"Untrustworthy, but can cooperate?"

Jiang Yini murmured and then frowned.

"From what you said earlier, you seem to trust her quite a bit, and she listens to you..."

"The reason I would trust her is because she’s hit rock bottom, from being a princess that has fallen into disgrace in Da Xia, desperately seeking change. Similarly, she listens to me because she needs my help."

Li Jing explained.

"The situation now differs from before. She has gained the attention of the Da Xia Emperor, Xia Zhengyang, and she has verified with the current world’s cultivation methods that she can successfully start. She has gotten everything she wanted, and if she still needed to use her connection, it would inevitably cost something."

After saying this, Li Jing added.

"I mentioned earlier, while that woman has never been involved in cultivation, therefore, being known as the ’Useless Princess’, she possesses the ambition of a queen. Dealing with such a woman, it’s tolerable when she has not achieved her ambition. Once she has, she will only want more. Based on my personal observations, she may not be able to develop much in the short term, but in the future, she is likely to accomplish astonishing achievements."

Listening to his explanation, Jiang Yini had a strange expression on her face.

"It’s quite rare for you to speak so highly of a woman. So, knowing that she is difficult to deal with, why did you choose to help her?"

"I simply went with the flow. I never intended to help her."

Li Jing shook his head and chuckled.

"Of course, the main reason is that she is quite self-aware, and gave me quite a lot."

Jiang Yini was speechless.

Li Jing only mentioned that he robbed Xia Qianqian beforehand but didn’t talk about his specific gains.

It seems that she had given him quite a lot.

She thought about it.

Xia Qianqian might be a ’Useless Princess’, but she had control over a piece of land.

The birthday gift she prepared for the Da Xia Emperor couldn’t possibly be shabby.

After a brief silence, Jiang Yini said.

"I understand, I will go to the Imperial City to meet with the delegates later. If I get a chance, I will try to reach out to Xia Qianqian. At the very least, we know what she wants, and cooperation is not just about taking. A deal with her could benefit us both."

Then she looked up and asked.

"Do you have any other concerns?"

"No."

Li Jing shook his head.

"Ok."

Jiang Yini nodded, and stood up.

"I need to convey this information you’ve provided to Qi Chen and Ji Youyu as soon as possible. Although they are not responsible for this exploration mission, it’s always easier to talk to acquaintances."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing furrowed his brows somewhat.

The arrival of Qi Chen is expected.

Ji Youyu’s arrival was a bit of a surprise.

If both of them were here, there’s a chance that Tongyan might also be there.

But that’s not the focus here.

The real issue is:

The person in charge this time is not them...

It’s somewhat intriguing.

Who is Jiang Yini?

She instantly noticed what Li Jing was thinking and revealed a somewhat helpless smile.

"The incident involving Cao Zimo has caused significant turmoil in Longyu. Not only Cao Zimo got knocked out, but there was also a major shake-up among the middle and upper-level personnel. You slipped away early so you didn’t know about it, but although things seem calm on the surface, they are quite chaotic underneath. The absence of a Guardian God has caused a lot of demons and ghouls to jump out."

Having said that, she didn’t let the conversation continue and asked again.

"When I enter the city now, someone from Da Xia will definitely come to communicate with me about what happened earlier, what should I do then?"

"Whatever you like."

Li Jing smiled and replied.

"Da Xia is in the wrong in this matter. It wouldn’t hurt us to gain some advantages. You plan to get in touch with Xia Qianqian, which makes this a good opportunity. I don’t think she would mind if she is appointed as the representative for negotiation by Longyu to make Xia Yuxi stumble more on this matter. As for how to avoid arousing suspicion about why Longyu appointed Xia Qianqian, that’s for you to figure out."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yini couldn’t help but grin.

She hadn’t yet experienced the intrigue within the court.

But she understood the world of women.

If she used the previous incident as an opportunity to appoint Xia Qianqian as the designated negotiator for Longyu, Xia Yuxi would probably be left in the cold in no time.

Without further thought, Jiang Yini replied.

"Fine, I’ll do as you said. I might be gone for a while this time. When I come back, we’ll leave the main group."

"No problem. We’ve just entered the Secret Realm for two days and we’re not in a rush to leave."

Li Jing gestured dismissively.

He was quite eager to leave.

