"Yang Xiao, I'm so sorry..."
Yue Lingxi sensed the change in Yang Xiao's expression and felt very guilty.
In her eyes, the Profound Sun Secret Realm was a huge opportunity, and making Yang Xiao miss it made her feel awful. She had even been planning to take him to meet her master after they came out of the Secret Realm.
And with the opportunities the Profound Sun Secret Realm presented—ideally, obtaining the Profound Sun Emperor's inheritance—Yang Xiao would have had a certain standing, enough to be with her.
But now...
All of it was shattered.
"What's going on? What do you mean, we can't go anymore?"
Although Yang Xiao was anxious, his tone remained gentle. He could sense the guilt coming from the young woman before him.
Clearly, something had happened.
Seeing Yang Xiao like this, Yue Lingxi felt a warmth spread through her heart. What she feared most was that he would ignore her because of this, or give her the cold shoulder.
'If that were the case, I would really have to reconsider.'
'Even if you're going to become Dao companions, you have to consider the other person's character, don't you?'
Clearly, Yue Lingxi was very satisfied with Yang Xiao's reaction.
Yet, the more satisfied she was, the more dejected she became. She pulled out the Profound Sun Order she was carrying and huffed angrily, "It's all because of this thing. A while ago, I was bored and activated it with my True Qi. It actually produced a map, which I think points to the Profound Sun Secret Realm."
"But that's a good thing, isn't it?"
Yang Xiao was confused.
Yue Lingxi pouted her cute lips and said, "I thought it was a good thing at first, too. But when I looked at the map, I was stunned. It leads to the world outside of this little place, and I only have one Teleportation Talisman from my master. There's no way to bring you along."
At this, Yue Lingxi was so overcome with guilt that she was on the verge of tears.
'How did I not foresee this? Why didn't I take an extra Teleportation Talisman?'
At the same time, she grumbled resentfully, "It's all this blasted place's fault. It's surrounded by impassable lands, making it so hard to get out. Yang Xiao, you're not mad at me, are you?"
As she finished speaking, she looked at Yang Xiao anxiously.
Only to find...
...he was smiling.
"What is it?"
Now it was Yue Lingxi's turn to be confused.
"And here I was wondering what the problem was. It was just this?"
Yang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
Others might not be able to leave the Celestial Cloud Region.
But he was different.
Ever since he gained control of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, leaving this place had become astonishingly easy for him.
This was also why the Profound Celestial Sect was so intent on seizing the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion. If they obtained it, they could open up the Forbidden Land to the north of the Celestial Cloud Region, allowing Immortal Cultivators to march straight in.
When that happened, the entire Celestial Cloud Region would likely be plunged into endless slaughter.
But while Yang Xiao felt this was an easy problem to solve...
...Yue Lingxi found it incredibly difficult.
Seeing his nonchalant attitude, she began to explain, "Perhaps you don't realize what kind of place this is you live in."
"I used a special method to contact my master earlier. She told me that this was where the Profound Sun Emperor fell, and it was also his homeland. For some unknown reason, perhaps to protect the Profound Sun Emperor's eternal rest, four powerhouses of at least the Eraless Divine King level took action after his death."
"One of them you should know—the Sword Emperor, one of the Five Emperors of the Ancient Human Race, the peerless Xuanyuan Sword Emperor. He tore through the void with a single sword strike that landed here, forming the Nine Nether Earth Rift. If it weren't for an anomaly like you, not even a Divine King Level expert could dream of passing through."
"And even for you, passing through is incredibly difficult because it connects to the Void Dark Realm, not an exit."
"Then there's the Northern Wilderness Divine King. He was an incredible Divine King who once defied the heavens to slay a Great Emperor. But for some unknown reason, he, his four subordinate Divine Kings, and countless True Gods all vanished, leaving only a Sword Mansion here to guard the north. He also laid down an impenetrable array; not even a Divine King could hope to break through it."
"It's also said that an Ancient Divine Demon placed his own tombstone here. But this Divine Demon is from a time so ancient that all I know is he was at least a Divine King Level existence. I don't know any of the specifics."
"And there's a Great Saint of the Demon Race, another mysterious being, who guards the western part of this region. It's a vast desert where even a Divine King would get lost, unable to find their way."
Yue Lingxi finished her explanation in a single breath.
She glanced over at Yang Xiao, only to find that he had fallen into deep thought.
"Xuanyuan's Sword Intent, the Northern Wilderness Divine King's Sword Mansion, the Ancient Divine Demon's tombstone, and a living Great Saint?"
Yang Xiao murmured to himself.
'This place is even more extraordinary than I imagined,' he thought. 'Especially with these subtle connections to me.'
All of this made him want to visit the Profound Sun Secret Realm even more.
'Perhaps that Small Furnace Cauldron that Fire Kite mentioned is one of the keys.'
Yang Xiao mentally pieced together all the clues he had.
He recalled what Fire Kite had told him before: to go to the outside world, find the Ye Clan, enter the Profound Sun Secret Realm, and search for that mysterious Small Furnace Cauldron.
He couldn't help but glance at Yue Lingxi again.
'Could she be here for that Small Furnace Cauldron, too?'
With this in mind, Yang Xiao asked, "Did your master tell you to retrieve anything from the Profound Sun Secret Realm?"
He asked, feigning nonchalance.
But in reality, Yang Xiao was extremely tense.
Yue Lingxi tilted her head, not quite understanding why Yang Xiao was suddenly asking this. Still, she decided to answer. "A treasure. The Profound Sun Emperor's own Emperor's Weapon, the Profound Sun Tower!"
"The Profound Sun Tower?"
For some reason, Yang Xiao let out a sigh of relief.
A smile spread across his face. He reached out and gently tapped the tip of Yue Lingxi's nose. "Actually, I have a way to leave this place without needing a Teleportation Talisman."
"Really?"
Yue Lingxi's large eyes instantly lit up.
Forgetting all about the nose-tapping, she hugged his arm and asked, "How do we get out?"
"You'll know when you see it. But I've heard that everyone outside is an Immortal Cultivator, and they seem to be quite hostile toward us Martial Cultivators. If we do get out, it probably won't be easy to reach the Profound Sun Secret Realm, right?"
Yang Xiao was probing again.
At his words, Yue Lingxi broke into a proud smile, revealing two cute little canines. "Don't you worry about that. My master already predicted this and gave me an Immortal Transformation Talisman. As long as we wear it, we'll give off an Immortal Dao Aura, and no one will realize we're Martial Cultivators."
"It's just... can you really get us out?"
Yue Lingxi was still a little skeptical about that.
Yang Xiao smiled faintly.
"Come with me!"
Without waiting for her to react, he took her hand. With a flash, Yang Xiao was outside the Xuanyuan Sword Wall, his True Greater Yang Fire enveloping her body.
Soon, their auras began to intertwine automatically.
Yang Xiao didn't pay it much mind.
Nor did he notice that Yue Lingxi had blushed crimson.
'This... this guy.'
'He's such a scoundrel.'
'A real rogue!'