Chapter 484: Not That Simple

The Female Cultivator didn’t press the issue, just sighing helplessly. "I get it. Newcomers always go through this phase. Once you’ve struggled enough and lost hope, you’ll be as docile as the rest of us."

"By the way, handsome, my name is Yan Yu. What’s yours?"

Lu Sangjiu cupped her hands in return. "My name is Lin Qiu."

"Ah, so it’s Lin Qiu. Well, you go on and wear yourself out. Just remember to come find me when you get tired!"

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

’Better not. She had no desire to be some scumbag who toyed with a young woman’s feelings.’

With an awkward smile, Lu Sangjiu quickly turned and headed toward Mu Lin and Lie Rufeng.

Lie Rufeng had no reaction to Lu Sangjiu’s little romantic encounter, but Mu Lin shot her a resentful glance. "Seems a pretty face really comes in handy sometimes."

"Next time we go out, I’ll be sure to pack some flashy outfits myself."

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

’That’s... really not necessary.’

Fortunately, Mu Lin left it at that single jest. His expression then turned serious. "What do you two make of this place?"

Lie Rufeng said, "I was just observing. That Female Cultivator, Yan Yu, wasn’t lying. It really is a simple Time Reversal Array, and it only affects the mountain wall."

"And just as she said, the Array is set up on the outside. The mountain wall is in the way, so we can’t destroy the wall from in here, which means we can’t break the Array. It’s a vicious cycle."

Mu Lin’s brow instantly furrowed. "Then what do we do? Are we really just supposed to sit here and wait to die like everyone else?"

But Lu Sangjiu suddenly spoke up. "Actually... I don’t think they’re waiting to die."

She glanced at the other people in the cave and lowered her voice. "Even though everyone looks tired and numb, their expressions are still relatively calm. They don’t look like they’re waiting for death."

"So, I just had a thought... Logically speaking, when the Secret Realm closes, all Cultivators inside are ejected, regardless of their location. This place shouldn’t be an exception, right?"

"So... maybe they’re all just waiting for the Secret Realm to end."

Lu Sangjiu’s point wasn’t particularly profound, but everyone had been too agitated by their predicament to think of it. Hearing her say it now was like a sudden moment of enlightenment.

Mu Lin slapped his forehead in frustration. "You’re right! How did I not think of that? I’m an idiot!"

Nearby, the sharp-eared Yan Yu couldn’t help but let out a derisive snort. "Some people... It’s bad enough they’re ugly, but they have to be dim-witted too. What a shame!"

Mu Lin: "..."

’With a mouth that sharp,’ Mu Lin thought, ’she must get into a lot of fights.’

Not wanting a real conflict to erupt between Mu Lin and Yan Yu, Lu Sangjiu quickly changed the subject. "And there’s one more thing... Have you noticed? The Spiritual Energy here is incredibly thin, and our storage spaces won’t open."

They had been so focused on getting out that they hadn’t noticed. Hearing her mention it, they froze for a second before quickly trying to access their storage spaces. Unsurprisingly... none of them would open.

This caused Mu Lin’s and Lie Rufeng’s expressions to darken once more. It meant that every bit of Spiritual Energy they used was irreplaceable. If they exhausted it and some unexpected danger arose, then they would truly have no choice but to wait for death.

Only then did they truly understand the group of people sitting motionlessly. It wasn’t that their attitude was defeatist; they were simply afraid of completely depleting their Spiritual Energy!

After all, judging by what Yan Yu had said, everyone had struggled quite a bit when they first arrived. By now, they probably had very little Spiritual Energy remaining.

And the reason no one else had bothered to speak with them was likely intentional.

Those people had already consumed so much of their Spiritual Energy; if the newcomers were still at full strength and decided to get any funny ideas, wouldn’t the original group be at a huge disadvantage?

At that moment, they realized that even though Yan Yu had a sharp tongue, she had actually done them a massive favor.

No wonder a few people had glanced over at her and frowned while she was talking earlier.

Thinking of this, Lu Sangjiu couldn’t help but turn to look at Yan Yu again, giving her a grateful glance.

Even Mu Lin no longer felt like bickering with Yan Yu and gave her a nod as well.

Yan Yu just smiled faintly and patted the spot beside her. "So, worn yourselves out and ready for a rest now?"

The three of them exchanged a look. They didn’t know why Yan Yu was helping them, but compared to everyone else, she was at least relatively friendly.

So, this time they didn’t refuse. The three of them walked over and sat down by Yan Yu’s side.

Lu Sangjiu was a girl herself, so she subconsciously saw nothing wrong with sitting next to Yan Yu and proactively took the spot right beside her.

It wasn’t until all three were seated, squeezing her very close to Yan Yu, that Yan Yu shot her a meaningful smile. Only then did it dawn on Lu Sangjiu... she was currently a man.

’In that case, my actions must look like I’m taking advantage of a young woman.’

Her body instantly went rigid. She turned her head, about to suggest they switch places, only to be met with a look of profound admiration from Mu Lin.

It was a look that seemed to say, ’You’re incredible, brother. Even at a time like this, you still have the energy to hit on girls?’

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

’There’s no explaining this,’ she thought. ’It looks like the ’scumbag’ label is here to stay.’

Even so, she still put up a token struggle, leaning as far toward Mu Lin as she could to put a little more space between herself and Yan Yu.

Then she lowered her voice to speak with Yan Yu. "Fellow Daoist Yan, so it’s true? You’re all just waiting to be ejected when the Secret Realm ends?"

Yan Yu nodded. "The optimists among us certainly think so."

Lu Sangjiu raised an eyebrow. "And the pessimists...?"

Yan Yu’s smile became cryptic. "Do you think this place has any other dangers, besides just trapping us here?"

Lu Sangjiu shook her head. For now, at least, it seemed completely peaceful.

Yan Yu smiled again. "So, doesn’t it strike you as odd? Who would go to all this trouble just to trap us here, with no other dangers, only to have us teleported out when the time is up?"

"Especially with the added Array that seals our storage spaces and cuts off the Spiritual Energy. It’s almost as if someone wants to deliberately wear us down, waiting until we have no strength left to resist before wiping us all out in one go... Don’t you agree?"

’Yes. Absolutely.’ That was exactly what Lu Sangjiu had been thinking.

’It might look like there’s no immediate danger, but she would never believe that they would be safe just by waiting for time to run out.’

What Yan Yu said was more or less what she’d been thinking. She suspected a greater conspiracy awaited them.

So she pressed, "If you’ve already figured that out, then why are you also just waiting here quietly and not doing anything?"