But Jiang Yini could convert the information he had collected into a lot of merit for her team by allowing the delegation to utilize certain conditions.

How could he have a dispute with merit?

...

After a conversation, Jiang Yini left.

Li Jing also chose to leave.

Walking around the camp with Chen Jing’s face was inconvenient.

The Da Xia side might suddenly send someone over again.

So, he simply decided to keep his distance.

Before leaving the camp, Li Jing contacted Jiu Li via communicator to confirm that the Heavenly King Group would proceed to the Southern Barbarians for exploration according to the original plan after Longyu and Da Xia completed preliminary discussions.

The plan didn’t change, so he didn’t worry anymore.

His main concern was that the newly appointed leader, which was not himself, plus the power struggle among the top tier might affect the Heavenly King Group’s original plans.

Since there were so many forces gathered recently, there were people everywhere near the entrance to the Secret Realm.

Eventually, Li Jing chose to return to the inn in Liaoping Town where he had stayed before. He let Liu Sisi and Ya’er out from the Little Universe to get some fresh air.

...

In the blink of an eye, a whole day passed.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Li Jing and the other two stayed in the inn.

Liu Sisi did not immediately tell the little girl about her intention to adopt Ya’er.

Liu Sisi’s standpoint was:

Since they had just entered the Secret Realm two days ago and were not leaving anytime soon, they would just take it one step at a time.

I can discuss leaving later when necessary.

If Ya’er’s companions are encountered before that, or if she decides to stay in the Northern Polar Region, I must respect her decision.

Having wasted an entire day, Li Jing enters the Little Universe with his two companions to leave Liaoping Town and heads toward Da Xia Imperial City.

There is no wireless signal in the Secret Realm, and the effective distance of the communication device is still limited.

Estimating that he had entered the communications range, Li Jing put on his headset and tried to connect with Jiang Yini.

"Beep."

The call goes through, and Li Jing speaks out.

"Yini, are you finished with the work you’re handling?"

Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Yini replied.

"I came back to the base this morning. I wanted to contact you earlier but couldn’t get through because we were out of range. Are you coming to get me, or shall I find you?"

"I’ll come to get you."

Li Jing said, then activated Silent Shadow and flew toward the Heavenly King’s camp.

...

Before long, Li Jing met Jang Yini in the center of the Heavenly King’s camp.

Upon meeting each other, Li Jing didn’t rush to leave but asked instead.

"How did things go yesterday?"

"Smoothly, I managed to contact Xia Qianqian."

Jiang Yini responded, saying.

"Xia Qianqian apologized for the matter involving Xia Yuxi on behalf of the Da Xia side. As you said, that woman is not pure. Although our connection has led her to be cooperative in many respects, she is unwavering when it comes to interests."

Continuing, she described the situation further.

"In any case, things are as they are. At this point, we cannot say that we can explicitly cooperate; it’s still in the negotiation phase. I have left the matter concerning Xia Qianqian to Ji Youyu; as a local director, I can’t say much in front of the special delegation."

"Hmm."

Li Jing nodded in agreement, and without asking anything else, he pulled out ten sets of ’Spiritual Silk Outfits’ that he had prepared for Jiang Yini and handed them to her.

"This is the clothing that Sisi and I bought for you. Since the three of us are exploring independently and not with a large group, we need to blend in and avoid attracting undue attention."

Upon seeing that Li Jing had prepared clothing for her, including ten full sets, Jiang Yini jokingly held up one piece and tried it on her body, smirking as she spoke.

"It fits quite well, I see you’re quite familiar with my measurements."

At her words, the corners of Li Jing’s mouth twitched.

What does she mean by "familiar with her measurements"?

Can’t she talk properly?

Let’s be reasonable.

The garments of Da Xia are generally quite loose, so anyone can wear them without any problems as long as they roughly fit.

Seeing Li Jing’s speechless face, Jiang Yini chuckled playfully.

"Get out, I’m changing my clothes."

"There’s no need to go to all that trouble."

Li Jing spoke up, saying.

"You can go into my Little Universe, Sisi is in there too."

"Little Universe?"

Jiang Yini frowned.

"You’ll see when you go in."

Li Jing said, pulling her along.

"Don’t resist, you and Sisi can stay in there for a while. There’s not much to see on Da Xia’s land. We’re planning to go straight to the Northern Polar Region as per our original plan. It’s more convenient for me to travel alone, I’ll let you out when we get there."

