Wait a minute, where is my master?

"My younger brother is dead. You never mentioned before that this man is a disciple from one of the Four Great Immortal Sects!"

The eldest of the Tiannan Four Ghosts dodged left and right as he released the sinister entities from the Red Powder Skull Banner toward Mr. Yao, meanwhile transmitting his message to the Third Elder, who had changed his appearance under the tree.

At that moment, beneath the tree, Yan Meishan's eyes held a mix of fear and delight as she observed Yao Qinxiao combat several people.

As for the remaining seven parts of her expression, cough... it's unspeakable.

Upon hearing the transmission, her facial expression remained unchanged, but in her heart, she disdainfully replied.

"Hmph, as if I'd tell you. Just finish the task you're supposed to complete. As for your brothers...

What, do you actually care whether they live or die?"

The plain-looking man, upon hearing this, stole a glance at the woman under the tree who looked pitiable but was actually insane, then fell silent.

She was right.

The four brothers, though they had grown up together under one master,

sharing meals, sleep, and the practice of their cultivation techniques, even together betraying and murdering their master.

For many years, they had advanced and retreated together.

But since the cultivation gap had widened, he, as the eldest brother, had frankly lost respect for the other three.

The earlier transmission was merely an attempt to use a piece of trash to gain something from that mad woman by leveraging his younger brother's life.

But before he could even negotiate, his intentions were seen through.

"Damn it, how unlucky, how did such a figure appear in the East Sea? Just my luck to run into him."

The eldest of the Tiannan Four Ghosts cursed inwardly, crushed a protective talisman given to him by the Third Elder, and forcefully countered Mr. Yao's attack.

Taking advantage of the moment, he pressed forward. A burst of pink spiritual light shot from the banner in his hand directly towards Yao Qinxiao's forehead.

Elsewhere, the remaining tall, thin man, and the bearded, brawny man huddled within the formation, struggling to maintain it.

Suddenly, a burning sensation came from the Array Plate in their hands. Then, three tendrils of Spiritual Power burst forth from the formation, tightly entwining the three hovering brush pens outside the formation.

It turned out that the death of the third ghost among the four was meant to confuse Mr. Yao and make him lower his guard. Now, under Yan Meishan's covert control, the Array Plate suddenly revealed its true power and indeed caught him off guard.

Seeing the pink radiance approaching closer and closer, with his three brush pen magical weapons temporarily ensnared and insufficient time for the last one to return to aid,

he immediately activated a protective gem hanging from his waist and simultaneously used his Spiritual Power to draw a few more brush pens from the peach blossom pen box.

But if the Third Elder already knew that Mr. Yao came from a prestigious sect and still set such a simple trap, he naturally had his confidence.

The red glow emitted by the Skull Banner, upon contacting the protective aura formed by his protective gem, trembled like ripples on water and then passed through unimpeded, entering Yao Qinxiao's forehead.

!!!

Feeling an alien object invade his body, Mr. Yao was shocked and angered.

He leapt back, his robust Spiritual Power and Spiritual Sense circulating within his body, attempting to expel the newly entered pink radiance.

The three wolf-hair jade pens that had been ensnared also broke free from their bonds and started circling around him.

Under the tree.

The Third Elder saw that the plan had succeeded halfway and felt a surge of joy, yet still feigned a frantic demeanor as she asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Mr. Yao, are you alright?"

Yao Qinxiao, hearing the shout, curiously glanced at the strange woman under the tree, wondering how she knew his surname. Simultaneously, he had already checked his Dantian, Sea of Consciousness, and meridians, and found no trace of the radiance.

A sense of unease began to creep into Mr. Yao's heart.

Just as he was about to speak in an attempt to extract some useful information,

suddenly, a surge of malevolent energy rose from three inches below his Dantian, shooting straight to his forehead.

In an instant, Yao Qinxiao understood.

The radiance was something that could manipulate a person's desires.

His breath became slightly heavier, and he quietly began reciting Hao Ran's Heart Clearing Spell—but to no effect.

Mr. Yao's eyes turned red, and he looked up, intending to scold the group for their treachery in trying to disturb his mind with such underhanded techniques.

But as he looked at the state of the Four Ghosts, disgust involuntarily rose in his back. Following that, the unspoken scolding turned into a storm-like fierce attack.

The remaining three ghosts were somewhat confused, unaware of why their opponent suddenly became so ferocious as if they had employed a technique to stimulate their potential.

Cough...

It's actually not their fault.

The main responsibility still lies with the Third Elder.

Yan Meishan had used magic to provoke the state of the Four Ghosts, making them appear utterly famished to whoever they looked at.

When Yao Qinxiao suddenly realized he was struck by "that kind" of move, he looked up and saw three burly men with bloodshot eyes staring at him.

Anyone with a normal orientation would be terrified into madness in that situation.

"Crack."

A slight cracking sound came from the Array Plate. Under the continuous attacks of both magic and magical weapons, akin to raindrops, the two weaker individuals, relying on external objects, finally couldn't withstand it.

"Big brother, save me!"

"Brother, I can't hold on anymore."

The transmissions reached the ears of a plain-looking man, but at the moment, facing the attack of five brushes, he too was too preoccupied to pay any attention to others.

Of course, even if he could spare a cultivation technique, he definitely wouldn't bother to do so.

After all, were it not for these three, he, being a cultivator from the Void Refinement Realm, could live well anywhere. Why would he trouble himself to play the hero saving a mad woman?

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

Three wolf-hair brushes, enveloped by the Vast Righteous Qi, penetrated the already strained formation, as well as the Dantians and Sea of Consciousness of two of them.

The Four Ghosts were now reduced by two.

The pressure on the plain-looking man instantly increased.

Yao Qinxiao felt his temples throbbing rapidly and, as the Spiritual Power circulated continuously, he felt his mind growing somewhat muddled.

Mr. Yao's heart sank, quickening the frequency at which he activated his magical weapon.

"I don't know what kind of magic this demon used that even the Vast Righteous Qi could not suppress it. I must kill this person quickly before I completely lose my sanity. Otherwise..."

Thinking this, Yao Qinxiao couldn't help but shiver.

While he struggled with the lone survivor of the Tiannan Four Ghosts, unbeknownst to him, he had approached the three corpses that he had killed earlier.

At this moment, the Second Layer prepared by the Third Elder.

Began to take effect!

...

On another mountain path leading to the Ice Spring.

The three travelers suddenly stopped in unison.

"Temple master, sister Little Yu. Something's not right about that direction! I smell a familiar scent."

Little White pointed towards the mountaintop and took a sniff, speaking solemnly first.

"I don't know about a familiar person, but I can also confirm that something is off about that place."

Yu Yaoer blinked and added her remark.

"Sister Little Yu, you can smell the scent from the mountaintop too?"

Shiqi, upon hearing Little Yu's words, was slightly curious.

Standing next to them, the little Taoist helplessly slapped his forehead and spoke solemnly.

"Little White, your sister Little Yu is probably not using her nose...

After all, those three explosions earlier made quite a ruckus."

"..."

Shiqi looked embarrassed, sheepishly scratching his white hair and chuckled a bit.

Subsequently, the three planned to go and check it out.

Jin Xu also extended his Spiritual Sense towards the area.

Just then, a probing voice suddenly sounded from behind the group.

"Yaoyao?"