“Ha ha, you all have been chatting so much? I just accidentally fell to the ground and passed out, only now waking up.”
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, the just-awakened Li Muqun rubbed the fist mark on his face and said awkwardly.
Not far away, Luo Dan’er turned her face away in embarrassment, her delicate cheeks flushed red enough to drip water, her eyes a mixture of shame and anger, yet she dared not look directly at Li Muqun.
Meanwhile, Zuo Qiuli, who had been watching the scene unfold, was already laughing as if she had no regard for heaven or earth.
She stood with her hands on her hips, the Dao Fruit on her chest trembling, and even a few tears squeezed out from the corners of her eyes.
“So lively, so lively.”
“Li Muqun, choosing to fuse and coexist with you was definitely my best decision!”
“Yeah, right!”
Seeing this schadenfreude instigator, Li Muqun was infuriated beyond measure.
“How on earth did I offend you?! You only seem satisfied when I’m made a fool of!”
“Hmph! You still have the nerve to talk?!”
At the mention of this, the once beaming Zuo Qiuli’s expression tightened as she snorted coldly in displeasure:
“Touching others’ tails in broad daylight and then denying you’re a pervert?!”
“Ha, when did I ever touch your tail? I’m a gentleman! Don’t slander me…”
Li Muqun indignantly retorted, but before he could finish, his gaze suddenly fell on Zuo Qiuli’s blue tail swaying back and forth in the air.
Up and down, like a soft feather brush, it traced elegant patterns in the air.
“Ahem, let’s get down to business first.”
Feeling guilty, he changed the subject and took a few steps forward, only then realizing the three of them were standing atop a high cliff.
Looking down from the cliff, their view was blocked by a thick layer of clouds.
Seeing Li Muqun staring curiously, Zuo Qiuli spoke up to remind him, “Below this is Luozhilan’s Sea of Consciousness.
Although I haven’t seen a Golden Core cultivator’s Sea of Consciousness before, I guarantee it will surprise us greatly.”
“Greatly surprise us, huh.” Li Muqun murmured.
Suddenly remembering something, he dashed over to Zuo Qiuli, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her hard.
“Woc, Zuo Qiuli, isn’t my True Form still outside!? What if Luozhilan loses her temper and really turns me into a Human Swine?”
“That would be your problem.” Zuo Qiuli pushed him away, rolled her eyes, and said calmly, “Don’t worry, we’re operating inside her Sea of Consciousness now. Luozhilan isn’t an idiot; she’ll probably guess our intentions. Therefore, she’ll sever the connection between her body and Sea of Consciousness to prevent us from finding any clues about that Obsession through her emotional fluctuations.”
Seeing Li Muqun looking dazed, she tapped his forehead forcefully and said in frustration, “Simply put, you don’t need to worry about anything Outside the Sea of Consciousness, but that also makes it much harder for us to search for that Obsession here.”
“That’s good, that’s good.”
Li Muqun breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
At that moment, Luo Dan’er, who had been silently blushing nearby, suddenly changed expression and spoke seriously, “Look, the color of the sky is changing.”
The three raised their heads simultaneously.
The once ink-black sky suddenly shimmered with many vivid, rich colors.
These painterly hues merged stroke by stroke, finally forming a heavily made-up, seductive face.
“Qunnu, where do you think you can run?”
A thunderous voice rang out from the clouds, scolding in unison, echoing throughout the Sea of Consciousness.
“What the hell is going on?” Li Muqun’s PTSD flared up, and he looked around helplessly at Zuo Qiuli.
But the Qingqiu Fox Woman’s expression did not change; she quietly murmured, “No wonder a Golden Core old cultivator can control their Divine Sense to this extent.”
“Stop flattering them! What do we do now?!”
Zuo Qiuli lowered her head and threw a small chestnut at the anxious Li Muqun’s head.
“You don’t get it? The small stick yields to the big stick.”
Without waiting for a reply, she lightly tapped Luo Dan’er’s forehead.
The girl’s figure shifted, transforming into the Golden Boat glowing with golden light.
