Just as criminal suspect Xiang Haikui was about to give her statement, the police station suddenly lost power.

The darkness lasted over a minute. When the lights came back on, she found herself transported from the police station interrogation room to an ancient palace.

She was still in a sitting position, except now she was sitting on the ground.

Beneath her was a golden hexagonal formation plate, and above her head floated a golden seal.

This was a world of fantasy.

In such a situation, a modern person’s first thought would probably be that they had transmigrated, but Xiang Haikui knew the reason—she had been forcibly “pulled” here by her father, who had “passed away” twelve years ago, using a secret formation technique…

…

It’s a long story. When Xiang Haikui was five, she lost her mother. Her father, Xiang Heng, originally a long-haul truck driver, switched to driving taxis in the city to take care of her.

But he only managed this job for half a year before having to quit.

Her father developed mental problems, constantly experiencing hallucinations. While driving, he would suddenly see a group of ancient people flying on light swords one moment, and a three-headed monster charging past the next. Who could handle that?

He had no choice but to resign and set up a small food stall outside the school. The father and daughter managed to get by.

But in the winter of Xiang Haikui’s ninth year, her father went out early, slipped, and smashed the back of his head on ice, dying on the spot.

That’s how she became an orphan and was sent to an orphanage.

The little girl was fair and pretty, and there was no shortage of families wanting to adopt her. However, once they heard her father had a mental illness, they immediately lost interest.

One family had even completed the adoption paperwork, but still shook their heads and returned her.

Mental illness has a hereditary probability.

She might seem normal now, but who could say about the future?

Xiang Haikui grew up perfectly normal until the age of twenty-one.

Except for one strange dream.

In the dream, it was as if her soul had left her body, floating above a glowing platform where a long-haired, handsome man sat cross-legged in the center, holding a lotus flower.

As Xiang Haikui was curious, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked around excitedly: “Little Kui, is that you?”

Though his appearance and voice had changed, Haikui knew this person was her father!

It turned out that after his death, he had awakened in the body of a cultivator in another world—the very world he frequently saw in his hallucinations.

The two worlds had different time flows. He had been cultivating for over two hundred years and was now the master of a great city.

All these years, he never gave up looking for a way to reunite with Haikui. Finally, with guidance from a master, he learned a soul-attracting formation that could pull her over.

With his current abilities, this was the only way they could reunite.

But before implementing it, he needed to ask if Haikui was willing to leave her homeland and come live there. Since Haikui had no spirit root, he could only help her forcibly build her foundation with techniques and pills, along with longevity fruits and such, allowing her to live for at most two hundred years.

Xiang Haikui was certainly willing. Two hundred years of youth and no aging? That was something one could only dream of.

Besides, even without these benefits, being reunited with her father would be enough to make her content.

However, upon waking, she realized it was just a dream, and her mood remained low for quite some time.

Until a few days ago, Xiang Haikui finally realized it wasn’t a dream. Her father had indeed transmigrated to the cultivation world, just like in novels!

He had activated the formation to bring her over!

But he summoned the wrong person!

Thinking about it made Xiang Haikui want to spit blood.

When her father activated the formation to bring her over, she was participating in a mountaineering club’s team-building activity.

That night, they were camping on the mountaintop when she asked her long-admired campus crush to meet her. After confessing, while nervously waiting for his response, she suddenly heard a crackling electrical sound.

Looking up, she saw a light circle appear in the sky, from which extended a withered claw that grabbed her crush’s shoulder.

Watching her crush float upward with a bewildered expression, she reacted quickly, jumping up to grab his leg, but only managed to pull down his track pants.

With just cartoon boxers covering his lower half, her crush left Earth’s surface for another world—

And Xiang Haikui became the prime suspect in A University’s genius campus heartthrob’s disappearance case.

At the police station, facing the slogan “Leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist,” she honestly described what happened and raised both hands in promise!

Just ten days!

At most ten days!

Her father would recover his strength, reactivate the formation, and return the genius campus heartthrob safe and sound!

The young detective handling the case listened to her statement while reviewing her file, looking at her with a hint of sympathy.

And then…

He requested a psychiatric evaluation for her.

Just now, Xiang Haikui suddenly heard the “crackling” electrical sound again, identical to before, followed by what seemed like a power trip, plunging the police station into darkness.

She remained outwardly calm, though her heart raced wildly, hoping desperately that her father wouldn’t make a mistake again this time.

…

That was Xiang Haikui’s experience before appearing in this palace.

“Father?” Not knowing if others were present, she adapted to local customs and changed her form of address. “Where are you? Did you send my classmate back?”

She got up from the ground, dusted herself off, and carefully examined the palace interior.

Her father had said their immortal city was located on the edge of the Central Plains, next to a desert, with rather harsh conditions. But looking at these low-key yet luxurious furnishings and décor, he had been far too modest.

“Miss Xiang, this is not your father’s Yin Sha City,” a male voice chuckled softly.

The voice was gentle and pleasant, not her father’s. Xiang Haikui turned to look.

