In the inner courtyard hall behind the mansion, Gongsun Yuanzhou and Lu Sichuan sat facing each other. Before them was a Go board. The board was ancient but seemed quite special, unlike ordinary wood, exuding a faint chill as if cast from profound ice. Black and white pieces already occupied more than half the board.
"Since the fish have entered the net, when do you plan to reel it in?"
Lu Sichuan, holding a white piece, placed it and spoke softly.
"No rush, the grand Formation has been set. This hall is the core of the Formation. It won't be too late to act after the fish come in."
Gongsun Yuanzhou placed a black piece and said indifferently.
"That Thousand Faces also has some tricks. To actually persuade the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect and the Ten Absolute Sect, seven God-Form martial artists, that's a big show of force. If the seven God-Forms fight to the death, it could be a bit tricky." Lu Sichuan picked up a white piece and placed it casually. Clearly, his heart was not as calm as Gongsun Yuanzhou's.
"Commander Lu, times have changed. Since the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect and the Ten Absolute Sect have gotten involved, it saves me some trouble."
Gongsun Yuanzhou lightly uttered a sentence, placing the last piece at the same time.
"You've lost, Commander Lu."
...
"Shuang!"
In the outer courtyard of the City Lord's Mansion, Wanjun didn't hesitate at all. A layer of profound green light appeared on his hands as he gripped the azure-gold cage. Soon, the thick, tough cage was forcefully torn open.
He grabbed the unconscious Wan Shuang from the cage and held her in his arms.
He anxiously checked her physical condition.
After confirming that she was not in mortal danger, only extremely weak, his hanging heart finally eased considerably.
Immediately, a towering rage surged up.
"Gongsun Yuanzhou, you actually dared to make a move on my Ten Thousand Spirits Sect!!"
At this moment, his heart was filled with killing intent.
Although he had considered this possibility before, seeing this scene with his own eyes made the rage in his heart completely irrepressible.
"Sect Leader Wan, don't get angry yet. Don't forget the real purpose of our trip."
Sensing Wanjun's rage, Qi Ning gently comforted him from the side.
"I know." Wanjun took a deep breath, understanding that they couldn't expose themselves yet.
Suppressing the anger in his heart, he put Wan Shuang on his back and prepared to continue towards the inner courtyard of the City Lord's Mansion.
The City Lord's Mansion covered a large area, divided into outer and inner courtyards. The outer courtyard was mainly used for handling official business, while only the innermost courtyard was where they rested and practiced.
According to the intelligence, Gongsun Yuanzhou spent most of his time cultivating in the inner courtyard, so he was naturally there now.
The group didn't stop. Just as they were preparing to go deeper, Qi Ning suddenly spoke.
"Wait!"
"What's wrong!?"
The Heavenly Desolate Old Man and others frowned and looked over.
Qi Ning also furrowed her brow slightly, flipped her wrist, and took out a black stone pendant from her Pregnant.
At this moment, a faint, eerie light was appearing on the black stone pendant.
The Heavenly Desolate Old Man, Wanjun, and the others were somewhat puzzled seeing this scene.
But Lan Man and Black Hawk, who was wearing a blue robe and a mask, showed surprise in their eyes.
"Why would the Star Stone light up at this time?"
The Star Stone was a type of communication tool in Dark Star, and it could also be used to determine location.
However, Star Stones were basically only used in emergencies.
The Star Stone lighting up indicated that something had happened, and it also meant that there was another Star Stone nearby.
The number of Star Stones wasn't large. For this operation, only Qi Ning carried one, while the other Star Stones were at their base. Why would it light up at this time?
"Something's happening." Qi Ning frowned.
"What are you waiting for? If we delay for too long and Gongsun Yuanzhou becomes aware, it won't be so easy to assassinate him."
The Heavenly Desolate Old Man urged impatiently. They had taken a considerable risk this time, and no mistakes could be made. Although the soldiers in the outer courtyard had been killed, inner courtyard soldiers might come out at any time. The longer they waited, the greater the risk of exposure.
Hearing this, a hint of hesitation also appeared on Qi Ning's face. They were now like arrows on a bowstring. If they didn't continue the operation, Gongsun Yuanzhou would definitely be alerted, and they might lose the chance to act.
So for a moment, she couldn't help but hesitate.
On the other side, in Fu City, Lin Sheng looked at the glowing Star Stone and had already sensed the approximate location. This was the Star Stone Huang Quan had given him when he left the outpost, specifically for determining location.
He furrowed his brows tightly, still feeling uneasy. The next moment, his figure had disappeared into the ground.
