Although the ground beneath them didn't crack, a tremendous tremor shook it, nearly throwing Fatty off his feet. Cold sweat broke out on his brow.
"Brother Ye, thank goodness I held on. Otherwise, your brother here would have met his end. That was terrifying, I almost lost my life."
He shuddered at the thought. He'd initially believed Ye Tiancheng sending them up with his true qi would be a simple task, but he never imagined it would nearly cost him his life. He was drenched in cold sweat, utterly terrified, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
"I was scared too. It's my fault for being too confident. This wave was indeed a significant loss. Forget you, I almost lost my grip. If I hadn't protected this platform, we both would have fallen. It wouldn't just be you dying then; if the platform had cracked, I wouldn't have survived either. We both would have met a gruesome end."
As the two reviewed what had just happened, they couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. Life and death truly hung by a thread. A slight deviation in events, and they wouldn't be here now. Fortunately, fate had been kind, not claiming their lives.
"Brother Ye, what do we do? Are we going to die at the hands of this giant rooster?"
"Don't underestimate this rooster. It's also a manifestation of black energy. Ouyang Xu Nuo has truly gone all out this time, using a mysterious power to conceal the black energy, which is why we can't quite figure out what's happening. But one thing is certain: it's entirely normal if we die at the hands of this rooster. This rooster is incredibly powerful, far more so than we can imagine."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, Fatty finally grasped the gravity of the situation. He stood stunned for a few seconds before speaking.
"Now I understand. This is my fated tribulation. Since that's the case, I won't dwell on it anymore. Whatever happens, happens. My life is in your hands, Brother Ye. I'm helpless on my own."
Just then, the shovel in Fatty's hand began to vibrate violently, followed by a familiar voice that hadn't been heard for some time.
"You fat idiot, if you die, then I have no hope either. At least throw this shovel up so someone else might find it. If I'm buried underground with you, I'll face endless solitude. Unlike you, who die and are done with it, I'm the one who suffers the most."
It felt like a heartfelt breakdown. He had never imagined that instead of accumulating merit through demon subjugation, he would end up in an eternally lonely state. The lonely soul usually slept within the shovel, only emerging when Fatty was in danger. Today, it simply couldn't hold back, feeling that if it didn't speak up, it couldn't express its stance.
"I'm sorry, brother. Look, I've been working hard lately. I've been subjugating demons and monsters. I also hope you can enter the cycle of reincarnation soon and no longer suffer this purgatorial torment. After all, I can understand this endless suffering even if you don't say it. But fate is against us. I was harmed by that rooster. No, I was harmed by Ouyang Xu Nuo. Even if all three of us perish here today, since you are a lonely soul, don't let Ouyang Xu Nuo off the hook."
Fatty was at his wit's end, so he could only place his hope on others. Even if he couldn't exact revenge, at least he should know who the enemy was; otherwise, dying confused would be too much.
"You useless fatty, you say it so easily. If I were that powerful, I would have come out of the shovel directly. Why would I need help from a mortal like you, someone who has achieved nothing, to complete my merit accumulation task? You're asking me to deal with Ouyang Xu Nuo, a boss of this magnitude. You're trying to get me killed."
Other men, when they get together, like to brag, exaggerating things that haven't happened. They can turn a three-tenths chance of success into an eight-tenths. But now, for the first time, he saw a man so humble. Despite having some strength, he described himself as utterly incompetent, not even worth mentioning.
"Alright, we're all miserable enough. Don't spread despair and undermine everyone's confidence. Brother Ye can definitely solve this. And you, lonely soul, don't be so pessimistic. Just wait for the outcome."
The lonely soul was somewhat cooperative. After hearing Fatty's words, it snorted and quickly hid, retreating into Fatty's shovel to sleep.
"Fatty, I understand now. I finally figured out why things are getting worse and worse. My true qi should have been enough to get us up. Even if I'm not as strong as before, I'm definitely not weak. My cultivation has been good recently. The reason we failed is that this rooster can absorb my true qi."
Now Fatty understood. This rooster, while seemingly not having strong offensive power, could absorb Ye Tiancheng's true qi. This was why Ye Tiancheng's earlier attempt to strike the rooster's head with his true qi had little effect. Furthermore, when they tried to ascend from below, their true qi was absorbed by the rooster. This was quite awkward. They hadn't ascended, but instead, they almost fell due to insufficient true qi to maintain the platform formed by true qi, nearly losing their lives.
