Waiting

What a coincidence. It seems we will have to find a way out together.

Jun Anshi stood beside him, her tone carrying a natural familiarity, as if they were not strangers meeting for the first time, but old friends who had known each other for a long time.

She did not know why, even though the other party was dressed so mysteriously—a black cloak, a white mask, exuding a stay away from me aura from head to toe.

Even though they had never met, she could not help but want to talk to him.

How do you feel about staying in this space? I just looked around and could not find an exit at all. Apart from this parasol tree, there is only this endless expanse of water.

Gu Changyuan listened to her words, his gaze sweeping across the entire space once more.

That parasol tree stood in the center of the space. Its emerald leaves swayed gently under a light of unknown origin, and each movement caused the temporal power of the entire space to faintly ripple.

He spoke slowly, using a voice completely different from his usual tone.

The temporal power in this space is extremely dense, far exceeding the outside world.

Jun Anshi nodded; she had felt this as well.

I took a look, Gu Changyuan continued, his gaze falling upon the parasol tree.

That parasol tree in the middle should be the core of this entire space. I can sense the aura of the power of the Great Dao within it. Moreover, it is not just the power of time, but the auras of other Great Daos fused together.

He paused, speaking word by word.

Space, Verdant Wood, and Samsara.

A hint of obvious shock surfaced in Jun Anshi's eyes.

She looked at the black-robed man beside her, re-evaluating his strength and background in her heart.

The other party was merely at the peak of the Soul Formation realm, yet he could tell at a glance that the parasol tree contained the auras of other Great Daos. This level of perception was truly astonishing.

The power of time, she could naturally feel. She possessed the Temporal Dao Body, making her perception of the laws of time as natural as eating and drinking.

She had also caught traces of the power of space. After all, her brother, Jun Mukong, possessed the Void Dao Body, so she was no stranger to the fluctuations of the laws of space.

But Verdant Wood, she genuinely had not sensed it.

However, with a parasol tree as the vessel and such a rich aura of life, there was indeed a high probability that it was a wood-attribute Great Dao.

As for Samsara, she truly had not sensed it in the slightest.

To think that the other party had only been here for such a short while, yet was able to perceive so much.

This level of perception and insight was far beyond the reach of an ordinary Soul Formation cultivator.

The other party's strength and the faction behind him were likely far from simple.

Oh, is that so?

Jun Anshi suppressed the surprise in her heart and brought the topic back to the most practical issue.

Then how do we get out?

Gu Changyuan did not answer immediately.

He walked up to the parasol tree, raised his right hand, and gently touched his fingertips to the trunk.

His divine sense extended from his fingertips, silently covering the entire parasol tree.

Then, he withdrew his hand.

There were no mechanisms, no hidden doors, and no concealed array trigger points.

This parasol tree was purely a vessel, carrying the legacy of Immortal Emperor Cangwu, but it was not the key to unlocking the legacy itself.

Gu Changyuan turned around and sat leaning against the roots of the parasol tree.

The trunk was thick and the roots were coiled, forming a natural seat on the ground.

He sat cross-legged, leaning against the trunk in a casual and languid posture.

It was as if this were not some inescapable, mysterious space, but rather the shade of a tree in his own backyard.

"We wait."

He spoke slowly, his voice calm.

"This is likely the core inheritance space of the Cangwu Mystic Realm. Since we were brought here, it means we have been chosen."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the quiet, almost sacred space.

"Since that is the case, all we can do is wait."

He hadn't sensed any mechanisms on the parasol tree that required manual activation, nor did he detect the aura of any impending trials.

Thinking about it this way, they would most likely need to pass an inheritance trial or gain the inheritance's approval to unlock the way out of here.

Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense to drag Jun Anshi all the way here just to have her sit and wait forever with no trials and no mechanisms, right?

Gu Changyuan leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.

His breathing was steady and his aura long and drawn out, as if he were truly preparing to take a nap right then and there.

Standing to the side, Jun Anshi watched as this black-robed Daoist friend sat down in such a carefree manner. Her mouth twitched slightly.

Why did his personality seem so similar to her master's?

Her master was just like this. Even if the sky were falling, he wouldn't panic; he would eat and sleep as usual, as if nothing in the world was worth his anxiety.

Hearing the other party say they should wait, Jun Anshi still felt a bit anxious. After all, the people outside were definitely looking for her.

But she also knew that rushing things was useless.

She had paced back and forth around this space several times, and there truly was no exit.

Rather than buzzing around blindly like a headless fly, it was better to stop, observe the situation, conserve her energy, and wait for the upcoming inheritance trial.

She walked to the other side of the parasol tree and sat down against the trunk.

The trunk was very thick. With her and the black-robed man sitting on opposite sides, they couldn't see each other, but they could sense each other's auras.

The surface of the water rippled slightly as she sat down, before returning to its placid state.

Jun Anshi hugged her knees, resting her chin on them, her gaze falling upon the endless expanse of water in the distance.

"Tell me,"

She spoke, her voice exceptionally clear in the quiet space.

"Does this inheritance choose only one person, or multiple people? Are we going to end up as rivals?"

Gu Changyuan's voice drifted over from the other side of the trunk:

"I don't know."

Hearing her words, Gu Changyuan felt a bit speechless. If they really were rivals, was it really a good idea for her to just blurt it out like that?

Wasn't she being a little too trusting of a stranger like him?

However, Gu Changyuan also guessed that the inheritance was likely meant for Jun Anshi alone.

After all, up until now, no other cultivators had been dragged into this space, and he himself had simply forced his way in.

He wondered if he would be expelled from this space once the inheritance began, or if he would just be left to watch from the sidelines.

"Well, if it only chooses one person,"

Jun Anshi paused.

"Doesn't that mean we'll have to fight?"

"You can't beat me."

Jun Anshi raised an eyebrow, a hint of defiance in her tone:

"You've never even seen me fight. How do you know I can't beat you?"

"Just a feeling."

Gu Changyuan's voice remained calm, even carrying a trace of nonchalance.

Jun Anshi choked on this response. She opened her mouth to argue back, only to find that she really had no way to retort.

A feeling was something entirely subjective, if he said it was there, it was there; if he said it wasn't, it wasn't. How could she possibly argue with that?