"Just pick one."
Xiao Qian's soul form seemed driven by an invisible force, and he could no longer suppress the curiosity and impulse in his heart.
His gaze lingered over the two spiritual lights on the eastern side of the Lotus-Shaped Continent before he casually reached out toward one of them.
Buzz!
With a faint hum, the spiritual light he had chosen flickered. Immediately, the scenery before Xiao Qian's eyes streamed past and faded like phantom light.
He felt a powerful thrust against his back, as though a pair of invisible hands, bearing a mysterious and mighty force, had seized him and dragged him toward that spiritual light.
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Qian found himself in a room filled with an air of elegant, antique simplicity.
The walls were all built from lustrous white jade, radiating a gentle glow that made him feel as though he had entered an immortal realm.
A snow-white bed stood in the center of the room. The white curtains hanging over it swayed gently in the breeze like soft clouds and mist, dreamlike and ethereal.
Xiao Qian hurriedly focused his gaze and saw a huge lotus dais in the middle of the room. Upon it, a breathtakingly beautiful young woman sat cross-legged in cultivation.
She wore a plain, pale-colored dress and was barefoot. Her skin was white as snow, almost translucent beneath the faint light, and her slender waist, narrow enough to encircle with a hand, was as soft and graceful as a ribbon of white silk.
A thin veil lightly covered her cheeks, and her long eyebrows resembled the feathers of a kingfisher.
Beneath that veil, her clear eyes shimmered as though they held endless stars and seas. That single glimpse was enough to make Xiao Qian feel that the world around her had lost all its color.
At that moment, brilliant radiance from Origin Energy bloomed around her. Those lights streamed like lengths of silk, giving off energy fluctuations similar to the Dou Qi Xiao Qian knew, yet seeming to contain something far more mysterious and ancient.
What should I do now? That spiritual light seems to be coming from her. Could touching her send me back?
Xiao Qian felt as though his brain had turned into a tangled mess of paste. Everything that had suddenly unfolded before him left him bewildered.
On the one hand, he was stunned by the young woman's peerless grace; on the other, he was desperate to escape this inexplicable predicament and return to the Dou Qi Continent.
Knock, knock.
Amid the stillness, a soft knock abruptly sounded, breaking the silence like a pebble dropped into a tranquil lake.
The young woman seated cross-legged on the lotus dais slowly opened her eyes. They were like deep, secluded pools, clear and mysterious.
Her figure flashed, and she floated barefoot down from the lotus dais like a graceful bird.
With a creak, the door slowly opened, and a middle-aged woman in similar attire entered the room with steady steps.
Though her clothing resembled the young woman's, she possessed an added charm tempered by the passage of years.
"Master."
The young woman bent her knees slightly in greeting. Her voice was like a clear mountain spring, light and lovely, flowing through the air like immortal music.
The middle-aged woman gently waved a hand. Looking at her prized disciple with an expression that held both sternness and tenderness, she slowly said, "Qing Zhu, you have now mastered the Nine Heavens Immortal Art and begun learning the Supreme Sensing Art. If you continue burying yourself in cultivation within the Sect, your progress will inevitably slow. It is time for you to leave seclusion and seek opportunities of your own in the world outside."
"Yes. I already have plans to return to the Dynasty where I was born in ten days." A faint trace of longing flickered in Ling Qingzhu's eyes.
She lifted her head slightly and gazed into the distance, as though looking through time and space at the homeland in her memories. "It has been ten years since I left home."
"Very well. Opportunities cannot be forced in the first place. Let everything follow its destined course." The middle-aged woman nodded slightly, a hint of satisfaction appearing in her eyes.
She paused, then her expression suddenly grew stern. Her gaze fixed on Ling Qingzhu with a gravity that brooked no doubt.
"You may decide all other matters for yourself, but there is one thing you must engrave upon your heart."
"Please instruct me, Master." Ling Qingzhu bent her knees again, her expression respectful as she bowed her head to listen.
The middle-aged woman said gravely, "When cultivating the Supreme Sensing Art, you must not lose your virginity! Absolutely not! This concerns both the foundation of your cultivation and your life. There must not be the slightest mistake."
Ling Qingzhu's expression remained utterly unruffled. Still perfectly calm, she said softly, "I have already pledged myself to the Palace Gate and harbor no other thoughts. You need not worry, Master."
Her tone was firm, and her eyes held a resolve that seemed to transcend the mortal world.
"How could I not trust you?"
The woman's expression softened. She reached out and gently stroked Ling Qingzhu's long, silky hair, her eyes full of affection as she said tenderly, "You have spent ten years in secluded cultivation, and this will be your first time entering the world. Human hearts are complicated. Think carefully before you act, and never let yourself get hurt."
Ling Qingzhu nodded gently. She knew her master's reminders were all for her own good, and her heart filled with gratitude.
Only after offering several more careful reminders did the woman turn and slowly leave. Her figure gradually disappeared beyond the doorway, leaving Ling Qingzhu standing quietly alone in the room, seemingly contemplating her coming journey into the world.
I'll take the gamble!
Xiao Qian had long since grown impatient with remaining in this mysterious space, his mind full of questions about his bizarre predicament.
He gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and extended his glowing finger toward Ling Qingzhu's body, which shimmered with the same spiritual light.
Buzz!
In an instant, Ling Qingzhu violently shuddered, as though struck by lightning.
Her delicate lips parted slightly beneath her veil, and she let out a low cry of surprise. "What!"
Her eyes filled with shock and disbelief. She had no idea what had happened.
Yet an even more astonishing sight followed immediately.
To her horror, she discovered that her soul had been forcibly ejected from her body. In an instant, her soul form appeared behind her physical body.
"Uh, I didn't mean to..." Seeing this, Xiao Qian hurriedly spoke up to explain.
His voice suddenly sounded beside Ling Qingzhu's ear.
The unexpected voice frightened her even more. Instinctively, she tried to dart backward, seeking to put some distance between herself and the source of that inexplicable voice.
But to her shock and fury, she discovered that the finger of her soul form was pressed tightly against his, as though an invisible force had locked them together. No matter how she struggled, she could not separate them.
Filled with alarm and anger, she looked back and saw a black-clad young man behind her, likewise in soul form.
The young man had an exceptionally handsome, flawless face. His features were like finely carved jade, every contour perfectly formed.
Yet his eyes were as deep as an endless abyss. His gaze seemed to possess a strange magic, as though looking into it a moment longer would draw her into the depths of his soul.
"First things first, don't panic! I didn't come here on purpose, and I don't know why this happened either!"
Once Xiao Qian realized she could hear him, he hurriedly rattled off an explanation, trying to calm Ling Qingzhu down.
But before he could finish, a ferocious pulling force suddenly descended from above, like a savage beast from the primordial wilds.
"Aaaaaah-!"
That familiar sensation of heaven and earth spinning struck again. Xiao Qian felt as though he had plunged into another nightmare.
The only difference was that this time, his right hand tightly held the hand of a young woman's soul form from another distant continent.
Dragged by that mysterious force, the two hurtled back in the direction he had come from.
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