He changed Tiwat

"Back then, I wondered if the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons was here, could he break through space and take us out? So I made a wish in my heart, hoping that the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons would come to save us... and then... in that secret realm today, we heard the voice of the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons."

“It’s quite a coincidence, isn’t it? I was thinking about the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons, and then I actually got news about him… But the voice appeared too deliberately, it was almost like… to make us believe that the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons was there, to lure us deeper and deeper into the unknown.”

"...Actually, I also hoped for the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons to come to my rescue." Han Fulai shook the back of his right hand, revealing the "square knot pattern".

“He told me about these things.” Ye Lan briefly indicated that she also looked forward to the arrival of the Demon-Slaying Great Sage.

Yan Fei clapped her hands lightly: "So the three of us were hoping for the Great Sage Subduing Demons to come to our rescue, and this secret realm sensed this and deliberately let us hear the Great Sage Subduing Demons' voice... So we kept going deeper into the secret realm and finally came to this door..."

Ye Lan tapped her wrist with her fingers, pondering for a moment—that place should have been where she wore the "Mysterious Bracelet," but the jade bracelet was now on Han Fulai's wrist—and then said, "Actually, our experience in the secret realm is the same. Didn't we discover all sorts of demons in the first secret realm we experienced? Those demons were very likely recreated based on our memories."

“For example, the treasure-hunting group we fought in the secret realm shouldn’t have appeared in the great war five hundred years ago, but before coming here, Vice Minister Han and I just happened to deal with a group of foolish treasure-hunting groups.”

"And that rock dragon lizard, Ying and Paimon seem to be quite familiar with it, so it must be an opponent they have encountered before."

"The other monsters are probably opponents that each member of this team has faced."

“That’s not all,” Han Fulai added. “Miss Yelan said that this secret realm represents the ‘Du Gate’ among the Eight Gates of Qimen Dunjia. I even remarked at the time that the Du Gate is suitable for refuge, and this place might be a ‘refuge’…”

Yan Fei clapped her hands again: "Ah. Paimon said something similar when he saw this stone door."

Han Fulai nodded: "So this stone door is probably also a 'refuge' that we imagined. This secret realm is capturing our thoughts and then manifesting them. Moreover, it has already shown us its abilities."

"The things you and Jiaming saw behind the stone gate today were all set in a 'family' setting, which is exactly what the 'refuge' concept is. After all, we say 'home is a safe haven.' When people crave safety, their first reaction is always to think of home—and to show us those sad things 'at home' is quite a twisted sense of humor."

"In addition, the structure of this stone door is something that Vice Minister Han and I saw at the bottom of this giant abyss of rock before," Ye Lan added.

Yan Fei frowned: "There's something else. I was afraid everyone would panic, so I didn't say it, but Ying's experience today probably confirmed my worst guess... She said she saw the 'Abyss' in that room."

"That door, at first glance, seems like a prank, only showing us some frightening things, but it won't really hurt us. But if there's a trigger that prompts us all to step inside... no one can predict what will appear behind that door. First, it uses jokes to lure you into a false sense of security, then it uses real danger to capture you—Ying is probably facing that real danger behind that door today."

The three exchanged a silent glance, all thinking the same thing—this place was not safe.

This underground space is gradually tightening its grip, revealing its fangs.

Chapter 41 There's Always a Way Out

The campfire burned, but the three people beside it appeared far more somber than the flames themselves.

Because they can see further and think more than others, their experience of the terror of this underground secret realm is far more profound than that of others.

For a moment, all three fell silent.

After a long silence, Ye Lan spoke up: "Actually, there's something else I haven't told you all, but I think you two should be mentally prepared and able to accept this fact, so I'll tell you anyway."

Both of them were looking at Ye Lan.

"According to the principles of the Eight Gates, even the 'Block Gate' we are in is considered a minor inauspicious location. So after entering the 'Block Gate,' I immediately consulted the divination to find a new way out, hoping that there would be an auspicious path leading to the 'Life Gate,' 'Open Gate,' or 'Rest Gate.' But the result was that there was none."

"We are in a dead end all around us, and we can't even get back to the Gate of Shock... The path has changed. We are now like people on the top of a lonely peak in the Min Forest, where one step would lead to an abyss."

The two were not particularly surprised, but their expressions became even more somber.

In fact, they had already realized that if there were other ways out, Ye Lan would have led everyone out long ago instead of sitting here chatting with them.

When Yelan invited everyone to explore this secret realm, she probably placed all her hopes on the possibility that the exit would be a new path—but instead, they ended up at this "refuge."

