Chapter 196: At Least Have a Slice of Watermelon!
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“Junior Sister, this is the entrance to the secret realm.”
Li Menghua led Xuanxuan and Lin Muyu to a stop before an imposing giant vortex.
The vortex had a diameter of over 3 meters, with blue and pink currents churning wildly within it. It also carried a powerful suction force, like a lurking giant beast that seemed ready to devour all living things around it in the next second.
Yet even though the vortex exuded a dangerous aura, the clearing before it was packed with people.
Cultivators in various sect robes formed winding queues, all patiently waiting for the several stationed cultivators ahead to let them through one by one.
“Senior Brother, are there really this many people entering the secret realm?”
Lin Muyu’s eyes widened as she looked at the crowded scene before her, her voice full of surprise.
With so many people competing for the opportunities inside the secret realm, wouldn’t the competition be extremely fierce?
“This secret realm doesn’t belong exclusively to our Qinglan Sect. It’s a public secret realm jointly discovered by several major sects, so it’s normal for there to be this many people.”
Li Menghua explained with a smile, then shifted his tone to add.
“However, Junior Sister Lin doesn’t know this, but according to messages sent back by disciples who explored inside previously, the interior of this secret realm isn’t one complete space, but is divided into countless smaller spaces.”
“In other words, which space we’ll be assigned to after entering, and who we’ll be in the same space with, is entirely up to fate.”
“It even has this kind of random matching mechanism?”
Lin Muyu unconsciously murmured.
If she was lucky and ended up in a space full of Qi Refining stage cultivators, things would be easier.
But if she was unlucky and ran into a space full of late stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, the competition would be extremely fierce.
She hadn’t expected that even the cultivation world would have this kind of luck-based matching system.
“Matching mechanism?”
Li Menghua hadn’t heard this term before. His brow furrowed slightly as he looked at her in confusion.
“It’s nothing, just making a casual comparison.”
Lin Muyu quickly changed the subject, her tone carrying more worry.
“By the way, Senior Brother, since it’s random assignment, doesn’t that mean Xuanxuan and I will very likely be separated?”
If she got separated from Xuanxuan, she wouldn’t be able to complete the mission she had accepted earlier.
“Don’t worry.”
Li Menghua, who had been stationed here for quite some time, was clearly well-versed in the rules. He explained with a smile.
“As long as you two hold tightly onto each other when you enter, the secret realm’s spatial laws will recognize you as a single entity, and naturally you’ll be assigned to the same space.”
“So there’s even a party formation function. That’s quite interesting.”
Lin Muyu breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.
These rules reminded her oddly of those games she’d played in her previous life, except here the party formation relied on physical contact.
But thinking about it again, right now it was just her and Xuanxuan, two people. Didn’t they seem to be missing one person?
As Lin Muyu was pondering this, a lively and familiar voice suddenly came from behind her, followed immediately by a pair of warm little hands covering her eyes.
“Guess who I am? Little Yuyu~”
“…Stop fooling around. How old are you to still be this childish?”
Lin Muyu helplessly pulled away the hands covering her eyes and turned to see Yunduo’s brightly smiling face.
How old was this girl anyway? Why did she still love teasing people like a little kid?
Sometimes she was even like a certain mythological figure from her previous life.
“Aw, Little Yuyu is no fun.”
Yunduo waved her hand dismissively and leaned closer again.
Only then did Lin Muyu remember the main point and asked in confusion.
“By the way, where did you run off to earlier?”
After returning Su Xingmian to Su Xinghe, she’d looked for Yunduo for quite a while without seeing any trace of her.
However, she hadn’t been too worried. Yunduo was at least a Golden Core stage cultivator, in this city, basically no one dared to provoke her.
After all, who would dare to fight with a Golden Core cultivator from Qinglan Sect?
They’d probably be invited for tea by the sect’s Nascent Soul Elders the very next day.
You have to know that Golden Core cultivators were already the backbone of every sect. Each loss was no small matter to the sect.
“I went shopping at the stores in the city!”
Yunduo showed off the storage ring on her finger like presenting a treasure, her eyes sparkling.
“I bought lots of delicious things. Once we enter the secret realm, we’ll find a safe place and eat slowly!”
“…You really can’t stop thinking about food wherever you go.”
Lin Muyu rolled her eyes, completely speechless. What normal person brings a pile of snacks into a secret realm?
But she quickly realized a key issue. Her gaze instantly sharpened as she stared at Yunduo and asked.
“Wait, where did you get the money to buy so many things?”
“Oh my, Little Yuyu, you really think I’m poor?”
Yunduo seductively lifted Lin Muyu’s chin, her voice full of temptation.
“I’m a rich woman, you know. I’ll take care of you from now on~”
“Get lost!”
“But if you want to take care of me, that’s fine too, first show me those delicious things you mentioned!”
“That won’t work!”
“…”
While the two were fooling around, Xuanxuan on the side just watched quietly, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curving into a gentle smile.
If only one day she could joke around so freely like them and have such good friends.
But this warmth didn’t last long. An irritating voice suddenly rang out, breaking the atmosphere.
“Xuanxuan, do you want to team up with me to enter the secret realm? With me there, I can keep you safe.”
Hearing this voice, Lin Muyu’s expression instantly darkened. She whipped her head around.
She saw Xiao Huo with a fake smile on his face, his eyes carrying a self-righteous sense of superiority as he looked at Xuanxuan.
Xuanxuan kept her head lowered, not knowing what she was thinking.
“Hmph, this scumbag still has the face to approach Xuanxuan?”
Yunduo also saw this scene. Anger immediately flared up inside her as she rolled up her sleeves, ready to rush over and defend justice.
When it came to, uh, not hero but beautiful women saving beauties, she was the most skilled.
But before Yunduo could take a step forward, another male voice suddenly rang out. A man in brocade robes quickly walked over and steadily positioned himself in front of Xuanxuan, his gaze coldly fixed on Xiao Huo.
“She is my wife. If she enters the secret realm, naturally she should go with me. There’s no need to trouble you, Fellow Daoist Xiao.”
“The groom?”
Lin Muyu looked at the man before her, and the person who had stood with Xuanxuan a few days ago instantly flashed through her mind.
“Wife?”
Xiao Huo clearly didn’t take the other party seriously. He scoffed, his tone full of mockery.
“You’d better think this through. You two haven’t even had the wedding ceremony yet. What kind of husband and wife are you?”
“Heh, even if we haven’t had the ceremony, it’s still not your place as an outsider to interfere in our affairs!”
The man shot back without backing down, the aura around him growing colder by several degrees. The gunpowder atmosphere between them instantly intensified.
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Lin Muyu looked at Yunduo beside her in confusion.
The person who had been so righteously indignant about defending justice just moments ago, why wasn’t she moving now?
But when she turned to look, she froze.
Yunduo had somehow produced a small stool and was holding a handful of roasted melon seeds, leisurely cracking them open.
Noticing Lin Muyu’s gaze, Yunduo even patted the empty space beside her, warmly inviting.
“Little Yuyu, come sit! Such an exciting show, it’s so tiring to watch standing up!”
“…”
Lin Muyu was completely speechless.
At a time like this, she still had the mood to crack melon seeds and watch the drama?!
At least have a slice of watermelon!