Dongfang Chacha and the others had almost reached the high ground.
"There's a giant pit up ahead, with a small lake inside. For Miss Dongfang's safety, please don't go near it," An Yu said from the front.
Dongfang Chacha felt a little disappointed. She'd been planning to take a look, but she was a guest here, after all.
So she could only nod reluctantly.
"Fine. I'll look from far away."
An Yu nodded.
Miss Dongfang was fairly obedient. In truth, she still felt there was nothing inside. After all, she'd gone down there herself not long ago, and nothing had happened.
But Le Feng had said there might be an Evil God sealed inside, so she had no choice but to go again.
At first, she hadn't thought of a seal and hadn't used the appropriate methods to investigate.
This time, she'd come specifically to check.
Several people followed behind them. After all, accidents could happen, and sending just one person to investigate was clearly not the right approach.
Xiang Yu quietly followed behind Dongfang Chacha. Her duty was to protect Miss Chacha.
But as she kept watch over their surroundings, she suddenly felt the environment around them change in an instant.
And yet, it seemed nothing had changed. Sensing something was wrong, she immediately turned to look at Dongfang Chacha.
Fortunately, Miss Chacha was still there.
An Yu also looked at them. Her brows knitted slightly, and a trace of alarm showed in her eyes. At last, she said, "We must have fallen into some kind of array. We've been separated. It seems whoever's in there doesn't welcome us."
Dongfang Chacha froze. Separated? Not at all. Xiang Yu was still here, too.
Confused, she looked behind her—and realized the people following them had all disappeared.
Their group of seven had suddenly dwindled to three.
Xiang Yu noticed it, too. A flicker of relief passed through her. Thank goodness I wasn't separated from them.
"I'm going to try to get inside. You two should try to get out," An Yu kindly advised.
Dongfang Chacha hesitated, then nodded.
"All right."
She'd actually wanted to help An Yu, but she might only get in the way. Better not to trouble anyone else.
An Yu was rather surprised. Miss Dongfang was a little... unexpected.
In the end, they went their separate ways. Dongfang Chacha and Xiang Yu headed back the way they'd come, while An Yu went farther in.
"Xiang Yu, do you think we should secretly follow her?" Dongfang Chacha asked.
Xiang Yu sighed and could only say, "Miss, this place is too dangerous."
"Fine." She felt a little dejected, but she was weak, after all.
As expected, I should get stronger. Then I can do whatever I want.
No one will be able to stop me.
She admired her cousin Lu Shui. She'd heard he'd been doing whatever he wanted lately. She'd have to ask him for some pointers.
Putting her disappointment aside, Dongfang Chacha began to leave.
But as they walked, they saw someone coming toward them.
Both sides froze.
It was An Yu.
An Yu: "..."
Xiang Yu: "..."
Dongfang Chacha gave a tiny smile. This time, she hadn't been reckless and willful. It was simply fate.
Lu Shui took the Sixth-grade spirit stone Zhen Wu handed him and placed it in the array he'd already drawn. Only after the stone had merged into the array did he continue onward.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling followed along like this, unable to understand. They truly couldn't understand.
They watched Lu Shui draw an array every so often, and each array had to be supplied with a Sixth-grade spirit stone.
He'd been placing them all afternoon. The sky was about to darken.
Late that night.
"Young master, aren't you going to rest? It's already very late." Zhen Wu handed him a spirit stone as he asked.
Lu Shui shook his head.
"I'm not sleeping. Time waits for no one."
Lu Shui didn't know when that ferocious beast would awaken, or when it would leave.
The only thing he could do now was complete the array and then deal with it.
He couldn't wait even one more night.
This creature could threaten his mother.
He'd been young and ignorant before. Now, he might still be ignorant, but the difference was that he wasn't afraid of trouble.
After seeing the spirit stone absorbed, Lu Shui continued onward.
He hadn't chosen any of the locations at random. Every one had been carefully calculated.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling couldn't understand it at all. They didn't even know whether their young master was pretending or being serious.
If he was pretending, was there really any need to go this far?
But if he was serious, where was the enemy?
Who exactly was their young master trying to kill?
They'd asked him, but their young master had never answered.
The next day, at noon.
Lu Shui returned to where he'd set up the Eight Directions Array.
Standing at his original position, he looked at the ferocious beast in the giant pit. It still had its eyes closed and remained asleep.
"I'm ready. You don't look ready, but don't worry. I'll ambush you fair and square. I won't give you a chance to prepare." Lu Shui spoke to himself silently.
Lu Shui stood there for a moment, adjusting his state. If he was going to kill it, he had to be ready. He was in a hurry, but he couldn't act recklessly.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling exchanged a glance. Neither of them understood.
But the next moment, they were stunned.
They saw Lu Shui raise one hand. Two pillars of light appeared beside them.
Before they could recover, pillars of light began appearing in the distance. In the space of a few breaths, a pillar of light had risen all around the giant pit.
Then they heard Lu Shui's voice:
"Eight Directions Killing Array, form!"
As Lu Shui's voice fell, Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling saw countless pillars of light high in the sky begin to glow. Their light interwove above the giant pit, forming an array.
In just a moment, an enormous array appeared in the air.
Lu Shui's voice rang out again.
"Eight Directions Trapping Array, open!"
"Eight Directions Array, manifest!"
The next moment, chains appeared inside some of the pillars of light, spreading throughout the giant pit.
At the same time, countless arrays appeared in the gaps between the pillars of light.
In that instant, the might of the arrays began to surge. The sensation was so overwhelming that Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling couldn't even draw their swords.
The powerful aura left them unable to think.
They forgot why Lu Shui was doing this, and forgot how he could be so strong.
The aura naturally roused the ferocious beast. Without the slightest hesitation, just as it was about to awaken, Lu Shui swept his hand down.
"Kill!"
In an instant, a gigantic beam of light erupted from the Killing Array, hurtling toward the center of the giant pit with the speed of lightning.
A deafening boom rang out. The powerful shock wave swept outward, jolting Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling back to their senses. They stared at Lu Shui in alarm and disbelief.
The Mystic Array outside was affected, too. The powerful shock wave swept across it.
Le Feng heard the explosion. At the time, he was right at the edge of the high ground, bracing against the shock wave. At the same time, he saw—
"Is that him? Dongfang Haoyue?
What's he doing?"
Before Le Feng could think it through, a furious roar came from the center of the giant pit.
"Who?
Who dares to offend me?"
As soon as its voice rang out, a terrifying aura spread with it.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling were immediately forced to one knee, unable to get up. Le Feng suffered the same fate; he didn't have the slightest ability to resist.
He was horrified. Just who was the owner of that voice?
But soon, he figured it out. The Evil God.
There really was an Evil God. Was Dongfang Haoyue insane?
Then he looked up at Lu Shui, and the moment his gaze fell on him, he froze.
He saw that Dongfang Haoyue was standing perfectly straight, as if the immense pressure had no effect on him at all.
Le Feng couldn't believe it. His Fourth Tier cultivation had left him unable to stand, so how could Dongfang Haoyue, a Second Tier cultivator, remain upright?
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling saw it, too. Their minds were full of questions.
How could their young master remain standing without kneeling?
Soon, another thought occurred to them. Was that terrifying entity what their young master wanted to kill?
The entity that had robbed them of their ability to fight before it had even appeared?
Was their young master insane?
How could he possibly kill it?
Before you continue