Bai Shengyi's alchemy speed was astonishing. Before long, Old Man Zhang shuffled over to Bai Shengyi and stared intently at her movements.
He didn't disturb Bai Shengyi, instead watching by himself, at one moment resting his chin on his hand and shaking his head, at the next, hands on his hips and nodding, utterly restless.
Beside Old Man Zhang, Qin Si stood with a dark, stern expression, his aura so oppressive it felt like he could pierce Old Man Zhang with his long sword at any moment.
Wen Bùtíng watched from a distance, almost in awe of Old Man Zhang's fearlessness.
After about an hour, Bai Shengyi placed the completed Yuan Po Dan into Shíjiǔ's mouth.
Shíjiǔ, who had been unconscious, was suddenly awakened by the surging spiritual energy within him. Before he could utter a word, he felt himself being lifted by Bai Shengyi once more.
"Old Man Zhang, ready?"
Old Man Zhang, using some unknown treasure, waved it towards the air. The space within a five-meter radius instantly stabilized, and a narrow, half-meter-wide slit opened in the center.
Old Man Zhang responded, "Ready."
Bai Shengyi then tossed Shíjiǔ into the slit!
"Aaaahhhh!"
The moment his eyes opened, Shíjiǔ was sliced and diced by chaotic spatial turbulence. The intense pain and desperate situation made his scalp tingle. Without thinking, Shíjiǔ used all his might in a desperate attempt to escape.
"Swish... Crackle... Crackle..."
All sorts of strange sounds emanated from the spatial rift opened by Old Man Zhang. As these sounds gradually diminished, the rift widened to about a meter.
Old Man Zhang frowned deeply. "Shíjiǔ isn't holding up. The energy isn't enough. He hasn't even touched the boundary of the Divine Revelation Small World."
To connect two worlds, one must first breach the boundaries of both. Now, the rift had only just extended from the Chong Yuan Middle World.
"I was too naive."
He had agreed to Bai Shengyi's deal because he knew how to return from the Middle World to his own Small World. He himself had ascended from a Small World and had used the same method to return several times over the years.
However, it was clear that the barrier between the Divine Revelation Small World and the Chong Yuan Middle World was far greater than in his own world. The same amount of energy was insufficient to penetrate the Divine Revelation Small World.
Old Man Zhang sighed helplessly, spreading his hands. He wanted to persuade Bai Shengyi to give up. "Why not wait a bit longer? Yun Shenzhou and Xun Mingzhou haven't set off yet. If you go back behind them, the risk will be smaller."
"There's no time."
Bai Shengyi refused to give up. She stepped towards the slit.
She refused to believe that after coming this far, she still couldn't go back!
However, before she could take a step, someone moved faster and walked in.
Old Man Zhang: "Hey! Someone's going to die..."
"Qin Si!"
Bai Shengyi rushed after him, only to find a barrier, like a formation, blocking her path. She struck it with her palm, but it felt like hitting cotton; the barrier remained unmoved.
She tried to go around, but discovered she was trapped within a spherical area!
Damn it!
Bai Shengyi exclaimed furiously, her eyes spitting fire. "Qin Si, let me out!"
Without even thinking, she guessed that this barrier was something Qin Si had prepared to stop her.
When did this man become so cunning!
Bai Shengyi, never known for her good temper, was now worried about Qin Si's safety and anxious about the situation inside, growing more agitated and furious the more she thought about it.
"Qin Si! Did you hear me? Let me out now!"
Bai Shengyi wasn't sure what this barrier was. She feared that destroying it might affect Qin Si himself, otherwise, she would have already unsheathed her Heavenly Mechanism Sword and attacked.
However, she didn't know that there was someone sharp-eyed nearby.
"Spatial Lock?" Old Man Zhang exclaimed. "How can he, a mere Spiritual Radiance realm cultivator, use such a high-level rule?"
"What high-level rule?" Bai Shengyi suppressed her anger, forcing herself to calm down.
