Yuan Shu was breathtakingly beautiful. Her figure was slender and graceful, her features exquisitely lovely, and every frown and smile seemed to carry an irresistible allure.
Mo Yi’s heart was thrown into turmoil.
But the Witch God inheritance was no trivial matter. Even when indulging oneself, there were some things one simply could not do.
A little desire like this could be endured until it passed.
Mo Yi released his grip on Yuan Shu, drew a deep breath, and spoke in a low voice.
“Other than that, you can name any condition you like!”
Yuan Shu gave a soft laugh, folded her arms across her chest, and gazed at him indifferently without saying a word.
Her meaning was already obvious. She wasn’t interested in anything else.
Mo Yi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. For an instant, he even truly entertained the thought of agreeing to her request.
But that thought lasted only a moment before he cast it aside.
His lips moved, and he was just about to say something else when the communication jade talisman lit up.
Mo Yi’s brow twitched. He took out the communication jade talisman and glanced at it, the faintest hint of a curve appearing at the corner of his lips.
“Found her!”
…
Mo Yi came and went in a hurry. Before long, the courtyard had fallen silent, leaving Yuan Shu alone.
Yuan Shu frowned slightly as she recalled what Mo Yi had said before leaving.
Found her? Had he found Helan Ying?
She couldn’t quite understand. Wasn’t Helan Ying a member of the Earth Demon Fiend clan?
When she encountered Mo Yi, why hadn’t she simply acknowledged her identity to him? Why had she chosen to run instead?
Or was there some reason for it that Yuan Shu didn’t know about?
As she pondered this, the communication jade talisman at her waist lit up as well.
She opened it and saw that the message had come from the Sect Master.
“By order of the Sect Master: all disciples are to proceed immediately to Severed Dragon Peak in the Forbidden Grounds behind the mountain. There must be no delay!”
…
The last time Xiushe underwent its tribulation, it had been near Severed Dragon Peak in the Forbidden Grounds behind the mountain. The place was very close to the spiritual vein beneath the ground.
By the time Yuan Shu arrived, a large number of sect disciples had already gathered at Severed Dragon Peak.
The Sect Master, Qu Qing, was nowhere to be seen. Yuan Shu only saw Shen Jingyuan, Master of Soaring Cloud Peak, leading disciples from the various peaks as they surrounded a massive formation that emitted a faint cyan radiance.
Elder Hai of Medicine Cloud Peak had brought a group of Medicine Cloud Peak disciples and was clustered around Shen Jingyuan, all of them looking anxious.
After a brief moment of thought, Yuan Shu walked over. Before she had even drawn close, she heard Elder Hai’s voice.
“Peak Master Shen, our Peak Master only just returned and has already encountered something like this. His strength hasn’t fully recovered, yet he entered the formation. If something happens to him—if something happens…”
Yuan Shu’s heart jolted.
Peak Master? Yao Qianci?
Had his mind recovered?
Wait—Yao Qianci had entered the formation?
“Elder Hai, people from Spirit Pivot Peak will be here shortly. No matter how anxious we are, we still have to wait for them to study the formation and find a way to break it.”
“Until then, we’ll do our best to keep the formation from expanding. There’s no need to panic so much!”
Shen Jingyuan, who had been questioned, wore a solemn expression. As he explained, his eyes remained fixed on the enormous cyan formation before him.
Sharp cyan radiance surrounded the formation. It continuously drew in the vigorous spiritual energy around it and continued spreading outward.
The disciples of Falling Immortal Sect had formed rows of squads, constantly pouring their spiritual power into the formation to hold back its expansion.
Elder Hai opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but he knew that nothing he said would change the situation. In the end, he closed it again and could only keep looking toward the road they had come from.
“Master of Spirit Pivot Peak, Shi Shuchen, has arrived!”
Suddenly, a disciple’s drawn-out announcement rang through the area.
Everyone turned to look behind them.
The crowd parted, and a small group approached.
At the head was a tall, handsome man dressed in a long robe embroidered with subtle silver mountain patterns. His features were strikingly handsome, but he was unsmiling, and his expressionless face appeared cold.
