Gao Sanwa scratched his head as he stared up at the low hanging immortal cloud, his tone hesitant but still carrying a trace of excitement.
"Yiye-jie, you are the Saintess, so if anyone can touch that immortal cloud without angering the heavens, it would be you," he said, then paused before adding with a troubled frown, "but the cloud is floating at least two hundred meters above the ground, so even if we want to try, there is no way for us to reach it."
"Hot air balloon," Gao Yiye replied immediately, her voice firm and decisive, as if the answer had already formed in her mind long ago. "We return to the capital right now and bring one here."
The words struck everyone like a sudden awakening.
The group did not waste a single moment. They rushed back into their vehicle and sped toward the capital under the moonlit sky, their urgency cutting through the quiet night.
Fortunately, the distance was not great.
By the time they returned, it did not take much effort to mobilize a balloon, and a special operations squad from the Sky Battalion accompanied Gao Yiye and the others as they quickly made their way back to the small village.
The commander stood with a serious expression as he issued orders.
"Sky Battalion Unit Seven, you are responsible for bringing the Saintess up," he said firmly. "You must ensure her safety at all costs."
Unit Seven swallowed hard.
"That is an immortal cloud," he said, his voice slightly unsteady, "if I fly into it, will I be struck down by heavenly lightning and reduced to ashes?"
The commander frowned.
"Other immortals might punish you," he said, his tone sharp but controlled, "but Dao Xuan Tianzun is benevolent. He does not stand on ceremony, nor does he take offense easily. Do you not understand this by now?"
Unit Seven straightened slightly, his fear easing just a little.
"Yes, sir."
"Then move."
Ground crew from the Sky Battalion immediately got to work, inflating the balloon, stripping out unnecessary equipment from the gondola to reduce weight, and clearing enough space so that two people could stand inside comfortably.
When everything was ready, Unit Seven climbed into the gondola first and conducted a careful inspection, checking each mechanism one by one before finally calling out.
"Sky Battalion Unit Seven, self inspection complete. The balloon is functioning normally and ready for takeoff."
All eyes turned toward Gao Yiye.
She took a slow, steady breath, then stepped into the gondola.
…
The hot air balloon began to rise.
Everyone on the ground watched in silence, their gazes fixed upward.
Gao Yiye's breathing grew slightly heavier, but she remained steady.
The most nervous person was not her.
It was Unit Seven.
He was nothing more than an ordinary man, and yet he was now ascending toward an immortal cloud, which placed a pressure on him so great that even breathing felt difficult, and if not for the Saintess standing beside him, he would never have dared approach something so sacred.
"Saintess…" he said, his voice trembling slightly, "if Dao Xuan Tianzun becomes displeased later, you must… you must speak for me."
Gao Yiye nodded.
"I will."
The balloon continued rising.
"We are getting close," Unit Seven said, his voice tightening as he glanced upward, "the cloud is right above us now… do we really go in?"
Gao Yiye bit her lower lip, leaving a faint mark against her pale skin, yet there was no hesitation in her eyes.
"We go in."
Unit Seven closed his eyes briefly and murmured under his breath.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun, please forgive this offense."
Then he guided the balloon forward.
The immortal cloud drew closer.
Closer.
Gao Yiye widened her eyes, refusing to miss even a single detail.
Unit Seven, however, shut his eyes tightly, not daring to look at all.
On the ground, everyone craned their necks upward, watching the massive balloon slowly drift into the cloud, illuminated by moonlight and the flickering flame above it.
The low hanging cloud seemed almost alive, like a vast creature opening its mouth and swallowing the balloon whole.
Soon, it disappeared completely from sight.
Gao Chuwu could not hold back any longer.
"Yiye! Yiye!"
Gao Sanwa shouted as well, his voice rising with panic.
"Yiye-jie, what is happening up there? Say something, we cannot see you anymore. Are you alright?"
The cloud remained silent.
No response came.
Gao Yiye did not answer.
Panic spread instantly across the ground.
"Yiye!"
"Yiye-jie!"
"Say something!"
The commander raised his voice sharply.
"Sky Battalion Unit Seven, respond immediately. Do you hear me?"
After a brief delay, a trembling voice came from within the cloud.
"Reporting… I can hear you… I am still alive… I was not struck by lightning…"
The commander let out a breath of relief.
"Report the situation immediately."
"I… I cannot," Unit Seven replied, his voice filled with fear, "my eyes are closed, I do not know what is happening."
A heavy silence fell.
The commander's expression darkened.
"Then open your eyes."
"I… I do not dare," Unit Seven said miserably, "if I see something from the immortal realm, will my eyes be taken from me?"
The commander snapped.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun is benevolent. What kind of monster are you imagining him to be?"
"…Understood."
A few seconds passed.
Then Unit Seven's voice came again, louder this time.
"This is Unit Seven. I have opened my eyes. The Saintess… the Saintess is gone. She has disappeared. There is nothing around me but white clouds. I cannot see anything, but she is no longer here."
"What?" the people below cried out in shock. "Where did she go? Did you hear anything?"
"No… nothing," Unit Seven said, his voice shaking. "She vanished without a sound."
"Descend immediately," the commander ordered. "Return at once."
"Yes, sir."
Before everyone's eyes, the massive balloon slowly emerged from the cloud and descended back toward the ground, and when it came into view again, only one figure remained in the gondola.
Gao Yiye was gone.
The crowd stood frozen, staring up at the silent cloud, unable to speak.
…
From beginning to end, Gao Yiye had never closed her eyes.
She knew that Unit Seven had shut his in fear, but she could not bring herself to do the same, because she longed to see Dao Xuan Tianzun, and closing her eyes would defeat the entire purpose of coming here.
The moment the balloon entered the cloud, she widened her eyes instead.
And what she saw…
Was something she could never have imagined.
Her body seemed to split between two worlds.
Her lower half remained in the mortal realm, still within the endless white cloud, but her upper half had already crossed into another realm entirely.
Before her eyes was a strange room filled with unfamiliar objects.
She immediately recognized one of them as a lamp, yet it was clearly different from the electric lamp invented by Ji Menghan of the Gao Village Family, because this one felt more advanced, more refined, and carried a subtle sense of mystery.
She also saw a fan, its design equally superior.
There was even a small, mirror like artifact that continuously played songs, repeating them over and over.
Her gaze moved slowly across the room.
But she did not see him.
Dao Xuan Tianzun was not there.
She hesitated for only a single moment.
Then she suddenly jumped upward.
Her hands shot out and grabbed onto the edge of the sandbox.