Hearing Zhai Bairong’s observation, the others also noticed the anomaly. Just as in the original novel, they attempted to turn back, only to find themselves walking in circles as if led by ghosts.
"Could we have unknowingly stepped into some sort of illusion?" Xu Yehua’s expression was less one of tension and more one of excitement. He had been idling in this secret realm for two years; today, interesting events were occurring one after another, all seemingly triggered by his encounter with Duan Mingyu. It was truly intriguing.
"Should we try walking forward?" Duan Mingyu suggested in a small voice.
"Mingyu is right. There are five of us; even if this is a trap set by other cultivators, we won't necessarily lose," Zhai Bairong agreed with a nod.
Thus, Rong Lü and Xu Yehua, who had been fighting moments ago, quickly reached a truce. The five of them decided to press onward.
"Are we really still inside the secret realm?"
As they walked, Duan Mingyu spoke up in surprise. The mist had completely dissipated, and the dense clouds in the sky had vanished without a trace. They had reached a clearing with sparse trees, where gentle sunlight shone directly onto the soil and grass, resembling a hidden paradise. Although time was like a passing cloud to cultivators and two years was but the blink of an eye, staying in a mist-shrouded realm for so long would weigh heavily on anyone’s heart.
"Why would there be a residence here?" Rong Lü narrowed his eyes warily at the thatched cottage standing alone in the clearing. The wooden door, resembling that of an ordinary mortal household, was left ajar, as if the owner had been there just a moment ago.
"Shall we go in and look?" Zhai Bairong asked.
"Let’s go in. But this place is very peculiar; everyone, be careful," Duan Mingyu said uneasily.
Pushing open the wooden door, the old frame let out a sharp creak. The interior was neat and clean, not at all as dilapidated as they had imagined.
"The arrangement is quite elegant," Zhai Bairong remarked.
He thought of his own quarters back at the Moon-Reflecting Sect. In the past, Duan Mingyu would often mischievously skip his cultivation and bring various handmade pastries and spiritual foods to find him and slack off. Every time, Zhai Bairong would helplessly scold Mingyu, yet he couldn't help but shield him. The two of them would mess around in the small study of his residence. It felt as though all of that had happened just recently, yet since entering this secret realm, everything had changed drastically. The succession of events made it difficult for Zhai Bairong to process.
He began to quietly indulge in melancholy. The others did not notice, scattering throughout the room to investigate.
The cottage was not large, containing only a single bookshelf, a painting desk, and a reclining chair for resting. The bookshelf was packed with various volumes. The others focused their attention there.
Indeed, the bookshelf looked as though it might hide ancient texts or secret formulas, but Nie Shiyun knew it was nothing more than a deceptive distraction.
Nie Shiyun glanced at Zhai Bairong out of the corner of his eye. The man was standing directly in front of the scroll that served as the teleportation array, blocking it completely. Nie Shiyun had been observing since they entered, but Zhai Bairong made no further move, simply standing there with his mind wandering elsewhere.
Nie Shiyun couldn't think of a natural way to switch places with Zhai Bairong while also preventing Duan Mingyu and the others from noticing. Thus, he had to stand in the middle, pretending to look down at the art supplies on the desk.
Fortunately, Duan Mingyu’s attention was on the bookshelf, and the other three currently had their backs turned to them.
"Fellow Daoist Nie, are you also interested in painting?"
Nie Shiyun was startled to find that Zhai Bairong had actually initiated conversation with him. He looked down and realized that because of his nervousness, he had been incessantly fiddling with the items on the desk; he had just spent a long time turning an inkstone over and over in his hands. Though his behavior was odd, perhaps the other man interpreted it as him being unable to put it down.
"Hmm? Oh? Ah, I have a... slight interest," Nie Shiyun lied through his teeth. In truth, he had only crammed his study of calligraphy after arriving in this world; otherwise, he would have surely made the Cloud-Clear Pavilion infamous simply for his hideous handwriting.
"I see."
Zhai Bairong seemed to have truly just made a casual remark and did not press further.
This was already more than Nie Shiyun had expected. One had to remember that before entering the secret realm, Zhai Bairong had been quite confrontational toward him. Now, his attitude was much milder. Nie Shiyun didn't know if it was because he no longer felt like a threat after the appearance of a more powerful love rival, or if it was because the man still had money deposited with him.
*Are you planning to stand there like a door god all day?* Nie Shiyun was anxious in his heart but dared not act rashly.
If Zhai Bairong didn't move, even if Nie Shiyun forcibly activated the teleportation, the other three might not have time to rush over, but at such a close distance, Zhai Bairong would certainly be able to reach out and grab him. If they were teleported in together—one at the peak of Foundation Establishment and the other having just stabilized at the mid-stage—Nie Shiyun wasn't sure he could win a fight, even with a mountain of spiritual treasures at his disposal.
