The barrier enveloping the magical artifact shuddered several times under the lightning strikes. Mingxin turned his head. "Junior brother, get inside-"
Before he could finish, his eyes widened in shock.
Qingxuan was gone.
Qingxuan emerged from the haze and understood his situation in a single breath.
Xuanji had come even faster than he had imagined.
He opened his eyes and calmly surveyed his surroundings, spotting Xuanji.
He was still wearing the robes of a Luopo Chan Sect disciple and stood with his back to him, doing something Qingxuan could not see.
Qingxuan lowered his head. Although his dantian had shattered, leaving him crippled and incapable of doing anything more, his limbs had still been bound. It was rather excessively cautious.
His senior brother was not particularly dependable, but Fu Ze was reasonably reliable.
Qingxuan spoke with perfect composure. "Senior Brother Xuanji, what are you doing?"
Xie Xiyi turned around, a Top-Grade Spirit Stone held between two slender fingers. He looked at him expressionlessly, then casually curled his lips into an utterly cold smile. "Take a guess."
Qingxuan did not understand what he meant, but betrayed nothing. "Senior Brother Xuanji, are you perhaps planning to refine me into a Soul Lamp?"
"No," Xie Xiyi said flatly. "That would be too simple."
Qingxuan froze, unable to quite fathom his meaning, but still spoke in a cool voice. "What happened to Long Junior Brother truly wasn't my fault. Senior Brother Xuanji, blaming me won't accomplish anything. Besides, I was in love with Long Junior Brother. Why would I ever hurt him?"
"In love?" As though he had heard something utterly ridiculous, Xie Xiyi's lips twitched, and that cold smile became exceedingly strange.
Black mist seeped from his entire body, and a thin veil of darkness faintly drifted across his striking golden eyes.