When Shen Liu and Lu Wanwan fled, Wan Qi asked Wei Ren whether they should pursue them. But Wei Ren kept his eyes fixed on Sheng Zui and, without even turning around, said solemnly,
"There's something more important we need to figure out right now."
"What is it?" Wan Qi asked, confused. "If we let Shen Liu go now, they'll be in the shadows and we'll be exposed. What if—"
Wei Ren snapped impatiently, "Stop talking! I'm thinking!"
Wan Qi fell silent, looking aggrieved. Yu Sui hadn't given him a signal, so he couldn't tell whether he should go over and help.
In Sheng Zui's current state, all he could do was move his lips to curse. Soon, Wan Qi saw Sheng Zui pass out. Now he couldn't even curse anymore.
The moment Sheng Zui fainted, Wei Ren immediately used Wind Riding Technique to rush over.
Only when he got closer did Wei Ren curse, "Damn it, it's an Earth Punishment Formation."
He couldn't get in, and the people inside couldn't get out.
The Earth Punishment Formation couldn't be broken through from either inside or out. They could only wait twelve hours for it to disappear on its own.
Yu Sui, who had been staring at Sheng Zui's shadow, finally looked up at Wei Ren.
Wei Ren raised a hand to shield himself from the sandstorm swirling outside the formation. As he approached its edge, he said to Yu Sui inside, "Dean Shen told me about Phantom Beast Shadows. Since they're forbidden arts, outsiders know little about them."
"The Agricultural School can tame beasts, but those are real insects and beasts. Forbidden-art Phantom Beasts, on the other hand, are shadows formed by nourishing a shape with qi. They're difficult to cultivate, but their power is greater."
"These shadows, formed from