Jiang Yini, of course, trusts Li Jing.

Feeling a strange pulling force around her, she didn’t resist and entered the Little Universe.

Without delaying himself any further, Li Jing left the Heavenly King’s camp directly.

...

As for how far the journey to the Northern Polar Region would be, Li Jing had no idea.

He was clueless.

The map provided by Da Xia didn’t include any kilometer markings.

But it was certain that the journey wouldn’t be short.

As he moved further from Da Xia Imperial City, he chose to take out his Flying Sword Blue Edge and Smoke Eye, hiding his Qi and traveling on his sword.

Traveling on the sword.

Of course, it can’t be compared to traveling on thunder.

Though the speed of Thunder Travel was almost as fast as Immortal Items due to the rules of thunder punishment, the awakened Wind Attribute of the Flying Sword Blue Edge was still faster.

After crossing the eastern continent where the Da Xia Dynasty resided the whole day, he finally caught sight of the vast sea.

The concept of traveling on the sword for a whole day in the Seventh Realm, riding on a Wind Attribute Immortal Item, was unknown to Li Jing.

What could be confirmed was.

The expanse of the eastern mainland is far more than dozens of times that of the eastern region of Longyu in the real world.

The size of the territory controlled by the Da Xia Dynasty was unimaginably large.

A simple truth.

With Li Jing’s speed of sword control, a day’s travel was enough to travel around the Blue Star several times.

In other words.

The vast expanse of the eastern mainland alone was equivalent to the total area of several Blue Stars.

There was nothing to say about it.

The Big Secret Realm was indeed a Big Secret Realm, infinite and boundless.

Of course.

In the so-called Big World of reality, the Blue Star is essentially just a rather small planet in the vast cosmos.

Setting these thoughts aside.

Da Xia is vast, but it falls under the category of large territory and small population.

Despite the immense size, the total population must still be considerable.

However, as Li Jing traveled across the eastern continent, he observed that the distribution of towns was sparse, with the majority of the territory covered by grasslands, forests, deserts, and other natural environments.

The farther north he went, the harsher the conditions became.

When he reached the coastal area, it was an icy, snowy landscape.

Sword controlling to the north over the ocean, Li Jing noticed many fish in the sea that had health bars above their heads.

Some individuals were extremely large with long health bars, and they were very aggressive.

Li Jing only saw those floating on the surface of the sea.

If they were not hunting other aquatic creatures with health bars, they were patrolling and defending their territory.

Most appeared to be aquatic monsters that had chosen not to morph into other forms.

Li Jing did not attempt to harvest these aquatic monsters.

The Heavenly Saint Land is certainly not the real world, it’s full of human traces.

The ocean, however, is almost entirely pristine.

Fishing boats and merchant ships can be occasionally seen near the coastline, but the deep sea area is completely untouched.

The natural environment should not be disrupted by unnecessary killing.

Being from the real world, Li Jing of course has an awareness of environmental protection.

These aquatic monsters did not provoke him nor did they attack him, so he would not justify an unprovoked slaughter.

Traveling north for nearly an entire day, Li Jing finally saw a snow-covered continent at the far north horizon.

Seeing the mainland after intensely controlling the sky for two days, Li Jing couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

Damn it!

I finally made it!

This is the first time he’s traveled such a long distance.

Thanks to his three Origins, if it were an ordinary Seventh Realm cultivator, they might not have endured for so long.

Thinking of Jiu Li leading the Heavenly King Group to the Southern Barbarians later, Li Jing estimated that their large force would have to spend at least ten days on the road.

He could only hope that they would gain something in the Southern Barbarians, otherwise, by the time they return from their journey, the exploration of the Secret Realm might have already ended.

It all depends on the spatial data report from the Northern God Country.

The opening of the Big Secret Realm generally only lasts for about half a month.

The Chongyuan Holy Realm, which has lasted for a whole month, is considered a rare type.

The Northern God Country hasn’t drawn any conclusions from the specific spatial data report, but it should be done within the next few days.

If the time limit for the Secret Realm entry is short, Jiu Li and the Heavenly King Group might have to turn back halfway on their journey to the Southern Barbarians.

