Tang Zirong immediately noticed Zhang Yiyi returning alone to the entrance of the secret realm, her timing neither early nor late. The two exchanged no greetings, not even a glance, as though they were mere acquaintances with little connection.

The others who noticed Zhang Yiyi's return only gave her a brief look, their main thought being that she was fortunate to have survived twenty days in the secret realm alone. Most of them had ventured inside with fixed companions, moving in small groups of two or three to provide mutual support.

As the secret realm's closing time approached, someone finally realized that the Tang family's two most prominent heirs had yet to return. One was the Fifth Young Master, accompanied by two aides, and the other was the Second Young Master, escorted by two Golden Core bodyguards. These two, especially the Second Young Master, were expected to return safely due to their advantages.

However, when the secret realm closed, sealing all exits, neither of the two brothers emerged.

"What's going on? Where are the Second and Fifth Young Masters?"

A middle-aged elder from the Tang family stood outside the secret realm, his face dark and furious as he scanned the twenty survivors. Neither the Fifth nor the Second Young Master was among them, nor were the two Golden Core bodyguards assigned to the Second Young Master by the Third Master.

Though he was reluctant to admit it, the elder had no choice but to accept the grim reality: the Second and Fifth Young Masters had both perished inside the secret realm.

The thought of losing the two most esteemed and promising heirs of the Tang family left the elder feeling utterly despondent. He couldn't imagine how he would explain this to the family head or withstand his inevitable wrath.

The survivors exchanged nervous glances, but none dared to speak. The secret realm had closed—those who hadn't exited were undeniably dead.

One young Tang family woman, herself of significant standing, finally broke the silence to explain:

"I don't know about the Fifth Young Master. I didn't encounter him after we entered. But as for the Second Young Master, I ran into him twice early on. He seemed focused on collecting rare treasures and ventured into extremely dangerous areas. I tried to warn him against taking such risks, but he wouldn't listen. After that, I didn't see him again."

Her account was truthful, at least on the surface. The Second Young Master's pride wouldn't have allowed him to admit to anyone that the treasures he sought were being repeatedly snatched from under his nose. Frustrated, he began exploring increasingly perilous areas, and their paths never crossed again.

Her explanation was also partly influenced by Tang Zirong's subtle guidance. She naturally assumed that the Second Young Master, with his Golden Core bodyguards, had been greedily collecting treasures before ultimately meeting his end due to overconfidence.

Her story was corroborated by others who had witnessed the Second Young Master leaving dangerous zones with his bodyguards, loaded with what they presumed to be treasures.

"He warned us not to follow him," one survivor added. "Said those places were too perilous for us and that we'd only be courting death by venturing there."

In truth, the Second Young Master and his team had been furious, finding every prime location stripped bare before they arrived, and they lashed out at anyone who tried to trail them. Some dared to investigate after the trio left, only to find that everything useful had already been taken.

This misunderstanding snowballed into the widespread belief that the Second Young Master had monopolized the secret realm's best resources, though in reality, he had unwittingly become the scapegoat for Tang Zirong's cunning schemes.

The middle-aged elder's face grew grimmer as he processed this information. In his view, the Second Young Master's hubris had led to his downfall—his greed cost him his life and wasted countless valuable resources.

As for the Fifth Young Master? If even the Second couldn't make it out alive, it was no surprise that the reckless Fifth had perished as well.

When the elder collected and inventoried all the spirit herbs retrieved from the survivors, his expression darkened further. His frustration with the Second Young Master deepened, blaming him for the meager harvest compared to the treasures he had supposedly hoarded and lost.

This time, the Tang family's venture into the secret realm resulted in what could be considered the worst harvest in generations. Not only was the quantity of spirit herbs brought back the lowest ever, but their quality was largely mediocre and ordinary.

Forget about top-tier treasures—even slightly rare plants and herbs were almost non-existent. It seemed all the best resources had been wasted by the greed and arrogance of the Second Young Master.

The middle-aged elder was infuriated, though helpless. Even if he wanted to retrieve the Second Young Master's overfilled storage bag, it was impossible. The secret realm would not open again for another century, and even then, the chances of finding a small storage bag in such a vast realm were slim to none.

