Only after the magical girls had disappeared did Ruoyun emerge from the seabed.
Then, Hyacinth peeked out from the side, though she instinctively wanted to shake her head—as a young lady, Hyacinth rarely encountered such an embarrassing situation.
After falling into the sea, she was soaked to the bone, and her hair was wet and uncomfortable, but she knew that she and Ruoyun were doing something shameful.
So he suppressed the urge to shake his head and quietly waited for Ruoyun's command.
"Nobody's here, you can leave."
Relieved, Hyacinth got up and swam to the shore with Ruoyun, not even daring to fly.
Sneaking around like this is so exciting...
The Hyacinth buried the lower half of its face in the seawater, concealing its smile.
The feeling of being soaked in seawater was a bit strange, but very novel; it was just a little cold late at night.
Unexpectedly, it was Shion who ultimately caused the Mental Image Remnants.
Watching Ruoyun's retreating figure, she pondered when would be the best time to tell Ruoyun about Shion's true identity.
While it might be interesting now, I don't think the impact will be that significant...
Since it has nothing to do with me, there's no need to rush to expose it.
Some joys and expectations accumulate over time, just like a prize pool.
The bigger the misunderstanding, the more interesting it will be when Ruoyun learns Shion's true identity.
Of course, Hyacinth didn't want to hurt Ruoyun either. If things really got to the point where it was unacceptable, she would try her best to protect the child. If it got to the point where it was irreversible, she would keep it from Ruoyun for the rest of her life.
Isn't that interesting too?
It's like a treasure chest that you can't open, making you incredibly eager to open it...
The two swam to the shore, and when they were still some distance from getting ashore, Ruoyun deactivated her transformation. Hyacinth was slightly taken aback, but she also deactivated her transformation.
"We're about to go ashore, let's conserve some magic power," Ruoyun explained, half of her body submerged in the water.
Hyacinth nodded; at this moment, all she had to do was trust.
Ruoyun deliberately chose a secluded spot, with a grove of trees right after she came ashore, to conceal her figure and avoid being spotted at a glance.
Leaning against a tree on the shore, Ruoyun skillfully dug a hole, then found some dry firewood, picked up a flintlock pistol and fired a shot into the hole, igniting the firewood and making a simple fire.
Hyacinth watched with great interest, then said with some admiration, "Does Ruoyun often do this kind of thing?"
"Fortunately, I've only done a lot of work since joining the Holy Church."
As she spoke, she dried her clothes over the fire. Hyacinth followed suit and dried her clothes by the fire, only to discover that Ruoyun's underwear was quite simple and even patched.
For Hyacinth, who comes from a wealthy family, this is quite rare. "Are you short of money?"
"Fine."
"I can lend you money if you need it."
"I'll borrow it if I ever need it."
She wasn't very polite. Ruoyun stirred the fire again, making it burn even brighter. Hyacinth was a little curious, so she tried to do the same, but it didn't work well.
The grove of trees by the sea is not very dense. As a protective forest along the coast, it doesn't actually have much ecosystem and there are hardly any wild animals. There are some insects, but they have all been driven away by the insect repellent powder sprinkled on the ground.
Ruoyun's chosen location was also quite secluded, with several trees providing excellent cover. In addition, the fire was in a pit, making it difficult for even a ranger to spot. Although the people near the Mental Image Remnants had already been dispersed, there was no need to worry about such things.
Ruoyun's extensive wilderness survival experience exceeded Hyacinth's expectations, and she was also very meticulous, making her a truly reassuring teammate...
After sitting for a while, Ruoyun began to take stock of their spoils.
The heptagonal prism that can deflect their skills, the crystal pistol whose bullets can track enemies, the bell that can control Mirror Beast... these are all items dropped by defeating that Prince.
The rest were things they picked up from the Mental Image Remnants that seemed useful: a broken music box, an antique-looking broken sword, an empty black card box, and a crystal ball that could release a filthy Mirror Beast Mirror Beast, which they killed as soon as it came out.
