At the same time, the ring in Shen Qing's hand broke.
A jolt went through her heart, and a sense of unease welled up.
The moment Xu Yanxi let go of her, she felt that she could move freely again, and the spiritual energy in her body could flow normally.
"Qing Qing is in trouble!"
Li Xian turned to glare at Xu Yanxi. "You were just stalling for time! What do you want to do with Qing Qing?!"
"Hahaha," Xu Yanxi laughed out loud, clutching her stomach until tears streamed down her face.
"It's too late for you to realize now. If you want to know, go and see for yourself."
"But... I'm afraid it'll be too late."
Shen Qing and Li Xian rushed out of the house immediately. Jiang Zhiyun, who had been in the yard, was nowhere to be seen. She had already rushed in the direction where the fluctuations of spiritual energy were coming from.
Shen Qing had given Qing Qing a protective magical item earlier, and the ring in her hand could sense it.
The fact that the ring in her hand had broken meant that the protective magical item had lost its effect.
So, Qing Qing must be in great danger at this moment.
Running all the way, Shen Qing and Li Xian reached the depths of a mountain forest. After passing through the towering trees, they came to a flat muddy ground.
The mud had been turned over, and there were many broken wooden logs around.
Jiang Zhiyun's cries came from not far away.
"Elder Lianshan! Elder Lianqiao! What are you doing? Stop quickly. Qing Qing! Wake up!"
"Let me go. Let me in. Elder Lianshan, what's wrong with you? Qing Qing is your favorite disciple. Have you forgotten?!"
The shrill cries spurred them on. They wished they could grow wings and fly there immediately.
When they got closer, they saw a huge barrier. Jiang Zhiyun was blocked outside the barrier, tied up by vines.
Inside the barrier, a huge formation was drawn on the ground, and Qing Qing was floating above it.
There was a person standing at each of the four corners of the formation. Two of them were Elder Lianshan and Elder Lianqiao.
Their faces were blank, but their hands were forming seals and their mouths were mumbling incantations as they were casting spells.
Another person was Sect Master Qingdai. When she saw Shen Qing and Li Xian coming, she immediately sped up her incantation.
Qing Qing looked痛苦, his body in a large - character shape. And Wanwusheng had been summoned. The tiny green sprout was floating in front of him.
Shen Qing also noticed that the sword in Sect Master Qingdai's hand was Li Xian's.
"Li Xian, that's your sword!"
Seeing his sword in Sect Master Qingdai's hand, Li Xian immediately understood why Xu Yanxi had acted so strangely.
He had learned various formations in the Five - Element Dao Sect, so he could tell at a glance that this formation was an improved version of the Absolute Killing Formation.
But different from the Cinnabar Formation, this formation was a bit milder. It seemed to only harm the person's body and soul but not cause fatal damage.
"They're using my sword as the eye of the formation to target Qing Qing."
Li Xian's face was filled with anger, his eyes as cold as ice. His raging emotions made his spiritual energy soar, and the aura of a late - Nascent Soul cultivator was fully displayed.
Shen Qing stood beside Li Xian and even felt a bit of pressure.
"Sword, come!"
The sword in Sect Master Qingdai's hand seemed to sense Li Xian's summon and tried to break free from her grasp and fly towards Li Xian.
But since they hadn't formed a bond, the connection between them wasn't that strong. So after Sect Master Qingdai suppressed it a bit, Li Xian's sword stopped trembling.
"Shen Qing, find a way to break this barrier. I'll go and retrieve the sword!"
"Okay!"
Shen Qing knew that time was of the essence. She quickly summoned Wuwang and cut off all the vines on Jiang Zhiyun's body.
Jiang Zhiyun slumped to the ground, looking at Qing Qing in despair.
"Jiang Zhiyun, calm down. Find a way to break this barrier, or we won't be able to save Qing Qing!"
Jiang Zhiyun bit her lower lip tightly, wiped the tears from her face, and her eyes became firm.
"I'll go find help!"
She knew that with her cultivation level, she couldn't be of much help here. So she turned and ran down the mountain. She was going to call all the people from the Green Wood Sect to see what was happening to their young sect master.
Shen Qing nodded and told Wuwang to start attacking the barrier to find its weakest point.
But this barrier seemed to be able to withstand the attacks of a God - Transformation stage cultivator. Shen Qing's attacks couldn't even shake the barrier a bit.
Qing Qing looked at the scene in front of him in despair. Although he couldn't move, his mind was clear.
When Elder Lianshan brought him here, he knew that he had fallen into a trap.
Elder Lianshan and Elder Lianqiao had also been controlled and could only act like puppets to carry out others' orders, and the one giving the orders was Sect Master Qingdai.
They had set up this formation to force him to break the contract with Wanwusheng and then let Wanwusheng form a bond with Banfenghe.
But Wanwusheng had already recognized him as its master, so Sect Master Qingdai couldn't succeed for the time being.
But the longer the time dragged on, not only he but also Wanwusheng would be affected.
"Little Bean Sprout... Don't struggle anymore. The eye of this formation is an incarnation of a Great Cultivator in the Void - Refining stage. Even if you hold on for longer, the final result will still be that you have to leave me."
Wanwusheng's small leaves trembled as if it was crying.
But it still didn't want to give up, so it continued to fight against the formation.
Li Xian watched his friend being tortured and remembered Xu Yanxi's schemes against him. In a fit of rage, his eyes gradually turned golden.
And his cultivation level quickly soared from the late - Nascent Soul stage to the God - Transformation stage in an instant.
He formed seals with both hands and quickly circulated his spiritual energy to summon his sword.
Sect Master Qingdai felt that the sword in her hand was becoming more and more out of control. For a moment, she almost lost her grip and let the sword fly out.
But Sect Master Qingdai didn't want to give up such a good opportunity. She sneered and forcefully stabbed the sword into the ground.
The sword was inserted into the formation. After the formation sensed it, the light it emitted became even more dazzling. And Qing Qing on the formation could clearly feel that his connection with Wanwusheng was becoming weaker.
And Wanwusheng couldn't bear the pain of being pulled either. It struggled and quickly grew from a small grass. Thick vines almost filled the inside of the barrier in an instant.
Shen Qing saw that Wanwusheng had actually caused cracks in the barrier. She took Wuwang and continuously attacked the cracked area.
There were crisp sounds and sparks where it collided with the barrier.
Sect Master Qingdai didn't expect that Wanwusheng's affection for Qing Qing was so deep that even the Cinnabar Formation couldn't easily shake it.
Her eyes widened, the corners of her eyes were scarlet, and her eyes were full of malice.
The moment the barrier was broken by Shen Qing, Sect Master Qingdai also released her control over the sword. The sword immediately flew towards Li Xian upon sensing his call.
But at the same time, Sect Master Qingdai also stopped pushing the formation. Qing Qing, who had been floating in the air, fell down and happened to be in the path where the sword was about to fly through...