A secret

"Hehe, stop guessing randomly."

Long Chen did not want to continue this topic. He felt that Tang Waner might have truly sensed something, and he had to admire how terrifying a woman's intuition was.

Long Chen said to Tang Waner, "After becoming a Dao-Derivative, do you have any special feelings? The strike I saw from you just now was different from your previous attacks!"

Speaking of the Dao-Derivative, Tang Waner was full of excitement. She told Long Chen that after she absorbed the Dao Mark, it was as if she had been blessed by a mysterious power.

Her wind blades had mutated, and her control over the power of wind had reached an extreme level. The runes of the wind power were clearer than before, and their power was more than ten times stronger than in the past.

It turned out that the legendary Dao Mark of a Dao-Derivative was an Innate Dao Mark, ethereal and unpredictable; it was a magical object born in response to the times.

When an infant is born, if their Luck is good enough, they will gain the recognition of an Innate Dao Mark, which will attach itself to their body to increase their Luck.

However, this Innate Dao Mark is not immutable. As the person grows, if their own Luck is exhausted, the Innate Dao Mark will leave them to seek another Master, or simply dissipate.

Therefore, when a Dao-Derivative is killed, their Innate Dao Mark will detach from their body and slip away on its own.

At this moment, others can forcibly seize it, but whether they succeed depends on their personal ability. Even if they succeed in seizing it, whether they can keep the Innate Dao Mark depends on their personal Luck.

After a great battle, three people tried to seize the Dao Mark, but only Tang Waner succeeded; that was a great stroke of good fortune.

Because legend has it that the probability of successfully seizing a Dao-Derivative's Dao Mark is less than one in ten, but once successful, with the Heavenly Dao Luck added to one's body, one's future achievements are practically limitless.

Therefore, Tang Waner was both excited and grateful. She rarely gently held Long Chen's large hand and said with emotion, "Long Chen, thank you. You aren't a Dao-Derivative yourself, yet you gave this Opportunity to me."

Mentioning this made Long Chen feel full of grievances. At the time, when Elder Tufang told him to seize the Dao Mark, he felt that this thing was nine times out of ten not meant for him.

Sure enough, he later heard from Chu Yao that this Dao Mark is attached to the Spiritual Root in the Dantian. If one compares the Spiritual Root to a large tree, then the attributes of the Spiritual Qi can be compared to the fruit.

Then the Innate Dao Mark, besides adding to one's Luck, can also cause the attributes to mutate, potentially enhancing the ability of the attributes by several times, or even dozens of times.

It is just like how, although Chu Yao is a Wood Cultivator, normal Wood Cultivators are not combat powerhouses; they are support powerhouses, and their greatest ability is healing people.

However, Chu Yao is a Dao-Derivative, and after her wood power mutated, it actually possessed a trace of the metal attribute.

One must know that Metal and Wood conflict with each other, so it is basically impossible for them to fuse together. However, the ability of a Dao-Derivative simply does not follow common sense, which is why the combat power of a Dao-Derivative is terrifying.

Therefore, after Tang Waner seized the Innate Dao Mark, her current wind power was still in the process of mutating and had not completely set.

But even so, the wind blade Tang Waner just casually flicked out had power almost comparable to her full-strength strike from before, which made Tang Waner even more grateful to Long Chen.

Back then, Long Chen threw that Dao-Derivative directly to Tang Waner. Tang Waner did not know what a Dao-Derivative was, but since Long Chen asked her to do it, she could only comply.

After absorbing the Innate Dao Mark, she finally understood what a great sacrifice Long Chen had made by giving such a massive Opportunity to her.

It was precisely because of this that Chu Yao sensed the difference in Long Chen's attitude toward Tang Waner and took the initiative to interact with her; Long Chen could be considered to have stumbled into a good outcome.

His Dantian was empty; what Spiritual Root could he have for the Dao Mark to attach to? Indeed, throwing it to Tang Waner was the correct choice.

His hand was being held by Tang Waner, and he felt that Tang Waner's hand was as delicate as milk. How could Long Chen hold back?

Gently caressing Tang Waner's delicate jade hand, he said with an intoxicated expression, "If I can trade a Dao-Derivative for the affection of a beauty, that is truly worth it. It seems I must work hard in the future."

Tang Waner, who was originally blushing from having her jade hand caressed by Long Chen, could not bear to pull her hand back.

However, after hearing Long Chen's words, the tenderness on her pretty face vanished. Looking at the intoxicated Long Chen, she said, "Are you planning to kill more Dao-Derivatives and trade for more beauties to fall for you?"

"Yeah, yeah… Ouch!"

Long Chen was stroking her jade hand, and that silky touch made his mind intoxicated. He didn't notice the change in Tang Waner's tone at all and answered casually. Just after answering, he felt a sharp pain in the soft flesh of his waist.

At the same time, Long Chen discovered that he could not move. His whole body was firmly bound by wooden pillars, and one of Tang Waner's jade hands was pinching his waist tightly.

"Hey, hey, we were talking just fine, why did you flip out so suddenly?" Long Chen couldn't help but exclaim.

At this moment, Chu Yao's jade hand was still forming hand seals, a playful look appearing on her pretty face. She just looked at Long Chen with a smile and didn't say anything.

Tang Waner said angrily, "I knew you were a playboy. Since you are so unfaithful, how can you live up to the deep affection Sister Yao'er has for you?"

"Hey, hey, hey, I was just talking nonsense earlier; it can't be taken seriously. Besides, it was clearly you who seduced me, making me lose my head. This is clearly a trap you set!" Long Chen argued, his whole body currently bound by wooden pillars and unable to move.

"What seduction? That sounds terrible. Long Chen, you are too bad!" Tang Waner's pretty face heated up, and she spat lightly, saying with feigned anger.