Both bags were stuffed full—they each carried a bag before going to the Mental Image Remnants, and then, by taking advantage of the mechanism that magical girl transformation and non-transformation states do not affect each other, they managed to hide the bags from view and bring them into the Mental Image Remnants.
However, these were not the biggest gains. After taking everything in, Ruoyun took out a Miracle Seed from her bosom.
It was a Miracle Seed from the Land of Mirrors. Although it was called Miracle Seed, its internal structure was different. This seed was as transparent as glass, and one could even sense that it contained a small space inside.
Ruoyun's usually tense face broke into a smile. "So many B-rank and C-rank side quest items, plus this mysterious seed, I wonder how many points we can get. We've also learned about the Prince of the Mirror Kingdom; he can control Mirror Beasts and has a partnership with the Witch. With all this information, shouldn't we get a good number of points too?"
"This Main God to seize the Mental Image Remnants was ultimately worthwhile."
Only when talking about the Holy Church 'Main God Space does Ruoyun reveal a touch of naivety and innocence befitting her age.
"The points won't be low, will they?" Hyacinth thought for a moment, "But what do you want to exchange for? Your current skills are already pretty good."
"You can never have too many skills. My magical perception has never been very strong. My teacher at the Azure Cloud Sect always said I had no talent in this area, so I plan to exchange for a few perception-related spells, as well as a stealth spell to make my movements easier..."
Ruoyun talked excitedly about her exchange goals, her eyes sparkling with excitement, looking like a child looking forward to a new toy.
Hyacinth listened quietly beside her, occasionally asking how the other planned to use it.
As a sea breeze blew by, Ruoyun suddenly stood up. Before Hyacinth could react, a white figure stood beside Ruoyun and placed a hand on Ruoyun shoulder.
Hyacinth paused for a moment, then stood up and looked at the girl next to Ruoyun.
It was the Azure Cloud Sect magical girl I had seen before entering the Mental Image Remnants, who had some connection with Ruoyun.
The girl in white had her eyes closed, yet she seemed to see everything, a complete contrast to myself, who clearly had eyes but seemed to see nothing.
He has grown a lot.
Her tone was somewhat relieved, but not very hostile. Ruoyun remained silent, not nervous at all, which reassured Hyacinth.
If there were real danger, Ruoyun would certainly not remain indifferent.
"Have you been eating properly lately? You haven't changed your clothes, and you need a haircut. What's wrong with your socks? One is long and the other is short. Didn't I tell you before not to wear socks randomly?"
Ruoyun listened silently to the barrage of questions, finally offering only a rebuttal. "These socks were originally like this."
Hyacinth added from the side, "Trendy."
However, I was a little curious about how the other person could see the socks with their eyes closed, especially since it was still dark.
The two had a relationship that surprised her somewhat.
The girl in white sat down beside her and simply asked, "Are you really not coming back?"
"Okay, I'm not going back."
"Alright."
The girl with her eyes closed took out potato chips from her pocket and handed them to Ruoyun. " Qian Jing bought these before. You like these, and she bought an extra bag. She just left it there and didn't want to return it, and no one was eating it, so I thought I'd give it to you when we met again. Here you go."
Ruoyun initially wanted to refuse, but seeing that the teacher had already placed it in her hand, she accepted it anyway, saying, "Thank you, teacher."
Then she handed Hyacinth a small box of fries, saying, "Have some too. Thank you for taking care of Ruoyun."
"No, no," Hyacinth, taking the fries. "It's Ruoyun who's been taking care of me."
Please continue to take care of me in the future.
I'll try.
There was no unnecessary chatter. As they ate, they saw the blind girl give them two more packets of ketchup, saying it would be better to dip them in it.
Hyacinth were a novelty for a while, and some people even carried ketchup with them.
That's interesting. I can carry some condiments with me from now on. But she doesn't really like ketchup, so I'll try something stronger...
Bai Mei warmed her hands over the fire, then calmly said, "There's something I hope Ruoyun can help me with."
For Ruoyun, who had always been a burden to her teacher, hearing her teacher ask for help was a pleasant surprise.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't happy; she was even a little flattered. She asked softly, "What kind of help?"
