The Buddhist disciple nodded, feeling the same way.
Qi Yu, however, didn't pay it much mind. She walked in boldly, saying, "What's the big deal? At most, I'll just die in there."
Everyone looked at Qi Yu in shock.
They couldn't understand how she could say such a thing with such conviction.
Qi Yu glanced at them, seeing their disbelieving gazes. She earnestly defended herself, "That's how it is. Even though I'm the Heavenly Dao now, I still feel I should cause my own existence to perish and transcend the Three Realms."
"My sister means that if she can live, she will, and if she can't, then death is of no consequence, as she's experienced all she should," Si Qing translated for Qi Yu.
Upon hearing Si Qing's words, Yan Hua looked at Qi Yu with a meaningful gaze:
"You've experienced everything? I don't think so. Like the taste of love, haven't you completely missed out on that? Alas, although it's said that those who achieve the Great Dao must be uninhibited and abandon worldly attachments, I believe how can one truly know love without the desire to love?"
The Buddhist disciple looked at Yan Hua in astonishment, "Ancestor Dragon, are you instructing the Heavenly Dao to learn about love?"
Yan Hua looked at the Buddhist disciple strangely, "How can you say that? I'm not telling the Heavenly Dao to fall in love. I'm merely telling the Heavenly Dao that these emotions, whether love or other feelings, are beneficial for development."
"But..." the Buddhist disciple wanted to say that he hadn't said it like that just now, but before he could finish, he suddenly felt the surrounding bright light intensifying.
Immediately after, the entrance to the secret realm seemed to exert a pull, suddenly transforming into a vortex that sucked them all in.
The madman, without even finishing his sentence, fainted from the sudden dizziness.
...
When Qi Yu woke up again, she found herself in a bizarre world.
Metal boxes whizzed past her.
She sat on the hard ground, looking around with confusion, feeling that this place was unlike anything she had ever seen.
"Miss, miss, are you alright? Oh dear, why are you sitting here?" A strangely dressed elderly woman approached, saw Qi Yu, and immediately reached out to help her up.
Qi Yu tested herself and found that her spiritual power was still intact.
There was nothing wrong with her body.
She could even control the clouds within this secret realm.
But the environment of this secret realm was something she had never seen or witnessed before. She found it very strange, wondering why those metal boxes could move so fast.
And they seemed to have wheels like carriages underneath.
Qi Yu, dazed, was helped up. After regaining her senses, she thanked the elderly woman who was supporting her.
The elderly woman waved her hand, "Oh, it's nothing. I saw you sitting by the roadside, which was quite dangerous. I was afraid you'd get hit by a car. It's raining so hard, why are you sitting here alone?"
"Your ancient costume looks very pretty. Are you playing cosplay? Just like my granddaughter, my granddaughter loves cosplay."
Qi Yu looked at her, completely bewildered.
What was that?
She felt a bit confused, sensing that this secret realm was different from any place she had been before, but she couldn't quite articulate it.
She decided not to dwell on it and instead tried to get closer to the elderly woman, "I suddenly felt dizzy, which is why I fell. Thank you so much. But what is this place called?"
The elderly woman looked at Qi Yu with some confusion, hesitated for a long time, and then asked, "Miss, are you asking what this road is called? This place is called Binhe Road. The department store is just ahead."
Qi Yu said "oh" and nodded.
She still didn't understand a single word.
What was that place? What was this road?
Qi Yu squatted down and picked at the cement ground, tapping it lightly. The ground felt very solid.
The elderly woman looked at Qi Yu, finding the girl rather peculiar. And for some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that the girl, standing in the heavy rain, didn't seem to have gotten her clothes very wet.
Qi Yu glanced at the elderly woman, saw her staring blankly, and even reaching out to touch her dry clothes. After touching them, she showed a look of shock. Qi Yu's heart fluttered, and she quickly touched the elderly woman's forehead, erasing the memories of herself from the woman's mind.
After erasing the memories, Qi Yu quickly ran to a deserted spot, tapped her foot, and flew into the air, sitting on the clouds to look down.
As she looked down, she frowned, wondering where everyone else had gone and how she could reunite with them.
While thinking, she mentally summoned Si Qing.
After summoning for a while, she found no response.
Qi Yu began to panic. Could it be that the powerful spiritual energy surge had caused them to be separated in this world and fall unconscious, and they hadn't woken up yet?
Qi Yu rubbed her temples, cast an invisibility spell on herself, jumped down from the clouds, and walked along the street where she had been.
Once she reached a crowded area, she began to observe the girls who looked similar to her in appearance and see what they were wearing.
After observing and learning enough, she used her magic to conjure similar clothes and shoes.
She also changed her hairstyle.
Convinced that she no longer looked out of place, Qi Yu then removed her invisibility spell in a hidden spot and began to search for the others.
Meanwhile, in a certain alley.
Si Qing propped himself up with his hands on the ground and looked at the unfamiliar small alley with a confused expression.
What was this place? It didn't look like land with spiritual energy.
And what were those two wheeled things leaning against the tree in front of him? They looked like they were made of iron.
Si Qing leaned closer and squatted down, gently tapping the handlebars of a bicycle.
He had never seen such a thing before and found it very strange.
Si Qing studied it for a while. Just as he was about to get up to find his sister, he heard the sound of children's laughter from behind him.
Si Qing turned around and saw a child who looked about ten years old. He tilted his head, about to ask the child's name, when he heard the child curiously ask, "Brother, your ancient costume skirt is so pretty. Are you playing cosplay? Just like my sister, you like cosplay too."
"Where did you buy this set? How much did it cost? Can you send me the shop's link?"
Si Qing fell silent.
...What was that thing?