Among the discussions of the crowd, eight people were finally selected from the Sect and Family factions: Song Mingqin, Qu Fei, Ye Bufan, and Yan Yuzhu, the Palace Mistress of the Bright Palace. From the cultivation families, headed by Huangfu Zheng, were Tao Liangce from the Tao family, Shangguan Lun, an elder from the Shangguan family, and Lu Zhiying, the head of the Lu family.
Originally, according to Bai Zizhen's suggestion, each direction should have sent one person from both the Sect and the Family. However, Shangguan Chengtian was not very willing, and Bai Zizhen did not insist in the end.
The outcome was that Song Mingqin and Qu Fei headed north to investigate, Ye Bufan and Princess Yan Yuzhu of the Bright Palace went south, Huangfu Zheng and Tao Liangce went east, and Shangguan Lun and Lu Zhiying went west.
Once the four teams were decided, they set off as soon as the sky darkened. Ye Bufan and Yan Yuzhu traveled south for about five kilometers before they found traces of the Sakura Island people.
Ye Bufan deployed his spiritual sense and discovered that this was likely a stronghold of the Sakura Island people, consisting of cultivators at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, responsible for reconnaissance. They were probably preventing people from the Nine Provinces from counterattacking the Sakura Island people.
"Hiss!" Yan Yuzhu waved her hands, flicking her whisk towards the few individuals. The hairs of the whisk instantly transformed into thin, incredibly hard silver needles, piercing directly into the foreheads of the Sakura Island people.
Ye Bufan watched Yan Yuzhu act, slightly stunned by her decisive move.
"Palace Mistress Yan, next time you encounter people, remember to leave one alive. I can then pry some useful information out of their mouths," Ye Bufan said with a wry smile.
Yan Yuzhu was taken aback, gave an embarrassed chuckle, and said, "The thought of these Sakura Island people sneak-attacking from behind made me angry, and I couldn't resist killing them all. If I encounter them again, I will definitely leave one alive."
The two of them inspected the surroundings again but found no other Sakura Island people. They then advanced about a kilometer further out.
The further they went, the more Ye Bufan felt that something was not right.
"You feel it too?" Yan Yuzhu looked at Ye Bufan and said.
Ye Bufan nodded. Yan Yuzhu continued, "You just broke through to the Core Formation stage, and your spiritual sense perception range is much larger than mine. Is there anything amiss?"
"It's too quiet," Ye Bufan said.
"Not good! Let's go!" Ye Bufan's pupils dilated, followed by several "whooshing" sounds of breaking air.
Three golden arrows, carrying strong energy fluctuations, shot towards Ye Bufan and Yan Yuzhu.
The Broken Sword was drawn, blocking the three arrows. In the next second, Ye Bufan and Yan Yuzhu vanished from their spot, and even the Broken Sword disappeared with them.
"Where did they go?"
Someone in the forest questioned. Ye Bufan and Yan Yuzhu had vanished in plain sight, and not even a trace of their aura could be felt at the scene.
"Baka!" Yamamoto Ichiryu roared, clenching his fists, unable to believe that two cultivators could escape from under the nose of a mid-Core Formation cultivator.
In reality, Ye Bufan and Yan Yuzhu had re-entered the space of the Taiyi Sect.
If Yamamoto Ichiryu had been a little more observant, he would have noticed that the Taiyi Sect Inheritance Ring was hidden where Ye Bufan and Yan Yuzhu had disappeared, but the ring had masked all their auras.
...
On the other side, within the Taiyi Divine Sect's sect space, Yan Yuzhu was no longer calm. Looking at everything around her, she realized this was the secret realm of the Taiyi Divine Sect that they had just left.
"You... this..."
Yan Yuzhu was at a loss for words, struggling to control her breathing.
"So, the final secret realm inheritance, the legendary Sect Master of the Taiyi Divine Sect, is actually you?" Yan Yuzhu still felt as if she were dreaming because she remembered that when Ye Bufan entered the secret realm, he was only at the peak of late Foundation Establishment, which was commonly known as the Great Perfection.
After emerging from the secret realm, Ye Bufan had successfully advanced from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Core Formation stage, but Yan Yuzhu was still at the Half-Step Core Formation.
However, Yan Yuzhu possessed the Bright Pearl from the Bright Palace's sect secret realm, so reaching the Core Formation stage was only a matter of time. But now, this ancient great sect's secret realm inheritance, coveted by everyone, had fallen into Ye Bufan's hands, which was entirely unexpected.
"It seems we have no fate with this sect," Yan Yuzhu comforted herself.
Ye Bufan merely smiled and changed the subject, "Those Sakura Island people outside haven't left yet. We can go out and investigate again in a while, and also give them a lesson."
Yan Yuzhu nodded, looked at Ye Bufan, and asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll reveal your secret?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Bufan turned to look at Yan Yuzhu, and they gazed at each other for a long time.
"The Yamamoto Ichiryu outside is in the mid-Core Formation stage. This can be considered indirectly saving your life. I believe a dignified Palace Mistress of the Bright Palace wouldn't repay kindness with enmity, right?" Ye Bufan said.
"Hahahaha," Yan Yuzhu burst into laughter. "Indeed, at eighteen years old, your cultivation is heaven-defying. But your thoughts are not like those of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old child."
"What age do they resemble?" Ye Bufan asked reflexively.
"At least the age of Bai Zizhen, or even older than Bai Zizhen."
Ye Bufan had expected Yan Yuzhu not to answer, but she had responded to his question very seriously.
They exchanged glances, both somewhat surprised. Regarding the matter of age, Ye Bufan analyzed that it was probably related to spending a long time with Lin Xiaoyao. His worldview, and even his perspective on things, had been taught step by step by Lin Xiaoyao.
"Can I look around?" Yan Yuzhu, having re-entered the Taiyi Divine Sect, felt a desire to explore again.
"Yes, but we might need to return to reality at any moment," Ye Bufan said.
"Alright!" Yan Yuzhu said, "After all, we entered the secret realm with hope and left with regret. Re-entering now ignites that unyielding feeling again."
Led by Ye Bufan, Yan Yuzhu quickly toured the Taiyi Divine Sect's secret realm again.
"My heavens, is this the power of ancient mighty beings?" Yan Yuzhu couldn't help but exclaim. "To contain an entire spirit vein within a space, something current cultivators probably wouldn't even dare to imagine!"
Yan Yuzhu felt as if she had opened up a new world. After revisiting it, she realized how many details she had missed within the secret realm.
About an hour later, Ye Bufan sensed that the main force of the Sakura Island people outside had departed, and he and Yan Yuzhu returned to reality.