Chapter 6 Perplexities Guarding the Heart

Zhang Xiaofan had originally planned to immediately wield the burning stick and head to Fox Ridge to find out the truth. However, it wouldn't be easy to brush off the woman in his arms. After all, they had just begun to experience the fruits of their love, and suddenly leaving would be inexplicable.

Although he himself didn't mind much, Lu Xueqi, as the leader of the Little Bamboo Peak in Qingyun Sect, wouldn't take it lightly. A woman's heart is as deep as the ocean; who knows what extreme reaction she might have, summoning the Tianqiao Divine Sword and using the Divine Thunder Technique to obliterate him? Was it even necessary to still consider Fox Ridge? After contemplating for a moment, Zhang Xiaofan decided to discuss it later in a few days. After all, rushing things would only lead to trouble.

The warmth of Lu Xueqi's body radiated from her palm; although separated by clothes, Zhang Xiaofan could clearly feel the jelly-like texture of Lu Xueqi's baby-soft skin, delicate and smooth as if it could be pierced with a gentle touch, as soft as condensed fat.

Lu Xueqi's smile was as radiant as flowers, her beauty shining brightly. At this moment, she seemed to have shed some of her usual reserve, replaced by a hint of youthful innocence.

Fox Ridge—the mysterious stronghold of Qingyun Sect's formation.

The earth was shrouded in darkness, the moonlight was long gone, and what was supposed to be a scorching summer felt devoid of any heat. Instead, there was a strange, bone-chilling aura of deathly stillness, with thick, crimson liquid flowing everywhere. Tents lay in disarray, stained with crimson blood, and crackling campfires emitted faint explosions from the dry wood charcoal.

With the sporadic firelight, one could see a pitch-black mass of tentacles attacking the disciples of the Qingyun Sect. Because the black entity was too eerie, no one knew what it was. At times, it would transform into swords, attacking the people, and even low-level magical treasures shattered like paper before it; at other times, it emitted a strange aura, sucking the blood and flesh dry from any living creature it caught, leaving only a desiccated husk and gruesome bones behind. The disciples gasped in horror, sweating profusely; their faces paled with panic.

Seeing the situation turning dire, Du Bishu quickly summoned his magical dice to shield the retreat of the others, shouting loudly, "Qingyun disciples, retreat!" He then activated the magical dice to divert the attention of the black tentacles, buying some time for his fellow disciples. Even though Du Bishu launched fierce attacks against the black entity, it seemed impervious to harm.

Hearing the order to retreat, the disciples of Qingyun immediately activated their magical treasures, transforming into meteors and fleeing the mysterious formation. Countless black tentacles followed closely behind, relentlessly pursuing them. However, when the Qingyun disciples had distanced themselves from the formation, the black tentacles did not pursue them any further, indicating that it was safe.

One of the disciples shouted, "Elder Du, come over here! It's safe on this side!" Du Bishu, keeping watch on all sides, understood the situation and began chanting incantations, forming hand seals.

Suddenly, he threw the dice of magical treasure into the air, and with the reinforcement of his mana, it instantly grew several times in size while continuing to rotate. When the magical treasure finally stopped spinning, it landed on the number six!

Du Bishu remained calm and exclaimed, "Six, six, great fortune!" In an instant, the dice of magical treasure emitted a brilliant blue light, flooding the entire forest with blinding radiance. From a distance, it appeared as if several scorching suns were hovering between the heavens and the earth, emitting a tremendous aura. The giant dice transformed into waves of light, gathering a powerful force within and swirling up countless dry branches and fallen leaves.

"Go!" With a command, Du Bishu's six dice shot towards the black entity in the mysterious formation at lightning speed. However, the black tentacles arranged themselves into rows, resembling soldiers ready for battle but seemingly indifferent to the small waves of light. They remained motionless, allowing Du Bishu to act as he pleased.

With several loud bangs, thick smoke billowed, and debris flew everywhere, obscuring the sky. Even before the aftermath of the dice magical treasure had dissipated, huge craters appeared on the hard ground. Along with them, towering trees were uprooted and knocked down, leaving a scene of destruction. As the light faded, a hurricane swept in suddenly, causing everyone to close their eyes and shield themselves as their clothes fluttered in the wind. The Qingyun disciples couldn't help but sigh in amazement, acknowledging Du Bishu's increased prowess.

As the storm subsided, a glowing and intact, mysterious formation came into view. Countless black tentacles hovered over it, arranged neatly like a pack of ferocious wolves ready to pounce on their prey, eagerly awaiting an opportunity to strike!

Witnessing this bizarre phenomenon, Du Bishu was astonished; his brow furrowed deeply. With a thought, he recalled his magical dice and exclaimed with a bitter smile, "Damn it, even after using my most powerful move, I couldn't leave a scratch!"

Immediately, countless black tentacles swarmed forward, greedy and eager to attack Du Bishu. Sensing that there was something fishy about this, Du Bishu quickly retreated to the side of the Qingyun disciples. At this moment, the disciples were dumbfounded, marveling at Elder Du's extraordinary strength, unaware that he was actually just scratching himself!

As the black tentacles prepared to attack the disciples of Qingyun Sect, a bright golden formation appeared, blocking their path. Upon contact with the golden formation, the tentacles disintegrated instantly, turning into a pool of foul-smelling black blood! Seeing this, the black tentacles immediately retreated, as if encountering a natural enemy, shrinking into a ball before disappearing into the mysterious formation.

As the golden light dissipated, revealing its original appearance as an ordinary formation, it became apparent that there was a huge golden formation surrounding the mysterious formation where the Qingyun disciples stood. It was difficult to detect without careful observation, indicating that someone didn't want whatever was inside to come out and harm others.

Seeing the black entity flee, Du Bishu instructed the others to reclaim the bodies of the Qingyun disciples who had been drained by the black tentacles and those who had tragically died. He hastily wrote a letter, accurately reporting the situation here to be delivered by crane back to Qingyun Sect, so they could prepare accordingly.

On the other side, within another dimension of the mysterious formation,.

A ghostly old man over two feet tall, shrouded in deathly aura, held a bone staff in his skeletal hand, which was as tall as him. Dark green fluid flowed on his long, slender black nails, seemingly alive. The wrinkled skin on his face resembled withered tree bark, devoid of any luster. His dark green eyes were particularly terrifying, with strange runes inscribed on his sharp teeth. Behind him, there was a man with black feathered wings, wearing a crown adorned with gemstones. He wore a bright yellow dragon robe, contrasting sharply with the gold, and his eyes emitted a black, ink-like glow, with scars covering his face.

The sinister old man stared at the cowering figure on the ground with indifference and said coldly, "Qingling Emperor, Princess Qingzhi escaped quite quickly. This teleportation formation was under your heavy guard, with a meticulous trap set up. Even if Princess Qingzhi had wings, she would find it difficult to escape. Why did she still manage to get away from you? Did you deliberately let her go, or was it an accident?! How will you explain this to the Ghost Witch Grandmaster?" With that, he swung the bone staff forcefully, striking the Qingling Emperor's face. Blood sprayed from his mouth, reopening a recently healed wound on his face, revealing a gruesome sight. However, the Qingling Emperor remained silent, as if nothing had happened.