The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

The two Female Cultivators’ cultivation levels were lower than Lin Qiu’s, but with them assisting, they still put a bit of pressure on Lu Sangjiu.

Lu Sangjiu wasn’t worried, though. Her Thousand Silk Entanglement was constantly circling them, waiting for an opening.

As they fought, the demon beasts they had provoked earlier also caught up. Ignoring the chaos, they jumped straight into the battle.

Now, it wasn’t just Lu Sangjiu in a frantic scramble. The others also had their rhythm thrown into disarray; one moment they were fending off demon beasts, the next they had to guard against Lu Sangjiu.

Thanks to the demon beasts’ interference, Lu Sangjiu finally found an opportunity for her Thousand Silk Entanglement to enter one of the Female Cultivators’ bodies.

Before it killed its victim, Lu Sangjiu could manipulate her Thousand Silk Entanglement to briefly take control of the target.

Lu Sangjiu rarely used this technique. However, she desperately needed an ally this time. Since the Female Cultivator’s cultivation was low, she wasn’t difficult to control, so instead of killing her outright, Lu Sangjiu chose to take control.

As she did this, however, she suddenly detected a strange power within the Female Cultivator’s body.

After probing it with her Thousand Silk Entanglement, she tried to attack that power. Immediately, she saw Lin Qiu’s expression falter.

Lu Sangjiu instantly understood, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. “So that’s how it is. It seems their defense of Lin Dao You isn’t from their own free will.”

Lin Qiu knew he had been completely exposed. The false smile vanished from his face, and a vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he glared at Lu Sangjiu. “…I’ll kill you!”

Now that Lu Sangjiu had the help of the Female Cultivator named Shuang’er, fending off attacks became much easier.

Despite his threats, Lin Qiu couldn’t escape his fate at Lu Sangjiu’s hands.

After Lu Sangjiu’s Thousand Silk Entanglement seized control of the other Female Cultivator, Lin Qiu suffered from the backlash. Caught off guard, he was struck in the back by a demon beast’s claw.

Lu Sangjiu, of course, wouldn’t miss this chance. She immediately directed the two Female Cultivators to continue fighting the demon beasts while she leaped to Lin Qiu’s side.

Facing the dying Lin Qiu, Lu Sangjiu showed no hint of triumph. She simply asked him calmly, “You came for the bounty?”

“That gaze I felt spying on me from the shadows… that was you, wasn’t it?”

Lin Qiu was on the verge of death. He looked at her with a gaze full of hatred and venom. “So… you’ve known about me this whole time!”

It was true. He had secretly observed Lu Sangjiu using the domination map against the demon beasts and knew she was the person Ji Li was looking for.

For the sake of the bounty, he had tailed her, looking for an opportunity. That’s why he had stepped forward when Lu Sangjiu got tangled up with the two Female Cultivators, hoping to use the pretense of saving her life to lower her guard.

If he could just get close to her, he could use his Secret Technique to control her, just like he’d controlled those two Female Cultivators.

Unfortunately, Lu Sangjiu was far too guarded. She gave him no opportunity to get close, and when cornered, she even attacked him directly.

And so, his perfect plan fell apart at the final step.

After confirming no one else was around, Lu Sangjiu gave Lin Qiu a quick death, took his storage bag, and disposed of his body.

When she finished and turned back, she saw that one of the Female Cultivators had already been killed by the demon beasts.

The other was just about to be struck down by a demon beast’s claw.

Lu Sangjiu’s hand moved instinctively, but then she let it fall.

In the end, she chose not to save them, letting both Female Cultivators die at the hands of the demon beasts.

Only then did she raise her blade, dispatch the remaining demon beasts, and clean up the battlefield.

She wasn’t a bloodthirsty person, but keeping the two Female Cultivators alive would have been a hassle. She didn’t have enough goodwill to save people who had shown her none in the first place.

Not killing them with her own hands was the extent of her mercy. That they died to demon beasts was due to their own lack of skill; no one else was to blame.

After checking the three’s storage rings, Lu Sangjiu discovered that the two Female Cultivators were from a small sect, while Lin Qiu was a Loose Cultivator.

Generally, only a Loose Cultivator like him would risk his life for Ji Li’s bounty, so it wasn’t surprising.

After some thought, Lu Sangjiu decided she needed to be even more careful. So, she simply took on Lin Qiu’s appearance.

‘He was a Loose Cultivator, after all; the chances of running into someone who recognizes him should be slim. Even if I do, I have his storage ring with all the Magic Treasures he frequently used. It should be easy enough to bluff my way through.’

Disguised as Lin Qiu, Lu Sangjiu continued to travel discreetly across the Ice Field. She avoided demon beasts whenever possible. If she came across valuable Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and the situation permitted, she would snatch them up; otherwise, she would retreat.

After ten long days on the Ice Field, she finally made it out.

Notably, Duoduo’s cultivation progressed twice as fast in the Ice Field’s environment. Once they were out, it should be able to attempt a breakthrough to the Transcendance Tribulation Stage.

In the Immortal Spirit Realm, the Transcendance Tribulation Stage was a relatively low level of cultivation, so the breakthrough shouldn’t be too dangerous. Duoduo’s aptitude was more than enough to handle it.

‘At this rate,’ she calculated, ‘it won’t be long before Duoduo reaches the Earth Immortal Stage. Then, it will finally be a real help to me.’

「After leaving the Ice Field, Lu Sangjiu arrived in a forest.」

Compared to the Ice Field, the forest offered far more opportunities. Most of what she had found on the Ice Field had only been useful for Duoduo.

For her, those materials were useless for anything other than trading for Spirit Stones.

However, the forest was also fraught with hidden dangers, far more perilous than the Ice Field had been.

On her very first day there, Lu Sangjiu encountered three life-threatening situations.

Sometimes it was demon beasts; other times, a mere blade of grass or a single tree could unexpectedly plunge her into a life-or-death crisis.

Her lack of familiarity with the flora and fauna of the Immortal Spirit Realm made things worse. She couldn’t identify many things, which put her in even greater danger.

It was precisely for this reason that Lu Sangjiu began to consider teaming up with others.

‘Although it increases the risk of being recognized, a teammate could help me avoid a lot of these dangers. The only problem is, finding a trustworthy teammate is no easy feat. If I run into someone with ill intentions, I’ll have to defend against random threats and watch my back for a betrayal.’

‘This isn’t something that can be rushed.’ Lu Sangjiu could only keep her eyes open as she traveled.

「That night,」 Lu Sangjiu found a relatively safe cave. She set up a few Barriers around the entrance and prepared to rough it for the night.

But unexpectedly, it wasn’t long before a man and a woman, drawn by the light, approached.

They were both in a wretched state, looking as though they had just barely escaped some disaster.

They were either very brave or completely out of options to approach a stranger’s camp, but seeing the light, they had decided to try their luck.

“Fellow Cultivator, are you alone? Could you let us two rest here for the night as well?”