Nuwa and Xi He were also in a standoff.

Xi He couldn’t be sure if the Nuwa before her was the original form, but she didn’t dare to test, because she knew that if she failed to test, it would mean death. In fact, there was no need to test, as killing a clone of Nuwa was not of great significance.

Encountering a clone and killing it would mean nothing to her; if she encountered the original form, she would die.

So she would rather choose to treat the Nuwa in front of her as the original form, to probe Nuwa’s reaction and see what Nuwa really wanted to say.

Every word could provide her with many clues because whether it was a clone or the original form, they all followed the same logic when thinking about problems. Furthermore, Nuwa would share a lot of information with her clones, so each clone of Nuwa, in a certain perspective, could be considered the original, with no strong distinction between the clones.

"Now you want to enter the second secret realm to find Ye Fan?" Xi He asked.

Nuwa smiled and said, "Xi He, you are becoming more restless. Although you seem obedient, I can tell you have a second thought about me. I was the one who created you in the first place, yet now you are targeting your creator. It seems you still don’t understand the basic humility of humans. Would I report to you what I’m doing now?"

"Go wherever you want!" Xi He replied coldly, "I need to find the master now. If you are here, it’s a great threat to me, so I must consider blocking you from entering the second secret realm..."

"Do you dare to fight me? Aren’t you afraid I’m the original and will kill you?" Nuwa said with a calm and composed expression.

Xi He said, "Whether you are the original or not, in your consciousness, you would consider yourself the original. It makes no sense for me to argue this with you. Rather than talking nonsense here with you, I should first watch how you enter the second secret realm. Once you’re inside and encounter my master, he might not discuss reason with you and might directly commence a battle, at which point you’ll have a high chance of dying!"

"What do you mean?" Nuwa sneered, "Do you think I am inferior to Ye Fan in cultivation?"

"I advise you to think carefully, as there’s no benefit for you. Apart from the true Nuwa, no one knows who’s a clone and who’s the original. Even you think that you are the true Nuwa... it’s a paradox. You now have the mindset of an original, so many truths cannot be explained to you!" Xi He said.

Nuwa scrutinized Xi He and said, "Since you know I possess the mindset of an original, you should know that I can kill you, quite easily, Xi He. If you continue to block me, I will kill you and this girl next to you... I’ve long known she is actually an admirer of Ye Fan and has done many things intolerable to me for him!"

Sang Yuan looked at Nuwa, and she could feel a sense of danger.

With her cultivation, even a clone of Nuwa could kill her, let alone the original. She surely had no resistance in front of Nuwa, but thankfully Xi He was there to help her, so she didn’t need to be overly tense, as Xi He’s cultivation was nearly on par with ancient superpowers.

Nuwa said, "I will not stoop to the level of you juniors... I am going to find Ye Fan..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Nuwa’s body vanished completely, and even if Xi He wanted to track her, she felt she couldn’t.

After Nuwa disappeared, Xi He frowned tightly, and Sang Yuan beside her asked, "Was she the original?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"How would I know? Probably no one besides the true original knows. These clones all believe themselves to be the original, and many things cannot be judged by common sense. But judging by her cultivation, she indeed reached a terrifying level. Even if she isn’t the original, she might be a clone who’s cultivated for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, possibly with cultivation above both yours and mine!" Xi He said with some concern, "You must come with me to the seabed once more. We need to go to the master’s side to offer assistance before Nuwa finds him."

...

...

Ye Fan was in the second secret realm, and he still didn’t know what happened in the first secret realm.

He was still enjoying the beautiful time with Zi Ying.

As for helping with the five small crystals, that could temporarily be set aside. Right now, he was filled with affection for Zi Ying, treating her entirely as an innocent girl experiencing her first love, enjoying the purity she brought him.

Moreover, Ye Fan discovered that the elemental energy he could absorb this way was very pure, much stronger than the power he’d derived from the spiritual forms of several small crystals. He finally realized that the stagnation in his elemental cultivation was due to the lack of direct communication with the small crystals.

After truly acquiring Zi Ying, Ye Fan used her blood as a medium to start creating human bodies for the five small crystals.

The one with the highest cultivation was the Red Crystal, followed by the Blue Crystal and Black Crystal, while the Green Crystal and Ice Crystal were slightly lagging in cultivation.

Because of their differing levels of cultivation, their speed in shaping their bodies varied. For example, the Red Crystal shaped her body outline in no time, and as her body moved toward completion, she couldn’t even take the time to explore the five senses she should have as a human girl but rushed forward instead. She intended to seize the moment Ye Fan acquired Zi Ying to make herself Ye Fan’s woman as well.

"Master!" The Red Crystal embraced Ye Fan from behind, using her not-yet-warm body to share her warmth with Ye Fan passionately.

But Ye Fan managed to maintain sufficient rationality at this moment. He knew that the Red Crystal had just become human, still unacquainted with many things, and hadn’t yet adapted to the basic sensations of being human. Proceeding with the Red Crystal now would be extremely irresponsible.

"Little Red, go cultivate properly to perfect your body. After today, you won’t have this opportunity anymore!" Ye Fan reminded.

The Red Crystal was reluctant, just as the Black Crystal and Blue Crystal also finished shaping their bodies. The Black Crystal was even faster than the Blue Crystal. Just as the Black Crystal was about to come over, she noticed the Red Crystal already taking the lead and wanted to rush ahead as well, but Ye Fan’s voice stopped her.

"Finish your cultivation first, and don’t come over today. Today is a matter between Zi Ying and me. Although I may acquire you in the future, it won’t be today!"

After saying this, Ye Fan used elemental power to completely isolate himself from Zi Ying, thus blocking the path of the other small crystals.