Seeing the Northern Polar Region already, Li Jing accelerated to quickly reach the sky above the region.

Looking down,

The Northern Polar Region appears to be a forbidden zone for life.

It could perhaps be due to them currently only being on the outskirts of the region.

Li Jing could only see a white land, there was not even a single creature that could be qualified as a living being, nor were there any Ghostly Evil Beasts.

Moving on to assess the surrounding harsh environmental temperature, Li Jing frowned slightly.

This godforsaken place is at least well below -100 degrees, much colder than the North Pole in the real world.

Looking towards the direction leading deeper into the polar region, Li Jing pondered for a moment, then with a thought, he released Liu Sisi and others from the Little Universe.

Having reached the polar region, it was time to let the three of them out.

Liu Sisi and Jiang Yini chose to follow him to gain experience, not to stay comfortably inside the Little Universe.

In such an unknown area where no living creatures are seen and there are no signs of human life, Li Jing would not recklessly delve deeper into the polar region.

Considering the appearance of the Northern Polar Region being almost a forbidden area for life, the dangers hidden here must not be underestimated.

After that, the real exploration should begin.

Having been in the Little Universe for two days, Liu Sisi and others were taken aback when they were suddenly released.

Then, Ya’er became alert, her fur bristling.

Liu Sisi curiously looked around.

Jiang Yini bundled up on the spot.

No choice.

This godforsaken place is really cold.

Liu Sisi, although a realm lower than her, has a Cold Heart Physique and is quite comfortable in this cold environment, and doesn’t experience any negative effects.

Jiang Yini, on the other hand, was a bit reluctant.

But after all, she is a powerful Sixth Realm cultivator.

Her ability to deal with harsh environments is strong, it’s just that she cannot adapt very quickly to the sudden change from the pleasant climate of the Little Universe to an environment that’s at least a hundred degrees below freezing.

The different reactions of the two, coupled with Ya’er, is what Li Jing is most concerned about.

Ya’er is a spiritual beast from the Northern Polar Region.

This is her home.

She should be happy to return home.

But when she found herself back in the Northern Polar Region, Ya’er instantly became alert, her demeanor shifting from silly and cute to as tense as a wild kitten.

Clearly,

Even Ya’er, who grew up here, does not dare to slack off in face of the dangers of the Northern Polar Region.

While thinking, Jiang Yini has managed to adapt to the temperature difference in the environment and exclaimed.

"Hiss! This godforsaken place is really bloody cold!"

She spoke as she picked up the alert Ya’er for warmth.

In the Little Universe where they had been staying for two days, Jiang Yini became acquainted with Ya’er early on and they have been very close.

Ya’er was picked up but remained alert, but she still snuggled up to Jiang Yini to indicate her comfort with her.

Liu Sisi saw that Ya’er was being hugged away by Jiang Yini but didn’t mind, she turned to look at Li Jing.

"Hubby, this place doesn’t seem to be inhabited by anything living, nor do I see any so-called Ghostly Evil Beasts. So, are we going in there or...?"

"We have to go in, but before that, we need to ask our guide for any recommendations."

After saying that, Li Jing looked at Ya’er.

"Ya’er, you grew up here. Is there anything we need to pay attention to in the polar region?"

Upon hearing his words, Ya’er blinked her big eyes a few times, and timidly said,

"Dangerous, concealed underground."

Underground?

Li Jing was slightly taken aback.

Before he could react, Ya’er wrinkled her tiny nose and looked around. Her chubby little hand suddenly slapped out towards the front left.

"Boom!"

An invisible force laced with a hint of coldness blew a chunk of accumulated snow away, revealing the ice layer hidden beneath the snow.

In a flash, several pairs of blood-red eyes revealed themselves below the ice layer.

Caught off guard by this sight, Li Jing, Liu Sisi and Jiang Yini all felt their hearts skip a beat.

Just in an instant.

The several pairs of blood-red eyes they had seen scattered like birds and vanished in the blink of an eye, they didn’t even have the time to get a good look.

The situation was so sudden that all three were unprepared for it.

Even Li Jing hadn’t expected it.

At first glance, it looked like a lifeless snowfield, but in reality, dangers were lurking close by.

"Fuck! What the hell was that?"

Jiang Yini couldn’t help but curse.

"Ghostly Evil Beasts?"

