It was actually when the competition ended yesterday that Yue Bufan wanted to find Bai Shengyi. However, the mess left by Mo Hanshuang's descent into demonic cultivation still needed to be cleaned up, and Yue Bufan had no choice but to remain at Xiaoyao Yutai.
"Do you also think they might be related to my mother?"
Yue Qingshan chose a place to meet, a cave dwelling in Nvgui City that was not open to the public. Tall broad-leaved spirit trees were planted around it, with colorful flowers blooming brilliantly. A narrow winding path snaked through the middle.
Qin Si keenly sensed Bai Shengyi's unease.
No, perhaps it couldn't be called "unease," but rather a nervous "uncertainty."
Uncertain if these were her so-called relatives, and uncertain whether these people were benevolent or malevolent.
It made sense. If her mother truly came from Yue Qingshan, why hadn't she ever seen any Yue family members at the Duke of Rong's mansion over the years?
Furthermore, neither Bai Qingjiang nor Yue Shuxin, her parents, had ever mentioned the Yue family to Bai Shengyi.
"And didn't my father come to the Divine启 world at Jueren Road back then? But now there's no trace of him."
Bai Shengyi lowered her eyes.
"Don't overthink it. If you don't like them, you don't have to acknowledge them. The Divine启 Academy and I are your backing."
Qin Si gently ruffled Bai Shengyi's hair, being careful not to mess up her hairstyle.
Bai Shengyi nodded. "I heard that the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion is said to sell everything, including information. After I meet with the Yue family, I'll go to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to look for news about my parents."
As they spoke, the two walked into the cave dwelling and saw Yue Yuangui already waiting outside.
"Young Master Yue."
The two greeted each other.
Before Yue Yuangui could react, Yue Bufan had pulled him into dealing with the mess left by Mo Hanshuang. Today, it was only with great difficulty that he managed to snatch the task of receiving them from his father.
"Dean Qin, Alchemist Bai, high-level killing formations have been set up all around here. My father was a bit worried, so he sent me to receive you both."
He smiled gently, seizing the opportunity to casually size up Bai Shengyi.
The more he looked, the more astonished he became.
Up close, he realized that Bai Shengyi's features bore a striking resemblance to the portrait of his sister at home, especially her profile when speaking with Qin Si. The contours of her face were at least ninety percent like his sister's.
Yue Yuangui was just a child when his sister went missing, and the images of her in his mind had long since been washed away by time.
He only remembered that his mother fell into despair because of this, spending her days looking at his sister's portrait and weeping. His father, overwhelmed with grief, developed a heart demon and went into seclusion for a full twenty years. As a result, Yue Qingshan, which should have opened its gates long ago, was delayed by twenty years.
"What's wrong?"
A faint question made Yue Yuangui realize with a start that he had been staring at Bai Shengyi's face in a daze.
This was not polite behavior.
He quickly averted his gaze and chuckled awkwardly, "It's nothing, I just feel that Alchemist Bai and I..."
"Rumble!"
Suddenly, a thunderclap split the sky, and a thick bolt of lightning struck mid-air, interrupting Yue Yuangui's words.
The bright sunny day suddenly darkened. The heavens and earth changed color, and clouds gathered. Countless flying sand and stones crashed around with the spiritual energy vortex.
An extremely dazzling beam of light shot out from the east, intertwined with black and white, like a giant eight trigrams yin-yang eye.
Immediately after, a vast and ancient aura swept out. The aura seemed to contain immense power that made one yearn for it, yet it was also fluctuating, sometimes weak, sometimes strong, and unpredictable.
"Is this... a new secret realm opening?" Yue Yuangui asked in astonishment.
"No," Bai Shengyi and Qin Si said in unison. "Something has happened to the Divine启 Continent!"
"Are they crazy? Are they trying to directly destroy the continent's barrier?" In Bai Shengyi's mind, the Samsara Brush was also awakened by this aura and flew out of Bai Shengyi's spiritual consciousness. "Shengyi, if you still want to ensure a period of peace for the Divine启 Continent, you must stop them quickly!"
Bai Shengyi didn't notice Yue Yuangui's shocked expression the moment the Samsara Brush flew out of her spiritual sea.
Her attention was entirely on this change. Turning her head, she directly apologized to Yue Yuangui, "Young Master Yue, I'm truly sorry, but today's meeting must be postponed. We are from the Divine启 Continent and cannot stand by and do nothing."
Qin Si felt the same.
Without waiting for Yue Yuangui to say anything, Bai Shengyi and Qin Si had already vanished from their spots.
Qin Si tore through space directly, heading towards the east.
"The ones destroying the barrier are definitely not from the Buddhist Sect or Mount Hualing. They only want the divine artifact and have signed an agreement with the academy. They won't act rashly until they find the divine artifact," Qin Si said.
Bai Shengyi's expression was grim. "But we discussed this before. Li Tingyun and the others want to use the Divine启 Continent as a mother body to nurture luck. They would be even less likely to break the barrier themselves."
Because once the barrier was broken, the Divine启 Continent would no longer be an independent world, and it would merge with the Divine启 world. At that point, even if Li Tingyun and the others extracted the Divine启 Continent's luck, it would be like robbing Peter to pay Paul, achieving nothing. On the contrary, they would be disliked and punished by the Heavenly Dao of the Divine启 world for interfering with the laws of heaven and earth.
At this moment, they were already very close to the eight trigrams yin-yang eye.
Bai Shengyi also clearly felt a heavy pressure fall upon her, relentlessly ravaging her bones, as if trying to twist them out of place.
"Pfft!"
Her qi and blood surged, and she couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
Qin Si's condition was not much better. Since he had been tearing through space all the way here, Qin Si had consumed a lot of spiritual energy. At this moment, an ice crystal umbrella materialized in mid-air, propped above their heads, blocking part of the pressure.
"It's the pressure of the Heavenly Dao," Qin Si explained. "I can't traverse the space here anymore."
"Then you rest for a while."
Bai Shengyi silently wove a barrier with her mental power and layered it on top of the ice crystal umbrella. Supporting each other, they walked forward, step by step.
Sharp wind blades cut deep marks into the stones on the ground. From time to time, stones and sand were swept up by the wind and hurled at them, only to be blocked back by Bai Shengyi's mental barrier.
Qin Si's expression suddenly changed.
"A'yi, I can hear that voice again."
"What?"
Bai Shengyi didn't react immediately.
"The voice that told me breaking the barrier wasn't the right time."
Before Bai Shengyi could ponder the information contained in Qin Si's words, she heard a deafening, furious voice echoing from a distance.
"Daoist Master Qinglan, are you truly determined to stop me? You are not from the Divine Abandoned Continent, so why bother expending so much effort for these abandoned slaves?"
This voice must have used supreme Taoist techniques. Bai Shengyi only vaguely grasped the content, and her ears were filled with a buzzing roar.