Inside the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.
Su Bai looked at Zhang Zihua, who was sitting opposite her, and cautiously probed, "Actually, I don't necessarily know more than you, Senior."
"With your methods, it should be easy to inquire about the Outer Sea Secret Realm."
Zhang Zihua looked at Su Bai's cautious demeanor, smiled, shook his head, and said,
"Heh heh, what I know truly isn't as much as you."
"Firstly, my knowledge is limited because the Six Sects hide all sorts of things from me. They are very wary of Cultivators who aren't their own people, and I can't just shamelessly go over there with my old face."
"Since they don't tell me the truth of the matter, I've naturally avoided suspicion by not personally visiting the Outer Sea Secret Realm, so I wanted to inquire about it from you."
Hearing what Zhang Zihua said, Su Bai frowned.
Su Bai naturally knew that the Six Sects did this to protect their own interests.
However, in Su Bai's eyes, the situation in the Outer Sea Secret Realm had already somewhat exceeded the Six Sects' ability to handle. Before the situation worsened, finding allies was the best solution.
For forces like the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, even if the Six Sects didn't pay a huge price, just a slight concession would make them willing to help.
But these were matters between major forces, and Su Bai couldn't interfere.
She could only do her best to see how far she could go.
Zhang Zihua looked at Su Bai, who was deep in thought, took out a Jade Slip from his Storage Pouch, placed it on the dining table, and said,
"I am never stingy. As long as the information you provide is useful, this Jade Slip, which contains my Core Formation Realm Cultivation insights and some of my experiences, will be given to you."
Su Bai didn't expect there would be benefits to be gained!
Looking at the Jade Slip on the table, her eyes lit up, and she immediately said,
"Then I will tell Senior some of the things I know."
"First, the fleet that went to the Outer Sea Secret Realm was almost completely annihilated, and there were quite a few Core Formation Cultivators among them. Senior should know this."
Zhang Zihua nodded; he naturally knew.
Moreover, of the Cultivators from his Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion still alive in the Secret Realm, only one Nascent Soul Initial Stage remained.
Seeing Zhang Zihua nod, Su Bai continued,
"The Six Sects might know the cause of this disaster now, but they have sealed off the Secret Realm and prevented the news from spreading. Senior must also be curious about what happened inside, right?"
Zhang Zihua wanted to know this.
Although the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion had brought back Yu Feng's Magic Treasure fragments and extracted his essence blood through secret arts, Zhang Zihua had only seen a few things in the Secret Realm through the essence blood, and Yu Feng had been dead for some time.
He hadn't seen much.
At this moment, Zhang Zihua reached out and pushed the Jade Slip on the table closer to Su Bai.
"I truly do not know."
Su Bai subtly glanced at the Jade Slip.
After all, it was the Core Formation Cultivation insights of a great Cultivator, which could help her avoid many detours. Su Bai naturally still wanted it.
Zhang Zihua's action also told Su Bai to speak quickly and not to dawdle.
Su Bai no longer kept him in suspense. She pointed around them at this moment.
Zhang Zihua understood and set up a sound-insulating Restriction.
Only then did Su Bai continue.
"Senior, a friend of mine once explored deep into that Secret Realm. There is a Yuanying Stage (Middle-Stage) Yin Corpse inside."
"…"
Upon hearing about the Yin Corpse, Zhang Zihua nodded in understanding.
If it was a Yuanying Stage (Middle-Stage) Yin Corpse, then the complete annihilation of the fleet was understandable.
"A Yin Corpse... This thing is a bit tricky, but it's not unsolvable."
Zhang Zihua thought for a moment. The Yin Corpse's Realm was Yuanying Stage (Middle-Stage), which he could handle.
Of course, the premise was that those people from the Six Sects didn't hold him back and quickly understood the gravity of the situation to seek his help.
If it weren't for the possibility of something he desired existing in that Secret Realm, he wouldn't bother.
His trip to the Dayun Cultivation World had involved activating the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion's Great Shift Array.
If he hadn't used the Formation, it would have taken him decades to fly here.
Moreover, the spatial fluctuations from activating the Great Shift Array this time must have been detected by other great Cultivators. After he returned, he would have to face inquiries from other great Cultivators.
After explaining how the fleet was completely annihilated, Su Bai then described the method the Six Sects were using to seal off the Secret Realm, which she had witnessed during her visit.
"The Six Sects have now mobilized many Formation Masters, making them use their bodies as the Formation to plug the damaged areas of the Restriction."
"Junior wants to know if their method... will work. To be honest, a friend of Junior is also within that Formation, so I am a bit worried."
"Previously, Junior went to the Outer Sea Secret Realm to see if that friend was safe."
Although Su Bai didn't know much, she only knew two things clearly: there was a Yuanying Stage (Middle-Stage) Yin Corpse in the Secret Realm, and the Six Sects were now using a Formation to plug the original gap in the Restriction.
However, this was enough to allow Zhang Zihua to make some preparations in advance.
Zhang Zihua nodded, pushed the Jade Slip completely in front of Su Bai, and then stood up, ready to leave.
Just as Zhang Zihua stood up, Su Bai looked at his back and suddenly asked,
"Senior, can we win?"
Zhang Zihua turned back, showing a confident expression to Su Bai, and said,
"Don't worry, we will win."
"…"
Su Bai remained seated on the stool, picked up her chopsticks, and put a mouthful of food into her mouth.
She looked at the Jade Slip Zhang Zihua had left on the table.
After putting away the Jade Slip and finishing the food she had ordered, Su Bai paid the bill and left.
Returning to Xingluo Mountain, she released the ebony boat.
After this trip out, the ebony boat's hull had sustained some damage.
After circling the hull, Su Bai found that some of its connecting points had come loose.
"Not only are the connecting points loose, but it also caused a deviation in the Formation carved on the entire ebony boat, affecting the boat's speed."
"So difficult!"
At Su Bai's current level, she couldn't make the ebony boat any better.
To make the ebony boat faster and more sturdy, she would need to continue studying Artifact Refining and Formations for the next few years.
Artifact Refining was manageable; she was confident she could make the ebony boat better than it was now.
But Formations were a different story.
She had sought out the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and also asked Yan Lei to search for Loose Cultivators.
The Loose Cultivators they knew did not have the ability of a third-rank Formation Master.
After all, a third-rank Formation Master was already capable of guarding some small Sects.
Like the Thousand Machine Pavilion and the Tang Family Fortress, the Sect Formations they used were third-rank Formations.
Generally, very few third-rank Formation Masters who were Loose Cultivators wandered outside; they would all be recruited and supported by these organizations.
The ebony boat could not be upgraded in a short period.
"Forget it, I'll just use this thing as it is for now."
"Now, let me see what's in the Jade Slip given by the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion's Pavilion Master."
Since the problem with the ebony boat couldn't be solved temporarily, Su Bai simply decided not to try.
She took the Jade Slip Zhang Zihua had given her into her hand.
Her Divine Sense probed into it, and she began to read.
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