"What should I do?"
"I remember she felt quite ashamed when she gave me the Qing Ying Kui Bing. I wonder if a favor will work."
"What a headache..."
"First, let's think of a way to send her a message."
"And be careful not to let others discover anything amiss."
"This is truly troublesome!"
At this moment, Zhao Xier in the crowd was also very conflicted.
What method should she think of to leave for a while?
She really wanted to find Fellow Daoist Li's Dao field here~
Come on, think, you blockhead...