Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Leaving the Secret Realm
Lu Sangjiu couldn’t figure out what Xie Ningyuan was thinking, but since he had already given it to her, she was definitely going to accept it.
What she also couldn’t understand was why Xie Ningyuan had left without a word.
He surely wouldn’t be foolish enough to just toss such a valuable storage ring there and walk away. He had most likely left only after sensing Shen Yuzhao’s approach.
’So he didn’t leave in a hurry because of some emergency. He just purely didn’t want to see me... Could it be that his old injury hasn’t fully healed, and he doesn’t trust me?’
Lu Sangjiu shook her head. Whatever the reason, as far as she was concerned, she had protected Xie Ningyuan and seen him out of a dangerous place. That was enough to consider her debt to him paid.
What he did or thought after that was none of her business.
So, without giving it any more thought, Lu Sangjiu took a few healing Elixir Pills, closed her eyes, and began to meditate and regulate her energy.
She had been severely drained this time. Even with top-grade spiritual stones to absorb Spiritual Energy from, it took a full day and night before she finally recovered.
When she opened her eyes, it was nighttime. Qin Yu and Ye Zhiyao were gone, leaving only Li Qiancheng and Shen Yuzhao to watch over her.
The moment she opened her eyes, both men hurried over. "Little Junior Sister, are you feeling better?"
Looking at their concerned expressions, Lu Sangjiu smiled. "I’m fine now. I’m sorry for making my senior brothers worry."
After a pause, she asked, "And what about Qin Yu and Ye Zhiyao?"
Shen Yuzhao, still brooding over the incident, replied in a huff, "They left because they have a guilty conscience, what else?"
Li Qiancheng had already heard a rough account of that day’s events from Shen Yuzhao. However, Shen Yuzhao had been unconscious for most of it, so he didn’t actually know much.
Li Qiancheng now turned to Lu Sangjiu. "So, why exactly did you all start fighting?"
In his mind, they were all members of the Seven Emotions Sect. No matter how strained their relationships were, it shouldn’t have come to a fight to the death. There had to be another reason.
Lu Sangjiu didn’t try to hide it. "The Sword Immortal used a Mind Confusion Technique on Ye Zhiyao. She went mad for a moment and tried to kill me, but Qin Yu was trying to stop her the whole time."
Even if she didn’t say anything, Qin Yu would have explained it later.
Besides, with the Mind Confusion Technique as an excuse, Ye Zhiyao was unlikely to be severely punished for this.
Deliberately stirring up Li Qiancheng’s and Shen Yuzhao’s hatred for her would serve no purpose other than making them all feel awful.
After hearing Lu Sangjiu’s explanation, Li Qiancheng and Shen Yuzhao, while still feeling uneasy, understood that they couldn’t place all the blame on Ye Zhiyao. Thus, they said no more about it.
Li Qiancheng then elaborated for Lu Sangjiu, "Qin Yu said that Ye Zhiyao’s condition was unstable and he was worried she might cause another conflict with you when she woke up. That’s why he took her away. He said that once they’re out of the Secret Realm and she’s recovered, she will come and apologize to you."
Lu Sangjiu didn’t care about an apology one way or the other. She just gave a noncommittal grunt and asked, "How long until we leave the Secret Realm?"
"Only one day left," said Li Qiancheng. "This whole area is a wreck. While you were unconscious, we took turns searching the surroundings. There’s really nothing of value left."
"Besides, we’ve already gotten the Hell Grass. For the last day, let’s just rest here instead of running around."
Lu Sangjiu had also achieved all of her goals, so she naturally nodded in agreement.
After a moment’s thought, she took out the storage ring Xie Ningyuan had given her and inspected its contents.
The original novel had briefly described the ring’s contents, and after checking, Lu Sangjiu confirmed that nothing was missing.
In other words, Xie Ningyuan really hadn’t taken a single thing. He had left it all for her.
