"Who are you?"
Evan Lin spoke in a low voice, the white radiance completely enveloping both him and Lucy Bai.
Within a sea of white light.
In front of Evan Lin, the woman atop the tiny door—her back turned to all living beings—finally began to slowly turn her face.
It was a stunningly beautiful face: skin like congealed cream, delicate brows slightly furrowed, and beneath a pair of dan-feng eyes, a calmness that seemed to see through everything.
Absolutely beautiful.
Even the phrase 'as beautiful as a fish sinking or a bird falling' couldn't capture the brilliance of the woman before him.
A powerful, awe-inspiring aura shrouded her entire body.
"Lyria, Mas... Master?"
Seeing her face, Evan Lin was momentarily dazed.
That face, those eyes, that incredibly familiar person now stood alive right in front of Evan Lin. The closeness shook him to his core.
Evan Lin softly called out.
But the woman who looked just like Lyria glanced at him lightly, then suddenly shifted her gaze toward Lucy Bai.
At that moment, every strand of white radiance gathered and poured into Lucy Bai's body.
The seemingly gentle white radiance brought Lucy Bai a powerful sense of oppression.
She let out low, painful groans.
Her face twisted, cold sweat streaming nonstop.
"Back then, I faced a lightning tribulation, but my cultivation was damaged and I couldn't resist that heavenly trial. I failed to ascend."
"By chance, I met a member of this Bai bloodline and passed my divine sense technique to them, letting it be handed down generation after generation in the Bai clan, so I could sleep in this world until now."
"So many years have passed. Who knows how many springs and autumns have gone by outside? Flowers have bloomed and withered. To be honest, I'm the one who owes your Bai clan."
As the woman's words fell, she gently pointed out with a finger, and a strand of pure, unusual energy flowed from her fingertip into Lucy Bai's body.
"Spiritual qi."
Evan Lin watched that strand of energy, his feelings complicated and hard to describe.
This was the first time in this world he had ever seen truly pure spiritual qi.
Before this, whether it was Zhong Shuiyu or Chen Linyan, the spiritual qi in their bodies was not only extremely thin, but more importantly, it always remained inside them and could never truly appear independently in the world.
As for all the spiritual qi inside the Nourishing Spirit Pill, that was something Evan Lin had extracted from medicinal ingredients.
In contrast, the strand of spiritual qi before him was pure and clean, and most importantly, it was released by the person in front of him—a true cultivated spiritual qi.
That strand of spiritual qi followed Lucy Bai's wrist and merged into her body.
With that strand of spiritual qi present, Lucy Bai's complexion instantly improved.
The oppressive force from the surroundings also suddenly lightened.
"The imprint left in your Bai bloodline should have been a complete woman's figure, but you only carry half. That's why it's so hard for you to endure this place."
The woman spoke.
"The kindness you showed my Bai clan back then is now repaid."
Lucy Bai took quite a while to recover her breath. Looking at the woman before her, her voice sounded weak.
"It's settled."
The woman nodded, then pointed again, sending another stream of spiritual qi into Lucy Bai's body.
With the second stream of spiritual qi, Lucy Bai's complexion changed drastically and she instantly fell asleep.
She was gently supported by a soft force and laid lightly on the ground.
Then, the woman finally turned her head to look at Evan Lin, sizing him up from head to toe.
"You resemble him a lot."
She spoke, her tone carrying a sense of certainty.
That feeling of unfamiliarity grew even stronger.
"Are you Lyria?"
Evan Lin hesitated. Even now, he found it hard to determine the identity of the person before him.
She had a face almost identical to Zhao Liuli.
But her aura was different.
Still, she was the closest thing to a true cultivator Evan Lin had ever encountered in this world.
At the very least, the spiritual qi she could wield was far beyond anything martial artists or spellcasters could compare to.
The surrounding radiance showed no signs of fading.
Evan Lin couldn't see Phoenix Bai or the others nearby.
"My surname is Zhao, given name Lyria. I feel you are very familiar to me—I should know you. Besides that, I can sense you are the person I've been waiting for."
"Although, maybe right now, you aren't yet the person I'm supposed to wait for."
The woman who called herself Zhao Lyria looked at Evan Lin, her eyes completely calm.
"What do you mean?"
Evan Lin's heart stirred slightly. "Are you from the Immortal Martial Continent?"
"From the Immortal Martial Continent?"
Hearing Evan Lin's words, Zhao Lyria's expression flashed with a strange emotion, as if she was a bit confused.
But she quickly hid that emotion, then looked at Evan Lin and turned to walk inward. "Come with me. What remains here is a trace of my divine sense, preserved before my body died and my dao was extinguished."
"What lies behind this door may help answer some of your questions."
"As for her, let her rest here for now."
Zhao Lyria turned and walked toward the small door behind her.
Evan Lin glanced at Lucy Bai lying on the ground. She frowned slightly, radiant light flickering around her body.
"Are you awakening her spiritual sense?"
Evan Lin took a quick look, his heart shaken, deeply astonished.
Spiritual sense.
This is the innate potential that determines a cultivator's speed of progress—the stronger the spiritual sense, the greater the sensitivity to spiritual qi.
Such things are usually innate. Throughout history, there have been some pills or techniques to enhance spiritual sense, but without exception, they require extraordinary means.
Yet Zhao Lyria, with just a casual gesture, intended to enhance Lucy Bai's spiritual sense!
Such a method is truly defying the heavens!
"It's not really enhancing her spiritual sense, at most it's just helping her open her mind."
Zhao Lyria shook her head. "The Bai family has helped me pass down this gate for generations. If you think about it, I owe them a huge debt."
"Back then, when I cast the spell on her, I also left behind a method to nurture her spiritual sense. Each time she is reborn, it's like reincarnation, allowing her affinity with spiritual qi to grow with every cycle."
"Honestly, after the day I faced the lightning tribulation, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth was extinguished. No matter how strong one's spiritual sense, it would be useless."
"Today, helping her open her mind and awaken her spiritual sense is just my way of giving her a hand."
As Zhao Lyria spoke, she continued walking inward.
She reached the door, and with a gentle push of her pale hand, the small door that had always been tightly shut slowly opened.
"You said that after your tribulation, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth was extinguished?"
"How many years has it been since your tribulation?"
Evan Lin followed her to the door, suddenly remembering this detail and asked, his face showing a complex and indescribable expression.