My Misfortune Crushed Instances-Chapter 235: Backstabbing Zuo Qiutian—Hmm? Seems This Isn’t the First Time

Li Rui looked at the grass lying in his hand, and in shock, he leaned forward into that vibrant space.

The mission was restored again.

He looked up and saw not just the phantom of familiar figures like Yu Xin and Duan Ling, but also a very familiar silhouette.

Isn't that my Brother Zuo?!

Great, I knew it had to be you stirring up trouble.

At this moment, he noticed Yu Xin looking over, her eyes obviously widening. Fortunately, Zuo Qiutian was busy controlling the river of blood and didn't see her expression.

Li Rui made a gesture of silence and then retreated to his desolate space, having understood everything.

To start from the beginning, the Secret Realm is the dungeon; the events occurring within don't connect with the greater world, akin to a contained parallel time-space.

You're in your time-space, I'm in mine, and our actions don't interfere with each other.

Yet these parallel time-spaces always converge at some endpoint, like Sun Qian of the Demon Wind Temple or the Peach Blossom Spirit of the Peach Blossom Spring.

Only when the endpoint changes does it affect the logic of the entire world, influencing the background plot and even some contents of the Secret Realm.

But now, there's a problem with the Peach Blossom Empress's tomb.

It's seemingly entangled with other parallel time-spaces for some reason. Both sides enter different Secret Realms at different times but approach the same space node, and as they draw closer to this obviously central place, the entanglement grows tighter.

Initially, there were only some non-interactive phantoms appearing, then more phantoms, and now, Li Rui could even cross into another time-space. The good news is that this entanglement is one-sided; the other side can't come to his time-space, but he can enter theirs anytime.

This means they can be saved, provided Zuo Qiutian is defeated.

Heh heh.

Li Rui felt a bit embarrassed.

Defeating Brother Zuo's avatar doesn't mean defeating his true form.

He's like, the gift's been delivered, there's no need for the person to come.

Li Rui moved closer to hear Zuo Qiutian's purpose clearly and found the conflict between them was irreconcilable.

Because they both had the same interest.

Evidently, both targets were Community Thunder: one having the Peach Blossom Empress's tomb as a key, the other using evil skills to sacrifice souls to open the door.

Li Rui pulled out the Vajra Umbrella, ready to act anytime.

Zuo Qiutian didn't realize someone was observing in secret, the level of temporal entanglement seemed very high, even such a formidable person couldn't sense any presence.

But upon discovering Yu Xin was stalling for time, he immediately took action, unwilling to waste even a second.

"Stand around this barrier; I will act immediately, reducing your pain. The premise is cooperation, please be quick."

While remaining polite to some extent, he was evidently much colder than before.

Yu Xin said, "Should I help him over?"

She was referring to Duan Ling, who was slapped earlier. Though not dead, he was seriously injured.

His injuries weren't severe enough to impede movement, but understanding Yu Xin's intent, he immediately feigned weakness.

Zuo Qiutian snorted coldly, "Don't play tricks, go yourself."

He knew full well his palm only sealed the opponent's meridians, and the Daoist, who didn't quite look like one, couldn't use spells anymore, but movement wasn't impossible.

Feeling a chill of murderous intent like a snake, the two dared not do anything else, only following the requirement to move behind the barrier.

Zuo Qiutian manipulated the river of blood with his thumb and forefinger, seemingly generating some array around the barrier.

Li Rui spied from behind, seeing his actions clearly. This method resembled that in the Silent Forest, but the amount of blood and complexity of the ground array were far inferior to the previous instance.

After all, awakening the dead and breaking a barrier differ in complexity.

He wasn't in a hurry to act, as manipulating blood flow on the ground takes time; only after completion will it be time for soul sacrifice.

Li Rui's current advantage is that as long as he remains in the desolate time-space, Zuo Qiutian cannot sense him. The downside is, however, that the entanglement with the vibrant space is intermittent.

Which means he can't exit from just anywhere, but only from those entangled points, the places of spatial fluctuation.

And now, the nearest entanglement point is a full five zhang away from Zuo Qiutian.

This distance is nothing for an extraordinary individual, but if the opponent is a world NPC, that's a different story.

In this category, aside from some emperor blessed with fortune, among cultivators, Wei Xun falls at the bottom level, slightly stronger ones are Demon Monarchs or Barbarian Monarchs, beyond that… Li Rui didn't know.

In any case, Zuo Qiutian must be among the very strong, without approaching within three steps, not even Li Rui is confident of a successful sneak attack.

"Need to delay a bit longer; if worse comes to worst, handle it then."

Li Rui now needed to be more patient, with the latest possible action being before everyone dies, both to prevent compatriots from dying and to prevent Zuo Qiutian from dismantling Community Thunder's barrier.

As Zuo Qiutian manipulated the river of blood, he moved around the barrier, and wherever he went, the blood-drawn array followed.

Whenever the array neared the 'sacrifices,' the blood would flow up their pants, climb from the cuffs, then emerge from the collar, creeping over the cheek and upwards to the crown.

But this was no longer important, as Li Rui found his chance, waiting for him to reach behind Yu Xin, where there was a nearby entanglement point.

Zuo Qiutian continued forward, saying, "Do not be disheartened; you are participants in monumental feats. If I succeed, the world will know peace, and there will be no more strife."

"Pfft."

Yu Xin retorted angrily, "Such grand words, it's just to gain power."

She wasn't purely venting; she didn't know what Li Rui intended but figured distracting Zuo Qiutian would be helpful.

Yet this scholar wouldn't be provoked by words, simply saying, "You only see immediate gains and losses. If prosperity can last for generations, what of a brief sacrifice?"

"I've lobbied Jingyang Academy, Shenxiao Palace, Cyan Dragon Sect, Pudu Temple, and other so-called righteous sects, but they always only care about now."

"You can't sacrifice this, you can't sacrifice that."

Zuo Qiutian's tone had a slight wavering, hinting at a trace of discontent, "Without sacrifice, nothing is gained."

Yu Xin scornfully replied, "Voluntary sacrifice and being sacrificed are two different things."

Assuming Zuo Qiutian would remain unmoved as he had been, she didn't expect him to care, casting a cold glance at her, the blood flow immediately quickened, he also came right in front of Yu Xin.

"Arrogant talk."

He seemed to care greatly about her words, "When the world achieves peace, they will remember me, and you, with nothing but your righteous-sounding logic, will be nothing."

Yu Xin, already entangled by the blood flow, said nothing, only smiling and shaking her head.

Because she saw Li Rui's figure abruptly appear behind Zuo Qiutian, the Vajra Umbrella wrapped in thunder.