Why?

Rumble--

As the Blood Nest trembled violently, the three women atop the altar displayed varying expressions.

Bai Muxi bit her lip, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

Crimson flames flickered between Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes as his Source Qi instantly spread out, scanning the array patterns throughout the Blood Nest.

Qi noticed her actions almost instantly, turning around to look at her with scrutinizing eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"."

Amidst the deafening tremor, Li Qingyan at the unseen Strange Ghost before him, who bore an exact resemblance to himself, for a fleeting moment, his voice cold and clear:

"Since you are not familiar with the formation of your own lair, I will check it for you."

Upon hearing this, Qi's phoenix eyes held a hint of amusement:

"Oh? So you, woman, actually understand formations too?"

"I know a little."

Li Qingyan replied indifferently, "What, are you worried that I'll tamper with things?"

"Oh"

With a soft chuckle, 'Qi', who had been standing at the edge of the blood pool, seemed to teleport directly to Li Qingyan's side, gently resting his arm on her shoulder, his phoenix eyes gleaming, his words light and flirtatious:

"If you cultivate the Qi Dao, I might be slightly wary, but your Origin Beginning cultivation in martial arts is not enough to make me wary."

The Qi Dao's attack methods are ever-changing, with countless deadly moves. Even Mortal Shedding expert could be defeated by it if they are not careful.

However, before one can unleash Dao Domain, martial arts are basically limited to close-quarters combat.

The cultivation path of overcoming all laws with sheer force is unlikely to cause any trouble when encountering someone with a stronger physical body.

With red sleeves fluttering, they seemed like twin beauties gazing silently at each other.

"So you're worried about Changtian, worried that he'll use this formation against you."

Li Qingyan calmly raised her hand and pushed away Qi's arm that was leaning on her shoulder, a hint of mockery flashing in her phoenix eyes. "I remember you just said that you would stay with him until the end of time? How come you have become so distrustful of him now?"

"My trust is placed in the future Changtian completely transformed into Strange Ghost."

Qi didn't care about Li Qingyan's sarcasm. He smiled and rubbed his wrist, which had been opened, and pulled Bai Muxi over. "But before that, we naturally need to take some precautions."

"."

Li Qingyan knew in her heart that the other party was preparing to use the two of them as bargaining chips, so she ignored the Strange Ghost Queen and used her special Source Qi perception method to sweep along the altar towards the thick array patterns that covered the cavern.

A general may only know how to control the army's formation and charge into battle, but a commander must have some understanding of the ways of cultivation in this world.

Because the battlefield is ever-changing, and the world's magic and techniques are also incredibly diverse.

While one may not be an expert, at the very least, when unforeseen circumstances arise, the commander-in-chief must be able to discern the enemy's tactics with the help of strategists and advisors, and take countermeasures.

And array formations are one of them.

After all, the essence of war is to use every means to defeat the enemy, and battle formations are one of the ways to annihilate the enemy at the lowest cost.

She had seen many battle formations during her military service.

Illusion formation, trapping formation, killing formation.

For people, for the army, for the city.

Too numerous to mention.

After Source Qi roughly scanned the array patterns, Li Qingyan immediately realized that the array that enveloped the entire Blood Nest was actually a trapping and killing array targeting high-level cultivators.

Because he only had a superficial understanding, Li Qingyan couldn't discern the key points, but he felt that the energy operation logic of this trapping and killing formation was somewhat chaotic.

Most trapping and killing formations in this world are designed to trap inwards, but the energy of this formation is currently converging outwards.

"Thump!"

Suddenly, a splash of water rose from the pool of blood, and a blood-red figure gently landed beside the three women.

Xu Yuan glanced at the two women in red standing together, used his Spirit Sight to discern the real from the fake, and said:

"I've activated the formation; it's ready to go out at any time."

As he spoke,

Xu Yuan glanced at Qi and asked in a low voice:

"Luo Xiran, how is Chi Feng doing now?"

