Zi Kun had overheard some of the conversations between Li Yan and the white-robed woman during their life-and-death struggle, so he had a rough idea.
"Ma... Matriarch? She's the Matriarch!!"
Qian Ji's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
In the distance, Zhao Min, who had just turned her head away, was about to take a step forward when her body suddenly stiffened. She then resumed her normal posture, but her ears were now paying closer attention to what was happening behind her.
"I suppose so. Think about it yourself. Besides you, me, and your clansmen, are there any other living beings here besides this Matriarch?" Zi Kun said, a purple glint flashing in his eyes.
Qian Ji thought for a moment and shook his head.
"Well, there have been others. For a while, two bats and a female cultivator came in, but the situation was completely different from today. They were all unconscious..." he said, putting the jade bottle into his robes, his mood greatly improved.
"Oh, how come I don't know about these creatures you speak of? Was it when I was recasting my physical body..."
Zhao Min had already reached the entrance of the cave, but she had no intention of going inside. Instead, she seemed to be admiring the scenery, looking down at the flowers on both sides of the entrance.
'Other female cultivators have been here...' she thought to herself.
And just as Li Yan opened the "Earthen Patch" to bring Zhao Min in, in a dense forest behind the "Sacred Demon Palace"...
Here, the Spiritual Energy was so rich it was unbelievable. Billowing white Spiritual Energy flowed like a ceaselessly churning bolt of pure white silk, with streams of white mist winding through the forest.
In the dense woods, giant trees that would take several people to encircle soared into the sky, their branches crisscrossing in neat, orderly rows, radiating vibrant life.
Beneath a large tree, its dense canopy like a great umbrella blotting out the sun, a youth with snow-white hair sat cross-legged in meditation.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked towards another large tree to the side. There, a woman was also sitting in meditative cultivation.
The female cultivator looked to be in her thirties, the most alluring time in a woman's life.
Just as the white-haired youth looked at the woman, she too opened her eyes. Her beauty was unparalleled, surpassing even Zhao Min's.
Her body was a landscape of graceful curves, her figure outlined by her palace gown in a dreamlike fashion. Her beautiful eyes were as bright as a river of stars.
"Did you feel the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation tremble just now?"
The white-haired youth possessed the handsome and elegant features characteristic of White Demon Clan males. His voice held an alluring magnetism. The beautiful female cultivator nodded.
"There was a momentary tremor!"
The two spoke no more. They closed their eyes simultaneously, and their Divine Senses spread out like a tightly woven net, instantly covering the entirety of "Sacred Demon City" and the area ten thousand li beyond.
After ten breaths, they both opened their eyes again.
"Nothing out of the ordinary!"
"Indeed. There's no sign of those old monsters from the Black Demon Clan coming over either!"
A man and a woman, a question and an answer.
The white-haired youth thought for a moment.
"The Sect-Protecting Grand Formation was left behind by that person to deter the Black Demon Clan. We can't actually control it completely. It hasn't been truly activated in many years. I'll go to the formation's core to have a look."
As he spoke, the white-haired youth's figure vanished from the dense forest, while the beautiful female cultivator slowly closed her eyes once more.
If Zhao Min were here, she would surely know who these two were.
They were the Supreme Grand Elder and the Second Elder of the "Sacred Demon Palace," figures who existed only in legends.
Not only had very few people in the outside world ever seen them, but even fewer knew that the Second Elder was a female cultivator.
Soon, the dense Spiritual Energy in the forest gently stirred, and the white-haired youth returned to the base of the large tree. The beautiful female cultivator glanced sideways at him.
The white-haired youth shook his head and sat down cross-legged again under the same tree as before.
"I checked it carefully. There are no problems!"
"This formation involves many rules of power that we have never been able to fully comprehend. It seems this has happened before, though it was a very, very long time ago. In the end, nothing came of it!"
The beautiful female cultivator's eyelids closed again. At their level of cultivation, they rarely paid attention to external matters anymore.
Unless the sect was facing a great disaster, they had no desire to move at all. The white-haired youth did not argue. He sat cross-legged under the large tree, lost in thought.
Back in the small courtyard, Li Yan's Divine Sense had returned to his body.
He hadn't even realized one thing himself: out of his usual caution, he had always used a storage pouch to store and retrieve items during his many years in "Sacred Demon City."
Aside from his Divine Sense entering the "Earthen Patch" a few times, today was the first time he had directly opened the space to admit an item. It was just that this time, the "item" was Zhao Min...
Li Yan sat in the courtyard, deep in thought. Zhao Min's arrival this time had completely disrupted their plans.
"I can no longer rely on the power of the 'Sacred Demon Palace.' With no other way to leave, our only hope now is for me or Senior Sister to successfully achieve Nascent Soul Formation quickly."
Thinking of this, Li Yan felt a wave of helplessness. Nascent Soul Formation... in this world, who dared to say they could achieve it, let alone determine how long it would take?
"I need to buy a large amount of cultivation materials soon, then return to the sect and go into long-term seclusion with Senior Sister, striving for one of us to reach Nascent Soul Formation as soon as possible!"
After some thought, Li Yan made his decision. He couldn't stay here any longer.
Whether the "Sacred Demon Palace" could see through the "Earthen Patch" space or not, it was right to stay far away.
Having made up his mind, Li Yan immediately took out a Voice Transmission Talisman, etched the things he and Zhao Min needed onto it with his forehead, and then tossed it out.
He was sending a message to Su Yuan, asking him to start purchasing a large quantity of cultivation materials for him starting tomorrow.
