Chapter 245: A Change of Male Lead?
Hearing Gu Jue’s words, Lu Sangjiu suddenly had a very bad feeling.
She whipped her head around and saw a faint purple halo flickering erratically in the direction Xie Ningyuan had just gone.
’...Damn it, the entrance to the small world!’
Seeing the strange phenomenon, combined with the location, Lu Sangjiu instantly knew this was it—the entrance to the small world had appeared!
A million thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant.
’Of all the times for this thing to appear, it just had to be when Ye Zhiyao arrived. To say this wasn’t deliberate... even a dog wouldn’t believe that!’
’Of course, the most important thing was that it had appeared near Xie Ningyuan and Ye Zhiyao.’
’Lu Sangjiu had originally thought Ye Zhiyao showed up to play out the plot with Gu Jue, but Gu Jue wasn’t the male lead anymore. What if... what if the male lead had been swapped out?’
’For example... what if it was now Xie Ningyuan, the one who had unleashed all that power before?’
’In every respect, Xie Ningyuan was no less qualified than Gu Jue. Aside from being the Buddha Son and having a shattered Buddha Heart, he was perfectly fit to be the male lead!’
’And even being the Buddha Son with a shattered Buddha Heart didn’t matter. They could just go down the angsty route, then he could have a fated encounter and become totally overpowered!’
Lu Sangjiu’s heart instantly sank.
’No way! She had finally found someone she could travel with in Xie Ningyuan. How could she let Ye Zhiyao collect him for her harem?’
’Even if she had faith in Xie Ningyuan and believed he wouldn’t be bewitched by Ye Zhiyao... what if?’
That was a risk Lu Sangjiu couldn’t afford to take.
So she immediately put Duoduo into her storage bag and, without a second thought for Gu Jue, unhesitatingly charged in that direction.
’Xie Ningyuan, hold on! Don’t you dare go into that small world with Ye Zhiyao!’
Gu Jue barely had time to react before he saw Lu Sangjiu dash off.
He instantly forgot about everything else and scrambled to follow her.
Meanwhile, Ye Zhiyao was still hesitating. A part of her wanted to go take a look, but she was afraid of Xie Ningyuan.
But unexpectedly, not far from them, a faint purple halo began to flicker!
The Spiritual Energy fluctuations in that spot became immense, and beneath the purple halo, there seemed to be a ripple in space itself... The feeling was all too familiar. Ye Zhiyao’s eyes lit up. ’Is a Secret Realm opening?’
Ye Zhiyao was certain that there were no known Secret Realm entrances here. That meant this was a new Secret Realm, and one unaffiliated with any sect!
She was ecstatic. Forgetting all about Lu Sangjiu, she raced toward the Secret Realm’s entrance.
After a brief moment of surprise, Xie Ningyuan also realized that this was very likely the entrance to the small world Lu Sangjiu had been searching for.
Fated encounters may be decided by heaven, but it made no sense for him to stand by and watch someone else go in after they had been searching for so long.
Especially when Lu Sangjiu had said this small world could only accommodate a single Golden Core Cultivator. If Ye Zhiyao went in, wouldn’t Lu Sangjiu lose her chance?
So this time, Xie Ningyuan attacked Ye Zhiyao without a shred of hesitation.
Ye Zhiyao was certain to have some life-saving item from Bai Heng, making her difficult to kill.
That was why Xie Ningyuan had strictly followed Lu Sangjiu’s warning to avoid fighting her if at all possible.
But the situation was urgent, and he couldn’t worry about that now. Besides, as long as he didn’t kill her, simply stopping her for a moment should be fine.
Struck by Xie Ningyuan’s attack, a Defense Treasure on Ye Zhiyao’s body activated automatically. It perfectly blocked the blow, but her advance was halted for an instant.
Seizing the opportunity, Xie Ningyuan moved to stand before the small world’s entrance, blocking Ye Zhiyao’s path.
"This opportunity does not belong to you. It’s not too late to leave."
Ye Zhiyao stared daggers at Xie Ningyuan, her eyes flashing. "Not mine? Hah... No, it’s clearly mine! You people are the real thieves!"
A vicious light glinted in Ye Zhiyao’s eyes. She looked like a cornered beast, ready to drag her enemy down with her.
A cold sneer touched her lips. "Stop the act. If you could still use that kind of power, you would have tried to kill me long ago. Why wait until now?"
At the Gold and Silver Gate, Xie Ningyuan had made his killing intent toward her clear. It made no sense for him to suddenly go soft now.
She hadn’t left right away precisely because she had noticed this. She was, however, still wary of Xie Ningyuan and hadn’t dared to make a rash move.
But now, faced with such a great opportunity, and with Xie Ningyuan’s attack clearly not as powerful as it had been that day, why would she continue to be timid?
Exposed, Xie Ningyuan showed no signs of panic. He simply looked at Ye Zhiyao and said, "Killing you would indeed be troublesome. But stopping you is no problem at all."
As he spoke, Ye Zhiyao noticed with alarm that the sound of the Heavenly Tribulation had vanished... ’Lu Sangjiu succeeded in her Tribulation Crossing? Doesn’t that mean she’s on her way here?’
A sense of urgency gripped her. ’No, that woman has stolen my things time and time again. I absolutely cannot wait for her to get here!’
Ye Zhiyao said through gritted teeth, "Get out of my way! Or you’ll be sorry!"
Xie Ningyuan just stood there quietly, his expression as calm as a summer breeze. "You’re welcome to try."
Her fear of Lu Sangjiu’s imminent arrival made Ye Zhiyao throw caution to the wind. Gritting her teeth, she took out the Life-saving Sword Talisman Bai Heng had given her and activated it, sending it slashing toward Xie Ningyuan.
But three golden Buddha Seals instantly materialized in front of Xie Ningyuan, completely neutralizing the Sword Talisman’s attack.
However, in the instant he was occupied, Ye Zhiyao seized the chance to dash past his right side toward the entrance of the small world.
Xie Ningyuan’s figure flickered, and he reappeared right in front of Ye Zhiyao, striking out with his palm toward her shoulder.
He had assumed Ye Zhiyao would dodge, but he never imagined that, sensing Lu Sangjiu’s approach, she would harden her heart and take the hit.
The moment Xie Ningyuan’s palm struck her shoulder, Ye Zhiyao suddenly activated some kind of acceleration-type Magic Treasure. Ignoring the fact that he was still in her way, she slammed into him, pushing them both toward the entrance of the small world!
Because Lu Sangjiu had said that the small world could only admit one Golden Core Cultivator, Xie Ningyuan had subconsciously assumed it was safe to block the entrance. He never considered that Ye Zhiyao might try to drag him in with her.
Caught off guard by this miscalculation, he was truly carried toward the entrance by Ye Zhiyao.
By the time he reacted, they were already perilously close to the small world’s entrance. A powerful suction force pulled at him from the portal, making it impossible to struggle free.
This was the exact scene that greeted Lu Sangjiu when she arrived.
Ye Zhiyao, offering no resistance, had already passed smoothly into the small world.
Xie Ningyuan, however, had resisted instinctively, so he was a fraction of a second behind.
Lu Sangjiu’s heart leaped into her throat. Without a moment’s hesitation, she rushed forward, grabbed Xie Ningyuan with all her might, and tried to yank him back out.
She couldn’t spare a thought for whether this delay would cause the entrance to close, leaving Ye Zhiyao to enjoy the small world’s spoils alone.
Only one thought dominated her mind: ’I absolutely cannot let Xie Ningyuan go in there with Ye Zhiyao! If something were to happen between them... it would be a catastrophe!’