Zhao Min was no less intelligent than Li Yan, and she quickly deduced the origin of the Snow Mosquito Clan.
This matter was surely one of Li Yan's deepest secrets, yet he had disclosed all of it to her.
A faint blush suddenly appeared on Zhao Min's jade-like face, a soft spot in her heart momentarily touched.
She let out a soft "en," acknowledging that Li Yan's considerations were already very thorough.
For Li Yan to promise to contact her once every two to ten days was already a significant disruption to a cultivator's normal habits.
After all, for a cultivator, a single session of cultivation could lead them to lose all track of time. Li Yan was already doing his best to accommodate this.
However, Li Yan, standing to the side, was still contemplating other matters and for a moment, failed to notice Zhao Min's subtle change in demeanor.
"Alright then, Senior Sister, you should enter the space now. If anything comes up, we can communicate inside."
Li Yan said while thinking. Given Zhao Min's situation, it was better for her to hide sooner rather than later. It would be troublesome if her aura were detected here.
By the time he looked at Zhao Min, she had already returned to her usual self. Her long, fair, jade-like neck gave a slight nod.
The next moment, she relaxed her body, allowing Li Yan to place a hand on her fragrant shoulder. Li Yan's Divine Sense instantly connected with the "Earthen Patch."
As a pair of warm, large hands rested on her shoulders, she could feel a solid warmth spread through her entire body, even through her clothes.
Her body trembled slightly. In the next instant, her vision blurred, and the warmth on her shoulder vanished. She had arrived at the foot of a great mountain.
The ground beneath her feet was covered in lush green grass, dotted with numerous wildflowers. A small, clear river flowed along the base of the mountain, stretching into the distance...
This was the very spot where she had sat cross-legged to heal her injuries. The moment Zhao Min's figure appeared, Li Yan's somewhat illusory form also landed beside her.
Neither of them concealed their auras. The next moment, numerous Divine Senses, some strong and some weak, swept down from the mountain peak.
Among them, two Divine Senses were particularly conspicuous; one had actually reached the Golden Core Realm, which caused Zhao Min to start in surprise.
'There are such powerful Demonic Beasts here!'
Most of the Divine Senses vanished without a trace after detecting Li Yan's aura. Only the owners of those two powerful Divine Senses flew swiftly in their direction.
Soon, a youth in a purple shirt, standing atop a massive, translucent mosquito, appeared before Zhao Min.
The moment they arrived, the purple-shirted youth stepped down.
Then, the "beautiful" crystalline mosquito in Zhao Min's eyes flickered and transformed into another youth, this one dressed in white.
The white-robed youth's complexion was almost bizarrely translucent, and his features were exceptionally lively and sharp. He looked like someone who was good with words.
"Greetings, Master!"
Sensing the purple-shirted youth's aura, Zhao Min found it very familiar. Coupled with what Li Yan had said earlier, she immediately confirmed his identity.
Zi Kun was also stunned for a moment when he saw Zhao Min. He certainly remembered hearing much of the conversation between this woman and Li Yan back at the Two-Realm Barrier.
Besides their close relationship, they even seemed prepared to face life and death together.
'She's also entered the Golden Core stage, and her killing intent is so dense. How many people has she killed?'
Qian Ji, too, found Zhao Min's aura somewhat familiar. He remembered that this person had been here before, though she had left not long after arriving.
At the time, Li Yan had sent them a Divine Sense transmission telling them not to disturb her cultivation, so he hadn't probed any further.
While Zhao Min was observing the two Demonic Beasts, they were likewise looking at the peerlessly beautiful young woman before them.
"During this time, if your Senior Sister has any instructions for you, you are to carry them out to the best of your ability!"
As Li Yan spoke, his mind stirred, and several mountain caves appeared silently on the face of a nearby cliff.
Zhao Min had only sensed a slight fluctuation in Li Yan's Divine Sense, and then several caves of varying sizes, all spotlessly clean, appeared within her own Divine Sense.
