Yun Ze did not answer.
There was no way he would lay a hand on Bu Bu, especially now that she was injured.
But he also wanted to know what was happening outside!
Yun Ze frowned and paused for several breaths, finally clenching his fists and retracting them.
"Tell me honestly, what is the situation outside, and how long have we been stuck in this wretched place?"
"One year."
Bu Bu did not answer Yun Ze's first question, only the latter.
But even so, the answer was shocking enough!
"One year!"
Yun Ze immediately stood up, "How could it be a year! It's only been a few days!"
"Cultivation has no sense of time."
Bu Bu's tone was very calm, as if recounting a commonplace event. "You refined nearly a thousand Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills, used Heavenly Mandate Blood to repair the injury to your Qi Sea three times, and even maintained your cultivation at the early stage of the seventh level of Qi Refining. Do you think this is something you could achieve in a few days?"
Yun Ze's brows furrowed. He knew Bu Bu was telling the truth.
In fact, every time he woke up, he would ask Bu Bu how much time had passed. The first time, he was somewhat confused and surprised that only a few days had passed.
But each subsequent time was similar to the first, and he didn't notice Bu Bu lying, so he thought that only this much time had passed.
If it had been a year... that would make much more sense!
Yun Ze took several deep breaths, finally calming his mind, but his brows remained tightly knitted.
He asked Bu Bu again, "What is the situation outside?"
"There's only one last time."
Bu Bu still deflected the topic, then stood up and walked towards him. "The last expansion of your Qi Sea. If you can endure for a hundred breaths, you will know the answer to all of this."
"...Alright! Give me the communication jade slip first."
"Impossible."
The three light words fell, but to Yun Ze's ears, they were like three heavy hammers striking his heart!
He knew that Bu Bu was not giving him the communication jade slip because she was afraid that his mind would be shaken, thus leading to the abandonment of his efforts.
This meant that the communication jade slip contained news that would cause him emotional turmoil!
Yun Ze's thoughts drifted, constantly speculating about various possibilities.
"Stop thinking."
Bu Bu's voice interrupted his thoughts. "The longer you delay, the worse the situation outside will become. It's only a hundred breaths, can't you even endure that?"
Yun Ze glanced at Bu Bu, said nothing more, and sat down cross-legged.
"Prepare yourself."
Bu Bu raised her hand and placed it on Yun Ze's head, pouring spiritual energy into him again.
A hundred breaths!
Just a hundred more breaths!
...
............
Heavenly Architecture Secret Realm, Human Race Camp.
"Any news from that side yet?"
A hoarse voice came from the right side of the tent. Everyone inside turned to look at the person seated at the head of the left side.
There sat a white-haired old woman in a pink dress.
Hearing the voice from the front, she raised her wrinkled face. A flicker of disappointment flashed in her cloudy eyes, and she slowly shook her head.
"Alas..."
The white-haired old man on the right sighed, patting the long saber on the table with his left hand. "A year! Third brother, perhaps..."
"No!"
Another hoarse voice rang out.
Everyone looked at the main seat, where an old man was also seated.
To be precise, the seven people sitting in this tent were all the same: white-haired and wrinkled.
Looking around, even among the people walking outside the tent, few were still in their prime.
If these prodigies were brought out of the secret realm now, perhaps very few would recognize them...
"I believe him."
Xiu Yun said, but his gaze remained fixed on something.
His wrinkled fingers flipped through a ledger, his eyes scanning rapidly. After turning the last page, he looked up at everyone. "Yesterday's summary. A total of one strand of Yuan Qi was collected. Three people broke through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Nine people used secret arts for the fifth time, losing 160 years of lifespan. Seven people used secret arts for the fourth time, losing 80 years of lifespan. Two people perished, injuring a mid-stage Core Formation spirit beast with self-detonation. It was killed by everyone, yielding one strand of Yuan Qi. Currently, there are nine people in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, thirteen in the mid-stage, and six in the early stage, totaling twenty-eight people. A total of 310 strands of Yuan Qi are in storage, with two strands remaining to reach the goal."
"Xiu Yun, why are you still talking about this?"
Xiu Long's voice rang out.
Although his tone still carried a hint of his former arrogance, his voice was as aged as everyone else's.
He slammed the wooden table and stood up directly. "That guy must have already run away! What's the point of us collecting so much Yuan Qi!"
Xiu Yun remained silent, merely glancing at Xiu Long. "If you are unwilling to continue, you can withdraw at any time."
"I just feel it's a waste for you fools!"
