The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

It was truly a stroke of bad luck. While the other arrays in the cave manor had weakened considerably over the long years, this Hundred Evil Array happened to contain a Demon Crystal, its power undiminished even after a century.

Although Duan Xingyun reacted quickly, and had the Sect Leader and other elders helping from the outside, he was still injured by the time he broke out of the array.

”If it were any other injury, it might have been manageable. But Junior Brother Duan already had a mishap with his cultivation before. Now, with the Evil Qi invading his body, the two problems have combined, causing a chain reaction. I’m completely unable to extract this Evil Qi from his body now.”

As he spoke, a look of guilt crossed the Sect Leader’s face. ”It’s my fault. I knew about Junior Brother Duan’s condition... Sigh. I never should have brought him along.”

Lu Sangjiu remained silent, her face a mask, but she knew perfectly well why the Sect Leader had brought Duan Xingyun.

Within the sect, there were the Seven Peak Elders and the Sect Leader, a total of eight Divinity Transformation Cultivators.

However, only five of them, including the Sect Leader, were currently in the sect.

And to cleanse the Demonic Qi, they needed at least four Divinity Transformation Stage cultivators to set up the array.

But Bai Heng, worried about Ye Zhiyao, had refused to go with them. Left with no other choice, the Sect Leader had sought out Duan Xingyun.

This whole affair... Lu Sangjiu didn’t know what to think. Logically, she couldn’t blame Bai Heng, but she still felt a stifling resentment in her heart.

She couldn’t stop herself from misdirecting her anger toward Bai Heng, and even Ye Zhiyao.

She couldn’t help but think, ’Ye Zhiyao’s injuries weren’t that serious at all. Bai Heng could have healed her in a single day, at most. And the Sect Leader and the others didn’t even set out until two days after that.’

’By that time, Bai Heng didn’t need to do anything more for Ye Zhiyao. He had clearly refused simply because he wanted to stay by her side.’

’He knew full well about Duan Xingyun’s condition, yet he still selfishly chose to stay behind!’

Li Qiancheng, however, wasn’t thinking about all that. He just pressed the Sect Leader, ”Sect Leader, do you know how to save my master?”

Before the Sect Leader could answer, Lu Sangjiu pressed her lips together and slowly uttered two words, ”...Fiend Burning Pill.”

The Sect Leader started, surprised that Lu Sangjiu knew of it.

But this was no time for curiosity. He simply nodded and said, ”Correct. If the Evil Qi cannot be extracted by external force, then we can only use a Fiend Burning Pill to dissipate the Evil Qi inside Junior Brother Duan’s body.”

Hearing there was a solution, Li Qiancheng breathed a sigh of relief. ”Then where can we buy a Fiend Burning Pill?”

The Sect Leader sighed. ”Although the Fiend Burning Pill is only a Fifth-rank Elixir, refining it requires Hell Grass as a medicinal catalyst.”

”But Hell Grass is nearly extinct in the outside world. You might only find it in some Ancient Secret Realms. So, buying a Fiend Burning Pill... I’m afraid that’s next to impossible.”

Li Qiancheng’s relief was short-lived as cold water was poured on his hopes. ”Ancient Secret Realms... But there aren’t any Ancient Secret Realms open right now!”

The Sect Leader patted his shoulder. ”Don’t be too anxious. I’ve temporarily stabilized Junior Brother Duan’s heart meridian. You have one year to find the Fiend Burning Pill. Who knows, you might just get lucky.”

For a Cultivator, a year passes in the blink of an eye. Would they really be that lucky?

After the Sect Leader left, neither Li Qiancheng nor Lu Sangjiu spoke. They just quietly watched Duan Xingyun lying there.

Both of them were heartbroken, but not in the same way.

Li Qiancheng was worried about Duan Xingyun’s condition, while Lu Sangjiu... she was upset because she had finally understood some things.

’The book she had read centered entirely around Ye Zhiyao. It didn’t elaborate on events that weren’t related to her.’

