But for now, they had to get out first.

Zanxing walked through the entire stone chamber, almost touching every inch of the walls and floor, even using illumination talismans against the ceiling, trying to discover any details worth investigating in the stone walls above.

But there was nothing.

This stone wall had nothing at all, except for the two of them and one cat; there was nothing.

She turned back to look at Gu Baiying.

Gu Baiying was still sitting, his expression unusually calm. He said, “I told you, there’s no mechanism.”

Zanxing thought for a moment, then picked up Mimi from the corner. Gu Baiying watched her movements and asked: “What are you doing?”

“Doesn’t it have Yinlang Shi bloodline?” Zanxing said, “I was thinking, maybe it could give some hints.”

Gu Baiying: “Do you think it looks like it could give you hints?”

“But it’s a Yinlang Shi…”

“Just a trace of weak bloodline,” he spoke harshly, “After thousands of years, the diluted bloodline that flows to now is no different from an ordinary house cat. It’s just a cat.”

Zanxing emphasized, “Mimi isn’t a cat. Even if it only has a little bloodline, it’s still a Yinlang Shi.”

Gu Baiying raised an eyebrow at her: “Is this how you deceive yourself?”

“What do you mean by that?”

The young man’s eyes were bright and sharp in the dim stone chamber. He stared at Zanxing as if wanting to see through the person in front of him. He said, “A house cat with Yinlang Shi bloodline still can’t change the fact that it’s a cat. Just like you having secret treasures on you doesn’t give you the ability to protect yourself when facing powerful, fierce beasts.”

Zanxing’s pupils constricted.

He leaned against the stone wall behind him, laughing carelessly: “You spent a peaceful night on Gufeng Mountain, shone brilliantly in the sect examination, and even advanced by leaps and bounds in cultivation during the Pingyang Town selection, all because you have secret treasures on you.” He easily exposed Zanxing’s biggest secret: “So you could find the Qing E Nian Hua Gun, and Yinying would invade your room in the middle of the night, because you have something on you that attracts him. Isn’t that right, Yang Zanxing?”

Zanxing couldn’t speak.

Seeming to sense the subtle atmosphere in the stone chamber, Mimi quietly jumped aside, retreated to a corner, curled up her body, and started playing dead.

After a long time, Zanxing heard her voice: “What do you want to say?”

“I don’t want to say anything.” Gu Baiying said indifferently, “I just want to tell you, Yang Zanxing, for immortal cultivators, having secret treasures isn’t anything unusual. But if you think this means you can turn misfortune into fortune every time, you’re gravely mistaken. Relying on external objects, you can’t achieve true strength. Even if you had a hundred secret treasures on you, the result would be the same. Moreover,” he glanced at Zanxing: “Do you think you can bear such opportunities?”

Like the last straw that broke the camel’s back, Zanxing’s heart turned cold.

Could she bear such opportunities? On countless nights, she had asked herself this question uneasily. Whether the protagonist’s halo was something that an ordinary person like herself could bear. But these past days, one thing after another, the red mark on her palm kept reminding her that she was just an ordinary person.

So she had the Xiaoyuan Pearl, but it worked sporadically. She had a spirit beast with an ancient divine beast bloodline, but it was useless except for eating and sleeping. She had the Qing E Nian Hua Gun, but couldn’t draw any spirit artifact from the weapon vault. Even deliberately staying away from Mu Cengxiao and Meng Ying, she was inexplicably pushed into this dark abyss by a fierce beast that had never appeared before.

Zanxing felt discouraged for no reason. She sat down absent-mindedly, remained silent for a while, then said in a low voice: “You’re right.”

Gu Baiying was somewhat surprised.

Her voice seemed lifeless, heavy, and completely different from usual, light as if mixed with some complex emotions: “I was too self-righteous. I could only get this far by relying on magical treasures. But this opportunity probably isn’t something I can bear either. I’m just an ordinary person, not someone chosen by fate. I shouldn’t presume to defy heaven and change destiny.”

She said gloomily: “Now I’ve dragged you into being trapped here waiting to die…”

Zanxing didn’t finish speaking, burying her face in her knees.

The stone chamber seemed to echo with slight sobbing sounds.

Mimi’s ears perked up, and Gu Baiying’s brow twitched.

He raised his eyelids, secretly glanced at Zanxing, and asked tentatively: “Hey, you’re not crying, are you?”

The woman was wearing his clothes. Her hair tie had been taken away, so her hair hung loosely behind her head, sliding down along the clothes to her shoulders. She no longer had her usual spirited appearance, looking somewhat desolate and pitiful.

Gu Baiying inexplicably felt guilty.

He walked in front of Zanxing, squatted down halfway, and tugged at Zanxing’s sleeve, trying to make Zanxing lift her face: “Yang Zanxing?”

Zanxing ignored him.

“I didn’t make you cry, did I? I wasn’t even lecturing you…” The young man looked somewhat embarrassed: “Stop crying.”

Mimi opened her eyes wide, curiously watching the two people in the stone chamber.

Seeing that Zanxing still kept her face buried in her knees, Gu Baiying became somewhat flustered. He said, “Alright, I was wrong just now. I didn’t mean to mock you. What I meant was, you shouldn’t always think of relying on external objects to save your life. You should cultivate more. When you were in Li’er Kingdom, you slept until late morning every day and always ate mortal food. How could you possibly improve?”

As he spoke, he realized he was becoming righteous again, so he lowered his voice, looked at the person in front of him, and coaxed softly: “…I also didn’t say we’d wait here to die. I’ll take you out.”

The person with her face buried in her knees seemed to move slightly upon hearing this, but still didn’t lift her head.

He racked his brains thinking of things that might make the other person happy: “…When we return to Gufeng Mountain, I’ll teach you illusion techniques, alright?”

The woman’s voice came from between her knees, muffled: “Really?”

“Really!”

Zanxing suddenly lifted her head: “Then it’s settled, Master Uncle. When we return to the sect, you must teach me illusion techniques!”

The person in front of him had bright, clear eyes, full of spirit, completely different from the gloomy face he had imagined. Gu Baiying was stunned: “You weren’t crying?”

“It’s not time to cry yet.” Zanxing smiled: “If Master Uncle goes back on his word and forgets today’s promise to me, then I’ll cry.”

Gu Baiying suddenly stood up, forcing out two words: “Devious!”

“If I weren’t devious, how would I know Master Uncle cares about me so much?” Zanxing smiled, then glanced and saw blood spreading on his arm, probably from injuries sustained in the earlier fight with the Golden Flower Tiger.

“You’re injured?” Zanxing reached out to pull his arm: “Let me see.”

“Don’t touch me!” Gu Baiying angrily shook off her hand. In the struggle, a drop of blood fell to the ground.

In the stone chamber, a dazzling azure light suddenly burst forth.

“This is…” Zanxing was stunned.