Although it was confirmed that Qi Ning and her group were currently in Fu City, there was no major commotion in the city yet, so there should still be time, as long as he was fast enough.
*
In the outer courtyard, Qi Ning pondered for a moment, then finally put away the jade stone. A look of determination appeared on her face.
"Continue the operation, speed up."
Having said that, she was the first to step forward and dart towards the back courtyard of the mansion.
Lan Man and Black Hawk exchanged glances. Although there was some hesitation on their faces, they didn't say anything and stepped forward to follow.
Wanjun was carrying Wan Shuang on his back. At this moment, Wan Shuang was still unconscious.
He wanted to check her condition more carefully, but unfortunately, now was not the time, so he could only temporarily hand her over to another Elder from his Sect.
His strength was not weak, and he was also the main force for the upcoming action, so he naturally couldn't carry Wan Shuang with him.
What he didn't notice was that as he handed Wan Shuang to the Sect Elder, a black light flashed and disappeared within Wan Shuang's cascading black hair.
Bang—
Just as everyone's figures were quickly disappearing into the courtyard, a sudden explosion came from the main gate of the City Lord's Mansion.
This explosion mixed with the thunder in the sky.
Ordinary people might not hear anything special, but for those in the Divine Form Realm, it was naturally very clear.
Everyone's movements stopped immediately, and surprise appeared on their faces.
Although they didn't know what had happened, such a commotion would definitely not escape the notice of the experts inside the mansion.
"Damn it, what's going on!?"
The Heavenly Desolate Old Man couldn't help but curse.
The next moment, the wall of the courtyard where they were located exploded, and a slender figure appeared.
"Die!"
The Heavenly Desolate Old Man reacted extremely quickly and immediately sent a burst of force flying over.
However, a cold light flashed, directly cutting down his force.
The one who struck was none other than Qi Ning.
"Ghost Face, why are you here?"
Looking at Lin Sheng who appeared before him, although his figure had changed somewhat from before, he recognized his identity at a glance.
"Jin Qianbao is an Imperial Court spy. This operation is a trap, hurry and go."
Lin Sheng said concisely and in a deep voice.
"What!?"
Hearing this, Qi Ning and the others were startled.
"Leave immediately! Get out first."
Although she was shocked, she didn't hesitate at all and immediately ordered a retreat.
At this moment, in the Inner Courtyard Hall.
Gongsun Yuanzhou and the other person also heard the explosion from the outer courtyard.
Gongsun Yuanzhou, who had originally been calm, seemed to sense something at this moment, and a cold, sinister look appeared on his face.
"Trying to run!"
He snorted coldly, extended his finger, and pointed at the center of the Go board before him.
Instantly, the pieces on the ancient Go board flickered with an icy blue light.
As the icy blue light appeared, it instantly spread outwards rapidly as if it were substantial.
At the same time, his figure had disappeared from the hall. Lu Sichuan, although two beats slower in reaction, quickly followed suit.
Meanwhile, a layer of blue light curtain suddenly appeared around the entire City Lord's Mansion, emitting a bone-chilling coldness.
"Not good, it's the Ice Ghost Grand Formation!!"
Qi Ning and her group looked at the grand Formation before them, and their expressions turned ugly. At this moment, they finally understood that this trip was indeed a trap, a trap aimed at all of them.
"Damn it!!"
The Heavenly Desolate Old Man's face was extremely grim.
The other, Wanjun, also had an unpleasant expression.
Clearly, this plan had failed. If something happened to them, their Sects would definitely not have a good outcome.
"This isn't the center of the grand Formation. The Formation's power isn't complete. Attacking with full force won't trap us for long."
At this moment, Qi Ning spoke in a deep voice.
As she spoke, the completely black short dagger in her hand, carrying powerful force, struck the light blue curtain in front of them.
Zeng—
A harsh grating sound rang out. Although the light curtain wasn't damaged, it trembled like water ripples.
Seeing this, the others also attacked with full force.
Everyone present, except for Lin Sheng, were God-Form martial artists. Their strength was extraordinary. At this moment, they all unleashed their power, immediately launching a series of fierce attacks on the light curtain.
The light blue curtain continuously trembled. Although it didn't break, the amplitude of the vibrations grew larger and larger. At the same time, the light it emitted was slowly dimming. Clearly, it wouldn't take long before it was broken.
Lin Sheng also continuously struck the light curtain with his fists. The feeling he got in return was like hitting refined azure-gold; it was extremely tough, fully demonstrating the strength of this Formation.
