Chapter 233

Lu Xingzhou brought a plate of fruit and knocked on Ye Tinglan's door again.

Ye Tinglan opened her eyes from her cultivation. "Come in," she said.

She was no longer observing or even listening to their conversations, having fully reverted to the image of an aloof sage who remained uninvolved.

In Lu Xingzhou's eyes, however, once she had entered the mundane world, she was no longer so lofty.

"How are you today, Master?" Lu Xingzhou asked, placing the fruit on the table, assuming the posture of a disciple greeting their teacher.

Ye Tinglan glanced at him indifferently, her eyes devoid of emotion. "I'm well. What do you need?"

"Firstly, to see if you're settling in comfortably, and secondly, to inquire about your travel plans."

"Because your stay here will be longer than expected?"

"Yes." They had left the capital for a trial, initially unaware of the complications. Their detour to Xiazhou was specifically to see Shen Tang. Lu Xingzhou wished to ease his longing, while Ye Tinglan intended to conduct an inspection. In any case, the original plan was to stay no more than two days and be ready to leave at any moment.

However, given the current situation, it seemed they couldn't leave anytime soon.

Ye Tinglan said calmly, "Ever since I divined that hexagram in the cave, I knew this trip would be delayed. You're simply unlearned."

Lu Xingzhou replied, "So if I just turn around and leave, would that break the hexagram?"

"Would you be willing to turn around and leave?"

Ye Tinglan said, "If anyone is leaving, it would be me. You wouldn't let me go anyway. So tell me, who do you plan to use my power against?"

Lu Xingzhou offered a forced smile. "Master, what are you saying? How could I possibly..."

"I heard it."

"...How could I *not* include you in my plans? We're all family, so there's no need to be polite. Otherwise, you'd accuse me of treating you as an outsider, wouldn't you?"

Ye Tinglan said blandly, "So, you say you want me to relax, yet you're using me and finding things for me to do. Wouldn't you call yourself hypocritical?"

Lu Xingzhou rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then admitted honestly, "Going by that, yes, a little."

A hint of amusement entered Ye Tinglan's eyes. "At least you're honest. Just a bit thick-skinned."

"Because I consider you family, Master, it's perfectly reasonable to ask for your help," Lu Xingzhou said. "Conversely, if you also considered me family and passed some burdens onto me, wouldn't you feel more at ease?"

Ye Tinglan looked into Lu Xingzhou's eyes, and he met her gaze with a calm expression.

Ye Tinglan recalled that he had indeed said similar things when whispering with Shen Tang: that he "hoped to help" and "would reciprocate once capable." Her heart was subtly stirred.

If he could advise Yuan Muyu, why couldn't he help her?

Once she shifted her perspective of him from someone to be tested and guarded against to a trusted ally she could rely on, things seemed to become much easier. Not only did a troublesome matter transform into an asset, but this asset's capabilities had also been proven multiple times.

Elder Xu had even remarked, "Won't Yuan Muyu be furious..."

Hmm... Ye Tinglan also felt a slight urge to rub her chin.

It was truly a case of changing one's mindset and finding boundless possibilities.

In fact, taking on disciples and diligently teaching them alchemy naturally involved an expectation of reciprocity. However, initially, she hadn't trusted him enough to consider such things. She didn't know when, but that trust had slowly developed.

Was it from when he repeatedly expressed his desire for her to take it easy?

But she showed no outward change, merely stating blandly, "You are my disciple. If I need your help, isn't that only natural? There's no need for you to express your loyalty here."

Lu Xingzhou chuckled. "Indeed."

"Anyway, I'm not in a hurry to leave anytime soon. You can proceed with your matters, and we'll talk once you're done. Don't worry about me these days; I don't need greetings morning or night, just peace and quiet."

"Uh, we don't usually disturb you, Master."

"My point is, keep your activities in the room quieter."

Lu Xingzhou was speechless.

"Also..." Ye Tinglan mused for a moment, then suddenly said, "There should be a secret realm beneath this mountain, right? This pool of water must be one of the entrances."

A jolt went through Lu Xingzhou's heart.

This Master was truly formidable. She hadn't done anything, simply looked at the pool, and could deduce so clearly.

This wasn't something spiritual sense alone could achieve. Secret realms were secret precisely because they could block spiritual sense; the spiritual energy of this pond alone could significantly hinder its spread. If it could be found just by probing with spiritual sense, the Huo family wouldn't have come up empty-handed here before.

Unless her spiritual sense was stronger than that of Grand Master Huo, a first-rank expert.

Since she had already deduced it, there was no point in hiding it. Lu Xingzhou answered honestly, "There is indeed a secret realm. Would you like to see it, Master?"

Ye Tinglan smiled faintly. "You'll allow me to see?"

"Since you already know, Master..."

"Knowing you have a treasure vault and allowing someone to enter and see it are two different matters."

"Well said," Lu Xingzhou chuckled. "What needed to be hidden was the existence of the secret realm itself. Since you already know, Master, then by all means, have a look. Perhaps you might even point out some value we haven't discovered yet."

