Liu Buli certainly didn't mind.
Truth be told, among the protagonist's many harems, Liu Buli felt indifferent to everyone except Yun Xiang, that pure, blank slate.
His closer proximity to Li Qingcheng was entirely due to circumstances. If not for the fact that the opening of this secret realm was inextricably linked to her, Liu Buli wouldn't have wanted to meet her at all.
After all, the records in the novel had left too deep an impression. Liu Buli couldn't shake off that impression to see the person herself. And since he didn't intend to have much contact with her, he was too lazy to bother dispelling it.
According to his original plan, after leaving this secret realm, he should have been able to return to a parallel existence with Li Qingcheng. In short, never crossing paths again for the rest of his life would have brought him absolute contentment.
So, in response to Lu Wuming's question, Liu Buli immediately shook his head decisively. He said, "I originally kept that woman by my side solely to have her bring me to find you. After all, I couldn't be sure if only the heroine could sense the aura, or if I could sense the same aura as her. I wanted to see you sooner, so I didn't want to risk taking detours. Now that her purpose has ended, it doesn't matter to me where she goes. Whether she follows us down or not, or if she leaves this secret realm on her own, it's fine. We probably won't meet again in the future."
After he said this, it was Lu Wuming's turn to be confused.
Frowning slightly, Lu Wuming looked into Liu Buli's eyes and said, "Master, you don't plan to see her again?"
"What else?" Liu Buli asked with a hint of amusement. "Aren't you always wanting me to only look at you? Now I'm actively giving up a contact person, and you look shocked? Are you unhappy about it?"
Lu Wuming quickly shook his head. "That's not what I meant at all. I just remembered that Master had made an agreement with her before? I thought she was also an ally in Master's plan, so..."
Lu Wuming trailed off, scratching his head awkwardly.
He realized he was quite foolish.
After all, when facing Liu Buli, he seemed to never be able to guess the true intention behind the other's actions.
However, unlike him, Liu Buli was like a mirror specifically for him. As long as he showed the slightest deviation, Liu Buli could guess all his inner thoughts.
This was the case now, for example.
Hearing his words, Liu Buli chuckled. He said, "Wuming, do you think that as long as someone has similar strength, or has had a slight intersection with me, I'll consider them a potential ally, no matter who they are?"
Lu Wuming blinked.
Although he didn't nod, the meaning in his eyes was definitely affirmative.
Liu Buli sighed and continued, "You don't need too many allies. As long as their quality is high enough, nothing else matters. Let me give you an example: do you think a swarm of flies I summon would be more powerful, or two divine dragons I call over? It's an obvious question, so not everyone is suitable."
Lu Wuming immediately understood. "Master, are you saying that woman is a fly?"
Liu Buli: ...
Very well, his disciple had become so foolish that he couldn't even understand a metaphor.
Taking a few deep breaths and trying to calm his emotions, Liu Buli explained seriously to Lu Wuming, "I'm not saying she's a fly. After all, in the later stages of the novel, she's quite powerful. But the problem is that she's too unpredictable. I can't guarantee that I can control her, nor can I believe that we can get along as friends. Since that's the case, she doesn't meet my requirements for an ally. The deal I made with her was simply so that in the future, at a critical moment, if I told her not to help others against us, she would obediently leave."
Lu Wuming listened for a long time and didn't quite understand.
So he frowned and asked with some displeasure, "Since it's such a troublesome matter, why not kill her directly now?"
Liu Buli sighed. "Because she poses no threat to us now, and because almost everyone in this world is like her. I told you from the beginning that our enemies might be the entire cultivation world. Can you kill one, and then kill everyone? So, for things that are unnecessary, I don't think they should be done. After all, as I said, it's not a good thing to stain your hands by indiscriminately killing innocent people."
He felt he had explained it thoroughly.
Unfortunately, Lu Wuming still gave him a look of partial understanding and finally nodded perfunctorily, as if accepting it.
Seeing him like this, Liu Buli was certain that the other had not understood his words at all.
However, based on his understanding of Lu Wuming, continuing to explain would not change anything. Therefore, it was better to let Lu Wuming and himself off the hook and switch to a topic that was easier to understand, which would be beneficial to both of them.
At this point, the two finally landed on the ground.
Then came Shen Muzhi and You Siqi.
When all four had steadied themselves, they exchanged a look and reached the same conclusion—
Li Qingcheng, for her own safety, would definitely not have followed them here.
However, before this thought could linger for long, the sound of an object rapidly descending could be heard from above.
Liu Buli frowned and instinctively released his spiritual power. Then, just as when they had first fallen into this palace, his spiritual power supported Li Qingcheng's body, gently placing the woman on the ground.
Li Qingcheng was clearly enduring extreme pain. Her body was drenched in sweat, her breathing was labored, and she was trembling uncontrollably.
Seeing her like this, Liu Buli frowned and was about to ask something when he heard Li Qingcheng grit her teeth and murmur softly, "I'm not a monster... I'm different from them..."