As Mandala's words fell, the atmosphere instantly grew tense. However, this tension was only felt by Su Shenyun and Su Hongli. As for Luo Xiu, he didn't take Mandala seriously at all.

"What are you waiting for? Hand it over to me now!" Mandala shouted, her grip suddenly tightening.

Mandala's chokehold was so strong that the whites of Su Hongli's eyes began to show.

Luo Xiu, however, looked at her expressionlessly and said slowly, "Even if I give you the Soul-devouring Worm right now, you won't be able to escape. I can easily catch you and then kill you in all sorts of ways."

"So, your threat is meaningless."

"If you let her go now, I might spare your life."

But then Su Shenyun threw cold water on his offer. "Her goal is likely just to destroy the worm. That way, we won't get any useful information, and we will no longer pose a threat to the Holy Boi Religion."

Looking at Luo Xiu, she continued, "As for whether she lives or dies, she doesn't care in the slightest. Your threat is meaningless too."

Hearing this, Mandala suddenly burst out laughing. Her face, almost devoid of skin, combined with her fierce eyes and bizarre smile, made her look like a demon.

"Su Shenyun, it seems you understand me best."

"But now… you can't kill me anymore!"

"Perhaps you don't know, but this desolate archipelago is actually a Secret Realm where the Spiritual Energy is exceptionally rich. When I fell here, it only took me one night to break through the final shackle of the Grandmaster Realm. I've now reached the Gathering Spirit Realm!"

Finished, she turned back to Luo Xiu with a meaningful smile. "Speaking of which, I have you to thank for this, pretty boy. If you hadn't breached the natural barrier of this Secret Realm when you fell, I never would have been able to enter."

Luo Xiu asked, "So?"

Mandala stared at him with a mocking gaze. "With my current strength at the Gathering Spirit Realm, do you really think you can kill me?"

"Besides, you look quite weak. Were you seriously injured? Or did these two foxes drain you dry? Hmm?"

"You had better hand over the Soul-devouring Worm obediently. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what will happen to Su Hongli."

But before she could finish, a sickening sound tore through the air, and her body shuddered violently. The Dragon Drill, which Luo Xiu had silently dispatched, had pierced straight through her chest.

「A short while later.」

The three of them looked down at Mandala's corpse on the ground, each lost in thought.

Luo Xiu spoke first. "It seems Auntie Su encountered this woman last night."

Su Hongli rubbed her reddening neck, coughed a few times, and said, "It's hard to imagine she survived what happened to her."

Luo Xiu asked, "Well, isn't she thoroughly dead now?"

A bitter feeling rose in Su Shenyun's heart. "Compared to all that, what I'm more worried about now is… how do we get out of here?"

At her words, Luo Xiu and Su Hongli fell silent.

If what Mandala said was true, and this chain of desolate islands was indeed a Secret Realm, then escaping would be incredibly difficult.

Even if Su Shenyun had successfully sent Morse code with her headset and the Audit Bureau had received it, they wouldn't be able to locate them. The Audit Bureau would be searching from outside the Secret Realm, and a natural barrier rendered the realm invisible to the naked eye.

Luo Xiu's fall into the Secret Realm was entirely coincidental. His own Spiritual Energy was so potent that he had inadvertently shattered the natural barrier during his descent.

Now that I think about it, Luo Xiu realized, the only reason Su Shenyun could send that Morse code was because the hole I made in the barrier hadn't repaired itself yet. That must have been how her headset picked up a faint satellite signal.

The wreckage from the plane's nose had fallen into the Secret Realm for the same reason.

"It seems you two also know a lot about Secret Realms," Luo Xiu said.

Su Shenyun nodded lightly. "I heard my mother talk about them."

Su Hongli added, "It's said that a mysterious natural event occurred in ancient times, causing the world's Spiritual Energy to become increasingly thin."

"But the Spiritual Energy thinning didn't mean it disappeared. Instead, it was split into many different parts."

