After a long period of silence, Shen Ling spoke to Ning Beichen.
"There's only one way: you and she must go back to the moment of her death, figure out what happened to her, and then, using your identity, untangle the knot or tribulation in her heart."
"Senior, why do I need to go with her?" Ning Beichen asked, puzzled.
"Because you are the person she trusts the most now. Only you can make her let down her guard," Shen Ling explained to Ning Beichen.
"Senior... aren't you the person she trusts the most?" Ning Beichen said hesitantly.
"The power of time can destroy everything. Perhaps her heart has died, or perhaps she has grown weary. I don't know," Shen Ling said.
"Senior, if... if, as you say, she has grown weary or her heart has died, then what should I do?" Ning Beichen asked, rubbing his temples.
"Do nothing. Respect Jing'er's own choice. After all, I have failed her," Shen Ling said after a moment of silence.
"I beg you." Ning Beichen could only nod. Reason and emotion dictated that he could not refuse Shen Ling's request.
"Alright, I'll do my best."
Next, Ning Beichen discussed the matter with Jin Yuehe, as her cooperation was necessary. Jin Yuehe did not hesitate much and readily agreed.
Following Shen Ling's guidance, Ning Beichen and Jin Yuehe sat down and clasped each other's hands, their fingers intertwined. Seeing Shen Ling wave his hand at them, Ning Beichen and Jin Yuehe were simultaneously drawn into a place that resembled a temporal tunnel.
After about a few minutes, Ning Beichen and Jin Yuehe found themselves in a narrow alley. Giant bluestones lined both sides of the alley, and the ground was covered in sewage.
"Could this be where Jin Yuehe died?" As Ning Beichen turned to look, he was stunned to discover that Jin Yuehe, who had been with him, had vanished. Yet, Jin Yuehe had been with him just moments ago. This was a narrow alley, less than five meters wide, with no entrances or exits on either side, and yet Jin Yuehe had inexplicably disappeared.
Ning Beichen called out to her several times, but received no response, which made him anxious. Should he continue forward? Or go back? Ning Beichen was lost. He had been sent here by Shen Ling, not by his own volition, so even if he wanted to return, he didn't know how.
"Senior, Senior Chang Qing..." Unable to find Jin Yuehe, Ning Beichen called out to Shen Ling. But Shen Ling also offered no response, which began to make Ning Beichen panic. He was willing to help Jin Yuehe and fulfill Senior Shen Ling's wish, but that didn't mean he was willing to get himself trapped as well. He was currently in an awkward predicament, unable to reach heaven or earth.
"Forget it, I'll go forward and take a look first." Having no other options, and unable to find Jin Yuehe or get a response from Senior Shen Ling, Ning Beichen decided to explore the place first to see if he could find Jin Yuehe.
Ning Beichen walked along the alley, but the further he went, the stranger it became, as he realized the alley seemed to have no end. Ning Beichen immediately took to the air on his sword, but it was the same as walking. No matter how fast he went, he couldn't escape the alley. So Ning Beichen changed his approach and flew directly upwards.
But a strange thing happened. The sky above the alley also seemed to have no end. Ning Beichen flew for half an hour without seeing any end.
"This is not right!" "It's definitely not right!" Ning Beichen muttered to himself. Unless this alley was infinite, his speed with his sword should have been enough to circle the Earth three times, yet he still couldn't leave it. It didn't matter if he went forward, backward, or upward. The entire alley had no entrances or exits, and no humans or creatures were visible.
"Could it be a ghost wall? Or a maze array? Or perhaps a labyrinth?" Ning Beichen pondered in his mind. He then used his mystical eyes to observe. If it were a ghost wall or an array, his eyes wouldn't miss it. However, he was soon disappointed. The alley showed no change, leaving only two possibilities: either this place was real, without any arrays or illusions, or the arrays and illusions had managed to deceive his eyes.
Ning Beichen struggled for several hours, achieving nothing. In his frustration, he punched a bluestone with a loud bang. Logically, Ning Beichen's angry punch, filled with power, should have been able to shatter not just bluestone, but even steel plates. Yet, after taking Ning Beichen's punch, the bluestone not only didn't break, but not even a fist print appeared. Angrily, Ning Beichen drew his bronze ancient sword and slashed at the bluestone. The result was only a sword mark less than a finger deep on the bluestone, having no real effect. Even if Ning Beichen hacked at the bluestone with his bronze ancient sword for a year, he might not be able to cut out an exit.
"What in the world is going on? Could Senior Shen Ling be deceiving me?" Ning Beichen couldn't help but think. But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't find any reason for Shen Ling to harm him.
"It's not an array, nor an illusion. If it's real, no one would be so bored as to build an alley with no visible sky above and no path ahead. What is this all about?" Ning Beichen calmed himself and thought. If it wasn't a conspiracy, there had to be a reason. But what reason? Senior Shen Ling sent me and Jin Yuehe back to the moment of Jin Yuehe's death in her previous life, meaning Jin Yuehe would likely die around this time. But now he couldn't even find Jin Yuehe, so how could he know what happened?
"The moment of death..." "I get it, I understand. This is not an alley, nor a passage. This is Jin Yuehe's path to death. Jin Yuehe hasn't disappeared." Ning Beichen suddenly stood up, clapping his knees. "Oh no, Jin Yuehe's path to death has appeared. Doesn't that mean she's now on the verge of death?" "But how can I stop her?" Ning Beichen frantically paced, but he was trapped here, with no idea how to leave or find Jin Yuehe.
"Path to death..." Ning Beichen repeatedly muttered these words. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and Ning Beichen knew what he had to do. His current situation was like seeing the trees but not the forest. He saw an alley and thought it was a real alley. He saw the bluestones on both sides and thought they were real bluestones. He couldn't find an end or an exit, but that was just his assumption.