Chapter 624: The Passage of the Inner World |
“Don’t rush, let me see what’s really going on here.”
Ning Qi frowned and fixed his gaze ahead.
The brighter exit he’d spotted earlier was only getting smaller the more he swam upward toward it.
In other words, continuing like this would likely end up sealing off his only way out.
So what if he tried the opposite approach?
Ning Qi thought for a moment, then began swimming backward.
At the same time, he turned his head to check the situation.
It chilled him halfway. Swimming this way didn’t make the exit grow larger, nor did it show any sign of expanding.
This meant he was completely trapped here.
The Pill Spirit couldn’t help but call for help.
At this point, only Shi Xiaokun might have a solution.
They were at their wit’s end.
“Master.”
Shi Xiaokun didn’t emerge from his Pocket Dimension.
Instead, he condensed his soul force directly from Ning Qi’s Consciousness Sea.
“Where’s your main body? Why are you coming out of my Consciousness Sea?”
Ning Qi looked at his sudden appearance and asked with confusion.
“The Pocket Dimension can’t be opened here.”
Shi Xiaokun sighed: “We’ve come to a place we shouldn’t have.”
“Do you know where this is?”
Hearing this, Ning Qi grew curious.
Clearly, if Shi Xiaokun could say that, he must have some understanding.
“This isn’t a restriction or formation set by someone.”
Shi Xiaokun nodded, then looked around: “This is the core passage of this Inner World.”
“Since it’s a passage, there must be a way out, right?”
Ning Qi stared at him and asked urgently.
“Master, there’s no way out from here.”
Shi Xiaokun shook his head again: “This passage was formed by the condensation of Law Force when this world was created.”
“Normally, only the Domain Sovereign here can freely enter and exit. If you want to leave, there are only two possibilities.”
“Either you become the Domain Sovereign here, or you completely destroy this place.”
“Right now, we’re under its control. Destroying it is impossible.”
“The only way is to become the Domain Sovereign here.”
“But this place is already a ruin. Becoming its Domain Sovereign doesn’t seem to offer any benefits, does it?”
The Pill Spirit shrugged: “Besides, we’re stuck here. We can’t even get out.”
“Exactly. That’s why we’re in a dilemma.”
“To become the Domain Sovereign here, you’d need to be outside, use Law Force to connect with its power, and refine the Origin Source here.”
“But since we’re inside this passage, we can only wait for the Origin Source here to be consumed completely before we have a chance to escape.”
Shi Xiaokun looked up at the faint, almost invisible exit: “The way it looks farther and farther away—that’s the effect of space folding.”
“It’s what makes this passage unique.”
“Wait, what did you say? Space folding?”
Ning Qi’s ears perked up at those words, and he suddenly caught onto something.
Back when he was being chased by Dao Bujin, he’d encountered this same problem.
When he’d first met Miss Xu, hadn’t he used his understanding of the space-folding formation to cross the barriers of that Inner World?
He’d successfully broken in.
If this really was space folding, then he could give it a try.
“Yes, Master.”
Shi Xiaokun nodded and pointed ahead: “It’s clearly space folding, making us see things as close at hand.”
“But the space here is folded in every tiny fragment. That’s why it seems like we’re moving outward.”
“But in reality, the folded space teleports us—to who knows where.”
“Ha! If that’s the case, then we have a chance to get out!”
The Pill Spirit suddenly remembered something and said excitedly: “Our master might not be good at many things, but he’s very skilled at folding space!”
“Looks like it’s up to you—you found us a way out with just a few words.”
“Huh? Master, you know the space-folding formation?”
After hearing the Pill Spirit’s words, Shi Xiaokun suddenly understood.
His eyes fixed on Ning Qi with curiosity.
“Yes, I know space folding.”
“Since you’ve said that, we have a way out.”
“Both of you, wait in my Consciousness Sea. We’ll be out soon.”
Ning Qi smiled, looking confident.
“Alright!”
Hearing his instructions, both agreed and returned to his body.
“Hoo!”
