Pulled out easily by the painter, she couldn't help but look at him with a somewhat solemn expression. The gap between them was too vast; if they were to truly fight, she wouldn't be able to withstand even one of the painter's moves!
"Your strength and combat experience are very good. With this, you can now cautiously travel the Changsheng Realm," the painter said with a smile. Nannan had, with her own strength, conquered the painter, a You Sha far more powerful than her.
Fang Ming's eyes lit up at this. He could finally enter the Changsheng Realm.
"This world is about to undergo a reincarnation, and the period of reincarnation is the perfect time to leave. You can rest here for a few days. After the world's reincarnation, you will naturally be sent out," the painter said.
"Thank you, Senior Painter," Fang Ming said quickly, his face full of joy. A few more days wouldn't matter; he had waited this long and wasn't in a rush.
"It's just a small effort. I was planning to clean up this world anyway and send out all the outsiders," the painter said with a wave of his hand, chuckling.
"What? There are other outsiders in this world besides us?" Fang Ming exclaimed, as he had always thought they were the only outsiders here.
The painter smiled. "I left an entrance in the real world, so occasionally one or two outsiders would enter. However, they couldn't leave and were trapped in this world. I didn't deal with them as they posed no threat."
Fang Ming suddenly understood. Indeed, the entrance was on that broken ship. Over the millennia, a few lucky ones would stumble in but couldn't get out.
"Hmm?" Fang Ming suddenly thought of something.
"Senior Painter, are you saying that no one can leave this world without your consent?"
The painter hesitated for a moment, then looked calmly into Fang Ming's eyes and slowly nodded. "Yes."
"Thank you for informing me, Senior."
Fang Ming sensed something was amiss but didn't expose it. The priority was to leave this world, and there was no need to fall out with the painter over trivial matters.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now," the painter said, his expression suddenly turning indifferent.
"Certainly, Senior. Safe travels," Fang Ming said, bowing to see the painter off.
After the painter left, Fang Ming, with Nannan back in her little girl form, entered the city. The world had returned to its calm, and the people passing by looked as usual.
Fang Ming found an inn and settled down temporarily, then summoned Qing Mian and Young Master Liu.
"Young Master Liu, we will be leaving soon. Thank you for your care during these past days," Fang Ming said gratefully to Young Master Liu, who had been of great help to him.
However, Young Master Liu looked at him in confusion. "Who are you people? Where was that strange space I was just in?"
"You..." Fang Ming hesitated, looking at Qing Mian, his eyes questioning what was happening.
Qing Mian shook his head. "I don't know what's going on. His memory seems to have vanished. If I hadn't spent half an hour explaining to him in the mirror, we would have probably fought there."
"When did this happen?" Fang Ming asked with a frown.
"About half an hour ago."
Half an hour ago... Fang Ming recalled the timing. Wasn't that when the painter left? Had she erased everyone's memory of the entire world upon her departure?
"Hey, are you guys listening to me?" Young Master Liu said, somewhat indignantly.
"Sorry, sorry. A lot has happened recently. It's like this..." Fang Ming briefly recounted what had just transpired. Young Master Liu looked at him with disbelief.
"You're saying the painter appeared? How is that possible?" Young Master Liu couldn't believe it. Furthermore, Fang Ming's claim that the head of the Liu family was a terrifying Ming Sha was even harder for him to accept, considering the head of the Liu family was someone he himself couldn't defeat.
"That's how it is. There's nothing I can do if you don't believe me," Fang Ming said, shrugging.
"Nonsense." Young Master Liu glanced at Fang Ming angrily, then his gaze flickered to Nannan, who was exuding an aura. Deciding discretion was the better part of valor, he huffed and left.
"Sigh." Watching Young Master Liu's retreating back, Fang Ming couldn't help but sigh.
"Fang Ming, what were you asking the painter just now?" Nannan suddenly asked.
"What questions?"
"The ones about whether people can leave this world without her permission," Nannan clarified.
Fang Ming was silent for a moment. "It means nothing. I just remembered and wanted to ask."
Saying this, he patted Nannan's head. Nannan understood. This was not the place to discuss such matters.
In fact, the reason Fang Ming asked was that he suddenly remembered the Principal had visited this world before and, most likely, had left.
Young Master Liu said the Principal mistook him for the painter and asked him to replicate Nannan before leaving. But the problem was, if the Principal hadn't found the real painter, how did he leave?
