A Jiu felt an invisible, intangible force surge towards her.
She had to quickly withdraw her mind. The Qi meridians within her body began to circulate visibly. No, not visibly. It was with Shen Zhao.
She could "see" the blood and meridians within her body circulating rapidly and methodically throughout her body.
Streams of powerful force enveloped her entire being, as if forming a shield.
Yet, this spiritual energy that enveloped her felt incredibly comfortable, so comfortable that A Jiu instantly entered a state of deep meditation.
"Yo..." Granny Wang's eyes snapped open, and she scanned her granddaughter sitting beside her.
Her dirt-smudged face showed slightly closed eyes, her expression serene, as if she were fast asleep. However, the pale blue spiritual energy swirling around her body remained gathered, not dispersing.
It was almost the color of deep sea blue, completely encasing her granddaughter in a blue oval cocoon.
"So fast?" Granny Wang circled her granddaughter, her surprise growing with every step. This girl never seemed to meditate or cultivate normally, yet she had progressed so quickly?
Could it be the third realm, where "stillness engenders movement" in all her actions?
It seemed this girl's innate disposition had facilitated her rapid opening of the Zhou Tian.
Where was this? A Jiu floated in an unfamiliar environment, with green mountains and clear waters. In the distance, towering mountains resembled flowing clouds and cascading waterfalls.
A giant white bird soared overhead, startling A Jiu so much that she sat down on the ground with a plop.
The bird did not linger, letting out two cries towards the distance before disappearing beyond the mountains.
Several colorful phoenixes, their calls interweaving, swooped across the top of the waterfall, leaving behind a trail of crimson and vibrant ribbons.
Such a beautiful, comfortable world.
Dreamlike and ethereal, like a fairyland.
"Slap!"
"Hiss!" A Jiu clutched her face, jolted awake from her dream. Her vision gradually cleared.
Granny Wang's furious eyes appeared directly above A Jiu's nose bridge, startling her.
She looked at her palm, then touched her face again. "Grandma, why did you hit me? Be careful, I'll tell Father."
"You were trapped in an illusion, do you know that?" Granny Wang was beside herself with anger. This was a test. This yearning in her heart was also a form of desire. She didn't yet understand that everything was but a fleeting illusion.
Fortunately, Granny Wang gritted her teeth and slapped Meng Jiu'er, waking her up.
"What do you mean?" A Jiu was bewildered. Only then did she realize it was already dark. She had been sitting there all afternoon.
In the distance, torches from the base camp flickered and dispersed, and the calls of people searching for Jiu'er could be faintly heard.
"Although this girl of yours doesn't harbor greed or malice, you must understand that this world is like a dream. There's no right or wrong, no black or white. If you become deeply immersed, your inner projections will appear again, and then, you might never be able to return."
Granny Wang's expression was also one of astonishment as she spoke. Firstly, she hadn't expected her granddaughter to progress so rapidly to the stage of breaking through. Secondly, if she truly couldn't return, it would be a tragedy.
"I won't talk about it with you, Grandma. I need to go back." A Jiu stood up and saw that the person leading the search was her Father.
Her mother was probably worried sick.
"No, you must listen to me finish, otherwise, it will be very dangerous in the future."
Granny Wang held her back, preventing her from leaving.
But A Jiu shook her hand away and said, "It's too cold. I need to use the straw mats. My mother caught a chill last night."
Granny Wang couldn't stop her and followed behind, huffing.
When they arrived at the place where the straw mats were being woven, they found Peng Chao had already woven three.
These straw mats were very heavy; when rolled up and carried on the shoulder, they weighed at least forty to fifty jin.
"I'll take them." Granny Wang snatched them, tucking one under her armpit and carrying another on her shoulder.
A Jiu hadn't said she couldn't carry them. She watched as Granny Wang and two others carried one each towards the crowd.
Hundreds of people stared intently at the two elderly women carrying such heavy loads back.
"They're truly strong in their old age."
"Indeed..."
"Jiu'er, you're back. You almost scared your father to death." Meng Shaode was the first to rush forward and grab his daughter's arm.
This immediately caused the leader of the group to flinch.
Good heavens, young lady Meng Jiu'er was Meng Shaode's daughter.
Ma Peng hurried forward, feeling this was a blessing from heaven. "Miss Meng, please don't wander around blindly at night. Look how worried your father is; he came to me late at night to send people to find you."
This credit was worth claiming.
A Jiu quickly bowed. "Thank you, Great Chieftain. I'm sorry to have troubled everyone. I won't go out at night anymore."