He had recently been searching for some incomplete ancient texts in the market, trying to learn more about the past of the Forsaken Continent.
He had a theory: in the war that erupted between the Forsaken Continent and the Verdant Continent in ancient times, tens of thousands of cultivators must have crossed the realms.
If every use of the grand formation really required a large number of high-grade Spirit Stones, or used supreme-grade Spirit Stones, then even the original Demon Clan and the Verdant Continent might not have been able to afford it.
And the war was continuous; both sides needed a constant stream of soldiers and supplies sent in or out. All of this seemed unreasonable.
That war could not possibly have lasted for such a long time.
So, they should have had a "passage" similar to the Devil's Cliff Crevice. Once opened, they could transport cultivators back and forth with relative "ease."
The "ease" of transport here was certainly relative, but the amount of heavenly materials and earthly treasures consumed would definitely be far lower than that of the two-realm teleportation grand formation.
And it wouldn't require the protection of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Otherwise, even if all the Nascent Souls were placed in the passage, they would die of exhaustion ten or a hundred times over and still not be able to escort such a huge number of cultivators across.
And such a theory was finally supported by a fragmented jade slip.
"...the campaign ended, leaving only one formation as a bridge, allowing cultivators to travel to and fro, leading to the gathering of ten thousand sects on the Forsaken Continent, a flourishing of arts and techniques, and ushering in a golden age of cultivation, mostly from across the realms..."
This was a fragmented jade slip from an unofficial history recording the origins of the numerous sects on the Forsaken Continent. It included a passage describing the reasons for the proliferation of sects on the continent.
What made Li Yan's eyes light up was the phrase "the campaign ended, leaving only one formation as a bridge..."
The meaning of this sentence was clearly that after the great war between the two sides, only one teleportation grand formation was left for cultivators from both realms to use for cross-realm travel.
This situation perfectly matched the super teleportation grand formation that was currently preserved between the two realms.
In addition, the underlying meaning was self-evident: during the great war between the two realms, there was more than just this one super teleportation grand formation; the others were later destroyed.
Because the jade slip was broken and incomplete, Li Yan could not tell who had left it.
After careful examination, he found that the material of this half-broken jade slip was not something that existed now; it was completely different from the blank jade slips sold in the market today.
And he had never seen the method used to refine it. For this matter, he had even specially bought various grades of jade slips from within Sacred Demon City and repeatedly examined and compared them with his Divine Sense.
In the end, he concluded that the half-broken jade slip should be an ancient artifact that had been passed down.
He had not told Zhao Min about this matter. At that time, with the existence of the "God's Road," they were more targeted in their search.
Now that the "God's Road" was a dead end, he planned to tell Zhao Min about this jade slip and his own theory later, so that she could use the resources of the Sacred Demon Palace to confirm this information.
After there was news that could corroborate this fragmented jade slip, they would then try to find if any secret passages remained.
Although the hope was slim, both Li Yan and Zhao Min were not people willing to wait for the unknown; they were determined to try.
As for the matter of possibly needing a Nascent Soul cultivator's protection during the cross-realm teleportation, that was a matter for the future. You have to eat your meal one bite at a time, and problems must be solved one by one.
Perhaps they could encounter a shortcut like the Devil's Cliff Crevice, which could be passed through without the protection of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
However, for now, Li Yan still wanted to know what other anxieties were contained in Zhao Min's earlier words.
Seeing Li Yan change the subject, Zhao Min frowned her delicate black brows. After some thought, she said softly, "My actions in the palace have not been discovered. Rather, someone has been watching me for other reasons. In the past, I was basically in seclusion, so there were no problems. It's just that these three times I've left the palace, it's become a bit troublesome. Today, I was almost followed here. Fortunately, I discovered them in advance, directly exposed their tracks, and then took a few detours to get here. But this is already a problem."
As Zhao Min spoke, her brow furrowed even tighter. A look of worry flashed across her autumn-water-like eyes. It was clear that this matter was troubling her as well.
Hearing this, Li Yan was a little confused. At first, he thought that Zhao Min had revealed some clues and was finally discovered by those two Supreme Elders.
In the past year, including this time, Zhao Min had only come out three times. Each time, she was extremely careful. For a cultivator not in seclusion, stepping out of the Sacred Demon Palace three times in a year was a very normal thing.
After all, Sacred Demon City was a major cultivation city, with countless markets, auction houses, material shops, and pill shops. It was perfectly normal for cultivators to come out.
But it couldn't be denied that Zhao Min might still be discovered as abnormal. But hearing that someone else was watching Zhao Min for other reasons, Li Yan didn't understand what it meant for a moment.
"Senior Sister, is it Shanggong Changge? No, she is a Nascent Soul cultivator. If she were tracking you, Senior Sister would not be able to discover her..."
After his last long talk with Zhao Min, he naturally knew of Shanggong Changge's existence. His first reaction was her, after all, it was Shanggong Changge who had set up many obstacles for him in the beginning.
Zhao Min sighed softly. "It's not Shanggong Changge, but it is indeed a Nascent Soul cultivator. It's just that this time, the one following me was his disciple. That person is named Dongli Qing..."
Then, she simply explained the matter of Dongli Qing pestering her.
Including the last two times she left the palace. The last time, she had discovered someone spying on her in the palace, but that person did not dare to follow her.
And shortly after coming out today, she discovered someone tailing her.
Although that person was hanging back very far, ever since Zhao Min cultivated the "Heavenly Demon White Jade Plate," her cultivation was not in line with the realm she displayed, and the power of her Divine Sense had also greatly increased.
