Ye Fan scrutinized the woman, feeling a sense of familiarity, but couldn't recall where he'd seen her.

Ye Fan asked, "Madam, do we know each other?"

"Young Master is truly forgetful. The first time you came to Sky City, you bought a piece of clothing from my shop, and I even chatted with you then," the woman said with a faint smile.

With this reminder, Ye Fan suddenly remembered that before he and Shen Biancheng, along with Bai He, went to the Tianxuan Sect, they had indeed stayed in Sky City to purchase clothing, and he had indeed met this woman, the proprietor of a clothing store.

At that time, his cultivation level was merely at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Ye Fan probed the woman but couldn't detect any Spiritual Energy from her. There were only two possibilities: either this woman was not a cultivator, or her cultivation was so profound it was inscrutable.

"Madam, how did you find me?" Ye Fan asked.

With a slight smile, the woman replied, "In Sky City, there's nothing that can be hidden from me. Could I have a word with you, Young Master?"

Ye Fan, currently seeking ways to resolve the Tianxuan Sect's predicament, nodded and followed the woman to the teahouse next door. Li Zhaojun asked, "Who is she?"

"I met her on my first visit to Sky City. The force backing her is very powerful, and I suspect it to be the mysterious power spoken of by the six great sects."

Ye Fan whispered this to Li Zhaojun, but the woman seemed to hear it too and turned back to smile at him.

Upon entering the teahouse, Ye Fan noticed that the scenery around him differed somewhat from what he saw while downstairs. In the blink of an eye, the second floor of the teahouse had transformed into the layout of a luxurious hotel room on Earth, which surprised Ye Fan.

"Young Master Ye, coming from Earth, you should find this environment more comfortable," the woman said with a smile.

A woman who could casually alter the room's layout and create illusions so effortlessly was surely no ordinary mortal unaware of celestial cultivation; she was an expert, possibly akin to those without shadows.

Ye Fan said, "Madam, you wouldn't be implying that Sky City itself is a mere illusion created by you, would you?"

"I don't possess such skills; Young Master Ye overestimates me." The woman spoke while walking to the window, looking out. "Young Master Ye, care to take a look?"

Ye Fan walked to the window. What was once an ancient city outside now appeared as a bustling modern metropolis on Earth. It was as if, in a blink of an eye, Ye Fan had returned to Earth.

"There's no need for such illusions, Madam. I know all of this is a mere creation of yours to confuse my senses," Ye Fan said as he closed his eyes, feeling the Tongling Mirror inside him reacting, indicating everything he saw was an illusion.

The woman smiled, "Young Master Ye's spiritual power is extraordinary; I am impressed. This is precisely why I sought you out..."

As she spoke, she waved her hand, and the surrounding space seemed to slow, resembling the scene when the one without shadows created illusions for him. Suddenly, he found himself in a space with the woman alone.

Ye Fan demanded sternly, "What is Madam doing?"

"It's just more convenient for conversation. I have some things to say to Young Master Ye alone, naturally not wanting others to overhear." As she spoke, the surrounding space changed, and Ye Fan found himself in a place that appeared to be a primordial jungle.

"Where is this?" Ye Fan asked.

The woman answered, "This is ancient Earth's setting."

"Earth?"

Ye Fan was puzzled; since the woman came from the Pan Gu Secret Realm, why create an illusion of ancient Earth for him?

The woman remained silent, gazing at the sky. Suddenly, numerous Immortals appeared in the sky, each with formidable cultivation levels. Even from a distance, Ye Fan could feel the overwhelming Spiritual Energy emanating from them.

These Immortals seemed to be facing some kind of catastrophe.

The sky was filled with many white dots, reminiscent of the prophecy of the cosmic disaster he saw on the prophecy jade stone, and the white light was gradually approaching, clashing with the Immortals.

To Ye Fan's surprise, these white lights had no solid form.

"What are those?" Ye Fan asked.

The woman sighed lightly, "Those are the disasters of ancient Earth. Not only did Earth encounter it, but every life-bearing planet across the universe faced the same calamity. Originally, life on Earth was overturned by it."

Ye Fan scrutinized the woman, "Why do you know this so well? Could it be you are..."

"Some things are still inconvenient to say, but I'm not deceiving you. What you see truly occurred," the woman continued to gaze at the sky as more and more Immortals fell, their bodies breaking apart before dissolving into dust in the air.

The woman explained, "The spirit originally needs a physical form to exist; in other words, flesh precedes spirit. However, the flesh greatly shackles the spirit. Once the body perishes, the spirit would dissipate, and pure Soul Bodies do not exist. Yet this cosmic disaster consisted entirely of spiritual bodies. They have their own consciousness, and free from the physical body's constraints, their cultivation was fearsome, even upsetting the Immortals."

Ye Fan's face showed caution, "So, are they the true great catastrophe?"

"You could say that. The ancient powers, with their cultivation, repelled such a heavenly tribulation once and created the Pan Gu Secret Realm, increasing the speed of time flow by tenfold to allow more people to cultivate to immortality within limited time, to resist the next great catastrophe. However, once cultivators obtained tremendous power, their thoughts were not on resisting external foes, but rather on self-destruction. This is something the ancient powers never wished to see," the woman said.

Ye Fan looked at the woman in astonishment, "You...are also an ancient power?"

The woman shook her head, "If I had such high cultivation, I would have stopped the mutual slaughter of sects within the Secret Realm long ago. I am merely a messenger of the great powers. When they created the Pan Gu Secret Realm, they also established its laws. No Immortal who has ascended can enter the Secret Realm. As creators of the regulations, the great powers themselves cannot break these rules."

Ye Fan suddenly felt that the forces around him were terrifying. Just the power of the seven major sects was enough to cause heaven and earth-shattering effects, and now there were great powers as well.

"If the great powers cannot enter the Pan Gu Secret Realm, then where are they now?" Ye Fan asked.

The woman smiled without speaking.

Ye Fan continued to inquire, "Since the conflicts among cultivators in the Pan Gu Secret Realm have gone against the initial purpose of its creation by the great powers, why don't they change it?"

"It's not that the great powers don't wish to change it, but they must find all the ancient great powers to alter the order within the Pan Gu Secret Realm," the woman sighed softly. "Unfortunately, throughout these many millions of years, even among the ancient great powers, disputes and entanglements have arisen, resulting in only being able to find six great powers, while the whereabouts of the remaining four are unknown."

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