"Junior Brother, what do you mean?" Wen Xue asked, confused.
"Even though we've made it here, what comes next won't be so simple."
"Every single one of those caves — you can't just walk right into them. You need to enter with your consciousness," Chu Feng said.
"How do you enter with your consciousness?"
"Doesn't consciousness always get dragged in by powerful formations? Can we really control our consciousness to separate from our bodies?"
"That's… not something people at our level can do, is it?" Wen Xue asked.
"That's true, but there's a formation here that can help us accomplish it," Chu Feng said.
"A formation? Where? I don't see it," Wen Xue asked.
"It's very hard to spot. Even I need some time."
"You go ahead and cultivate, Senior Sister. Once I find it, I'll teach you."
As Chu Feng spoke, he activated his Heavenly Eye and began observing carefully.
Seeing this, Wen Xue took out her compass covered in noses.
But the compass only pointed toward the cave entrance — it offered no further guidance.
Wen Xue then took out another treasure to enhance her perception, yet she still couldn't discern anything from this place.
Wen Xue looked at Chu Feng.
She found that he was genuinely observing with intense focus, occasionally forming hand seals.
It didn't seem like he was deceiving her.
"Junior Brother, I really can't see anything. I'll leave it to you."
Left with no other choice, Wen Xue sat cross-legged and began cultivating.
After all, at this point, she had no choice but to trust Chu Feng.
But she hadn't expected that Chu Feng's observation would take a full several days.
"Ah~~~~"
Within the rocky world, a bewitching yawn echoed through the air as Wen Xue stretched her body.
"Junior Brother, is it really that hard to spot? You've been at it for so long."
"It's almost done, almost done. Don't worry, Senior Sister," Chu Feng said.
"I'm not worried, but isn't that scoundrel grandfather of yours heading this way?"
"Your grandfather's no pushover. If he gets in here, the two of us won't stand a chance against him," Wen Xue said.
"There's no need for you to worry about that, Senior Sister."
"Entering this relic, there are multiple paths to take, and each path offers different benefits along a different route. Even if Jie Tianran comes, he won't take our path," Chu Feng said.
"Is that so?"
"Then by taking me along with you, didn't I make you miss out on a better path?"
Hearing Chu Feng's words, Wen Xue understood — although Chu Feng had been following her all this way, he had actually discovered many hidden clues along the route. It was because Wen Xue had something she wanted, and Chu Feng hadn't suggested switching paths.
But Wen Xue knew this must have meant Chu Feng missed out on better options.
"The path we're on is the best one," Chu Feng said.
"You really are a smooth talker, you know that?"
Wen Xue said this, but a smile crept onto her lips nonetheless.
A warm feeling welled up in her heart.
Chu Feng hadn't blamed her at all — he hadn't even said anything to make her feel pressured.
But in truth, Chu Feng had gotten the short end of the stick, and yet he hadn't complained even a little.
This kind of warmth made Wen Xue genuinely happy.
And indeed, as Chu Feng had said, the Ancestral Martial Realm Sect's relic was labyrinthine, but it wasn't just a single correct path — there were many.
Deep within the Ancestral Martial Realm Sect's relic, there was also a pitch-black subterranean world, entirely different in style from the rocky world where Chu Feng found himself.
Although this place was also filled with rock, it resembled coal more than anything, giving off a deeply oppressive atmosphere.
But here, too, there were multiple cave entrances — and the number of entrances was exactly the same as in Chu Feng's world.
Right now, a single person stood here. He was the Lord of the Seven Realms — Jie Tianran.
Jie Tianran had been here for five shi-chen already.
"I've figured it out," Jie Tianran spoke. He was alone here, so naturally, he was addressing the one inside his body.
"What did you find?" the voice within asked.
"It requires consciousness to enter."
"Most of the caves here are actually dead ends. Stepping into a dead end means instant failure."
"And there are only four viable paths."
"Moreover, the four paths must be entered in a specific order. Even a single mistake would render everything futile."