Regardless, even though time passed more slowly within the illusion, everyone felt as if they had truly traveled for several days, subsisting on snacks to stave off hunger and maintain energy.
It had been quite some time since they had eaten a proper meal.
Fortunately, those present were all people of considerable willpower, so these hardships did not faze them, and they managed to endure.
However, the Fatty had been knocked unconscious by Ye Tiancheng for reasons unknown and had not regained consciousness. If not for confirming that the Fatty's physical condition was normal, Ye Tiancheng and the others would have been extremely anxious.
Although, even now, their situation wasn't much better.
Especially Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, as their good brother was unconscious, had already been in trouble before, and were in such a place, unable to examine him or help him recover. Anyone would inevitably feel anxious.
Ye Tiancheng sighed inwardly, but fearing that his negative emotions might spread, he said nothing.
As time gradually passed, the atmosphere had inevitably become much more somber.
To prevent Ye Tiancheng from becoming too exhausted and depleted from carrying the Fatty, Nie Chongyang had been taking turns with him to carry the Fatty on their journey, not troubling the little fox or Liang Ping.
These two were not particularly strong individuals; they relied more on their minds, and physical labor was too much for them.
They were already tired from their own travel, having to persist for many days. If they had to carry someone else, they likely wouldn't have been able to bear it. Ye Tiancheng and Nie Chongyang were fine; their physical capabilities were already strong. Although the Fatty was indeed heavy, he was still within their tolerable limits.
Although Nie Chongyang was not a cultivator, his profession involved frequent training, so for him, carrying the Fatty was no different from carrying training sandbags.
They persisted like this for a long time. Finally, as they reached their destination, the little fox couldn't help but utter a questioning sound, "Yi?"
Seeing that the little fox had stopped, Ye Tiancheng asked, "Why did you stop? Is there a problem?"
The little fox said hesitantly, "The destination should be around here, but why is it a lake?"
He even crouched down and splashed the lake water with his hand. This was clearly a real lake, and it was indeed beautiful, but he had no mind to appreciate it. He only wanted to know how he could continue to lead and guide Ye Tiancheng and the others out.
Ye Tiancheng wasn't too surprised, as this wasn't an uncommon occurrence, and they had experienced similar situations before.
He told the little fox, "Just follow your deductions. You don't need to worry about this lake. We've been in similar places before, trapped in illusions. To get out, we had to walk into the lake. In reality, you won't fall into the lake; the water is just an illusion."
However, the little fox still hesitated, not daring to be certain.
Because... after confirming, he still said to Ye Tiancheng, "But I feel like this lake seems real?"
Could it be that they had to go into the water to get out?
Ye Tiancheng frowned and was about to say something when he suddenly remembered the legends he had heard from the villagers and the village records they had read. He abruptly stopped, and after a long pause, he finally spoke again.
He suddenly said, "Little fox, do you still remember the village records we read before, and the lake in the Dragon God's territory that we couldn't find?"
The little fox was immediately startled and exclaimed, "Big brother, you mean... this might possibly be the Dragon God's territory?"
Ye Tiancheng replied, "Then, where else could that body of water we couldn't find be?"
The little fox scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled. He felt that what Ye Tiancheng said made some sense, but there were still some points he couldn't quite grasp.
"But did the Dragon God cause us to stumble into this place? And based on what we saw earlier, this illusionary space should indeed be related to the guesthouse owner, Mei Mei, and her husband. Could it be that they are connected to the Dragon God?"
"Is it possible that the Dragon God is also evil, aiding and abetting?"
They had never been able to determine whether the Dragon God was good or evil, as they had never seen him in person, nor had they directly confronted him. At least, not face-to-face. It was possible that he had dealt with them without them knowing, so they couldn't judge.
Ye Tiancheng said, "It's hard to say."
However, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox didn't expect that Nie Chongyang, who was nearby, would have something to say at this moment.
Nie Chongyang heard Ye Tiancheng's discussion and thought of something.
He suddenly spoke to Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, saying, "Regarding the Dragon God, although we don't know much about him... after you were trapped, we indirectly contacted him while evacuating people outside."
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox immediately looked at him, both asking, "What happened? What occurred at that time?"
Nie Chongyang rubbed his nose and then began to explain the situation to Ye Tiancheng.
"When we arrived here, the first thing we did was evacuate people. After all, to avoid harming innocent bystanders, we had to first transfer ordinary people to a safe place to deal with that giant black snake."
"Evacuating tourists wasn't a major problem. As soon as they heard about potential natural disasters, they fled immediately, not daring to delay."
"However, when evacuating the local villagers, there were some difficulties. Many local residents were unwilling to leave their ancestral homes where they had lived for many years. They insisted that the Dragon God protected them, and that their ancestors had lived in this place for thousands of years under the Dragon God's protection, remaining unharmed. Therefore, they refused to leave."
That was indeed very troublesome.
Ye Tiancheng asked, "Then how did you resolve it? Did the Dragon God manifest? Did you see the Dragon God?"
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's question, Nie Chongyang first nodded, then shook his head again, and explained to Ye Tiancheng, "At first, we were very troubled because we couldn't persuade them. Later, we wanted to find you and the little fox for a solution, but you two were out of contact, so we went to find the Fatty."
"The Fatty said that the villagers here refused to leave because they believed they were protected by the Dragon God and would not be harmed. Unless the Dragon God personally persuaded them, no matter what they did, it would be useless. Even using force might not succeed, and it would certainly lead to casualties."
"In the end, it was the Dragon God's manifestation that resolved the problem."
He said, "At that time, the Dragon God did manifest. It is said that he asked the villagers to leave, and when the Dragon God spoke, whatever he said was useful to us. The villagers immediately agreed to leave. However, only the villagers heard the Dragon God speak; we did not see the Dragon God manifest."