Chapter 485: The Change Has Come

Yan Yu shrugged. “What do you want me to do? You all tried, didn’t you? There’s really no getting out of here.”

“So, whether we’re waiting for a way out or for danger to arrive, what else can we do but wait for something to change? Anything else is just a waste of time, isn’t it?”

She patted Lu Sangjiu’s shoulder with an air of profound wisdom. “You’ve got to be patient, young one. All these people are waiting. It’s no use for you to be anxious, is it?”

“Just wait quietly. Even if we’re going to die, you’ll have all these people to go with you. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Lu Sangjiu was speechless.

‘This Yan Yu girl… she’s really got nerves of steel. I’m impressed.’

But she wasn’t wrong. They really didn’t have any better options right now. They might as well conserve their Spiritual Power and stamina. That way, when something did happen, they’d have a better chance of protecting themselves.

In the end, they were just strangers who had met by chance. After a few casual words, there was nothing left to say, so Lu Sangjiu simply closed her eyes to rest.

The night passed quickly. When the sky brightened once more, Lu Sangjiu opened her eyes and glanced at the cliff wall Lie Rufeng had damaged the day before. Unsurprisingly, it had been restored to its original state.

The two Female Cultivators who had fallen with them the previous day had stubbornly kept trying to find a way out for a long while after the others sat down, but by now, they too had fallen quiet, just like most of the others.

For a long time after that, they all repeated this hopeless wait, day after day.

After Lu Sangjiu’s group, two more batches of Cultivators fell into the valley, but after that, no one else came.

This was understandable. Everyone knew the Wild Ancient Forest was an extremely dangerous place, so the number of Cultivators willing to risk entering was bound to be small. Of those, the ones unlucky enough to fall in here would be an even smaller minority.

Besides, the most adventurous ones had probably all come at the beginning; as time wore on, fewer people were likely to show up.

Now, there were a full twenty-four people in the valley, making the not-so-large space feel increasingly crowded.

Fortunately, by her calculations, the Secret Realm was due to close in another five days. This uncomfortable stalemate, she figured, would soon be broken.

During these idle days, there was no Spiritual Energy for cultivation. And as for chatting… in this environment, even close acquaintances would find it difficult to ignore everyone else and have an animated conversation.

So, most people just sat around in a daze. Lu Sangjiu felt like she was so bored she was about to grow mold.

She did a rough calculation of her haul. She’d actually managed to gather a fair amount of odds and ends. Once she sold it all, she’d probably only be eight or ten Immortal Stones short of a hundred.

‘Once I get out, I’ll just have to hustle a bit more. I should be able to scrape together a hundred Immortal Stones before the auction.’

Thinking this, she couldn’t help but be grateful for her habit of not passing up anything along the way. If she’d just assumed there would be better things later on, she’d be crying right now.

「The third-to-last day.」

That night, as Lu Sangjiu was resting with her eyes closed, a gust of wind swept through the valley, carrying a faint, floral fragrance.

The fragrance was intoxicatingly pleasant, causing one’s mind to relax and feel a sense of bliss without even realizing it.

For a moment, Lu Sangjiu nearly drifted off to sleep. But at the last second, she suddenly realized something was wrong… ‘I haven’t smelled any flowers for all the days we’ve been here. Why would a floral scent suddenly appear now?’

Realizing something was amiss, Lu Sangjiu decisively bit down hard on the tip of her tongue.

The sharp pain instantly banished her drowsiness, and Lu Sangjiu’s eyes snapped open.

Her first instinct upon opening her eyes was to scan her surroundings. She quickly discovered that most of the people had fallen into a deep, oblivious sleep.

However, a small number of others had been as vigilant as she. Having used some unknown method to stay awake, they too were now opening their eyes and observing their surroundings.

Lu Sangjiu’s gaze met those of a few others, but they were all strangers, and each remained wary of the rest. Their eyes met for only a second before darting away, showing no intention of speaking or cooperating.

After scanning the area and finding no other obvious danger, Lu Sangjiu reached out to nudge Mu Lin, who was beside her.

Just as she was about to do the same for Lie Rufeng, he himself snapped his eyes open, having shaken off the relaxing effect of the fragrance on his own.

His eyes met Lu Sangjiu’s for a moment before he glanced over at Mu Lin.

Lu Sangjiu spoke. “I can’t wake him.”

‘Normally, in a situation like this, we’d use Elixir Pills or a talisman. But Cultivators are used to keeping such items in their storage space, not on their person. It left them somewhat helpless at the moment.’

‘Of course, the main reason was that I don’t know Mu Lin well enough; using any other method would seem too invasive. Fortunately, Lie Rufeng is awake now. I can just leave it to him.’

Lie Rufeng was direct and brutal. Without a word, he jabbed a finger hard into one of Mu Lin’s pressure points.

The pain finally jolted Mu Lin awake. He seemed dazed and confused as he woke up, asking loudly, “What’s happening? What’s happening?”

In the quiet of the night, his voice was far too loud. It made several people jump and drew many annoyed glances in their direction.

The corner of Lu Sangjiu’s mouth twitched. She pressed a hand on Mu Lin’s shoulder in exasperation. “Quiet.”

Mu Lin finally calmed down. No more needed to be said; recalling the sensation he’d just felt, he more or less understood what had happened.

Now that their trio was awake, Lu Sangjiu glanced over at Yan Yu, who was also fast asleep on her other side.

‘To be honest, I’m a little surprised that Yan Yu succumbed. From our earlier conversation, it was obvious she wasn’t a simple person. I’d always felt that there was more to her than met the eye, that she might actually be someone very powerful.’

‘So, had she really succumbed, or was she just playing along with the enemy’s plan? I can’t be sure.’

Because of this, Lu Sangjiu hesitated for a moment on whether or not to wake her.

But in that single moment of hesitation, the situation changed again.

On the night wind, Lu Sangjiu thought she heard a woman’s soft hum. Immediately after, the sky was suddenly shrouded by something, and a malevolent aura began to spread through the valley.

There were many Cultivators here. Sensing the danger, someone immediately cast a Spell, attacking the space overhead.

But the space above was like an invisible sponge. No matter what Spell was cast at it, it seemed to be absorbed instantly, failing to damage whatever was there in the slightest.

Of course, besides launching attacks, everyone also used their Spiritual Power to erect protective barriers, preventing the strange aura from invading their bodies.

This, however, was only for those who were awake. The ones who had fallen into a deep sleep and had no companions could only be invaded without any resistance.

Lu Sangjiu immediately erected her own protective barrier, and extended it to cover Yan Yu as well.

This time, she didn’t dare hesitate. Copying Lie Rufeng’s move, she jabbed one of Yan Yu’s pressure points.

Sure enough, the pain woke Yan Yu. She was dazed for the instant she opened her eyes, but she quickly realized something was wrong.

Seeing that she was being protected by Lu Sangjiu, she couldn’t help but shoot her a grateful look before hastily erecting her own protective barrier.

Only then did she ask Lu Sangjiu, “What’s going on?”