He changed Tiwat

Without hesitation, Jiaming drew his Black Rock Blade, ignited his fire elemental power, and slashed down with it.

The Black Rock Cleaver, which should have been able to split mountains, cleave seas, tear clouds, and sever the moon, clashed violently with the stone door. Sparks flew, and the sound of the impact was like the clash of metal. Yet, not a single white mark remained on the stone door.

On the contrary, Jiaming was forced to stagger backward by the recoil.

"So it really won't work..."

Han Fulai pinched the blank Eye of God at his waist.

This stone door is constructed in the same way as the "Gate of the Rock Hall." No matter how sharp the Black Rock Slash is, it is still just an ordinary weapon. To break through this stone door, one would probably need to use a divine weapon.

If we use the Salt-Sweeping Spear, we might be able to break through the stone gate.

However, his current state is not the time to resort to violence, especially since the Salt Sorrow Spear contains the Salt God's evil intentions, and his fusion with the remnants of the Salt God is far from complete. If he comes into contact with the Salt Sorrow Spear at this time, he might be affected by the evil intentions remaining in the spear.

He knew better than anyone the dangers of "inner demons," which were far more troublesome than ordinary demons. He could trust Ying's physical skills, but her spirit might not be as strong as her body...

If this drags on, no one knows if Ying will encounter any danger inside.

Perhaps a few minutes could be the difference between life and death.

What decision should he make?

"Could this be what I fear..." Ying gazed at the abyss-like starry sky before her.

The "abyss" that most people imagine is a dark place, like an underground tunnel.

But in the true abyss, you can see the stars.

To put it metaphorically, it might be like "the outer edge of Teyvat," and the stars in front of us are the "real starry sky" in the universe.

Although Ying never mentioned it to anyone, not even Paimon, she had witnessed the abyss five hundred years ago.

Just then, the stone gate slammed shut behind her.

Ying turned around in astonishment and found that the place behind her, where there should have been a door, had also turned into the same deep, dark starry sky.

"The exit suddenly disappeared?! Is it... trying to trap me?" Ying immediately tensed up.

Just then, she caught a glimpse of gold out of the corner of her eye.

Looking back suddenly, the blood relative she had been searching for, an empty figure, was right in front of her.

"Brother!" Ying called out.

But Sora just kept walking forward, and even his sister's calls couldn't make him turn back.

"Brother, wait for me!"

Ying disregarded everything and ran towards her brother with all her might.

However, no matter how fast she ran, the distance between her and the sky never shortened.

During the chase, Ying slipped and fell—and at that moment, Kong turned around.

There were two dark marks on his face, like tear stains or bloodstains.

“Ying… is too late,” he said.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Dead End (Part Nine)

"I'm late..."

Ying was stunned for a moment.

Yes, she was late, far too late.

Five hundred years too late.

She knew nothing about everything her brother had experienced in those five hundred years.

That's why she couldn't keep up with her brother.

But how can she make up for those five hundred years?

In her regret, her brother's figure disappeared.

Ying silently got up from the ground.

She was left all alone in the abyss once again.

All around was darkness, with no end in sight.

...It's truly lonely.

She hugged her knees, slowly squatted down, and remained motionless.

—Perhaps, if she waits where she is, her brother will come looking for her? Just like in all the worlds they've traveled through together before, her brother always finds a way to find her.

So, wouldn't it be better to wait instead of chasing?

—When her brother is willing to forgive her, he will come to find her, right?

Time and space have no meaning in this abyss.

Ying felt her body gradually merging into the surrounding darkness, and even her consciousness was becoming thin.

Just then, she suddenly felt empty beneath her.

The feeling of weightlessness brought her back to her senses.

—She is falling.

Ying subconsciously adjusted her posture and looked down at her feet.

A calm blue.

...That's...the lake?

"thump".

The firefly fell into the water.

Just as he fell into the water, a familiar voice reached his ears: "Ying!"

It's Paimon's voice.

A blue silk thread pierced through the air and wrapped around her wrist. With the help of the life-giving thread, Ying swam ashore.

