Bai Shengyi hurried to find someone, but to her surprise, she missed them.
"You're looking for Daoist Shan Cheng? He left Qianlian City three months ago and closed his shop," the proprietor of the Chongya Inn said.
Bai Shengyi was stunned.
Three months ago? That didn't align with the information the Bai family had received. Wasn't it reported that Bai family scouts had encountered Daoist Shan Cheng in Qianlian City only half a month ago?
"My father wouldn't tamper with the information. Therefore, this person is indeed suspicious."
The sun was particularly fierce today. Qin Si took out an umbrella from his storage bag and naturally held it over Bai Shengyi's head, asking, "What are your plans now? It's possible this is a trap set for the Bai family."
Bai Shengyi replied, "I'll know once I go and explore."
Parallel to Qianlian City, within the desolate expanse of the Netherworld and the path of no return.
Just like when she participated in the academy assessment, Qianlian City was bustling with people. However, as they neared the three locations—Netherworld Valley, Path of No Return, and Qianlian Sea—the crowds visibly thinned. Gradually, the population became sparser, and only Bai Shengyi and Qin Si remained on the road.
"I'm not very familiar with the Path of No Return, A'yi. Don't wander off later," Qin Si tilted the umbrella further towards Bai Shengyi. For some reason, he was reminded of the time Bai Shengyi inadvertently broke the sky in Netherworld Valley.
He cleared his throat, "The Path of No Return is similar to Netherworld Valley; there are many spatial rifts. Try not to break the sky again."
Bai Shengyi couldn't help but twitch her lips. "It wasn't intentional the last time. Who knew the Samsara Brush was so powerful? And that this seemingly ordinary continent held so many hidden secrets?"
Bai Shengyi felt rather wronged.
"You admit it was the last time?" Before Bai Shengyi could speak, Qin Si patted her head. "Good girl. When the time is right in the future, I'll let you break the sky to your heart's content."
Bai Shengyi thought: Thank you! But no thank you!
As they spoke, the two arrived at the entrance of the Path of No Return.
As the most perilous of the three dangerous locales, the entrance to the Path of No Return possessed an aura of extreme coldness and finality.
Two thousand-zhang-tall peaks stood opposite each other, revealing a narrow path between them that could only accommodate one person at a time.
At a glance, the path seemed bottomless, with fierce winds howling and occasional white bones being swept out, as if to inform intruders: trespassers shall meet only death!
"This is the Spiritual Connection Bracelet. If we get separated after entering, we can use this to track each other's location."
Qin Si placed a white jade bracelet, adorned with a six-pointed star, onto Bai Shengyi's hand. Bai Shengyi saw two bright little dots, like stars, appear closely together on the six-pointed star.
Qin Si gave Bai Shengyi this item as a precaution. However, neither of them expected to be separated immediately upon entering.
"Qin Si?"
Bai Shengyi instinctively felt that the hand she was holding was wrong. Before she could even turn her head, her hand had already let go of the other person's. She summoned the Samsara Brush, which transformed into a long sword, and swung it towards them.
"Thwack!"
The long sword pierced Qin Si's shoulder. He said, with pain and sorrow, "A'yi, what are you doing? Why are you suddenly attacking me? Thankfully, I dodged..."
"You're not Qin Si, who are you?"
Bai Shengyi's gaze instantly turned cold.
Qin Si wouldn't have such a hypocritical look in his eyes, nor would he speak with such an innocent tone.
"Qin Si" frowned, his expression changing instantly, and he chided, "A'yi, how can you not recognize even me? If I'm not Qin Si, then who else could I be?"
Bai Shengyi's expression grew even colder. A fierce gust swept out, and with another sword strike, she lunged forward.
The opponent twisted its body in a strange manner, narrowly dodging the attack.
Bai Shengyi watched the opponent contort Qin Si's body in such an inexplicable way, becoming even more enraged.
Shameless! My precious Ah Si would never look like this.
"Turn back for your Grandma!"
Bai Shengyi unleashed a barrage of attacks. "Qin Si" could no longer maintain his pretense, emitting black smoke and transforming into a black snake as thick as an adult, its tongue hissing. "Little girl, you court death!"
Its tail whipped fiercely towards Bai Shengyi, but Bai Shengyi's movements were even quicker. A flash of her sword passed, and it had already struck the snake's vulnerable seven inches!
The black snake let out a pained cry, transforming into wisps of black smoke and disappearing.
"What kind of ghost is this!" Bai Shengyi frowned. She raised her hand to look at the Spiritual Connection Bracelet. On the six-pointed star, only her own star was lit; Qin Si's had vanished.
Bai Shengyi's brow furrowed even tighter. "Could it be that Qin Si is in another space?"
She looked up at her surroundings. Ahead, a winding path continued into an unknown place. Both sides and behind were shrouded in a vast expanse of white mist, and the sky above was dim.
It was gloomy, exuding an ominous aura.
Before entering, Qin Si had told Bai Shengyi about some of the more famous locations within the Path of No Return. However, this place matched none of them. Bai Shengyi continued along the path, and after a short while, something new appeared at the end of the road.
A village.
"Oh dear, Young Master, this servant has finally found you!"
As soon as Bai Shengyi stepped into the village, she was grabbed by the hand by a stout, plump auntie dressed in a floral outfit. The plump auntie caught her and launched into a long string of reprimands.
"You are truly something! You know the Master is coming to check your sword practice progress today, so why did you run outside? Didn't this servant tell you that you are the Young Master of the Sun family and all you need to do is practice your sword, practice it well... Oh, Young Master, are you even listening to what this servant is saying?"
The plump auntie spoke for a long time without receiving any response, her voice immediately rising in pitch.
Bai Shengyi was astonished by the changes to her own body.
From the moment she stepped into this village, her body had shrunk to that of a six or seven-year-old girl, and the spiritual energy within her was minimal.
"I heard," Bai Shengyi replied, then tentatively asked, "I'm clearly a girl, why are you calling me Young Mas—" She was cut off by the plump auntie clamping her mouth shut.
"My Young Master! Don't talk nonsense! You are the Young Master of our Sun family, understand! When the Master arrives later, you must perform well. This way, the Madam will surely be happy today, and this servant will also benefit from your success..."
"Where is Sun Ying?"
A voice inquired from ahead. The plump auntie immediately fell silent, cradling Bai Shengyi as she hurried forward.
"Master, the Young Master is here."
Bai Shengyi looked up and saw a middle-aged man standing with his hands behind his back. Upon closer inspection, he bore a resemblance to the Sun family patriarch she had met before.
How strange.
Bai Shengyi suppressed this doubt in her heart and, following the middle-aged man's instructions, took the sword handed to her by the plump auntie and began to practice.
She had never systematically learned swordsmanship and had no idea what the role of the young master she was currently playing entailed. However, she guessed that she might have fallen into an illusion, but the illusion was far too realistic in terms of character portrayal and the surrounding environment.
While pondering, Bai Shengyi executed the "Breaking Moon Flowing Shadow" she had learned during her sparring session with Li Yihui.
However, this body was too small, and the sword in her hand felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds, not at all like something a child would use. Her movements were exceptionally sluggish and strenuous.
After completing her sword forms, Bai Shengyi herself felt that her performance was abysmal. Yet, the plump auntie, unprompted, clapped her hands in praise.
"Oh! Master, look quickly! Our Young Master has performed so well today! Truly like you, he's a sword prodigy! Master, don't you agree?"