The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

That he was alive was the most important thing.

Xie Ningyuan repeated the sentence to himself several times... He thought, ’So even without my status as the Buddha Son, I can still be this important.’

He smiled gently at Lu Sangjiu and said, "Yes, I know I’m important now. You can stop repeating it."

His tone was perfectly ordinary, but the smiling way he looked at her made Lu Sangjiu feel inexplicably embarrassed.

She cleared her throat and turned away. "Mr. Gu isn’t back yet. Should we go help him?"

In truth, she was asking a question she already knew the answer to. With her Divine Sense, she could naturally see what was happening with Gu Jue, but she had never revealed this ability. Thus, making a bit of awkward small talk now didn’t seem strange.

At least Xie Ningyuan didn’t seem to suspect. He just snorted coldly and said, "Don’t worry. Your precious Mr. Gu isn’t that incompetent."

The moment he finished speaking, a piercing shriek echoed through the sky.

Lu Sangjiu gazed toward the source of the sound. Though she couldn’t see anything clearly with her naked eye, she still offered a sincere compliment. "Mr. Gu really is amazing!"

’It’s only been this long, and he’s already slain the Snow Eagle?’

Now that the trouble was resolved, they couldn’t just keep hiding out here in peace. "Let’s go. We’ll go find him!"

When the two of them arrived, Gu Jue was in the middle of butchering the Snow Eagle.

Don’t get the wrong idea. He wasn’t doing this because he was some kind of deviant, but because every part of a demon beast’s body is a treasure to a Cultivator.

Its tendons, bones, hide, beak, and talons could all be used for Artifact Refining. The inner core was an even greater treasure. If one wasn’t picky, the meat could even be cooked and eaten, as it was rich in Spiritual Energy.

However, eagle meat generally didn’t taste very good, so none of them were particularly interested in it.

Seeing Lu Sangjiu arrive, Gu Jue looked up at her. "Mr. Lu, see if there’s anything in here you need."

Lu Sangjiu had just taken most of his Spirit Stones. How could she have the nerve to ask for a share of his spoils as well?

She quickly waved her hands. "You killed the Snow Eagle, so of course, the spoils are yours. You should keep them."

Gu Jue was a man of great propriety. Hearing her words, he felt a flicker of disappointment but didn’t let it show in the slightest, merely nodding in agreement.

"This is the Snow Eagle’s territory, so there shouldn’t be any other powerful demon beasts nearby. Mr. Lu, you can let your Spirit Beast out now."

Lu Sangjiu nodded and immediately released Duoduo from her Spirit Beast Bag.

The moment it came out, the aura around its body began to fluctuate intensely. It immediately stuffed the Cold Ice Crystal Stone it was holding into Lu Sangjiu’s hands.

"CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP!"

Master, hold this for me!

After giving its instructions, Duoduo hurriedly hopped some distance away from Lu Sangjiu and the others, then officially began preparing to draw its Heavenly Tribulation.

Generally, when demon beasts undergo Tribulation Crossing, they rely on their own tough hides to endure it. Duoduo, moreover, had a defensive skill like its Ice Wall, so Lu Sangjiu wasn’t worried.

She, Xie Ningyuan, and Gu Jue retreated outside the range of the tribulation cloud and waited calmly for Duoduo to successfully pass its tribulation.

Although it was only a Heavenly Tribulation for the Golden Core Stage, it still caused quite a commotion. Some of the bolder demon beasts nearby couldn’t help but creep closer to watch.

Before long, some Cultivators also drew near, likely thinking that if a demon beast was undergoing its tribulation, they could take advantage of its weakened state afterward.

But they had only just drawn a little closer when Gu Jue brandished his Phoenix Cry Sword.

The powerful Sword Qi, carrying the unique aura of a Sword Cultivator, combined with his cold, single word—"Scram"—was enough for anyone with sense to realize the demon beast had a master. They immediately turned and fled.

Lu Sangjiu couldn’t help but sigh to herself again. ’A Sword Cultivator who knows how to show off is actually pretty damn cool!’

But for every person with some sense, there was always one without.

