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“It’s all because your leg is too stiff!” Shi Liuli said, huffing angrily.

“My fault, my fault.” Luo Yan surrendered at the speed of light.

In the entire side hall, probably only Luo Yan and Shi Liuli, sitting on cushioned chairs wrapped in blankets and embracing the fragrant incense, comfortably read their books.

The other cultivators all had red eyes, hunched backs, disheveled hair, roughly flipping the pages of books back and forth, as if they wished they could tear them to shreds.

Most of the books here in the side hall were observation diaries regarding the Gui Xu Grand Formation, with a small portion being notes left by Array Masters, for those cultivators with no foundational knowledge to learn the ways of Formations—what Luo Yan focused on reading was the latter.

Furthermore, there were a very few books that were the diaries of some cultivators who were in the habit of writing things down, recording their life’s deeds and the aura of the times; Miss Shi used them to pass the time.

“Junior Brother,” Shi Liuli suddenly said, “why do most of the ancient cultivators mention opposing sects and even enemy cultivators in their diaries?”

“Logically speaking, whether a cultivator can ultimately achieve the Way, isn’t it only about their own cultivation? Why are they constantly calling for fights and bloodshed?”

“Senior Sister makes a good point,” Luo Yan thought to himself, surprised. Since when did Miss Shi become interested in history? And she even began to reflect on historical matters, “It’s just that cultivation is indeed not that simple.”

“The so-called ‘wealth, companionship, law, and territory’ are indispensable; at its core, it’s a struggle over cultivation resources. Based on conflicts of interest, more intense hostility and confrontation arise.”

“For example, during the ancient conflict between the Human Race and the Demon Race, it was because the Demon Race wished to consume human flesh and blood, while the Human Race coveted the Demon’s inner core.”

“Another case is the rivalry in the Ancient Era between the Clarify Cult and the Intercepting Cult, because the Intercepting Cult aimed to ‘teach without distinction’ and ‘open the gates to all marvels,’ threatening the interests of the Clarify Cult…”

Shi Liuli listened, half-understanding, yet she grasped a bit, the root of all evil: “conflict of interests.”

“Now look at us, trapped inside Gui Xu,” Luo Yan continued persuasively, “unable to leave, with nearly infinite time, so bored we’re nearly going mad.”

“At this time, the original conflicts of interests aren’t important anymore. What matters most is escaping this place as soon as possible. Therefore, the Human Race and the Demon Race can coexist peacefully, and the cultivators of the Clarify Cult and Intercepting Cult can ignore each other. Everyone lives in peace.”

“I see,” Shi Liuli suddenly realized and then asked, “So, what if one day, your interests conflict with those of everyone in the Heavenly Craft Workshop, would you choose to betray us all?”

Luo Yan was suddenly shocked to his core. Was she on to my true identity?

However, he quickly saw from Shi Liuli’s expression that she did not have any intention of probing or suspicion—it was just a casual question.

Miss Shi, she really knew how to speak.

“Ahem.” Luo Yan coughed and sincerely said, “Senior Sister, if such a situation were to occur, I would definitely sacrifice my own interests for the sake of everyone in the Heavenly Craft Workshop. Because Master would surely compensate me afterward.”

Shi Liuli was immediately choked up because, had Luo Yan not added the latter part, she would have had to question how that fit with what he had said earlier about “conflicts of interest determining everything.”

Upon further thought, it made sense—her father indeed valued him highly…

Thinking this, Shi Liuli’s face grew a bit red, and she quietly hid it behind the book.

She was currently reading a diary written by an ancient female cultivator.

This female cultivator, due to her sect’s arrangements, had become Daoist Companions with a senior brother whom she did not like.

Thus, between the lines of her diary was filled with contradictions: on one hand, she couldn’t stand the senior brother’s personality and habits, but on the other hand, she had to admit the Daoist Companion status had brought many benefits to her cultivation.

As she recalled her father’s suggestion that she should try getting along with the son of the Sect Leader of Xuandu, Shi Liuli felt an instinctual resistance and irritation.

If her father insisted on arranging her marriage like the female cultivator in the diary, what should she do?

Compared to that, being with her little junior brother didn’t seem like such an unacceptable option anymore.

Thinking this, Shi Liuli felt both shy and uneasy, since such a frivolous thought was truly beneath her dignity. Why would she entertain such an indecorous idea?

It’s all the little junior brother’s fault! Saying things like as long as he is with me, he’d be content even if trapped here… How can he say that to his senior sister!

With a “smack,” it was Luo Yan’s head that got hit by the thick book Shi Liuli picked up, as if venting and striking him neither too lightly nor too heavily.

Luo Yan: ?

“Focus on your reading!” Shi Liuli glared and scolded him.

How have I offended her… Luo Yan thought helplessly.

With his exceptional gift of grasping things upon a brief exposition, his learning efficiency was extraordinarily high. The books he had read now piled into a small hill behind him, and his understanding of formation arts advanced by leaps and bounds each day.

In a few ancient texts, Luo Yan even discovered several exquisite formations that had been lost for a long time, each with supreme utility in various situations.

However, he still had not made any progress in breaking the Gui Xu Grand Formation.

This formation was far more complex than any other he had come to understand, on an entirely different level.

If the formations that Luo Yan had mastered were basic arithmetic, then the challenge of the Gui Xu Grand Formation was akin to a supercomputer-level problem, leaving Luo Yan feeling almost hopeless about solving it.

No wonder so many cultivators in Gui Xu ended up losing their minds…

Luo Yan sighed, closed the book, and stood up.

“What are you doing?” Miss Shi quickly got up in a fluster, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the central courtyard to look at the wood used for constructing the Treasure Ships.” Luo Yan replied.

“I’ll go with you!” Miss Shi had already decided not to leave his side for a moment.

The two left the side hall, walking along the corridor. Gathering her courage, Miss Shi asked softly:

“Little junior brother, what should we do if we really end up trapped here and can’t get out?”

“If that happens…” Luo Yan pondered for a moment, “The first thing to consider would be how to maintain our sense of self and rationality throughout the long erosion of time.”

“Sigh.” Shi Liuli nodded with a worried expression, “The closure of the Treasure Ship Secret Realm is in two days. That means we have another eight months here…”

As for what would happen if they stayed beyond that time, it went without saying, naturally.

Assuming the secret realm opened again in a thousand years, that would be at least over a hundred thousand years inside the Gui Xu Palace.

If she really fell into such a scenario, Shi Liuli admitted to herself that she knew nothing about formations and would unlikely be able to join the research, inevitably falling into a horrifyingly empty state of existence.

If she hoped to maintain her sanity, maybe the only option would be to start a romantic relationship with her little junior brother so as not to be driven mad by boredom.