Ancient trees towered into the heavens, their shadows swaying gracefully.
At dusk, the setting sun's afterglow spilled down from the mountaintops, dyeing all things in a layer of golden radiance.
Beneath the stone bridge, water babbled softly, clear and musical.
The entire secret realm appeared tranquil and beautiful. Ye Jingcheng lay hidden beneath the ground, suppressing his aura to the utmost. Beneath the Aura Isolation Robe, one hand gripped the Imperial Guard Shield while the other rested on the Spirit Beast Bag containing the Earth Dragon Demon Emperor.
At the same time, the Soul Servant Blood Escape secret art within his body remained ready to be activated at any moment.
Another Spirit Beast Bag at his waist was left open.
Inside it, the Jade Ring Rat wore a grave expression. Its ears stood erect and trembled faintly as it listened with every ounce of attention.
"Could it be that I thought it through incorrectly?" As Ye Jingcheng watched the dusk grow darker and the spirit mark on his body gradually fade, yet saw no changes either at the secret realm entrance or outside it, he could not help growing suspicious.
He took out another jade talisman and checked it, only to find that the Shadow Wood Puppet still showed no trace of Zhang ZhiQiu.
It was as if all his guesses had been wrong—or perhaps the other party feared Prefect Wang and Prefecture Lord Xiao.
After all, he was heading toward the Upper Immortal Realm, and Prefect Wang and Prefecture Lord Xiao would surely be moving closer to the Upper Immortal Realm as well.
Ye Jingcheng pondered for a while but found no solution, so he could only continue waiting.
One day, then two.
A full five days passed, yet there was still no movement either outside or within the