He held a black formation disk about the size of a book in his left hand, while his right hand rested behind his back. Faint defensive formation patterns shimmered around him.
His steps were steady and measured, and he carried an imposing air that made him seem fit only to be observed from a respectful distance.
Shi Shuchen, Master of Spirit Pivot Peak, had once been Falling Immortal Sect’s foremost prodigy. Not only was his cultivation talent extraordinary, but his talent in formations was even more exceptional.
He had entered Spirit Pivot Peak at the age of ten, and by the age of twenty, he had won first place in the youth division of the Central Continent’s formation competition.
After that, he had received the careful guidance and cultivation of the sect and the former Master of Spirit Pivot Peak. At the age of one hundred, he officially succeeded to the position of Peak Master.
In the cultivation world, reaching the Divine Transformation Realm at a hundred and becoming a Peak Master at a hundred was not considered particularly early.
Shi Shuchen had also retained the appearance of his youth. He was refined and otherworldly, with an aloof and dignified bearing.
It was said that Shi Shuchen was constantly in seclusion and had rarely appeared within the sect in recent years. The affairs of the peak had all been handed over to his disciples.
Even Yuan Shu, despite having been on the mountain for so many years, was seeing him in person for the first time. He was even more mysterious than Mo Yi, Master of Profound Shade Peak.
She hadn’t expected him to come personally today.
It seemed that the cyan formation blocking Falling Immortal Sect was extraordinarily complicated—so complicated that even he had been forced to appear.
Shen Jingyuan had not expected that the Sect Master’s request for someone from Spirit Pivot Peak to come and break the formation would bring Shi Shuchen in person.
After his initial surprise, delight filled him instead.
With Peak Master Shi here, this cyan formation blocking their path could surely be broken!
“Peak Master Shi!” Shen Jingyuan greeted him with a smile.
Shi Shuchen merely inclined his head curtly. His expressionless face remained expressionless.
But Shen Jingyuan knew his temperament and did not take offense. He immediately led him to the cyan formation and began asking how it could be broken.
Yuan Shu followed a little closer, turning her attention to the formation as well.
The moment she sensed it, the familiar power of vitality made her pause. Then, as though she had thought of something, her eyes widened slightly.
At that very moment, Shi Shuchen also saw through the truth and spoke.
“This is the power of vitality. The formation is connected to the source of vitality. As spiritual power circulates endlessly, the formation will continue to exist so long as the spiritual power does not run out.”
“Vitality?” Shen Jingyuan seemed to suddenly realize what Shi Shuchen meant by vitality, and his expression changed drastically.
Wasn’t the place in Falling Immortal Sect with the strongest power of vitality the spiritual vein beneath the ground?
Shi Shuchen clearly knew that this matter was of grave importance and did not mention the underground spiritual vein by name.
Seeing Shen Jingyuan’s sudden change in expression, the others exchanged glances, mistakenly assuming that the formation was simply too difficult to break.
“Peak Master, our Peak Master entered the formation ahead of us to stop this cyan formation from spreading. Do you think there’s any way to break it quickly and save him?”
Elder Hai was genuinely worried about Yao Qianci’s safety.
He was the most senior elder in Medicine Cloud Peak and could be said to have watched Yao Qianci grow up. He truly could not bear the thought of anything happening to him.
If he could, he would have preferred to be the one who entered the formation!
Shi Shuchen’s brow furrowed slightly. He did not answer immediately. Instead, he led his people closer to the formation and carefully examined it from every direction.
After a moment, he raised his head and said softly, “This formation is exceptionally well-defended. We’ll probably have to break through one section and enter to look for him. I’ll do my best.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Shuchen raised the formation disk in his hand and sent it flying.
The formation disk expanded in the wind. In the blink of an eye, it grew as large as a carriage and floated in midair.
Shi Shuchen formed hand seals with both hands, murmuring an incantation under his breath.
In an instant, black-gold formation patterns flashed wildly across the disk. Then it abruptly released a beam of light that shot toward the cyan formation.
The formation barrier that hundreds of people had been unable to break suddenly melted open under the force, creating a huge breach.
“Peak Master Shen, find one person to enter the formation with me!”
