This was a brilliant starry world, where the sky was dotted with countless stars, their dazzling radiance painting the realm in breathtaking beauty.
When Ren Yi opened his eyes, he was utterly captivated by the sight, unable to speak for a long while.
A small, fair hand waved impatiently in front of him. "Hey! Big idiot, you still alive?"
The voice belonged to the transparent girl—no, she was no longer transparent now. Ren Yi could no longer see through her body to the scenery behind.
"Little girl, who exactly are you? Why have you been following me? And where is this place?"
The transparent girl lifted her chin haughtily, nostrils flaring toward the sky. "Hmph! I'm not a little girl—I'm your ancestor!"
"Pfft…" Ren Yi nearly snorted a bubble of snot in disbelief. "Little girl, you can eat buns any old way, but you can't talk nonsense. You're so tiny—how could you be my ancestor? I'm more like your ancestor."
Standing straight, the girl barely reached Ren Yi's armpit, with two little maid-style buns on her head—clearly an underage girl.
"Tch! How ignorant! So what if I look like this? I'm well over ten thousand years old, at the very least. Trace your bloodline back far enough, and you might even carry the blood of my Lan clan!"
"Hahaha… You're about to burst your own bubble, you're so funny!" Ren Yi doubled over laughing, on the verge of choking.
The transparent girl stamped her foot in anger. "Stop laughing! I'm telling the truth!"
"Hahaha…"
Ren Yi continued laughing uncontrollably, unable to stop.
Furious, the girl reached to tug at his robes—but by some stroke of luck, Ren Yi dodged, shooting her a taunting look.
The girl lowered her voice menacingly. "Big idiot, laugh again and see what happens? Believe I'll beat you into a pile of mud?"
An imposing, unspokenly fierce aura emanated from her, yet paired with her delicate, flower-like face, it carried not an ounce of conviction.
Ren Yi wiped tears from his eyes, still cackling as he perfunctorily replied, "Ha… I believe you. You're so capable—why don't you punch a hole through the earth's crust for me?"
"Aaaaah… I'm so mad I'm gonna explode!"
The girl's hair stood on end like a hedgehog, and the murderous aura around her condensed into ice, ready to strike at any moment.
Even Ren Yi, a beggar long used to the cold, couldn't help shivering.
For a moment, the scene was unbearably tense.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa~~~ What… what are you doing?"
"Ouch~~~ Hiss~~~"
Startled by the girl's appearance, Ren Yi stammered, nearly biting his tongue.
"I… will… kill… you…"
The transparent girl grinned sinisterly, enunciating each word slowly as she curled her ten fingers into claws.
Her nails grew at a visible speed, transforming in the blink of an eye into ten sharp daggers.
Against the backdrop of the blue starry sky, the nails glinted with an eerie blue sheen—clearly not something to be touched lightly, a far cry from the beautiful girl she'd been moments before.
The girl's attack came fast. In the blink of an eye, Ren Yi felt those nails mere paper-thin away from him. All he could do was squeeze his eyes shut, unable to react to anything else.
Yet the expected pain never came. Everything was silent.
"How is this possible? I can't touch you anymore? Impossible—something must be wrong."
Hearing the strange sound, Ren Yi quickly opened his eyes. The girl was no longer in front of him, but right behind him.
"Whoa! What happened? I'm still alive?"
He patted himself here and there, a look of utter disbelief on his face.
"Waaaaah… I can't touch you anymore. I can't even touch you. Am I dead? Waaaaah~~~"
The murderous aura around the girl vanished in an instant. Now she looked as fragile as a harmless neighbor girl—small, helpless, and pitiful…
Ren Yi was already terrified of her. Daring not to comfort her, he turned and ran for his life.
But as soon as he moved, he realized this world was endless—no matter how far he ran, he couldn't escape. And the girl's sobs lingered in his ears, never fading.
Curious, he glanced back and saw her trailing not far behind him. "Good grief, will you stop? You're like a ghost that won't leave!"
The girl ignored him, still drowning in her own sorrow.
He ran for what felt like an eternity, until he collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath like a dead dog.
This place was enormous!
"Big idiot, it's useless. You can't run out of here." The girl squatted on the ground, drawing circles boredly, looking utterly defeated.
By now, she'd stopped crying and accepted the cruel reality.
"Why? What's going on? Where is this place? Who are you?" Ren Yi raked his greasy hair in frustration.
Too many unknowns made his head spin!
He found himself missing that bitterly cold, bullied world. At least there, it was noisy and bustling, full of people and life—not like here, silent as a ghost realm.
For once, the transparent girl was quiet and well-behaved, as if troubled by something, and answered all of Ren Yi's questions.
"The extra-bright stars up there are other continents, other worlds. Only those with the strength of a God King can move freely through this endless void."
"Other worlds? Where? A God King? Is that a cultivator's realm? The highest I've ever heard of is a True Person."
"Ha! You've only heard of it—what do you know? A True Person is just barely stepping over the threshold of cultivation."
"As for other worlds, they have nothing to do with you. Anyway, a useless trash like you will never get there in this lifetime—give up!"
The girl's words were sharp and unkind.
Ren Yi twitched his lips awkwardly. "Uh… fine, forget that. Can you tell me how I got in here, and how to get out?"
"I don't know!"
The girl stood up irritably. This conversation was driving her crazy.
Faintly, she began to remember something—they must have entered the pouch.
The pouch had originally been a pair, possessing the storage capacity of a Universe Bag, able to hold both living and inanimate objects. It was said that even an entire world, once refined, could be perfectly fused inside.
As for other functions, she hadn't had time to figure them out.
It was an immortal treasure she'd had forged by Yu Guang, the God of Artifacts, using all her life's manpower and resources.
Back then, Yu Guang had even looked disdainful. "Such a precious treasure, yet you only want it for decoration? You're wasting heaven's gifts, and do you look down on my skills as the God of Artifacts?"
His name as a forger was renowned across the Three Thousand Worlds—he never made useless things.
Stroking the pouch, the girl's eyes shone with joy. "You clumsy oaf only know how to forge artifacts—you don't understand other people's hearts."
"Heh, what thoughts you have, I don't have time to care about. I poured my life's work into this pouch, little girl. You should be thanking your lucky stars—those ten jars of Pear Blossom Wine you gave me were well worth it."
Speaking of Pear Blossom Wine, Yu Guang couldn't help pulling out his wine gourd from his waist and taking a big gulp. The explosive, satisfying taste made his eyes narrow, and he smacked his lips in bliss.
The transparent girl snorted coldly. "This wine is fierce—drink too much and you'll burst a blood vessel!"
It had taken her sixty years to brew it. She'd only gotten to enjoy one jar herself, and the rest had gone to this rough man—how could she not feel like vomiting blood?
Out of sight, out of mind, she'd hurried away with the pouch, before she could hand one to the master she revered as a god. Then an accident struck, and she watched helplessly as her master was plotted against and vanished before her eyes.
Furious, she spat out a mouthful of heart blood and swore to find the mastermind and avenge her lord.
She traveled the Three Thousand Worlds, enduring countless hardships, until she finally came face to face with the culprit. But the enemy was far too powerful.
With a mere flick of the finger, they'd toyed with her like a monkey, leaving her dead and her Dao shattered.
As if the mockery wasn't enough, they'd even given her a nickname—**"Lan Ling Tu Fu"**, a play on words meaning "Rarely Clear-Headed"!