Chapter 35 Xiaozhu, look at her! "...Acui?" Gu...
"...Ah Cui?" Gu Xiaozhu asked suspiciously.
A stream of light emanated from the spirit pearl, and a semi-transparent white figure appeared before the two.
Ah Cui was still wearing that white dress, her long black hair cascading down her back, her exquisite features captivating.
“It’s me.” A Cui said with a smile. She placed her semi-transparent hand on Gu Xiaozhu’s shoulder and pointed her slender fingers to the many cultivators lying on the ground deep in the cave.
"But if Xiaozhu wants, I can make sure they never wake up again~"
Her voice was incredibly tender, like a lover whispering in your ear. But the words she spoke sent chills down your spine.
Although she escaped the illusion by attaching herself to the spirit pearl, causing the illusion she had created to collapse, she could still pull those who had escaped back into the illusion if she wished.
Gu Xiaozhu looked helpless: "You know I wouldn't want to do that."
Ah Cui giggled, covering her face with one hand, her affectionate eyes almost curving into slits: "That's right, how could our kind Xiaozhu do such a thing?"
As she spoke, she waved her hand, and a surge of pure spiritual energy erupted. Not far away, those lying on the ground began to stir, as if they were trying to wake up.
“I know, Xiaozhu definitely wants those people to wake up. So, I will grant your wish.” A Cui said softly, then glanced at Jiang Zhihe, who was silent to the side, and frowned: “Xiaozhu, be careful of him.”
After saying that, his figure transformed into a stream of light and returned to the spirit pearl.
When A-Cui said this, she didn't deliberately lower her voice, so not only Gu Xiaozhu heard it, but Jiang Zhihe, who was next to her, also heard it.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look at Jiang Zhihe.
Sure enough, the boy's smiling face had turned pitiful.
Jiang Zhihe pointed at the spirit bead hanging around Gu Xiaozhu's neck, his eyes filled with accusation: "Xiaozhu! Look at her! How dare she sow discord?!"
The spirit pearl also lit up, and Ah Cui, who was recuperating inside, spoke up, not to be outdone: "What? Did I say something wrong?"
"You are clearly just a cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, yet you can easily break free from my Nascent Soul stage illusion, and even cleave it in two with a single sword strike!"
"Your soul is at least at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, or even higher! This is inconsistent with your actual cultivation level. Isn't that strange?"
"And why do you keep following Xiaozhu around? Don't think I don't know, her constitution is very special, you might just be after her body!"
As soon as A Cui finished speaking, Jiang Zhihe's voice rang out again: "Huh? Is that how you see me???"
"Besides, I'm clearly the one who's been by Xiaozhu's side the longest, okay?! What right do you, a newcomer, have to say that to me?"
"If anyone has ulterior motives, it's you!"
The spirit pearl trembled, seemingly angered, before its voice rang out again: "Bullshit! I had no ill intentions! Xiaozhu is such a good person, how could I bear to hurt her?!"
Jiang Zhihe: "Right, right? Who would hurt such a good girl like Xiaozhu?"
Ah Cui: "Yes, I... no..."
Ah Cui suddenly came to her senses.
It seems she's been dragged into this wretched man's clutches!
After a moment of silence, knowing she couldn't win an argument with Jiang Zhihe, she could only angrily leave with the words, "Anyway, no man is any good!"
After saying that, Lingzhu fell silent.
Jiang Zhihe raised an eyebrow upon seeing this, and murmured while stroking his chin, "That makes sense."
Gu Xiaozhu, standing to the side: "???"
Wait a minute, aren't you insulting yourself in this too?
At this moment, the people on the other side also woke up one after another. When they opened their eyes, they were all confused, fearful and uneasy.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhihe sighed and stood up resignedly: "Xiaozhu, wait for me, I'll be right back!"
After saying that, he walked towards the cultivators over there.
Gu Xiaozhu sat there, staring blankly at the firelight in front of her with little interest, until a slow footstep approached her, at which point she looked up at the person.
It's Teng Shao.
Gu Xiaozhu was somewhat surprised: "Why did you come here?"
Teng Shao didn't speak, but stared at her with his dark eyes for a while before finally sitting down in a seat opposite her.
Gu Xiaozhu felt a little confused, but she didn't ask any further questions.
Soon, Jiang Zhihe returned after explaining the basic situation to the people there. He immediately spotted Teng Shao, who had arrived at some point, and approached him familiarly with him, beaming as he said, "Brother Teng, don't worry! I've remembered everything I promised you in the illusion!"
"Once we leave the illusion, we'll go to the Demon Realm with you!"
He deliberately lowered his voice when saying the last two words, "Demon Realm," to prevent others from hearing them and causing unnecessary trouble.
Teng Shao glanced at him and suddenly asked, "Is she coming too?"
Jiang Zhihe naturally knew that Teng Shao was referring to Gu Xiaozhu, and he smiled: "Of course!"
