Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Shen Ye looked the giant crocodile up and down.

Xiao Mengyu also drew her weapon and stood by his side.

But Husky was pondering a question and couldn't help asking aloud,

"What happened to Nangong Sirui? Why are you carrying him on your back?"

Zhang Xiaoyi, supporting himself on his knees and panting heavily, explained,

"He said—he would protect the other students, and that I'm in charge of safety outside."

"Outside?"

"Yes, he took all the students into that shield, saying there's a paradise inside that can protect everyone."

The group turned their gaze to Nangong Sirui on Zhang Xiaoyi's back.

Nangong Sirui had fallen into a coma.

Perhaps...

Opening such a vast paradise must consume physical strength.

Suddenly, Nangong Sirui opened his eyes, jumped down from Zhang Xiaoyi's back, and said energetically,

"Great, you finally came."

The group was stunned.

"Xiao San, are you okay?" Shen Ye asked.

"What can be wrong with me? I just took a nap," Nangong Sirui yawned.

"But those students—"

"Oh, they're in my Divine Shield paradise, they're fine," Nangong Sirui reassured.

"Then you—"

"Zhang Xiaoyi runs quite steadily, and currently, there's no safer place than here. After all, there's only one giant crocodile—its skin has evolved to a high level, I can't break through it, so why not rest instead."

"So you really were sleeping?" Xiao Mengyu asked in disbelief.

"What else? I need to conserve energy for an emergency when I'll have to take action," Nangong Sirui said as he took out a fan and fanned himself.

—So the running was left to Zhang Xiaoyi, right?

Having run for several hours...

The group fell silent together.

To be honest—

If there really was only one giant crocodile here, and Nangong Sirui really needed to preserve his strength in case the situation changed, then they had no choice but to trouble Zhang Xiaoyi with running.

But while it was easy to accept this logically, emotionally—

Smack!

Nangong Sirui patted Zhang Xiaoyi on the shoulder and handed him a bottle of pills,

"This is the renowned Konghe Feishui Pill, only effective when taken at the peak of exhaustion. It can enhance vitality and the limit of your muscles. I only have one bottle, and it's all yours."

Zhang Xiaoyi was taken aback and said incredulously,

"The Konghe Feishui Pill? Really? I heard a bottle costs 200,000!"

"Eat it quickly, it won't be as effective if you rest first," Nangong Sirui advised.

"Okay, thank you!" Zhang Xiaoyi swallowed a pill and began resting on the spot.

While he rested,

Nangong Sirui released his Divine Shield and said, "Zhang Xiaoyi, Guo Yunye, you both enter the paradise to rest as well. Shen Ye, Xiao Mengyu, and I will keep watch here."

"That's right, too many people can become troublesome," Shen Ye mused, agreeing.

Before Guo Yunye and Zhang Xiaoyi could respond, they were immediately taken into the paradise by Nangong Sirui.

At that moment,

only Shen Ye, Xiao Mengyu, and Nangong Sirui were left on the island.

—And that giant crocodile.

Nangong Sirui's expression darkened as he whispered, "Something's not right."

"What's wrong?" Xiao Mengyu asked.

"I've always felt that something was watching us from the shadows, so I didn't dare to let my guard down, not even wasting a shred of strength," Nangong Sirui explained.

Shen Ye's tense nerves relaxed a bit.

And here he thought there was a serious problem.

Big brother, you're in the Great Tomb!

"The deeper you go into the Great Tomb, the more powerful the monsters, the higher the danger. It's normal," Xiao Mengyu stated.

"—Why didn't you head back, towards the surface where it's closer?" Shen Ye inquired.

Nangong Sirui replied with a wistful tone, "The cliffside isn't fit for human combat, especially for those who can't fly."

Shen Ye slapped his forehead.

Now that they'd found everyone, and fortunately, all were alive,

what were they waiting for?

Let's go back!

Back to the relatively safe area above the cliffs!

"We split into two groups," Shen Ye suggested.

"What's the plan?" Xiao Mengyu asked.

"You take him back to the cave on the cliff. That place is at least safer than this underground river," Shen Ye directed.

"And you?"

"I'll go look for Teacher Yang Yingzhen—don't worry, I can fly, I'll escape faster than you guys if necessary."

"No, that's too dangerous," both protested in unison.

Shen Ye was about to argue when suddenly, a deafening roar came from above.

The ground shook for a moment.

This familiar sensation... must mean the Great Tomb was under attack again.

Shen Ye and the others turned to look back the way they had come.

—The passage they had used completely collapsed, firmly sealed.

Well then.

That must be thousands of meters deep.

Now, even if they wanted to go back, they couldn't.

"There are many passageways here, and with the continuous breeze, it seems we're at least not going to suffocate," Xiao Mengyu said calmly.

"Do we have any food?" Nangong Sirui inquired.

"Shen Ye has quite a bit."

"But now we need to feed over a hundred people—"

Both turned to look at Shen Ye.

"No problem," Shen Ye assured.

But they kept looking at him.

You're carrying enough food for over a hundred people?

That didn't seem quite right.

Shen Ye coughed lightly and explained, "I've always been supporting students in poverty, sometimes visiting left-behind children. Plus, I received news about the planets nearing each other, so I prepared plenty of food."

"I see, that's admirable," Nangong Sirui exclaimed.

