That was right. What Ling Tian and the others had once thought was a secret passage could very well have been deliberately left behind by the Lord of the Universe to mislead them. After all, no one would leave such a secret passage for an "opponent" to use. It was highly likely that it had been left there on purpose to deceive Ling Tian and his companions.
"Ling Tian, didn't you say before that the Lord of the Universe would never give you a chance to return to the God Realm at the same time as the others? Why are you saying now that he'd be all too happy for Chi Xue and the others to return to the God Realm through that secret passage?" Dan Bi suddenly thought of the question and asked. She had voiced the confusion weighing on the other Artifact Spirits as well.
"Chi Xue and the others returning to Tianmu Star through the secret passage and then joining up with me is different from returning to the God Realm alongside me." Ling Tian shook his head. Seeing Dan Bi and the others' confusion, he explained at once. "If they return to the God Realm with me, we'll be together and can join forces to oppose the Lord of the Universe. But if Chi Xue and the others return to Tianmu Star through the secret passage and then come to meet me, it's different. Even if they can get back to Tianmu Star that way, they'll still have to ascend to the Immortal Realm and then to the God Realm. In short, it'll take them a long time to meet up with me, and the Lord of the Universe may not give them the chance. He could kill them in the meantime. If he deliberately interferes,