"Each part of this Spiritual Energy would flee to certain places and gather, and over time, an invisible barrier of Spiritual Energy would naturally form."

She gazed at Luo Xiu's profile as she continued, "And the area enclosed and isolated by this barrier is known as a 'Secret Realm.'"

"Once you step inside an undiscovered Secret Realm, it's nearly impossible to get out without extraordinary means."

Luo Xiu nodded.

Just then, Su Shenyun asked him, "So how do you know about Secret Realms?"

Luo Xiu wanted to say that the place he grew up in was a Secret Realm, but after a moment's thought, he remained silent.

Su Hongli sighed. "I don't know if our luck is incredibly good or incredibly bad."

"It's said that only those favored by the heavens can enter a Secret Realm," Su Shenyun said, "where they can find treasures that countless people only dream of."

Su Hongli gave a bitter smile. "But what's the use? Even if we find treasure, we can't get out. We'll just die of old age here in loneliness."

Luo Xiu suddenly took out a pile of daily supplies from his Jade Pendant and placed them on the ground. "You two bury the bodies, then find a spot nearby to build a shelter."

"Where are you going?" Su Shenyun asked anxiously.

"I'm going to scout the island and look for some things," Luo Xiu said. "It might be a few days before I come back for you."

"…"

「In the days that followed.」

Luo Xiu ventured deep into Red Carp Island to explore.

The island was much larger than he had imagined. On one occasion, he climbed a high mountain and looked out, realizing that the area he had covered over the past few days was only half of the island.

He didn't go any deeper. Thinking of the two women back at the shelter, he decided to turn back.

During this time, he had gathered many herbs. Since this was a Secret Realm, it was bound to contain rare Spiritual Medicine. This was precisely why Luo Xiu had decided to explore alone.

After he absorbed a large amount of Spiritual Medicine, the medicinal power of his Qihuang Technique was restored to its peak. This greatly lessened the pain he suffered when his illness flared up.

But it only lessened the pain; it did not cure him. He was still filled with despair, for he had not found the miraculous opportunity that could cure his terminal illness.

After the most recent episode in Africa, he could clearly feel his life force draining away faster than ever. At this rate, I'm afraid I won't even live for a year.

Replenishing the medicinal power stored in the Qihuang Technique would, at most, only allow him to hold on for a little while longer.

「Back at the shelter.」

Before returning, Luo Xiu had imagined that Su Shenyun and Su Hongli would be having a terrible time. Upon his return, he found that the two women were actually doing quite well. After all, they were not a pair of delicate, helpless damsels. Even without a man around, they could manage just fine.

Luo Xiu didn't explain to them what he had been doing. After returning to the shelter, he simply started to slack off.

「In the blink of an eye, three more days passed.」

Every day, Luo Xiu did nothing but sit and stare blankly into space.

That morning, Luo Xiu woke from a dream and walked alone to the edge of a cliff to gaze out at the view. The distant scenery was magnificent, a true feast for the eyes, but it ultimately returned to a deathly stillness.

He then lowered his head, watching the waves churn below his feet, and took out his fishing gear from the Jade Pendant, beginning to set it up. There was a good fishing spot right in front of him.

So, he decided to fish. He decided to compromise with reality. I'll let go of everything, forget it all. I'll just live out my few remaining days here in peace, right up until the very end. That doesn't sound like such a bad way to die.

A long time later, Su Shenyun approached with a basket woven from vines and sat down beside him.

Luo Xiu said curtly, "What is it?"

Su Shenyun looked at him with concern. "Ever since that day, I've had a feeling that something is weighing on your mind. Can you talk to me about it?"

Luo Xiu was silent for a long time before he spoke. "Actually, I want to stay here forever. I don't plan on going back."

"Once my body recovers a little more, I'll try to forcefully break open the Secret Realm's barrier to send you both out."

"…"

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