Ye Fan still hadn’t found a way out in the void. To him, the difficulty before his eyes was beyond prediction. He had to find a way to leave, but right now this place was like a space that couldn’t be understood with common sense, and for the moment he simply couldn’t find an exit.

Judging by the power of the void itself, the force here was extremely strong. Ye Fan didn’t know whether this place was created by Pan Gu and Fu Xi or not. He only knew there was one thing that was hard to explain: with such a powerful void, it should theoretically be able to block everyone from coming in, so why could he still enter this void, and even almost find a way to move in and out freely?

"Ye Fan, if you can’t get out, try using the original method to go back to the secret realm just now. Maybe there’s another way to leave from in there!" the Dark Maiden reminded him. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

It wasn’t that Ye Fan hadn’t thought of returning to the secret realm from before, only that the current space had already trapped his thoughts. Even if he wanted to leave, it really was somewhat difficult.

"I don’t have any way, for now!" Ye Fan said. "If you can get out of here, then leave on your own, I won’t stop you. But if you can’t leave on your own, then shut that mouth of yours until I find a way to take you out!"

Ye Fan was a bit angry as well. The Dark Maiden always liked to provoke him at the worst possible moments, and she seemed to know that once she made him angry, he wouldn’t be able to leave the void. She claimed she couldn’t find a way out of the void, but Ye Fan didn’t believe that at all. In his view, all ten of the ancient mighty ones had the ability to enter and leave the void, and the void created by Pan Gu and Fu Xi wasn’t meant to guard against and prevent Nuwa and the Dark Maiden; the real purpose was to block forces outside of the ten mighty ones.

In other words, the Dark Maiden was lying on this point.

"Master, we feel like our power has been congealed, we can’t provide you with any more strength for the time being!" Little Red Crystal suddenly spoke to Ye Fan through their spiritual link.

The few small crystals, after absorbing a golden silhouette, had indeed grown stronger, but they hadn’t fully digested that avatar yet, so for the moment they couldn’t help Ye Fan much. It was precisely because Ye Fan’s elemental power wasn’t very pure that he couldn’t reverse-open an exit out of the void.

"Looks like I can only think of a way to go back first!"

Ye Fan held his breath and focused again. He was going to make another attempt, planning to use the original method he’d used to enter the second secret realm, to open a point in the void and create an exit. He knew that in the void, his power was draining extremely fast. To avoid completely turning into dust in this emptiness, he had to leave before his strength was exhausted on a large scale.

"Break!"

Ye Fan shouted, and a powerful energy burst out from around his body. That force instantly formed a strong barrier, shrouding both his and the Dark Maiden’s power within it.

This point broke through the influence of the void, as if creating a power black hole inside the void. The void’s own force was flung away by this black hole, and when Ye Fan opened his eyes again, he had returned to the previous second secret realm. The scenery was still the same as before, except it seemed to have entered nighttime.

All around was dead silence. There were no animals here, only plants. It was a complete land of idyllic beauty, but the quiet only made it seem all the more terrifying.

"We’re back?" The Dark Maiden swept a glance around, looking rather impatient. Then she closed her eyes and said, "Looks like you don’t have any way to leave here for the time being."

Ye Fan thought for a bit. For now he truly had no way to leave this second secret realm. He could only stay here to recover and cultivate for a while. Once the power of all six small crystals fully returned, he could try to escape the void again.

Before that, he still needed to try to interrogate the Dark Maiden, because he felt she knew many secrets, only she had been hiding them from him all along for some unknown reason.

...

...

While Ye Fan was trapped in the second secret realm, Sang Yuan had already completed the defenses on Earth. Dozens of female cultivator disciples entered the planet and fully protected the people around Ye Fan who needed guarding.

At this moment Sang Yuan was in the ancient ruins at the North Pole, seeking rumors regarding the mysterious power on Earth.

Just as Sang Yuan was about to enter the deeper part of the ruins, a figure appeared in front of her, sending a chill of terror through her.

The person before her could easily kill her and grind her bones to dust. This one’s cultivation had already surpassed that of the ancient mighty ones. It was Xi He, who had, just like her, signed a Blood Oath with Ye Fan before.

Xi He looked Sang Yuan over and said, "What are you doing here? Did the Master send you?"

Sang Yuan had no idea how to answer. She believed Xi He already knew of Ye Fan’s disappearance. Sang Yuan said, "Young Master’s whereabouts are unknown for now. He didn’t order me to come here. But the reason I came was to investigate whether there is elemental power down below, to provide some help for Young Master’s future exploration."

"You think that kind of lie can fool me? The Master is still in the secret realm right now. Why would he be missing? I’m not yet clear on that. But I do know one thing: with your ability, you can’t possibly be the one orchestrating the Master’s disappearance. You came to Earth for some purpose of your own. I don’t yet know exactly what you intend to do, but I do know that whatever it is, it is absolutely not for the Master’s sake!" Xi He closed her eyes, a clear killing intent appearing on her face.

Sang Yuan looked a bit anxious. "Aren’t you afraid that some mysterious power has bound the Young Master? Your strength could help him, yet you’re still staying on Earth—what is that supposed to mean?"

"I’m here only to follow the Master’s orders and protect the people on Earth. You are the one truly overstepping. You should go back to the secret realm and search for the Master. That is what you ought to be doing!" Xi He said coldly.

Sang Yuan wanted to argue more, but when she met Xi He’s cold eyes, her courage to rebut vanished at once.

"Why don’t you go yourself? The secret realm is far more familiar to you. You’ve lived in it for tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years, while I am merely a lifeform created by the Dark Maiden. How can my cultivation possibly compare to yours?" Sang Yuan said, somewhat aggrieved.

In front of Xi He, she felt she had no room to resist at all. If Xi He wanted to kill her, she would simply stretch out her neck and await the blade.

Xi He suddenly stretched out her hand and said, "This is my domain. The ancient ruins on Earth are not something you have the qualifications to probe. Since you question why I remain on Earth, you can come back to the secret realm with me and search for the Master’s whereabouts together! Let’s go!"

Sang Yuan felt her vision blur, and she found herself back in the secret realm, right before the Sea of Death.