Following that, stone chairs, stone tables, and stone beds rapidly materialized inside the caves.
'He has completely mastered the Rules of Heaven and Earth here!'
Zhao Min hadn't seen Li Yan use any magical power, yet he had changed the face of the cliff in an instant.
She was also a person who had read widely, perusing ancient and modern texts. Her understanding of space was not comparable to that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator; she naturally knew a great deal.
A Spirit-Storing Pouch, commonly used by Golden Core cultivators, would be considered good if it had a space of five square zhang. Moreover, the power of the rules within was extremely weak and couldn't manifest many changes.
But now, right before her eyes, several caves facing the meandering river, with a large expanse of green, carpet-like grass before their entrances, had been formed in an instant.
This was something that even a high-grade Spirit-Storing Pouch in the hands of a Nascent Soul cultivator probably couldn't achieve.
Just as Zi Kun and Qian Ji readily agreed, Li Yan turned his gaze back to Zhao Min.
"Senior Sister, I don't know if you prefer to live elsewhere or right here, but the only living beings on this mountain are the Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant and the Snow Mosquito Clan.
The water in this stream is quite rich in Spiritual Energy, which should make it a bit more lively. If Senior Sister still finds it dull, I can go outside the city again tomorrow and bring in some other birds and beasts. How does that sound?"
Zhao Min gazed at the shimmering waves before the cave, a smile gracing her cold face.
"This is quite nice. It shouldn't be too noisy; this quiet is just right!"
She was quiet by nature. The Spiritual Energy here was dense, and the scenery of vast skies and drifting clouds gave her a sense of peace.
"Haha, then we'll do as Senior Sister wishes.
It's just that I can't yet manifest the sun, moon, and stars here, so there is no night or day. I'm afraid Senior Sister will get bored after a long time. I will find a way to leave the Forsaken Continent as soon as possible."
In front of his two Blood Contract Spirit Beasts, Li Yan did not hide his intentions.
"This will be fine for now. Junior Brother, be careful outside. If nothing happens in the next day or so, then there probably won't be too much trouble!"
Zhao Min said something that only she and Li Yan could understand.
She was still worried that a Spirit Transformation Old Monster was too powerful and that her aura couldn't be concealed here.
If her aura disappeared from the city for too long and the Supreme Elder noticed something was amiss, then today would be the most dangerous time.
"Don't worry, Senior Sister. They shouldn't have that kind of ability yet. If there's nothing else, I'd like to go back into the city to gather more information!"
This time, Zhao Min didn't speak. She simply raised an arm as fair as a lotus root and waved, then took a light step and walked towards a larger cave.
She saw that there was a stone bed inside, which Li Yan had likely made for her to rest in. The thought made her jade-like face burn!
'I'll have to set up a Restriction later!' she thought to herself.
Their conversations had always been like this, giving off a feeling of detachment from the mortal world—calm and gentle.
"Alright, now that you know the situation, try not to disturb this area in the future. Just wait for your Senior Sister's instructions. Cultivate diligently in your free time.
Qian Ji, I have also been frequenting the market lately, trying to find information on the 'Howling Cold Stone.' Don't be impatient. I'm already collecting some ice-attribute materials here. We might first try using them to assist your cultivation."
As Li Yan spoke, he waved his sleeve, and four jade bottles flew towards Qian Ji.
"These are the Demonic Cores of the third-rank 'Snowy Domain Seven-Segment Worm.' There are four in total. They should be of great help to you when you absorb them for cultivation.
However, these are all from third-rank Demonic Beasts, and your level is still too low. You can only absorb them bit by bit. Do not be greedy.
Zi Kun, watch over his cultivation. Don't let him lose his life in his haste for success!"
Li Yan's voice was still echoing as his figure dissipated on the spot.
The white-robed Qian Ji snatched the four jade bottles. As Li Yan's words rang in his ears, he couldn't wait to open one.
Recently, he had been extremely frustrated by the suppression from the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant, and his heart was filled with pent-up emotions.
