As Lin Luo stared in stunned disbelief at the hundreds of alchemical devices now reduced to shattered metal scraps, those rusted remnants suddenly began cracking apart and disintegrating into iron filings. They lifted off the ground like sentient dust, swirling together mid-air into a storm of black sand that forced both Lin Luo and Xiao Xiao backwards.

For the old Lin Luo this would have been no cause for alarm - but now he instinctively wanted to hide somewhere safe. What if he died in such an inexplicable situation? That'd be far too tragic!

Xiao Xiao was equally unnerved, though her body reacted before fear could fully register. When those metallic grains took flight, she braced into a combat stance without hesitation, blocking in front of Lin Luo despite knowing her abilities couldn't possibly handle whatever threatened them. At least this way, if something dangerous actually happened, she might be able to shield him with her own body.

Reassuringly, the alchemical artifacts' bizarre transformation showed no signs of aggression. The swirling black sand merely continued condensing in mid-air, gradually shrinking as though being absorbed by an invisible force. A blinding flash then erupted from the center, forcing both Lin Luo and Xiao Xiao to shut their eyes tight.

When they finally reopened them, a palm-sized figure now hovered before them - no taller than twenty centimeters, with perfectly proportioned features despite her diminutive form. Her entire body was encased in black iron armor except for her head, while her face would undoubtedly be considered ravishing if scaled to normal human proportions.

"Qiqi?!" Lin Luo gasped the name out before he could stop himself.

He hadn't truly lost memories - it was more like waking from a dream with no recollection of its contents. Yet his experiences and relationships weren't erased. Qiqi, who had been intertwined with him for such an extended period as one of the most significant figures in his past life, would naturally remain unforgettable. He'd even suspected long ago that she was the true master behind the Dragon God artifact after helping him overthrow Heaven's Mandate.

The miniature figure lifted her gaze to meet Lin Luo before floating closer. "It is me," she affirmed softly.

Physical resemblance and vocal similarity could be explained away by other factors, but there remained an ineffable connection no one else could replicate. Just those two words confirmed for Lin Luo that this tiny being was indeed Qiqi - the same presence that had always resonated within his memories.

"How did you get here?" he asked, torn between relief and astonishment. When Luo Tianyi forcibly erased his duality, it wasn't just all power that vanished along with the Book of Covenants. Otherwise he would have immediately set about recovering the book rather than drifting through this world aimlessly for so long.

The disappearance remained unexplained until now. While Lin Luo had once assumed Luo Tianyi simply extracted the book from his body, Qiqi's reappearance suggested otherwise. If she hadn't actually removed it, why was he unable to perceive its presence?

Perceiving or not perceiving the Book of Covenants had nothing to do with strength levels.

Qiqi explained, "When your duality vanished, my essence and the book were both shattered by the chaotic energies from her interference. To be precise - since my soul is intrinsically linked to the book, when she fractured my existence through dual forces, the entire covenant dissolved into nothingness. Yet despite being able to kill me, her power could never fully erase what I am."

Lin Luo nodded in understanding. While Qiqi theoretically outclassed Luo Tianyi and would suppress her instead of vice versa under normal conditions, those were precisely not the circumstances at the time - one side completely defenseless while the other wielded Heaven's Realm Ninefold strength.

Still, even that alone wouldn't have destroyed the Book of Covenants. Any single divine proxy could've accomplished it on their own if necessary.

The critical factors remained Lin Luo's unstable state combined with the Mirror of Truth's power to regress Qiqi back to her primordial form before forcibly shattering her existence through its influence.

After all, while Qiqi wasn't the entirety of the Book of Covenants, without her presence it could no longer function as such.

"So how did you return? Has your strength recovered?" Lin Luo asked next.

Qiqi nodded and shook her head in tandem. "During your powerlessness, my essence existed in chaos - recovery was nearly impossible until you set a goal for yourself. Then gradually I began escaping that chaos state through bits of consciousness awakening recently. However just like you, since I was forcibly regressed to primordial form I lost all strength as well. While my awareness exists now, actual action requires another ability derived from my nature and the Book's properties..."

"Absorbing energy," Qiqi explained simply. "Any mystical energies attached through your direct contact can be channeled back to me for conversion into usable power."

"So that means..." Lin Luo immediately thought of those ruined alchemical devices.

"Precisely," Qiqi confirmed, "all their residual energies were absorbed by me. But they're too weak to restore either my strength or the Book's functionality. So I had to expend some energy to anchor myself onto these objects - though I did make adjustments. Originally I intended to manifest at normal size, but with insufficient power..."

In other words, Qiqi's current form was already her maximum possible projection given available resources.

Lin Luo understood all this well enough, yet one question remained: "If you can absorb energy through me, why didn't you do it before now? These alchemical devices were in your possession for ages."

"Because my incomplete essence needed a catalyst," Qiqi explained. "And that catalyst was your actual use of them."

Now all pieces finally clicked into place for Lin Luo. While losing hundreds of valuable alchemical artifacts felt tragic, regaining Qiqi made it worthwhile - and even prompted some regret over not activating those devices sooner to hasten her return.

But lamenting past decisions wouldn't help now. Even if he delayed his search for the legendary Artisan Master to continue as a storyteller, could he realistically reclaim property already given away?

Lin Luo didn't think he had the face to demand them back.

"Nothing to worry about," Qiqi suddenly said as if reading his thoughts. "From what I know, those alchemical artifacts represent the highest-grade mystical objects currently available in this world's market. Even if you gave me more of these common low-tier items, it wouldn't change much."

In other words, while absorbing lower-tier mystic energy provided some benefit, Qiqi now required higher-level mysteries - and those couldn't be purchased with mere coin.

"So we really will need to venture into dangerous territories," Lin Luo mused aloud, frowning. After all, the deeper one went for high-grade mysteries, the greater the dangers involved. He could no longer afford to take each step without planning; he needed to actively seek out this world's hidden depths now that both his goals required it.

"Master..." Xiao Xiao finally spoke up after listening in confusion during their exchange, pointing at Qiqi with a bewildered expression.

"Oh her?" Lin Luo scratched his head uncertainly. "Probably... your future mistress? What do you think, Qiqi?"