In the days that followed, Qi Yu and Si Qing did not rush back to film the variety show. Instead, they spent their time researching the purple jade and enjoying themselves with food and drink.
When their feasting, drinking, and leisure concluded, the variety show was nearing its end.
Qi Yu and Si Qing then hurried back, their souls reunited with their bodies. They bid farewell to Director Wang, Director Zhou, and Director Li.
As for the ultimate winners of the wilderness variety show, it was, without a doubt, Qi Yu and Si Qing.
They could survive without eating or drinking, or even with just a sip of water a day. There was no way Wang Lili and the others could compete. Moreover, Wang Lili and her group ran out of food on the second day. They endured for a week before being unable to continue and eventually all withdrew.
Consequently, the promotional videos for the latter half of the wilderness survival variety show featured the Xianxia drama filmed by Qi Yu and Si Qing.
As the Xianxia drama became a massive hit, its premiere finally commenced.
Originally, Qi Yu and the others had concluded all their affairs and were preparing to find an open space to activate the purple jade and leave this world.
However, considering that the drama had been filmed and that they needed to use magic to gradually diminish their influence in this identity, ultimately making their presence in this world completely vanish, they decided it would be good to watch the drama they had produced before leaving.
And so,
Their original departure date was extended by another three months.
It wasn't until the final episode of the drama had aired that Qi Yu and the others found the same open space they had used before.
They released all the power contained within the purple jade.
The moment the jade shattered,
The heavens and earth flickered, and a violent whirlwind erupted in the surrounding air.
A door gradually appeared in the air before them.
Qi Yu took a step forward. Just as everyone was about to follow, Qi Yu seemed to remember something and suddenly turned back to Wang Lanqing, "After we return this time, we may not be able to come back. Of course, there's no guarantee. Are you sure you want to come back with us?"
"Sister Qi Yu, what are you saying? Of course, I want to go back with you. That's my home," Wang Lanqing replied with a bright smile and stepped onto the aerial stairs one by one.
Qi Yu didn't ask further this time. Instead, she led everyone into the door before them.
...
Qi Yu had made many friends in the modern world, but this time, she left without saying goodbye to anyone. Instead, she used magic to make them gradually forget her and all traces of her existence.
Originally, Qi Yu thought they had been gone for a long time. She never expected that they had spent so much time in the modern world, yet for her own world, only a single day had passed.
Although this modern journey had brought many rewards, everyone was truly exhausted.
Therefore, those who needed to return to the demon realm went back to the demon realm, those who needed to return to their own territories went back to their own territories, those who needed to sleep went to sleep, and those who needed to handle clan affairs went to handle clan affairs.
As for Qi Yu and Si Qing, the siblings returned to the 13th Heaven and slept soundly for a while.
Sui You returned to the Phoenix Clan alone.
The phoenixes were originally playing in the pond when they sensed their clan leader's return. Their expressions immediately lit up with joy, and they flew out one after another.
Sui You was somewhat tired, but seeing all the younglings fly out to greet him lifted his spirits considerably. He casually scattered large handfuls of candy for them to play with.
These candies were all from the modern world.
Sui You had brought back quite a lot this time.
These young phoenixes were all chicks who had barely even visited the mortal realm, so they had never seen candies wrapped in plastic packaging.
Therefore, upon seeing the candies, their first instinct was not to eat them, but to play with the shiny wrappers, each one happily occupied.
Sui You didn't bother to manage them. Seeing them all playing, he walked inside himself.
He approached his Wutong tree, embraced it, and let out a long sigh.
Although only a day had passed here, he had spent a considerable amount of time in the modern society. He had missed hugging the Wutong tree every night and smelling the scent of its leaves dearly.
And now that he thought about it, it was quite strange. Although the modern society had Wutong trees, their leaves were all green, which felt odd to him and lacked the familiar scent.
The thought made Sui You miss his Wutong tree even more.
He hugged the tree and inhaled its fragrance for a while. Once he felt he had recovered, he transformed back into his original form, let out a phoenix cry, flapped his wings, and settled on the Wutong tree, closing his eyes to rest.
The cry of the phoenix was incredibly loud.
Qi Yu and Si Qing had heard it while sleeping in the 13th Heaven, but the siblings were too exhausted. They lay in bed, unwilling to listen to what was happening in the mortal realm, and simply slept soundly.
They slept for an unknown duration until they were fully rested and opened their eyes.
Only then did Qi Yu have the energy to attend to the work she had left behind for so long.
She divided her tasks into several parts: those concerning the mortal realm, those concerning other races, and those that required listening.
Si Qing watched his sister with a look of relief. Ever since their trip to the modern world, his sister seemed to have become much more diligent. The most obvious change was that she now knew how to work.
At that moment, Si Qing felt an inexplicable paternalistic sentiment, as if he had been raising a child for so long, and now the child finally knew how to do chores, which was a good thing.
Qi Yu listened to the prayers of the mortal believers for a while, grudgingly bestowing a few spells to fulfill their small wishes.
After all these important matters were completed, she took her pet and, riding on clouds, descended to the mortal realm. Disguised as a small vendor, she casually threw out a bicycle she had brought back from the human world.
Then, she disguised herself as a street performer and rode the bicycle around.
This was a novelty for the human world. Although bicycles were popular in modern times, in ancient times, when people only used ox carts, they were familiar with wheels but not with these metal contraptions with two wheels that could be ridden around.