Ning Qi took a deep breath and focused his mental energy.
One by one, water-wave patterns began to ripple outward from him.
They merged with the underwater environment around him.
At the same time, his Dao Patterns also began to ripple, blending bit by bit with the space here.
“Sssss...”
At first, under the merging of the Dao Patterns, the folded space let out piercing sounds.
This put immense pressure on Ning Qi.
Every inch, every thread of this space had been folded back and forth countless times.
“This is much more complicated than the folded space I encountered before.”
“That one might have had five or six folds per inch.”
“Here, there’s at least twenty.”
Ning Qi muttered to himself in awe.
No wonder this was the folded space of an Inner World—it was likely designed for the Domain Sovereign to escape and avoid enemies.
This way, when pursuers came in, they could be easily trapped and killed.
He was already at the Fifth-Rank Golden Immortal level, though still far from Great Luo Golden Immortal.
But the fact that this place could trap an expert of Golden Immortal rank was proof of its ferocity.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Ning Qi continued to use his Dao Patterns to merge with the folded space.
This time, he put in even more effort than before.
His energy drained at an accelerating pace.
“This won’t work. I’ll be completely drained.”
Ning Qi focused his Spiritual Sense and entered his Consciousness Sea.
The Pill Spirit and Shi Xiaokun were already there.
“I’ll act as your Guardian.”
The Pill Spirit understood the situation.
Saying this, he activated his Life Force Energy and sent it surging through Ning Qi’s entire body.
“I’ll help too.”
Shi Xiaokun didn’t hesitate, releasing his soul force to nourish Ning Qi’s Consciousness Sea.
With their combined assistance, Ning Qi’s mental energy exploded to new heights.
“Good! That should let me hold out.”
With a flash, Ning Qi returned to the outside world.
Now, Life Force Energy flowed continuously from the Pill Spirit, sustaining him.
At the same time, his Consciousness Sea was supported by Shi Xiaokun, sharpening his focus.
So, Ning Qi poured all his strength into action.
He channeled his Dao Patterns, making the water-wave patterns and Dao Patterns weave and merge into the surrounding space.
Gradually, every inch of this space began to fuse with Ning Qi’s Dao Patterns.
He started to probe toward the source of light.
As each inch of space was fully refined by him, the folded sections began to collapse.
Starting from Ning Qi’s surroundings, fine cracks like spiderwebs spread outward.
They tore through the space around him.
Soon, these spiderweb cracks turned into full-blown fissures.
Under Ning Qi’s refining, the fissures expanded and formed deep ravines.
“Hoo!”
Ning Qi exhaled deeply and suddenly opened his eyes, seeing the space around him beginning to change.
The exit, which had only emitted a faint glimmer before, was now flooded with blazing sunlight.
The barrier-like walls of the passage around him began to shatter.
“Now!”
Ning Qi seized the moment and shot forward.
He transformed into a streak of light, speeding through the water.
“Splash.”
In just a few breaths, he burst out of the lake and soared into the sky.
He flew a hundred yards through the void before stopping.
“We’re out!”
The Pill Spirit flew out, bouncing joyfully through the air.
“Hmph, it was nothing special.”
Ning Qi let out a cold snort and focused his attention downward.
Below, the passage had already closed, as if nothing had ever happened.
“Guess it’s the next unlucky bastard’s turn.”
Shi Xiaokun appeared as well and added: “This place won’t be destroyed unless this broken celestial body itself is obliterated.”
“Then it’s none of my business. Let’s go.”
Ning Qi cast one last glance downward before speeding forward.
In the blink of an eye, he landed on the ground.
Standing on a hillside, he looked at the lake before him: “But just now, I kept feeling like something was guiding us here.”
“Yeah, I felt it too. There really was some unseen force pointing the way.”
The Pill Spirit’s expression turned serious as well.
“Let’s just leave. There’s nothing else to find here.”
“Even if someone was here, they’ve long since fled.”
“Anyone who could get out of that place has likely become its Domain Sovereign.”
