Meanwhile, in a secluded valley, several shadows hid among the bushes, quietly discussing their plans.
"Boss, Yang Dang's soul lamp has gone out. The other four men's auras are gone too, along with those two Immortal Crossing Sect disciples. Something's wrong."
The leader pondered for a moment. "I know something's wrong, but the arrow's already on the string. We have no choice but to release it. Is the Dragon Trapping Formation ready?"
"It's ready. It can definitely trap that True Immortal from the Immortal Crossing Sect."
"Good. Since the situation has changed, we'll concentrate our forces and strike directly. Capture those two disciples and take them to the formation, then lure the True Immortal into it.
"Once we've done that, we'll be able to control the Sixth Princess, and our Restoration of the Kingdom will be complete.
"Of course, it'll also let the Fourth Young Master have his heart's desire!"
The lewd remark drew a few chuckles from the black-clad men. They exchanged knowing smiles, then clasped their fists in acknowledgment.
"Yes!"
The men scattered. Half a day later, several of them launched a surprise attack, knocking Wang Qi and Liu Yan'er unconscious and carrying them away.
Fairy Jiujiu, meditating in the air above Yuan Qing and Youqin Xuanya, suddenly sensed something. She instinctively wanted to rush to their aid, but then recalled Li Yang and Li Changshou's warnings and brought Yuwen Ling along as well.
They weren't far apart—it would take half a shichen at most to get there—so even if something happened to Yuan Qing and Youqin Xuanya, she was confident she could return in time.
Yuwen Ling had only just entered the Immortal Realm and struggled to keep up with her. She, meanwhile, rushed ahead so quickly that by the time she found Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi, she had already fallen into the Dragon Trapping Formation.
Fairy Jiujiu looked around at the white mist covering everything. Her Immortal Sense revealed nothing but a sea of white in every direction. She tried to fly out, but could only circle around in place. Not being skilled in formations to begin with, she was quickly driven to the brink of frustration.
But she soon thought of someone: Yuwen Ling, who had fallen behind her.
"Big Guy, can you hear me? If you can, hurry and protect..."
Fairy Jiujiu suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
She wasn't stupid. She remembered Li Yang and Li Changshou's warnings, as well as the strange things about Yuwen Ling.
Yuwen Ling was supposed to protect Youqin Xuanya, yet he'd followed her without a word.
And now she'd fallen into this formation. This wasn't merely suspicious—it was extremely suspicious.
Their target must have been Youqin Xuanya and Yuan Qing.
"Oh no, I think I've been tricked. Damn it, I shouldn't have let that guy follow me. And I shouldn't have let them split up.
"I wonder if anything's happened to Li Changshou and Li Yang.
"This is so frustrating!
"And this formation is such a pain!"
Fairy Jiujiu was furious, but no matter what she tried, she couldn't get out. Her chest heaved with anger, and the cord tying her short hemp shirt together looked ready to snap.
Star Stones... They're pretty easy to find, but damn, they're a pain to dig up.
Inside a mine, more than a dozen Li Yangs swung their pickaxes furiously.
He'd found a small Star Stone vein, but most of it had already transformed into various Star Minerals. The untransformed Star Stones lay deep within the vein, so he could only dig with all his might.
If you asked why he didn't use a divine ability to carry off the whole vein, the answer was simple: Star Minerals and Star Stones were too heavy. Even with his current cultivation, he couldn't move them—not even with three hundred Origin Immortal Avatars.
They were also so heavy and hard that breaking them into smaller pieces to carry away wasn't an option.
He could only dig from different directions, weakening the vein's structure until it collapsed, then carry away what he could.
But first, he had to dig out the Star Stones.
They were far too rare on the continent. He couldn't bear to lose even a little.
After all, they were crucial to his Immortal Path.
"Clang!"
The familiar crisp ring suddenly turned dull, and Li Yang was overjoyed.
"I've struck something! Hahahaha! I've been digging for nine days and nights, and I've finally found one!"
The excited Li Yang, Miner Number One, hurried over. He gently tapped and chipped around the Star Stone with his chisel, not daring to use his pickaxe.
Half a day later, he finally pried the Star Stone free.
"Great! It's fist-sized. That's enough to refine a hundred Golden Pills."
Li Yang was delighted. A hundred Golden Pills! If those Golden Pill Avatars all reached the immortal level, the Star Dou Great Array they formed would strengthen his Sanctuary even more.
Most importantly, the vein clearly hadn't been fully mined. He could keep digging, and by his estimate, he'd reach the core in another half day.
Then, using the special technique he'd created to search for Star Stones, he could fully determine how many remained and mark their locations.
After that, he could shatter the vein and carry it all away.
"Get to work, get to work, get to work!"
The excited Li Yangs—more than a dozen miners—once again swung their pickaxes with all their might.
As they worked, he pondered.
The rest period from the Work-Life Balance trait has reached eighteen months. In two more months, it'll be twenty months.
At a one-to-ten ratio, that means I'll have two months to cultivate again.
Two months will be enough for me to become an immortal.
But when he recalled the ambush from not long ago, Li Yang's good mood vanished.
In the Original Novel, Senior Brother met Youqin Xuanya around the twelfth day. It's already been eleven days. Let's see if he meets her tomorrow.
This was Li Yang's test. In theory, he had already flapped his butterfly wings hard enough to change things, yet the ambush had still targeted Senior Brother. That gave him every reason to suspect something was going on.
So he had to run this test.
At the very least, he didn't want to draw the attention of that mentally unstable Madman just yet.
After all, that Madman would do anything for his so-called grand plan.
That was why he was so eager to become an immortal.
If he became an immortal before Senior Brother attracted the Madman's attention, then even if there was a plot against them, he could buy time until he reached the Golden Immortal realm.
The purpose of this test was to find out whether Senior Brother had already attracted that attention.
Martial Aunt Jiujiu will be fine, but Youqin Xuanya...
I'm sorry.
If this test really changed things, then for Youqin Xuanya, perhaps...
Li Yang steadied himself, stopped thinking about it, and dug faster.
Youqin Xuanya in the Original Novel was the Youqin Xuanya in the Original Novel. He wasn't close to the Youqin Xuanya of today.
Half a day passed quickly. Li Yang dug up seven Star Stones of various sizes.
The largest was as big as a basketball, while even the smallest was ping-pong-ball-sized.
Then, the dozen or so Li Yangs cast their spells together, sending invisible waves of vibration rippling through the vein.
"The Star Stones in the vein have all been marked. There aren't too few, though they're a little small. Still, they'll do. Even a mosquito's leg has meat on it.
"Now, let's shatter the vein."
Just as Li Yang began to shatter the vein, he suddenly felt the ground tremble.
"Wait, I haven't even cast the spell yet?"
Li Yang was puzzled, but not for long. The tremor came from a vortex forming in the sky. Then a fiery-red figure fell out of it and crashed down right in front of him.
The moment Li Yang recognized the face, every hair on his body stood on end.
"What the hell? Youqin Xuanya!!"
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