The words spoken by Li Zhaojun in front of him were not entirely believed by Ye Fan, yet he found no reason to doubt them.

Ye Fan also did not know that the Li Zhaojun in front of him was actually Shen Yan, whom he had been searching for many days, and Min Shang, standing beside them, was in fact Nuwa. Ye Fan hadn’t expected Nuwa to appear before him in such a way.

Nuwa’s cultivation level was far beyond Ye Fan’s. Even if Ye Fan knew the Nuwa before him was a disguise, he still had no means to deal with her. Moreover, he hadn’t detected any flaws, which gradually alleviated his suspicions.

"Let’s go inside and talk. Tell me what happened to you on the way. While you were away, I searched long but found no trace of you. You said you were seeking mysterious forces; I’d like to hear your thoughts. Now I feel there are many forces around me that I cannot control, which is quite a frightening situation. If this state continues, I would also have doubts about my own safety!" Ye Fan said.

"Li Zhaojun" nodded slightly. Accompanied by Min Shang, the three of them proceeded into the council hall.

Ye Fan smiled, drawing "Li Zhaojun" into his embrace. Though he couldn’t find any flaws in the woman before him, he still sensed something unusual when he held her, though he couldn’t pinpoint the cause. He felt that the woman before him seemed to have increased her guard against him, a purely spiritual intuition.

Ye Fan was quite curious: "Why do I no longer sense Zhao Jun’s deep infatuation for me? Although her feelings for me are still there, my feelings for her aren’t as strong. Could it be that after our long separation and reunion, our feelings for each other have changed somewhat?"

Due to slight differences in spiritual intuition, Ye Fan developed suspicions about the Li Zhaojun in front of him. However, this suspicion was only fleeting and did not raise enough alarm in his heart to detect any flaws.

"Ye Fan, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know!" Li Zhaojun said. "In this short period, I’ve actually experienced many things. Min Shang and I went to a very frightening place. Aside from pure Yin spiritual energy, there seemed to be another peculiar force there, somewhat similar to my pure Yin spiritual energy, but I don’t know where it originates. When that force disappeared, I tried to track it, but found no clues, so I rushed back fearing you’d worry!"

Ye Fan nodded slightly and said, "There are indeed many forces in this universe that we cannot track. It’s understandable that you couldn’t find any clues. Zhao Jun, why didn’t you inform me before leaving on your own?"

"I?" Li Zhaojun appeared somewhat hesitant and said, "I actually wanted to tell you, but that force came too suddenly. Both Shang and I felt it, so we went to seek it together. We actually left clues for you, but it seems they were erased by some force!"

"Oh?" Ye Fan frowned, still seeming somewhat unable to understand.

Due to his lack of understanding, Ye Fan harbored some doubts about Li Zhaojun and Min Shang, though he only thought that Li Zhaojun might be hiding something from him, not suspecting that Li Zhaojun was in disguise.

Ye Fan suddenly smiled and said, "Zhao Jun, a lot happened during your disappearance. Come, husband and wife reunite after a long separation, we should have a little warmth!"

At this moment, Ye Fan suddenly remembered something. The smile on his face, as he looked at Li Zhaojun, made the woman before him curious, as she couldn’t understand what Ye Fan meant.

The Nuwa behind, however, could sense Ye Fan’s thoughts. She immediately used spiritual telepathy to convey Ye Fan’s intentions to Shen Yan. Shen Yan also realized that Ye Fan’s smile indicated a special form of "communication."

Nuwa said, "Ye Fan has many women around him, and he has many special methods with Li Zhaojun. These methods are rather lowly and shameless. As long as you refuse him, he won’t force you. Otherwise, both you and I will have to resort to those embarrassing methods to earn his trust, which isn’t what you wish to see, is it?"

Shen Yan understood mentally and said to Ye Fan, "Ye Fan, I just returned and feel that my spiritual energy inside is quite chaotic. I want to practice on my own and have Shang help me. As for other matters, can we discuss them later?"

Ye Fan nodded with a smile and said, "Okay, you and Shang can practice here, I’ll help you!"

"No need!" Li Zhaojun appeared slightly flustered, "Shang and I can handle the practice ourselves, Ye Fan. I can’t rely on you for everything, otherwise, I’ll become your burden, and I would feel uneasy. Please don’t force me?"

Ye Fan nodded, glanced at Min Shang, and then left the council hall.

...

...

After Ye Fan left, he used his spiritual sense to investigate, and sure enough, inside "Li Zhaojun" and "Min Shang" were indeed practicing, and what they were practicing was still pure Yin spiritual energy. This spiritual energy was very strong, and Ye Fan couldn’t sense any counterfeit components in it, as he knew it was very difficult for others to mimic pure Yin spiritual energy.

Therefore, Ye Fan did not harbor any suspicions about whether the people inside were Li Zhaojun.

"Young Master!" Sang Yuan appeared beside Ye Fan, bowing respectfully. After Li Zhaojun and Min Shang returned, Sang Yuan felt she shouldn’t have any major troubles. However, she still hoped to gain Ye Fan’s favor by working for him. She believed only by assisting Ye Fan could she hope to earn his regard.

Ye Fan said, "You are undeniably partly responsible for Zhao Jun’s disappearance. Since Zhao Jun has returned safely, I won’t hold you accountable, but let this serve as a wake-up call. If next time Zhao Jun leaves Tian City silently again, don’t say I didn’t warn you!"

"Yes, Young Master, I will remember!" Sang Yuan said timidly.

Ye Fan looked toward the direction of the council hall and said, "Also, do not leave Tian City recently. Stay here to protect the remaining people in Tian City to prevent any infiltration by mysterious forces. Even though your power may still lag behind that of mysterious forces, you cannot remain clueless if something happens!"

"Yes!" Sang Yuan bowed again.

Ye Fan appeared weary because his previous search for Li Zhaojun had left him somewhat exhausted. He now needed to find a place to practice himself.

As for where Ye Fan intended to go, of course, he wouldn’t tell Sang Yuan.

Sang Yuan watched Ye Fan leave and finally breathed a sigh of relief.