After sending the Voice Transmission Talisman, Li Yan immediately stood up, intending to walk into the house.
But at that very moment, his expression changed drastically as the sound of the restriction in the courtyard suddenly shattering rang out.
'Someone is forcefully breaking the restriction!'
Li Yan's heart sank. This formation had been specially refined for him by Su Yuan at great cost. It was a formation that could even defend against the intrusion of a Golden Core cultivator.
The real reason for Li Yan's change in expression was that this was "Sacred Demon City," a place inhabited by a great number of powerful experts. For someone to dare to forcibly break into another's territory in the city, what did that signify?
Various thoughts flashed through Li Yan's mind, and among them, a disquieting guess appeared in his mind.
"Who are you? To trespass in another's residence in the middle of the city!" Li Yan shouted quickly, but to his even greater unease, he found that his voice could not travel beyond the courtyard.
As Li Yan shouted, he had already swept his Divine Sense across the courtyard but found no trace of the other party, which made his heart sink even further.
Just as Li Yan's shout left his lips, a cold voice sounded at the same time.
"I underestimated this place of yours. A small courtyard is actually protected by a formation no less powerful than the sect-protecting grand formation of a second-rate sect. A Golden Core cultivator as wealthy as you is a rare sight indeed. It seems there really is a problem here!"
As the voice fell, a figure swiftly solidified from illusion, appearing just inside Li Yan's courtyard gate.
Now that the other party had revealed himself, Li Yan could finally see that he was standing in the direction of the main gate.
The man was exceptionally handsome, dressed in a blue robe, tall, and appeared to be in his early twenties.
His black hair was casually tied back with a cord. But what was most unforgettable was his pair of sapphire-blue eyes, deep and profound.
At this moment, a Voice Transmission Talisman, struggling and flashing with light as if desperate to fly away, was held in his hand. He stared coldly at Li Yan.
However, the blue-robed man was also shocked. As he had just said, the defensive formation here was no weaker than the sect-protecting grand formation of a second-rate sect.
It was just that the range and thickness of the formation were not as vast, as if it had been condensed. Therefore, the consumption of Spirit Stones was not as massive as when a sect-protecting grand formation was activated.
He had initially treated it as an ordinary restriction, and since his Divine Sense hadn't detected any powerful auras in the courtyard, he had acted even more casually.
To his surprise, after trying several methods to break the restriction to no avail, he had grown annoyed and forced his way in. This had undoubtedly ruined his original plan to first conduct a covert investigation.
Li Yan's eyes fell on the Voice Transmission Talisman in the other's hand. It was the one he had just sent to Su Yuan, now intercepted from the void.
Li Yan knew he was incapable of such a feat himself; it required some mastery over the power of space.
What angered and frightened Li Yan even more was that the man was clearly standing right there, yet his aura was completely absent from Li Yan's Divine Sense.
'A Nascent Soul cultivator!'
How could he not be certain of the other's cultivation level now? He had seen a Spirit Transformation cultivator before.
Li Yan's eyes showed a mix of anger, shock, and a hint of fear. All of this was seen by the man, who felt that everything was proceeding as he had expected.
"Senior, this is 'Sacred Demon City.' Why have you intercepted my Voice Transmission Talistan and forcibly entered my residence?
Although you have shielded this area, I can still detonate the formation here. Do you think you can still act so wantonly in the city then, Senior?"
The man glanced at the Voice Transmission Talisman in his hand, and suddenly a flame ignited in his palm.
With a "bang," Li Yan's Voice Transmission Talisman turned into specks of starlight as he crushed it. His tone grew even colder.
"I've noted down the shop you were trying to contact. I'll have someone investigate it later! As for why I'm here, you know better than I do, boy.
Let me ask you, where did Zhao Min go after entering this place?
She is my Dao Companion. A man and a woman, alone for so long. Where has she gone now?"
Every word this person spoke struck Li Yan's heart like a hammer. A bone-deep chill spread through him; his guess had been correct.
The moment this person appeared, his obvious White Demon Clan features had allowed Li Yan to instantly guess his purpose. This person must have followed Zhao Min all the way here.
With Zhao Min's cultivation level, it was of course impossible for her to detect a Nascent Soul cultivator tailing her.
'I wonder how many secrets he discovered?' Li Yan thought, though his face was a mask of fury.
"Senior, who is this Zhao Min you speak of? I have been in the courtyard all this time and have not seen anyone enter today besides you. What do you mean by this?"
"Hehehe, quite the actor. Do you think I could mistake a person and enter the wrong place? I'll give you three breaths to tell the truth. Don't even think about detonating the formation here. You don't have the time."
Dao Yu sneered as he swept his Divine Sense around. What made him increasingly suspicious was that there was truly no trace of Zhao Min in any of the rooms.
He had initially thought it was the shielding effect of the formation, but now he had already broken the restriction and entered.
Ever since Zhao Min had been designated as his Dao Companion by the Supreme Grand Elder, he had understood her attitude. Even under pressure from above, she had never clearly agreed, but she hadn't refused either.
In Dao Yu's view, this was a strong sign of inner dissatisfaction and resistance.
Having spent decades with Zhao Min, entering and exiting secret realms and facing life and death together, he had genuinely developed feelings for this incredibly resilient woman, and it was not at all due to personal gain.
No matter the peril, she had never shown fear of death, instead fighting for a way out at all costs.
But no matter how many times Dao Yu had saved her, she had only ever expressed gratitude and had always kept him at a distance. She never spoke with anyone alone for long and treated everyone the same way.