"Don't talk nonsense. You're already very amazing," Shen Qing walked up to Hong Chaoyang, comforting her while leading her forward.
Hong Chaoyang tried hard to adjust her mindset. She came here with Shen Qing not to wallow in self - pity. She must grow up in a short period of time.
Thinking like this, she looked at Shen Qing beside her, only sighing at how fast Shen Qing had grown.
Walking forward along the secret passage, they sensed the aura of magical spells in operation, and a faint trace of spiritual energy wafted in the air.
Li Tianyun stood in front and explained, "Most of the Ling family members know some magic spells. Therefore, Master set up an array specifically to control them."
"When you see the Ling family members later, don't say too much. Master placed some image stones nearby, and all our conversations will be recorded. You mustn't say too much."
They listened attentively and also imagined the scene in their minds.
Everyone originally thought that they had just set up a few arrays to trap the Ling family members. But when they actually saw them, they couldn't help being startled.
There were more than twenty Ling family members imprisoned in the dungeon. The head of the Ling family was an old man with graying beard named Ling Kong.
His sons and daughters - in - law were also imprisoned here.
They all had their shoulder blades pierced by chains, and the chains were covered with suppressing talismans. They knelt on the ground, and their wrists were also pierced by thin threads and hung in the air.
The place where they were imprisoned was surrounded by no less than six or seven layers of barriers, and there were still some talismans faintly flickering on the barriers.
As soon as Li Xian saw those talismans, she recognized that a Five - Element Sealing Array had been set up here.
The spiritual energy of the cultivators trapped in the Five - Element Sealing Array would be firmly suppressed, and the spiritual energy would gradually drain from their bodies until it was exhausted.
These cultivators usually looked exhausted. Although they wouldn't die, they would be like being in a fog and never be clear - headed.
"Li Tianyun, this is what you call just imprisoning them here!"
Seeing the Ling family members being treated like this, Shen Qing's anger welled up. Her eyes were full of indignation, and her face was gloomy.
Li Tianyun looked like he was about to cry and quickly explained, "This was all arranged by Master. It has nothing to do with me."
"Master said that they are all cultivators. If we don't use some extreme methods, they might escape. That's why..."
In order not to let the soldiers notice anything amiss, Li Tianyun quickly transferred the soldiers guarding here away.
Seeing that there was no one around, Shen Qing checked the location of the image stone and waved her hand, making the image stone ineffective directly.
Without being told, Li Xian and Xue Ling began to check the arrays and mechanisms everywhere.
Li Xian tampered with the Five - Element Sealing Array. It seemed to be still in operation, but in fact, it had lost its effectiveness.
Shen Qing noticed that the person who set up the array here should be the same person as the owner of the tent outside the city. His cultivation was only around the Golden Core stage. Therefore, their tampering could ensure that it wouldn't be discovered.
"Who... are you?"
An old and weak voice sounded. Shen Qing looked in the direction of the voice and saw Ling Kong struggling to raise his head, looking at them blankly.
Shen Qing looked at Li Xian, and Li Xian nodded, indicating that it was completely safe nearby.
Only then did Shen Qing squat down in front of Ling Kong with peace of mind. Even though there were arrays and barriers between them, they could still clearly see each other's expressions.
Ling Kong's vision was blurry. He vaguely saw Li Tianyun, the person he hated most, bringing several people over. Originally, he thought that Li Tianyun had found someone else to torture them. Who would have thought that these people would break the Five - Element Sealing Array.
After the Five - Element Sealing Array was broken, the feeling of being oppressed by a huge rock on his body disappeared instantly, and his originally muddled mind became much clearer.
He looked at one of them. The appearance seemed a bit familiar, but he just couldn't remember who it was. That's why he couldn't help asking.
Shen Qing squatted down. Seeing that Ling Kong was in a good mental state, she introduced herself, "Are you the head of the Ling family, Mr. Ling Kong?"
"I'm Shen Qing, the disciple of Ling Zhou. You should remember me. You gave me a gift."
Ling Kong had just regained his consciousness, but it was still a bit muddled. When he heard the name Shen Qing, he reflexively awakened the memory in his mind.
"Shen Qing... Shen Qing... I seem to remember this person... Let me think."
After Li Xian finished dealing with everything, she also squatted beside Shen Qing and explained to Shen Qing, "The head of the Ling family has just woken up from the Five - Element Sealing Array. His mind should still be in a state of confusion. We have to wait for him to calm down."
Shen Qing nodded and had to give up communicating with Ling Kong for the time being. Instead, she went to check the conditions of the other Ling family members.
They couldn't break the barriers here. Once they did, the person who set up the barriers would immediately notice.
Therefore, Shen Qing and the others could only wander outside the barriers, constantly trying to wake up the people inside by talking.
Li Tianyun and Wang Wang shrank in the corner and didn't dare to say a word.
Now they all followed a principle, that is, when the gods fight, the little ghosts suffer.
And they were the unlucky little ghosts. If they didn't want to suffer, they could only hide in the dark and try not to attract attention.
It was only at this time that Li Tianyun felt that he and Wang Wang were kindred spirits. However, when he tried to talk to Wang Wang a few times, the latter ignored him.
"Hey, I'm the one who promoted you. Why do you give your benefactor such a cold face, as if I owed you thousands of taels of silver?"
Li Tianyun was used to being flattered these days and couldn't stand Wang Wang's cold face. He immediately whispered his dissatisfaction.
Wang Wang just rolled his eyes and had no intention of paying attention to Li Tianyun.
But Li Tianyun didn't want to let it go and insisted on getting an explanation from Wang Wang.
Wang Wang was so annoyed that he finally said, "Fake master! Before, I had no power or influence, so I flattered you a few times. Now that I have other masters above me, why should I be afraid of you?"
"Moreover, you bully others by relying on your power. If it weren't for your master Yuan Tongtian, you would have been beaten to death many times already!"
"You!" Li Tianyun was so angry that he wanted to attack Wang Wang.
But when he raised his hand, he was stopped by Wang Wang, "Are you sure you want to attack me here? Have you asked the fairies' opinions?"
Seeing that Hong Chaoyang and Xue Ling were glaring at them, Li Tianyun reluctantly put down his hand and shrank aside.
"Just you wait, Wang Wang. I'll remember you!"
Li Tianyun's whispered threat didn't bother Wang Wang at all.
In fact, Wang Wang's dislike for Li Tianyun was not entirely because of what he had just said. It was because Li Tianyun had only come to the capital with Yuan Tongtian for a short time and had already become a new favorite of the court. In just three months, he had suppressed the once - prosperous Ling family.
The emperor even built a national master's mansion in the capital, and Li Tianyun also had a luxurious mansion built in the area where the dignitaries lived in the East Market.
There were dozens of beautiful concubines hidden in Li Tianyun's mansion, and one of them was his childhood neighbor, Ah Hong!