The teacher said, "The sect leader of the Azure Cloud Sect, who is also my master and your grandmaster's boyfriend, has gone missing."
Hyacinth was taken aback. "Boyfriend?"
Bai Mei nodded. "Her name is Jiang Si."
Hyacinth almost spat out her fries.
Looking at Hyacinth, who was coughing violently while covering her mouth, Bai Mei was somewhat surprised, but ultimately said nothing, only continuing, "Well, if you see the Holy Church Walker, the one who led you into the Holy Church, ask him; he should know."
Of course he knows, since it's the same person.
Hyacinth finally stopped coughing, but she didn't dare to look up. She just kept her head down and bit her lip hard.
Suppressing his excitement and laughter.
Endure...
I tried to hold back... but... how could I possibly tolerate something so "funny"...?
Oh no... this is terrible, I can't suppress the smile at all.
Hang in there, me! Otherwise, my bland, unambitious image of over a decade is going to crumble...
She actually used her magical girl identity to confirm a romantic relationship with her real self?
Jiang... Shion, you really went to this extent?
Something I never expected.
If I were to expose this, Jiang Si and Shion would be extremely embarrassed.
So, by keeping it a secret, didn't I protect Shion and Jiang Si?
Joining the Holy Church is truly wonderful...
"If I see it, I will definitely ask, Teacher Bai Mei."
It's a pity; it would have been very interesting if Bai Mei had told Ruoyun the truth here.
Moreover, the timing was perfect; it wouldn't be too difficult for Ruoyun to accept, and it would also allow her to see Ruoyun's amused expression.
But things might change later.
"There's one more thing," Bai Mei said, placing a dry twig into the fire. " Qian Jing and Shuiling want to see you."
As soon as the words were spoken, two beams of light descended from the sky, revealing Qian Jing and Shuiling.
Shuiling was the first to speak, "Today, I will definitely bring you back, Ruoyun!"
Qian Jing then called out, "Teacher!"
Bai Mei shook her head. "I won't interfere in this matter. Go, Ruoyun, and prove your choice to them."
Ruoyun sighed, got up, and walked towards her two close friends with whom she had lived for a long time.
Bai Mei stared at her rebellious disciple's retreating figure with her eyes tightly closed, and said as if talking to herself, " Ruoyun, although she's a bit rebellious, she's really outstanding, don't you think?"
Hyacinth, hiding her Hyacinth by eating French fries, nodded. "Much better than me."
"She's hardworking and ambitious. Even though she went through a lot of painful experiences in the past, she never stopped moving forward. She kept thinking and striving," Bai Mei said softly. "That's why I like her so much. She's an important student of mine."
Then she turned her head and smiled slightly, "If anyone hurts Ruoyun, I won't let them get away with it, so Miss Hyacinth, you'd better watch out."
Hyacinth nodded. "However, I think what might hurt Ruoyun is your master."
"That's a different matter, it's none of your business."
The fire in the pit suddenly grew a little stronger, and the flames licked the Hyacinth's cheeks.
Shrugging, Hyacinth's empty gaze drifted towards Ruoyun's direction.
The transformed girl seemed somewhat listless at this moment:
"Don't hold back, Qian Jing, Shuiling, both of you come at me together."
Shuiling looked at her coldly, "You don't think we're still the same as before, do you? I've already advanced to the sixth stage of the Mid-Stage New Sprout, and Qian Jing has reached the Late-Stage New Sprout."
As the stirring battle melody began, Qian Jing suddenly drew her magic wand!
The crystallized wand actually emitted a sword aura almost identical to Bai Mei's!
However, Ruoyun simply drew her pistol.
The magic wand, converted into a pistol, accurately struck the sword energy and shattered it.
"Sorry." Ruoyun tossed out the magazine; the square magazine was attached to the stock, but it was empty.
When Qian Jing and Shuiling joined forces to wield a crystal sword, they unleashed an even greater sword aura.
Ruoyun inserted the card into the pistol's magazine, then loaded the pistol and chambered a round.
The sound of a card being read came from inside the pistol:
[ Star Pattern Descent: Buddha's Fury Flame Lotus - Two Colors]
After modifying the South China Magic Wand and her own pistol, she gained a new way to use them.
