This mountain range is deserted and uninhabited, and naturally, no one has disturbed it, which has led to the trees growing wildly and becoming much taller and denser than trees in other places.
The trees, some hundreds of thousands, even millions of years old, have thick canopies that intertwine together, forming an impenetrable protective barrier in the air. Even sunlight cannot easily penetrate them, with only a few patches of light falling around them.
In the dark and oppressive dense forest, Xu Yeming, Elder Ye Qiubai, and the other two stopped.
Hearing this, how could the Grand Elder not understand the meaning behind Xu Yeming's words?
He turned around, looked at Xu Yeming, and still maintained a faint smile, saying, "So, Nephew Xu, you suspect me?"
Xu Yeming didn't hide anything, nodding and saying, "Of course I have doubts. After all, the Grand Elder hasn't done anything to make me trust you, and I'm not naive enough to believe someone who can make me trust you with just a few words."
The First Elder chuckled softly, lowered his head slightly, and a barely perceptible glint of coldness flashed in his eyes. "If I wanted to harm you because of your identity, why would I go to such lengths to help you escape the pursuit of the Xu Clan and Xuanyuan Clan?"
"Wouldn't this approach just make things more difficult and thankless for me? And I might even be hunted down by the Xu Clan and Xuanyuan Clan."
Xu Yeming shrugged. "I don't know either, that's why I wanted to ask you, Elder."
"However, according to my guess, the Fourth Elder is on the side of the Xu Clan and Xuanyuan Clan. Although your position is different from the Fourth Elder's, First Elder, you must also want to get something from me, right? If the Xu Clan and Xuanyuan Clan get there first, you won't get what you want. I'm sure I'm right, aren't I?"
Um.
This was also a deduction made by the Senior Brother Mu based on the information provided by Xu Yeming.
Unexpectedly, the Grand Elder suddenly covered his face and burst into laughter, which became increasingly unrestrained and arrogant!
So you're laying your cards on the table, no more pretending, huh?
The Grand Elder glanced around, then murmured, "Well, we've already stepped into the area..."
Upon hearing this, both Ye Qiubai and Xu Yeming frowned, their expressions becoming serious.
The Azure Cloud Sword instantly appeared in Ye Qiubai's hand. He gripped the hilt with one hand and the scabbard with the other, ready to draw the Azure Cloud Sword at any moment.
Xu Yeming held the Classic of Mountains and Seas and Seas in his left hand and the Heavenly Wilderness Spirit-Controlling Brush in his other.
And at that very moment...
The Grand Elder tossed out a scroll, and with a wave of his hand, the scroll unfurled!
It was a formation scroll, and this formation was obviously very large. When the scroll was fully unrolled, it circled around the Grand Elder three times.
Without any pause, the Grand Elder opened his palm and slammed it down on the center of the array scroll.
A black light, seemingly emanating from the Nine Nether, burst forth in all directions!
" Heaven-Sinking Netherlight Formation!"
With a furious shout from the Grand Elder, the scattered eerie light transformed into thick tentacles that began to frantically intertwine and entwine around the three of them.
At that moment, the last ray of light vanished completely.
Ye Qiubai Xu Yeming were plunged into complete darkness.
It wasn't just ordinary darkness; even using Mind's Eye and the power of one's soul to perceive the surroundings, it was still complete darkness!
With a snap of fingers.
Clusters of white, ghostly flames ignited one after another around them.
The faint white light at least provided some light to this dark space.
The Grand Elder stood in front of the two, smiling as he said, "I didn't expect Nephew Xu's intuition to be so accurate."
Xu Yeming didn't speak, but thought to himself.
The Senior Brother Mu's intuition was spot on.
Ye Qiubai, who was standing to the side, took out a jade pendant.
Seeing this, the Grand Elder sneered, "Don't even think about it. The Heaven-Sinking Netherlight Formation was prepared at great cost. Even the Purple Fire Domain God wouldn't be able to sense the aura within the array in a short time."
In other words, those at the Domain Divine Realm and above can perceive it, right?
Ye Qiubai put away the jade pendant, thinking to himself that contacting his master should be no problem, but it wasn't the right time yet, and there was no need for his master to take action personally.
"I'd like to ask, when did you, Nephew Xu, confirm that I was your enemy?" the Grand Elder asked.
Xu Yeming shrugged and said, "I've always had my suspicions, but I have to say the Grand Elder hid it very well while we were in the academy; he never gave himself away."
"So they followed the Fourth Elder's instructions, with the aim of drawing out the hidden threat."
That's right.
Xu Yeming and his group did not confront them directly. Instead, they first used the Heavenly Lightning Escape Talisman to create distance and then lured out the person who might still be hiding in the shadows.
This was originally Xu Yeming's plan.
After all, if he were besieged by the Xu Clan and the Xuanyuan Clan, it would be inconvenient to take action if there were other people hiding in the shadows who wanted to harm Xu Yeming.
Therefore, when making plans, Mu Fusheng suggested that they try to keep their distance from the other party.
As Xu Yeming spoke, the Grand Elder's expression grew increasingly surprised.
"When it was finally confirmed, the Grand Elder suddenly appeared here and, at the same time, used the excuse of concealing his presence and splitting up to send Qi Wu and the others away."
The Grand Elder's expression turned slightly grim. Since the other party had noticed, it meant that they had already prepared countermeasures.
"Since you already knew my identity back then, why did you agree to let the Qilin Clan leave and then come with me?"
Xu Yeming shrugged and said, "Didn't we say our goal was to lure you out, to find out some things?"
The First Elder sneered, "Oh? You think you can extract information from me with your strength? The Xu Clan elders were right after all; Xu Canghai's son has truly inherited his arrogance and haughtiness!"
"Who said we came here to extract information?" Xu Yeming smirked, "You know yourself that we were prepared since we dared to come with you."
Immediately, he shouted directly into the sky, "Senior, it's your turn to appear!"
The Grand Elder's expression changed drastically, and he immediately looked around, unleashing his divine soul power to its fullest extent!
But...
Three breaths have passed.
The only sound was the faint flickering of the white ghostly flames; nothing else could be heard.
Xu Yeming's expression immediately froze, then he shouted defiantly, "Senior, stop hiding! If you don't come out, we're going to be beaten to death!"
Five more breaths passed.
The tension and seriousness on the elder's face slowly disappeared, and he looked at Xu Yeming with a mocking expression.
Xu Yeming's face had turned completely black.
Ye Qiubai gave a helpless, bitter smile.
What happened?
The Grand Elder clenched his fists slightly, and a powerful aura began to fill the dark, enclosed space.
"It seems your backup plan couldn't detect your location. Well, that makes sense, given it's the Heaven-Sinking Netherlight Formation."
Xu Yeming looked at Ye Qiubai.
Ye Qiubai looked at Xu Yeming.
It seems everyone is asking this question.
What's going on?
Where are Senior Black Lord Master and Dean Cangxuan?!
What happened to our promise to protect them secretly and let them do what they wanted?!
Sure enough, fairy tales are all lies... From now on, you can't believe a single word those two old men say!
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PS: Four chapters. I still owe one chapter from the 11th, plus the two chapters from the 12th, which makes a total of three chapters. I'll make up for it with one more chapter.
Owes: 21 chapters