Zhu Yi formed a time bubble and practiced a stealth technique under Zhou Fan's guidance. He spent a year within the time bubble, and a little more than 2 months passed outside.
Although he wasn't very talented when it came to stealth techniques, he still had Zhou Fan's guidance. His mastery was very high and, unless someone was seriously observing White Palace City, he would be able to freely enter and exit.
He did not know if there was some sort of array set up or how much White Palace City was actually valued, but he could only hope that it was not valued too greatly.
Zhu Yi activated the stealth technique and stepped forward. His stealth technique was a very basic one, albeit highly powerful since it was made by Zhou Fan.
Zhu Yi's body did not change, but his presence lowered until he could walk directly in front of someone without being noticed. As long as he was not being searched for, it was unlikely that he would be found.
He stepped into White Palace City without any issue. Although his speed could be great, he took it slow in order to avoid attracting any attention.
Still, his slow was very fast, and it wasn't long before he arrived at a blocked off area. Beyond this was the White Palace. Nobody was around him despite being in the very center of the city.
After all, nobody could even get too close to it.
Zhu Yi took one last glance around him and dug into the ground using Qi. Above him, the ground repaired itself as if nothing had happened.
Zhu Yi quickly dug 100 feet down before moving in the direction of the White Palace.
He looked at Zhou Fan with worry, but Zhou Fan could not help him here. It was a single chance. Zhu Yi's life depended on whether or not he could reach the White Palace, or rather, what was under it.
As he moved forward, he suddenly saw a blue light. The dirt in front of him was cleared and a cave appeared. It was a rather small cave. Half of it had a gray, stone ground, while the other half was occupied by a blue spring. As Zhu Yi breathed in, he felt that the Qi around him was much denser.
He stepped forward and entered the cave.
"So it was true." He mumbled as he started at the spring of Qi.
"It was." A familiar voice said behind him.
Zhu Yi jumped. He turned around and saw Chen Jie.
Zhu Yi's eyes widened. "Are you..?"
Before he finished, Chen Jie spoke. "Like in the inheritance, I am a projection of Chen Jie. I have his power when he was in the void traversing realm."
Zhu Yi felt as if all hope was extinguished. "So, are you going to kill me?"
There was a reason why nobody could enter the White Palace after so long, and it wasn't because the sects of the world had some sort of honor or respect for Chen Jie. It was because they couldn't enter even if they wanted to.
"It depends. Give me a reason why I shouldn't." Chen Jie said.
He seemed ordinary, like when Zhu Yi first saw him in the inheritance.
Zhu Yi thought for a moment before answering. "Because I have no hope to reach another realm regardless if I cant use this spring. Something is wrong with this world, and I want to figure it out."
Chen Jie turned his head. "What exactly is wrong with this world?"
He seemed genuinely curious. Although Zhu Yi did not want to say anything about it in fear of being killed, his life was in Chen Jie's hands.
He told him about his meetings with Wen Si, as well as the changes in his cultivation and the issue with his memories.
Chen Jie's brows furrowed. "It wasn't like this when I was here. If what you say is true, then there is something wrong with this world indeed."
"Was the Qi density lowered in your time as well?" Zhu Yi asked.
Chen Jie looked at him with suspicion. "How do you know about that?"
Zhu Yi realized that he had made a mistake. Normally, a person in this world shouldn't know about such a thing, especially someone not part of any sect.
"I learned about it from someone I met in the inheritance. The same Wen Si I told you about."
Chen Jie nodded. "Yes. That child. I remember him now. In my time, the Qi of this world was around two sevenths of the outside universe."
"Two sevenths? It's a tenth now." Zhu Yi said.
Chen Jie nodded. "Well, there is a reason why the Qi here is lowered, but you don't need that information right now. As for why it lowered farther, I suppose someone got greedy."
Finishing his sentence, Qi began to move around Chen Jie. Suddenly, he looked at Zhu Yi in confusion.
"What do you mean a tenth? Although it is lowered more, it is a seventh of the outside universe now. Where did you get your information?" Chen Jie asked.
Zhu Yi turned and looked at his shoulder.
"Say it was from an untrustworthy source."
Zhu Yi did as Zhou Fan said.
Zhou Fan was able to come to a conclusion through Chen Jie's words. The outside universe now had seven tenths of the Qi it had before he left. A lot more could be inferred from that, but Zhou Fan did not mention anything to Zhu Yi. It did not matter even if he did.
Chen Jie shook his head. "Anyway, we should focus on the main point. If everything is as you say and memories are being tampered with, then I need to entrust you with a message. In return, you can cultivate here."
Zhu Yi nodded without hesitation.
Chen Jie spoke seriously. "Go to the World Tree and find the rule enforcement office. Inform them that memories are being tempered with in square 16, the four element gathering."