What If Two Fingers Are Better Than One?

After a while.

Meng Yutong slowly opened her eyes. Her flawless face carried a trace of fatigue, making her look somewhat wan.

Of course, eighty percent of that was an act.

"Master, how are you feeling now? You coughing up blood just now scared us half to death!"

Ye Tian asked anxiously.

"It is nothing, merely a little backlash. A brief adjustment will suffice. We should head in soon as well, or they will strip the place bare of all its treasures."

Meng Yutong waved a hand.

"Mm. Let's go!"

Ye Tian nodded at her words and took the lead in following.

Inside the secret realm.

Pu Fangyuan was slowly making his way deeper into the secret realm.

The other disciples scattered in all directions, each seeking their own opportunities.

Since Lin Heng and the others had entered rather late, they could see disciples from various sects everywhere—either gathered in twos and threes, chatting idly, or sitting cross-legged beside rocks to meditate and rest alone.

Quite a few rogue cultivators in the distance were watching them warily, looking rather tense.

With the Elders absent, there was no avoiding the possibility of sects fighting one another over treasures.

Meng Yutong turned around and said calmly, "The four of you should search carefully for opportunities. Your Master will take a look around alone. Remember, do not engage in murder and plunder. But if anyone dares cause trouble, strike back yourselves. No matter what happens, your Master will bear it for you."

"Yes."

"Hey! Senior Sister Liu Xi, I'll leave Lin Heng to you. I'm going over there to take a look."

After greeting them, Yun Yao headed off in one direction.

Damn, is she just dumping me on Mu Liuxi?

Fine, fine. Whatever. It is all the same no matter who I am with; this secret realm has little to do with me anyway.

Lin Heng shrugged indifferently. Just as he was about to strike up a conversation with Mu Liuxi, she unexpectedly turned and walked toward the rear.

"Hey, hey! Second Senior Sister, wait for me!"

Lin Heng hurried to her side and deliberately brushed against her arm. "Senior Sister, slow down. You have to protect me!"

Mu Liuxi shot him a look of disdain, still keeping a cold face and saying nothing.

It was not that she did not want to speak. She simply could not chat with someone who called her a "deadpan face."

That nickname had truly wounded her.

"Do not stand so close!"

"Yes, Senior Sister. Is leaving the space of one finger between us enough? If that is too little, how about two fingers?"

Mu Liuxi glanced at him, and only after a long while did she spit out one word. "Three."

"As you command!"

Lin Heng immediately shifted one centimeter to the right.

Over the following period, the two wandered through many places. This kingdom was enormous, and many areas were protected by restrictions.

Neither of them could break through them.

"Senior Sister, wasn't this secret realm said to have opened many times before? Why are there still so many restrictions that have not been lifted?"

Lin Heng asked curiously.

"I do not know that either, but I have some guesses." Mu Liuxi rarely spoke at such length, continuing, "There are many similar secret realms in the Cultivation World. The Kingdom-Destroying Secret Realm is merely one kind among them."

"Secret realms are called secret realms because they are not entirely fixed within one time and space. Otherwise, Astral Shift would not occur."

"Huh? I am a little confused. Isn't time-space the product of time and space acting together? What does a change in the location of a secret realm's entrance have to do with time?"

"No. It truly is related to time. Some secret realms are more like products of history. Take the Kingdom-Destroying Secret Realm we see now—at present, it may be filled with restrictions everywhere. A hundred years later, after another Astral Shift phase passes, when we enter the secret realm again, we may find that the restrictions have already been lifted."

"What cannot be accomplished now does not mean no one will accomplish it in the future. Troubles solved by people in the future do not mean they cannot affect the present."

Lin Heng was dumbfounded.

It felt as though Mu Liuxi had explained it, yet also as though she had explained nothing.

There is something to this. This worldview is not as mindless as I imagined. Different events... the same event at different times can also be different...

Interesting, interesting.

"Hey! We found this item first, so stop immediately!"

Just as the two were chatting, an angry shout rang out from somewhere, interrupting their conversation.

Hearing the voice, both looked up—and then froze.

A woman in white stood atop a withered tree, her arms spread wide. Dense wood-element spiritual energy rapidly condensed around her into several azure-green lotuses floating at her sides.

A jade-green flying sword also hovered not far from her.

Standing against her from afar was Ye Tian.

"That is..."

"A disciple of Clear Moon Long Song?"

"What is Junior Brother Ye fighting her over?"

Mu Liuxi was somewhat surprised. After wandering around at random, they had actually run into Ye Tian fighting someone for an item.

There was no need to think about it—anything that could stir Ye Tian's interest was certainly no ordinary treasure.

Several more disciples from other sects arrived one after another.

Oh? Has the protagonist's treasure-snatching, face-slapping scene arrived already?

As expected of the protagonist—treasures really appear wherever he goes. Even a withered Spirit Wood contains Life-Nurturing Force.

Through observation and the insights he had comprehended from the Heavenly Chart, Lin Heng quickly deduced exactly what the two were fighting over.

The withered tree beneath the woman's feet was an Innate Treasure Tree. It possessed exceptionally powerful Life-Nurturing Force and could preserve that force within some part of its branches even in the harshest environments.

Once the time was ripe, it could burst back into new life.

The intense life essence contained within the Life-Nurturing Force was undoubtedly a supreme treasure capable of remaking those cultivators who had suffered grievous wounds.

Ye Tian had originally intended to use the Life-Nurturing Force to heal Meng Yutong's injuries. However, after Meng Yutong saved him, the Dao Power had injured her foundation. A mere amount of Life-Nurturing Force was only a drop in the bucket.

If my guess is right, it was precisely because Meng Yutong refined the Life-Nurturing Force that Ye Tian discovered the secret of her plummeting cultivation!

One link locked into the next—there cannot be a single missing step!

This thing concerns the outcome of taking Master as a wife?

Mu Liuxi could not help but grow more serious upon hearing that.

The rough process of taking Master as a wife:

Master was severely injured the first time -> obtained the Spirit Wood -> Master was severely injured the second time -> had Master refine the Spirit Wood -> discovered Master's secret decline -> successfully took Master as a wife

The Spirit Wood was the crucial bridge.