Ye Tiancheng confirmed with the little fox that night about any oversights in their preparations for going out the next day. After confirming, he went to rest.
The next day when they went out, Ye Qingcheng, as usual, had Hou Mingzhu accompany her to see Ye Tiancheng off. However, this time, an additional person was going out: the little fox. During the day, Hou Mingzhu would be the only one accompanying Ye Qingcheng.
Ye Tiancheng hadn't prepared any extra meals because he planned to return at noon.
Unless he was completely prepared and intended to venture into that unknown space, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't make such prior arrangements. Otherwise, he would likely spend a considerable amount of time on these daily trifles, leaving him with little time to focus on important matters.
Moreover, Hou Mingzhu had performed very well last night. Even if there were unexpected situations and Ye Tiancheng and the little fox couldn't return by noon, Hou Mingzhu could still manage lunch, so Ye Tiancheng didn't need to worry excessively.
Besides, they still had leftover dishes from last night, which could be reheated and eaten without much issue.
Ye Tiancheng had nothing to worry about and felt very relaxed when he left. He told Hou Mingzhu that if he and the little fox hadn't returned by one o'clock, she should prepare their meal first. While he and the little fox might not be able to return, it wouldn't be right to make Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng go hungry waiting for them.
Furthermore, to guard against any accidents, Ye Tiancheng never left empty-handed. He always carried some emergency food with him to prevent unexpected situations.
Ye Tiancheng would never go hungry himself when he was out, and he certainly wouldn't let his wife and daughter go hungry at home waiting for him.
With all preparations complete, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox set off together. After they both confirmed that they had put on their Breath Concealing Talismans, Ye Tiancheng led the little fox into the dark cave within the formation.
To prevent them from getting separated, they held hands as they passed through the barrier.
They spent almost the entire morning exploring the cave. They communicated very little, and any necessary expressions were conveyed through gestures.
While the Breath Concealing Talismans were indeed very useful in this state, they only made non-human entities unable to see the wearer and subconsciously avoid them, preventing collisions.
They didn't make people invisible, nor did they turn them into something akin to malevolent spirits, allowing them to pass through walls or people.
In essence, those wearing the Breath Concealing Talismans were still physically present, but they were unseen and subconsciously avoided by other beings.
Therefore, by extension, they couldn't communicate. Speaking would be equivalent to revealing themselves. Even if those unknown entities couldn't see Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, wouldn't they still be able to hear the conversation coming from their location?
Ye Tiancheng had some new discoveries from his visit to the cave. He wasn't sure if the little fox had found any useful clues that he hadn't yet discovered.
When the time was about right, Ye Tiancheng tugged on the little fox's hand, signaling that it was time to go back. He then led the little fox towards the barrier. The little fox, having received Ye Tiancheng's hint, naturally followed him without any abruptness.
After they had completely left the cave, Ye Tiancheng finally spoke to the little fox.
Ye Tiancheng asked the little fox, "Little fox, how was it? Did you find anything?"
The little fox understood that Ye Tiancheng was asking if he could confirm what those monsters were and if they were indeed malevolent spirits.
The little fox replied to Ye Tiancheng, "It's basically confirmed. Those are malevolent spirits. I didn't detect any other auras. Based on their auras, they should all be malevolent spirits, with nothing else mixed in."
He explained to Ye Tiancheng, "The reason these things look so terrifying, so ugly and ferocious, is because they are inherently quite powerful and died tragic deaths in life. The more ferocious and ugly they look, the stronger and more difficult they are to deal with."
"And given their numbers, the owner of that unknown space must indeed have considerable means to suppress them all. They are certainly not simple characters."
"If they are benevolent and have no malicious intent, that would be fine. But if they harbor malice, then it would be truly terrible."
Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but frown. Although understanding what those things were provided a direction for dealing with them, which was a good thing, learning about their origins and strength only increased Ye Tiancheng's apprehension towards the owner of the unknown space, about whom they knew so little.
After all, to this day, they hadn't obtained any useful information about the owner of this unknown space, other than knowing that they were the owner and possessed immense power, capable of controlling that vast unknown space and suppressing a multitude of ferocious malevolent spirits. They knew nothing else.
They didn't know whether that entity was good or evil, nor what species it was.
From the investigation this morning, they could deduce that after several days of festering, the malevolent spirits in that space had likely discovered that they were trapped in the cave, only able to enter and exit that unknown space but not leave the cave.
