"It was about a quarter of an hour ago!" Zhang Hong thought for a moment, then answered with certainty. She paused and hurriedly explained, "I don't know what caused it either. I was afraid another demon beast or cultivator might come to cause trouble, so I activated the formation first. When I came back and went to ask Xian'er, she activated the restrictions in her sealed chamber too. It seemed as though she didn't want to speak to me...!"
"Xian'er activated the restrictions herself?" Li Xiaoya hastily interrupted Zhang Hong, sounding surprised. According to her account, a quarter of an hour ago was precisely when he had unleashed the Five-Element Dragon-Devouring Wave. Although he had been tens of thousands of miles away, returning this quickly was hardly unusual given his speed... Nor had Zhang Hong done anything wrong. But Liu Xian'er had deliberately activated the restrictions in her sealed chamber... There were only two possibilities: either she did not want him to know about her condition, or her current condition could not tolerate any disturbance...
The second possibility was manageable. Perhaps she had advanced successfully but suffered injuries. The first, however, clearly meant she had failed. Xian'er was badly injured and needed to cultivate in seclusion, yet did not want Li Xiaoya and the others to know... That would be difficult. Xian'er was gentle on the outside but unyielding within. Although she had an excellent temper, she had possessed a heavenly immortal root since childhood and carried a genius's pride deep in her heart. She cared a great deal about saving face, too. Having failed to advance, she naturally would not want Li Xiaoya and the others to see her in such a sorry state...
"Yes!" Seeing Liu Xian'er's troubled expression, Zhang Hong hurriedly spoke, her eyes swimming with tears.