"Quite a compassionate person, aren't you, Shen Ye," Xiao Mengyu also smiled at him.

Shen Ye breathed a sigh of relief to himself.

—Though I do have a stockpile of food, it surely won't be enough to feed over a hundred people.

But no matter.

I'll just buy some food in the human settlements of the Nightmare World.

——Food and water are the most important things for underground survival!

At this thought.

Shen Ye swiped over the ring and took out all his food and water, placing it on the ground.

"Xiao San, take these and distribute them to our classmates."

"This much? It's enough for a meal for everyone, that's great."

Nangong Sirui immediately collected all the food and water, and the tension on his face slightly eased.

"Everyone has their own talents, I think we should let everyone out and build this island together," Shen Ye said.

As they spoke, the three of them looked towards the massive crocodile.

"Leave it to me."

Xiao Mengyu drew her Luoshui Divine Sword.

However, as soon as the Luo Shui Sword was unsheathed, the giant crocodile seemed to sense it and desperately dashed toward the water, submerging itself quickly and soon it was out of sight.

"..." The three of them.

"So it was bullying us because we couldn't hurt it, and that's why it chased us for hours, right?" Nangong Sirui said indignantly.

"You couldn't hurt it either?" Shen Ye asked.

"Killing it would tire me out, and if other monsters came, I would struggle to deal with them—I have the lives of over a hundred people on my shoulders, so I need to conserve energy," Nangong Sirui replied.

Shen Ye nodded slightly.

Indeed, Nangong Sirui was very prudent in his actions, trustworthy.

——Although he tricked Zhang Xiaoyi.

"What's in your cave?"

"Nothing at all, just a small space where one can barely stand."

"This island is relatively safe, so here's the plan, one of you attack, and one defend; it's a good combination. Call out a few classmates who are skilled in defense and have opened their Dharma Aspects to help build a stronghold together."

"Okay, what about you?"

Shen Ye's face grew stern.

The matter of the Seal of Fate was absolutely not to be taken lightly.

Furthermore, the whereabouts of Teacher Yang Yingzhen were still unknown.

He also needed to buy food in the Nightmare World and gather the skeleton of the Underworld Lord in Hell.

Each of these matters was urgent.

"I can fly—I'll scout the surroundings," Shen Ye said.

"Fine, we do need someone to scout the area. Remember, if there's any danger, immediately fly back here. We have more people and stronger combined forces," Xiao Mengyu said.

"Mhm." Shen Ye nodded solemnly.

Under the watchful eyes of Nangong Sirui and Xiao Mengyu, he surged into the air from the island and continued flying forward along the direction of the underground river.

Gradually.

He lost sight of the two.

After a while longer.

Even the island was no longer visible.

Only then did Shen Ye stop and press his hand against the chain on his arm.

"You're just using the body of Yun Ni—if we're to have a proper conversation, what should I call you, Master of Weeping Demon Prison?"

He asked.

Yun Ni emerged from the chain, hovering in mid-air, and said with a smile:

"When I walked in the mortal world, I had a name, Lilias."

"Lilias... Anyway, there's something I need you to do for me," Shen Ye said.

"What is it?"

"Stay here and protect them."

"That's easy enough," Lilias seemed slightly disappointed.

"This is very important to me, and I'm really stretched thin," Shen Ye said.

"Alright then, go with peace of mind, but don't die; otherwise, I would be doomed too," Lilias replied.

She floated effortlessly in mid-air, seemingly not the least bit concerned about the current situation.

Shen Ye glanced at her, feeling somewhat reassured.

——Of course.

It was because the teacher was nearby to protect her, she felt no chance of winning and had to surrender.

Apart from the teacher and Chaos Spirit Light, there were not many who could deal with her easily.

This was a true Master of Demon Prison!

"Anything else? If there's nothing else, we shall part ways here," Shen Ye said.

"Actually, there's something I'd like to tell you," Lilias said.

"Go ahead," Shen Ye prompted.

"Several powerhouses from the 'Five Desires' world have sent their subordinates to the Great Tomb. I've observed that they are each doing their own thing and seem to deliberately avoid each other," she reported.

"I see..." Shen Ye replied.

Judging by the enemies he had encountered, Tai Yan's subordinates looked down on the Nine Aspects.

And the Nine Aspects had no qualms about devouring Tai Yan's subordinates.

Inside the Great Tomb.

There were other powerhouses' subordinates.

——Could there be subordinates of the Nine Aspects?

It was worth investigating further.

Shen Ye put his concerns aside, his figure flashed, and he continued flying forward.
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Lilias was left behind.

She stood there, stretching lazily, her mouth gradually growing sharp teeth.

"Protect those kids?"

How were those human youths worthy of her protection?

...Well.

After all, it was Shen Ye's first serious command.

She might as well do well to change his impression of her.

She could feel it.

He had not given up on killing her.

For now—

She had to do the tasks he had assigned well.

It was a matter of survival.

Once out of here, the situation would be different.

She had told Xu Xingke all of her secrets, without holding anything back.

——Xu Xingke was someone she absolutely could not afford to offend.

Since he was quite satisfied with his attitude towards her, she had managed to barely survive.

So.

Time to get to work.

To earn their trust was the only way she had a chance of survival.

As long as she continued to live—

Perhaps someday, she would find an opportunity to turn her fate around.