The greater concern was how the Tang family would manage for the next hundred years. The resources brought back this time were insufficient to meet the cultivation needs of the family's disciples, and the resulting shortages would have long-term consequences far beyond the visible lack of supplies.

Among the group, Zhang Yiyi remained inconspicuous, blending seamlessly into the crowd and avoiding drawing any attention. However, Lu Qiao, another solitary figure, glanced at her several times, her seemingly casual gaze carrying a hint of curiosity and suspicion.

Zhang Yiyi briefly returned her gaze before looking away, maintaining her understated presence.

The storage bag Zhang Yiyi handed over for inspection contained only the most easily accessible spirit herbs—barely enough to meet the requirements, with nothing extra to attract attention. According to the Tang family's rules, any surplus after fulfilling the quota belonged to the individual. However, these surplus items would later be reviewed, and the family retained the right of first purchase.

To prevent hidden stashes, the Tang family utilized a specialized artifact that could detect and expose spirit herbs and other items originating from the secret realm, no matter how well-concealed.

When it was Zhang Yiyi's turn, Tang Zirong, standing nearby, couldn't help but feel anxious. Although Zhang Yiyi had assured him there was no need to worry, most of the valuable treasures from the secret realm were in her possession. If the artifact detected them, the consequences would be dire.

Fortunately, his anxiety was short-lived. The artifact scanned Zhang Yiyi without any alerts or anomalies.

Tang Zirong felt both relief and amazement. It became clear that Zhang Yiyi possessed an incredibly advanced storage space, further validating his decision to trust her.

After all the items were turned in and inspected, the middle-aged elder wasted no time. He summoned a flying vessel to escort the group back to the Tang family estate. Despite the poor results of the expedition, he had to return with whatever little they had and the remaining survivors to face the family head.

Upon their return to the Tang estate, just as the elder was about to report to the family head, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Wait! Someone's missing!"

The elder froze and scanned the group. His expression darkened as he realized it was true—there were only nineteen survivors, though twenty had exited the secret realm.

"Who's missing? And when did this happen?"

"It's that newly recruited female guest cultivator!" someone quickly identified. "I remember seeing her board the flying vessel earlier."

The group was initially indifferent to Zhang Yiyi's absence since she had always been a low-profile presence. But when specifically mentioned, everyone recalled her peculiar disappearance.

Tang Zirong himself was unsure when Zhang Yiyi had slipped away unnoticed. However, her disappearance was a relief for him, though it posed a problem for the Tang family.

The elder ordered strict confidentiality, forbidding anyone to spread news of her disappearance. Nevertheless, rumors began to swirl:

Some speculated that the missing guest cultivator was a spy sent by another family to steal treasures from the secret realm. Others believed she must have escaped with some extraordinary treasure she had found inside. Some even suspected that her disappearance was related to the deaths of the Second and Fifth Young Masters. The guesses were varied and wild, but many were closer to the truth than they realized. Zhang Yiyi's actions had indeed caused a significant impact on the Tang family, though they couldn't confirm it.

Months passed, but the Tang family remained in the dark about Zhang Yiyi's true identity or whereabouts. Her disappearance became a dead-end investigation, another setback in an already disastrous expedition.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yiyi was indifferent to the Tang family's struggles. After safely leaving the secret realm six months ago, she had gone into seclusion to focus on her cultivation.

During this time, she successfully gathered the final ingredients needed for a medicinal bath and advanced from the fourth to the fifth stage of body tempering. She also refined a portion of the ancient divine blood within her, significantly boosting her cultivation progress and expanding her spiritual energy reserves.

While she continued to suppress her breakthrough to the late Foundation Establishment stage, she realized her innate divine body was becoming increasingly dominant. Her reliance on her spiritual root weakened as her divine body's advantages accelerated her cultivation pace, rivaling even those with heavenly spiritual roots.

Aside from cultivating, Zhang Yiyi also fully decoded the complex and profound contents of the Gate of Time and Space technique. Although mastering it would take considerable time, she was satisfied with her progress.

Stowing away the decoded technique, Zhang Yiyi ended her half-year retreat.

It was time to move again—she still had to keep her promise to Tang Zirong and tie up some loose ends with the Tang family.