In the end, Zhang Yiyi happily spent forty thousand mid-grade spirit stones to purchase the small sea ship. Although this price nearly emptied most of her savings, it was still worth every bit. More accurately, she had snagged quite the bargain.

As for the shopkeeper, after watching Zhang Yiyi leave, he remained confused. How had he ended up selling it for such a low price in a moment of daze? Initially, he had only intended to clear out slow-moving inventory and make a small profit. In the end, it was fortunate he hadn't sold it at a loss. Tsk, this girl must have some kind of magic...

Having obtained exactly what she wanted, Zhang Yiyi didn't wander around further. She chose an inn that looked decent, booked a room, and planned to rest for a few days before heading out to sea alone to hunt beasts.

Once in her room, she activated the defensive formation outside the door and, following her usual habit, immediately fell into a deep sleep. Her psychological need for rest was far stronger than any physical requirement.

When she awoke, the sky outside was already faintly bright. Zhang Yiyi checked her beast pouch and storage ring, discovering that both Maoqiu and the copper mirror were still asleep. The copper mirror was fine, but how was Maoqiu still not done digesting and fusing the Yellow Spring Flame? It had been so long, yet it still hadn't woken up.

Zhang Yiyi tossed a few more spirit stones into the beast pouch, hoping to help Maoqiu recover faster. Without Maoqiu's incessant chirping, she actually found the quiet rather dull. Besides, with Maoqiu's help, she wouldn't have been chased so miserably by that Red-Tailed Beast the other day.

But this wasn't something she could rush. Unless Maoqiu woke up on its own, there was nothing she could do.

As for the copper mirror, Zhang Yiyi was even more clueless about how to help it. If only it could communicate and tell her what it needed for recovery and repair. At least then, she would have some direction and goals to work toward.

Thinking this, Zhang Yiyi once again took out the copper mirror, stroking its surface carefully. After a moment, she tried probing her divine sense into the mirror again to see if there would be any new discoveries.

At this point, she no longer minded how much the mirror "ate." Little copper mirror, just tell me what you want to eat or drink!

Unfortunately, after a long while, she gave up again. Sighing, she stored the mirror back into her pouch, deciding to let things happen naturally.

Clapping her hands together, she took out the book "Gate of Time and Space" and focused all her attention on repeatedly striking the formidable boundary of the first page with her divine sense.

Up until now, she still didn't know anything about the book beyond its title. She hoped that once she broke through the first page's barrier, she would gain something useful.

For three days straight, Zhang Yiyi persisted. Finally, her divine sense broke through the first page's barrier, revealing the hidden content within.

What was written there thrilled her beyond words—it truly was a great technique related to the mysteries of time and space!

The creator of the technique stated clearly that if one mastered it fully, they could theoretically open the Gate of Time and Space, travel to the past or future, and go anywhere they desired. For this reason, the creator named the technique Gate of Time and Space.

At the time of writing the book, the creator had not yet reached the level of opening the Gate of Time and Space, but the power of the technique was already unmatched, allowing him to dominate his world with no equal.

What surprised Zhang Yiyi even more was that the original owner of the book—the creator—was not from the Lanyu Small World, but a peerless powerhouse from the Tiansheng Great World.

Zhang Yiyi had never heard of the Tiansheng Great World, but it was highly likely that this absolute powerhouse had succeeded in mastering the technique to open the Gate of Time and Space. Otherwise, the book could not have inexplicably found its way to this small world and ended up disguised as a geographical atlas in the Wang family's collection.

Time and space techniques had always been shrouded in mystery and unmatched power. However, cultivating such techniques was notoriously difficult, and very few had ever succeeded—let alone to the level of opening a gate between time and space. It was simply unheard of.

In all her knowledge of the Huaren Great World, only two cultivators in its vast history had touched upon the Dao of Time and Space. Yet even they could only accelerate time's flow or alter specific spaces—traveling to the past or future, or crossing worlds at will, was impossible.

In the Lanyu Small World, it was even more primitive. Among the books she had read in the Wang family's library, no one had successfully cultivated the Dao of Time and Space at all.

Zhang Yiyi was deeply moved by the technique recorded in the Gate of Time and Space. Unfortunately, the first page only contained basic information about the book and its creator. To truly cultivate the technique, she would need to break through the barriers of all the remaining pages.

Glancing at the book's thickness, Zhang Yiyi knew this couldn't be rushed. Her divine sense was already exhausted, so after resting, she decided not to stay cooped up in the inn and instead prepare for her upcoming sea voyage.

Just as she left the inn, she received a message from He Jie, saying that the hunted beasts had all been sold and asking her to come over when she had time.

With that, Zhang Yiyi followed the address He Jie had given her and made her way over.

The place they had rented was a bit secluded, but it was spacious enough. As for the spiritual energy—Zhang Yiyi had long since given up expecting much from this small world. The place was worse than the inn she'd been staying in the past few days.

"Linlin, here's your share," He Jie said, handing over Zhang Yiyi's forty percent cut—a total of fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones, half of which had already been converted into mid-grade spirit stones for her convenience.

"Thank you, Sister He," Zhang Yiyi said gratefully.

Zhang Yiyi accepted the spirit stones without hesitation. Since they had previously agreed she would receive 40% of the profits, there was no need for her to be polite about it.

"What's there to thank me for? This is what you earned," He Jie said immediately. "I had some urgent personal matters to handle a few days ago, so I was delayed. That's why I only contacted you today." She briefly explained why it had taken three or four days to distribute the profits. After all, holding onto such a large sum of spirit stones without reaching out could make anyone uneasy.

