CHAPTER 2103: CHAPTER 2101: THE PALACE RISING FROM UNDERGROUND

After speaking, he was about to leave, and Bai Ruozhu hurriedly called out, "You haven’t told me the way out yet?"

"I’ll come to find you in a couple of days," Feng Cheng said.

Soon, he vanished into thin air. Bai Ruozhu knew which spatial crevices he’d used, but she couldn’t see any crevices at all. She sighed helplessly; this must be the difference in strength. She didn’t even know when or how he entered.

She moved her thoughts, left the Space, and returned outside to rest, but she couldn’t fall asleep. Fortunately, with Feng Cheng’s promise, everyone could leave safely, which lightened her mood a bit. But after they left, how should they face the chaos outside?

Fortunately, nothing dangerous happened throughout the night, and the surroundings remained unchanged.

Early in the morning, after resting for a moment, someone suggested moving forward. Bai Ruozhu remembered Feng Cheng’s words and suggested everyone rest in place first, but to her surprise, many opposed her.

"At least it’s temporarily safe here. If we move recklessly, we might encounter new dangers," Bai Ruozhu said.

"But there’s no food or water here. If we stay, are we just going to starve to death?" someone questioned.

This indeed was a tricky problem. Bai Ruozhu thought nothing had changed all night, probably thanks to Feng Cheng. Since he wanted everyone to stay put, he must have a solution to their survival problems. Surely, he wouldn’t let them starve or die of thirst here.

After a bit of dispute, Elder Su finally decided, "Let’s rest here for the morning, heal and adjust ourselves a bit, then we’ll make further plans."

Unexpectedly, when the sun fully rose, the scenery around them changed dramatically. Everyone got nervous, thinking another crisis might arise. Unexpectedly, a trickling stream appeared, as if it had sprung up from the underground. Everyone stared wide-eyed; it was too miraculous!

"There are fish in the stream!" someone exclaimed joyfully.

Bai Ruozhu squinted her eyes to look closely, confirming that the swimming fish were indeed real Yuyu and not those mechanical puppet fish, she felt relieved.

Elsewhere, there were changes in the Forest. Someone with sharp eyes said, "Aren’t those wild deer over there? We won’t starve anymore!"

Bai Ruozhu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking these must be Feng Cheng’s handiwork. At least they could stay here safely for a while now.

The crowd bustled into action, fetching water, catching fish, and hunting. Soon, they had cooked a meal, and after a day and a night in this Secret realm, they finally had a full meal, significantly boosting everyone’s spirits.

Unexpectedly, after the meal, someone still proposed to continue moving forward, the reason being that they wanted to find the exit soon to rescue their imprisoned family. Several elders’ families were also imprisoned, and they were anxious. But if they went out now, in their current state, they wouldn’t be able to face the horsemen under the Second Elder. Besides, with family members as hostages in the Second Elder’s hands, how could they fight to their fullest?

This diminished the joy from the recent Secret Method transformations, and the group fell silent again.

Bai Ruozhu took the opportunity to say to everyone, "Let’s recuperate here for two days, heal wounds, let Wei Hall’s people seize the chance to integrate, and see if we can research a new Array. Then wait for the opponent to relax a bit; we’ll think of a way to break out and rescue our imprisoned relatives as quickly as possible. This way, we might have a better chance."

The Third Elder sighed and worriedly said, "What about after saving people? How do we deal with the second elder’s troops? Do we really have to fight to the death with them? Even if we win, how many Jiuli will remain?"

Everyone showed a somber expression. Though those who sided with the second elder were despicable, many were friends, neighbors, and even relatives they had known for years. Was there really going to be a massacre between the two sides? In the end, Jiuli would lose a significant chunk of its population.

For a clan that’s already not very populous, such losses were unbearable.

Additionally, with Du Fei having taken the Barrier Jade Pendant from the clan, she might have colluded with the Quanrong Clan. If the Quanrong attacked, how would the remaining Jiuli manage?

Bai Ruozhu rubbed her temples in distress, thinking if Achun were here, he would surely have more solutions regarding the situation.

The group continued resting. The Third Elder found an opportunity to call Bai Ruozhu aside and quietly asked, "Aren’t you hiding some secret from everyone? You don’t want everyone to leave here for some reason, right? I noticed your strange expression."

Bai Ruozhu was startled, thinking about how many things couldn’t be told to the Third Elder, but she couldn’t bear to hide it from him. She said, "I dreamed last night of a voice telling me to stay here for two days. He would naturally tell us the way out. If we move rashly, more people would die in the Mechanical traps. I’m afraid something might happen to everyone, but I feel like nobody would believe it if I said it, so I didn’t."

The Third Elder was shocked and thought for a moment then said, "Secret realms also have Guardian Spirits. If it’s the Guardian Spirit, it’s not surprising for them to send a dream message. Too many people entered this time, and even the Guardian Spirit probably doesn’t want so many Jiuli people to have an accident, so they seized the chance to warn you in a dream. I’ll also try to persuade everyone to stay for another two days and observe. Besides, even if we go out now, we can’t escape the Second Elder’s pursuits."

So the group stayed here for another day. Bai Ruozhu thought Feng Cheng would soon tell her the way out. Unexpectedly, a rumbling sound suddenly reverberated in the distance. Everyone looked towards the direction of the sound and saw a palace-like building slowly rising from underground, with a third of it emerging, revealing green tiles and blue bricks.

Everyone couldn’t help but exclaim, what is that?

"Is it the way out?" someone exclaimed excitedly.

Bai Ruozhu thought it might be the way out but felt it was unlikely. If it were the way out, why hadn’t Feng Cheng told her? Why suddenly reveal this Palace?

Some people couldn’t wait to explore that Palace, but for some reason, Bai Ruozhu felt nervous. She felt something untouchable was hidden over there. Could that be the secret Feng Cheng mentioned as something they must not touch?

"No, we can’t act rashly. What if there are Mechanical traps there? We can’t afford to lose more people here!" Bai Ruozhu quickly said.

"Why do you stop us from going here and there? Do you want us to sit here and wait for death?" someone said unhappily.