The giant bird carried the ore cart full of light stones for over a thousand li westward, finally landing in a vast basin and dumping the light stones from the cart in the center.
Then, the giant bird took the ore cart and flew back towards the mine.
Ye Ling followed the giant bird to the basin. In the center of the basin, the light stones were piled up like mountains, their dazzling radiance illuminating the entire basin as if it were daytime.
"Is this the giant bird's nest? It's collected so many light stones. It must consider this ore a treasure..."
Ye Ling didn't pursue the giant bird further. Instead, he went to the base of the light stone mountain in the center of the basin and scanned the entire mountain with his divine soul.
"Something's wrong... there's someone beneath this light stone mountain!"
The moment Ye Ling scanned the light stone mountain with his divine soul, he discovered a long-haired girl suppressed beneath the mountain.
This entire light stone mountain was used to suppress the long-haired girl!
"That girl's cultivation isn't strong. Even in Earth's cultivation world, she'd be considered at most sixth-grade. Why use so many light stones?"
Ye Ling, upon finding the long-haired girl beneath the light stone mountain, had an eighty percent certainty that the suppressed girl was Bai Lan, whom he was looking for.
"No matter what, I'll save her first!"
Without any hesitation, Ye Ling used the Myriad Realms Insight to pass through the sealing formation, rescuing the long-haired girl from beneath the light stone mountain. Simultaneously, he used his power of creation combined with life and death energy to recreate an identical long-haired girl and place her beneath the light stone mountain.
Having stealthily completed the "tanuki for prince" switch, Ye Ling immediately retreated to the edge of the basin with the long-haired girl and awakened her from her slumber.
Under the cleansing of Ye Ling's pure spiritual energy, the long-haired girl gradually regained consciousness. Her beautiful eyes opened, still filled with endless confusion.
"Who are you?"
The long-haired girl opened her eyes and saw Ye Ling, asking, and to Ye Ling's surprise... this long-haired girl was completely different from everyone else in this illusory realm... her voice was unaffected by the special space-time and could easily reach his ears!
It was then that Ye Ling noticed that the long-haired girl's time had not stopped. She was like the only exception in this illusory realm!
"Bai Lan?" Ye Ling calmed his emotions and asked the long-haired girl.
"You know me?" Bai Lan's eyes showed more confusion. "I think this is the first time I've met you."
"We have indeed met for the first time, but I promised someone that I would take you as my disciple."
"Take me as your disciple?" Bai Lan's eyes still held surprise and bewilderment. "But why should I become your disciple?"
"This..."
Upon hearing Bai Lan's question, Ye Ling truly didn't know how to answer.
Mr. Bai had only told him to take Bai Lan as his disciple. As for why or how, Mr. Bai hadn't said anything.
To put it bluntly, Ye Ling and Bai Lan were strangers. Now, he was asking her to be his disciple. It was likely that any normal person's first reaction would be to refuse and think he was crazy.
Ye Ling knew he couldn't rush this. He quickly organized his thoughts and said, "I see you have excellent innate qualities, a piece of uncarved jade, so I felt a desire to nurture talent and wanted to cultivate you well... I was indeed too abrupt this time. I apologize first."
Ye Ling wasn't lying. Although Bai Lan's cultivation was very low, her innate potential was the best Ye Ling had ever seen, making her extremely suitable for cultivation. Calling her a heavenly prodigy would be an understatement.
For such uncarved jade, even if Ye Ling hadn't made a promise to Mr. Bai, if he encountered her and her disposition was suitable, he would have taken her as a disciple without hesitation.
"It's okay... You look kind, you must have a good heart!"
Bai Lan smiled at Ye Ling, not minding his abruptness, and then asked, "By the way, why did I wake up next to you?"
"You don't know you were sealed?" Ye Ling asked in surprise.
"Sealed? What do you mean?" Bai Lan blinked.
Seeing the confusion in Bai Lan's eyes, which he could tell wasn't fake, Ye Ling asked, "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I remember after I finished my daily homework and my daily cultivation task, I went to bed. Then I woke up and found you next to me..."
As she spoke, Bai Lan glanced around the surroundings, her curiosity growing. "Am I really not dreaming? This place looks so real."
"Homework? Are you still a student?" Ye Ling asked again.
"Yes... I'm currently in my second year of high school."
Perhaps because Ye Ling looked harmless, Bai Lan had no reservations and answered whatever Ye Ling asked.
"Second-year high school student..."
Hearing Bai Lan's words, Ye Ling didn't know how to react.
When he woke Bai Lan with his spiritual energy, he had also tested her bone age. Bai Lan's true age was far greater than his!
In other words, Bai Lan had been sealed when she was in her teens, and then she had slept beneath that mountain for countless epochs.
Perhaps this girl didn't know that her old friends had long since vanished in the river of time.
Ye Ling didn't tell Bai Lan the truth directly. Instead, he asked, "You suddenly appeared in this unfamiliar environment, aren't you scared?"
"What is there to be afraid of?"
After Bai Lan had slightly adapted to the new environment, her eyes regained their sparkle, and she smiled at Ye Ling, "My dad took me to stranger places than this. I've seen a lot!"
"What's your dad's name?" Ye Ling asked.
"My dad's name is Bai... Huh? Why can't I remember my dad's name?" Bai Lan's smile faltered, and she patted her head. "Why... is my past memory disappearing? What's happening to me?"
Bai Lan's eyes began to water. Her once bright eyes became confused again.
Seeing this, Ye Ling's expression changed slightly. He immediately used his spiritual energy to protect Bai Lan's soul and simultaneously used the Original Text to prevent Bai Lan's rapidly disappearing memories.
With the help of the Original Text, Bai Lan's declining soul gradually stabilized.
"Are you alright?" After stabilizing Bai Lan's soul, Ye Ling immediately asked with concern.
"I'm fine..." Bai Lan, with teary eyes, looked at Ye Ling. "I don't know why, but I just feel empty... like I've forgotten something important."
Looking at Bai Lan's pitiable appearance, Ye Ling couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. He sighed slightly and said, "Although I don't know what you've been through, this world is dangerous. If you trust me, you can stay by my side."
"Can't I go home?" Bai Lan asked.
Ye Ling shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't know where your home is... I also rescued you from beneath that mountain."
"That mountain..."
Bai Lan followed the direction Ye Ling pointed. "Why was I beneath that mountain?"
"I'm not sure, but we can investigate slowly." Ye Ling looked at the pitiful girl, his tone as gentle as possible. "Will you come with me?"
"I..."
Bai Lan glanced at the unfamiliar surroundings. It was likely that Ye Ling was the only living person within a hundred-mile radius.
She thought for a moment, knowing she had no other choice. She nodded slightly at Ye Ling. "Yes... I'll follow you."
"By the way, I still don't know your name."
"My name is Ye Ling."