The sage was determined to die.

The ground, rumbling and cracking open, seemed to conceal a giant cocoon, within which lay a monster about to emerge. When the monster descended, it naturally wouldn't care about the lives of the surrounding insects.

Ji Bai now feels like he is that worm.

His head began to throb violently, as if someone was hammering and drilling into his brain, trying to create tiny cracks. He covered his forehead with one hand, and the more his brain hurt, the clearer his thoughts became.

He looked at the girl, whose face was deathly pale, and couldn't help but ask her, "Is this some kind of evil ritual?"

The girl was genuinely surprised that this person still had time to joke at a time like this, and her tense emotions relaxed slightly.

"I have no idea."

She seemed to hesitate and struggle, but ultimately decided to be partially honest: "I... don't know everything I've learned."

Ji Bai seized the opportunity to suggest, "Wake her up."

"She can't remember." Ji Bai held the girl's wrist tightly, but his strength wasn't great, and he clearly had no intention of hurting her.

After the thought popped into her head, she couldn't help but laugh mockingly. Of course, the other party wouldn't harm her body, because he only considered himself a... what did they say again, a parasite?

"Really?" Ji Bai's expression showed that he didn't believe the girl's words. "You and Ji Ying don't have any relationship?"

"What...?"

The shock on her face seemed genuine; her feigned weakness and innocence clearly crumbled at this moment.

Ji Bai lowered his head slightly to look at the soil beneath his feet and said only one sentence.

"We're getting off the elevator."

……

The headless turtle carcass rotted at a visible rate.

The corpse even emitted a foul stench. After an unknown amount of time, the decaying body was revitalized. New flesh and blood adhered to the shiny black tortoise shell, and an old head slowly emerged from the shell.

"Hehe." The old man looked around and, seeing no sign of Ji Ying, suddenly laughed after a while. "This little one has no patience."

The pitch-black underground was clearly another world, with a clear river running through the entire area. Cocoons grew all around the river, and at a speed almost visible to the naked eye, the cocoons broke open, revealing new yet ancient houses.

The old tortoise looked at these houses. His life had been too long, and he had seen, experienced, and enjoyed countless things. The scene before him was somewhat familiar, but that familiarity was even smaller than the thickness of a hair.

"This place..."

He hesitated for a moment, but when he thought of the Wenxin, his eyes, which had slowly turned emerald green, lit up incredibly.

"So this is the place..."

The old turtle slowly crawled into the river, and the water quickly submerged his body. The cool, clear water was not irritating at all; instead, it nourished his body like a hot spring.

……

"Pah, pah, pah."

Ji Bai patted his robes with one hand and complained to the girl beside him, "We shouldn't have said 'going down an elevator,' this is clearly going down a dirt staircase."

He looked around at the unfamiliar scenery, which was completely unfamiliar to him.

"Where is this?" he asked the girl. "Do you know?"

The girl shook her head and said, "I don't know."

"Oh," Ji Bai said, "then you must know."