But it really was important. Every blade of grass and every tree inside the ring was important to him.
Xi Yu squeezed Lu Zhixing’s finger, making him straighten it so he could slide the ring on, and said casually, “You’re more important than the ring.”
【Leopard and Kitty! I’m shipping the real thing!】
【Putting a ring on him and everything—so intimate!】
【“You’re more important than the ring.” One sentence and Brother Lu’s mouth is practically curling into a grin.】
【Everyone else is fighting over talismans, but my Brother Lu isn’t moving an inch. What is this? This is the confidence of someone who knows he’s favored!】
【He knows Yu Bao will have something even better for him, right? What a little schemer.】
【How does Yu Bao manage to say “You’re more important than the ring” to a man with such a completely straight-man expression? His face was so serious when he said it, like he was about to swear allegiance to the Party. Hahahahahahaha!】
If Xi Yu could see the comments, he would definitely answer that the reason he was so straightforward was because he meant the sentence exactly as he said it.
Lu Zhixing’s safety really was more important than the ring.
………………
If something happened to Lu Zhixing in a place like this, and Zhiluoyi could no longer suppress the demonic aura, allowing the Demon Lord to descend upon the world, that would be disastrous.
The Zhuohua Arrow was nowhere to be found, and even the Liuyun Whip was not in his hands.
He simply couldn’t defeat him.
He could only die again.
Compared to the devastation of all living beings, even his own Lanyue Star Hall wasn’t that important.
Xi Yu lowered his voice considerably, clearly to keep others from hearing.
Lu Zhixing glanced out of the corner of his eye at the hidden camera, the corners of his lips curling into a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
Luo Cheng’an patted the butt Xi Yu had kicked and came over indignantly. “Bro, this is blatant favoritism. I want one too!”
Luo Cheng’an held out his hand, his face full of a competitive, grab-it-before-it’s-gone expression.
Xi Yu rolled his eyes at him and was just about to speak when he suddenly felt a chill sweep over him.
The next moment, a vast expanse of mist surged toward them like a roaring wave, completely swallowing everyone.
Xi Yu hurriedly looked toward Lu Zhixing, but the thick mist severely obstructed his vision, and he couldn’t see anything.
“Lu Zhixing!” Xi Yu shouted anxiously.
There was no response.
Xi Yu called again, “Luo Cheng’an?”
Still no response.
Xi Yu’s heart lurched.
Within the dense fog, he shifted his feet and was about to walk toward Lu Zhixing, but the moment he took a step, he suddenly lost his balance.
It was as though a pair of invisible hands had grabbed his entire body and dragged him downward.
【Holy crap, what’s going on? Why can’t we see anything?】
【We can’t even hear their voices anymore. Where’s the production crew? What’s happening?】
【Could they be in danger? This is way too scary.】
【Someone come help!!! What the hell is this???】
All the hidden cameras were completely enveloped by the thick fog.
After the bizarre and shocking experiences the Misty Forest had brought everyone over the past few days, everyone was thrown into a panic.
The countless netizens—fans and casual viewers alike—were all worried about the safety of the guests.
The director hurriedly called someone over and demanded, “What’s going on?”
The operator responsible for the hidden cameras was drenched in cold sweat. “The fog is too thick. I don’t know what’s happening.”
With such a huge mishap, the director was furious enough to stomp his feet.
“Wait a second. Who did this?”
The director pointed at the words that had suddenly taken over the entire public screen.
【Due to the special nature of the Misty Forest, the livestream cannot continue from this point onward. Only guests who obtain the Golden Jade Bracelet will be able to disperse the fog and appear before everyone.】
【To ensure the entertainment value of the variety show, everyone may now vote for the guest you believe will be the first to emerge from the fog. As a reward, all players who guess correctly will equally split a cash prize of ten million.】
“Ten million?! Where the hell am I supposed to get ten million from?!”
The director cursed under his breath. “Who the hell made this decision without authorization?!”
With the voting and prize money, the viewership certainly wouldn’t drop.
But ten million was way too much!
One million would have been acceptable.
Everyone shook their heads.
The director was hopping mad and was just about to gather everyone when his phone rang.
He glanced at the caller ID and immediately answered.
“Mr. Huai.”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
“Of course. Of course. Of course.”
“Understood, understood, understood.”
“I understand. I understand. I understand.”
The staff watched as the director hung up the phone with an ingratiating smile, his face practically creasing with happiness.
“Go buy some trending searches. Get the netizens involved. With a ten-million prize, are you still worried about the ratings?!”
The deputy director came over. “Mr. Huai’s idea?”
The director nodded.
Mr. Huai—the true owner of the Misty Forest.
When he first answered the phone and heard that Mr. Huai didn’t want them to continue filming, he had been worried that the ratings would suffer. After all, no one wanted to stare at a mass of fog for forty-eight hours.
But Mr. Huai was willing to put up ten million as the gimmick for what came next.
People naturally had a gambler’s mentality. With such a huge reward on the line, viewers would stick around for the full forty-eight hours.
The director’s prediction was correct.
Just two hours after the trending searches went live, the number of people in the livestream skyrocketed. Even people who hadn’t been watching before began searching for recorded footage to determine who was most likely to make it through.
There were five voting options.
Xi Yu was in first place by a huge margin.
Among the others, Lu Zhixing, relying on his massive fanbase, also received quite a few votes—nearly half as many as Xi Yu.
Those people were practically all die-hard Lu Zhixing fans.