This is a dead end.

Of course, this cannot be blamed on Ye Lan. Rather than saying it was "bad luck," it's more accurate to say that the person who set up this secret realm never intended to provide them with a way out from the beginning. It's like the dealer had already tampered with the dice and never planned for these idle players to win.

“I had a premonition,” Han Fulai said softly. “Do you remember the ‘Wu Wang Yin Jiu Mi Gong’ that I mentioned? Legend has it that the immortals hid the gate of life and trapped the evil dragon in the formation forever. If this formation was set up to trap the Kanriya monster from five hundred years ago, then the person who set up this formation probably did not leave a way out either.”

"The legendary Thousand Rock Army soldiers and that Yaksha never appeared again. They didn't even leave themselves a way out, so they probably didn't prepare to leave the enemy a way out either... We are now trapped in such a magic formation that entraps the enemy. We can get in, but we can't get out."

—And if even the legendary Yaksha died here, it would further prove that this magic array could even trap and kill immortals.

It's even possible that this magic array was set up by that immortal yaksha at the cost of his life, and that this underground space was the tomb prepared for himself by those martyrs of the Thousand Rock Army and that yaksha.

They are now likely to be like those tomb raiders in tomb raiding novels who are just background characters without the protagonist's halo, searching for immortal treasures, only to trigger mechanisms and become buried alive in the tomb...

Yan Fei forced a smile: "But even so, just like you said before, Mr. Han, we still have hope of getting help from the outside world, right? Grandma and the others might come..."

Han Fulai gently shook his head: "Given the unique nature of this space, even immortals probably wouldn't be able to find us quickly... And even if they did, whether we could get out is unknown... Unless the Ancestor of All Immortals, the Rock King Emperor, personally arrives, there's no hope of breaking through this formation. But..."

However, the Emperor is currently at Qiaoying Manor... and because of the "Layered Rock Nail," that old man has never liked to wander around here. It's best to give up on the idea of ​​the Rock God taking action as soon as possible.

"I see..." Yan Fei's voice immediately dropped again.

The idea of ​​a "will" had already started swirling in her mind.

She came to see someone else's will, but things have escalated to the point where she has to write her own... What should she write?

Would you write something like, "Liyue tofu is the best in the world"?

Ye Lan also kept her head down.

Just as she said that day in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, she had chosen her path—she had clearly decided that she would protect her companions.

But she discovered that her strength was still so weak, too weak to carve out a path to survival for her companions.

It's ridiculous that she shamelessly claimed, "With me here, there's no such thing as a 'dead end'," yet she's now in a dead end herself. And she led us into this dead end.

Just as the two women were lost in thought, Han Fulai gently snapped his fingers.

A crisp "snap" made both women look up.

"Why do you all have that look on your faces? Don't get distracted when someone's talking. I haven't finished speaking yet. We still have hope of getting out."

Yan Fei and Ye Lan's expressions changed simultaneously, first with surprise, then with annoyance—was this person deliberately speaking in such a breathy manner?

Han Fulai smiled slightly.

He did it on purpose, of course... Although he himself wasn't entirely confident, this prank made him appear to be in complete control.

Even if it's an act, you have to appear confident in a situation like this.

“Yanfei, you just said that Ying saw the abyss through that door, which made you realize the danger of this secret realm—that’s true. But I’ve always believed that crisis is an opportunity.”

"I've been through quite a lot lately... the counterfeit money in Liyue Harbor, the floods in Biyue River, every time it was a major crisis... but you see, after those crises, didn't the turning point come?"

Ye Lan frowned: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Han Fulai smiled again: "What I want to say is, why doesn't this secret realm put us to death? For example, it could have dropped a bunch of rocks on us and crushed us to death as soon as we fell down, or simply let us fall into the underground lava and burn to death. But it has chosen to use this dragging 'dilemma' method, as if it wants to starve us to death."

"Furthermore, the way it traps us seems to be by using our thoughts to guide us through the maze, slowly leading us into a trap... I'm wondering if this secret realm itself doesn't have the ability to kill us, and we have to 'courte' it ourselves?"

Both women were stern.

Although being trapped underground and slowly starving to death is actually more cruel than killing the enemy all at once, upon closer reflection, it does seem to make sense.

Han Fulai continued, "You see, if you are strong enough, you can slam the enemy's head to the ground and knock it three times. Of course, you won't need any tricks or schemes. It's precisely because you're not strong enough that you need to use tricks and schemes to make up for it."

