Mo Qi returned to his room and conversed with Xue Ying for a while. Chan'er came to visit again, her sole purpose being to retrieve the Star Fortune Stone.
After a moment of hesitation, Mo Qi asked, "You are not from our world. What is your intention in following us to the Light World?"
"The Galactic Heavenly Emperor has already permitted it, why are you so concerned?" Chan'er asked dismissively.
"He doesn't know you are from the Dark World, but I do," Mo Qi said, feigning anger. "I will not stand by and watch you cause trouble among us."
"Cause trouble? You worry too much," Chan'er stated righteously. "Actually, people from our Dark World are just like you; we all despise people from the Light World. They have occupied the essence of the sun. Our appearance is to oppose them."
"The Dark World always symbolizes darkness," Mo Qi remarked meaningfully.
"We reside in the Dark World, yet we grow towards the sun," Chan'er said impatiently. "Stop with the nonsense and return the Star Fortune Stone to me quickly."
Mo Qi thought for a moment. The Star Fortune Stone hadn't served much purpose for him anyway. He now primarily used the Sea Calming Divine Needle, and his other magical treasures had become practically useless. Carrying them was a waste, so it was better to give it to her and put an end to her constant pestering.
It wasn't a particularly valuable treasure; he couldn't understand why she was so persistent.
"I can give it to you, but you must understand, this item was not originally yours. I am giving it to you, not returning it," Mo Qi said, taking out the Star Fortune Stone.
Chan'er's eyes lit up.
As long as she could obtain the item, she didn't care whether it was returned or given.
"Alright, I admit you are giving it to me. Then... give it to me quickly!" Chan'er was a little impatient.
Mo Qi handed the Star Fortune Stone over. Chan'er snatched it, couldn't help but giggle twice, and then darted away.
At this moment, night fell. Xue Ying departed, and Lian Xin returned.
Lian Xin once again glared at Mo Qi with predatory intent.
Mo Qi felt a prickle of unease under her gaze. "How many stabs are you planning? Or, I'll let you stab me. After you're done, I can sleep."
Lian Xin's lips twitched. "How many stabs? What are you thinking? How could I rest until I've killed you?"
Mo Qi steeled himself. "Let's settle this," he said, producing two pills and placing them in his palm. "These are two poisonous pills. They cause instant death upon consumption. Let's each take one, and all our grievances will be settled."
Lian Xin was stunned for a moment. After a long pause, she stared into his eyes. "You don't care about Lian Xi anymore?"
"If she dies and I live, I will feel guilty. If I die and she lives, I will still worry about her. Now, if we both die, all will be settled. I believe this is the best solution," Mo Qi said resolutely.
Lian Xin shook her head. "But I don't want to die with you!"
"You're talking nonsense," Mo Qi roared. "You died long ago. Now you're shamelessly occupying someone else's body."
As he spoke, Mo Qi grabbed Lian Xin's chin with one hand and tried to force the pill into her mouth with the other. Lian Xin struggled, retreating backward, and broke free from Mo Qi's grip.
Mo Qi continued his assault, pushing the pills towards her.
Lian Xin dodged and weaved, circling around the room.
Mo Qi pursued her relentlessly, shouting as he chased, "Don't run, let's die together."
As they chased, her hair came undone, and her clothes were torn.
When Lian Xin looked back, she saw a disheveled madman with bloodshot eyes and a chilling voice, making her hair stand on end. "Come on, let's die together!"
Lian Xin was terrified. She stumbled and fell, scrambling on the ground. "I won't die with you."
Mo Qi suddenly stopped. "Then are you still going to kill me?"
"No more killing, no more killing," Lian Xin pleaded, covering her head with her hands.
Mo Qi tidied his hair, fastened his belt, and regained his composure. He sat down on the chair and said with great authority, "Xue Ying is my wife. Between husband and wife... you understand. You are quite inconvenient to her. I advise you to leave as soon as possible."
Lian Xin brushed the dust off her body and slowly stood up. "I cannot leave right now. I must first find my brother and see if he has any solutions."
"Do you have any way to contact your brother?"
"We can discuss it when we get back. We are about to leave the Galactic World, so we definitely can't contact him now."
At this moment, an alarm sounded on the flying ship. Shui Han ordered everyone to assemble on the deck.
Mo Qi, with Lian Xin, quickly went to the deck.
Gradually, everyone else also gathered on the deck.
Looking around, they saw flying ships everywhere, and their own flying ship was surrounded by the enemy.
"Who are you people? Go back immediately. This is already the territory of the Light World," a person standing on one of the opposing flying ships said. This person was tall and had a delicate face.
Her eyes showed no trace of killing intent, but her tone was extremely cold, chilling to the bone.