They were willing to give up the chance at the ten-million prize just to vote for Lu Zhixing.
In fact, many of the fans who voted for Lu Zhixing themselves felt that Xi Yu was the most likely person to make it out.
After all, everyone else had relied on his talismans to survive danger several times.
Everything happening outside was completely unknown to Xi Yu, who was currently in first place.
He had been dragged downward by gravity.
When he opened his eyes again and saw everything before him, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Unlike the damp, gloomy Misty Forest he had seen over the past few days, this place was a valley.
Pear blossoms as white as snow filled the valley, while exotic flowers and rare herbs covered the ground.
It looked like something out of a dream.
It was truly a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
But Xi Yu didn’t find it beautiful at all.
He only felt sick.
His gaze turned icy, and he raised his hand, intending to destroy the illusion before him.
He struck down with one blow.
The pear tree was obliterated beneath the force of the attack, but in the next instant, it returned to its original state.
Another strike.
The same thing happened again.
It couldn’t be destroyed.
It couldn’t be destroyed!
Xi Yu’s breathing grew rapid.
He formed a hand seal with both hands and was just about to mobilize all his spiritual power when a gentle female voice suddenly sounded behind him.
“Lanxing—”
Xi Yu’s furious expression abruptly froze.
His entire body went rigid as though struck by lightning.
Slowly, he turned his head.
Beneath the pear tree stood a goddess dressed in white as pure as snow, her features as beautiful as jade.
She gazed at Xi Yu gently and beckoned to him.
“Lanxing, come here.”
Xi Yu’s eyelashes trembled.
He murmured, “Mom…”
Xi Yu stared at the illusion before him almost greedily.
Even though he clearly knew he had entered an illusion, the person who had been dead for tens of thousands of years had suddenly appeared right before his eyes.
He still couldn’t control his emotions.
He was just about to take a step toward her when a small figure suddenly ran past him.
The little boy was dressed entirely in red, his hair tied up with a thin braid.
Several colorful seashells decorated the braid, and a collar around his neck jingled as he ran.
He threw himself into the goddess’s arms and opened his palm, proudly presenting a colorful hair ribbon to her.
“Mommy, I won a beautiful colorful spirit stone today and made you a hair ribbon with it. Isn’t it pretty?”
“Mommy,” the little boy asked, waving the ribbon, “do you like it?”
The goddess crouched down and wiped the sweat from the little boy’s forehead before tying the ribbon into his hair.
She smiled gently.
“I love it. As long as it’s something Lanxing gives me, Mommy will love it. But you have to tell Mommy—did you steal another child’s spirit stone again?”
Little Lanxing put his hands on his hips.
“I didn’t today! Xiaoniu and I had a competition, and I won it fair and square.”
“Then why did Mommy hear Xiaoniu say that you wanted it, forced him to compete with you, and then beat him until he cried before taking it?”
Little Lanxing immediately became guilty, his eyes darting away.
“I—I didn’t! He wanted to compete with me himself.”
The goddess looked at Little Lanxing gently.
“Okay, okay. It was my fault. The colorful spirit stones are so rare. I really wanted to give one to Mommy.”
“Xiaoniu is so mean! He promised he wouldn’t tell!”
The goddess stroked Little Lanxing’s cheek, her expression becoming serious.
“Mommy taught you that you must never force other people to do something, right?”
…………………….
Little Lanxing nodded dejectedly.
“I’m sorry, Mommy. I won’t do it again.”
The goddess spread open her hand, and a red spirit fruit appeared in her palm.
“Xiaoniu has always wanted to eat this. Take it back to him as an apology, okay?”
Little Lanxing swallowed.
“But didn’t Mommy say this is something that only exists in the Heavenly Realm? Since you can’t return to the Heavenly Realm, it’s something very precious, and once it’s eaten, there won’t be another one?”
“You took something that someone else treasured, so of course you should use something else that they treasure as compensation,” the goddess said.
Then she produced another identical fruit and waved it in front of Little Lanxing.
“Of course, a child who realizes his mistake and corrects it can have a precious immortal fruit too.”
Little Lanxing’s eyes followed the immortal fruit as it moved, shining as brightly as the stars.
He immediately reached out to take it.
The goddess closed her palm, giving him only one.
“After you apologize to Xiaoniu, come back to Mommy and I’ll give it to you, okay?”
Little Lanxing nodded vigorously.
“Okay!”
“No!”
Xi Yu let out a terrified roar.
“Don’t! Don’t go!”
He couldn’t go.
He couldn’t leave!
Xi Yu reached out to grab Little Lanxing, but his arm passed straight through the boy’s body.
“Don’t go!”
Xi Yu screamed himself hoarse.
“No, no!”
A tremendous fear rose from the depths of his heart, but he still couldn’t stop the scene from suddenly changing.
The valley that had looked like a paradise moments ago was now filled with a shrill, tragic scream.
Bloodstains on the pear trees were bright red.
Screams and the sounds of chewing rose and fell one after another, mixed with the laughter and banter of the crowd.
“Your Majesty is mighty! Eating this goddess’s flesh will raise your cultivation to another level.”
The man they called “Your Majesty” had sharp brows and striking eyes, his pupils glowing crimson.
He bit down on the woman’s neck and tore away a chunk of flesh.
Hearing that, he ripped off one of the arms of the woman in his grasp and threw it onto the ground.
“A reward for you.”
The severed arm was still attached to the left hand.
The colorful ribbon was stained filthy with blood.