Qi, her beautiful eyes smiling, took a few graceful steps forward, gazed into his crimson eyes, and said gently:

"He should still be consolidating his cultivation level; he probably won't be able to get here for a while."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan felt a weight lifted from his heart.

It seems that breaking through to the Saint realm will take much longer than he imagined.

"Changtian."

As he pondered, the ' Li Qingyan ' before him suddenly stood on tiptoe and sniffed at his neck with her small, pert nose:

"Why do I feel like you've suddenly changed?"

"."

Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, subtly raising his hand to grasp her shoulder. Xu Yuan pushed her away slightly, grinning as he said:

"Really? What has changed?"

Qi tilted his head and examined Xu Yuan for a few moments, glancing at his palm:

"Hmm, perhaps it's just my imagination."

After saying that,

Xu Yuan snorted and was about to remove his hand when something unexpected happened!

The right shoulder of the figure resembling Li Qingyan suddenly split open, and his entire upper body tilted slightly to the left, with his red robes and the flesh below gradually tearing apart.

In an instant,

A two-foot-long, ferocious maw was split open on the shoulder of the cold and beautiful ' Li Qingyan '.

Its white fangs were everywhere, and its disgusting, sticky fleshy tendrils instantly wrapped around Xu Yuan's hand that was on her shoulder!

"."

Seeing this, Xu Yuan suppressed his disgust and did not pull his hand away.

Oh shit.

A flesh and blood monster is still just a flesh and blood monster. No matter how similar it may be to its own breast-bound princess, it is nothing more than a lump of flesh and blood forcibly molded.

Just as he was about to speak, Li Qingyan's voice came from the side first:

"Luo Xiran, you did such disgusting things to Changtian, could you please not use my appearance?"

Her voice was cold, filled with intense disgust.

On the battlefield, she had seen scenes far more disgusting than what was before her.

But watching a woman who looked exactly like herself, her shoulder split open into a disgusting monster, devouring her man's hand...

She couldn't accept it.

Upon hearing this, Qi glanced at Li Qingyan's icy expression, but wasn't angry. He chuckled and said:

"Disgusting? But Changtian can also achieve this level of physical transformation now. If you find me disgusting, then you must find Changtian disgusting too?"

"Don't talk nonsense, I can't do it."

Xu Yuan quickly denied it. "If you want to examine my body, hurry up."

Qi gave a soft snort, tinged with a hint of jealousy, and said:

"Changtian, you really protect her. When you become Strange Ghost, will I help you transform her?"

"."

Xu Yuan felt he was reaching his limit.

Although Li Qingyan's face, tinged with jealousy, was beautiful, her cracked body...

Humans cannot, or at least should not.

Seeing that Xu Yuan stopped talking, Qi Ye began to examine his body attentively.

Xu Yuan did not stop the other party's life essence from seeping into his body.

This requires mutual trust; he must convince I that his Strange Ghost are irreversible.

Moreover, Luo Xiran told him before coming up that although there had been some changes, he was still in the form of Strange Ghost, so Qi would most likely not be able to see through it.

After checking the life source,

Qi frowned and silently spat Xu Yuan's hand out of the mouth that had split open from her shoulder to her waist.

Subsequently, the enormous mouthparts that had grown on 'Qi' were stitched together by countless fleshy tentacles at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Qi, too, transformed once again into a stunning beauty, no different from Li Qingyan.

However, at this moment, a scrutinizing glint appeared in her scarlet phoenix eyes, and her voice remained calm and measured:

"Changtian, a vast amount of life force can grant power to the Strange Ghost, but if it becomes too vast, it will erode their sanity."

This rationality refers not only to humans but also to the Strange Ghost.

Absorbing a large amount of life force in a short period of time will accelerate the transformation of intelligent Strange Ghost into beasts that only know how to fight.

