My father is the main character, but the female leads want to kill me.

As Lin Ran and the others walked out of the city gate, they glanced back at the long, narrow passage behind the ancient city wall. Lin Ran looked at Shangguan Mengqing and the others and said, "That kid is treacherous. He won't say anything, but he wants us to help him break through the spatial barrier. He's dreaming!"

"what?"

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Wen Qianyi asked curiously, "Senior, how did you know that?"

Lin Ran was thinking of showing off, but Shangguan Mengqing chimed in, "Chen Zixuan made it too obvious. How come he just happened to pop up when we were about to enter the ancient city wall?"

Moreover, these guys should be stationed nearby, and they probably already knew about the spatial barrier, so they came here to put on a show, pretending they knew nothing. But in fact, they were already exposed when they walked on that road.

There were many residual energy restrictions along the way, and the energy within them had almost completely dissipated. This was definitely not something that could have been done recently, indicating that someone had been here before. The fact that Chen Zixuan and the others were so eager to lead the way meant that they must have something to rely on.

After all, in this mysterious secret realm, no force would dare to do such a thing, and even if they did, there must be a reason to investigate…”

Hearing Shangguan Mengqing's analysis, everyone in the group looked at her with shining eyes, especially the Sword Sect members, who were like fervent fans!

Lin Ran secretly transmitted her voice: "A woman who loves to show off!"

"I don't like to show off, but I'm satisfied as long as you can't!" Shangguan Mengqing said calmly.

Lin Ran: "..."

Can someone please take care of this vixen?

……

Chapter 45 Breaking the Spatial Barrier

"Should we go straight back?" Wen Qianyi couldn't help but ask.

Currently, only the wounded are stationed at the encampment. They brought all the team's existing combat strength here out of fear of problems exploring the ancient city wall. As it stands, the danger has already been eliminated by the Xuanfu Sect group, so their all-out effort has not been of any use.

"Need not!"

Shangguan Mengqing shook her head, a peculiar smile curving her lips beneath her veil, and said, "Let's wait here for a while and see if the people from the Xuanfu Sect will come begging us for cooperation."

"Begging for cooperation?!"

The crowd was immediately in an uproar. Although they didn't quite believe that the Xuanfu Sect would come back to beg them for cooperation, the fact that Shangguan Mengqing had said it gave them more confidence in this slim possibility.

Not long after, a faint sound of wind breaking could be heard, and everyone immediately became alert. But to their surprise, a group of Xuanfu Sect disciples dressed in dark blue Taoist robes rushed out from the city gate.

Seeing that Shangguan Mengqing and the others hadn't gone far, Chen Zixuan, who was leading the group, breathed a sigh of relief. He slowly stopped and walked up to them. This time, however, he lowered his posture even further, and said in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "Miss Shangguan, I would like to discuss the cooperation with you again. This time, our Xuanfu Sect will definitely show enough sincerity and will not let you suffer any losses!"

Seeing Chen Zixuan's expression, Lin Ran couldn't help but send a telepathic message to Shangguan Mengqing, saying, "You're absolutely right, but I still prefer that pretty boy's arrogant look just now."

Having been with Lin Ran for so long, Shangguan Mengqing knew what "pretty boy" meant. She calmly replied to Lin Ran, "Since Chen Zixuan has come back to beg us, it means one thing: they must get what's inside, just like the Lingjing Holy Land. We can also try to interfere and see if we can get our hands on it!"

"How could you be so wicked? I won't associate with someone like you!"

"Likewise, I'll kick you out of the game and take the last inheritance myself. You're just my henchman!" Shangguan Mengqing's words were extremely vicious, but her calm voice made Lin Ran feel that Shangguan Mengqing was quite cute, even when she was cursing.

He must be insane!

Lin Ran berated herself inwardly, thinking, "What's so lovable about this woman? All she has to do is beauties and have that awful temper."

Chen Zixuan requested a private chat, and Shangguan Mengqing agreed. The two then went to a spot some distance away from the others, activated a soundproof barrier, and chatted privately, essentially creating a chat room.

However, at this moment, the chat room had an extra "little ear," Lin Ran, who was that little ear. Because Shangguan Mengqing would relay the information in real time, Lin Ran could also know what they were saying.

"I didn't expect these super sects to be so amazing. They went to great lengths to find out where the treasures in the secret realm were worth taking, and as soon as they entered, they had the means to gather teams and strike first..." Lin Ran praised inwardly.

Like the Lingjing Holy Land, Chen Zixuan and his Xuanfu Sect learned some secrets of the secret realm through some special means.

For example, that mysterious platinum plaza, Chen Zixuan said, is actually an ancient magic array waiting to be activated. According to the information they obtained, activating that ancient magic array would open a path to heaven, leading to a palace in the sky, where there are mythical artifacts that only exist in legends.

Lin Ran initially intended to laugh it off, but then something occurred to him, so he took out his notebook and started flipping through it.

Wen Qianyi, who was getting a little bored from waiting for so long, saw Lin Ran take out a strange notebook and became curious. She moved closer to Lin Ran and asked curiously, seeing the strange characters on it, "Senior, what are these characters? What does it say?"

