For the past two days, the atmosphere on the warship’s deck had been… strange.

Zhou Kai constantly felt a chill running down his spine.

Although Shen Hanyi hadn’t brought up the “Dao Companion” proposal again, the Grand Miss Li Youci would occasionally send a slap flying his way out of nowhere.

“No, I can’t go on like this!”

Zhou Kai gritted his teeth, a ruthless resolve forming in his heart.

Since Shen Hanyi has already put everything out in the open, I might as well blow this up. With Li Youci’s personality, the more I retreat, the more she looks down on me. It’s better to turn the tables and force her hand!

He took a deep breath and strode aggressively toward the Dark Cloud Soul Chasing Sedan.

He yanked the sedan curtain open and roared at the stunning silhouette inside:

“Li Youci! Daddy has taken a fancy to you! I want you to be my woman! I have the Spirit Yang Creation Body, if you…”

Naturally, before he could finish, a single word interrupted him.

“Scram!”

Bang!

Zhou Kai flew backward, tumbling through the air.

Fish Baibai covered her eyes with her hands, peeking through the gaps in her fingers.

Gao Feiyang sidled up to him with a wretched grin, lowering his voice. “Junior Brother Zhou—no, Senior Brother Zhou—you are… truly brave! However, although the Grand Miss threw you out, she didn’t use a killing blow. There’s hope!”

Two streaks of startling rainbow light tore through the sky—one azure, one blue. Their speed was astonishing, arriving above the warship in the blink of an eye.

The light dissipated, revealing two figures.

The leader, Li Qiwen, had a gaze like lightning. His eyes landed immediately on Li Youci.

“Youci, what is this about Gazing River City? Why so mysterious that you wouldn’t even let me bring my subordinates?”

Behind him stood the voluptuous Li Yunmian. She seemed utterly uninterested in secret realms.

She yawned, her gaze sweeping lazily across the deck. She paused briefly on Zhou Kai, who was scrambling to his feet, before drifting lightly down.

“Traveling is exhausting. Youci, I’m going to take a nap in your sedan.”

Li Yunmian walked straight into the Dark Cloud Soul Chasing Sedan, showing zero interest in looking at anyone else.

Li Qiwen’s gaze, however, sharpened as it fell upon Shen Hanyi, who was standing beside Li Youci.

Seeing the two standing shoulder to shoulder, he let out a surprised sound and raised an eyebrow. “Youci, who is this?”

He knew his sister’s situation better than anyone. Among her peers, most kept a respectful distance. As for old history… best not to mention it.

“My friend, Shen Hanyi,” Li Youci introduced indifferently, her tone flat. “Formerly a high disciple of the Lone Goose Palace.”

A flash of surprise crossed Li Qiwen’s eyes, quickly replaced by delight. He looked Shen Hanyi up and down and nodded with satisfaction. “Good, good! Youci, you finally have a friend. Excellent, excellent!”

His sister had finally opened up! As her brother, he felt a wave of profound relief.

Zhou Kai pondered this silently. Listening to Li Qiwen’s tone, it was as if his sister making a friend was a world-shaking miracle.

It seems this Grand Miss really is as lonely inside as Shen Hanyi said. This is an interesting breach point. Perhaps… besides the aggressive approach, I need a soft, romantic offensive?

Li Youci clearly didn’t want to dwell on this topic. She cut straight to the chase.

“Brother, long story short. Inside the Forgetfulness River City, there is a technique I must obtain…”

Zhou Kai began his own calculations.

With two mid-stage Golden Core bosses leading the team, wouldn’t he—a small fry at the third layer of Foundation Establishment—just be slacking off the whole time?

All he had to do was follow behind and shout slogans like “Young Master is mighty!” and “Master is domineering!” at the right moments.

As for the opportunities, the three Li family members would undoubtedly take the lion’s share. He would just drink some soup. If there really was a technique related to the Cicada Raiment Art, Li Youci surely wouldn’t be stingy.

Hmm, this isn’t a losing deal.

The siblings whispered for a moment, likely Li Qiwen asking for details. A moment later, he nodded and swept his gaze over Zhou Kai and the others.

“Since that is the case, let us depart.”

The group of seven took the warship, turned around, and sped toward the great river.

The river flowed from west to east, broad and turbulent, eventually plunging straight into a massive cavern. Inside, it was pitch black, like the gaping maw of a giant beast swallowing everything in its path.

The warship lit up with a protective spirit barrier and sailed into the cave without obstruction. The river channel sloped downward, the roar of water echoing in the dark void, adding a touch of eeriness.

They descended for an unknown amount of time. Suddenly, Li Qiwen, Li Youci, and Li Yunmian frowned in unison.

“There are people. Twelve of them.”

The strength of their Divine Sense far surpassed their peers!

“Hmph, rats hiding in the shadows!”