As he spoke,

A dangerous glint flashed in Qi's eyes:

"Changtian, can you tell me why your life force did not increase after you entered the blood pool?"

Xu Yuan stared at her, smiling nonchalantly, and said:

Why don't you take a guess?

Qi Mei's eyes sparkled:

"Blood God Stone?"

"Clever."

Xu Yuan didn't hide this point, because he couldn't hide it anyway, and whispered, "The two Blood God Stone that the human race developed ten thousand years ago can not only control the Blood Nest Array, but also the Strange Ghost Fungal Armor. You should know that, right?"

Qi remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Know."

"I use the Blood God Stone to control most of the life force of the Fungal Armor, so its main body will naturally not be affected by it."

"Then why can your Fungal Armor be peeled off? Once this stuff is completely dissolved in the body, it cannot be peeled off even if you die."

"I already said that the Blood God Stone can control the Fungal Armor."

Xu Yuan chuckled softly, having already prepared his answer. Looking into Qi's eyes, he smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, I can use the Blood God Stone to manipulate the Fungal Armor within your body right now."

This was a gamble.

Xu Yuan bet that the Strange Ghost Queen in front of him wouldn't dare open her body to him.

Because if what he said is true, then the entire Strange Ghost force will become his puppet.

"I am barely satisfied with this answer."

Qi exhaled and glanced at the still boiling blood pool. "But in less than a quarter of an hour, two-thirds of my life force accumulated over ten thousand years has been drained. Don't you think you should give me an explanation?"

Are you an idiot?

Xu Yuan shook his head irritably, then pointed to the thick array patterns on the inner wall of the Blood Nest: "Activating this level of array doesn't require energy?"

Qi glanced at him coldly and said:

"I remember you should have a lot of Source Crystal in your Sumeru Ring. Why waste the precious life essence I've accumulated over ten thousand years?"

Well, this Strange Ghost Queen actually has hamster-like traits.

"My Sumeru Ring is with Li Qingyan; I didn't take it with me."

Xu Yuan patted Qi's shoulder again, smiling, "Alright, don't be so stingy. Now that the Sage is about to arrive, you can't take the Blood Pool with you, nor can you protect it. You might as well just use it."

After saying that, Xu Yuan walked past her and headed towards Li Qingyan and Bai Muxi.

Approaching the two,

Xu Yuan first used his Spirit Sight to examine the two bodies, and after confirming that nothing had been tampered with, he extended his hand to Li Qingyan:

"Give it back to me."

"Hmm?" Li Qingyan frowned.

"Oh Sumeru Ring, my Sumeru Ring!"

"."

Li Qingyan slapped the ring into his palm with a "smack," a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes:

"A grown man, yet so petty."

Xu Yuan put the Sumeru Ring back on his fingertip and glanced at the princess with the bound breasts:

"You didn't steal it, did you? I remember exactly how much silver was inside."

"."

Li Qingyan's chest heaved for a moment, then he turned his head away and remained silent.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan smiled and stepped forward, preparing to put his arm around her slender waist.

"Smack!"

The door was opened directly. Li Qingyan glanced at his hand and uttered five words:

"You're dirty, don't touch me."

"."

Xu Yuan glanced at Little White beside him.

Eye contact upwards,

Bai Muxi blinked her bright eyes, glanced at Qi, and immediately asked in a low voice:

"Young master, are you alright? What happened to that Strange Ghost just now?"

As she spoke, she reached out to grasp Xu Yuan's hand, which Qi had taken in.

"What could possibly be wrong with him?"

Li Qingyan glanced sideways at the little actions of the Underground Palace Simin: "What could possibly happen to someone who is already Strange Ghost, right, Changtian?"

Little White froze, glancing cautiously at Li Qingyan, and didn't dare to shake hands again.

"."

Ah, that familiar aroma of tea.

Xu Yuan smiled gently, then glanced back at the blood pool, his gaze suddenly hardening.