With a flick of his finger, he instantly opened one of the jade bottles. Immediately, four streams of bone-chilling cold air escaped.
The mountain foot, which had been as warm as spring, was instantly enveloped in an extraordinary cold, as if it had descended from the heavens. Qian Ji, himself a creature of extreme cold, couldn't help but shiver several times.
"Dammit, close it!"
Zi Kun's angry voice suddenly sounded in his ear. At the same time, a powerful force pulled at the jade bottle in his hand, and the just-opened stopper was instantly sealed shut.
The source of the cold vanished. Qian Ji quickly opened his eyes. The patch of green grass near him had already turned into a field of icy, sword-like leaves.
Even the cheerfully flowing river in front of them was now shrouded in a thick white mist, churning like a winter morning's fog, thick and lingering.
The white-robed woman, who was about to enter the cave residence, also turned her head to look in their direction, her gaze falling upon the once-swaying flowers and grass, which were now withered as if by deep winter.
Qian Ji saw Zi Kun staring at him with an unfriendly gaze and quickly forced a laugh.
"Oh... oh oh, I was careless, so careless... I'll be careful next time!"
Seeing that the flowers and grass on the ground were rapidly recovering under the influence of the dense earth-attribute Spirit Power now that the source of the cold was gone, Qian Ji immediately felt a sense of relief and chuckled.
Having followed Li Yan, he had seen the great world outside and knew that most female creatures, unlike his Snow Mosquito Clan, preferred scenes of blooming flowers and green grass.
Just now, upon receiving the jade bottles, he had been so overcome with excitement that he had opened one directly.
Inside these jade bottles were four Demonic Cores from third-rank ice-attribute Demonic Beasts. He couldn't even touch a single one directly; he could only approach and absorb it bit by bit.
This was also why Li Yan had placed the four "Snowy Domain Seven-Segment Worm" Demonic Cores in four separate jade bottles.
Back when Li Yan was at the Foundation Establishment stage, he had suffered a loss due to the third-rank Ice Cloud Feather gifted by Wei Zhongran.
It was only because the Snow Mosquito King itself was a singular, cold-attribute wondrous creature that it could withstand the cold without direct contact.
After leaving last time, Li Yan had immediately instructed Su Yuan to search for the "Howling Cold Stone" and other ice-attribute cultivation materials.
Some time ago, Su Yuan informed him that four "Snowy Domain Seven-Segment Worm" Demonic Cores had appeared at the largest auction house in "Sacred Demon City."
Upon learning this, Li Yan had immediately rushed over. In the end, he had spent a colossal amount of Spirit Stones, enough to make even a Nascent Soul cultivator's heart ache, to win the auction for these four Demonic Cores.
As for whether this item was precious, it was indeed priceless to cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage. But if one were to say it wasn't precious, high-level cultivators wouldn't give it a second glance.
After all, the attributes of the four Demonic Cores were very specific—an ice-type divine ability, which was useless to cultivators at the Golden Core stage and above.
Cultivators of thunder, lightning, ice, and wind attributes were inherently rare mutants. Li Yan's competitors in the auction were all at the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages.
The auction houses in "Sacred Demon City" had a very mature system for protecting their clients' information. Even the attendants at the auction house didn't know who the final buyers were.
Therefore, Li Yan was not afraid of being found out.
Just think, if even the auction houses in "Sacred Demon City" could leak their clients' information—and this was the core territory governed by the White Demon Clan—then there would be no safe market for transactions in the world.
The White Demon Clan would not want to see such a thing happen in "Sacred Demon City."
"You still want a next time?"
Zi Kun glanced at the white-robed woman who was turning to leave again and muttered in a low voice.
"I was really just careless. Weren't you excited to get materials to improve your cultivation?
By the way, that person is the Master's Senior Sister. What should we call her? We can't just shout 'Master's Senior Sister' when we need something, can we?"
"Oh! Call... call her Matriarch, I think... I think that's their relationship!"