Since the second to last Heavenly Secret Master sacrificed himself by entering the formation, and the previous Heavenly Secret Master died from poisoning, this current Heavenly Secret Master has been particularly afraid of death. He spent his days confined within the sect, not even willing to step outside.
Hua Ling Mountain Lord was about to say something when Qin Si suddenly received a message from Hua Ye, his expression instantly changing.
He stood up abruptly and said to everyone, "I apologize, esteemed seniors. Your junior has an urgent matter and needs to excuse himself. If any seniors wish to seek the divine artifacts, as per our agreement, as long as you do not violate our continent's rules, our academy will not interfere. If you require any assistance, please liaise with Cui Ming and Qian Ying."
He finished giving instructions swiftly and, without even sending a message to Wen Jiuyin and the others, he tore through space and left.
"What… what major event has happened?"
Dao Ming was stunned. He had never seen Qin Si so flustered before.
After all, even when facing Song Sheng, the young man had remained remarkably composed.
Hua Ling Mountain Lord gently speculated, "Could Dao Lord Qing Lan have met with trouble?"
On the Outer Continent, once cultivation reached the Mahayana stage, all were respectfully referred to as Dao Lords.
"But if that were the case, wouldn't our main bodies inform us?"
The boundaries and space of the Godforsaken Continent were unstable. The three of them had come here using avatars, which was why they had arrived so promptly.
At this moment, Qin Si, who was being speculated about, had arrived outside the Sang Hai Secret Realm with Cui Ming.
Seeing his extremely grim expression, Hua Ye hurriedly explained the situation he had learned and also sent for Xi Men Hong Chun and Qin San Xiang to be brought over.
Qin San Xiang was carried over. She had already been severely injured within the secret realm, and after surviving the Golden Core lightning tribulation, she was on the verge of death.
However, even in such a state, she became annoyed when Xi Men Hong Chun couldn't get to the point after a long time, and she sat up abruptly.
"Bai Daoyou and Xia Lingling went missing together. At that time, Yun You Yue used a sealing talisman from the late Nascent Soul stage, causing the surrounding space to collapse. I suspect Bai Daoyou might have fallen into a spatial rift."
Qin San Xiang finished speaking in one breath and peacefully fainted.
Hua Ye quickly had someone take her for treatment.
"Vice Principal, the Sang Hai Secret Realm has been closed early. Perhaps, should Elder Qian Ying and Elder Wen come together to reopen the secret realm and search for our young friend Bai?"
Hua Ye was merely solitary; he was not unversed in social etiquette.
The Vice Principal had specifically instructed him to receive Bai Shengyi, who was disrupting the great formation within the secret realm, indicating that Bai Shengyi was exceptionally important. Now that Bai Shengyi's life or death was unknown, the academy could not, by any means, stand by and do nothing.
"No need."
Hua Ye was taken aback. Had he guessed the Vice Principal's intentions wrong?
As he was pondering, he looked up and saw the man who had been there moments ago striding towards the secret realm.
"Vice Principal, the Sang Hai Secret Realm is unlike other secret realms; one cannot simply tear through space…"
Hua Ye fell silent as he watched the opening that Qin Si had suddenly ripped open, his exposed half-face devoid of expression.
He had thought too much.
This was Qin Si's first time entering the Sang Hai Secret Realm, and he didn't know the location of the Sang Hai Spiritual Mansion. However, this did not prevent him from finding the location where Bai Shengyi had disappeared. He directly sought Cui Ming's help.
"The little girl's scent disappeared right here," Cui Ming pointed to the mid-air not far ahead and extended her hand, transforming it into a tiger's claw and slashing through the air.
As if with a "rip," an opening appeared in the air, faintly revealing spiritual herbs and flowers.
This was a spiritual mansion hidden in mid-air.
Qin Si crudely tore through space, enduring the squeeze of the uncontrolled rules, and entered.
The two searched the Sang Hai Spiritual Mansion but found no trace of Bai Shengyi. Moreover, after searching the entire Sang Hai Secret Realm, they still couldn't find her.
"Master, why don't you… take a break?"
Cui Ming cautiously asked, looking at the man who was incessantly tearing through space and re-searching one spiritual mansion after another.
At this moment, Cui Ming dared not provoke Qin Si.
She prayed incessantly that the little girl would be alright, otherwise, wouldn't this scoundrel of a master, Qin Si, turn the entire Qi Awakening Continent upside down?
Qin Si ignored Cui Ming. After searching this spiritual mansion, he moved on to the next, which was guarded by mantis demons. He happened to run into a group of them.
This group of mantis demons, numbering about twenty, immediately attacked with bloodshot eyes upon seeing living beings. However, before they could get close to Qin Si, they were all sent flying.
"This group of demonic beasts is not right."
As a demon cultivator herself, Cui Ming immediately sensed something amiss by observing the condition of the mantis demons.
She frowned deeply, "These demonic cultivators seem… possessed?"
"But how is that possible? There is no demonic energy on our continent!" Cui Ming quickly dismissed her conclusion. "I must have seen incorrectly."
"No, you are not mistaken," Qin Si's gaze fell upon the black threads on the mantis demons, and he looked towards a faint black light in the sky. "It is the Heavenly Array's doing. If the array is not removed, it will continuously breed demonic afflictions."
This was not good news.
Qin Si said gravely, "I will continue to search for Shengyi. You return to the academy and relay this message to Wen Jiuyin and Qian Ying. Take over Jincheng in the name of the academy and strive to control the spread of demonic afflictions from the academy and Jincheng."
"Alright."
Seeing Qin Si's tense expression, Cui Ming couldn't help but say, "Don't be too nervous. Although the little girl is young, she is not inexperienced. She will surely be fine. Children grow up and need to go out and gain experience on their own."
"Look at our Xiao Yu'er; before she even reached adulthood, her father sent her out again. We haven't heard from her in a month, and neither her father nor I are worried!"
Cui Ming didn't know if Qin Si had taken her words to heart. She waved her hand and left immediately.
Qin Si silently continued to search for people, realm by realm.
He searched for a full three years.
When Cui Ming saw him again, she was utterly shocked.
"Qin Si, is this necessary? If you can't find her, you can't find her. Why are you pushing yourself so hard? Besides, spatial rifts are everywhere on the Qi Awakening Continent. Who knows, the little girl might have found her own fortune in some forgotten corner?"
"Do you want to collapse yourself before the little girl returns?"
Cui Ming suppressed her rebellious impulse and glared at Qin Si with speechless exasperation, but her eyes held concern.
This scoundrel of a master was far too insane!
Qin Si was still wearing the moon-white robes he had on the last time Cui Ming saw him, but those robes were either stained with blood or covered in dust and dirt. Qin Si’s hands, arms, and legs were all covered in wounds of varying sizes, bleeding profusely, making him look incredibly miserable and pitiful.
Especially as he stood in mid-air, the gentle breeze blew, causing his empty sleeves to flap noisily. He had become so gaunt that it seemed as if he would be blown away by the slightest gust.
When he turned around, his face was met with the sight of his whites, bloodshot and filled with capillaries, and deeply sunken eye sockets. His once extraordinarily handsome face was marred by a profound, gloomy, and sinister aura, with frost and snow swirling around him, making it impossible to get close.
If it weren't for the fact that the sun was shining brightly within the secret realm at that moment, Cui Ming would have almost believed she was in an ice plain or a snow cave!