I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

"How come there's spirit liquid here? Which brat is trying to steal it? They're really too bold!" Quan Shaohua said unhappily when he noticed the spirit liquid on the coffee table.

"Shaohua, isn't this perfect? ​​If we share the spirit liquid, no one will know!" Anna picked up a cup of spirit liquid and held it to Quan Shaohua's lips.

They both laughed, looking like they'd gotten a good deal. An Xin felt it was a waste of their talents!

After they finished drinking the remaining spiritual liquid, tidied their clothes, and left looking presentable, An Xin let out a heavy sigh: "What bad luck! I watched them perform twice today, and they were so slow and hesitant, only getting halfway through each performance. Is Quan Shaohua some kind of Ninja Turtle?"

Xie Zian raised an eyebrow: "Xin'er, are you sexually frustrated and want to watch the entire erotic film?"

An Xin was exasperated by his expression that said, "The child has grown up and I can't control him anymore."

"They're just NPCs who deliver intelligence and drive the plot forward! But Anna..." She fell silent again.

"That woman? She gives me a very familiar feeling!"

"Don't tell me you have feelings for her, it can't be that bad, right?" An Xin looked horrified. "Judging from what they said, it seems like she's going to do something to you to steal your cultivation and energy!"

“No wonder Kwon Yuri chatted with me for a long time before the ball, and even introduced that woman to me, telling her to serve me well.” Xie Zian stroked his chin and continued, “But how could a weak human at the Foundation Establishment stage steal my cultivation and energy?”

"Your thinking is so jumpy!" An Xin rolled her eyes at him again, then, remembering something, asked, "Quan Shaohua said you used your cultivation to store the energy of this world inside spirit stones. What does that mean?"

“Every world has its own complete Heavenly Dao, which is also called the rules. However, the Heavenly Dao rules of space are incomplete. Many spaces are just remnants after the destruction of a certain world, or a world refined by a powerful being.”

"So, is it easy for space to be captured by larger worlds or new worlds?"

“Yes, unclaimed spaces are easily captured, and their energy is negligible, making them easy to be swallowed up.” Xie Zian’s face turned cold again. “That’s why I extracted all the energy from this space, set up a restriction, and stored it in spirit stones so that ghosts and monsters cannot absorb or use it. I used it as a kind of currency. In this way, the space’s energy will not be lost or plundered, and it will be able to break free from the ghost realm!”

"Then you're bound to the new world again!"

Xie Zian looked at An Xin with a resentful expression: "How was I supposed to know that there would be a new spiritual energy world binding to this space to complete the rules of the Heavenly Dao?"

"I told you you were unlucky!"

"...Xin'er, you've really changed. You used to only comfort me, and you would tell me jokes to cheer me up whenever I was unhappy!"

"Hey, I'm not your Xin'er, at least not in this lifetime! You just lack the harsh realities of life, you're so fragile! Your family has protected you too much!"

"You... well, maybe you're right." Xie Zian said dejectedly.

"By the way, I heard the city lord of the South City say that this world is already doomed. What does that mean?"

"This space is getting smaller and smaller, and the mist has begun to devour the Nether River. When the mist completely engulfs the space, the space's energy will be exhausted, and the space will be destroyed."

"What about the energy? Energy is conserved, right? If the energy here is gone, has it been transferred to a new world?"

"Yes, move them all out!"

"And what about the living beings in this space?"

"They too will be devoured, becoming nourishment for the new world."

"My God, how many innocent lives were lost?"

"Innocent? The fact that they can manifest themselves here is enough to show how sinful they are; it's just collective karma."

"Hey? You seem pretty clear-headed, knowing that your sins are grave makes things easier. Just sincerely repent and reform, accumulate good deeds and virtues, and that's it! Besides, who doesn't have sins? Who hasn't been to hell? No matter how painful it is, as long as you're not completely destroyed, as long as you successfully change your fate, you'll eventually be liberated. The Buddha said, 'All sentient beings possess the wisdom and virtues of the Tathagata, but because of their delusions and attachments, they cannot realize it.' In other words, every sentient being has Buddha-nature, and you are no exception. Why give up on yourself?"

