At this moment, Zhao Lina had fallen into a coma. She had no idea that Ye Fan was helping her cultivate; she could only feel a scorching heat in her body, as if this heat was some kind of chemical reaction produced when Spiritual Energy fused with her flesh.

"So hot!" Even though Zhao Lina was unconscious, she could still sense the changes in her body, and a murmur slipped unconsciously from the corner of her lips.

The sound clearly fell into Ye Fan’s ears, but he couldn’t spare any attention to it. He could only calm his mind and continue helping Zhao Lina complete her cultivation.

Right after, a resisting force began to arise inside Zhao Lina’s body. This resisting force seemed even stronger than before. As for where this power came from, Ye Fan couldn’t figure it out. It was as if Zhao Lina’s body had cultivated another kind of element altogether. He had no idea how to break through this layer of defense, and could only follow step by step, continuing to help Zhao Lina open up the blocked meridians within her body.

The Nascent Soul in Zhao Lina’s body had already formed, and was even gradually being awakened. This was a sign of stepping into the Divinity Transformation Stage. Ye Fan didn’t pause; he continued to help Zhao Lina break through the Divinity Transformation Stage, aiming even for the early Mahayana Realm. The power required for this was dozens, even hundreds of times greater than for the Divinity Transformation Stage. It was a challenge for him as well, something he had never experienced before. Previously, even when he was helping two people cultivate at the same time, he had only split one share of power into two, and divided his focus into two parts.

But as the Spiritual Energy gathered in Zhao Lina’s body increased, the repulsive force generated within her also grew stronger. Although this force posed no real threat to Ye Fan, it made him feel that Zhao Lina’s physique seemed to give cultivation a completely different definition. As to what element Zhao Lina was truly suited to cultivate, Ye Fan wasn’t clear. He only knew that helping Zhao Lina cultivate Spiritual Energy might not actually be the best choice for her.

After nearly an hour, Ye Fan finally finished helping Zhao Lina cultivate. At this moment, Zhao Lina had just broken through the late Divinity Transformation Stage and stepped into the early Mahayana Realm. Ye Fan could also feel a trace of depletion in his own body. Although the feeling of overdrafting his strength only lasted an instant, it still gave him a faint sense of crisis. Because at the moment when his power was exhausted, if someone launched a sneak attack on him, he would be in great danger—especially if it were ancient cultivators whose cultivation was similar to or even higher than his.

"Ye Fan, Ye Fan..." Although Zhao Lina was still unconscious, with her spiritual power having reached a peak state, she was still calling out Ye Fan’s name. It turned out that in Zhao Lina’s life, Ye Fan already occupied an extremely important place.

Ye Fan looked at Zhao Lina, feeling somewhat reluctant in his heart. He could not admit to Zhao Lina that he had helped her cultivate, so at this moment he could only leave the second layer of the secret realm. He still had many things to do, and he didn’t want to have any quarrels with Zhao Lina. There were many things between him and Zhao Lina that could be explained slowly. He didn’t want Zhao Lina to act willful and reckless, so he could only bring Zhao Lina into the second layer of the secret realm.

"There’s no other way, Na’er. Everything I’m doing is to protect you. If you bear resentment toward me in the future, I’ll accept it. Because in many things I really haven’t respected your choices and thoughts. It’s just like the way I feel about Zhao Tianya—you both act willfully and recklessly. I like that kind of personality, but I can’t let you keep being willful. As your man, even if I have to use methods you don’t understand, even if I have to use domineering means, I’ll still make you understand that everything I do is for your sake, not for myself!"

After finishing, Ye Fan suddenly felt a wave of mental and physical exhaustion. He thought that he should also go find someone to comfort him. Now, the only ones who could truly comfort him besides Li Zhaojun were Lu Xiaoman.

Only these two women were the ones Ye Fan truly cared about and could never forget. No matter what Lu Xiaoman and Li Zhaojun had done to him, his love for these two women would never change.

...

...

Returning to the first layer of the secret realm, Ye Fan went straight to Sky City. In Sky City, Sang Yuan had long been waiting.

When she saw Ye Fan, Sang Yuan stepped forward to salute, and then gave a detailed report of her investigation of the Sea of Death in the first layer of the secret realm, especially regarding the mysterious power. Unfortunately, her subordinates had been unable to uncover more information about this mysterious power, but they still reported everything they had seen and learned. These pieces of intelligence might not be of much use to Ye Fan, but they at least allowed him to gain a bit more understanding of the first layer of the secret realm.

"Young master, this slave has been investigating detailed intelligence these past few days. It’s just that the Sea of Death now seems to be sealed by a powerful force. The existence of this force has also blocked the passage between the first and second layers of the secret realm. Only you can freely enter and leave!" Sang Yuan said.

Ye Fan said, "Why is it that when I came out I didn’t feel any powerful sealing force? Or is this just your imagination?"

"This slave wouldn’t dare. Everything this slave says is what those below have discovered. Perhaps young master set down some kind of probing power in the Sea of Death, which was mistaken by the people below as a sealing force!" Sang Yuan felt somewhat terrified; she was afraid Ye Fan would doubt her loyalty.

Ye Fan waved his hand and said, "Enough. I’ve done my own investigation on what needed investigating. If there’s nothing else, you may withdraw. If something comes up, I’ll call for you."

Sang Yuan could see Ye Fan’s impatience. She bowed respectfully and immediately retreated to the side, not daring to speak.

Ye Fan, on the other hand, headed toward the very center of Sky City, where Li Zhaojun and Min Shang had been cultivating all this time.

When Ye Fan arrived, he didn’t see anyone in the main hall.

"Zhao Jun? Are you there?" Ye Fan was very puzzled. To show his respect for Li Zhaojun, he had never used his own power to test her loyalty, yet after arriving, he discovered that Li Zhaojun and Min Shang had vanished at the same time.

This greatly shocked Ye Fan, because according to all his previous investigations, there had been no attacks by any mysterious power around Sky City. Li Zhaojun’s disappearance was far too bizarre.

"Sang Yuan, get over here!" Ye Fan barked in a cold voice. His voice spread to Sang Yuan in the form of a sound transmission.

Soon, Sang Yuan appeared before Ye Fan. She bowed respectfully, still not understanding what had happened.

"Where’s Zhao Jun? Where’s Min Shang? Why aren’t they here?" Ye Fan questioned harshly.

Only then did Sang Yuan realize something had happened. She hurriedly used her own power to probe around Sky City, and indeed could not find any trace of Li Zhaojun and Min Shang.

"Young master, this slave truly does not know. Mistress has always been here; how would this slave dare to casually probe into mistress’s affairs? I beg young master to see clearly..." Sang Yuan dropped to her knees at once, kowtowing to Ye Fan as she spoke.