They moved under the moonlight, two silver-blue figures casting long reflections on the lake's surface.
Chiying looked at Ziyue, then turned its head to Liu Yi and let out a soft cry.
“Mo.”
Liu Yi understood its meaning, and nodded with a smile: “Yes, it did it.”
Ziyue ran several laps around the edge of the salt lake before finally stopping.
The Mirror Fox remained steadily suspended beside her, its aura stable, showing no signs of shattering.
Ziyue ran back to Liu Yi, panting, her eyes filled with excitement.
“Bingbing! Bingbing!”
I did it! It didn’t shatter!
“I saw it,” Liu Yi said, crouching down and gently rubbing Ziyue’s ears. “That was amazing.”
She then looked at the Mirror Fox and gently touched it with her hand.
“This texture…” Liu Yi mused. “It’s not ice crystal.”
Ziyue tilted her head, seemingly just as puzzled.
Liu Yi didn’t delve further, her gaze returning to the lake’s surface.
The Inverted Sea continued. The movements of the star vortices and specks of light became more complex, more profound.
The starry sky reflection on the lake’s surface intertwined with the actual starry sky, making it impossible to distinguish reality from its mirror image.
Liu Yi gazed at the inverted starry sky, a strange sensation suddenly rising within her.
She closed her eyes, and her consciousness began to sink.
It wasn't a deliberate meditation, but a natural, passive descent. Like a reflection on the lake's surface, it required no thought, no calculation; it simply mirrored everything in the sky naturally.
Her consciousness passed through the inverted starry sky, through the rotating stars, through the flowing Milky Way, sinking deeper and deeper…
Until she touched something.
It was a white space.
Her Beast Taming Space.
But at this moment, this space was different from usual. Its white boundaries were no longer as hard and clear as before; instead, they had become soft and fluid, like reflections on a lake’s surface, like nebulae swirling in the night sky.
Liu Yi stood in the center of the space, looking around.
Ziyue’s and Chiying’s pet rooms stood quietly, the stone platform pool still shimmering with colorful light, and the portable incubator in the corner emitted a warm orange glow.
Everything seemed as usual.
Yet, something was different.
She looked down at her feet.
The ground of the Beast Taming Space, which had always been pure white, now began to show subtle changes.
Silvery-white specks of light rose from the ground, like the luminescence from a lakebed, like inverted stars, slowly floating in the space.
Liu Yi crouched down and reached out to touch the specks of light.
The moment her fingertip touched a speck of light, a warm energy surged into her body. It was a peculiar sensation, as if something was awakening, growing, and expanding.
She closed her eyes, feeling the energy circulate within her body.
The boundaries of the Beast Taming Space slowly expanded outward, not through deliberate effort or forceful pushing, but through a natural, spontaneous growth.
Like a reflection on the lake's surface, it required no thought, no calculation; it simply mirrored everything in the sky naturally.
Liu Yi’s consciousness drifted through the expanding space, feeling every inch of the boundary shift, every trace of energy flow.
Time passed imperceptibly.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself still sitting at the edge of the salt lake.
Ziyue was crouching in front of her, her purple eyes filled with concern. Chiying hovered beside her, its crimson eyes also fixed on her.
“Bingbing?” Ziyue whimpered softly, a hint of worry in her voice.
“I’m fine,” Liu Yi said softly, reaching out to rub Ziyue’s ears. “It’s just… I seemed to enter a very peculiar state just now.”
She submerged her consciousness into her Beast Taming Space to check its development progress.
【Beast Taming Space Development Progress: 29%】
Liu Yi paused slightly.
29%?
She remembered it being 22% the last time she checked.
Although she meditated consistently every day, she hadn’t bothered to check or calculate the progress, thinking it was still far from 30%, so it was better to let nature take its course.
But it shouldn't have jumped directly from 22% to 29% in just over a month.
Only one percent separated her from 30%.
And she knew exactly what 30% meant—a new contract slot.
Liu Yi closed her eyes and once again submerged her consciousness into her Beast Taming Space to confirm the number.
【Beast Taming Space Development Progress: 29%】
She hadn't seen it wrong.
She exited the space and opened her eyes; the Inverted Sea on the lake's surface was still ongoing.
The star vortices rotated slowly, specks of light floated like fireflies in the lake water, reflecting the real stars in the sky.
“Was it because of that state just now…”
That feeling of her consciousness naturally sinking and resonating with the Inverted Sea was indeed completely different from her usual deliberate meditation.
If her usual meditation was about pushing the boundaries bit by bit, then the feeling just now was like the boundaries were growing on their own.
No force was needed, no control; it simply expanded naturally and spontaneously.
Like a reflection on the lake's surface, it required no thought; it simply mirrored everything in the sky naturally.
Ziyue seemed to sense something, nudging her head against Liu Yi’s palm.
“Bingbing?”
“It’s fine,” Liu Yi said, rubbing its ears. “It’s just… that state earlier seems to have benefited me too.”
She paused, her gaze returning to the lake’s surface.
The Inverted Sea continued, but its most spectacular phase seemed to have passed.
The star vortices began to shrink, and the density of the specks of light decreased. The starry sky reflection on the lake’s surface was no longer as profound and clear as before; its edges began to blur.
“It’s almost over,” Liu Yi whispered.
Ziyue nodded, but her gaze lingered on the lake’s surface with reluctance.
After about twenty more minutes, the luminescence on the lake’s surface completely dissipated, and the starry sky reflection returned to normal.
The Mirror Salt Lake once again became a colossal silver mirror, shimmering with a soft luster under the moonlight.
The Inverted Sea had ended.
Liu Yi stood up, dusting herself off.
Ziyue trotted at her heels, occasionally glancing back at the lake’s surface, her two tails gently swaying.
Chiying descended beside her and gently nudged her cheek.
“Mo.”
Time to head back.
“Mm-hm.” Liu Yi nodded, checking the time. It was 7:30 PM.
She returned the rented Mirror Skateboard to the rental point, then led Ziyue and Chiying onto the walkway, heading towards the maglev sightseeing vehicle station.
The platform had far more people waiting than when they arrived, mostly Beast Tamers with their pets, all excitedly discussing the spectacular sight they had just witnessed.
“It was breathtaking! When that star vortex started spinning, I was completely mesmerized!”
“My Water Spirit Shell was glowing continuously by the lake; I wonder if it was affected by the energy field.”
“I definitely have to come back next year! And I absolutely need a better camera!”
Rate on N.U.
