Ye Fan's recovery was swift. He opened his eyes, and Li Zhaojun and Min Shang, having completed their cultivation, were watching him, their gaze full of concern.

"I'm fine," Ye Fan smiled, nodding, "This time, it was merely excessive exhaustion, nothing major. You both go back to cultivate on your own, I have some matters to attend to here."

"Alright." Li Zhaojun stood up, supporting each other with Ye Fan, they walked towards the door.

After sending the two women off, Ye Fan summoned the three small crystals from within his body. The small Lan Jing remained in a crystalline state, the small purple and small black crystals were in their illusory forms of spiritual entities, but the small red crystal did not come out.

The small purple crystal said, "Master, I understand now. Previously, all those things, whether real or fake, were all created by the small red one. You must punish it!"

At this moment, the small red crystal was still in a coma. Ye Fan picked it up and placed it on the ground. It lay there, unmoving, much like the small black crystal when it was full. But Ye Fan could feel a huge power fluctuation within it.

"What was that lotus, do you know?" Ye Fan asked.

The small black and purple crystals were unsure, but the small Lan Jing started chirping, as if it knew something. The small purple crystal retorted irritably, "If you don't know, don't speak nonsense. The Master asked a serious question."

Only then did the small Lan Jing quiet down and sit beside the small red crystal. Its relationship with the small red crystal was the best, and it was quite puzzled by the fact that its 'companion' had absorbed the power of the Red Lotus Nirvana and fell into a coma.

Ye Fan allowed the three small crystals to return to his personal space, and put the small red crystal back as well. At this moment, he couldn't get answers, only waiting for the small red crystal to awaken for more information.

Previously, he thought the small black crystal was the most dangerous, as it fed on death spirits, representing slaughter. Now, it seemed the small red crystal was the true danger. He used to predict the small red crystal represented flame, as even Hai Wuzi described it in ancient legend as the "Celestial Fire Spirit," but now it seemed the fire spirit might not be the small red crystal, but possibly the small purple crystal. The small red crystal might represent illusions.

But why was the small red crystal confined within an underground altar, and what was the key the old priest of the underground kingdom spoke of before dying? Were these related to the past and present of the small red crystal? These were beyond Ye Fan's guesses.

"Young master, do you have a moment?" Just as Ye Fan was lost in thought, Sang Yuan entered the room, having been called in by Ye Fan's secret transmission.

"Yes." Ye Fan's expression turned somewhat cold, "What happened today, exactly?"

Sang Yuan could hear the suspicion in Ye Fan's voice, and quickly knelt down, saying, "Young master, I was not aware of any prior knowledge, I nearly committed acts in the illusion that could have harmed you and the madams. I am bound by a Blood Oath to you, any disloyalty would result in death by its curse..."

Ye Fan said, "Then you didn't send any scouts out for information beforehand?"

Sang Yuan bowed low, "It was my mistake, I shall ensure that the believers prioritize investigating matters thoroughly in the future, ensuring you are never put in danger again."

"If it were only me, I wouldn't fault you, but now, with the presence of the seven sects, there were severe casualties, and the Sect Master of the Di Yuan Sect escaped because of it. Locate her immediately!" Ye Fan commanded with an almost imperative tone.

"Yes, I will make sure to find her. Young master, perhaps while the Sect Master of the Di Yuan Sect has not returned to her sect, we should eradicate the remaining disciples to eliminate this threat!" Sang Yuan suggested to Ye Fan.

Ye Fan glanced at Sang Yuan, thinking that indeed the thinking of the immortals differed from that of humans.

Immortals have no sense of mercy or big-picture perspective; they would kill anyone deemed a threat.

"I am currently allied with the seven sects, not six. If we destroy the Di Yuan Sect, the balance of power within the Pan Gu Mystical Realm will be disrupted, and that is not a result I wish to see," Ye Fan said, "For now, I aim to unite the sects' power against the heavenly tribulation!"

"You are absolutely right, young master, I did not consider it thoroughly!" Sang Yuan acknowledged, bowing in apology.

"Stand up and go arrange your tasks. This incident in the Death Sea cavern served as a lesson. If it happens again, the people of the Seven Sects will surely lose trust in me, and my carefully laid plans for coping with the heavenly tribulation will be wasted!" Ye Fan was currently worried about a return to the chaotic order of old within the Pan Gu Mystical Realm, where sects would align, attack, and fight each other, with no focus on the heavenly tribulation.

...

...

In the Kalu Domain of the Pan Gu Mystical Realm, after escaping the underground cavern, the Sect Master Ling from the Li Huo Sect fled here, using a Jade Talisman to send a message and summon her attendants, planning to confront Ye Fan again.

Sect Master Ling was able to solve the riddle because the Di Yuan Sect, as the largest power within the Pan Gu Mystical Realm over the past tens of thousands of years, had once explored the Death Sea.

The illusions surrounding the Death Sea were not limited to the underground altar, there were many other locations. The experiences of dealing with these illusions were recorded by predecessors for each generation of Di Yuan Sect Masters. Previous Sect Masters Ling also had intentions to explore the caverns, but they could not unravel the large death spirit Array surrounding the Death Sea.

The Di Yuan Sect established their dungeon around the Death Sea because they believed it to be safe; even if others went there, they would be distracted by the death spirit Array, but they hadn't expected Ye Fan to unravel it, nor for the current Sect Master Ling to end up as Ye Fan's captive.

"Fortunately, I leveraged the experience of those before me to escape the cavern. Once I've recovered, neither the Six Great Sects, mysterious forces, nor Ye Fan will be able to challenge me!" Sect Master Ling had strong confidence in defeating Ye Fan and his cultivators, contingent on her healing.

Four hours later, Sect Master Ling's two attendants arrived.

Sect Master Ling had many attendants, but the highest in cultivation among them were those like the recent generations selected as candidates for Sect Master Ling, though ultimately they were not chosen and thus became attendants, obeying the Sect Master.

This time, the two summoned were not her most trusted, but were the highest in cultivation among her attendants. One male cultivator, at the late Mahayana stage, was a candidate from the previous generation, essentially her "Martial Uncle," though in the Di Yuan Sect there is no such title. The one with the highest cultivation becomes the Sect Master, who assumes the title "Ling," and even their own name is erased.

The other, a female cultivator, was a candidate from the same batch as Sect Master Ling, now at the mid-Mahayana stage, her paper strength even a tier higher than Ye Fan.

"Sect Master, are you unharmed?" The male and female cultivators looked surprised seeing Sect Master Ling; they had assumed Ye Fan would spread rumors of Ling's survival to stabilize the Di Yuan Sect, but finding her truly alive was unexpected.

Sect Master Ling said, "I'm merely injured. Bring me the healing treasures hidden by the Di Yuan Sect, and ensure no one else knows. Once I've healed, I will personally summon the hermits training all over from the Di Yuan Sect and eliminate Ye Fan and his forces all at once!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.