Paimon was the first to fly to her: "Wow! Ying, you're here! You scared me to death! After you ran in, that door wouldn't open! We were all worried about you... Are you alright?"

Yan Fei was equally worried: "Ying, are you alright? How did you fall from that place?"

Ying shook her head: "I don't know what happened... It was like the floor cracked and then I fell out of the secret realm."

Ye Lan looked her up and down for a while and asked, "You look so serious, did you see something unpleasant inside?"

“…Hmm.” Ying’s voice was very somber. “Behind the door is…the darkness of the abyss that took away my loved ones.”

"The abyss... how could this be..."

Seeing Ying's sorrowful expression, Paimon, disregarding that Ying was soaking wet, rushed over and gave her a big hug.

"Oh...it's okay, I'll help you find him. Cheer up!"

Han Fulai, standing some distance away, silently removed his hand from the blank Eye of God.

If Ying hadn't come out soon, he might have really had to use the Salt Sorrow Spear. Fortunately, nothing happened.

Jiaming finally put away his Black Rock Slashing Blade. He had been trying to split open the door the whole time, and now both his hands were numb from the shock, and he was panting heavily.

"Phew, this door... I really want to smash it down..."

“Yeah, yeah, it would be great if we could just smash this broken door down,” Paimon immediately chimed in. “If I weren’t so tired, I would definitely help you…”

"Hoo..." she said, letting out a big yawn.

Now it was Ying who was worried about Paimon: "Paimon, what's wrong? You look so listless?"

Paimon shook his little head: "...Suddenly I feel so tired. After going through so much, my heart is so exhausted... Waaah... I have no strength left in my hands and feet... Ying, hug me."

Ying chuckled and patted Paimon's little head. The little one hadn't done anything... but considering how worried she was about her, she decided to give her a hug anyway.

Han Fulai watched this scene with a flicker in his eyes.

Yelan on the other side seemed to have thought of something as well: "So, we couldn't find Xiao through that door. Not only that, we also saw something we didn't want to face inside the door... Do you remember the last message from the Great Sage Who Subdued Demons?"

Yan Fei nodded: "He said there's something wrong with this secret realm and that we should leave as soon as possible."

Ye Lan nodded: "Yes, this secret realm gives me a very bad feeling. It keeps changing, and it's... changing in response to us."

"What do you mean?" Paimon asked, bewildered.

Yanfei kindly explained to her, "Think about it, we chased the Demon-Slaying Sage all the way here in the secret realm, but there's only one strange door here."

"The things inside the door are also very strange. It shows us exactly what we're afraid of, which means it's really affecting each and every one of us... If you, Paimon, were to enter that door, you might see a giant slime eat you up!"

"Ugh... I don't want to be eaten." Paimon quickly shook his head.

After catching his breath, Jiaming said, "Paimon's mention made me feel a bit tired too... Maybe it's because we've been exercising a lot? But before, we didn't seem to accumulate fatigue...?"

Ye Lan tilted her head and thought for a moment: "Perhaps it's because we've changed locations, and the laws of space have changed as well. But it shouldn't be fatal at this stage. When I was calculating the passage before, I didn't eat for several days, but I didn't feel hungry, and it's the same now."

“But we can’t guarantee that this state will continue,” Han Fulai interjected. “As we move from the ‘Gate of Shock’ to the ‘Gate of Rest,’ we start to feel fatigued. Perhaps, over time, this quantitative change will lead to a qualitative change. To prevent an explosive hunger and fatigue, we need to eat and rest on time afterwards.”

Han Fulai's analysis was indeed very reasonable, and everyone agreed with it.

Yan Fei immediately clapped her hands: "So even if we're not hungry, we should eat something now. I suggest everyone rest for a while and get back into shape. We absolutely cannot let ourselves get exhausted before we can help others."

"Jiaming has worked hard today, so I'll cook a meal for everyone. Hmm... how about the winter melon and tofu soup you mentioned, Jiaming? Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm a master at making tofu!"

Jiaming immediately protested: "Tofu is fine, but winter melon is absolutely not allowed!"