Old Man Zhang explained, "You know, we can ascend because we comprehend the power of rules. The power of rules originates from the primordial universe, containing infinite mysteries. Even at the Saint realm, one can comprehend endlessly. Rumor has it that only gods can make words law and actions rule, truly comprehending this power."
"Therefore, cultivators in the Middle World categorize the power of rules into low, medium, and high levels, which is essentially a division based on the depth of comprehension. But this division is rather superficial."
"For example, I comprehend the Dao of Alchemy, while he comprehends the Dao of Space. The Dao of Space itself possesses greater destructive power than the Dao of Alchemy. So, even if I use a high-level rule, I might not be a match for his low-level rule. Thus, this division isn't very useful."
"Your man is quite something!" Old Man Zhang sighed again. "Little friend, don't worry about him. He should be fine."
As Old Man Zhang finished speaking, Bai Shengyi had already discovered a loophole in the spatial lock. It seemed Qin Si had left it as an escape route, to prevent her from being attacked, as the barrier did not block attacks from outside.
Bai Shengyi quickly exited through the loophole and strode towards the deepest part of the rift.
"Qin Si!"
She didn't stop, not even heeding the calls from Old Man Zhang and Wen Bùtíng behind her.
Wen Bùtíng watched Bai Shengyi's retreating figure, dumbfounded. "Old Man Zhang, what now?"
"What now?" Old Man Zhang shook his head, hands behind his back. "The old man's deal with little friend Bai is complete. I'm returning to the Black Market. Hey, kid, want to come along?"
"Going back already?"
Wen Bùtíng's pupils dilated in shock. He hadn't even managed to connect with Young Master Yun Qi! What was this all about?
"If you're not going back, you can follow them in, or stay here and guard," Old Man Zhang scoffed. "But I'll kindly remind you, little friend Bai is returning to the world she ascended from. If you stay here, she likely won't be back anytime soon."
As for whether they could return to Divine Revelation, Old Man Zhang narrowed his eyes. With that man's intervention, they were certain to get back.
"Wait... If I remember correctly, the Small World they are returning to is Divine Revelation? The same Small World that appeared in the Universal Secret Realm?" Wen Bùtíng suddenly realized. "Old Man Zhang, why don't we go in too?"
How could he have not thought of this? Relying on Young Master Yun Qi was pointless. The opportunity was right in front of him!
"If you want to go, go yourself," Old Man Zhang waved him away. "Do you think that's a good place?"
To get involved in such a mess, one had to consider if they had the fate for it!
"I'm going." The rift was already shrinking, meaning the two who had entered earlier had likely connected to the Divine Revelation Small World. Now, with their energy depleted, the rift was about to close. Wen Bùtíng didn't hesitate, charging headlong into it!
Fortune favors the bold. He refused to believe he didn't have the fate for it!
Bai Shengyi didn't know Wen Bùtíng had followed. After entering the rift, she quickly found Qin Si.
"Ayi..." Qin Si, who had just finished constructing the spatial通道, was alerted by the Wuji Canghan Sword and immediately walked to Bai Shengyi's side. "We can go back."
Bai Shengyi sneered, "Heh, yes, and many thanks to Celestial Lord Qin for his help."
It was evident. Bai Shengyi was genuinely angry.
The Reincarnation Brush and the others could sense Bai Shengyi's boiling fury. They all remained as quiet as chickens, choosing silence as the golden rule, daring not to challenge Bai Shengyi's temper at this moment.
Bai Shengyi scowled, not sparing Qin Si a glance, and stepped into the spatial通道.
Seeing this, Qin Si said, "The通道 is still unstable and not very safe. Ayi, let me go first."
"Scram!"
Bai Shengyi said coldly.
Qin Si narrowed his phoenix eyes. "Be good, don't make trouble."
"Trouble? You think I'm making trouble with you? Do I have nothing better to do?"
Bai Shengyi exploded. However, mindful of the instability of the place, she sneered, summoned her Heavenly Mechanism Sword, and flew into the spatial通道 on her sword.
In an instant, she disappeared from Qin Si's sight.
"Ayi!"
Qin Si's heart jolted, and he immediately pursued her.