Yin Li had been uneasy since Xiong Zhuangzhuang jumped into the Yangshen Trench.
After a cup of tea, with no news from Xiong Zhuangzhuang, she grew even more worried.
A deep crease appeared on True Person Chi Yu's forehead, a flicker of worry crossing his eyes.
An hour passed.
They saw countless demonic beasts leaping down one after another, but none emerged, nor was there any movement from below.
The rosy clouds in the sky also grew fainter.
"Senior Brother, are you alright?"
"Senior Brother, have you arrived safely?"
"Senior Brother, Senior Brother!"
Yin Li sent several messages to Xiong Zhuangzhuang but received no reply.
"Elder, what should we do now?"
Yin Li couldn't sit still. Though her words were a question, she already had an answer in her heart.
Before True Person Chi Yu could even formulate a reply, Hong Luan beside him nudged him impatiently, almost knocking him over.
He turned his head irritably and saw red light flashing in Hong Luan's eyes, emitting urgent chirping sounds.
Affected by his contracted beast, True Person Chi Yu also felt a sense of restlessness.
He understood that Hong Luan was losing control.
If he forcibly restrained it, Hong Luan might act in unpredictable ways.
He finally made up his mind to go down and investigate.
He leaped up, sat cross-legged on Hong Luan's back, rolled up Yin Li and Zhou Cheng with his sleeves, and placed them behind him.
"Go down."
"Chirp!"
Hong Luan chirped joyfully, unbothered by the two juniors on its back. With a flap of its wings, it gracefully flew towards the Yangshen Trench.
Not far away.
Shiliu and Mudan also heard the clear bird song. They let out low growls and, to Xu Yi's surprised gaze, increased their speed once more, finally arriving at the Yangshen Trench before the colorful clouds disappeared.
Shiliu and Mudan were so excited their eyes turned red. If Xu Yi hadn't used spiritual energy to restrain the two demonic beasts, they would have already rushed into the Yangshen Trench.
"Xu Yi, quickly, quickly! If we don't go down now, it will be too late!"
Shiliu's voice was somewhat weak due to exhaustion, but the excitement within it was still audible.
Xu Yi patted the horse's head. "What's the rush? You haven't told me what's down there yet."
Xu Yi had glanced down; the trench was bottomless, and who knew what would happen once they went down.
She wasn't exactly looking to die.
"I don't know either, but there must be something of immense importance to demonic beasts down there. If we don't go now, it will truly be too late! Xu Yi!"
Shiliu pawed the ground restlessly, its tail swishing rapidly.
Mudan dared not get angry at Lu Zaiye, so it could only whimper softly, its large, watery blue eyes blinking at Lu Zaiye.
"Lu Zaiye, what do you think?"
Xu Yi pondered for a moment, not daring to make a decision, and instead asked Lu Zaiye for his opinion.
Lu Zaiye's expression was calm. "It can be tried."
He had already guessed what lay below.
A thousand years had passed, and a still-functional trial ground was hidden here.
He subtly glanced at Xu Yi, a complex emotion flashing in his deep eyes.
There seemed to be some special connection between Xu Yi and that person. What was it?
With Lu Zaiye's approval, Xu Yi inexplicably felt a sense of calm.
She stroked Shiliu's ear and said, "Let's go. Be careful when you jump down, and don't let me fall."
"Hiss!"
Shiliu neighed towards the sky, spread its wings, and leaped down without hesitation.
Seeing this, Snow Leopard glanced at Lu Zaiye. Noticing that he had closed his eyes again, it cautiously followed.
After Shiliu leaped into the Yangshen Trench, Xu Yi was plunged into darkness, only hearing the whistling wind.
For some reason, her heartbeat grew faster and faster.
Thump! Thump!
Only the sound of her heartbeat echoed in her mind.
A suffocating sensation also spread from her chest, as if a large hand was squeezing her heart.
Just as she thought she couldn't hold on any longer, a blindingly strong light pierced the darkness, instantly snatching away her consciousness.
...
When Xu Yi opened her eyes, she was momentarily disoriented, even feeling a fleeting illusion of having died.
This was because everything within her sight was a blank expanse, like a completely sealed space where even time had frozen.
She pushed herself up, scanned her surroundings, and clenched her fist tightly.
What place was this?
Had she been trapped again?
The two hundred years of dark and desolate secret realm life flashed rapidly through her mind.
Xu Yi shivered violently and quickly probed her divine sense into her storage ring, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Fortunately, to prevent similar incidents, she had filled her storage ring with countless jade slips and storybooks.
Without exaggeration, these items were enough to support her here for another thousand years.
Having resolved the most critical issue, Xu Yi finally remembered the communication disk at her waist.
She quickly sent a message to Lu Zaiye.
"Lu Zaiye, I'm trapped in a white space. How are you doing?"
"Lu Zaiye, can you hear me?"
"Lu Zaiye, respond if you hear me, respond if you hear me!"
After waiting for a long time without a reply, Xu Yi frowned and sent messages to others with the communication disk.
"Pu Tao, Pu Tao, are you there?"
"Elder Qing Feng, can you receive my message?"
"Elder Liu..."
"Elder Chen..."
After calling out to everyone, Xu Yi had to accept the fact that this place was isolated from message transmission.
She stood up, dispersed her divine sense, trying to find any anomaly in this place.
However, this white space seemed to have no boundaries. Even when her divine sense extended to its limit, she found no abnormality.
She took out her Divine Sailing Ship, boarded it, and piloted it eastward.
Two days later, the Divine Sailing Ship stopped, and Xu Yi jumped off it, grumbling.
This method was not working.
Xu Yi forced herself to calm down. Shiliu had said there was something very important to demonic beasts below, yet this white space where she had fallen had nothing.
Was it because the special existence below was only open to demonic beasts, or had she failed to find a way to break through the white space?
Xu Yi leaned towards the latter possibility.
If that was the case, perhaps she should consider it from a different perspective.
The purpose of this white space might not just be to trap her, but also a test.
Only by passing the test could she get out.
With this thought, Xu Yi sat down cross-legged again, contemplating.
Break through, break through...
Break!
Xu Yi's eyes lit up, regretting her oversight for not thinking of it sooner.
If it was meant to be broken through, then there must be a formation here. If she could find the formation's core, she could leave this place.
After a burst of excitement, Xu Yi's expression froze. This white space looked simple, but breaking through it would be extremely difficult.
Xu Yi gazed at the vast white space, lost in thought.