From Zhang Yiyi's questions, Luo Qiheng could clearly sense the doubts in her heart. After some thought, he decided to clear up as much as he could for her. Later, it would be up to her to decide if they would part ways or travel together for now.

"Although we were both brought here by the strange wind on the ninth day of the sixth month, it's not exactly the same," he began, pausing, clearly not accustomed to speaking so much at once. "I've been here for over a month. Yesterday, I found you at the place where I first regained consciousness. My spiritual pet has scouted the situation in this small world."

After finishing, he didn't avert his gaze as he had before. Instead, he kept looking at Zhang Yiyi calmly, as if encouraging her to ask whatever questions she had, ready to clarify everything in one go.

"So, you're saying that although we both encountered the strange wind on the same day and appeared in the same place, you've been here for a full month while I've just arrived?" Zhang Yiyi couldn't help but look a bit perplexed but remained mostly calm. After all, she'd seen enough strange things since entering the world of cultivation, and her mental resilience had toughened to unusual events.

She understood Luo Qiheng's meaning: they had encountered the strange wind on the same day, arrived in the same world, even in the same place, yet he had arrived a month earlier than her. Her turbulent journey through unconsciousness had apparently been quite lengthy.

For a moment, she didn't know whether to feel lucky to have someone from her original world with her, who had managed to gather basic information over the past month, or to wonder why there was such a strange difference in treatment between them.

Seeing Luo Qiheng nod in affirmation, Zhang Yiyi collected herself and asked, "Then, calculating by the calendar of our Huaren World, what date is it today?"

"July fifteenth," Luo Qiheng replied. He could say this with certainty, as unlike Zhang Yiyi, he hadn't fallen unconscious after being caught in that strange wind; he'd remained fully aware.

However, what Luo Qiheng didn't know was that Zhang Yiyi had nearly lost her life due to the wind. He assumed their experiences were similar, with the only difference being the extra month it took her to arrive. During those five days in the wind, he had felt no threat, only an inexplicable sense of kinship, as if some force had guided him here.

Knowing she'd drifted unconsciously for over a month in that windstorm, while it had taken Luo Qiheng only five days, Zhang Yiyi found the difference significant but didn't dwell on it. As long as she was alive, it was enough.

Neither of them could have anticipated that, at the time of the anomaly in the Huaren Great World, dozens of similar small windstorms had appeared. In the end, only the two of them had survived and arrived here in the Lanyu Small World.

After regaining her composure, Zhang Yiyi didn't linger on her prolonged "wandering" compared to Luo Qiheng. Instead, she asked, "So, Brother Luo, have you found any clues about how to return?"

She figured he must have been looking for a way back over the past month; otherwise, he wouldn't still be here, much less have stumbled upon her.

"No," Luo Qiheng replied simply, his usually aloof expression showing a subtle change, though not one of disappointment or frustration. He seemed to have come to terms with the impossibility of finding a way back, at least for now.

He had already spent a month searching thoroughly, even going so far as to survey nearly every inch of the lake, but it was clear that the place of arrival held no clue for leaving. Short of a miracle, he saw little hope of returning any time soon.

Hearing his blunt "No," Zhang Yiyi's hope of returning quickly faded. Traversing worlds wasn't as simple as wishing it so; she knew better than to expect an easy way back. She even suspected that the strange wind that brought her here might have been a rare spatial rift, which usually occurred in the vastness of the universe but rarely connected two different worlds.

Not expecting to stumble across such a rift again or to make it back unscathed, she said with a smile, "No need to rush. We'll find another way eventually. It's not like we'll be trapped here forever."

She gave Luo Qiheng a confident smile, her spirit brightening as though no situation or adversity could dampen her resolve. Luo Qiheng's gaze flickered, but he didn't respond.

"Seriously," she went on, "don't you remember? We both have keys to the Zhanying Terrace Secret Realm. When it officially opens, no matter where we are, we'll be transported there."

This reminder brought a faint smile to Luo Qiheng's face. He'd almost forgotten, but her words removed any lingering worries. This world had been in decline for tens of thousands of years, without any cultivators ascending. If they stayed, they would eventually be bound by this world's limitations. However, Zhanying Terrace was different; when the secret realm opened, cultivators from any world who held a key would be drawn inside. When it closed, survivors would be sent back to their original worlds.

"You're right," he said simply, in rare agreement with Zhang Yiyi.

"So, our next priority should be to find a safe place to cultivate and strengthen ourselves. Otherwise, surviving in Zhanying Terrace might be tricky, especially for me..." Zhang Yiyi was well aware of her own limitations. Luo Qiheng was already at the Golden Core stage, while she was still at mid-Foundation Establishment. Who knew what formidable beings awaited them in the secret realm?

The more she thought about it, the more urgently she felt the need to cultivate. Since she had no way to ask her master or senior brothers for advice or collect life-saving items, everything now depended on her.

As she thought of her storage ring, Zhang Yiyi relaxed a little. Fortunately, she still had the resources her master had gifted her, her senior brother's parting gifts, and various talismans her senior sister had provided. Combined with the treasures she had set aside for body refinement, she wasn't left empty-handed.

It truly was, as they say, "a rich journey makes for a safe heart."

Thinking of her pet, she resolved to have a serious talk with it when it woke up. She'd given her master all the precious ingredients to refine an advanced beast pill for it, though it would be years before it could use it.

"Brother Luo, could you tell me more about this small world?" Having decided to settle here for some time, Zhang Yiyi knew that gaining a basic understanding of this place was essential. Luo Qiheng had been here for a month and had even sent his pet to scout, so he must know more than she did.

Without a word, Luo Qiheng summoned his spiritual pet, a three-legged crow, to share the information directly. Zhang Yiyi watched as the crow landed on her head, tapped her forehead, and an array of information appeared in her mind.

Ah, how very Luo Qiheng.

The Lanyu Small World was in rapid decline, its spiritual energy nearly depleted. For tens of thousands of years, no cultivators had ascended. Unlike the Huaren World, which was filled with various sects, Lanyu was structured solely around family clans, with nearly 70% of resources controlled by the five great families.

Scattered cultivators had almost no chance of survival unless they joined a clan as servants or guest cultivators. The place where they now found themselves was under the control of a minor Wang family, which had recently started recruiting guest cultivators to prepare for a qualifying tournament in the Eastern Continent.

In this small world, family clans dominated each region, with only a limited number of positions for mid-tier families. The Wang family was hoping to rise to the ranks of mid-tier, but competition for such a spot was fierce, with only twenty slots available on the Eastern Continent despite the abundance of smaller families.