"That was a slip of the tongue earlier. Besides, even if I am to be punished, it should be Yao'er who punishes me. Yao'er, I said the wrong thing, please forgive me. I will never do it again next time." Long Chen knew that Chu Yao was the kindest, so he simply softened his stance.

Sure enough, as soon as Long Chen acted pitiful, Chu Yao was immediately struck at her weak point and was about to let Long Chen down.

"Sister Yao'er, don't! This guy is the best at acting; don't be fooled by him." Tang Waner knew Long Chen too well and spoke up to warn her.

Seeing that he was about to succeed, only to be ruined, Long Chen said angrily, "Are you mistaken? This is a private matter between me and Yao'er as a couple; what right do you have to interfere?"

Hearing the word "couple," Chu Yao felt a wave of shyness, but in her heart, there was a warmth. Long Chen had always kept her in that position.

Tang Waner placed her jade hands on her slender waist and said righteously, "Sister Yao'er said that when she is not around, she wants me to watch over you and not allow you to flirt around everywhere."

"Ah, you handed me over to her? Aren't you afraid she'll commit theft while on duty? Yao'er, let me tell you, she has been coveting my beauty for a long time… Ouch!" Long Chen was halfway through speaking to Chu Yao when his waist was pinched again.

"Bastard, who covets you… Who would covet you… I'll steal your head…" Tang Waner was so angry that for every sentence she said, she pinched Long Chen's waist once.

Chu Yao watched from the side, covering her mouth and giggling. She knew that Long Chen's screams were all fake, intentionally meant to amuse them.

With Long Chen's formidable Physical Body, even if one used pliers to pinch him, he might not necessarily feel pain, so how could Tang Waner possibly pinch him?

Seeing Long Chen so cooperative, Chu Yao felt embarrassed to keep him bound. With a release of her jade hand, the wooden pillars that were as hard as steel trapping Long Chen suddenly went limp like ropes, slowly sinking into the soil and disappearing.

After the laughter had subsided, Long Chen took Chu Yao's jade hand and said seriously, "Yao'er, are you returning to the Heaven Wood Palace so soon? Are you not planning to return to the Xuantian Branch with me to stay for a while? We just met, and now we have to part; I feel so reluctant to let you go."

Chu Yao's beautiful eyes turned slightly red. Her jade hand gently stroked Long Chen's cheek, and she said softly, "I am also reluctant, but if I want to always protect you by your side, I need to constantly improve my own strength."

This time returning to the Heaven Wood Palace, after experiencing this great battle, my Master promised to teach me the first volume of the Heaven Wood Sacred Scripture.

That is the non-transferable secret of our Heaven Wood Palace, incomparably powerful. Master said if I can Cultivate the Heaven Wood Sacred Scripture, it will make my combat power become unprecedentedly strong!"

Long Chen could only nod. This was something that could not be helped. Cultivation is a struggle for survival; one must seize every moment to improve one's strength, otherwise, one will be pushed off the boat by others.

"By the way, how much do you know about the Nine Li Secret Realm?" Long Chen asked. Long Chen had only heard of the Nine Li Secret Realm, but he did not know the specifics.

Tang Waner was also very curious and asked, "I heard that the Nine Li Secret Realm opens once every hundred years, and the entrance has a barrier restriction. Only experts below the Tendon-Forging Realm can enter; experts at the Bone-Forging Realm who force their way in will be killed by the barrier. I don't know if it's true!"

Chu Yao said with a serious face, "It is said that the barrier of the Nine Li Secret Realm is extremely terrifying. Even an Innate-stage expert who dares to force their way in is guaranteed to die."

"Master said that there are many legends about the Nine Li Secret Realm. Some say it comes from outside the domain and is a world formed under the impact of space-time convection."

"Others say it is a world created by ancient gods, hidden in the cracks of this world."

"Still others say it is a part of a god's body, and some even say that the Nine Li Secret Realm is a fragment of the Nine Heavens that shattered during the War of the Gods."

"In short, there are many different opinions, and it is extremely mysterious. No one knows the true origin of the Nine Li Secret Realm; even its name has been passed down from generation to generation."

"As for why it is specifically called the Nine Li Secret Realm, no one knows the real reason. However, one thing is true: Master said that the existence of this Nine Li Secret Realm is extremely ancient. It is a self-contained world inside, where many legendary exotic beasts live."

"I heard from Master that there are countless Opportunities inside. If your life is tough enough, you can even obtain Heaven-Defying level treasures."

"Many Disciples have entered the Nine Li Secret Realm throughout history and obtained great benefits inside. Therefore, the Nine Li Secret Realm is a place that both the Righteous Path and the Evil Path must contend for."

Long Chen's heart jumped. He did not expect the origin of this Nine Li Secret Realm to be so mysterious. But he did not know why, every time he heard the words "Nine Li Secret Realm," his Fengfu Star would begin to operate crazily.

"So Long Chen, you must work hard this time. At that time, the top experts from the Seven Prefectures and Eight Lands will all gather at the Nine Li Secret Realm. Experts will be everywhere, Dao-Derivatives will run rampant, and there will be countless Prodigies."

"Within the Nine Li Secret Realm, even if the Disciples of the Righteous Path and the Evil Path are not fighting for treasures, earth-shattering battles will occur."

"And you also know that not everyone within the Righteous Path is united. At that time, you not only have to guard against the Evil Path, but also guard against the Righteous Path stabbing you in the back."

Long Chen nodded. He knew that Chu Yao was kind-hearted, and the last sentence was definitely not something she thought of herself; it must have been something her Master instructed her to say.

"In order to let you Cultivate with peace of mind, I will tell you a secret," Chu Yao suddenly said, a playful look appearing in her beautiful eyes.