"Has Xin'er started practicing Buddhism now?"

"Your focus is really unique." You're with Di Ting all day, and you've become like this too!

"Thank you, Xinxin, for recognizing my teaching!" Diting suddenly said in his mind.

With a weary sigh, An Xin felt that Xie Zi'an's affinity with Buddhism had not yet arrived, so she didn't dwell on it and changed the subject, asking, "Do you have a way to protect these beings and the world?"

"do not know……"

"Xinxin, didn't you say that energy is conserved? As long as the energy in this space is equal to that in the spirit world, and we find a moment when they are completely equal, we can use external force to separate the two worlds!" Di Ting said with a burst of imagination in his sea of ​​consciousness!

"How can energy be equalized? Didn't you hear him say that this space is being slowly swallowed up... How much energy would it take to achieve equality, and we'd have to find that perfect moment! External force? What external force could shake a world? Are we supposed to find a fulcrum, a lever, to move the world? Does that make sense?"

An Xin was ranting and raving in her mind, while Di Ting could only weakly say, "Theory? It's just an idealized hypothetical problem! You humans really like making these kinds of assumptions!"

"Silence is my mother tongue!"

An Xin, with an expression that said "I can't control this," said to Xie Zi'an, "Let's leave it at that for now. A weak human like me can't possibly get involved in the messy affairs of you big shots. I'm leaving now. If you ever find a way to return to the Spirit Realm, be sure to let me know. I still need to bring my friends back."

"Xin'er, are you going back?"

"Why wouldn't you go back? Are you just waiting to be destroyed along with me?"

"Xin'er..."

"I know, I've changed... I'm not a saint anymore. As long as I can protect the people around me, that's enough. I can't care about anything else." An Xin rolled her eyes again, speaking helplessly and ruthlessly.

"..." Xie Zian had a deadpan expression, but had no reason to refute it, and could only watch An Xin leave with resentment.

—Damn it! Don't look at me like I'm some kind of gold digger! I can't beat you guys, so at least I'll run away!

Back to the dance hall

Seeing Gu Shuohan and Fu Mochen surrounded, it was clear that the spirit liquid had officially entered the market. An Xin walked to Qi Mingxuan's side and whispered, "So? Did you find anything?"

"Yes, there are many mindless ghosts down there. The black aura is extremely thick!"

"My second senior brother and I went to the lowest level, which should be the second basement level. The floor and walls were covered in carvings, so we figured it was a formation room. We also discovered a lot of secrets. It's not convenient to talk about it here, so we'll discuss it together when we get back! By the way, have you seen Ao Jue?"

"No, where did you part ways?"

"He was still here when we came out of the secret passage, but we let him roam freely when we were going back to the dance hall. But he's not here! I have to waste my spiritual energy to open my third eye again..."

"Xin'er, is this your companion? How come his cultivation level is so much lower than yours? Trash!"

That tone sounded so familiar! It suddenly reminded her of An Zongping!

"Lord of the World, what are your orders?" An Xin quickly winked at him.

—This is a public place, you don't need to be so intimate...

She quickly reached out to pull Qi Mingxuan away, signaling him to leave, but to her surprise, he didn't move!

She turned her head to look, only to find him standing there blankly, his eyes bloodshot, his fists clenched, and then beginning to tremble...

"What did you do to him?" An Xin was furious, but she couldn't do anything about Xie Zi'an, so she felt very frustrated!

"I didn't do anything to him. He looked into my eyes and fell into some kind of fear," Xie Zian said casually, leaving An Xin speechless.

Yes, he said only the Heavenly Father and Mother, and she, were not afraid of him. It seems to be a passive skill; just by looking into his eyes, all beings fall into their own fear. We're not Medusa; you can't look into his eyes, or you'll be petrified…

"Then what should we do? How do we undo it?"

“I have no choice but to rely on his own will.” After saying that, Xie Zian flicked non-existent dust off his suit, as if mocking an ant that overestimated its own strength.

