: []

Lin Qi's eyes narrowed, and she also stared intently at the scene in the dense fog.

The young woman in the painting had a delicate and frail appearance, but her expression was remarkably calm.

She sat cross-legged on an ice jade bed, holding a spirit stone in one hand and rapidly forming hand seals with the other. Several black residual souls circled around her.

A soul banner was stuck beside the ice jade bed.

Spectral figures flit about, the summoning banner swaying silently.

As she absorbed the remnant soul into her body, the spiritual energy within the spirit stone was completely drained.

The summoning banner also stopped moving.

The scene was once again shrouded in mist.

The Ji couple looked bewildered, "Where are we? We've never seen this place before?"

Ji Lang told Lin Qi, "After Lin Yun went missing, we searched the entire back mountain with the family guards. We looked everywhere Lin Yun might have gone, but there was no such place."

Lin Qi's expression remained calm, because she had probably guessed where it came from.

As the female lead, how could Lin Yun possibly be without a must-have space?

As described, Lin Yun's space contained a spirit spring, a divine tree, and an ice jade bed.

It is said that drinking spirit springs and eating divine tree fruit while resting on an ice jade bed, one cultivates happily like a god, with progress of cultivation reaching thousands of miles in a day.

The Ice Jade Bed has therapeutic, anti-toxic, and cultivation enhancement effects.

The male lead, Rong Shi, spends half of the plot meditating on an ice jade bed in order to restore his strength as soon as possible.

It seems Lin Yun has indeed started cultivating a long time ago.

After the mist, one could faintly see the reflection of a man. It is likely that the owner of the shadow is the male lead, Rong Shi.

They were already involved with each other so early on.

Lin Qi couldn't help but suspect that Lin Yun had become an evil cultivator, possibly because of Rong Shi.

After all, this fellow is a being of both celestial and demonic origins.

If this keeps up, the plot is going to be completely ruined.

The heroine became a demon cultivator, or was she led astray by the male lead...?

Lin Qi shook her head, dismissing these speculations, and continued to place the things Ji Lang had brought into the simple formation.

There were some traces found of the evil cultivator's clothing.

This happened when Lin Yun was hiking in the back mountains one day. He accidentally bumped into a rogue cultivator who had been separated from their pursuers.

The wicked cultivator wanted to kill her to restore his spiritual energy, but in the crucial moment, he was killed by Lin Yun instead.

In a flash, the evil cultivator was drained of his essence and turned into a desiccated corpse.

The Ji couple, seeing this scene, were so frightened that their souls flew away, they staggered back and nearly fell to the ground.

Lin Qi leaned her chin on her hand, staring intently at everything without missing a single detail.

Man was not killed by Lin Yun.

At that time, Lin Yun was only five years old. Even if the evil cultivator was severely injured, it would be impossible for her to kill him.

At the moment the cultist swung his blade at Lin Yun, Lin Yun raised his hand to block. The emerald bangle on his wrist deflected the blow, appearing with a crack.

The moment the blade fell, Lin Qi didn't miss the streak of blood spreading from the crack in the bracelet.

When the evil cultivator's second blade fell, a captivating aura surged from the bracelet on Lin Yun's hand. A black mist-like power instantly drained the evil cultivator.

The bracelet was calm again, and the cracks on its surface had vanished as if they had never been there.

Lin Qi knew that this bracelet was Lin Yun's space, and the touch of blood on the bracelet should belong to Rong Shi.

Therefore, the one who killed the evil cultivator was Rong Shi, while Lin Yun was the one who cultivated evil arts.

A mysterious smile curled up on Lin Qi's face, causing the couple beside her to feel uneasy.

"Master Lin, now you see it too, don't you? Lin Yun is a demon cultivator! My son's death must be related to her!"

Lin Qi's voice interrupted them. "Do you have anything that belonged to Young Master Ji when he died?"

Ji Lang knew Lin Qi was going to play tricks again, and immediately nodded, "Yes, yes!"

Ji Niangzi also nodded, taking out a small jade Buddha from her chest.

“This jade Buddha was given to him when he was six years old. I took him to Xuankong Temple to ask for it, and he has been wearing it ever since, until that day…” Ji Nüzi couldn't help but wipe away tears again.

Lin Qi received the jade Buddha and placed it in the formation plate. This time, she had only begun to chant the incantation halfway when the formation plate shattered on its own.

The faces of the Ji couple changed drastically, and they cautiously asked: "Master Lin, is something wrong?"

Lin Qi's expression was calm, showing no emotion.

"No, the cultivators present at the time were too powerful, and the formation's rank was too low to be measured."

The disappointment on their faces was evident.

He was afraid Lin Qi would misunderstand, so he quickly explained: "My wife and I thought...today we could finally find out the cause of the young master's death. Who knew..."

It was all for nothing.

Having emptied my house and fortune in search of a reason, after more than a year of turmoil, I finally saw hope, only to have it dashed in an instant.

They did want to cover it up, but they no longer had the energy for it.

Lin Qi turned to comfort the two: "Don't worry, give me some time to think about it. Maybe there's still a chance."

Since the second-rank formation disk is too restricted, we can only use the fourth-rank formation disk to measure.

Lin Qi had already become a third-rank Array Master. During this time in the deserted city, she had time to ponder over fourth-rank Array Formations and strive to become a fourth-rank Array Master.

It's just that advancing from the third rank to the fourth rank is a big hurdle. Lin Qi herself isn't sure how long it will take, so she couldn't promise the Ji couple.

"Is there really still hope?" Ji Lang stared at Lin Qi, his eyes full of expectation.

Lin Qi nodded lightly, "There will be. However, both of you need to wait a while. At most three years, at least one year, it's certain that we can find out."

"Good!" Ji Lang replied loudly, his eyes brimming with tears of excitement.

"My wife and I have never been afraid to wait, but we fear waiting with no hope."

Ji Lang and Ji Nv simultaneously stood up, bowing deeply to Lin Qi. They said respectfully, "Thank you, Master Lin, for your mercy!"

When he looked up, Lin Qi was gone.

She went back to the clinic.

Chen Tao probably just cried, her eyes swollen like a walnut. Seeing Lin Qi, she asked in a choked voice: “How did you come back?”

Lin Qi said before leaving that she was going to visit relatives and that she might be gone for a while. Chen Tao had already made up her mind that Lin Qi wouldn't be back today.

Lin Qi concealed something in her heart, and replied nonchalantly: "I'll come back earlier when things are done."

How is Senior Brother Chen doing?

Chen Tao rubbed her eyes, "He woke up twice. I gave him some spiritual medicine, and he fell asleep again."

Lin Qi nodded. "If you need anything, just tell me, and I'll do my best to find it for you. There's no need to be polite in times like these."

Chen Tao didn't expect that Lin Qi, whom she had just met, could say such words, and was moved all of a sudden.

"I will, as long as I can cure my elder brother. I won't be polite."

Chen Tao was not afraid of not being able to pay back.

She was alone, with only her life, carrying no burdens. Even the most precious things could always be regained one day.

Lin Qi told her she would come to keep watch at night and then went to a guest house across the street, opening a room to meditate and rest.

Originally, they sought out the Ji couple only to inquire about what had happened to Lin Yun after being adopted out. She wanted to know so that she could plan how to deal with Lin Yun in the future.

But after hearing about the couple's experiences, Lin Qi's mood inexplicably became heavy.

(Editor in charge:visual novel)