As Duoduo was enduring the eighth bolt of its tribulation, Lu Sangjiu’s brow suddenly furrowed, her eyes filled with astonishment. ’Ye Zhiyao? What is she doing here?’

For a moment, Lu Sangjiu felt a massive headache coming on. ’You’ve got to be kidding me. I thought I could finally get away from Ye Zhiyao for a bit while we were off-plot and enjoy a few peaceful days.’

’So how did we run into her again?’

’Wait a minute... she couldn’t be here to act out some minor world plotline with Gu Jue, could she???’

’Even though Gu Jue’s male lead halo seems to have worn off, who’s to say Ye Zhiyao won’t change her mind again?’

Alarm bells went off in Lu Sangjiu’s mind. At that exact moment, Xie Ningyuan looked over at her.

"Ye Zhiyao is here."

Lu Sangjiu looked at Xie Ningyuan without a moment’s hesitation. "Get rid of her!"

Last time, Ye Zhiyao had witnessed Xie Ningyuan going all out. Moreover, she had nearly died at his hands, so she was most likely terrified of him.

That made Xie Ningyuan the perfect person to deal with her right now.

Although Gu Jue didn’t know about the later events, he wasn’t a man of many words and had no objection to Lu Sangjiu’s request.

So, without another word, Xie Ningyuan vanished, reappearing in Ye Zhiyao’s path to intercept her.

Since it was only Ye Zhiyao, and since Xie Ningyuan—for reasons unknown—seemed to have a restraining effect on the "heroine," Lu Sangjiu wasn’t worried and didn’t bother to secretly follow.

But she kept her Divine Sense focused on them.

When Xie Ningyuan suddenly appeared, the look on Ye Zhiyao’s face was priceless.

A look of terror on her face, she rapidly backed away until she was a safe distance from Xie Ningyuan. Only then did she dare to ask in a trembling voice, "What... what do you want?"

Xie Ningyuan gave her a calm glance and said flatly, "Go no further. Leave this place."

Ye Zhiyao frowned, glanced at the distant tribulation cloud, and immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Is that... Lu Sangjiu undergoing her tribulation over there?"

After they had completely fallen out last time, she dropped the pretense of calling her "Junior Sister Lu" and just used her full name.

Xie Ningyuan’s expression remained unchanged. "None of your business. Scram."

His attitude made Ye Zhiyao bite her lip.

She was clearly indignant and furious, but too wary of Xie Ningyuan’s power to show it.

At the same time, her gaze was hesitant as she glanced toward the tribulation cloud several times. It seemed... she had an idea?

Lu Sangjiu figured Ye Zhiyao wanted to use this chance to interfere with the tribulation, hoping she would die to the Heavenly Tribulation.

’Tsk. Looks like after what happened last time, I really maxed out Ye Zhiyao’s hatred for me.’

’Of course, the Pseudo Heavenly Dao might have had a hand in this too. I really pissed it off last time, so it’s definitely looking for payback.’

’It just can’t act against me directly, so it has to use Ye Zhiyao to get rid of me.’

’The fact that even Xie Ningyuan couldn’t scare her away immediately shows how badly it wants me dead.’

As she was pondering, the final bolt of Duoduo’s Heavenly Tribulation descended. Its aura surged, and it finally broke through to the Golden Core Stage!

And perhaps because it had been accumulating power for so long, the breakthrough didn’t just stop there—it shot straight up to the Late-stage Golden Core, making even its master, Lu Sangjiu, feel a pang of sincere envy!

’Then again,’ she thought, ’it’s been alive in that Secret Realm for who knows how many years, holding back all this time. It’s not so hard to accept it leveling up so quickly now.’

Duoduo was now scorched black from head to toe, so Lu Sangjiu couldn’t spare any more attention for Ye Zhiyao’s side. Besides, Xie Ningyuan was there, and he was always reliable when it came to important matters.

So she rushed forward and fed Duoduo an Elixir Pill to help it recover.

Just then, she suddenly heard Gu Jue’s surprised voice from behind her. "Quick, look! What is that?"

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