The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Watching as the Power of Nine Netherworld burned the Great Elder until not even ash remained, Lu Sangjiu finally collapsed to her knees from exhaustion, gasping heavily.

The Great Elder’s Aurora Thunder Technique was truly formidable. Even with all her defenses active, she had nearly died from that single blow.

Speaking of which... she had the trace of Heavenly Punishment Power left in her body to thank for her survival.

Perhaps because both were fundamentally a type of lightning, the Heavenly Punishment Power was incredibly domineering. Upon sensing the approach of another Power of thunder and lightning, it devoured it without a second thought.

If it hadn’t acted so quickly, Lu Sangjiu’s currently frail body might not have been able to withstand the attack.

However, her wretched state wasn’t just due to her injuries; it was also because she had forced herself to use the Nine Nether Burning Spirit Technique with her Early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation.

She had paid a heavy price for it, and her Spiritual Power was almost completely drained.

Had there been even one more enemy, she would have been completely at their mercy.

Right now, she didn’t have a shred of strength left in her body; even lifting a finger was difficult.

Unable to worry about anything else, she hastily circulated her Cultivation Technique, trying to restore her Spiritual Power.

After some time, a bit of strength finally returned to her body. Not daring to delay any longer, she quickly got up and walked toward the altar.

She had no idea what this cursed thing was for, nor how much blood was needed to fill it.

The Great Elder had just thrown several corpses onto it, and she hadn’t had time to interfere. By now, a significant amount of blood had likely been spilled.

She had to rescue Feng Lin and Shen Yuzhao quickly, lest some new complication arise.

As she drew closer, she discovered that there wasn’t a single trace of blood on the altar.

But... the corpses had been drained into withered husks!

Looking at the unrecognizable state of the corpses, a chill ran down Lu Sangjiu’s spine.

She hurriedly cut the ropes binding Feng Lin and Shen Yuzhao and supported them as she started to walk away.

However... that was when the unexpected suddenly occurred.

Golden runes suddenly lit up on the deathly still altar, as if a switch had been flipped, causing the entire underground palace to shake!

’...This is bad!’

Without a second thought, Lu Sangjiu first threw the two burdens out, then immediately launched herself toward the exit.

But as her body soared through the air, the altar suddenly exerted a powerful suction force, pulling Lu Sangjiu back toward it!

Lu Sangjiu was horrified. ’Don’t tell me this damn thing is going to drain me into a withered husk, too?’

’No! Even if I have to die, I don’t want to die looking so hideous!’

She struggled desperately against the altar’s pull, but her entire body was still uncontrollably dragged closer, bit by bit.

Just as her foot was about to touch the altar, a hand suddenly grabbed her!

Startled, Lu Sangjiu looked up to find that her rescuer was none other than Xie Ningyuan.

He must have used that mask of his to appear out of thin air; she hadn’t even noticed him until he was right in front of her.

But thanks to his grip, Lu Sangjiu was momentarily stabilized, her feet hovering about two inches above the altar, not quite touching it.

But before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, Xie Ningyuan spoke.

”Tell me where she is, or I’ll let go.”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’This guy is insane!’

’You’re a perfectly good Buddhist Practitioner. Why aren’t you out saving the world instead of constantly picking a fight with me?’

Gritting her teeth, Lu Sangjiu retorted without a hint of weakness, ”If you let go, I guarantee you’ll never find her in this lifetime!”

’Hmm... that definitely wasn’t a threat. It was the truth.’

’This altar was incredibly sinister. If Xie Ningyuan really did let go, there was a good chance she would die right here.’

’And if she died, it’d be a miracle if Xie Ningyuan ever found the woman he was looking for!’

In response to Lu Sangjiu’s confident retort, Xie Ningyuan didn’t get angry. Instead, he suddenly chuckled.

”So... she really isn’t dead, and you know where she is.”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’I fell for his trick.’

She couldn’t help but snap in exasperation, ”Is this really the time to be talking about that? Hurry up and pull me out of here!”

Xie Ningyuan asked with sincere curiosity, ”What gave you the mistaken impression that I could pull you out?”

Lu Sangjiu froze. He continued, ”Hmm... I didn’t expect its pull to be this strong. Now I can’t get out either.”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

For a moment, her expression turned to stone. She desperately wanted to scream at him, ’You Buddhist Practitioners really are all sick in the head!’

But the altar gave her no such chance. In an instant, a suction force even stronger than before erupted, pulling both Lu Sangjiu and Xie Ningyuan down!

However, the scene Lu Sangjiu had been expecting—of being drained into a withered husk—did not materialize.

Their bodies passed straight through the altar and continued to fall.

After their figures vanished, the vast stone chamber returned to a state of tranquility, as if nothing had ever happened.

Duoduo, who had been lying on the side playing dead from exhaustion, scrambled to its feet and stared wide-eyed at the empty altar.

’Small eyes, big confusion... Where did its master go?’

’But it could still feel their contract. Hmm, she wasn’t dead yet!’

After a glance at the still-unconscious Feng Lin and Shen Yuzhao, Duoduo decisively trotted over, lay down beside them, and went back to resting.

’A Spirit Beast shouldn’t meddle in its master’s affairs. The best thing to do is to dutifully guard the master’s friends and wait for her triumphant return!’

Lu Sangjiu and Xie Ningyuan were still falling. Xie Ningyuan hadn’t let go, still holding her in a firm grip.

’This situation... it felt like it wasn’t the first time.’

’Lu Sangjiu felt that she and Xie Ningyuan were probably fated to clash. Basically, nothing good ever happened when they were together.’

Just as she was thinking this, the two of them finally hit the ground.

It was pitch-black. Lu Sangjiu felt herself slam heavily onto the ground, and before she could even cry out in pain, another person came crashing down on top of her.

”Pfft—”

This time, Lu Sangjiu truly coughed up blood. She wasn’t sure if it was her old ailment acting up or if she had simply been crushed so hard that it made her spit blood.

Needless to say, the person who had landed on her had to be Xie Ningyuan.

’See? He was definitely her jinx... This was the second time he’d crushed her so hard she’d coughed up blood!’

Fortunately, Xie Ningyuan reacted quickly, planting his hands on either side of her to prop himself up. ”Er... are you alright?”

’Good. Judging by that question, he at least had the decency to feel guilty.’

Lu Sangjiu clutched her chest, her voice as faint as a thread, ”...What do you think? Now get off of me!”

Xie Ningyuan fell silent for a moment before saying in a sincere tone, ”I’d actually love to get off, but... I don’t think I can.”

Lu Sangjiu froze. ”Can’t get off... What do you mean?”

”Feel around and you’ll find out... Wait, I didn’t mean for you to feel me. Feel next to you.”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

She instantly grew embarrassed and snatched back the hand that had been fumbling on his chest. ”Ahem... It’s your fault for not being clearer!”