This sudden windfall drastically improved Lu Sangjiu’s impression of Xie Ningyuan. She’d originally found him quite annoying, but now, he didn’t seem so bad after all.
If they ever had the chance to meet again, she decided she would go a little easier on scamming him.
The storage ring contained a great number of Spirit Stones: one hundred top-grade spiritual stones and ten thousand top-grade spirit stones. This was even more generous than the Lightly Arrogant True Monarch.
There was also a sword, which was a top-grade magic treasure. While it couldn’t compare to an Immortal Artifact or a Top-grade Treasure, it was one of the finest of its kind.
More importantly, the sword’s attributes were a perfect match for the Divine Fire Sword Technique; using them together would be incredibly powerful.
Lu Sangjiu, of course, took the sword out and gave it to Shen Yuzhao.
Shen Yuzhao didn’t know the origin of the storage ring and assumed it was a gift from Xie Ningyuan to Lu Sangjiu, so he initially refused to accept it.
Once Lu Sangjiu explained its origins, Shen Yuzhao understood it had been left for a successor by that senior Sword Immortal, and he no longer stood on ceremony.
Lu Sangjiu didn’t hoard the Spirit Stones, either. She divided them into four shares; besides giving portions to Shen Yuzhao and Li Qiancheng, she set one aside to give to her second senior sister, Luo Linlang, after they left the Secret Realm.
In the end, Lu Sangjiu’s own share was twenty-five top-grade spiritual stones and 2,500 top-grade spirit stones—a considerable fortune in itself.
Furthermore, she still had thirty of the top-grade spiritual stones from the Lightly Arrogant True Monarch left after her recovery. All told, she was now an incredibly wealthy woman for someone in the Foundation Establishment Stage.
In addition to these, the storage ring also held several types of rare Refining Materials and a Defense Soft Armor, which was a Mid-grade Treasure.
Li Qiancheng and Shen Yuzhao, however, refused to take any of these items, insisting that Lu Sangjiu keep them for herself.
After all, she still didn’t have a Lifebound Magical Treasure of her own, so the Refining Materials would be perfect for her.
Lu Sangjiu didn’t argue with them further and kept everything.
The storage ring itself was also excellent; it had more than ten times the space of Lu Sangjiu’s storage bag.
On the spot, Lu Sangjiu took everything out of her storage bag, organized it, and moved it all into the storage ring.
Afterward, she looked at her fortune, a deeply satisfied smile spreading across her face.
It wasn’t just Lu Sangjiu sharing her spoils; Li Qiancheng and Shen Yuzhao also took out their own hauls, distributing whatever they didn’t need or had in surplus among the group.
As a result, Lu Sangjiu ended up with quite a few more "tokens of affection" that her two senior brothers insisted on giving her.
She suddenly thought... ’It’s really great to have senior brothers!’
They spent their last day in the Secret Realm peacefully, and thankfully, no further incidents occurred.
When the time was up, all the surviving Cultivators were ejected from the Secret Realm by its Rule Power.
With a flash of white light, Lu Sangjiu found herself at the entrance to the Secret Realm, just outside Sky Curtain City.
The entrance to the Secret Realm had already vanished, and the empty clearing was now, in an instant, teeming with a dense crowd of people.
Lu Sangjiu, Li Qiancheng, and Shen Yuzhao had been together inside the Secret Realm, so they appeared together outside as well.
Flanking Lu Sangjiu on her left and right, Li Qiancheng and Shen Yuzhao shielded her from the jostling crowd. The trio located their Sect Leader in the distance and immediately started heading in that direction.
As they were walking, Lu Sangjiu suddenly felt a gaze on her back. Her Power of Divine Sense had returned to its Divinity Transformation Stage level the moment she left the Secret Realm, making her senses incredibly sharp.
She glanced back instinctively but couldn’t pinpoint the source of the gaze among the massive crowd.
She couldn’t help but frown slightly. ’It felt like more than one person was watching me, and one of those gazes was full of malice. Who was it?’