Then again, it was hard to say, Nie Shiyun thought. The cultivator who had lived here in seclusion a thousand years ago possessed a fire spiritual root. Consequently, the secret chamber had been designed as an environment extremely suitable for fire-root cultivators, which was highly advantageous for him.
Before passing away in meditation, this Soul Transformation senior had desperately sought the path to ascension, even finding an Exotic Fire, yet he failed to refine an immortal pill in his entire life. Compared to the cultivator of the Five Elements Abode, this senior was much stingier. Not only did he set traps in the secret chamber, but he also locked the Exotic Fire inside, unwilling to let his life's work benefit anyone else.
However, as time passed, the restrictions had weakened. The Exotic Fire had developed intelligence; unwilling to remain imprisoned after its master's death, it had damaged its essence to escape, eventually leaving behind only a small fragment of its soul while its main body vanished to parts unknown.
With a favorable combat environment and advance knowledge of much information, the scales in Nie Shiyun’s heart were currently tipping wildly toward "taking the gamble."
"Senior Brother, Fellow Daoist Nie, have you found anything here?" Duan Mingyu walked toward the painting desk and asked the two of them.
"Look, the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on this desk are no ordinary items," Nie Shiyun said, skillfully taking a small step forward to stand in front of Duan Mingyu.
"Indeed. I didn't expect such a dilapidated thatched cottage to be so exceptionally elegant. The owner left so much ink and paper on the desk; I wonder what connection it has to this inescapable pocket of the world?"
*There’s no connection at all, of course,* Nie Shiyun thought. He had just been talking nonsense, yet Duan Mingyu was quite good at overthinking things.
Zhai Bairong, however, frowned in thought. "It is strange. The owner seems to have loved painting, yet there is only one work in the entire room." As he spoke, he turned around to closely examine the painting hanging on the wall behind him.
His gaze lingered on the scroll. A sense of strangeness crept into his heart, yet he felt no sense of danger, only that the painting possessed a profound mystery. It was clearly just an ordinary landscape of a mountain home, yet it seemed to stretch into a distance far beyond reach.
Zhai Bairong reached out, his hand gently brushing against the paper.
*Not good.*
In the instant Nie Shiyun caught this scene out of the corner of his eye, a thousand thoughts flashed through his mind. Duan Mingyu was standing in front of him, looking thoughtfully at the desk. Rong Lü and Xu Yehua were still focused on their carpet search of the bookshelf.
The moment Zhai Bairong’s hand touched the scroll, the painting suddenly distorted. The ink and colors swirled together, becoming like a vortex that began pulling him in starting from his fingertips. He was completely unable to resist.
*No choice now!*
Nie Shiyun’s body moved with his will.
Before Zhai Bairong could even react, Nie Shiyun shouted first: "Watch out!"
The others were all startled. They looked up only to see Zhai Bairong and Nie Shiyun—who had reached out to "pull" him—sucked into the scroll almost instantly. By the time Duan Mingyu reacted and reached out, the two had already vanished before his eyes.
"Senior Brother! Fellow Daoist Nie...!" Duan Mingyu rushed to the scroll. The painting, which had returned to its original state, was now just a piece of ordinary paper. No matter how he touched it, there was no further reaction.
"Is it a trap, or a teleportation array?" Xu Yehua hurried forward to confirm.
"I... I don't know. What do we do now?"
Seeing Duan Mingyu looking so panicked he seemed ready to cry, Rong Lü wanted to comfort him but didn't know what to say.
"Don't panic. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Let's search the vicinity first," Xu Yehua said steadily, no longer wearing his frivolous air.
Seeing Xu Yehua like this, Duan Mingyu seemed to find his pillar of support again. He nodded. "Yes, Senior Brother must be fine... Heaven helps the worthy."
Yet for some reason, his heart felt empty. It wasn't just because he was worried about his senior brother; it was as if... as if he had missed out on something very important.
Before losing consciousness in the darkness, Zhai Bairong gritted his teeth in his heart. Nie Shiyun had shouted "watch out," but he was absolutely doing it on purpose! He hadn't been trying to pull him back at all; he had given him a hard shove! Zhai Bairong realized he had been too distracted by other matters lately and had underestimated his opponent.
However, no matter how he cursed in his heart, Nie Shiyun would never know.
Swept into the teleportation array like a violent gale, the two of them fell into unconsciousness one after the other.
***
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Transmigrated into a Total Shou Novel as a Cannon Fodder, but Ended Up 1v1-ing the Male Lead | Chapter 9 | The Secret Within the Painting | Novela.app | Novela.app