Li Qiwen snorted coldly. His figure blurred, transforming into an azure rainbow that shot forward, taking the lead.

Whoosh!

A violent azure gale materialized out of thin air, instantly crushing the twelve black-robed cultivators in its grip!

Before the twelve could even scream, they were forcibly squeezed into twelve mists of blood!

The other six followed closely behind.

By the time Zhou Kai arrived, nothing remained but a pile of gore. The air was thick with the stench of blood.

Li Qiwen stood with his hands behind his back, pointing at a smooth, mirror-like stone wall nearby. His expression was calm.

“I searched their souls. They were from the Yin Ruins Sect and the Fu family. This wall is one of the entrances to the Twin Formation; they had already opened it.”

He paused, his expression growing grave. “These two factions sent in a total of fifty people. It has been nearly two months, and not a single one has come out.”

He looked at Li Youci. “Youci, do we wait, or go in?”

“Of course we go in.” Li Youci walked to the edge of the ship and shouted toward the cabin, “Xia Min, stay here and guard the warship.”

Without hesitation, Li Youci walked toward the stone wall. Her figure flickered and vanished into the rock.

The group filed in one after another.

Zhou Kai felt his vision blur. A wave of intense dizziness assaulted him, as if his soul was being ripped from his body. The world spun violently.

When he regained his senses and found his footing, the scene before him left him dumbstruck.

It was a city.

A city so massive it defied description!

Green-gray walls towered into the clouds, stretching beyond the horizon, the bricks scarred with the mottled traces of time. A turbid, dark-yellow river cut through the city, flowing slowly as if time itself had congealed.

The city gates stood wide open. On the lintel, two ancient, vigorous characters were carved—Forgetfulness.

But… where was everyone else?

Zhou Kai looked around. It was empty. He was alone!

“F*ck!” Zhou Kai nearly cursed aloud.

What happened to following the big shots and picking up scraps? What happened to sitting back and relaxing? What is going on?

He immediately pulled out his communication jade token and frantically injected Mana. The token remained dull and lifeless, eliciting no reaction.

Zhou Kai frowned, not daring to be careless. With a thought, the Chaotic Sky Hammer appeared in his grip, and a layer of protective spiritual light shimmered over his body. Only then did he cautiously fly toward the city.

But the moment he crossed the threshold of the city gate, his face changed drastically!

Boom!

An invisible yet terrifyingly heavy pressure squeezed him from all directions, like an unseen mountain crashing down on his head!

The Mana in his body instantly stagnated, its circulation slowing by more than ten times! His Vitality became heavy as lead. Even his life-bound treasure, the Chaotic Sky Hammer, became so heavy he could barely hold it!

“Not good!”

Zhou Kai cried out inwardly. This is a cultivation-suppressing Secret Realm!

He made a snap decision to turn around and exit the gate to rethink his strategy.

But when he whirled around, his pupils contracted sharply.

There was no gate behind him!

There was only a towering city wall, identical to the rest, cold and deathly silent.

The gate was real, the wall was real, and he hadn’t been teleported. So… what kind of heaven-altering, earth-changing ability was this?

Zhou Kai’s heart sank.

He could clearly feel it—his cultivation, his body refinement, even his Divine Sense—everything was ruthlessly suppressed to the Great Circle of the First Realm (Qi Condensation)!

No wonder!

No wonder Fang Lizhe’s destitute great-grandfather, who had fallen to the mortal world, could obtain opportunities here!

Here, all living beings were equal—everyone was back to Qi Condensation!

Zhou Kai cursed his luck. Not being in the Second Realm (Foundation Establishment) meant he couldn’t activate his life-bound treasure, the Chaotic Sky Hammer, which resided in his Dantian.

Fortunately, he still had plenty of magical artifacts looted from the Yin Ruins Sect and the Fu family. They would have to make do. He also had a stack of talismans and the dual Trap-and-Kill Formation Uncle Sun had given him before his death at Minshan Lake.

With a thought, three streaks of green light flew out of his Spirit Beast Bag. They landed on the ground, transforming into three palm-sized Jade Arm Mantises.

These three little things were raised by Zhou Kai from eggs. After a few months, they were only at the second layer of Qi Condensation. However, their signature forelimb scythes already faintly glowed with a white-jade luster.

Zhou Kai had asked Gao Feiyang before; the whiter a Jade Arm Mantis’s scythes, the stronger they were. If they became as white as mutton-fat jade, they might even advance in rank.

“I should have brought those Quenching Spirit Bees,” he regretted. “Though they aren’t good at killing, their numbers are vast—perfect for scouting.”

But it was too late for regrets.

He looked at the dead, silent giant city before him, sensing the faint, cold aura in the air. Taking a deep breath, he issued a command to the three Jade Arm Mantises.

“Go. Scout the area.”