It seems I can't go back with you.
He aimed at the two men and pulled the trigger.
A magnificent Fire Lotus burst forth from the gun barrel in an instant!
"I am already a magical girl in the Early Full Blossom."
A huge flame burned half the sky red!
Elsewhere, amidst a pile of rocks and trash, Jialan rummaged through the garbage while glancing at the dazzling firelight in the distance.
"Sigh, these magical girls these days are getting more and more outrageous. Unlike us back then, when everyone was so simple and cute, firing a magic cannon was enough. Now they all seem to want to turn magic into nuclear weapons..."
While lamenting the decline of morality, he covered his nose and poked at the garbage heap with a wooden stick, calling out, " Xilan, Xilan, where are you?"
"As the vice president, do you really have to condescend to come to a place like this to see your subordinates?" The Prince had appeared in the seawater at some point, shook his head. "You have indeed fallen, Jialan."
"There's nothing we can do. Ordinary members can't get around the blockade here, and for some reason, all the ordinary members who were developed in Anyang were wiped out overnight."
"The other witches are unwilling to come, and some even wish for Xilan's death." Jialan said helplessly, "She was too arrogant following Si Motu before, so I had to come and find her myself. But according to custom, she should blend into the garbage dump to avoid being seen."
"How is that possible? No normal person could tolerate something so filthy and disgusting..."
The Prince watched as Jialan pulled Xilan out of the garbage heap, where she was gradually separating from the trash, and fell silent.
This Xilan is quite a character.
Jialan hoisted Xilan onto her shoulders, then turned to look at the Prince, "If you see Si Motu, remember to let me know."
"Nature."
"However, Prince Highness, this mission didn't go very smoothly, did it? It seems you didn't get anything." Jialan glanced at the sea surface, where the Mental Image Remnants were no longer visible. "The items from the Land of Mirrors were all taken back by the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau, along with the people from the Azure Cloud Sect. Tsk, this time you've lost everything."
How could that be?
Prince Highness chuckled coldly, tapping his temple. "One glance is enough. I've memorized that key perfectly. Now, all we need to do is recast it, and we'll never have to rely on those Alice who have wandered the land again. We can set foot on this earth once more. This time, we absolutely will not fail!"
Congratulations!
"You've helped us so much; once the Land of Mirrors conquers South China, we'll definitely bestow upon you the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!"
"That would be an honor for Jialan."
As she said this, Jialan's face darkened as she turned her head.
We must notify the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau as soon as possible...
"In short, you first sense the weak point in the space, and after hearing that 'ding,' you can see the space as if it's made of building blocks. Then, with a 'whoosh,' it disintegrates, and with a 'duang,' it reassembles itself into building blocks, allowing you to change and control the space..."
With a sudden thud, the void in Shion's hand shattered once more. Just as the violent spatial turbulence was about to be released from this small crack, her delicate little hand gently clenched and smoothed out the crack.
Mujin immediately shook her head. "No, no, you're just breaking it directly like that."
Shion has shattered many spaces, but those were like the Land of Mirrors, where the use caused fluctuations and changes, allowing magic to leak in and be forcibly destroyed through violence.
In reality, she doesn't have much spatial perception; she mainly relies on magic to explore entrances or gaps caused by spatial disturbances, and then tears them open.
The so-called weak point in sensing space—magic cannot sense space in the air; the space itself needs to change so that the magic can penetrate it.
This is the limitation of Magic Sense; it is ultimately not as effective as Divine Sense.
But more importantly, this old man has absolutely no idea how to teach people...
She kept making "ding," "jiligua," and "duang" sounds, all expressing her subjective feelings, making it sound like she came from the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect.
If it's about cultivating immortality, then it should be a gradual process, where one perceives the mysteries through cultivation techniques, comprehends the laws, and then uses them.
Magical girls are just too casual.
"This is troublesome. We only started to gradually master spatial power after obtaining the Mental Image Domain. After reaching the Full Bloom, using spatial power was as natural as drinking water. We never thought about what to do if we couldn't even sense space anymore..."
