After Bai Yu squeezed sideways into the crevice, her footsteps traveled a long way through the narrow passage before stopping.
Shi Yan stood outside the entrance, holding the Void Resonance Bell in his hand, his gaze fixed on the dark crevice in the stone.
Bai Rong stood a few steps away, the mountain-shaped markings on his arm undulating slightly—with each step Bai Yu took inside, his marks seemed to be stirred by something.
" Little Baiyu is walking," Bai Rong said. "She hasn't reached her limit yet."
Shi Yan didn't speak, but he didn't loosen his grip on the Void Resonance Bell.
Bai Yu walked inside for a long time. The old lamp in her hand illuminated the path beneath her feet, but the light from the dark Shitou seemed to grow weaker and weaker under pressure.
She could feel the air getting heavier, as if something was squeezing in from all directions, and each step she took required more effort than the last.
Then the pressure came.
It wasn't a gradual increase in pressure—it felt like something invisible suddenly pressed down on her head, causing her to hunch over and kneel on one knee.
The lamp in my hand flickered, and the light from the dark Shitou dimmed abruptly, then struggled to brighten again, though weaker than before.
She knelt on the ground, catching her breath, her left hand supporting her on the ground, her fingertips pressing against the cold rock. She glanced down at the gold thread on her wrist—it hadn't faded yet. She pushed herself up, stood up, and took another step forward.
In the time that followed, she walked for a long time and stopped many times. The pressure kept increasing; her knuckles gripping the lamp turned white, and each time her knees fell, it was harder to lift them up than the last. The golden thread slowly extended from her wrist to the middle of her forearm, but there was still a small section left unfinished.
Shi Yan, who was outside, hadn't had a chance to make a move and was starting to get anxious.
The mountain-shaped markings on Bai Rong's arm kept moving, their frequency synchronized with Bai Yu's condition. He was waiting for a signal—the moment when Bai Yu's consciousness began to blur and her body was about to give way.
Bai Yu didn't know how long she had been walking. As she leaned against a stone wall, catching her breath, her vision began to darken—not because the light had gone out, but because the edges of her vision were blurring. She blinked hard a few times, but the things in front of her were still swaying.
She took a deep breath and took another step. Her knees trembled as she landed.
"Quickly," Bai Rong's voice suddenly turned somber, "She's reached her limit; her consciousness is already sinking."
Shi Yan did not hesitate. He raised his hand and tapped the edge of the Void Resonance Bell —the sound was short and clear, like a drop of water falling into a deep pool, penetrating the stone wall and pressure, and landing deep in Bai Yu's consciousness. Bai Yu shuddered, and her blurred vision suddenly became clear for a moment.
Immediately afterward, Shi Yan's hands did not stop. He transformed the bell sound into his Third Soul Skill, Bell Ringing - Heart Protection. A thin layer of bell-shaped light shield emerged from his palm, spreading along the passage, catching up with Bai Yu's figure, and landing on her.
Bai Yu felt that warm breath covering her, and her body weight was partially supported, as if someone reached out from behind her and supported her.
She stood silently in the darkness for a moment, a slight smile playing on her lips, before continuing to walk forward.
Bai Rong stood outside the entrance, glancing down at the mountain-shaped markings on his arm. The dark mark lay quietly on his skin, extending from his wrist to his forearm, and from his forearm to his elbow. He could sense Little Baiyu's condition inside—she was holding on, but her strength was almost completely drained.
Bai Rong knew she had to help her. Bai Rong calmed herself down, closed her eyes briefly, then raised her left hand and placed her palm on the mountain-shaped markings on her right forearm.
He tried to push his Soul Power into the mark—not by force, but by letting it flow down the marks like water flowing downhill.
He didn't know if this would reach Bai Yu, but he felt the mountain pattern on his arm light up for a moment, and then the warm sensation disappeared along with the mark.