Zuo Qiuli pulled Li Muqun aboard the boat and lowered her head to instruct:
“This isn’t the time for jokes. From now on, stay alert! I’ll control the direction; Luo Dan’er, you focus on handling any Barriers and Sect-Prohibiting Restrictions on the way.”
The Golden Boat slightly nodded as if responding.
“What about me?” Seeing Zuo Qiuli standing at the front of the boat, transformed into the helmsman, Li Muqun felt like an invisible man and couldn’t help but ask.
“You? Rest and conserve your energy. I have other plans for you!”
That sounded strange—don’t be so mysterious!
Li Muqun’s unease grew, but before he could say more, with a “boom,” the Golden Boat soared straight off the cliff and plunged downward.
“Ah!!!”
A fierce sense of weightlessness engulfed him.
Since the Foundation Establishment stage, Li Muqun had never experienced such rapid falling.
This uncontrollable sensation overwhelmed him again, and he couldn’t help but scream.
Meanwhile, the vivid colors in the sky surged again, coalescing into a giant hand that reached out toward the three falling figures.
Li Muqun had no time to care about the threat behind him.
He pressed his whole body against the boat, clutching it tightly, not daring to move.
The little boat shot like a cannonball through the thick cloud layer, gradually slowing until it hovered in the air.
Suddenly, faint white specks of light shone onto Li Muqun’s face, prompting him to open his eyes.
Below the clouds, a palace made of white jade shimmered faintly in the mist, exuding a gentle white glow.
Li Muqun struggled to find adequate words to describe it.
Magnificent? Chilly? Solemn? Sacred?
Yes, and yet none of these.
No building from his past life could compare to the impact of this White Jade Immortal Palace.
If he had to use human words to describe it, only one could barely capture it: “immortal.”
Extraordinary and detached from the mundane world, standing proudly alone.
Yet, the originally flawless White Jade Immortal Palace now looked as if a mischievous child had recklessly splattered ink on it.
The pristine white walls were covered with dense, spiderweb-like, multicolored stains.
Just as he was staring in stunned disbelief, a thunderous voice full of rage sounded behind him:
“Qunnu! You won’t escape my palm!”
Woc, my master is still chasing me!
He anxiously patted Zuo Qiuli in front of him, but she ignored him, concentrating on the White Jade Immortal Palace as if searching for something.
“Zuo Qiuli, I’m begging you, can you stop dawdling? This is no time to dilly-dally!”
Just as the multicolored hand loomed above their heads, ready to grab them all, Zuo Qiuli suddenly smiled faintly.
Her fair fingers pointed at the window of the White Jade Immortal Palace most severely corroded by the multicolored stains.
“This is it! Let’s go!”
She stomped hard, and the Golden Boat formed by Luo Dan’er immediately accelerated.
With a whoosh, it became a blur too fast to hear and directly crashed into the window.
“Qunnu—!”
The giant hand missed its target and let out a deafening roar that shook the entire White Jade Immortal Palace.
Having burst into the palace, Li Muqun felt his vision blur, countless sharp white lights stabbed his eyes, making them unable to open.
When his sight cleared, the White Jade Immortal Palace was nowhere to be seen.
Beside him were a small creek, green grass, sparkling starlight, and an ancient tree that seemed to have lived through countless years.
The stream flowed gently along the riverbank, while cicadas hid in the shadows, chirping incessantly.
What a perfect midsummer night scene.
Li Muqun steadied himself and stood on the soft earth, unable to help but ask, “Where is this?”
“This is Luozhilan’s Memory Depths.”
A blue fox suddenly jumped onto his left shoulder from behind and spoke slowly.
“Memory Depths?”
“Exactly. This should be… Mother’s memories from her childhood.”
Beside him, Luo Dan’er had once again transformed into human form and stood still, her gaze drifting toward a nearby spot.
There, a little girl, resembling Luo Dan’er in appearance by nearly ninety percent, wearing a white Dao robe, was squatting beside the stream, crying uncontrollably.