Teng Shao looked somewhat suspicious, but after glancing at Gu Xiaozhu, he ultimately remained silent.
To be honest, he didn't think it was a wise choice to bring along a mortal who had no cultivation and couldn't use spiritual power. After all, such a person would not only be useless, but would also become a burden.
but……
His eyelids drooped slightly, concealing the complex emotions in his eyes.
For some reason, he felt that this unwise choice was... not so bad?
Jiang Zhihe looked at Teng Shao, who had fallen silent, his smile fading slightly and his eyes narrowing.
But when he turned to face Gu Xiaozhu, his smile remained unchanged.
He cheerfully approached the girl, sat down next to her, and began to chatter away.
… …
After understanding the general situation, some of the more prestigious cultivators immediately organized the group.
Some people intended to leave after waking up, since they didn't know how long they had been in the illusion. If they didn't explore it further, they would end up with nothing in this secret realm.
But these people stopped and walked away after reaching the cave entrance.
There was no other reason than that the scene outside the cave was indeed too terrifying.
The earth was cracked, the trees were withered. The sky was gray, as if veiled, making the atmosphere extremely oppressive.
Monsters were densely distributed across the land, roaring, and would attack anyone who stepped out of the cave.
"This...this secret realm...what exactly is going on?" the cultivator asked in a trembling voice.
The environment is secondary, but looking around, most of the magical beasts outside are at least at the late Golden Core stage, and some are even at the Nascent Soul stage!
How can anyone live like this?!
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhihe glanced at him and explained, "It's probably because the illusion that was maintaining the entire secret realm collapsed, causing the secret realm to undergo an anomaly."
The cultivator looked on incredulously: "Does that mean we're going to be trapped here?!"
Jiang Zhihe waved his hand dismissively, "Hey, don't panic. Maybe the secret realm will be back to normal in a few days?"
At this moment, another cultivator spoke up: "A few days? But the exit of the secret realm is opening tomorrow!"
The exit of the secret realm opens and closes at the same location, so if they want to leave the secret realm, they need to go to the place where the exit is open.
Now a large group of magical beasts has gathered outside. Let alone getting to the exit of the secret realm, it's uncertain whether we'll even survive the journey!
Gu Xiaozhu frowned slightly and looked outside the cave: "System, how far are we from the exit of the secret realm?"
Well... to put it simply, if the roads are clear and you walk, it should take about two hours to get there.
Gu Xiaozhu: "But given the current situation..."
The system's voice seemed somewhat helpless: "Given the current situation, they'll all be dead within two hours of setting off."
Gu Xiaozhu: "..."
She couldn't help but worry: "What should we do? Won't everyone be trapped here and die?"
The system was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "But if you, the host, were also here, the situation would be different."
Gu Xiaozhu: "?"
[Host, do you remember? You created this world. Every living being would instinctively not want to harm you. Your actions will be favored by Heaven, keeping you away from danger.]
At this point, the system paused, seemingly gritting its teeth: "[Of course, those whose demonic desires are improper are an exception.]"
At least these naturally born creatures, like monsters and spirit beasts, will instinctively tell you to stay away and not harm them.
[Host, didn't you notice? After you entered the secret realm but before you fell into the illusion, none of the people who traveled with you encountered any traps or attacks.]
Gu Xiaozhu was somewhat surprised. She thought it was just good luck, but she didn't expect there to be this connection.
She asked with some suspicion, "So... if I travel with them, I can avoid being attacked by monsters?"
[Hmm, as long as they're not stupid enough to provoke others, then there's no problem.]
Just then, Jiang Zhihe spoke up: "That's alright, let's set off now, shall we?"
He stood up, faced the crowd, and said, "However, I have one request—"
"That means you all need to behave yourselves during the journey and not do anything mindless that would provoke the magical beasts... Yes, I'm talking about your First Sword Sect!"
He changed the subject, looking at the eager disciples of the First Sword Sect who were looking out of the cave not far away: "You are fond of fighting, that's fine. But you can't be indiscriminate and drag others down with you. So, Ling Qiu, keep an eye on your junior brothers and sisters."
Ling Qiu glanced at him with some displeasure. Although he knew Jiang Zhihe was right, he just didn't like his commanding tone.
After a moment, he sighed, "Alright, alright, I'll keep them in line."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhihe smiled brightly: "I knew you were always the most responsible, your brother!"
Ling Qiu: "..."
They change their tune so quickly.
But he did like hearing those words.
After the young man in red gave some instructions and let everyone rest for a while, he decided to set off immediately.
Seeing this, Gu Xiaozhu also stood up. She watched as the boy in red walked towards her and extended his hand:
"Xiaozhu, let's go!"
Gu Xiaozhu looked at the hand extended in front of her, her eyebrows unconsciously curving upwards, and she smiled as she handed it over: "Okay."
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