Bai Lin Fairy truly started to see Liu Zixuan in a new light.
Everyone who entered here came for treasures, and Liu Zixuan was no exception. However, he understood what belonged to him and what he must strive for, rather than just waiting for a pie to fall from the sky.
At least at the moment, Bai Lin Fairy considered only Liu Zixuan's character worthy of the true treasures left by the ancient greats.
However, as the journey to the ruins has just begun, Bai Lin Fairy couldn't just rely on Liu Zixuan's immediate appearance; she needed to observe more.
When her words fell, Liu Zixuan smiled and said, "If I can have the Fairy agree to a request, it would be wonderful. Then please answer my question first."
"I can't openly tell you the most important thing in the Ancient Ruins; instead, I'll leave you with a poem. Whether you can comprehend it or not depends on your fate!"
"Please enlighten me!" Liu Zixuan slightly bowed.
"Unaware of the true face of the ruins, the opportunity lies within this realm."
Bai Lin Fairy smiled tenderly and suddenly moved, appearing in front of Liu Zixuan as if descending like a celestial being from higher ground: "You may make one request, and as long as it's within these ruins, I will certainly agree!"
Liu Zixuan's lips curled slightly, and he leaned closer to the Fairy's ear, murmuring for a while.
Upon hearing this, Bai Lin Fairy said, "You really don't like to suffer losses, do you?"
Liu Zixuan shrugged: "Being praised by the Fairy is truly a blessing for Zixuan!"
"Very well, I'll grant your request, but only once. Make sure you think clearly by then." With that, Bai Lin Fairy took out a token from her back, with the characters Bai Lin written on it. She handed it over to Liu Zixuan before disappearing, as if she'd never been there.
Of course, the three original meditation mats vanished as well.
Qiqi stood up and asked, "Brother, what does the poem Bai Lin Fairy mentioned mean? And what was the request you managed to make her agree to?"
"The Fairy's poem is adapted from Su Shi, the great poet of the Hong Dynasty, in his 'Title of West Forest Wall.' The original verse is: 'Unaware of the true face of guarding the mountain, merely because standing within the mountain.' The original idea is that even if you're in the mountain, you still don't recognize the true face of the guarded mountain; what you see is merely a mountain, a water, a scene, not the entire view. The poet wasn't an abstract artist; he merely used poetry to cryptically express some philosophical ideas."
"The meaning is that when observing a matter, one shouldn't only look at what's around them. They should broaden their perspective to see the whole, to recognize its true form. Of course, it also has a bit of the meaning of a frog in a well."
At this point, Liu Zixuan paused: "And although the Fairy's poem is adapted from 'Title of West Forest Wall,' its meaning varies greatly. Being unaware of the ruins' true face and unaware of the guarded mountain's true face are quite similar—both caution against looking solely at the surface—while the opportunity lies within this realm, refers to what I'm looking for being inside the ruins, without a specified item or a fixed placement."
"I still don't quite understand!" Qiqi scratched his head and pouted.
"Opportunity, chance, destiny, you can't lack any." Liu Zixuan shrugged: "You don't have to understand too much, just follow your brother."
"And what about the whispers?" Qiqi asked again.
"You'll know later. Your brother never does anything unprepared." Liu Zixuan smiled mysteriously, holding Qiqi's little hand: "We'll return here, now let's head toward the center."
Qiqi followed Liu Zixuan as they walked, asking: "Will we really come back here?"
"Of course, every beginning is naturally every end."
"Brother, the Fairy just mentioned you could ask her three questions. Why didn't you ask where the other maps are? The map we have only shows one unknown road destination." Qiqi grumbled.
"Bai Lin Fairy is the Tomb Guardian of the Thousand Saints Tomb. She's extremely familiar with the ruins, so she doesn't need maps. Therefore, regarding those maps, she might not know at all; asking would just waste time. More things require us to do them ourselves."
The two chatted and talked, roughly an hour later, they exited the Thousand Saints Tomb and embarked on a route whose endpoint was unknown.
"No one seems to have walked this path." Qiqi frowned: "Did the Martial Artists who appeared before die?"
"We don't know what shape this ruin is; let's assume it's square. We're at the southwest corner, so all Martial Artists should be divided into four or five groups, and the passageways respectively transmitted them to the northwest, northeast, and southeast corners. If there are five groups, then there would be an extra central point."
Liu Zixuan stroked his chin: "Inertial thinking, everyone would choose a route from the outside in, believing the treasure is in the center."
"Now, I remember someone from the Jiang Family calling you."
"That's right, Jiang Yifan told me there are other Martial Artists who arrived here first, so while guarding against regular Martial Artists, I must also beware of those who came in ahead."
Qiqi looked up: "Then we need to be cautious. Brother, your realm hasn't reached the Peak. If you encounter experts of the Life and Death Realm, it could be troublesome."
"I almost forgot about this matter when you didn't mention it!"
Liu Zixuan grimaced slightly: "Damned Qiao Siyang, that fellow tricked us all. Opening the treasure wasn't about infusing Inner Strength, but devouring it, causing both me, Yafei, and the Void Mountain Sect's expert to drop a small realm."
"Yes, later when we meet that guy, we must beat him! He's merely an elder of the Angel Sect, dropping a realm doesn't affect the bigger picture, but brother, being our mainstay here, dropping a realm will impact many things!" Qiqi grumbled unhappily.
Liu Zixuan shook his head, smiling mysteriously: "You're right, he's merely an elder and won't matter much, while the Void Mountain Sect's person is the Vice Sect Leader, and Yafei is the Alliance of the World's representative. Indeed, they gained a substantial advantage, but as for your brother, there's no need to worry!"
Qiqi looked up: "Brother you…"
Liu Zixuan's lips slightly curled: "Do you remember the battle I had with the Nether Emperor?"
"Of course, I do." Qiqi asked puzzledly: "At that time, I was curious since Zhao Yi and the others said they saw you die."
"At that time, indeed I died, but it was not me—it was my clone."
"Brother, have you really mastered the family cultivation technique?" Qiqi asked in surprise.
Liu Zixuan squinted his eyes slightly: "I don't know if I've mastered it, but indeed I possess a clone. Before going into battle, my clone told me that after dying, it went deep into Yudu to retrieve a fragment of the Heart of the Dragon Vein. I didn't know its purpose then, but later I understood; the clone wasn't truly a physical body but emerged from its strength realm. His appearance was due to my multiple realms and the Power of the Dragon Veins."
"So, after obtaining the Dragon Vein fragment, he resurrected and was always hidden deep within Yudu to cultivate. Previously when we arrived at Yudu, I delayed so long, just to have the clone come out to find me…"