’That was why, until now, she only knew that Li Qiancheng had died in the Qingyu Secret Realm, but not the specific details.’

’But now she understood... why Li Qiancheng, who had initially entered that perilous place only to save Ye Zhiyao, didn’t leave immediately after rescuing her.’

’It led to Qin Yu forcibly taking Ye Zhiyao away, abandoning Li Qiancheng and leaving him to die there.’

’She remembered... Ye Zhiyao had seen a stalk of Hell Grass there.’

’Li Qiancheng hadn’t left immediately because he wanted to get that Hell Grass to save Duan Xingyun.’

’And Duan Xingyun had only been injured because of Bai Heng and Ye Zhiyao...’

’It was all like a closed loop of fate. In the end... it all began with Ye Zhiyao.’

’No wonder Duan Xingyun died not long after Li Qiancheng.’

’And Second Senior Sister and Third Senior Brother, consumed by their hatred for Bai Heng and Ye Zhiyao, were later killed one after another while trying to harm them.’

’Ye Zhiyao... that name was like a shackle, binding the fates of everyone in their martial family.’

Unconsciously, Lu Sangjiu’s eyes began to redden, though she couldn’t tell if it was from anger or sorrow.

Just then, a warm hand rested on top of her head. ”Silly girl, what are you crying for?”

Li Qiancheng’s voice had returned to its usual cheerfulness. ”We’re not at the end of our rope yet. If the sky falls, your senior brother is here to hold it up for you. It’s not your turn to cry.”

Lu Sangjiu had only felt a dull ache in her heart before, but hearing Li Qiancheng’s words suddenly made her want to cry even more.

This feeling of indignant helplessness, of being manipulated by fate, was even stronger than what she had felt a century ago when she learned the truth, just before she was about to die under the Heavenly Punishment.

”...That’s right. I’m not going to cry.”

’No matter the hardships, no matter the obstacles, I will change my own destiny, and the destiny of everyone in our martial family!’

’Li Qiancheng, Duan Xingyun, Second Senior Sister, Third Senior Brother... all of them. Not a single one of them can die.’

Li Qiancheng couldn’t grasp the depth of Lu Sangjiu’s feelings at that moment. He only saw her take a deep breath and seemingly pull herself out of her sadness, so he relaxed.

”Don’t worry too much. We still have a year. I’ll send a message to Second Senior Sister and Third Senior Brother right now. The four of us will split up. We’ll definitely find the Fiend Burning Pill!”

Lu Sangjiu, however, wasn’t worried about that.

’She already knew that the soon-to-open Qingyu Secret Realm contained Hell Grass. Once they had the catalyst, refining a Fiend Burning Pill would actually be simple.’

But she couldn’t just tell Li Qiancheng that directly. After a moment of contemplation, she said, ”Let’s first send a message for Second Senior Sister and Third Senior Brother to return to the sect.”

She said, ”At the very least, they need to see that Master is stable for now to put their minds at ease. Besides, we all need to discuss what to do face-to-face. That’s much better than running around like headless chickens.”

When Li Qiancheng heard this, he thought Lu Sangjiu made a good point.

Proper preparation saves time in the end. It was best not to be hasty. Besides, if all four of them left, they would need to make proper arrangements for who would take care of their master.

So he nodded and said, ”Alright, we’ll do as you say.”

”A few days ago, Third Junior Brother sent a message saying he and Second Junior Sister were preparing to return to the sect. They shouldn’t be too far away now. We can wait a few more days.”

Lu Sangjiu did a quick mental calculation. The Qingyu Secret Realm should be appearing soon.

’The Qingyu Secret Realm was an Ancient Secret Realm, so there was a high chance of finding Hell Grass inside. Compared to running around aimlessly, everyone else would probably agree to risk it and go inside.’

’Even if they failed, it would only be a delay of a month or two. They would still have time to search elsewhere after leaving the Secret Realm.’

’But... she hesitated. Should she find a way to stop Li Qiancheng from entering the Secret Realm, and thus help him avoid his fated death?’