After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

After everyone had rested enough, they packed their things and prepared to set off.

According to the information Zhou Tong and Chu Yan obtained, the ruins are roughly located to the south, but no one knows exactly where they are.

We can only head south first, hoping to encounter other disciples who know clues along the way.

Although the group didn't deliberately hunt monsters along the way, they still had plenty of excitement.

She Zhiyi and Luo Yiyan seem to be natural enemies, and they've been at odds ever since they set off.

She Zhiyi would refute everything Luo Yiyan said.

Zhou Tong and Chu Yan walked behind, looking blankly at the two people in front of them exchanging barbs.

"Did they know each other before? Why do they act like they're sworn enemies?"

Jiang Che walked beside Lin Zhixu, his gaze darting back and forth between the two people in front of him and Lin Zhixu twice. He stroked his chin, revealing a look of sudden realization.

So that's how it is. Junior Brother Lin is truly irresistible.

However, to be fair, She Zhiyi is quite good at hiding his true intentions. He didn't show any signs of interest along the way. Although he cared about Lin Zhixu a bit, he thought that Lin Zhixu was just shy and wanted to repay a debt of gratitude.

I never expected that he would have such feelings for Junior Brother Lin.

However, it was clearly he and Lin Zhixu who saved the person together, so why was She Zhiyi so attentive to Lin Zhixu but so perfunctory to him?

He glanced at Lin Zhixu subconsciously.

Lin Zhixu was frowning, seemingly annoyed by the argument in front of him, but even with his irritation, his face was still pleasing to the eye, making one want to reach out and smooth the wrinkles between his brows.

Jiang Che: "..."

He hates this world that judges people by their looks.

But then I thought, what if She Zhiyi liked him? She would have been so attentive and caring towards him the whole way…

Jiang Che couldn't help but shiver.

Forget it, let's leave this good fortune to Junior Brother Lin; he's not worthy of it.

After making sarcastic remarks about Luo Yiyan, She Zhiyi sidled up to Lin Zhixu and tried to sow discord between them.

"Senior Brother Lin, why does that Senior Brother Luo always contradict you? Unlike me, I only care about you and do whatever you say."

Lin Zhixu paused, turned her head to look at him, her feelings complicated.

She Zhiyi's heart skipped a beat when he looked at her.

Lin Zhixu looked away. "It must be your imagination. Ayan is fine. Don't overthink it."

She Zhiyi gritted her teeth. Ah Yan, so they call each other this intimately even in public.

"It seems that Senior Brother Lin and he have a very close relationship."

Lin Zhixu softened his expression. "Yes, we grew up together, and we used to be very close."

She Zhiyi said sourly, "Why are you talking about the past? Are you not on good terms with me now?"

Lin Zhixu: "Well... there's been some misunderstanding between us, but I also have my own unavoidable difficulties."

She Zhiyi felt so sour that she felt like she was going to grind her teeth to pieces.

What unavoidable predicament! Is it because he forced him to stop associating with Luo Yiyan?

Seeing his unpleasant expression, Lin Zhixu subtly curled her lips.

……

The group searched for almost an entire day, until dusk, before finally finding the ruins in a remote mountain valley.

A large number of people had already gathered at the entrance. Disciples from various peaks were scattered in groups of three or five on the open ground in front of the stone hall. A rough count revealed that there were more than a hundred people.

Not far away is a huge stone palace.

The stone hall is built against the mountain, with most of its main structure embedded in the rock wall. Only a half-collapsed porch and a few severely weathered stone pillars are exposed.

It looks ordinary and unremarkable, not even as impressive as a popular temple in the mortal world.

Jiang Che frowned, glanced around, and lowered his voice, saying, "With so many people, the news travels fast."

Zhou Tong and Chu Yan stood on tiptoe and peered into the crowd, their faces full of excitement at the spectacle.

Zhou Tong asked curiously, "Why don't they go in? What are they waiting for?"

Lin Zhixu's gaze slowly swept across the crowd.

So many people are gathered at the entrance but not going in. Either there are restrictions preventing them from entering, or they are all afraid of danger inside and don't want to be the first to go in.

However, given the inherently greedy nature of humans, the former is more likely.

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly spotted a few familiar figures at the edge of the crowd.

Sun Sheng and his friends stood by with their arms crossed, watching the spectacle.

Jiang Che circled the crowd and soon returned with the information he had gathered.

The situation was roughly as Lin Zhixu had guessed.

The stone hall was sealed by an invisible barrier, and no matter what methods people tried, the hall doors remained unmoved.

Later, someone pieced together clues from the blurry inscriptions on the stone pillars, saying that the restriction would only open automatically when the moon was high in the sky and its light shone into the palace gates.

Lin Zhixu looked up at the sky.

The last rays of twilight were being swallowed by the night, and the moon had not yet risen to its zenith; it seemed we would have to wait a while longer.

He looked away and saw Zhou Tong and Chu Yan still standing on tiptoe, peering into the crowd. He patted them on the shoulder and said, "Find a place to rest first, and stick close to me when we go in."

The two snapped out of their daze and quickly nodded in agreement.

Upon seeing this, She Zhiyi and Luo Yiyan both curled their lips in disapproval.

Jiang Che lowered his voice and instructed, "I've taken a quick look, and most of these disciples are at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stage, with a few at the Golden Core stage as well. You should be careful."

"Nobody knows what's going on inside. Let's restore our spiritual energy to its best state now. Be careful once we're inside; if anything seems wrong, find a way to get out quickly."

The group agreed and found an open space to sit cross-legged and adjust their breathing.

She Zhiyi had somehow gotten close to Lin Zhixu again, took out a small water pouch from her storage bag and handed it to him, saying solicitously, "Senior Brother Lin, have some water, you must be thirsty after walking for so long."

Lin Zhixu shook his head: "No need, I'm not thirsty. Go ask the others if they need water."

She Zhiyi: "...Oh."

Everyone else refused as well.

Only Luo Yiyan smiled and reached out to take it, even sincerely thanking him: "I was thirsty, you're so perceptive, thank you."

She Zhiyi watched him swallow, his back teeth almost grinding to powder, but he still had to maintain a polite smile, squeezing out two words through his teeth: "You're welcome."

If Lin Zhixu hadn't been watching him closely, he wouldn't have felt so stifled, having to maintain his obedient and sensible facade.

He remained expressionless, but in his heart he deeply resented Luo Yiyan.

Luo Yiyan returned the water pouch to him, and the moment their eyes met, the sparks in their eyes almost collided and crackled in the air.

Everyone else pretended not to see it.

You'd be better off resting more. Young people have so much energy.

The moon slowly moved toward its zenith.

The disciples sitting around the stone hall mostly quieted down, making the most of the last bit of time to conserve their energy.

Sun Sheng and his group, who were in the distance, also saw Luo Yiyan and his group.

The others looked resentful.

Sun Sheng frowned: "Alright, keep your eyes focused, and proceed according to plan later."

Thinking about the plan ahead, everyone calmed down and looked forward to seeing Luo Yiyan's misfortune.