But it was too late.
A verdant long sword sliced through the air, and with a deafening roar, the hole Qin Si had just managed to mend was further ripped open.
His efforts to repair it had been in vain.
In all his years traveling through Shenqi, Qin Si had never encountered such a preposterous situation. The frustration on his face seemed almost tangible.
"Wh... what's wrong? I just wanted to teach it a lesson," Bai Shengyi said, feeling a pang of guilt at Qin Si's "mournful" gaze.
"Do you know who it is?" Qin Si pressed. For the first time, he realized Bai Shengyi wasn't always rational.
Bai Shengyi rolled her eyes, "Who else could it be? The Heavenly Dao, obviously." She mouthed the last three words, not daring to speak them aloud.
She wasn't foolish. Such abnormal heavenly lightning could only be directed by the Heavenly Dao.
Bai Shengyi frowned. "I know the heavenly lightning struck me because I previously tore through the heavens, but why did it have to strike you too? It's completely unreasonable, that's why I couldn't help myself..."
"A'yi, you've misunderstood. This lightning didn't strike me," Qin Si explained with a helpless laugh.
Only then did Bai Shengyi notice that despite the lightning filling the sky and relentlessly pursuing her, Qin Si stood calmly in the air, untouched by even a single thread of lightning.
Oh.
"This isn't my fault," Bai Shengyi said with a hint of sourness. "I looked for you for ages and couldn't find you. I thought you... never mind. What do we do now? Do we need to fix it again?"
"Yes, I'll fix it. You just wait here for me," Qin Si said, and before he turned away, he conjured several layers of barriers around Bai Shengyi as a precaution.
As Bai Shengyi watched him, her gaze fell on the bloodstains on his robe. She smiled faintly. "Qin Si, I don't want to just stand here waiting for you. Is there anything I can help with?"
Qin Si paused. He had forgotten that Bai Shengyi was never one to rely on others, like a clinging vine.
His red robe swept past as his slender fingers covered Bai Shengyi's wrist. Casually, he led her by the hand, dispersing the descending lightning.
"Then you can come with me."
With that, he guided Bai Shengyi through the web of lightning and into the shattered layers of the continental barrier.
Qian Ying arrived just in time to witness this scene. Relief washed over her; with Qin Si present, her junior sister would surely be safe.
She turned to search for the other students, but her gaze fell upon Yun Youyue, who was catching up on a magical artifact.
Qian Ying's crimson pupils narrowed slightly. "This little genius from the Artifact Refining Peak has something special about her. My speed just now was faster than most Nascent Soul cultivators, yet she's only slightly behind. Interesting."
"Martial Uncle Qian Ying," Yun Youyue said, keeping a safe distance from the lightning. A trace of worry marred her usually proud face as she reminded Qian Ying, "If you haven't found Martial Uncle Bai, you could look for Qing Bulí's whereabouts."
"Oh?" Qian Ying raised a delicate eyebrow.
Yun Youyue's expression remained unchanged. "Before the anomaly began, Qing Bulí stole my Xingluo Dihuan. I know Martial Uncle Bai is also here for this item, so..."
"So, you want to use me for what?" Qian Ying sneered.
Yun Youyue paused. "Martial Uncle Qian Ying misunderstands me. I know Martial Uncle Bai needs this item to heal her eyes, but Martial Uncle Bai has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage. It won't matter if her eyes aren't healed, will it? Besides, she can't possibly keep such a heaven-defying treasure."
Her voice carried an innate superiority, lofty and condescending.
"Moreover, I need it more than Martial Uncle Bai. Therefore, if Qing Bulí is found, whether the Xingluo Dihuan is in his hands or Martial Uncle Bai's, as long as Martial Uncle Bai is willing to give it to me, I will have my father help refine the highest-grade magical artifacts as compensation for both of them."
Yun Youyue finished speaking unhurriedly, awaiting Qian Ying's response.
In her mind, her reasoning was so sound that Qian Ying wouldn't refuse her proposal.
"How interesting. This is the first time anyone has dared to tell me what to do! Little girl, did your father not tell you not to try and take advantage of us Qianxiao Peak people?"
Qian Ying suddenly closed the distance to Yun Youyue, preparing to teach her a small lesson. But just then, Yun Youyue crushed a talisman in her hand, and her figure vanished!