Ye Lan also rarely shared her insights on food: "I have some new tea called 'Zhanlu' that Qiaoying Manor sent to the tea room, along with some shrimp. If you don't mind, I'll make a dish called 'Zhanlu Shrimp'."

Out of curiosity about Ye Lan's culinary skills, Ye Lan ended up cooking the meal herself.

Ye Lan took out a series of ingredients such as tea leaves, shrimp, snapdragon, and flour, and skillfully stir-fried them in a travel pan before coating the shrimp with starch and thickening the sauce.

The seasoning method seems simple, but the control of the heat is quite intricate, and even the well-traveled traveler Ying couldn't help but "learn" from the side.

Ye Lan's "Dew-Dipped Shrimp" is a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate. It is elegant in color, fragrant with the aroma of tea, and tender and chewy in taste. It has a unique "deep valley orchid" feel to it.

Yan Fei even privately remarked to Han Fulai that Ye Lan might actually be a very virtuous and domestic woman in private...

Just as everyone was marveling at Ye Lan's exceptional culinary skills, she brought out a dish of homemade dipping sauce, instantly shattering the image of her as a "secluded orchid in a secluded valley"—the dipping sauce she served was chili water…

Chapter Forty: A Dead End (The End)

Although there was no problem with using the restroom in this secret realm, everyone still declined Ye Lan's special chili dipping sauce, which left Ye Lan somewhat disappointed.

Putting aside the slight difference in taste, Ye Lan's cooking skills are indeed impeccable.

After enjoying the "shrimp with dew", Paimon, who had been yawning all day, fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Ying and Jiaming, who were equally tired, chatted with them around the campfire for a while before going to bed early.

Yan Fei offered to take the night watch this time, but since Han Fu had already done it once before, it was difficult to persuade her. Watching them politely defer to each other, Ye Lan, both amused and exasperated, suggested they both rest and that she take the night watch, which resulted in yet another round of polite refusals…

In the end, the three of them sat around the fire listening to Paimon snore.

Yan Fei was still worried: "Ye Lan, you haven't rested at all. Are you really okay? This space is more dangerous than we expected."

On the night they fell into this underground space, Yan Fei did manage to rest, but Han Fulai and Ye Lan barely slept a wink.

Especially Ye Lan, while the others were chatting and telling stories, Ye Lan was constantly performing difficult divination. Although Yan Fei didn't know much about Qimen Dunjia, she knew it was a very difficult task.

During the subsequent exploration of the secret realm, Ye Lan not only had to participate in the battles, but also constantly manipulated the Life-Binding Silk to act as a "safety rope" for everyone. As the leader of this team, she also had to remain vigilant and deal with emergencies at all times, which was a constant drain on both her mental and physical strength. If we were to say who worked the hardest, it would undoubtedly be Ye Lan.

Faced with Yan Fei's concern, Ye Lan simply replied casually, "It's not a big problem. I'm good at high-intensity, high-precision continuous work," and then changed the subject: "Speaking of which, do you have any new guesses?"

Yan Fei was a little surprised: "You can tell?"

Ye Lan replied, "Reading people's expressions and expressions is part of my job."

She glanced at Han Fulai again: "And you, it's better to say whatever comes to mind."

The three exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

Yan Fei started: "I have some preliminary ideas at this stage... but they are not yet mature. I would like to hear your opinions."

"Perhaps I'm being overly self-conscious... However, I have some doubts about whether our experience today has much to do with me."

"Tell me about it?" Han Fulai looked at Yan Fei with great interest.

Yan Fei hesitated for a moment: "Well... to put it simply, I suspect that all the 'coincidences' we've encountered today are illusions generated by this secret realm based on the thoughts in my mind..."

"Mr. Han, you mentioned in that 'Gate of Shock' secret realm that a Yaksha came to the depths of this giant rock abyss with the Thousand Rock Army, and you speculated that this secret realm was related to immortals. I immediately thought of the Great Sage Subduing Demons... Of the Yakshas under the Emperor's command, only the Great Sage Subduing Demons remains..."

"Later, Mr. Han, you told us that even in the worst-case scenario, we could still expect the immortals to come to our rescue..."