Si Qing reached out and touched the lock on the door.
He had never seen such a lock before. Its pattern was intricate, and it felt neither like jade nor brass.
It wasn't gold, nor did it feel like silver.
It was a magical ancient lock, incredibly lustrous and golden, yet clearly not made of gold.
The lock head had at least ten keyholes.
This was not something that could be opened easily.
Si Qing picked it up and tugged at it casually. He found it was secured tightly and couldn't be budged, so he prepared to give up and turn back.
But after only a few steps, he felt a sharp pain in his primordial spirit.
It was as if something was tearing at him.
Si Qing furrowed his brows tightly. Seeing that others were still gathered around the Celestial Pond, chatting about something, he simply found a spot on the steps, turned his side to the door, and sat down to rest.
Inside the door.
Qi Yu slowly opened her eyes.
Since her ascension, her primordial spirit and spiritual energy had been constantly depleted, leaving her utterly exhausted.
She moved the chains on her wrists.
The chains, as if alive, suddenly snapped, slamming her heavily onto the ground.
Qi Yu's hands were still bound by cold shackles.
She let out a muffled groan and crawled forward a few times tentatively.
The clanking of the chains attracted Si Qing's attention outside the door.
"What was that sound?" Si Qing looked back at the locked door. Curiosity drove him closer, and he peered into the gap.
Just as he was about to get closer, Jin Yan called out from not far away, "Si Qing, let's go!"
Si Qing quickly grabbed his bamboo tube and followed.
Qi Yu, in her dazed state inside, suddenly heard Jin Yan's voice and the name he called out. Her eyes widened, and she began to desperately pound on the door, trying to call out their names.
But as soon as she opened her mouth, she felt the shackles around her neck tighten violently, gradually increasing their pressure.
Qi Yu couldn't speak, but her fingertips still clutched the doorframe, causing the chains to emit a loud noise.
From above, the divine whip, which had been hanging high, was swung through the air, striking Qi Yu heavily on the back.
Qi Yu knelt on the ground before the door, her fingertips digging into the gap, large beads of cold sweat dripping from her forehead.
Si Qing…
She was so tormented that she couldn't speak.
Si Qing's whole body trembled. Standing on the steps, he suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong? What are you thinking about here? Hurry up!" Jin Yan urged.
An Nuo and Shao Feng turned to look at Si Qing.
"I… I smell my elder sister's aura," Si Qing's voice trembled, but his tone was firm. "My elder sister is here!"
Chen Xi was startled. The next moment, without thinking, he turned towards the main hall, which was locked. "Who else is there in these Thirteen Heavens? The only place where someone might be is…"
Si Qing, along with An Nuo and Shao Feng, had already run over quickly.
"Sister… Sister, are you inside? Sister… Sister, please answer me…" Si Qing, unaware that tears were streaming down his face, knelt outside and frantically pounded on the door.
Yan Hua circled the main hall, seemingly searching for another entrance to see inside.
"Qi Yu, are you inside?" An Nuo's voice trembled. She reached out to pry at the door gap, but her wrist got stuck.
Shao Feng wanted her to pull her hand out and let him find a way.
But An Nuo clearly wasn't listening anymore. She gritted her teeth and broke her wrist, enduring the pain as she stretched her arm through the door gap.
Her fingertips, inch by inch, explored Qi Yu's face.
Qi Yu struggled to breathe. She had initially thought An Nuo wouldn't be able to reach her.
Then, she remembered that she was now a Heavenly Dao. Although she wore the character "厄" (E, meaning calamity), she was not an ordinary primordial spirit. Thus, she tentatively grasped An Nuo's hand and, on her palm, slowly wrote the two characters "阿娘" (Ā Niáng, meaning mother).