Lin Yun had no idea about the great psychological impact he had left on Xiao Qing. After running with the sword for a while, he realized Xiao Qing was not following. Puzzled, he turned back and called out, "Xiao Qing?"

"Coming!"

Xiao Qing transformed into a streak of light, returning to Lin Yun’s body. The entire dragon submerged itself into the Spiritual Liquid, and only then did it start feeling better.

Lin Yun didn’t think much of it and continued hastening toward the Sky-Piercing Tower.

The door of the Sky-Piercing Tower was open. However, looking from the outside in, one could only see a blanket of white light. The brightness was so intense it shrouded everything.

"Going in."

Lin Yun said to himself, not hesitating much before stepping through the gate.

"Lin Yun!"

Hearing the voice, Lin Yun whirled around to see Bai Jiaojiao rushing toward him with a long spear in hand.

Lin Yun immediately cursed under his breath.

Damn it, I scrambled around with Xiao Qing’s help to find the Sky-Piercing Tower, one foot already in, and you’re outside?

By this time, Lin Yun had already tried to retract his foot, but it was too late. He felt a tremendous suction force and his body uncontrollably got sucked into the tower. Before he was completely engulfed by the white light, all he felt was his hand, grabbing onto something cold.

After a moment, Lin Yun could see again. The first thing he did was look at what he was holding in his hand.

It was a soft little hand, icy to the touch yet very resilient.

That hand, of course, belonged to Bai Jiaojiao.

"It’s good that I caught you."

Bai Jiaojiao finally let out a sigh of relief.

The space inside the Sky-Piercing Tower was particularly strange; if they hadn’t entered hand in hand, it’s uncertain whether the two would be in the same place.

Bai Jiaojiao, though also not confident about leaving the Sky-Piercing Tower again, at least had some experience under her belt.

"How did you..."

Bai Jiaojiao’s words were cut off as Lin Yun hugged her tightly in his arms.

The rest of the sentence naturally remained unasked. At that moment, Lin Yun’s long-suppressed emotions thoroughly burst forth. Bai Jiaojiao felt she was being held a bit too tight, but somehow, the sensation was not too bad.

Although they were in danger, the two still savored a moment of tenderness. Bai Jiaojiao thought, after being held for so long, it was probably time to speak up. But for a while, she didn’t know what to say.

Fortunately, Lin Yun loosened his grip slightly, and as their eyes met, a thousand words seemed to pass between them.

"Um..."

Bai Jiaojiao finally decided to be the first to speak. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but for some reason, she couldn’t think of what to say. Stuck in this way was not going to work, so Bai Jiaojiao had a moment of inspiration and blurted out, "Do you feel like I’ve grown up?"

Lin Yun: "..."

How do you ruin the moment with just one sentence?

Bai Jiaojiao did it effortlessly, but Lin Yun still looked down seriously and said, "I didn’t notice just now because when I think of you, I can’t think about anything else."

His plain and simple words of affection made Bai Jiaojiao very happy.

She had just revealed a sweet smile when out of the blue, she heard Lin Yun say, "I think it might be more accurate to feel with both hands."

Bai Jiaojiao: "..."

The whole atmosphere collapsed just like that.

But Bai Jiaojiao was no ordinary woman. Her cheeks blushed slightly, yet she still stood tall and straightened her chest, saying shyly, "Go ahead, then."

Little Gold within the Thunderclap Sword had totally lost its composure.

It had seen Lin Yun flirting with girls time and time again. As a spirit, it of course didn’t understand human emotions, but...

Couldn’t you at least pick the right moment?!

"Such intense space fluctuations, this place is too dangerous, we need to leave immediately!"

Little Gold trembled frantically in Lin Yun’s hand, even shocking him with a spark of electricity to jolt him into awareness.

After hearing Little Gold’s words, Lin Yun had no choice but to temporarily put aside picking Bai Jiaojiao and began surveying their surroundings. At first glance, the abstract art-style scenery made him feel like he was no longer in the Mortal Realm.

"What in the world is this place?"

Lin Yun couldn’t help but exclaim, Bai Jiaojiao also remembering that they were not yet out of danger and it wasn’t the time for affection.

"The black areas are safe, while the purple substances are called the void and must not be touched. Those bubbles are little worlds being eroded by the void. Once a world perishes, the bubble will explode, creating a void storm."

In an extremely short span of time, Bai Jiaojiao relayed her knowledge, and Lin Yun did not question her information but instead looked ahead.

Almost everything within his sight was purple, an ocean of purple with black areas thin as threads, and those bubbles floating around erratically. Remembering what Bai Jiaojiao said about the bubbles exploding into void storms, Lin Yun felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Do you see that little bubble over there? Does it look like it’s about to burst?"

Lin Yun pointed at a bubble that was slowly drifting toward them, and after a long look, Bai Jiaojiao nodded and said, "It does seem like it."

Little Gold: "..."

What kind of top-tier idiocy is this from the Mortal Realm!

It sensed a great number of space fluctuations. Rather, this entire expanse of space was unstable; that alone would have been tolerable, but the void here was filled with an aura of destruction.

Normally, space and the void are like two sides of the same sheet of paper, coexisting dependently but without interfering with each other.

Meanwhile, the void here was trying to annihilate the space, completely different from the void in other places. To put it anthropomorphically, the void here had become demonic.

This was what truly terrified Little Gold: the void was everywhere, wherever there was space, there was the void.

Thankfully, it was only a small area here that was abnormal. If the void everywhere were as destructive as it was here, then the world would be doomed to destruction.

"We need to get out of here fast. If you die in this place, you might not even get the chance to go to the Netherworld Realm." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

This place was no longer the Mortal Realm, it almost felt like a realm unto itself. If one were to die here, the soul might not make it into the Netherworld Realm but instead be completely devoured by the void of this place.

Little Gold’s words finally scared Lin Yun. Good grief, so you’re telling me there’s no chance of revival if you die here?

Lin Yun had thought that if he died, he might go to the Netherworld and potentially kill his way back from there, but here they were offering no chances of revival at all?

He indeed needed to be more cautious.

"Grab my hand."

Lin Yun looked toward the slim black region with a grave expression.

After carefully observing, Bai Jiaojiao couldn’t help but say seriously, "This place seems a bit different from before, there’s more purple and less black."

In simple terms, that meant the safe zone had shrunk, while the danger had expanded.

"Do you know how to get out?"

"I was sent out by Elder Bai Lin, but now, Elder Bai Lin has probably completely ceased to exist."

Lin Yun: "..."

So, you don’t know the way out?

While the two were talking, the bubble that seemed on the verge of bursting was rapidly floating towards them...