“When Ah He taught me spear techniques, he mentioned ‘dodge, dodge, lift, and bend.’ That ‘lift and bend’ means preventing the enemy from getting too close to your spear shaft. So why would a spearman be afraid of the enemy getting too close? Because although the spearhead is sharp, the shaft is relatively thin. If the enemy can dodge your spearhead, they can cut your spear shaft in half with one strike, or use the shaft to cut your hand…”

"So, when you attack, that's when your defenses are weakest. Similarly, when this secret realm wants to kill us, that's when it exposes its weaknesses, right?"

"As the old saying goes in Liyue, 'There's always a way out,' so we're far from giving up."

Chapter 42 Embracing the Immortal Xiao's Thigh

After listening to Han Fulai's words, Yan Fei tilted her head: "Although what you said makes a lot of sense, I have a related question to ask..."

Han Fulai maintained his confident smile: "What's the problem?"

"As the head of the Guhua Sect, why was your spear technique taught by Shen He?" Yan Fei asked.

Han Fulai's smile froze: "This...this is called combining the strengths of many schools..."

Ye Lan also coldly retorted, "I've personally witnessed Sect Leader Han's spear skills; he's almost on par with a new recruit in the Thousand Rock Army..."

Han Fulai was immediately embarrassed: "Hey! It's not that bad!"

Ye Lan and Yan Fei both curled their lips slightly – Serves you right for scaring us with your big breaths, hmph!

However, his words did indeed give the two of them pause for thought.

The predicament before them, the ever-changing detours, and the prospect of a slow death all severely affected their minds, preventing them from noticing what lay hidden behind this predicament.

Han Fulai's words precisely pinpointed the key point: don't be misled by the current predicament, but think about why the enemy is doing this? What are the benefits of doing this? What are their reasons for having to do this?

Ye Lan was secretly annoyed. She often said, "Seeing is not necessarily believing," but she was still misled by what was in front of her. This was probably a kind of "being blinded by one's own involvement."

What's remarkable is that this guy was able to maintain such a high vantage point, overlooking the entire situation... and he wasn't even at his peak condition...

Ye Lan suddenly understood why Ning Guang valued Han Fulai so much, and even fell in love with him...

Han Fulai coughed lightly, deciding to pretend that nothing had happened, and forcefully steered the topic back: "This leads to a point—if this secret realm doesn't have enough power to directly eliminate the enemy, then how did it manage to block the 'Dark Calamity' from five hundred years ago?"

"We all know that Kanria not only has alchemical monsters, but also weapons of war. Qimen Dunjia can bewitch both humans and monsters, so can it even bewitch machines? Probably not."

These words startled both of them.

Indeed, both humans and monsters can be deceived by this mysterious illusion, but can those "Ruin Guardians" do the same? If a "Ruin Guardian" gets stuck in the maze, why would it bother looking for those winding paths? It would definitely fire lasers to demolish the walls and force a way through!

Han Fulai continued, "We all know that in that battle five hundred years ago, the difference in combat strength between Liyue and Kanria was enormous, and the soldiers of the Thousand Rocks Army suffered tremendous losses. If they could easily trap and kill the enemy using the Qimen Dunjia technique, they would have used it long ago, wouldn't they?"

"Therefore there must be a reason, a reason why the soldiers of the Thousand Rock Army five hundred years ago had to lure the enemy into the depths of this giant rock abyss before activating the formation to seal them off."

“I think that’s how it is—Qimen Dunjia is not the whole of this formation; it’s just a ‘trigger.’ What truly kills the enemy is the unique environment beneath this giant rock abyss.”

"To use Ye Lan's analogy, this place is like the isolated peak of Minlin, where one wrong step leads to an abyss. Under normal circumstances, no one would be foolish enough to jump off this isolated peak, but if thick fog obscures the surrounding environment, making it impossible for people to see the path under their feet, or even using various illusions to lead people astray..."

"Yanfei said that this secret realm led us here because there is real danger hidden behind this door... So, conversely, if it hadn't led us here, this secret realm wouldn't have been able to kill us, right?"

Ye Lan suddenly realized: "So that's how it is! My attention was entirely focused on calculating the evolution of this Qimen formation, but I neglected the purpose of the predecessors in setting up this Qimen formation... What kills the enemy is not Qimen Dunjia, but merely the fog that conceals the real trap! My attempt to calculate the movement of this thick fog is futile. What I should really do is dispel the fog!"

Yan Fei understood immediately: "In other words, it's not about figuring out how to get out of this formation—it's about breaking it!"

