Yue Lan playfully coaxed him further,
[Imagine if she’s a peerless beauty who decides to follow you everywhere. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? One more fairy-like companion to accompany you.]
“Absolutely not,” Shen Yuan said resolutely, immediately turning around without hesitation. “My harem is already more trouble than I can handle. Another unknown woman added to the mix would just bring chaos.”
Yue Lan sighed dramatically, acting disappointed.
[Such heartlessness, Yuan’er. Leaving behind a helpless damsel? How cold-hearted you are.]
“I’d prefer cold-hearted than reckless,” Shen Yuan retorted dryly, already walking towards the staircase leading back down the altar. “Let someone else play hero. I have enough adventures to deal with already.”
With a soft chuckle, Yue Lan’s teasing faded away, content to let him decide as he wished.
As Shen Yuan swiftly descended the altar, he threw one last cautious glance back at the mysterious beauty sealed within the jade, silently promising himself to remember this peculiar encounter.
“Hopefully, no unlucky fool will stumble here and unleash a calamity,” he muttered quietly to himself, disappearing back into the darkened passageway from whence he had come, yet he failed to notice the slight twitch of the sealed woman’s fingers.
…
In the outside world, a lot of disciples had left after trying their luck at the Wall of Comprehension. And a lot of other new disciples had also come from the other zones.
Wan Ling and Lei Ranyu were the only two disciples left from the Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect, all others had already left in search of other opportunities.
“How long do you think Brother Yuan will take to leave?” Wan Ling asked with a slightly anxious voice.
Lei Ranyu shook her head, “It’s been seven days, he should be coming out anytime soon…” Despite her saying this, she wasn’t confident in her own words. It has been too long since he went inside the portal.
“Hmph! He might have died inside trying to chew more than he could eat.” A disciple of the Thunder Cloud Sect mockingly said.
Wan Ling’s eyes chilled as she turned her gaze towards him, “What did you say?!” she shouted with a murderous tone as her aura flared.
But the Thunder Cloud Sect disciple was not one bit nervous from her words, “Heh, I said he might have already died inside. What can you do about it?”
All the apex geniuses of the Thunder Cloud Sect had left, leaving only two top-tier disciples who were still trying to get a technique from the Wall of Comprehension and to keep an eye on Shen Yuan’s whereabouts.
Wan Ling seethed with rage and unsheathed her sword, “You are looking for death!” Her emotions were already unstable due to her worry for Shen Yuan, and now his words only increased it.
“Oh? You want to break the rules of the Wall of Comprehension and attack me?” His eyes lit up as he saw an opportunity to finish off Wan Ling in front of all the disciples.
Lei Ranyu frowned, looking at him; she placed a hand on Wan Ling’s shoulder, “Leave it, Ling’er. It’s not worth it to get so worked up for him.”
Wan Ling took a deep breath and calmed down her raging emotions, deciding to ignore his words.
The Thunder Cloud Sect disciple didn’t want to let go of such an opportunity; he continued to goad Wan Ling into taking action, “Shen Yuan really is incompetent, not even being able to survive such a minor trial…”
Wan Ling’s hand trembled at his unceasing insults. A minor trial? No one in the entire history has been able to open that portal, and he dared to call it a minor trial?
“…it’s good that he died in—”
BOOM!!
The disciple’s words stopped; all of a sudden, the wall exuded an intense pressure from within, pushing all the disciples behind back.
Wan Ling’s eyes lit up with hope. She prayed with all her heart for Shen Yuan to be safe.
SIIZZLEE
A bright portal opened in front of the wall, exuding that same archaic aura that pressed on everyone’s heart.
Tap! Tap!
Footsteps sounded from the other side of the portal before a silhouette appeared in front of everyone.
The Thunder Cloud Sect disciple’s eyes widened in shock; one of them, who had been quiet all this time, swiftly snuck away from the crowd.
Shen Yuan noticed him but decided to let him go since he didn’t want to break the rules of the Wall of Comprehension.
“BROTHER YUAN!” Wan Ling shouted out in joy, but couldn’t move forward due to the pressure exuding from the portal.
Shen Yuan turned to her and gently smiled, “Ling’er…” He looked back one last time, remembering the woman sealed within the jade crystal. He softly shook his head to get rid of the unnecessary thought before walking forward.
The portal closed as soon as it had formed, leaving the crowd breathless. They glanced at each other before focusing on Shen Yuan.
All of them wondered what he might have found inside the portal. Supreme Treasures? A heaven-defying cultivation technique? Or something even more absurd? But none of them could have imagined that it was a sealing ground for someone.
Shen Yuan briskly reached in front of Wan Ling, who looked at him happily, “Brother Yuan, what took you so long? I really thought something happened to you.”
He raised an eyebrow, “Huh? What do you mean?” His eyes quickly flashed with a question, “Wait, how long has it been?”
Wan Ling looked at him in confusion. “It has been a week since you entered the portal.”
Shen Yuan’s eyes widened in shock, ‘Fuck! There was a time formation inside? How is that possible? How can this world have time formations when even the Space users are rare?’
Just then, Yue Lan’s lazy voice echoed inside his head,
[This Wall of Comprehension is not necessarily from this world, you know.]
‘You realized there was a time formation inside? Why didn’t you warn me?’
[What would that have changed? You need to learn some new things. Even after using the time formation for so long, your understanding of Time is below subpar. You haven’t even learned how time flows.]
Shen Yuan became silent. He had never tried to observe Time or learn it because subconsciously, he always thought it was a supreme concept outside of his reach. He had restrained himself even before he tried to learn it.
[You need to learn about Time sooner or later. There are higher concepts than Time out there. How will you learn them if you can’t even learn about time?]
He became increasingly quiet, understanding that he needed to change his mindset from that of a mortal to a cultivator going against the heavens. Nothing should be out of his reach; it should only be a matter of his will.
Whether he wanted to obtain it or not. He exhaled a long sigh, ‘You are right, I should not be so close-minded. I will try to learn more things from now on.’
[Yes, that’s the spirit.]
Yue Lan’s voice became cheerful.
“Brother Yuan?” Wan Ling tilted her head and looked at Shen Yuan with worry.
He smiled and patted her head, “So, where will you go next? Or will you follow me?”