Ye Tinglan looked at Lu Xingzhou, her eyes complex.

This attitude truly showed that he considered her family, while she herself hadn't fully embraced that role.

She sighed softly. "Then take me to see it."

The two quickly entered the pool.

Lu Xingzhou felt awkward pulling out a waterproof wheelchair in front of her, so he secretly activated a water-repelling spell. Diving down was quite a distance, and he almost ran out of spiritual energy, his face turning red from holding his breath. He turned to look and saw that Madam Ye was perfectly composed, emerging from the water without even a corner of her clothes wet.

Wanting to see her drenched was indeed just wishful thinking.

Ye Tinglan stood by the pool with her hands behind her back, frowning as she observed for a moment. "According to this formation, there might have originally been a primordial spiritual water crystal here... on your leg?"

"Yes."

"Such a waste of a natural treasure, used like that?"

"If you hadn't taught me to connect my bones, it would have been an even greater waste."

"And you're proud of it?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled. "For me at that time, healing my leg was the greatest pursuit. Everything else could wait."

Ye Tinglan ignored him and inspected the water's edge on her own. "If one were to cultivate a formation here, it would be better than above. Besides that, there's not much to say. Let's look elsewhere... Oh, wait."

Lu Xingzhou turned his head and saw Ye Tinglan lightly touching a sword mark on the cave wall. "How are there traces of Frost Sky Frozen Moon sword energy here?"

Lu Xingzhou's mouth twitched. "Miss Qingli from Tianyao Holy Land has been here."

She didn't just visit this place; her wheelchair even vibrated here... How cute that little white-haired girl was back then...

It's a shame she's third-rank now and has become cold, only talking about being friends, *sniffle*...

Ye Tinglan looked at the sword marks with a profound gaze, thinking to herself, *This little disciple is starting to hide things from her master... This secret realm is clearly very important, not only related to the Heaven-Striding Sword Sect but even to the changes in the entire Xiazhou ley lines. Such an important matter, and Qingli didn't report a single word.*

Thinking about it carefully, it was understandable. If this matter had been leaked at the time, it would have been a devastating blow to Shen Tang, so it absolutely couldn't have been easily revealed.

*Is Master an outsider?*

Seeing her finally step into the dark passage, Lu Xingzhou let out a breath.

To be able to identify "Frost Sky Frozen Moon" from mere sword marks was a bit outrageous... Could she be even more amazing and identify the composition of the water traces that were once underground?

Passing through the dark passage into the original cave dwelling, the iron corpse that had died in the heart of the dwelling had already been stored by Shen Tang in a stone room in the corner.

Lu Xingzhou remembered this and specifically opened the stone room for Ye Tinglan to see. "Master, please take a look at this ancient corpse."

Ye Tinglan squatted down and examined it for a moment, her expression subtly changing. "Huiyang!"

Lu Xingzhou's heart also skipped a beat.

Huiyang... transcendent rank!

Officially, there were only two transcendent experts in Great Gan: Imperial Advisor Ye Tinglan and Emperor Gu Zhanting. Perhaps the royal family and Tianyao Holy Land each had some reclusive ones, but their number would certainly not be large. Including demon races, other countries, and a very small number of special demonic creatures, transcendent experts were still exceptionally rare.

Yet, one had inexplicably died here.

Furthermore, Maha, the original owner of this place, must also be a transcendent expert and certainly still alive, though his whereabouts were unknown.

This ancient corpse and Maha, by all appearances, did not belong to any known power system within Great Gan. They didn't even seem to be from other countries; if a major transcendent expert from another country had died silently in Great Gan, it would have long caused a major diplomatic incident, not passed so quietly, unheard of.

So the question arose: what were the true origins of this ancient corpse and Maha?

As Ye Tinglan examined, her expression grew increasingly grim. "Purple Star Profound Art... Grand Unity True Water."

The first term referred to the physical cultivation art practiced by the ancient corpse, and the second was the source of the poison that had rotted his insides.

It was indeed correct to bring Madam Ye here; her insight and knowledge allowed her to discern many things that others had previously overlooked.

"Are these ancient methods and treasures that have been lost to the world for a long time?" Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but ask. "But this place was formed, at most, a hundred years ago."

"They found this place later; it doesn't represent their origin," Ye Tinglan said with a very serious expression. "The origins of these people may very well represent an ancient realm unknown to people today, which aligns with some knowledge within our sect."

A realm...

Lu Xingzhou's expression also turned grim.

If it involved the concept of planes, the worldview would change significantly. Great Gan, which they thought encompassed the entire world today, might just be a drop in the ocean.

He still asked cautiously, "Master, how do you determine it's another realm and not just a reclusive sect? You yourself came from a reclusive sect, didn't you?"

"There are indeed other planes in this world, perhaps called the Heavenly Realm, or perhaps not," Ye Tinglan stood up and replied very seriously. "Everyone knows of immortals, but today, where are they?"