"You! Hey... cast an invisibility spell on us, there are too many ghosts here." An Xin couldn't count on him, so she had to ask him for help.

“Mingxuan, I don’t know what you’re facing or afraid of, but listen to me, it’s all over. I’m here for you, and you have so many friends. You’re not fighting alone! Mingxuan, do you hear me? You still have us!” She held Qi Mingxuan’s fist and spoke to him patiently and firmly in his ear.

Xie Zi'an was displeased; how could a weak man like him deserve Xin'er's comfort! But thinking about it, Xin'er hadn't changed at heart. Anyone she set her mind on would be chosen with gentle firmness. Perhaps it was this trust, this unwavering commitment, this uniqueness that made her increasingly attractive. Once upon a time, he too had been comforted and chosen with such gentle yet unwavering devotion.

Fu Mochen saw Xie Zi'an right after he had cast the invisibility spell on An Xin and the other person.

"My lord, are you alright? You look so pale." Actually, his expression kept changing, sometimes displeased, sometimes gentle, and sometimes forlorn...

"Ah! I'm fine, Mo Cheng, you've come at the right time. That idiot Quan Yuli actually tried to get a human woman to hurt me!"

Fu Mochen raised an eyebrow, giving him an expression that said, "You've been possessed, haven't you?"

—Are you going to start whining the next second?! What's with that pitiful expression?

"Ahem... My lord, you're not talking about Miss Anna, are you? The human woman that Kwon Yuri keeps by her side?"

"Yes, he brought her here specifically to target me, saying he wanted to steal my cultivation and energy! Go and investigate."

"Yes, my lord!" Upon hearing this, Fu Mochen became serious for a second and then left.

"Xin'er, is this man ready yet?"

"Don't talk!"

"What a heartless woman!"

Just then, Qi Mingxuan seemed to wake up from a nightmare, his eyes red as he looked at An Xin. The next second, he hugged her as if he had found her again, murmuring repeatedly, "Xin Xin, thank goodness, thank goodness you're here... It's such a relief..."

"Hey! You little brat, let go of me right now!" Xie Zian saw this and couldn't stand it anymore. He was about to grab her when An Xin stopped him with a sharp look.

Turning around, An Xin gently patted Qi Mingxuan's back and said softly, "Take a deep breath, yes, take a deep breath, good job! Don't be afraid, I'm here, it's just an illusion! This is the World Lord's passive skill, just don't look into his eyes! ...Hehe...I never thought I'd be able to comfort Dr. Qi one day!"

"Yes, my little girl has grown up and can comfort others now!" Qi Mingxuan smiled helplessly, still holding An Xin tightly.

God knows what he had just experienced. The first time he had witnessed war as an international borderless doctor... the smell of blood... severed limbs everywhere... a child who had lost both legs begging for food in the mud... and then he saw Xinxin... but Xinxin was gone, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find her... just like the Ghost Festival when they searched for her but couldn't find her, that panic, that fear... Now, holding her like this, feeling her warmth, her heartbeat, real and tangible, certain that she was there, he finally felt safe.

"Enough, kid! You can let loose now!" Xie Zian gritted his teeth, his patience completely exhausted, teetering on the edge of exploding!

"Even though you are the world's master, it's none of your business who Xinxin hugs, is it?" Qi Mingxuan couldn't meet his gaze, but he wasn't intimidated at all.

"you……"

"Xinxin, how can you be hugging Qi Mingxuan like this? What kind of behavior is this?" Ao Jue saw the two of them hugging as soon as she arrived. It was really an eyesore, especially since this was in public!

"You can see us?" An Xin finally let go of Qi Mingxuan and turned to look at Ao Jue.

"You can see through my invisibility spell?"

And who are you?

"Ao Jue, he is the world lord of the Netherworld!"

“I am also Xin’er’s sworn brother!” Xie Zi’an crossed his arms and slightly raised his chin.

Upon hearing this, all three of them turned to look at Xie Zi'an.