Thus, Qi Yu, disguised as a street performer, instantly attracted the attention of many ordinary humans. They stood in the middle of the road with their hands behind their backs, cracking melon seeds and whispering to each other curiously:
"Hey, what's going on? What is this girl riding? It looks kind of strange."
"I don't know what it is, but it looks like fun."
"Mom, why can this young lady's vehicle run without an ox pulling it, and it has two wheels, which feels so strange."
Although the child spoke of strangeness, his eyes were wide open, clearly fascinated by the ease with which Qi Yu rode the vehicle.
Qi Yu circled them on the bicycle, soliciting tips. After the performance, she walked over with the bicycle and asked the crowd, "Who wants to try this? Five wen each, you can come and give it a go."
As she spoke, she also put up a sign nearby that read "Guaranteed to Teach."
Earlier, to set up her stall in the city, she had taken out quite a few bicycles from her storage pouch and covered them with cloth. Now, she unveiled them all.
The villagers who had been watching the spectacle erupted in excitement.
Despite their earlier claims of disinterest, now that they had the chance to try it themselves, they were more enthusiastic than anyone.
They clamored to sign up.
Qi Yu did not overcharge them. If it was five wen per person, it was five wen. Some couldn't afford the full amount and could only offer two or three wen, but she still allowed them to try again. After everyone had had their fill of riding bicycles, she began to discuss selling them.
Bicycles were relatively expensive.
Qi Yu asked for half a tael of silver.
This was equivalent to a year's living expenses for many, so most people retreated, content with the novelty. However, a small number of families with some financial stability heard the price of half a tael and felt it wasn't too expensive, so they bought one.
Upon purchasing, they discovered that this thing called a bicycle was much more convenient than the so-called ox carts.
While ox carts didn't require them to exert themselves and they only needed to know how to drive them,
Ox carts had difficulty navigating narrow paths, and they required feed and grass. This metal contraption did not.
Moreover, when an ox got old, it might not be able to pull much cargo and required regular maintenance.
But these were not the biggest issues. The biggest problem was that they might not be able to carry a large amount of goods.
Often, they only needed to carry one or two bags, but the bags were very heavy, and they didn't have enough manpower at home.
This was the case during the rice harvest.
With these metal monsters called bicycles, they could transport the harvested rice back in one trip after another.
And when traveling, they didn't have to worry about the dirtiness of the ground or the distance of the journey.
Because they could ride the bicycles at great speed.
The families who bought bicycles found everything they did much more convenient. This convenience was gradually noticed by other villagers who had been watching.
Thus, the bicycles sold by Qi Yu began to receive rave reviews in this village and gradually spread to other villages.
After half a year, more than half of the human population knew about bicycles, and bicycles became a trend.
Even the royal family was using them.
Si Qing had been observing the development of bicycles in the human world from the 13th Heaven.
Seeing that Qi Yu had actually made these metal contraptions called bicycles popular, he couldn't help but give her a thumbs-up:
"Sister, you are truly amazing."
While bicycles might seem simple, mastering the balance required was difficult, especially since the humans in this world had never experienced such technology.
"Oh, it's alright. The main thing is that bicycles are indeed convenient. And I discovered that for things that don't require much skill, if they break, I can use magic to create an identical one." As Qi Yu spoke, she waved her hand, and rows upon rows of bicycles similar to those in the modern world appeared on the clouds of the 13th Heaven.
Si Qing watched and applauded.
It was truly magnificent.
Qi Yu beamed with pride.
Yue Zhiyin, having eaten his fill, came out for a stroll from his residence. Seeing the two of them conjuring bicycles in the 13th Heaven and discussing the current development in the human world, he curiously walked over.
"Impressive! After just a few days, you've developed bicycles so well. Although they say a day in heaven is a year on earth, in just a few years on earth, bicycles have developed rapidly, and ox carts are becoming increasingly rare."
Speaking of this, Yue Zhiyin couldn't help but admire human creativity.
Although they were not from the same world, these humans, upon seeing bicycles, had developed tricycles from ordinary bicycles in just a few years.
Yue Zhiyin did not know the specific invention methods.
He only knew that these humans had removed the ropes from the ox carts and replaced them with bicycle frames where the ropes were attached, using ropes to tie wooden poles and extend the handlebars.
In any case, they had made a mess of it, yet it had somehow worked.
"Human creativity should not be underestimated," Qi Yu said, looking at the magnificent mountains and rivers below from the clouds. "Although we are not from the same world, they are all humans. As long as they are given inspiration, they can create what they desire."
"Actually, I often wonder, even though we are not from the same world, if in time, the humans in our world will gradually develop into what they are in the modern society we visited?"
Si Qing nodded, his voice steady, "The human world needs to develop. I've always felt that our world and their world are not much different. The reason we don't have what their world possesses yet is perhaps simply because the time has not yet come."
"Sister, do you remember the history books we read in the library in that modern society? Their world wasn't like this from the beginning; it took 5,000 years of progress to reach this point."
Qi Yu nodded. "I don't know if the development of bicycles will be good or bad, but it doesn't seem like it will cause much harm. If they can develop more powerful inventions because of bicycles, that would be a good thing."
Qi Yu nodded.
In the sunlight, the two siblings gazed down at the magnificent landscape of the human world.
They were bathed in the multicolored glow of the sunset.
Yue Zhiyin stood not far away, watching the brother and sister, and couldn't help but smile faintly.
Heavenly Dao and the laws of nature should, in principle, restrain each other.
It was rare to see beings like Qi Yu and Si Qing who interacted harmoniously and grew together.
He hoped that their world... would always remain this way.