Lin Ran was a little unsure how to respond. Although this was a fantasy world, the language used was not much different from the original, with only minor changes. It was just that Lin Ran's own calligraphy was truly indescribable.

After a long pause, Lin Ran slowly uttered two words: "Cursive script..."

"Cursive script?"

Wen Qianyi paused for a moment, then casually moved closer to Lin Ran, focusing intently on the contents of the notebook. After a while, a gentle smile appeared on her face as she said, "It is indeed very apt. It is as wild as grass, yet we can still see some resemblance to the shapes of the characters we use now. What era is this script from? Do you have any ancient books on this subject, senior?"

Lin Ran: "..."

From now on, I must set aside some time every day to practice calligraphy...

After this little episode, Lin Ran finally found the record about the sky palace that Chen Zixuan had mentioned in her messy notebook.

In the original novel, there really is something in the sky above the Mirror Moon Holy Emperor's Secret Realm. It is a sky island, and on that island, there really is the sky palace that Chen Zixuan mentioned. There are indeed mythical-level spiritual artifacts stored inside. Then, here comes the key point: Lin Ran doesn't remember what it is. There is a question mark written on it.

He wished he could question his past self on the spot. What kind of terrible memory was this? Back then, he only cared about enjoying toilet paper novels and didn't remember a single thing about the content.

"Lin Ran, Lin Ran..."

As Lin Ran was secretly annoyed, Shangguan Mengqing's voice rang in her mind, and Lin Ran quickly replied, "What's wrong?"

"I just asked you, do you think what they said about palaces and mythical artifacts in the sky is just empty talk or is it actually true?" Shangguan Mengqing repeated the question. She couldn't say for sure, so she left it to Lin Ran to decide.

Lin Ran didn't have any solid evidence, but the original novel did mention a mythical-level weapon, which was eventually given to his son. He didn't know exactly what it was, but anything given to the protagonist must be a good thing.

"I have a gut feeling that it might be possible, why don't we give it a try?" Lin Ran said.

Shangguan Mengqing said calmly, "Qianyi will be the one who suffers in the end. Think about it carefully!"

"Let's give it a try first. If the progress is too slow, or there's no progress at all, then we'll give up!" Lin Ran had already decided that if they could really crack the code, they could give it a try, but if it was too slow, then they would give up. Just like Shangguan Mengqing said, they could explore the area ahead later!

Finally, Shangguan Mengqing and Chen Zixuan reached an agreement. Chen Zixuan would provide a significant portion of the spiritual medicines to restore spiritual power, supporting Shangguan Mengqing's spiritual power needs in breaking through the spatial barrier. In addition, they would explore the Sky Palace together and share the profits peacefully.

This also shows Chen Zixuan's boldness. In order to obtain the treasures inside, he is not stingy with pills and the division of the spoils later. He made an agreement in advance that unless they really tear each other apart, if one party breaks the agreement, it will not look good in Zhongzhou.

Perhaps Chen Zixuan knew this, which is why he made such a decision. Killing those minor forces is fine, but you still have to think twice about the people from the eight super sects.

After reaching an agreement, Chen Zixuan eagerly invited, "Then, Miss Shangguan, shall we go in now and try to break through that spatial barrier?"

Shangguan Mengqing glanced at Lin Ran, and only after Lin Ran confirmed the news did she agree: "Then let's go!"

So the two groups arrived at the spatial barrier once again. Lin Ran noticed that there seemed to be another entrance on the other side of the plaza, and pointing in that direction, she couldn't help but ask, "Have you seen that side? Can we go in?"

Hearing Lin Ran's words, Chen Zixuan also looked towards the fork in the road and explained, "We've already investigated that side. It's exactly the same as this side, with thick spatial barriers. In fact, the protection level there is even higher, while this side is relatively weaker... a little..."

In the end, even Chen Zixuan himself wasn't quite sure. Judging from his expression, Lin Ran guessed that the spatial barriers on both sides were exactly the same strength.

Lin Ran secretly transmitted her voice to Wen Qianyi, saying, "Girl, don't be silly and try your best to break through that spatial barrier. Just take it step by step. If you encounter any difficulties, be decisive and give up, understand?"

"I see!"

Wen Qianyi nodded and gave Lin Ran a sweet smile. Whenever Lin Ran cared for her like this, she always felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

The Xuanfu Sect was making preparations with ease and was also communicating with the Sword Sect to find the weak points of this spatial barrier. As for Wen Qianyi, because of the Yin-Yang Chessboard, she was assigned to a core area that even the Xuanfu Sect was somewhat helpless against. They hoped that the Yin-Yang Chessboard could break through this core point.

"Then let's get started!"

Seeing that everything was almost ready, Chen Zixuan began immediately.

Chen Zixuan led the Di Xuanfu Sect members, their Daoist robes fluttering without wind, as they took out their respective magical artifacts and infused them with spiritual power. Multicolored beams of light shot into the spatial barrier. The few members of the Sword Sect who were proficient in exquisite formations did not use the advanced magical artifacts of the Di Xuanfu Sect, and could only use relatively ordinary magical artifacts to break the formation.