Han Fulai nodded: "That's right."

Having a direction is undoubtedly exciting, but soon, problems arise one after another.

Yan Fei examined the stone door: "That's true, but how do we break this magic array? Ye Lan, do you have any ideas?"

Ye Lan pointed to the ceiling: "I did think about it... Remember the spatial rift we saw up there? A powerful enough attack could destabilize the space of this secret realm."

"If it was just to guide us to this place, the voice of the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons would have been enough; there was no need to create any images or rifts. Moreover, I remember that the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons did respond to our words at the time; we were 'conversing', not simply 'listening.' That spatial rift was very likely a real spatial rift."

Han Fulai also said, "Yes, I can also guarantee that. Immortal Xiao should be in this underground space, but we are probably separated from him by various magic arrays. I have a contractual connection with him. Although I don't know his exact location, I could feel Xiao's real existence when that crack appeared."

Yan Fei thought back carefully for a moment: "Speaking of which, the phantom of the Demon-Slaying Great Sage gave me a feeling that he didn't expect our space to intersect with his, let alone that we could hear and see him, so his reaction was a bit slow at first. In addition, he seemed to be fighting someone at the time... Could it be that he tore through space while fighting his enemy, rather than doing it intentionally?"

“I suspect this space was designed to lure us into a trap, deliberately letting the voice of the Demon-Slaying Sage reach here… but it probably didn’t anticipate that this change would cause a spatial rift. In other words, our encounter with and conversation with the Demon-Slaying Sage was something no one expected.”

Ye Lan nodded: "That's why the spatial rift suddenly disappeared, because it wanted to cover up an unexpected flaw."

Yan Fei's eyes sparkled: "That means we still have hope! At least the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons really knows that we are also trapped in this space, and he has the ability to break through space!"

Ye Lan turned her head to look at Han Fulai: "Is this what you meant by 'there's always a way out'?"

"That's right." This time, Han Fulai didn't keep them in suspense and answered very decisively.

...Anyway, this isn't the first or second time he's tried to curry favor with the immortal Xiao. There's nothing shameful about currying favor with an immortal; most people wouldn't even have the opportunity to do so!

“But this brings us back to square one… We came here to find the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons, didn’t we? But he’s not here. And you’ve said it yourself, you can’t contact him right now.” Ye Lan pointed out the key issue.

Han Fulai was clearly prepared for this question: "That was originally the case, but now I'm fairly confident I can contact Xiao. Although it involves some risks... it's worth a try."

Chapter 43 Crisis is also an opportunity

Ye Lan raised her hand and made a pause gesture.

"Wait a minute."

She looked into Han Fulai's bloodshot eyes and raised her voice: "Here, all actions must be under my command—you haven't forgotten our agreement, have you? I don't agree to any risky plans."

Ye Lan was aware of Han Fulai's current situation.

When Ye Lan heard him say that he wanted to try a potentially risky method, her intuition told her that this so-called "risk"... was probably "self-sacrifice".

Last time, in order to save Zhidong's "Ninth Company," Han Fulai didn't hesitate to become the villain and suffer hatred... Ye Lan had a deep impression of this. When he came to discuss it with her that time, he had the same expression on his face.

Moreover, Ye Lan still remembered... at the end of the last trip to the Layered Rock Abyss, it was Han Fulai who used his body as a barrier to suppress the abyssal energy that was about to erupt, and he himself almost died at that time...

So when Han Fulai proposed a "risky" plan, Ye Lan's first reaction was to stop him.

She knew these things, but Yan Fei did not.

Yan Fei protested, "Hey, no matter what, you have to hear Mr. Han's plan before you can make a decision! Besides, we're already in a very dangerous situation, so what plan is risk-free?"

Han Fulai looked innocent: "Yes, Yan Fei is right, Ye Lan is settling a personal score."

"You!" Ye Lan turned her face away from him, muttering a curse under her breath, sounding like "buying a coffin without knowing the purpose."

Han Fulai pretended not to hear and continued, "As I said before, I have a contractual connection with Immortal Xiao. Although the formation in this underground space can block the contractual connection, it becomes clearer near that spatial rift. In other words, if we encounter another spatial rift, Immortal Xiao will be able to sense our location and come to help us."

Yan Fei thought for a moment and then raised a question: "Theoretically, it is indeed feasible, but as you know, the last time a spatial rift suddenly appeared around us was actually an accident... I think we probably won't be so lucky as to encounter another spatial rift again, right?"