There were only two possibilities. First, the Principal's strength was so great that he could disregard the painter. Second, the Principal had actually met the real painter!
Fang Ming guessed it was the second possibility. Since the Principal, his father Fang Daolong, and the painter all had connections with his father, it was highly probable that the Principal eventually met the painter.
And based on the information revealed when the Principal first mistook him, he had always coveted something about Nannan, or rather, Nannan herself! The fact that the painter hadn't told him the truth suggested that the painter might also be involved in this unknown plan!
The Principal... what exactly was he trying to do?
Fang Ming felt a headache coming on as he thought about it. It seemed he would have to find his father to get a clear answer. His father would definitely know about the Principal's plan. The next few days were calm. The Yun Xian Poetry Gathering continued as usual, but Fang Ming no longer attended. Instead, he wandered around the city with Nannan and Qing Mian. This was a genuine ancient Ming Dynasty capital, not some fake replica from the real world.
It would be a disservice to himself to not have some fun on this adventure.
Soon, the Yun Xian Poetry Gathering concluded. Young Master Liu subsequently burned all the entries. The painter reappeared, standing in the sky. Originating from her, the entire world began to twist and shatter, then slowly reassembled.
Fang Ming, with Nannan and Qing Mian, witnessed this moment. The painter also saw the three of them and pointed at them from high above. A wave of world-forming resentment flew towards the three and was absorbed into their bodies in an instant.
"This is..." Fang Ming looked at the painter in astonishment. The auras of the three began to rise madly, breaking through their current realms in the blink of an eye.
"Your strength is still somewhat weak. I'll lend you a hand to break through the bottlenecks, making you safer in the Changsheng Realm," the painter transmitted to the three.
"Thank you, Senior," Fang Ming said, bowing respectfully. Nannan and Qing Mian also bowed.
"It's just a small effort."
After speaking, the painter focused on reincarnating the world. Soon, the scenery around Fang Ming began to shatter. Waves of white mist surged towards them. When the surrounding world completely shattered and vanished, the three found themselves in a world of pure white mist.
The White Mist World. They had finally arrived in the Changsheng Realm!
Fang Ming's face broke into a smile. After so much, he had finally returned to this white mist world!
Moreover, their strength had all broken through. Fang Ming and Qing Mian were now Xiong Sha, and Nannan, who was in her Ming Sha state even in her normal form, represented a qualitative leap!
"Hmm? Something is approaching," Nannan suddenly said.
"Yuan Sha?" Fang Ming's expression turned grim as he cautiously observed their surroundings.
Here it comes! A peculiar aura was rapidly approaching them.
"Prepare to attack!"
In the White Mist World, everything required caution!
It's getting closer!
Nannan struck instantly. Countless strands of her hair pierced the void, instantly binding a formless entity.
"Fang Ming, Fang Ming, it's me! Number One!" the unseen entity shouted nervously.
"What? Number One?" Fang Ming was surprised. How did this guy end up here? He quickly told Nannan to release her attack. However, why was Number One, who was invisible, so much stronger now?
If it weren't for the familiar aura, he would have thought this was a native Xiong Sha of the Changsheng Realm.
"Nannan, quickly let it go."
"Cough, cough." Number One, released, coughed uncomfortably and rubbed its body. Nannan's strength as a big sister was as formidable as ever. It had become a Xiong Sha, yet it was still subdued by Nannan in one move.
"How did you end up in this place?" Fang Ming asked in surprise. He had gone through immense trouble to get here, only to find Number One had arrived even earlier.
"That's a long story," Number One sighed.
"Then make it a short one."
"...Number One was momentarily choked, then briefly explained, "After I left the Eighteenth Floor, I fought with some humans. Then, a peculiar aura attracted me to an ancient ship."
"Then, I inexplicably entered a world and joined a family called the Liu family. Using my special abilities, I secretly took many items to strengthen myself."
"Then the world collapsed, and I appeared here. I happened to sense a few familiar auras, came to investigate, and saw it was you. So, I ran over."
Good heavens, Number One had also entered the painter's world. Fang Ming had stayed there for so long and hadn't discovered any trace of Number One.
But thinking about it, the painter's world was so vast. Without getting close, Number One's aura wouldn't be detected. And he had been living in the inn and the courtyard, so there was no way he would have encountered Number One.
This guy was also incredibly lucky to have secretly amassed a fortune in the Liu family and become a Xiong Sha without anyone noticing.