“Year 43,999 of the Heavenly Emperor Calendar.”
“It’s already been over ten thousand years…” Ye Chu sighed.
Ye Qingyi let out a long sigh, losing all her strength.
“Over ten thousand years? You… sigh…”
Over ten thousand years.
He had known the method for over ten thousand years.
Ten thousand years… such a long time, anything could have happened.
“I transmigrated here ten thousand years ago,” Ye Chu said calmly.
“The method to go back was something I heard from someone else. To verify it, I found a fortune-teller and asked if it was real.”
“The fortune-teller said it was guaranteed, so I went, but I died on the way, so I don’t know if it would have worked.”
Ye Qingyi smiled bitterly, her smile looking especially fragile in the sunlight.
“Although this is a cultivation world, fortune-tellers aren’t considered superstition.”
“But isn’t there also the basic law of ‘Heaven’s secrets must not be leaked’ in place?”
“That’s not reliable at all.”
Ye Chu nodded, basically agreeing with Ye Qingyi’s point.
“True. That fortune-teller was being a riddle-master, not speaking plainly.”
“He only said it was guaranteed after I put a sword to his throat.”
Ye Qingyi covered her face.
‘He only said it was guaranteed after putting a sword to his throat… that means he was forced to say it, right? That’s way too unreliable!’
“Then he was just lying to you.”
Ye Chu’s voice was matter-of-fact: “Finding a fortune-teller was just for peace of mind. After knowing of such a method…”
“Even if there’s only a one in ten thousand chance, even if it’s fake, can you resist verifying it?”
Ye Qingyi answered without hesitation: “I can’t resist. I won’t let go of even a shred of possible hope.”
Ye Chu was right.
She couldn’t resist.
Even if there was only a one in ten thousand possibility, even if she knew it was fake.
She still wanted to try… because that was the hope of going home.
“Exactly.”
A hint of agreement crept into Ye Chu’s voice.
“Obsession can sometimes be an obstacle, but other times, it’s the only thing that can push you forward.”
“That method,” Ye Qingyi leaned forward, her voice trembling slightly with urgency, “what is it specifically?”
Ye Qingyi desperately wanted to know.
“Simply put,”
Ye Chu didn’t beat around the bush, his pace steady yet forceful.
“There is a place where an ancient formation is carved that can cross realms, even connect to the Blue Star. But to get there, you need to cross an extremely dangerous area.”
He paused briefly, recollecting.
“That place was in the far north ten thousand years ago. What was it called? Oh, the Xuanhai.”
“The far north… Xuanhai?”
Ye Qingyi sifted through her memories, all the geographical records, legends, and travelogues she had encountered in the eighteen years since arriving in this world.
To go home and understand this world, she had also gathered a considerable amount of information.
In the end, she could only shake her head in confusion, a flash of defeat in her eyes.
“I’ve never heard of this place… not a single memory of it.”
No, absolutely no impression.
She had read about many mountains and rivers, city ruins, dangerous lands, and secret realms…
But never a place called Xuanhai.
Was it already gone, or had it been devoured by the mist?
“That’s not strange.”
Ye Chu’s voice sounded at the right moment.
“You know, this world is different from our homeland. It has always been slowly eroded by an eerie mist.”
“And cultivators are constantly fighting against it, opening new territories or abandoning old ones. The scope of human habitation and the names of landscapes are always changing.”
“Ten thousand years have passed. Time brings great changes.”
“Perhaps Xuanhai has been completely swallowed by the mist, becoming a legendary dead zone.”
“Perhaps it still exists, but has long since changed its name, hidden in some corner of the current map.”
“What we need to do first is to figure out the current layout of this era.”
“Then, from countless messy information and changes, find a possible direction to Xuanhai, and then… keep moving forward.”
“But,” Ye Chu’s tone suddenly turned serious, like a bucket of cold water dousing the flame of hope that had just kindled in Ye Qingyi.
“Before that, there is one most fundamental and urgent problem that must be solved.”
“That is, you, Ye Qingyi, are far too weak right now.”
“So weak that you can’t even walk far out of Qingyun City, so weak that you might not even qualify to search for clues.”
Ye Qingyi lowered her head, her voice becoming soft and muffled, thick with nasality: “I’m sorry… I don’t want this either. I… I have been working hard on cultivation, not daring to slack off even a single day…”
These words carried grievance and also a deep sense of powerlessness.
She knew she was weak, no need for Ye Chu to remind her.
For these three years, every day, every moment, someone had been reminding her how weak she was.
She had given her all, cultivating every day until exhausted, until Qi ran wild in her meridians, until her whole body ached.
Yet her cultivation still dropped, and she was still mocked.
Ye Chu suddenly appeared, giving her hope of going home, telling her the method.
She thought she had finally seen the light.
But then Ye Chu said she was too weak to even leave the door.
Why did you appear, Ye Chu?
Just to tell her this?
That was too despairing.
Ye Qingyi’s reaction made Ye Chu feel a bit awkward, wondering if his words had been too harsh, and was thinking of how to comfort her.
Suddenly, Ye Qingyi seemed to remember something.
“Speaking of which! I very, very strongly suspect——it’s you, hiding inside my body all along, absorbing my Qi!”
“That’s what caused my cultivation to drop from the tenth layer all the way down to the third, and I absolutely can’t improve!”
The more she spoke, the more convinced she became.
Her face flushed red with excitement, and her chest heaved.
This is how the story should go!
Otherwise, how to explain her cultivation constantly dropping?
She had reached the tenth layer of Qi Refining at fifteen.
Her talent was definitely fine.
She had always worked hard in cultivation, never slacked off.
The only variable was Ye Chu always being inside her body!
He must be the one absorbing her Qi, causing her cultivation to regress!
Wait…
Now that Ye Chu had woken up, did that mean… her cultivation could recover, she could become strong again, and go home?
Since Ye Chu was awake, with her talent and Ye Chu’s guidance,
Her cultivation speed would soar, not to mention Ye Chu had brought her the hope of going home.
This was like a sudden turn of fortune, a comeback from the depths of despair.
She, Ye Qingyi, was indeed a phoenix heroine!
Muahaha…
Hearing this demonic laugh, Ye Chu was a bit surprised.
“You’ve also read ‘Fighting Qi Turns to Horse’?”
“I have. It’s quite popular after all,” Ye Qingyi nodded.
“I can tell you responsibly,” Ye Chu said firmly.
“Your cultivation stagnation has nothing to do with me.”
“On the contrary, one good news and one bad news.”
“The good news is, I know the reason why your cultivation has been stuck at the third layer of Qi Refining.”
“The bad news is, I can’t help you completely solve it in a short time.”
Ye Qingyi’s breath hitched.
“What is the reason?”
Not him?
Then what?
“You’ve been drugged with something called Qi Dispelling Powder.”
Ye Chu said solemnly, “As the name implies, it can quietly disperse the Qi that cultivators have painstakingly gathered.”
“The ingredients needed to refine the antidote are not rare but also not commonplace. I don’t know if all of Qingyun City can gather them.”
“But I can give you a list first, and you can try to find out which ones can be collected.”