That person thought that with his Mid-stage Golden Core cultivation, it was more than enough to keep an eye on an Initial-stage Golden Core cultivator.
The streets were crowded, and he was so far away, so Zhao Min would definitely not be able to discover him. But he had miscalculated and was discovered by Zhao Min.
She recognized the other party as Dongli Qing's disciple at a glance and immediately understood what was going on.
And with Zhao Min's character, after discovering she was being spied on, she simply turned around and walked towards that person, completely disregarding his face, and questioned him right there on the street.
Although that person sneered and repeatedly denied it, Zhao Min finally gave him a message to take back to Dongli Qing: if she discovered such a thing again, she would immediately report it to the Supreme Elders and thoroughly investigate his intentions.
That cultivator immediately felt that this was no longer something he could handle. How could he dare to say more? He turned and left.
After hearing Zhao Min's account, Li Yan's face became a little unsightly.
They were currently doing something that would enrage the Sacred Demon Palace; it certainly could not be known by others. And this Nascent Soul cultivator named Dongli Qing suddenly getting involved undoubtedly increased Li Yan's chances of being exposed several times over.
Of course, there was another important reason here that made Li Yan extremely unhappy. Although he had never formally been engaged to Zhao Min, in his heart, Zhao Min was his Dao Companion. How could he tolerate others coveting her?
Seeing Li Yan's unsightly expression, a joy she had never felt before suddenly welled up in Zhao Min's usually cold heart.
Amidst the excitement was more of a secret delight.
'So I actually care so much about his opinion!' she thought to herself, but her sculpted, jade-like face showed no abnormality. This was related to her character. She looked at Li Yan and continued to speak softly.
"In the past year, I have been very careful. The first time I came out to see you, he didn't expect me to leave the palace at all, so he couldn't track me down. The second time, because there was a long gap since the first time, several months in between, he likewise couldn't predict which day I would go out, so it was just speculation in his heart. Sending disciples to some places in the palace could only be considered an act of waiting for a rabbit to bump into a tree. As for this time, through the first two times, Dongli Qing has already guessed that I am no longer in long-term seclusion like before. So, while having his disciples take turns standing guard, he has now dared to track my movements. It's just that my cultivation is rarely displayed, so he still miscalculated. After being discovered this time, he will know that my cultivation should be much higher than his disciple's. Next time, he might track me personally. If that's the case, I can't come out again. Dongli Qing is very anxious now. I know that the Spirit Transformation elder of his branch has repeatedly pressured him to form a marriage alliance with me, or at least confirm a relationship, as soon as possible."
Zhao Min spoke quietly. That Dongli Qing had really put down a lot of capital. He didn't dare to disturb the Supreme Elders, but it was unknown what great price he paid to finally persuade Shanggong Changge.
Even Shanggong Changge had taken the initiative to mention this matter twice, but both times she was mercilessly rejected by Zhao Min.
After that, Shanggong Changge never mentioned it again. She had taken what she was supposed to take, and said what she was supposed to say to Zhao Min. She didn't want to make Zhao Min feel resentful; she would have to rely on her in the future.
On the contrary, later on, Shanggong Changge even told Zhao Min some things about Dongli Qing's branch, which made Zhao Min completely understand Dongli Qing's intentions.
Zhao Min herself guessed that Shanggong Changge's later actions were not entirely out of fear of her future dissatisfaction, but because Shanggong Changge was a cold-blooded person herself. Having guarded the border for many years, she had developed an iron-willed personality of decisive killing.
Also being a female cultivator, she also extremely disliked those who wanted to use female cultivators to climb up. But it was possible that the reward Dongli Qing initially offered was something she simply couldn't refuse, which was why she agreed to mediate.
In the end, Shanggong Changge was a typical person who valued profit heavily, and everything started from her own self-interest.
After she finished speaking, she saw that apart from his eyes flashing a few times, Li Yan had become even more silent. She also knew that Li Yan was completely powerless in this matter.
He didn't even have the ability to deal with Dongli Qing's disciples. This was Sacred Demon City. She could only suppress the other party by relying on the favor of the two Supreme Elders.
"Next time, it's best to use voice transmissions. But similarly, they can't be too frequent. Even if it's an emergency, we must pay attention to the interval between transmissions. Otherwise, some communication should be about once every three months. I already feel that since I haven't been in secluded cultivation for this period, the Supreme Elders may have already noticed me!"
Zhao Min thought for a moment and still voiced her other worry. She wasn't worried about herself, but about Li Yan's life.
If Li Yan was targeted by the Sacred Demon Palace, the result was predictable. This could be seen from Shanggong Changge's attitude and methods in the beginning.
Li Yan nodded upon hearing this. Immediately, Zhao Min stood up and was about to leave.
"Wait, Senior Sister, I have another discovery here..."
Zhao Min immediately stopped, her pair of dark, autumn-pupil eyes looking at Li Yan.
Under the other's fixed gaze, Li Yan's heart actually beat a little faster.
After steadying his mind, Li Yan deliberately did not let himself show other emotions.
Only then did he tell her about his discovery of the fragmented jade slip and his own theory, and then he handed the fragmented jade slip to Zhao Min.
After Zhao Min carefully probed this jade slip with her Divine Sense, her pair of beautiful eyes immediately lit up.
"This matter, I can investigate further. In the classics I have checked before, there was indeed no mention of such things. I don't know if it's because the passage was destroyed and not worth recording, or if it was to prevent others, or rather, the Black Demon Clan, from finding the two-realm passage again and invading other realms. Before, I mostly checked the historical records of the original Demon Clan's activities after their split. This time, I can broaden my horizons to search for information."