"As long as fate remains, the village will let Xiaojue leave."
It wasn't Li Wenzhou speaking, but the giant turtle beside him.
The giant turtle's name is Zhu Luo, older than the history of the Beast Taming Sect, having seen off several sect leaders, and it remembers many things clearly.
After speaking, the giant turtle went back to sleep.
Upon hearing this, Li Yueqi took out a Longevity Lock from the Storage Ring.
One lock for her and Li Jue, "Do I have one too?"
Li Wenzhou nodded, "Yes, you have one inside as well."
After getting confirmation from her grandfather, Li Yueqi ran to the lakeside, waving the Longevity Lock in her hand.
"Elder from the village! Please let me in!"
However, despite Li Yueqi's calls, nothing happened.
Feeling unwilling, Li Yueqi looked at the lake, then took out her little walnut and sent a long message to Zhang Ze.
She shared all the escape methods with him.
After a while, Zhang Ze replied with two words.
"Wait, Xiaojue will definitely be okay." The giant turtle opened its eyes again.
Li Yueqi had no other choice but to sit beside the giant turtle with her arms crossed, waiting.
She really disliked situations where she lacked control.
Especially with her younger brother in danger now.
Thinking of Zhang Ze also being down there made her feel more guilty, as she felt it was unfair to drag Zhang Ze into this.
But her intuition told her that with Zhang Ze there, everything would be alright.
Yet when she thought of Zhang Ze's colorful Golden Core, she felt he's somewhat unreliable.
Overall, she was quite conflicted.
Perhaps because Zhang Ze's Golden Core was too humorous, Li Yueqi's heart calmed down, and she started chatting with her grandfather about other things.
"What about my father? Why didn't he come?" Li Yueqi asked.
Talking about this son, Li Wenzhou felt troubled too, clenching his fist, "Can't reach him, likely went to the Medicine King Valley to find your mother. Now... they might have run to the West Continent."
Li Yueqi received this unsurprising answer but still felt speechless, as she was used to it over the years.
She always felt her parents were truly in love, and she and Li Jue were just accidents.
This conversation between grandfather and granddaughter went nowhere, so Li Yueqi asked about another matter.
"Didn't you tell me when I was young there were no dragons at Dragon Viewing Mountain? Why is there now?"
"Girl, you were so young then. You couldn't make such secrets known to a child." Li Wenzhou sighed.
Li Yueqi thought that logic made sense, so she asked, "Is this village elder our ancestor's tamed beast or...?"
Li Wenzhou shook his head at his granddaughter's question, then remained silent.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to reveal the truth to her.
After all, since Li Yueqi knew about the dragon, knowing more wouldn't matter.
"Our Beast Taming Technique was taught by the village."
Perhaps the secret was too shocking, Li Yueqi took a while to calm down.
"Understand now? That's the reason we didn't with you when you were little."
Li Wenzhou glanced at the lake and spread his Divine Sense to ensure no one could enter within ten miles of Wolong Marsh.
Inside the Secret Realm.
Zhang Ze crouched beside Li Jue to check his condition.
Just moments ago, Li Jue, who was walking beside him, suddenly fell without warning.
He's not dead, but couldn't be woken up.
Li ran back from the depths of the cave and nodded at Zhang Ze.
"Those two are the same as Li Jue, they've passed out too."
"What now?" Li was out of ideas.
Zhang Ze suspected Li Jue and the others' condition might relate to the Restriction that constantly suppresses their cultivation in the Secret Realm.
Although their lives were temporarily not at risk, dragging it out could lead to unforeseen accidents.
Seeking the Stone Stele in the Ancient Forest couldn't be resolved quickly either.
Leaving them here was unsafe.
However, seeing the items on Li Jue and the others' wrists, Zhang Ze suddenly had an idea.
"Though a bit ridiculous, it might work..."
Not delaying, he immediately took out the little walnut and sent a message to Li Yueqi.
[Your sect's Beast Taming Ring, can it hold people?]
The Beast Taming Ring contains its own space and can store living creatures. Bai Xiao and the others could enter the ring without being influenced by the Secret Realm, and Li Jue could likely do the same.
Just unsure if it could store them.
Faced with this question, Li Yueqi was bewildered. She couldn't understand what Zhang Ze was thinking.
Before she could ask, Zhang Ze's second message came.
[Serious matter, Li Jue passed out, likely due to the Secret Realm's Restriction. I fear something might happen if it drags on. Can it work? If not, I'll think of something else.]
Seeing it was serious, Li Yueqi immediately looked at her grandfather.
She truly didn't know the answer to this.
Old Mr. Li also felt a flash of surprise at Zhang Ze's question, but after a brief silence, he said, "Yes."
"Your father ran away with your mother using this method years ago, storing himself inside, and then used this trick to steal your mother from the Medicine King Valley."
"This cunning trick—I learned about it after pressing him."
Given his grandson's life was at stake, Li Wenzhou had no choice but to awkward tale.
Li Yueqi felt she'd been shocked more today than in the past month.
Inside Li Jue's Beast Taming Ring.
Bai Xiao was bouncing around a wooden frame, shaking his head occasionally, exercising.
Although Li Jue's Beast Taming Ring contained a large space, bigger than the one Tao Qing used to store elephants, it still couldn't compare to the sky.
Used to flying, Bai Xiao found it very dull and cramped staying here.