At this moment, the blood pool at the center of the altar has gradually become clear. Luo Xiran controlled the absorption of the Fungal Armor and the activation of the Blood Nest formation, almost completely draining the life force contained in the blood pool.

Therefore, the formation should be fully charged by now.

Thinking of this, Xu Yuan reached out again to try to put his arm around Li Qingyan's waist.

This time, the princess did not stop him; she glanced at him and let him do as he pleased.

She knew exactly what was important and what wasn't.

Little White, without needing to say a word, walked over and hugged him.

Just like when he arrived at this Blood Nest, Xu Yuan carried one in each arm, then turned and looked up at Qi opposite him:

"The formation will soon be fully charged, and the Blood Nest Formation will directly create an opening in the Blood Nest leading to the ground, allowing us to escape."

"."

With a smile in her eyes, she took a step forward, her red sleeves fluttering, and in an instant she arrived in front of the three of them, opening her arms to Xu Yuan.

"Smack!"

Xu Yuan stepped aside to block the Strange Ghost Queen, his eyes fixed on the imposter ' Li Qingyan ' with astonishment:

"No, what are you doing?"

"I brought them along because they're slow, and you're slow too?"

Qi pursed his lips, but didn't move closer. His scarlet eyes held a hint of resentment, which quickly turned into a strange smile.

"Changtian,

No matter how much you resist, we will eventually become one.

"."

After saying that, Xu Yuan rolled his eyes and ignored her.

The entire cave suddenly fell silent.

Silently, layers of crimson light formed above the cave ceiling, gradually shaping into a sharp, enormous cone.

The formation was fully activated.

As expected, the Barbarian King Chi Feng did not arrive with the invincible power of a saint's body at this critical moment.

Everything was proceeding smoothly according to Xu Yuan and Luo Xiran's plan.

In silence.

The blood-red, sharp cone, like a drill, pierced through the stone wall at the top of the Blood Nest and shot off in that direction!

Without needing any prompting, Xu Yuan leaped into the air, transforming into a blur as he sped towards the passage opened up by the crimson energy, with Qi closely following behind him.

As the three people and the ghost departed, the center of the Dead Silence Underground Palace began to collapse.

Utterdark Lands.

There is no sunlight, no light, only a snow-covered Snow Plain shrouded in blizzard.

Suddenly, a faint rumbling sound came from beneath the snow-covered ground, shaking the surface snow and sending it flying into a cloud of snow mist.

As it approached, the tremor grew increasingly intense.

final,

"Boom!!!"

With a deafening roar, the permafrost cracked, and amidst the billowing snow mist, a figure silently appeared on the Snow Plain.

It was the first to break through the ground, standing in the swirling snow in mid-air, looking at the vast and boundless Snow Plain all around, a wild excitement appearing in its phoenix eyes.

Almost simultaneously, another blood-red figure darted out from within.

See the light of day again

There was no joy, nor any hesitation.

Li Qingyan and Bai Muxi, two graceful figures, were propelled a hundred feet away by a gentle life force.

at the same time,

Xu Yuan looked up at the 'Qi' in mid-air, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

Void-Stepping Slash.

The figure in the blood-stained clothes vanished from the spot.

"Boom!!!!"

A tremendous roar exploded in mid-air!

The shockwave generated by the collision of the Source Qi swept out from mid-air, and the resulting hurricane cleared away the snow accumulation within a radius of hundreds of feet, revealing the brown permafrost layer beneath.

At the center of the collision, two figures stood intersecting.

Xu Yuan's eyes were calm as his palm pierced through the chest of the 'woman' before him.

Compared to the cold indifference and calm in Xu Yuan's eyes, Qi's reaction seemed very forlorn.

The wind and snow tousled her long hair. She looked at the Blood-robed Man before her with a complex expression, as if she weren't the one injured at all. Her soft voice carried a hint of confusion.

"Changtian, may I ask you why?"