Shi Xiaokun gazed into the distance and said in a low voice.
“Then they’d never imagine we fought our way out by force.”
Ning Qi chuckled, then stopped dwelling on it: “Alright, let’s go. Let’s check ahead for any resources.”
“I got tripped up here, so I need to make up for it up ahead.”
“If there’s nothing, then I’ll destroy this place myself.”
With that, he shot off, leaving the area.
Soon, he left the oasis zone and entered the heart of the desert.
Here, yellow sand filled the sky, and there was still no sign of Life Force Energy pulsing in the distance.
But Ning Qi didn’t give up. He kept moving forward.
Gradually, the yellow sand began to recede.
Replaced by a forest.
Compared to the previous oasis, this one was noticeably larger.
But it didn’t seem to be a completely different environment—the forest was also part of the desert’s oasis.
“Master, this place is bigger than the last one.”
The Pill Spirit noticed the change and said: “So, do we still want to go in and check?”
“Of course. If such a large forest can form here, it must have something special.”
“Let’s go in and take a look. If there’s nothing, we can just pull out.”
Ning Qi nodded and strode straight into the forest.
Once inside, he began to observe his surroundings warily.
“Master, it feels like the trees here are moving!”
After observing for a while, the Pill Spirit suddenly said: “It’s a bit like what happened with us and Miss Xu back then.”
“It’s not that they’re moving. The Life Force Energy here is very dense.”
“That gives these trees, flowers, and plants life, making them emit unusual life fluctuations.”
“That’s why you, a life form, feel like they’re moving!”
Ning Qi smiled at his explanation: “So, coming here means you can absorb their Life Force Energy.”
“Ah! I didn’t even notice!”
After Ning Qi finished speaking, the Pill Spirit looked shocked.
He never expected to encounter such a situation.
“Let me break the restrictions here so you can absorb as much as you want.”
Ning Qi waved his hand, instantly shattering the formations and restrictions in the area: “Someone sealed the Life Force Energy here.”
“That’s why you couldn’t sense it, and even these plants themselves couldn’t release it!”
“Oh, I can feel it now!”
“This Life Force Energy is so strong!”
The Pill Spirit cheered: “Master, how did you figure it out?”
While speaking, he didn’t stop moving.
He began to furiously absorb the Life Force Energy around him.
In an instant, the Life Force Energy here transformed into streams of green light, converging toward the Pill Spirit.
With their nourishment, the Pill Spirit’s body began to glow with a translucent green.
He was like a green sun, gradually forming a whirlwind of Life Force Energy.
It split into thousands of threads, summoned by the Pill Spirit, and was all absorbed by him.
“I’ve already grasped the Great Dao of formation restrictions.”
“Unless it’s something very unusual, I only need one glance to see through any formation or restriction here.”
Ning Qi smiled and looked ahead: “Since there are formations here, it means someone has been here before.”
“Let’s go see what’s up ahead and check if there’s anything valuable.”
“Alright!”
The Pill Spirit agreed, sitting on Ning Qi’s shoulder while absorbing Life Force Energy.
At the same time, he promised to follow Ning Qi and check things out.
Ning Qi didn’t hesitate. He sprinted straight ahead.
Along the way, there wasn’t a single bird or beast.
Not even a single flying insect.
This made him curious.
Logically, this desert oasis should have attracted plenty of birds and insects.
“Master, it’s weird. There’s strong Life Force Energy here, but not a single Spirit Beast or person.”
“There’s not even a single bone.”
The Pill Spirit quickly noticed this as well and said to Ning Qi.
“Right, let’s go. Let’s see if we can find the reason.”
Ning Qi’s expression turned serious.
After agreeing, he continued at full speed.
Soon, they reached a clearing ahead.
In the center stood a thatched cottage.
But it had clearly been abandoned for a long time, already in a state of decay.
Ning Qi went straight up to the cottage and looked inside through the doorway.
Inside were broken wooden furniture and thick layers of dust.
Yet even with the damp atmosphere, there wasn’t a single spiderweb in sight.