# 1122
Chapter 1123: Zhuaige's Demons
"We entered by abandoning distractions and opening the door to the pure land of our hearts. By the same logic, perhaps we only need to close that door to leave."
Lin Qiye sat cross-legged. "In any case, let's try first."
The three of them closed their eyes and entered a meditative state once more, like three stone statues sitting motionless in place.
As time passed, the three of them slowly frowned.
Ten minutes later, Lin Qiye opened his eyes and found that across from him, An Qingyu and Jiang Er had already stood up with grim expressions.
"Did you both fail too?" Lin Qiye frowned.
"Yes." An Qingyu nodded. "I clearly touched the door to leave, but I just couldn't push it open."
"Same here." Jiang Er followed up. "I almost got out several times, but was blocked by that door again and again. It felt like... like something was cutting off our connection to the outside world."
"It seems we're all in the same situation."
Lin Qiye stood up from the ground with a helpless expression.
"Why didn't we have this feeling when we came in?"
Lin Qiye thought for a moment. "Perhaps when those two Supreme Gods fought, something went wrong, which led to this place being sealed."
"Then what do we do? Are we trapped here forever?" Jiang Er asked with concern.
"That won't happen." An Qingyu immediately shook her head. "The Seraph went to pursue that Supreme God—He'll definitely come back. When He realizes we haven't returned to the ship, He'll search the Heavenly Kingdom. We can get out then."
"But when will He be back?"
"Hard to say. Maybe a few hours, maybe a day, maybe several days... after all, He mentioned that when He pursued Lucifer back then, He chased for three days and three nights."
Hearing this, Jiang Er let out a helpless sigh.
"Perhaps we're not limited to just waiting passively." Lin Qiye suddenly spoke up.
Both An Qingyu and Jiang Er turned to look at him.
"We can't leave the Heavenly Kingdom, but perhaps we can try a different path out, just like that Supreme God entered the Heavenly Kingdom."
"You mean... the Underworld?" An Qingyu turned to look at the massive sword in the distance, its blade churning with crimson magma. After pondering for a moment, she said, "Indeed, since that Supreme God could enter the Underworld from the outside, there should be an exit leading out from the Underworld. Since conventional methods can't leave the Heavenly Kingdom, this path should work."
"But that's the Underworld—are we really going to charge in like that? Is it even feasible?" Jiang Er asked with concern.
Lin Qiye and An Qingyu exchanged glances. After a moment, they both shook their heads:
"Forget it. The Underworld was once the divine realm of a malevolent god. Even if all the demons above the divine realm have been slain, you never know what might have been left behind... the risk is too great. There's no need for us to take such a risk."
After discussing for a bit, the three sat down in place, gazing at the yellowish sunset in the distance, and let out a long sigh.
"I'm afraid that after being gone for so long, Zhuaige will worry." Lin Qiye said with concern.
"Speaking of which, it's indeed strange that Zhuaige couldn't enter the Heavenly Kingdom." An Qingyu pondered thoughtfully. "What kind of distraction could he possibly have..."
Jiang Er glanced at them, hesitated for a moment, then tentatively spoke up: "Haven't you noticed that since we came back from the Pamir Plateau, Zhuaige's mood has been a bit低落?"
Lin Qiye and An Qingyu exchanged glances. "Have we?"
Jiang Er: "..."
Lin Qiye had nearly died during the Guardian Monument Battle and had only just been revived a few days prior. He wasn't clear about the squad's situation after returning from the Pamir Plateau. An Qingyu, after arriving at the Heavenly Court, had devoted all her energy to analyzing spiritual energy and hadn't paid attention to anything else. Now that Jiang Er mentioned it, both of them were at a loss.
"There should be. Although I wasn't entirely sure before, now it seems he really has developed some heart trouble." Jiang Er fell silent for a moment, then sighed helplessly. "And, I think I can more or less understand where his heart trouble comes from."
"Where?"
"You."
"Us?" Lin Qiye was confused. "Why?"
"Because you all are simply too monstrous." Jiang Er looked at the two of them and said seriously, "One is the captain, hailed as a once-in-a-century genius of the Night Watch. One is the vice-captain who can analyze all things and use them for self-improvement, with unlimited potential. One is Cao Yuan, who has the Black King sealed within his body, capable of slaughtering ordinary gods, and is called the one above all mortals but below the gods... And then there's Sister Jialan, who, although in a deep slumber, will ascend to godhood the moment she awakens.
胖胖's Forbidden Ruins, though I'm not sure what it actually is, seems to have quite the background too.
In truth, with my and Zhuaige's Forbidden Ruins alone, we were fully qualified to stand among special squads. But you several progressed so quickly... quickly enough that I feel we're always the tail end of the team."
Jiang Er slowly lowered his head, his expression at an unprecedented low point. "Back at the Pamir Plateau, when Zhuaige and I watched you all charge into battle, we felt terrible. Although we knew that even if we charged forward we wouldn't be able to help, that feeling was like... as if we no longer had the right to stand beside you..."
"I'm younger, so it's excusable that my realm can't keep up with yours. But Zhuaige has been walking alongside you from the very beginning. He's always had a bit of a proud streak to his personality. Now, forced to watch the gap between himself and all of you grow wider, he must be suffering even more than I am."
Hearing this, Lin Qiye and An Qingyu fell silent.
This was a problem they had never considered.
In this squad, it seemed that what was least lacking was prodigies—whether it was the mysterious Jialan, Lin Qiye who possessed the Asylum of the Gods, or An Qingyu who could analyze the spiritual energy of the Heavenly Court... In comparison, the brilliant light of Shen Qingzhu and Jiang Er themselves had been completely overshadowed.
After Jiang Er laid this bare, Lin Qiye could imagine how agonizing and self-reproachful Shen Qingzhu must be feeling, given his personality.
Shen Qingzhu was not the type to resign himself to being at the bottom of the pack. Even less would he humble himself to beg a Great Xia god to make him their agent in pursuit of power. The only thing he could do was hide all this pain deep within his heart, silently standing at the very back of the team to contribute, pretending nothing had happened.
"This is my problem. As the captain, I should have noticed earlier." A bitter expression appeared in Lin Qiye's eyes.
An Qingyu recalled the scene at the Heavenly Court when Baili Pangpang and Shen Qingzhu had gone out alone together. She helplessly said, "It seems that 胖胖 noticed Zhuaige's abnormality before any of us... He's actually the most perceptive one."
"When we get back to the ship, let's have a good talk with Zhuaige." Lin Qiye said seriously. "We're all brothers. If there's something wrong, let's talk it out and solve it together."
"Yes."
An Qingyu nodded, gazing at the gradually sinking sunlight in the distance.