However, Zhang Yiyi hadn't been worried that He Jie's team would run off with her share of the spirit stones. Unless they intended to vanish from the Canglang Sea forever, she would track them down and make them return her stones—doubled.

"It's fine. I wasn't in a hurry anyway." Though every bit counts, Zhang Yiyi no longer cared much for tens of thousands of low-grade spirit stones.

"By the way, Linlin, we're planning to head out to sea again in a few days. Do you want to join us?" He Jie asked. They had earned a lot on the last trip, so her team planned to strike while the iron was hot and head out again. As long as their luck wasn't too bad, they could avoid going to sea for the rest of the year and focus solely on cultivation.

Previously, He Jie had asked if Zhang Yiyi wanted to continue cooperating with them, but Zhang Yiyi had given no definitive answer, saying only that she would decide later. Seeing her again, He Jie seized the chance to ask once more, hoping for another collaboration.

"Thank you, Sister He, but I'll pass this time. I have other plans for now. Let's talk about it again if the opportunity arises in the future." Zhang Yiyi had already purchased her own small sea ship for solo expeditions, so she had no plans to join others anymore.

Hearing her gentle refusal, He Jie felt it was a pity but didn't press further. She assumed Zhang Yiyi either wanted to join a stronger team or wasn't planning to go to sea again anytime soon. Little did she know that Zhang Yiyi was planning to hunt sea beasts alone.

After leaving He Jie's team, Zhang Yiyi stocked up on supplies in town. Without lingering for further rest, she immediately set out for the sea.

Many people at the shoreline saw her flying alone over the Canglang Sea on her sword and found it odd. However, no one asked questions. They merely glanced her way before turning their attention elsewhere. After all, countless people came and went here every day, and it wasn't uncommon for individuals to explore the nearby seas.

Zhang Yiyi flew until there was no sign of ships or people in the vicinity. Then she summoned her newly purchased magical sea ship.

The ship expanded as it hit the water, already imprinted with Zhang Yiyi's spiritual mark, making it easy for her to use. Once aboard, she didn't need to steer it constantly. Placing enough mid-grade spirit stones into the energy slot, she could control the ship through her divine sense and give commands.

Once the protective arrays were activated, and her destination was set, the ship began its smooth, rapid, and safe journey. Satisfied after observing for a while, Zhang Yiyi entered the ship's cultivation chamber to focus on training. If anything happened along the way, the ship would sound an alert in advance.

This way, she could travel and cultivate simultaneously. As long as her spirit stones held out, Zhang Yiyi felt she could remain in the Canglang Sea indefinitely.

Unlike He Jie's team, Zhang Yiyi chose a different sea route. She had thoroughly studied the sea area beforehand and decided to focus on hunting fourth- and fifth-rank sea beasts, particularly those that suited her sword practice.

Her luck was excellent. The first beast she encountered and hunted alone was a fifth-rank Dragonfish.

...

In the blink of an eye, over half a year had passed.

During this time, Zhang Yiyi remained in the Canglang Sea, hunting sea beasts without returning to town. From her first successful solo kill of a fifth-rank beast, she had slain countless others.

She began with fourth- and fifth-rank beasts, then moved on to small beast families, then small beast groups, and eventually mid-sized ones. She grew braver and more skilled with each fight, until she could even break through a large beast horde and escape unscathed, harvesting a trove of sea beast corpses along the way.

Her swordsmanship improved dramatically through this intense training. The First Form of the Starry Sky had reached near perfection, and she was beginning to grasp the Second Form. The power of her sword aura grew stronger, and she wielded it with increasing fluidity.

In addition to honing her swordsmanship, her body-tempering abilities were repeatedly tested and strengthened. Her combination of sword techniques and physical skills reached an unparalleled harmony, multiplying their power.

Zhang Yiyi was even close to breaking through to Body-Tempering Level Five. Once she returned and paired her training with a medicinal bath, she could advance to the Fifth Stage: Tempering the Flesh in no time.

Beyond her combat skills, her cultivation had also progressed significantly. The total capacity of spiritual energy within her body had increased by nearly half. If not for her lineage's habit of suppressing cultivation to build a solid foundation, she could have broken through to the late Foundation Establishment stage by now.

Zhang Yiyi was ecstatic about this training approach. In just half a year, her skills, cultivation, and experience had all advanced tremendously.

Furthermore, her storage ring was now full of sea beast corpses, most of which were fourth- and fifth-rank. The beast cores alone would fetch her a fortune.

Just days ago, she had even slain a sixth-rank sea beast. Though it was one of the weakest among its rank, it still marked a qualitative leap for her.

Satisfied with her gains, Zhang Yiyi decided to stop and steer her sea ship back to town.

As she approached the town, she remained as discreet as when she departed, storing the sea ship a short distance away and switching to flying on her sword. She headed straight back into town.

Without delay, Zhang Yiyi made her way to the shop where she had purchased her small sea ship months earlier. She planned to sell all her harvested goods for spirit stones there.

She also planned to return to the Wang Family soon. Although they hadn't sent her any messages, it had been nearly a year since she left, and it was about time for her to check in. She wasn't planning any more trips to sea for the foreseeable future.

Additionally, she had received a message from Luo Qiheng half a month ago, saying he had completed his seclusion. However, it seemed he had encountered some trouble and asked her to return when she could to help out.

"Eh, young friend, you're back again?" The shopkeeper was still the same one from before. Seeing Zhang Yiyi enter, his expression turned slightly odd, but he quickly smiled and welcomed her warmly. "What can I do for you this time? Just so you know, our shop has firm prices now!"