Isn't This a Game? Why Are You All Cultivating for Real!

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: It’s Me. Not Satisfied With This Face?

’Since Spirit Grass from the Secret Realm can be taken out, maybe this dog can be, too.’

Song Jiulai decided to negotiate amicably. "Fortune, would you be willing to leave with me?"

Dahuang just tilted its head again.

Song Jiulai said, "It’s not talking. This is making things so difficult."

The system said drily, "Have you been on the Yunzhou Continent so long your brain has gone funny? Can dogs talk?"

Song Jiulai: "..."

’Right. Maybe I am going a little crazy.’

Song Jiulai stood up, stroked Dahuang’s head, and looked around.

’Only half an hour left. I’m not going to find anything good now.’

Song Jiulai decided to spend the last half hour here, playing with Dahuang.

Seeing Dahuang reminded her of a little something from her past. "I had a dog when I was little, too," she said. "I was living in an orphanage at the time, and it would eat my leftovers. I was raising it pretty well, but after a year, it got sick and passed away. I bawled my eyes out, and after that, I swore I’d never get another pet."

She rarely thought about the past, but her words still held a hint of melancholy.

She was an orphan. Sometimes, seeing other people with their parents still made her quite envious.

She didn’t even know who her own parents were.

She’d been lucky to survive, found by someone and sent to an orphanage. For some reason, though, she was never adopted as a child.

Later, she managed to get into university with state funding.

Her luck was pretty good in that regard; she never ran into any major trouble.

Because of this, Song Jiulai still felt a measure of gratitude toward Huaxia.

The system had known her life story when it chose her. It now offered comfort, saying, "It’s alright. You suffered so much in your past life, all so you could meet me."

Song Jiulai paused for a moment. "Is meeting you a good thing? Actually, I have a slight suspicion that I only got into that car accident because you showed up."

"How audacious! To slander this system!" A chill entered the system’s tone. "Do you think I’m one of those kidnapping systems? The kind that drags people away without the host’s consent? I asked for your permission! Besides, you’re just plain lucky. If your fate wasn’t so good, how could you have possibly met me and gotten a second chance at life!"

Seeing as the system’s words made too much sense, Song Jiulai didn’t bother arguing further.

Song Jiulai sat by the river, took off her shoes, and dipped her feet in the water for a while.

’It’s a bit uncivilized, sure, but no one lives here anyway.’

’Who am I supposed to be civilized for?’

Dahuang, however, hadn’t left. It just squatted there quietly, not making a sound.

’Seems pretty good-tempered.’

Until the very end, the two of them—one person, one dog—remained in silence.

When Song Jiulai clearly felt the Secret Realm begin to collapse, a suffocating pressure washed over her.

It was as if the surrounding space was compressing—not crushing one’s physical body, but their very soul.

System: "It’s collapsing! Time’s up! Are you taking this dog or not?"

"My Jiezidai can’t carry living creatures! You have to ask him!"

Still, Song Jiulai turned and asked Dahuang, "We have to go. Do you want to come with me?"

This time, Dahuang stared at her quietly for several seconds before finally giving a slight nod of its... doggy head.

"Huh—the dog can nod—HOLY SHIT, CAN’T YOU GIVE A WARNING BEFORE YOU TELEPORT ME?! AHHHHH!"

Song Jiulai’s figure vanished into the void.

But in that instant of departure, a brilliant light erupted from her body, forming an invisible hand that grabbed Dahuang and yanked him out along with her.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the Secret Realm, disciples who sensed the collapse took out their keys, preparing to teleport away.

The keys were identical to the one Song Jiulai had bought.

The disciples of the Extreme Saint Sect wore expressions of delight.

’But it was all worth it!’

They had paid an immense price to obtain the Fifth-rank Spirit Grass.

The moment the keys began to glow, all the disciples were transported back to the plaza with the Water Mirror, just before the realm collapsed completely.

Seeing them appear, the Extreme Saint Sect elder, who had watched the entire battle, was about to speak joyfully. But before he could get a word out, he saw the Secret Realm Keys in the hands of several disciples suddenly crumble to dust at the exact same moment, disintegrating without even a breeze to scatter them.

The elder’s eyes widened instantly. "The keys are gone?"

"The keys shattered!"

"The Secret Realm collapsed? Did someone take the core item?"

"Impossible! Hasn’t the core of the Liuyao Secret Realm remained undiscovered all this time?"

The expressions of everyone present changed drastically.

They had watched the battle clearly through the Water Mirror. Aside from the Fifth-rank Spirit Grass, the core treasure hadn’t appeared at all.

They had searched for so many years and never found it.

Instantly, some people thought of that strange disciple. The Supreme Mysterious Sect elder, in particular, wore a grim expression as he unleashed one of his Divine Skills, sweeping his Divine Sense over every disciple who had just returned.

But his face immediately turned ashen.

No one matched the description. Not a single one. All the disciples were accounted for, and none had changed.

"Impossible! How can this be!" The Supreme Mysterious Sect elder had lived for a long time, but he had never witnessed such a thing. "Someone entered the Secret Realm without going through us? How is that possible!"

It was the only explanation he could think of.

The Supreme Mysterious Sect had suffered grievous losses in the Secret Realm this time. Losing disciples was one thing, but they had also lost a Magic Treasure. It was a complete and utter humiliation.

And now, some unknown disciple had appeared, and there was no information on them whatsoever.

"The Secret Realm Keys shattered..."

The Blood Prison Sect elder’s expression was a mixture of shock and suspicion. "How is this possible? Could it really have been that unknown disciple?"

That disciple hadn’t reappeared on the final day, it was true.

They had all assumed he’d already left.

But now the keys had shattered, and the disciple was nowhere to be found.

There was only one explanation: someone had truly entered the Secret Realm through other means.

After all, the disciple had never appeared on the Water Mirror before this.

He entered on the third day...

The Liuyao Secret Realm was one of the rare secret realms where the flow of time was consistent with the outside world.

That was why they could observe the disciples’ activities through the Water Mirror.

The flow of time in most secret realms was chaotic.

A month inside could be just half a day outside.

"Damn it!" the Supreme Mysterious Sect elder roared. "Someone must have snuck in! I will have this Song Abao hunted down across the entire continent!"

’It must be him.’

’The name might be fake, but his appearance can’t have changed, right?’

’He’s so ugly, he’ll be recognized in a heartbeat.’

’We’ll definitely be able to find him quickly.’

’He actually managed to take the core treasure of the Liuyao Secret Realm—something that has been hidden for hundreds of years. We must find him.’

Meanwhile, Song Jiulai opened her eyes and found herself back where she had started.

Beside her, Dahuang seemed dazed at first. Then, upon seeing Song Jiulai’s true face, it actually took a step back.

Song Jiulai rubbed her face, glanced down at Dahuang by her feet, and spoke with brimming confidence.

"Fortune, it’s me. What, not satisfied with this face?"

System: "..."