For some reason, she felt that this Second Senior Brother was inexplicably strange.
Was it because he was being too friendly to his junior martial siblings?
Yuan Shu reached out and stroked her chin.
Back when they met in the Azure Cloud Hall, this Second Senior Brother hadn't even given her a sideways glance.
Or could it be that, because they were trapped within this array, he was anxious, and naturally his attitude towards his companions had improved?
However, since Long Yunhui didn't say anything, Yuan Shu also kept her mouth shut.
Beside them, Su Lingxi raised her delicate little face and nodded obediently at Zhai Shuo and Long Yunhui.
"I'll listen to whatever you two senior brothers say!"
Soon, Zhai Shuo led the way, with the others following closely behind him.
"The energy surrounding this array dissolves spiritual power. Try your best not to use your spiritual power to resist it," Zhai Shuo reminded them.
Hearing this, Long Yunhui immediately withdrew the spiritual power enveloping his body.
Sure enough, feeling that the rate at which his spiritual power was dissolving had slowed down, he quickly warned Yuan Shu.
"Junior Sister Yuan, once you stop using your spiritual power to resist, the dissipation slows down."
Yuan Shu raised an eyebrow. She had just tried it and immediately realized something was wrong.
The moment she withdrew her protective spiritual power, the energy within the array drilled uncontrollably into her meridians.
It didn't reject the spiritual power inside her body; instead, it made her feel incredibly comfortable.
But the Divine Acacia Tree within her body suddenly sounded an alarm!
Yuan Shu's eyes flickered slightly as she quietly observed the surrounding walls of the array.
Transparent energy fluctuations formed the array's walls, yet the energy on them had the effect of dissolving spiritual power?
Since when had the Demon Race become so friendly to their enemies, locking them up just to kill them slowly?
Yuan Shu looked up and glanced at Zhai Shuo and Long Yunhui, who were happily chatting ahead. In the end, she decided not to release her protective spiritual power again.
Instead, she silently utilized the power of the Divine Acacia Tree to meticulously filter the spiritual energy surging into her body once more.
"Second Senior Brother!"
Yuan Shu called out softly. Holding something in her hand, she hurried forward, but lost her footing and suddenly stumbled forward!
Hearing her voice, Zhai Shuo turned around, just in time to catch Yuan Shu as she fell into his arms. Instinctively, he wanted to step back.
But after thinking of something, he held himself back, allowing Yuan Shu to fall against him.
His thick arm firmly supported her wrist. Lowering his eyes, a hint of concern flashed in them. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I just twisted my ankle."
Yuan Shu furrowed her brows slightly, a trace of embarrassment in her expression. After a moment of hesitation, she handed over the medicinal powder she had been clutching in her hand.
"Second Senior Brother, I see your arm is injured too. This is my own wound-healing medicine. It works very fast, would you like to try it?"
Zhai Shuo looked down, only then realizing there was a bloody scratch on his arm.
A flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
When did he get such a scratch on his arm? He hadn't noticed it at all!
His gaze fell on the medicine bottle Yuan Shu was offering. Zhai Shuo's eyes darkened slightly, but he shook his head and refused.
"No need. It's just a minor injury, perfect for body tempering."
Seeing this, Yuan Shu said no more and retreated back to her original position.
After walking for about another fifteen minutes, Su Lingxi was the first to sense that something was wrong.
Her head felt a bit dizzy and heavy.
She shook her head and instinctively reached out her hand forward. "Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother!"
As soon as her words fell, she collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"Little Junior Sister!" Long Yunhui's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly went over to check on her.
But soon, he too realized something was wrong.
The scenery before his eyes began to blur, and Yuan Shu, who was looking at him with wide eyes, split into two.
Only then did Long Yunhui seem to realize what was happening. "It's the array energy that was dissolving our spiritual power earlier!"
"Junior Sister Yuan, be careful!"
He staggered, trying to step forward and grab Yuan Shu, but his legs suddenly gave out, and he fell to one knee.
Forcing himself to stay conscious, he looked up in Zhai Shuo's direction and gritted his teeth as he entrusted her to him.
"Second Senior Brother, the power of this array is very bizarre. I... I'm afraid I've fallen for its trick. You... you must protect our junior sisters..."
With those words, Long Yunhui closed his eyes and also collapsed onto the ground.
Yuan Shu, "..."
What formidable array power. Even someone at the Golden Core stage couldn't hold on for a little while longer?
However, Long Yunhui entrusting them to Zhai Shuo?
Yuan Shu frowned and raised her eyes to look at Zhai Shuo opposite her.
The tall man, over two meters in height, had his back to her, seemingly completely unresponsive to their two unconscious junior siblings.
But, having not heard the expected third thud of someone hitting the ground, Zhai Shuo slowly turned around.
Seeing Yuan Shu still standing in place, perfectly lucid, a flash of surprise crossed the depths of his dark red eyes.
"Seventh Junior Sister, are you alright?"
Yuan Shu gave a dry laugh. "I'm fine."
"Are you really fine? The power of this array is bizarre; you never know when it might catch you off guard. Here, let your Second Senior Brother take a look at you..."
As Zhai Shuo spoke, he stepped toward Yuan Shu.
"There's no need, Second Senior Brother. I know perfectly well whether I'm fine or not," Yuan Shu said as she stepped backward, her gaze locked tightly on Zhai Shuo.
If she had merely suspected before that Zhai Shuo was hiding a secret, now she was absolutely certain.
Long Yunhui and Su Lingxi's unconsciousness likely had a lot to do with him!
Even this array that had trapped them was undoubtedly connected to him!
After meeting Zhai Shuo, he had consciously taken the lead, directed the others, and then reminded them not to use their spiritual power to resist the array's energy.
Long Yunhui and Su Lingxi trusted this Zhai Shuo, perhaps because they were familiar with him and had interacted with him in the past.
But Yuan Shu wasn't familiar with him!
Her understanding of him was limited to a few brief strokes in a book and their one previous encounter at Azure Cloud Peak.
Therefore, she maintained absolute vigilance toward Zhai Shuo, just as she did with Su Lingxi.
What she hadn't expected was for this person to be so bold as to directly make a move against them!
Seeing the vigilance and resistance in Yuan Shu's eyes, Zhai Shuo's lips curled into a wicked smile, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.
"I originally thought Long Yunhui would be the difficult one to deal with. I never expected it would be you, a lowly low-level Qi Refining cultivator!"
Yuan Shu's eyes flickered. The dry smile remained on her face as she played dumb. "What do you mean by that, Second Senior Brother? Why can't I understand?"
"What? Even now, Seventh Junior Sister still wants to play the role of deeply affectionate fellow disciples with your Second Senior Brother?"
Zhai Shuo let out a cold laugh and snapped his fingers.
A group of demons wearing black martial arts uniforms and masks suddenly surged out from around the array.
They surrounded Yuan Shu and the unconscious Long Yunhui and Su Lingxi.
The dry smile on Yuan Shu's face completely vanished. She stared at Zhai Shuo expressionlessly. "You're a demon?"
"Didn't you guess that a long time ago? Don't you think asking this is a bit redundant?"
Zhai Shuo snorted softly and waved his hand, ordering his men to capture her directly.
Since Yuan Shu wasn't afraid of this spiritual-power-dissolving energy, they would just take her down by force.
Yuan Shu turned her head and glanced at Long Yunhui and Su Lingxi, who were being hauled up and tied.
She hesitated for only a second before decisively dropping the sword in her hand.
"Second Senior Brother, surrender means no killing, right?"