Xiu Long roared. "A year! We've been besieged by these spirit beasts for a whole year! From extracting one strand of Yuan Qi from a Foundation Establishment spirit beast at the beginning, to now needing to kill a mid-stage Core Formation spirit beast to extract one strand. How many people have we lost? How much lifespan have we sacrificed! You all went from youths to what you are now? When you look in the mirror, can you truly recognize yourselves! If there was any news from those two, I wouldn't say a word! Lifespan is just lifespan, as long as we can get out, it can eventually be made up for. At worst, we can reshape our bodies when we reach the Nascent Soul stage! But a year has passed, and there's been no news from that side? You're still holding on! Holding on to what!"
The others remained silent. They could feel some footsteps stopping outside the tent, listening to their reactions.
"I said," Xiu Yun spoke again, "those who are unwilling can leave. We will not force anyone."
"Is that all you can say! If I had any other way, would I be taking this abuse from you!"
Xiu Long slammed his hand on the table and roared at Xiu Yun, "Fine! Two more strands! I'll wait until you collect those two strands! See if your brother comes out, and if he doesn't, I'll be the first to kill you!"
"I'll self-detonate to kill you!"
After saying this, Xiu Long turned and left the tent. Soon, the figures that had stopped outside the tent also gradually dispersed.
A moment later, Xiu Long's figure reappeared from another corner of the tent. He casually stuck his sword in the center of the tent, expanded his sword domain, and looked at Xiu Yun, gritting his teeth. "Xiu Yun, this is the last time I'll help you put on this act. If he really doesn't come out..."
"You won't have to."
Xiu Yun's expression was extremely calm. "I will self-detonate to atone."
Everything that had just happened was a plan devised by Xiu Yun and Xiu Long. Apart from the seven people in their tent, the other twenty-one people outside had never seen Yun Ze. Even those who had believed them at first were now close to losing all their trust after a full year. Therefore, they had to provide an outlet for everyone's frustration. Xiu Long was undoubtedly the best candidate. He had become the leader of the opposition among the twenty-eight people, always voicing their objections, which were then discussed with Xiu Yun and the others. However, this was merely a facade; in reality, Xiu Long was on Xiu Yun's side. He didn't believe in Yun Ze, but in the mysterious entity that had taken Yun Ze away. But the current situation made him doubt that mysterious entity as well.
A year had passed, and the spirit beasts had begun to spread from the corners of the Heavenly Architecture Secret Realm towards the center, soon to trap everyone within this circle! The two Core Formation spirit beasts that had initially existed had now swelled to thirty-six, with many spirit beasts even reaching the mid-stage, or even late stage of Core Formation!
The collection of Yuan Qi had also become more troublesome. The spirit beasts in the Foundation Establishment stage were now devoid of Yuan Qi; only spirit beasts in the mid-stage of Core Formation or above could yield Yuan Qi. And that was mid-stage Core Formation! Within this Heavenly Architecture Secret Realm, they could not find any spiritual materials for Core Formation. Even prodigies with the greatest talent could only remain stuck in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, making no progress! Late stage Foundation Establishment against mid-stage Core Formation, no, it should be late stage Foundation Establishment that could not use spiritual energy, against an unkillable mid-stage Core Formation!
In this situation, they could only resort to secret arts, sacrificing lifespan to increase their strength, in hopes of killing spirit beasts! The first use of a secret art consumed ten years of lifespan. The second use was twenty years! The third was forty years! Most of the survivors had now used secret arts five times, or even four times! The Earthly Path Foundation Establishment only increased lifespan by three hundred years. Including their original lifespan, they had a total of only about four hundred years! Five uses of secret arts were equivalent to losing three hundred and ten years of lifespan. For the Foundation Establishment cultivators they were now, they were already nearing their end! If they used it one more time, it would be the separation of heaven and man.
"Heh, I hope you keep your word."
Xiu Long snorted, extracted the strand of Yuan Qi he had collected, and sent it towards Xiu Yun with a palm strike. This strand of spiritual energy was the result of his sacrifice of one hundred and sixty years of life. He glanced at the other six people in the tent. "The next time we collect Yuan Qi, we'll probably have to kill a late-stage Core Formation spirit beast. Prepare yourselves."
The others did not reply, merely lowering their heads in thought.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
A roar suddenly erupted from outside the tent, interrupting everyone's thoughts. Xiu Long quickly retracted his sword domain and squeezed out from the corner he had entered from. Xiu Yun and the others also hurried out of the tent to see what was happening. Upon seeing, everyone was stunned!
Those spirit beasts... were launching their final assault!