On the boundless grassland, the two sat on the ground, both speechless for a moment.
The turbulent storm outside showed no signs of abating, and all the methods Mujin had devised were stuck at the first step.
Because she was so used to controlling space, she completely forgot that others actually had a hard time perceiving what is called a spatial vulnerability.
A normally stable space is like a perfect sphere, with no Qidian and no End Point, and no interlocking parts like building blocks...
"I once met a Full Bloom girl who had sealed Mental Image Remnants into other people."
Shion suddenly remembered the member of the Witch Association in Jiangming City. Although she couldn't remember his name, the Hundred Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring he revealed at the end still left a deep impression on her.
"If I could seal a portion of the Mental Image Remnants within my body, I would likely be able to use spatial abilities."
For Shion, such a useful ability was naturally not something she could let go of.
The Azure Cloud Sect is unable to find a suitable spatial ability, which presents a good opportunity to make up for its shortcomings.
"But the Mental Image Remnants are gone..."
"Why not just create a small Mental Image Domain?" Shion looked at her with some curiosity. "Your consciousness is still intact, and Mental Image doesn't need an original body, right? As long as it's your Mental Image, you can reshape one, right?"
"How did you guess that...?"
"This is what the Purple Mansion Grotto-Heaven is like."
" Purple Mansion..." Although she didn't understand, Mujin didn't ask any further questions.
Instead, it suddenly lowered its head and began to talk to the original owner of the body.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."
"Oh, don't be shy, you have to seize this opportunity..."
"Didn't you say yourself that she's surrounded by a lot of girls? If you don't seize this opportunity, you might not have another chance once you go back..."
"Trust me, I've helped several magical girls win over their crushes back in the day... It's absolutely a sure thing."
"Hmph, just you wait and see. Boys are all the same. We've seen it all before. The Mental Image Domain is all about wish fulfillment..."
While they chattered away over there, Shion was simply trying to use her magic to sense the so-called thinness of space.
But in reality, apart from a few cracks, there were no traces of anything in the intact space.
After a long while, Mujin suddenly leaned in with a chuckle, "Um, if you want to obtain spatial abilities, you have to let me recreate a Mental Image Domain and compress it within your body... right?"
"Um."
" The Mental Image Domain is something we can only obtain when our wishes are fulfilled. So you have to help us realize our wishes so that we can reshape our Mental Image Domain, right?"
What is your wish?
Mujin coughed slightly. "My wish is to see my hometown, Beihai, one last time. Since leaving Beihai, I've never been back, so I really want to go back and visit."
"Oh, we'll have to wait until we get out, right?"
"It's alright, I can already see Beihai in An Shiyu's memories." Mujin smiled with a rare hint of melancholy. "Our hometown is indeed still very beautiful, it has become bigger and more prosperous, it's just a pity that no one remembers that we are from Beihai anymore."
"Because there was a period when no Calamity Beast were born in the Beihai, the news about magical girls was erased."
"Looks like it's a good thing. Let's forget about it then. It's best if everyone can live well." Mujin immediately shook off her melancholy and looked happy. "Anyway, the first wish has actually been almost fulfilled."
"There's a second one?"
"Of course," Mujin said matter-of-factly, "A person can't have only one wish, right?"
"Oh, yes."
"Our second wish is... it's..." Mujin suddenly blushed, "We died so young and never had a relationship, so I'm really curious about what it's like to date a boy."
"After I leave here, my consciousness might completely disappear, since the Mental Image Remnants will be gone too. So, in the last moments before I'm fully conscious, I want to experience what it's like to date a boy."
Mujin looked at her with teary eyes, her face filled with trepidation and anticipation, "Could you please do me a favor? Just pretend, be my boyfriend for once, okay?"
After remaining silent for a long time, Shion deactivated her transformation.
Jiang Si took a deep breath, stretched her body, and a rare smile appeared on her face.
"Then you've come to the right person."
Before Mujin could even feel happy, she saw Jiang Si stretching her body.
It's like a warm-up exercise.
"I happen to have experience in this area, so let me teach you."
Jiang Si clenched her fist. "A real date."