The man wore a light gray scholar’s robe. With elegant eyebrows, phoenix eyes, a straight nose, and thin lips, his features were as exquisite as a photo-edited magazine cover, lacking any sense of reality.

So she felt no earth-shattering amazement inside, though his knee-length jet-black lustrous hair did attract her attention.

“May I ask who you are…?”

“Yin Changli.”

Xiang Haikui rolled her eyes thoughtfully. This name sounded somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t immediately place it.

Not until she noticed a white, chubby Tuntun Shu the size of a cat crouching by his left foot did she realize.

Yin Changli was that “master”! The soul-attracting formation her father learned came from him.

Reportedly, the erudite Yin Changli was a unique existence in this cultivation world. No one knew his origins or cultivation level, only that he possessed countless wealth and resources, yet few dared to covet them.

Even great experts at the Divine Concealment realm had a tacit understanding to avoid provoking him if possible.

They must have suffered at his hands before, or witnessed others suffer.

Moreover, forget about causing trouble—even finding him wasn’t an easy task.

Yin Changli had no fixed abode, always staying inside a small black ball.

The inside of the black ball was a palace, while its exterior looked like a small bell hanging from the neck of a Tuntun Shu, traveling the world with it in search of treasures.

Therefore, wherever precious treasures emerged from secret realms, the likelihood of finding him was greatest.

Her father had relied on this clue and spent thirty years to finally locate him.

Yin Changli walked leisurely to sit cross-legged behind a desk: “Are you wondering if your father summoned the wrong person, expended too much magical power, and thus asked for my help to bring you here?”

Actually, no. Xiang Haikui’s mind wasn’t working that quickly.

Right now, all she could think was: facing such a powerful figure, practically a deity to an ordinary person like her, should she kneel and kowtow?

But her father was also a powerful figure, and according to this world’s rules, would that embarrass him?

Yin Changli continued: “However, the reason your father summoned the wrong person was my interference. Otherwise, the soul-attracting formation couldn’t have malfunctioned. Now, I’ve secretly brought you here without his knowledge.”

Xiang Haikui was stunned: “Why? Did my father offend you?”

Besides offending him, she couldn’t think of any reason why he would secretly sabotage and prevent their father-daughter reunion.

Yin Changli shook his head.

That’s good, Xiang Haikui sighed in relief, this would be easier to handle.

“I possess a treasure that can glimpse the past and foresee the future,” Yin Changli said, giving his Tuntun Shu a meaningful look.

The Tuntun Shu rubbed its cheeks with its two small paws and, with a “poof” sound, spit out a brush.

A very ordinary black writing brush that, after flying out of its food pouch, began writing in mid-air.

Using air as its canvas, it wrote with flourishing strokes that Xiang Haikui could somehow understand: “Yin Changli! Do you plan to flee for the rest of your life? You think by stealing me away, by perceiving the secrets of heaven in advance, you can escape punishment? It’s useless! I advise you to turn back early from this sea of bitterness! I advise you…”

Yin Changli said coldly, “Shut up.”

The brush continued: “I’ve corrected you so many times, I don’t have a mouth…”

Yin Changli narrowed his phoenix eyes, and the Tuntun Shu immediately bared its golden teeth, making a ferocious expression as if about to pounce and bite it in half.

The brush instantly stopped and hurriedly erased all the previous “warnings” it had written.

Goodness, what an impeccable survival instinct! Xiang Haikui couldn’t help but admire it.

After this little interlude, Yin Changli composed his expression and smiled slightly: “Excuse me, it’s my pet, the Divine Calculator.”

Xiang Haikui caught the brush trembling slightly and understood it wasn’t called by this charlatanish name.

Yin Changli continued: “Earlier, when your father came seeking my help and told me his experiences, I found it quite interesting. I kept a trace of his soul essence as payment for the soul-attracting formation. After he left, I used the Divine Calculator to divine your future.”

Xiang Haikui tensed: “What did you discover?”

Yin Changli smiled: “Guess.”

Though his smile was exceedingly gentle, Xiang Haikui felt a chill in her heart: “After my father brings me over, would it somehow affect your safety?”

From what the calculating brush suggested earlier, Yin Changli seemed to be a “fugitive”?

If it didn’t concern his safety, a powerful figure like him probably wouldn’t interfere.

“Indeed, I calculated some interesting matters.” Yin Changli elegantly raised his hand, pointing at the calculating brush. “See for yourself. After you do, you’ll understand that my interference is helping you both.”

The calculating brush promptly flew to hover above Xiang Haikui’s head.

Not knowing what it intended to do, Xiang Haikui instinctively wanted to dodge but held still.

The brush tip lightly touched her forehead, and she felt as if she’d been heavily struck, making her see stars.

A series of images flooded her mind.

It was as if she’d had another soul-leaving dream.

In the dream, time rewound to a few days ago.

She stood on the mountaintop confessing to her crush. After he replied, “My main goal right now is to focus on my studies,” she was brought to the cultivation world by her father’s formation, becoming the little princess of the great city master.

Thinking her suffering had finally ended, she didn’t expect that merely half a year later, she would be dead!