As for Wen Qianyi in the center, when she took out the magical Yin-Yang chessboard and activated it, black and white mist rippled around her. A mysterious aura emanated from her. Wen Qianyi poured her spiritual power into the Yin-Yang chessboard, and a beam of black and white light merged and crashed into the invisible spatial barrier in front of her.

The three parties jointly cast spells to deal with the spatial barrier in front of them, but the invisible spatial barrier did not react at all, not even a ripple was seen. Seeing this, Wen Qianyi increased the output of power, and the wife on the Yin-Yang chessboard moved quickly, but even so, the core of the spatial barrier did not change in Wen Qianyi's perception at all.

……

Chapter 146 The Impending Anomaly

Actually, not to mention Wen Qianyi, Lin Ran and the others were also sweating profusely when they saw Wen Qianyi and her group breaking through the spatial barrier, but the spatial barrier did not budge in the slightest. Looking at the Xuanfu Sect, Chen Zixuan, the young talent of the Xuanfu Sect, had a very interesting expression when he was breaking through the spatial barrier.

From his initial high spirits to his furrowed brows, and then to his current ashen face, this is arguably the ultimate "face-changing" art in the Nine Provinces. If there were acting schools in the Nine Provinces, he would definitely want to become a master there to teach and answer questions.

Shangguan Mengqing also noticed something amiss and couldn't help but think, "As expected, places with such mythical-level magical artifacts are so difficult to enter that even the door is hard to open. It seems that only by replicating the scale of breaking the seal on the entrance to the secret realm can we possibly break through this spatial barrier."

A few minutes later, seeing that the spatial barrier remained unchanged, Shangguan Mengqing stepped forward and said coldly, "Alright, if we can't break it, then let's stop here. If we continue experimenting, I'm afraid we'll all be swallowed up by the monster tide at night."

Upon hearing Shangguan Mengqing's voice, Wen Qianyi was the first to stop. The disciples of the Sword Sect who were skilled in restrictive formations also gave up, their expressions showing some frustration. Clearly, the power of this spatial barrier was beyond their imagination.

On the field, Chen Zixuan and the others did not give up because of Shangguan Mengqing's words. They continued to fight against the spatial barrier, just like a mathematician who launched one attack after another against a difficult problem, only to be defeated again and again.

Some disciples who were slightly weaker fainted due to exhaustion of their spiritual energy and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Lin Ran couldn't stand it anymore, so she turned around and looked at Chang Wei and the others who were whispering against the rock wall, and said, "You guys go help them!"

"Yes!"

Chang Wei and the others responded. They had been dragging their feet, but when they saw the fallen disciples, they rushed to help them.

Lin Ran was curious about why these guys' attitudes changed so quickly. Upon closer inspection, he realized that among the fallen disciples were several pretty female disciples. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "You little lechers, you pounce on meat like hungry wolves."

But if it were Lin Ran himself, he'd probably be the first to rush in and play the hero if he saw his sister in danger. Who doesn't love it when their sister looks at them with those pitiful eyes and says, "Did you save me? Thank you~"

Shangguan Mengqing glanced at Lin Ran's gaze, then looked at the several beautiful female disciples of the Xuanfu Sect. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she nudged Lin Ran's arm and said, "I really enjoy watching this. Why don't you go and help out?"

"what?"

Lin Ran was momentarily stunned by Shangguan Mengqing's collision.

Wen Qianyi, who was still recovering her spiritual energy, heard Shangguan Mengqing's words, glanced at the female disciples of the Xuanfu Sect, then looked at Lin Ran. She puffed out her cheeks in anger, glared at Lin Ran with resentful eyes, and said in a drawn-out tone:

"senior!"

Lin Ran: "..."

How did he suddenly become so wicked? He looked at Shangguan Mengqing, the culprit, but the woman acted as if it were none of her business, crossing her arms and walking away.

Lin Ran looked at Wen Qianyi, who seemed a little sullen. He had been busy lately and had neglected to pay attention to her. Taking advantage of the moment, Lin Ran led the two of them to the back, where there were a few trees where they could lean against and rest.

Holding Wen Qianyi's fair and soft hand, Lin Ran leaned closer and said softly, "Are you tired?"

Wen Qianyi's ears turned red. She looked up at Lin Ran, who was so close to her, then quickly lowered her head and whispered, "No, although I initially raised the power of the Yin-Yang Chessboard to a very high level, I stopped using my full power after realizing it had no effect on the spatial barrier..."

Lin Ran gently kneaded Wen Qianyi's soft little hand and listened to what Wen Qianyi was saying. She couldn't help but ask, "Qianyi, do you think we can break that spatial barrier if we call on everyone in the secret realm who is proficient in formations and restrictions?"

"Everyone in the entire secret realm?"

Wen Qianyi thought about it seriously for a while before whispering, "It shouldn't be possible... I feel like this spatial barrier is similar in strength to the seal at the entrance of a secret realm. Perhaps only a lineup of that level could be recreated..."