As Bai Yu walked inside, a warmth suddenly emanated from the golden thread on her wrist—not her own Soul Power, but a seepage from the depths of the mark, like a thin stream flowing into a dried-up riverbed.
She paused, looking down at the gold thread on her wrist; the light was brighter than before. She stood there for a couple of moments, then continued walking.
But this time she walked more steadily.
She walked for an unknown amount of time, when suddenly the path in front of her ended. A stone wall blocked her way, with no cracks or exits, as if she had reached the end.
She stood in front of the stone wall, glancing down at the gold thread on her wrist—it wasn't finished yet, still a section short of reaching her shoulder.
The pressure continued. Her consciousness began to sink again, and the sounds around her grew more and more distant, as if something was pouring in.
She slid slowly down the stone wall and sat on the ground, the lamp in her hand resting on her knees. She thought, this might be the end.
Bai Yu looked down at the gold thread on her wrist. It hadn't receded, but it hadn't moved forward either, as if it were stuck. She stared at the light for a long time, so long that she almost closed her eyes.
A sense of frustration slowly crept in—she had come so far, persevered for so long, only to get stuck at the very last step.
She lowered her head, and as her fingers inadvertently touched the Mustard Seed Storage on her wrist, she suddenly remembered that Feng Lingtian had given her Sausage before she left, saying it was "just in case."
Bai Yu took it out from the Mustard Seed Storage —it was Oscar's Fifth Soul Skill, Mirror Sausage, which, when consumed, would grant the user the physique and Soul Power boost of Power Attack System Soul Master.
She took a bite, swallowed, and felt a strange power rise from within her, as if someone had pushed open a door, and a surge of strength flowed back into her exhausted body.
Then that warmth surged up from the depths of the mark again, even warmer than before, as if Bai Rong's Soul Power was pressing on her wrist from a great distance.
Bai Yu raised her hand and placed her palm against the stone wall blocking her path. After three breaths, a distant echo came from beneath her palm.
The gold thread on my wrist suddenly lit up, spreading from my wrist to my forearm, to my elbow, and to my upper arm—all the way to the outside of my shoulder, complete, warm, as if I had finally made my way through.
Then she heard the sound of Wind Chime, the first sound from the small Wind Chime on her wrist after more than a decade of silence.
Bai Yu opened her eyes. The golden patterns on her left arm extended from her wrist to her shoulder, completely covering her forearm and upper arm. The gap in the stone wall that had been blocking her view reappeared. She stood up and squeezed through it.
Shi Yan heard the sound of Wind Chime outside. It was very soft, like the chirping of birds from afar, but the moment he stepped out of the entrance, the surrounding air suddenly loosened.
The oppressive atmosphere that had been pressing down on them receded slowly, like the tide going out. He gradually loosened his grip on the Void Resonance Bell.
Bai Rong stood still. He felt that the wisp of Soul Power he had just sent out had been caught by something and used up.
The mountain-shaped markings on his arm remained unchanged, but he knew they were moving—a very slight movement, as if something had responded. He didn't look down; he just stood there.
A moment later, light shone through the entrance to the crevice. Bai Yu emerged from it. The lamp in her hand was still lit, though the light from the dark Shitou was already very faint.
On her left arm, pale gold lines stretched from her wrist to the outside of her shoulder, forming a complete line that shimmered slightly in the morning light.
She walked out unsteadily, and it seemed like it took her a long time to readjust to the light outside the entrance. She looked up at Shi Yan, then at Bai Rong, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, saying happily, "I... did it."
Shi Yan looked at her without saying a word, and simply put the Void Resonance Bell back into his body.
Bai Rong stood a few steps away, staring at the golden patterns on her arm for a long time, then looked down at the dark mountain-like patterns on his own arm.
Little Baiyu has walked the path she was meant to walk. She has followed her heart, and that is enough. As for the rest, let it be. If she can't become a god, then so be it.
From the direction of Mountain-Venerating Village in the distance, the Ancient Wind Chime.