"It seems it's really difficult to deal with, Brother Ye. So what should we do? Should we just admit defeat? In my dictionary, Fatty, there's no such word as 'waiting to die'."
"Well, I was planning to accumulate true qi and escape from here. At least we could get up. Once we're up, even if we don't confront the rooster, we can run. But as it stands, we can only stay on this constantly cracking platform, with the risk of falling at any moment. Because that rooster is still absorbing my true qi. It's just that the distance is a bit far, so the absorption efficiency isn't high. Otherwise, we might have already died."
Listening to the rooster's strange squawks, Fatty suddenly felt an overwhelming fear. He had initially thought it would be an easy matter, a stupid and large monster. He never imagined it would turn out like this. The monster's power was so immense, it was practically a death sentence for him.
"Brother Ye, I believe in you. No need to rush, think of a solution slowly."
At this moment, the only person Ye Tiancheng could think of was Lin Xue. When faced with extreme danger, he suddenly realized how crucial Lin Xue's presence was to the entire team. If Lin Xue were here, the problem would surely be solved with ease.
"The only solution I can think of is for Lin Xue to come and save us. But as a master, I don't even know how my disciple is doing. I don't know if Lin Xue will come. It's highly unlikely."
"She will, Brother Ye. You and your disciple have always had a telepathic connection. She will definitely come. What kind of disciple wouldn't care about their master?"
Fatty was trying his best to comfort Ye Tiancheng. After all, there was no point in saying discouraging things now; it was better to give Ye Tiancheng more confidence. It didn't cost anything.
"Alright, then the two of us can only wait here to die. I'll try my best to delay the cracking of this platform, but I can't guarantee it. It might take a long time. In any case, don't expect too much from me."
Ye Tiancheng sat there and began to circulate his true qi. This platform didn't exist naturally; it was all created by Ye Tiancheng's true qi. If he didn't maintain it with his true qi, it could crack and cause them to fall at any moment.
He persisted like this for half a day. Ye Tiancheng felt he couldn't hold on any longer, breaking out in a sweat. While he was circulating his true qi, the rooster above continued to squawk and absorb his true qi. Therefore, much of Ye Tiancheng's effort was in vain, with only a small portion being effective.
Ye Tiancheng relied on that small portion to sustain them, feeling that he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer and would be completely finished.
"Fatty, if, I mean, if we brothers are to die here, do you have any regrets?"
Ye Tiancheng was exhausted. Initially, he could convince himself not to overthink things, but as time wore on and his physical condition deteriorated, he became disheartened and naturally thought about death.
"Regrets? If you ask me what's most important, I don't think there's anything specific. But when I think about it carefully, there are some very small things that I regret now. I haven't eaten a lot of delicious food."
Even at this moment, all he could think of was food. Ye Tiancheng had to admire Fatty's dedication to his foodie persona; it never wavered.
However, hearing Fatty's words, Ye Tiancheng also felt that this world was vast. At the brink of death, he realized he hadn't traveled much to see the world, and indeed, there was a lot of delicious food he hadn't tasted. If possible, even a simple bowl of beef noodles would have made Ye Tiancheng feel warm inside at this moment.
"If we escape this danger, I promise you, I won't go on adventures for a while. We'll live a peaceful life for a few days, travel to famous scenic spots, and eat local delicacies everywhere. I heard Sichuan hot pot is good, and I want to eat Xi'an's lamb paomo, and Northeast's guo bao rou. Anyway, I don't want to die. We can definitely eat these foods."
At this critical juncture, the thought of food bolstered Ye Tiancheng, and he felt much better, resuming his cultivation and circulating his true qi.
However, not long after, Ye Tiancheng could no longer hold on. He even felt that nothing made sense anymore. He couldn't possibly escape; they were going to die here.
Ye Tiancheng had experienced this despair several times before, but each of those times, there was still a flicker of hope in his heart. This time, however, it was different. Ye Tiancheng could clearly feel that everything had changed. For him, excessive confidence was useless. The only thing he could do now was to try his best not to overthink.
When he truly couldn't hold on any longer, Ye Tiancheng felt a bit disheartened and decided to let the platform crack and fall. He was powerless.
"Fatty, I'm sorry. I'm not a good brother. I really can't save you. My apologies."
Fatty understood what was happening. At this moment, words were useless. Fatty harbored no blame towards Tiancheng. When he decided to follow Ye Tiancheng on this path, it was his own decision. Moreover, he was an adult and didn't need anyone to be responsible for his choices. Fatty already knew the outcome and felt a sense of release.