Unsure why, but Min Xiaorong's reminder felt like a foregone conclusion; he could already see the end.
However, Ji Zhuo and Xi Caifa poured cold water on his idea, "Stop joking. What formation? It's not a formation at all. And even if it were, could he handle it? We can't, so what makes him qualified to be our hope? Don't think he's omnipotent just because he shamelessly reached the summit of the Four Seas Ascension Ladder."
"Can't you be more humble? More low-key? If you can't do something, don't force it?"
Mochizuki, however, felt an inexplicable confidence, a feeling that it could be tried.
Thus, ignoring their sarcastic remarks, he followed his memory and placed spirit stones and talismans in the east, west, north, and south of the city. He then suspended a formation disk above the castle. The disk flickered with light and shadow, like a cascading waterfall, enveloping the entire castle. It intertwined with the light screen, creating a dazzling display of colors that made one's eyes water.
The rumbling sounds were incessant.
Mochizuki then summoned a flying sword, which unleashed myriad sword lights, converging into a single point and striking the formation disk.
The scattered light gradually retracted, and with a hiss, it hit the light screen in the east.
With a splash, the light screen collapsed like glass, its fragments falling to the ground, dissipating into mist.
The castle's barrier was lifted!
Ji Zhuo and Xi Caifa were stunned!
On the flying boat in the Light World, there was silence. What they had once believed impossible was now effortlessly resolved by this unremarkable fellow.
The most shocked was the tall woman.
The Queen had once prophesied that whoever could restore life to the castle would also be able to change the Light World!
This person before them, so ordinary in appearance, could he really change the Light World?
At this moment, Min Xiaorong smiled again, "See? I told you you could do it!"
Her smile was radiant and pure, stirring something within people's hearts. Mochizuki felt a tremor within him.
He felt he understood this young girl less and less.
While he was lost in thought, Min Xiaorong pointed to the people on the city wall and said, with words that shocked everyone, "Let's work together to revive these people."
The tall woman was dumbfounded. Mochizuki said awkwardly, "If you can revive them, just do it yourself. Don't involve me. I can't."
"Exactly," Xue Ying nodded. "I know he can revive people, but there are many conditions, and it's not that easy."
Mochizuki patted Xue Ying's head, "You understand me best."
Xue Ying, blushing, dodged slightly, "Mind the occasion!"
Mochizuki withdrew his hand, "Yes, alright."
Min Xiaorong chuckled, "You can do it. Believe me, and believe in yourself."
"I believe you, but not myself."
Min Xiaorong, with a constant smile, waved her hand in the air, and a red mist emerged, spreading slowly and enveloping the petrified people.
People widened their eyes, watching intently, waiting to see what changes would occur to the stone figures.
However, after a long, long time, the stone figures remained standing, unmoving.
Qin Xiao's mouth twitched, "It seems it won't work."
The crowd nodded silently, their expressions varied: some disappointed, some relieved, some gloating.
The red mist gradually dispersed. With a rustling sound, people looked again and saw cracks appearing on the faces and bodies of the stone figures, like a spiderweb, covering their entire forms.
The cracks continued to expand. Finally, unable to bear the strain, with a crash, the outer layer of the stone figures fell off, turning into dust in the air.
Meanwhile, color gradually returned to the people's faces, and their eyes began to show signs of life.
Everyone was shocked. Were they truly going to be revived?
Min Xiaorong covered her mouth and laughed, "This is all I can do. The rest is up to you."
Mochizuki pointed to himself, "Up to me?"
"Yes," Min Xiaorong nodded. "You just need to give them your healing pills, and they will be revived."
Mochizuki, half-believing, half-doubting, leaped forward and approached a "stone figure." He took out a healing pill and was about to feed it to him when the stone figure suddenly collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Mochizuki looked back at Min Xiaorong, "Is it completely dead now?"
Min Xiaorong shook her head, "It doesn't matter. Continue using the pills."
Helpless, Mochizuki had no choice but to force the pill down the "stone figure's" throat.
Everyone watched the "stone figure" intently. The tall woman's eyes held a complex mixture of emotions, and her palms began to sweat unconsciously.
To everyone's astonishment, after a moment, the "stone figure" stood up, looking around with a dazed expression. He was also confused, asking himself, Where am I? What happened?
The tall woman could no longer sit still. She turned and beckoned to another woman in red, whispered a few words, and then quickly departed.
Mochizuki then administered healing pills to the remaining "stone figures" one by one. They woke up sequentially and, upon learning that their lives had been saved by the person before them, were immensely grateful to Mochizuki.
Mochizuki waved his hands repeatedly, pointing to Min Xiaorong, "It has nothing to do with me. It's her credit."
Min Xiaorong said nothing, only covering her mouth and smiling.
As Mochizuki turned to look for the tall woman, the woman in red approached and said, "You have passed the test. You may proceed."
The group boarded the flying boat again and headed deeper into the Light World.
They had already reached the territory of the Light World, and everyone thought they would arrive soon. However, the journey took a very, very long time, as if they had entered eternity.
Occasionally, star worlds appeared around them, but upon inquiry, they were not the Sun Star where the Queen resided.
Moreover, the Sun Star was visible ahead, so they continued to advance towards that scorching direction.
After an unknown duration, the star worlds along the way became fewer and fewer, until there were none.
Only the solitary Sun Star remained hanging above and to the side, guiding their direction.
After traveling for a long time, they still had not arrived.
Everyone began to feel disheartened.
Ji Zhuo said, "Can we even reach this Sun Star? Will we never get there?"
Shui Han replied, "How can we not reach it? We clearly know the Saintess of Light is there. If we can't get there, how did they go?"
Ji Zhuo was persuaded, but he still felt something was amiss.
Not only him, but even Mochizuki felt that perhaps they were being played.
At the very least, he was certain that if the tall woman had led the way, they would have reached their destination long ago.
They were allowing their group to blunder around aimlessly, clearly toying with them.
Someone asked about the time, and everyone suddenly realized and began to pay attention to it.
The flying boat had a sundial. According to the records of the flying boat's pilot, ten years had already passed!
Everyone was immediately stunned!
Ten years had passed!
Furthermore, ten years outside the star worlds were equivalent to a hundred years within the star worlds!
This meant they had all aged another hundred years.
But the problem was, they had done nothing during these hundred years except travel, which was a disheartening thought.
Fortunately, Mochizuki had not neglected his cultivation during these years, practicing daily without interruption.
Whether due to diligence or their increasing proximity to the sun, his cultivation advanced rapidly, reaching the Saint King realm.
Ji Zhuo and Xi Caifa also saw improvements in their cultivation, but their progress was not as significant.
They had only advanced from Saint King triple-stage to Saint King quadruple-stage.
Initially, they had felt a great sense of superiority over Mochizuki, but as time went on, that superiority gradually faded.
This was not only because Mochizuki was steadily closing the gap in their cultivation levels but also because they gradually realized that even with a lower cultivation, they could not defeat him.
Qin Xiao's cultivation had also advanced to the Saint King triple-stage.
The fastest progress was made by Xue Ying. With the help of Mochizuki's pills, her cultivation had reached the Saint Commander realm.