"Spatial Teleportation Talisman!"
A look of shock flashed across Qian Ying's charming face. Hadn't this been lost for ages? How could Yun Youyue possess one?
Could it be that her father, an artifact refiner, had obtained it for her?
As Qian Ying pondered, she saw a dedicated signal flare from the academy explode in the west. Her gaze deepened, and she changed her mind about leaving.
Indeed, a short while later, a large group appeared in the secret realm. Ling Yue stood expressionlessly to the side, followed by four dejected students who looked like frost-bitten eggplants.
Qian Ying looked at Ling Yue and saw his gaze sweep over Ying Shengchong, the Peak Master of Artifact Refining, the artifact refiner Yun Kai, and Qiu Xia, the Peak Master of Talismans.
Qian Ying's gaze turned serious. "Patriarch Sun, Patriarch Mei, Patriarch Tang, what is the meaning of this? Peak Master Ying, Peak Master Qiu, why don't you two escort these three family heads out of the secret realm immediately? If anything were to happen in the secret realm, who would bear the responsibility?"
"Heh heh, Venerable Qian Ying, you jest. We old folks are not important. What's important now is, what has happened to the Qianyun Secret Realm?"
Patriarch Tang steered the conversation towards the Qianyun Secret Realm with a few words.
"What else could it be? It's just that group of people who refuse to give up and want to sneak into our territory," Qian Ying dismissed it lightly.
Before Patriarch Tang could speak again, she added, "If Patriarch Tang has doubts, you can also join the academy's Heaven Mending Squad. Coincidentally, we are still short of Tang family's colored glaze..."
"I believe you. Of course, I believe you," Patriarch Tang quickly interrupted Qian Ying, forcing a wry smile.
To joke about it, if Qian Ying continued speaking, the Tang family would end up contributing their ancestral treasure to the Heaven Mending Squad!
"Venerable Qian Ying, let's not beat around the bush. Those people can't possibly cause such a huge commotion, right?"
Patriarch Sun, seeing Patriarch Tang back down so easily, inwardly scorned him and felt compelled to step forward himself.
He pointed at the celestial phenomenon not far away and chuckled, "This is clearly the sign of a treasure emerging! Since ancient times, there have been rumors that the Qianyun Secret Realm contains the spiritual treasure Xingluo Dihuan. Venerable Qian Ying, as for such a rare treasure, whoever is fated to obtain it, I presume the academy will not prevent our three great families from investigating it, right?"
Qian Ying inwardly cursed these old fellows for their shamelessness!
As she was about to retort, Qiu Xia, standing nearby, said gently, "Naturally, we will not. Our academy has always been..."
"Public and private matters are distinct. We have dignity and self-respect," Qian Ying couldn't help but interject, sneering, "I had no idea that our Shenqi Academy's secret realm could be casually investigated by anyone. Has our Shenqi Academy run out of people?"
"Qiu Xia, if you want to return to the Sun family and become Madam Sun, resign your position as Peak Master and leave. You're using the academy's resources to curry favor with the Sun family. What is the meaning of this?"
Qian Ying completely dropped all pretense of civility and looked coldly at everyone. "I advise you all to leave quickly, otherwise..."
"Otherwise, what can you do? Venerable Qian Ying, although your cultivation is high, don't forget, there are six of us here," Patriarch Sun said, his face darkening.
Never before had anyone dared to insinuate that he was shameless and devoid of self-respect.
"Exactly. Venerable Qian Ying, let's all take a step back. Wouldn't it be mutually beneficial?" Qiu Xia's expression also turned grim, her gaze fixed coldly on Qian Ying.
"You're talking nonsense!" Qian Ying shouted angrily.
"You! You are simply ungrateful!" Qiu Xia glanced at Patriarch Sun and continued, "Since that's the case, then don't blame us for being impolite. I don't believe you, alone, can stop so many of us!"
Ying Shengchong wanted to say something, but Yun Kai patted his shoulder and shook his head. Seeing this, Ying Shengchong hesitated for a moment before ultimately saying nothing, tacitly siding with the three family heads and Qiu Xia.
The atmosphere was tense, on the verge of erupting.
Just then, a cold voice echoed from the sky, like a frost-covered blade.
"Is that so? What if you add me to the equation?"