Liu Sisi turned her head and looked at Ya’er for clarification.

Seeing the scene, Ya’er nodded. Speaking with Liu Sisi made things much easier for her.

"Ghostly Evil Beasts is what the Da Xia people call them, we polar creatures refer to them as ghostly spirits, they will attack all living things and are very dangerous. But the ones just now aren’t worth being cautious of, they belong to the relatively weak type, they dare not rashly leave the ice layer, the real danger won’t appear at the polar border."

Upon hearing Ya’er’s words, Li Jing silently nodded and kept looking at the little girl without blinking.

Despite catching only a fleeting glimpse, he noticed that the Ghostly Evil Beasts just now were very weak.

After all, he could see the Health Bars.

The longest Health Bar just now was just over 2000, indeed not worth the worry.

The problem is that the Ghostly Evil Beasts could move under the ice layer of the snowfield, where his eye may not be very useful.

The whole Northern Polar Region is covered with thick snow, he must use the Sky Eye Technique to observe, but he can’t be constantly on guard against those elusive Ghostly Evil Beasts using his Sky Eye Technique.

But obviously, Ya’er has the ability to detect the Ghostly Evil Beasts through the accumulated snow.

That’s handy.

Seeing Li Jing staring at her, Ya’er shrank timidly into Jiang Yini’s arms and continued to explain.

"The 100-year Beast Tide will occur in about ten days, there won’t be too many Ghostly Evil Beasts active on the surface for now. Only some powerful ones will roam on the surface, and some special ones can reach the Ascending Immortal Realm."

Ascending Immortal Realm?

Liu Sisi and Jiang Yini were momentarily stunned, then realized that it referred to the corresponding Eighth Realm, both of them looked at Li Jing.

Seeing this, Li Jing smiled.

"I can handle the Eighth Realm."

After assuring the two women, Li Jing continued.

"As you two just saw, the Ghostly Evil Beasts are not physical entities but something of the Yin-type, they are afraid of pure Yang Element attacks. Currently, it may be difficult to deal with them before knowing their nature, but once we know their weakness, it won’t be hard."

Upon hearing this, both women seemed to understand.

The ice beneath their feet is a complete solid.

That the Ghostly Evil Beasts can move around in the ice clearly indicates that they are non-physical entities.

If they are not physical entities, they can only be Yin-type things.

Over here, Li Jing looked at Ya’er again.

"Ya’er, do you remember where you were living when you were caught?"

Ya’er blinked and pointed to the west.

"My tribe’s dwelling place is in this direction."

As she spoke, she hesitated for a moment, and her chubby little hand pointed to the east.

"I was caught over there."

?

Li Jing slowly typed out a question mark.

It was not surprising that Ya’er had her own tribe.

If she didn’t have a tribe, she wouldn’t mistake Liu Sisi’s power resonance for a fellow tribesman due to its resonance with the power within her.

So why was her tribe in the west, but she was caught in the east?

Even though Ya’er casually pointed in two directions, the place they would end up in if they followed them was a lot more than a few hundred miles apart.

Both Liu Sisi and Jiang Yini are sharp-minded; they noticed the problem in an instant.

Looking at Ya’er strangely, Liu Sisi asked.

"Ya’er, tell mom, were you running away from home when you got caught?"

"Well..."

Ya’er lowered her head and said weakly.

"It can’t be considered running away from home, Ya’er was just hungry and wanted to find something to eat, so she followed her instincts. Then she inexplicably became human-formed and was captured."

Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Yini asked curiously.

"So, Ya’er, did you turn into a human form after eating something?"

Li Jing’s eyebrows raised slightly, and he fixed his gaze on her.

He hadn’t really thought about how Ya’er became human-formed.

The transformation of Spiritual Beasts is rare, but not unheard of.

Just now, when Ya’er said she inexplicably took the human form, he did take note.

Over here.

Upon hearing Jiang Yini’s question, Ya’er nodded.

"Probably."

As she spoke, she said a bit shyly,

"But I don’t remember exactly what I ate, because I ate a lot of things I didn’t recognize."

"..."

Li Jing.

"..."

Liu Sisi.

"..."

Jiang Yini.

Not remembering exactly what she ate that caused her transformation was okay at its core.

But having eaten a lot of things she didn’t recognize...

This little creature, she’s something!