Furthermore, this matter had already been reported to the owner of the unknown space.
However, from what they said, it seemed that the owner of the unknown space had not yet made any statement or taken any action after learning about this matter.
Despite this, Ye Tiancheng knew in his heart that the owner wouldn't be completely unprepared.
What if the owner of the unknown space could detect the abnormality of the formation, or even discover the illusion and break through?
Given their immense power, this possibility was not entirely nonexistent, which was clearly a point of concern for Ye Tiancheng. If it were just him and the little fox, it would be one thing, but now Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng were also in the illusion, and Ye Tiancheng couldn't afford to take any risks.
Moreover, Ye Tiancheng was hesitant to tell Hou Mingzhu about this situation when they returned, fearing it would make her worry.
However, in other aspects, Ye Tiancheng had gained quite a lot this time. For instance, he could now basically figure out what kind of place that unknown space was.
Given that most of those who traveled back and forth within it were malevolent spirits, and considering their situation in that space, it was likely similar to a ghost market.
Malevolent spirits would conduct small businesses there, selling all sorts of strange items. Some "wealthy" malevolent spirits even owned houses in that space and resided there permanently. On the surface, it was probably much like ordinary people living their lives outside.
Because of the restraint imposed by the owner of the space, the order within was quite good. Upon entering the space, the owner, who disliked extreme ugliness, would require the malevolent spirits entering to alter their appearance to be normal, at least resembling ordinary people. Therefore, the appearance of the space should not be too different from towns outside.
Furthermore, entering and exiting that space would not be hindered for now, as the owner had not yet decided to take any action or make any plans. They should be able to enter and exit freely.
As long as they could conceal the aura of living beings well and avoid being discovered by those malevolent spirits, it was generally quite safe.
There was also no need to worry about being suspected for being unfamiliar faces, as the malevolent spirits that entered this space were generally those who had traveled from various places.
This space was not open all year round. It was only open for a fixed period. Generally, there were three fixed days when it was definitely open: the Day of Heavenly Official's Blessing, the Day of Earth Official's Pardon, and the Day of Water Official's Deliverance, which were also known in folk tradition as the Lantern Festival, the Ghost Festival, and the Water Festival.
The fifteen days before and after each of these three days, for a total of three months, were when it was guaranteed to be open.
Apart from these, it depended on the mood of the space owner. If they wished to open it, they would open it for a period. Some malevolent spirits residing within the space would then send messages to the outside, informing the malevolent spirits scattered across various regions, who would then rush over. If they were lucky, they might make it in time.
However, in such cases, when the space opened, it wouldn't necessarily be open for a full month. That's why, in these unexpected situations, getting the news and rushing over required luck.
Sometimes, if the distance was too great, by the time they received the news and arrived, the space might have already closed.
For example, this time, the space was opened by the owner on a whim, and it was before all the malevolent spirits had arrived that the formation directly transferred them and sealed them all together.
Ye Tiancheng found it quite frustrating. Although the owner of the space had no intention of closing the entrance, those who arrived later couldn't enter, and those inside couldn't get out.
He didn't know when the owner of the space would close the entrance. Regardless of his many concerns, Ye Tiancheng knew he had to make a decision quickly and not delay.
The Water Festival had long passed. If, by any chance, the owner of the space closed the entrance, and Ye Tiancheng couldn't find the Fuxi Qin fragments on his own, wouldn't he have to wait until the Lantern Festival, or even the New Year? He would be venturing into danger during the New Year.
Ye Tiancheng could also guess that a part of the reason Hou Mingzhu impulsively came to accompany him was also related to the fact that the New Year was not far off. Hou Mingzhu still wanted their family to be together for the New Year.
It was truly under the influence of multiple factors that Hou Mingzhu had become uncharacteristically emotional and acted so impulsively.
Since that was the case, Ye Tiancheng certainly didn't want to disappoint Hou Mingzhu's intentions and hoped to have a reunion New Year with Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng.
After all, this family had never had such an opportunity before; they had always been separated. Previously, Hou Mingzhu wouldn't even let Ye Tiancheng see their daughter, Ye Qingcheng. They had only truly reconciled not too long ago.
Therefore, in every sense, this was the first New Year they would celebrate after their family reunion, and its significance was clearly immense.