"We are on an envoy mission to the Light World by order of the Galactic Heavenly Emperor. Please take us to see the Queen," Shui Han said, facing the woman from a distance.
"There's no need to go. Go back. Our Queen does not wish to see you," the woman replied indifferently.
"How can we go back? We have traveled thousands of miles with a mission. How can we just turn back like this?" Ji Zhuo said before Shui Han could speak.
"You have a mission, and I have a mission. My mission is to prevent you from seeing the Queen," the woman said expressionlessly.
"Then there's no other way," Mo Qi said. "We'll have to force our way through."
Shui Han looked around. The enemy flying ships had completely surrounded their own. How could they break through?
"Forcing our way through is not an option. Let's try to persuade them," Shui Han said.
"But they are completely unyielding. They don't seem like they can be persuaded," Mo Qi said, sounding a little impatient.
"You may pass if you wish," the woman suddenly looked up at Shui Han and said. "There is an aerial castle ahead. It was once a fortress we used to fight against the Golden River World. Once, a flying ship from the Golden River World crashed into it, and after a flash of light, the fortress was petrified. If you can restore life to that aerial castle, we will let you pass."
Everyone followed her pointing finger and saw a castle ahead. It exuded a dark, lifeless aura, instilling fear at first glance. A chill ran down their spines, causing their bodies to tremble uncontrollably.
Shui Han thought to himself, this must not be a good task. If it were easy to restore life, they would have done it themselves long ago and wouldn't be waiting until today. This was clearly another way of refusing them entry.
"Let's break in," Ji Zhuo said.
"Shall we go take a look?" Mo Qi suggested. "What's the harm in looking? If we happen to think of a solution, won't the problem be solved?"
"Alright, let's go take a look first," Shui Han said.
He then turned to the woman and said, "We can try."
The woman waved her hand, and the flying ships slowly moved, forming two rows, creating a passage leading directly to the castle.
Shui Han then directed their flying ship to proceed along the passage, arriving directly below the castle.
The flying ships of the Light World still surrounded them. If anyone from the Galactic World made any other move, they would surely be attacked.
Mo Qi looked up and saw the entire castle was lifeless. A row of people stood on the castle, their eyes filled with terror, motionless, as if they were already dead. Yet, their terrified expressions were so lifelike.
After a glance, Shui Han felt a sudden sense of bewilderment. These people were clearly affected by some evil sorcery. They were dead, so how could life be restored?
Mo Qi said, "Let's go down and take a look."
Shui Han nodded and then instructed Ji Zhuo, Mo Qi, Xi Cai Fa, Min Xiao Rong, and Xue Ying to disembark and investigate, while the others remained on the flying ship to await orders.
"I want to go down too," Qin Xiao said.
Shui Han had no choice; he couldn't refuse her. He allowed her to go down.
However, Shui Han stipulated that those disembarking must obey Mo Qi's commands.
Xi Cai Fa and Ji Zhuo reluctantly agreed. The group disembarked and flew towards the castle.
Suddenly, a light barrier rose from nowhere. The bodies of several people slammed into the barrier, sending them flying backward and falling to the ground in a disheveled heap.
"I forgot to tell you," the woman said, descending from the flying ship. She glanced indifferently at the people on the ground. "Because this castle is inaccessible, we thought of restoring its life, as it has fundamentally become a dead city."
"As for the people inside, if they die, they die. Everyone dies eventually."
It was only then that Mo Qi and the others truly understood. It was the city that needed its life restored, not the people within it.
Ji Zhuo and Xi Cai Fa stood up and circled the castle. Finally, they both shook their heads. "This is too bizarre. It's not like a formation, nor like a barrier. There's really nothing we can do."
Mo Qi also slowly approached the castle and reached out to touch the "light barrier." His arm was immediately repelled.
This was indeed very much like a barrier, but unlike ordinary barriers, it was two-way. Things from the outside could not enter, and things from the inside could not come out.
Of course, there was nothing that should be coming out from inside now.
After a moment of contemplation, Mo Qi attempted to use spatial techniques and then the Sky-Opening Axe, but both attempts failed.
Mo Qi felt a bit helpless. At this moment, Min Xiao Rong walked over. She gazed in one direction, concentrating for a few moments, then looked at Mo Qi and smiled. "You can do it, with your formation."
Mo Qi felt bewildered. Can I do it?
I don't even know if I can, yet you do?
However, he hadn't initially considered approaching it from the perspective of formations. Now that he thought about it carefully, he could indeed try using a formation.
This formation was called the Cyclic Formation, specifically designed to break through formations that could not be broken.
However, this formation was meant to deal with formations. If the obstacle wasn't a formation, would it still be effective?
He suddenly felt that it should be effective.