He thought of the Blood Demon Grand Formation that had trapped the Phantom Demon Beast in Lin'an County before.
This Formation and that Blood Demon Grand Formation should be Formations of the same level.
A Formation capable of trapping demonic beasts was clearly extraordinary. Although it wasn't the center of the Formation, its power was still not weak. Even if multiple God-Form martial artists attacked together, it would take some time to break out.
Although he had appeared in time to stop everyone from going deeper, the activation of the Formation now undoubtedly meant that the hunter was about to reel in the net.
The others naturally also thought of this point.
"If this continues, I'm afraid Gongsun Yuanzhou will have already brought people to surround us before we even break this Ice Ghost Formation."
The Heavenly Desolate Old Man said in a deep voice. As he spoke, his hands didn't stop, striking the light curtain with palm after palm.
"Ice Ghost Grand Formation?"
Lin Sheng was also anxious in his heart. Feeling the bone-chilling coldness emanating from the Formation, he suddenly thought of something.
He pressed his large hand against the light blue curtain. The next moment, golden-yellow flames emerged from his palm.
"What are you doing!?"
The Heavenly Desolate Old Man noticed this scene, frowned, and shouted.
Towards a Bones Transformation Martial Artist, he naturally didn't have much patience.
Although the other party had risked greatly to break into the City Lord's Mansion to deliver the message, in his opinion, the flaw in this matter originally lay with Dark Star.
If they hadn't failed to discover the spy, how could this difficult situation have occurred now?
Lin Sheng didn't even look at him. He fully activated the flames. As the golden-yellow flames continuously surged out, the surrounding temperature immediately rose, dispelling the original coldness.
Seeing the other party ignore him, a hint of coldness appeared in the Heavenly Desolate Old Man's eyes. Just as he was about to say something more.
The light curtain suddenly began to flicker rapidly, and the blue eerie light quickly dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Seeing this, Qi Ning's eyes lit up. She took a deep breath. The black short dagger in her hand glowed intensely with eerie light. Amidst dense sonic booms, the dagger, imbued with powerful force, stabbed into the greatly dimmed light curtain.
Ci—
This time, the short dagger directly pierced through the light curtain. Qi Ning added force to her hand, and the dagger danced, cutting a half-person sized gap in the light curtain in the blink of an eye.
Although a gap appeared in the light curtain, it quickly recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye. It wouldn't take long before it was restored to its original state.
"Go!"
After she finished speaking, she grabbed Lin Sheng and directly dashed out.
The other few people didn't hesitate at all. Their figures flickered as they rushed out.
A few breaths later, two figures appeared one after another before the mansion gate, only to see bodies scattered on the ground.
"How is this possible? Although it wasn't the center of the Ice Ghost Grand Formation, they shouldn't have been able to break through the grand Formation so quickly."
Lu Sichuan looked at the gap in the light curtain, which was only the size of a bowl mouth and was still continuously closing, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Could there be an expert in the late Divine Transformation Realm among them!?"
"No, they should have had some means to counter the Ice Ghost Formation, so they managed to escape by chance."
Gongsun Yuanzhou spoke with a cold voice, his face as gloomy as water.
Strands of black lines appeared above his head. It was possible to see that there seemed to be dense, wriggling things beneath his skin, constantly surging, trying to break through the skin.
Originally, according to his plan, he was to wait in the Inner Courtyard Hall to catch the rabbit. Once these people entered the center of the Formation, they naturally wouldn't be able to escape. He didn't expect that just as success was within reach, it ended in failure. This caused a surge of violent emotions in his heart.
At this moment, the black lines surging above his head became more and more numerous, almost filling his entire head. A strange, evil aura emanated from his body, causing Lu Sichuan on the side to secretly frown.
Suddenly, he raised his hand, and his 5 fingers elongated and turned into slender flesh tentacles, plunging into the corpses on the ground. As the corpses of the soldiers withered and turned into mummies, the black lines on his head finally stopped spreading, returning back into his body. The strange aura that had emanated from his body also disappeared.
After what had just happened, Gongsun Yuanzhou's expression returned to calm.
Boom—
A thunderclap boomed in the sky, illuminating the entire Fu City.
Gongsun Yuanzhou narrowed his eyes, looked towards a certain place outside the city, and a cold glint appeared on his face.
"They can't escape. It's just a shame I missed the chance to catch them all in one go. I'll have to expend a bit more effort..."
As his voice fell, his figure had already rushed out of the grand Formation and sped away.
Seeing this, Lu Sichuan hesitated slightly, then quickly followed.
Outside Fu City.
Several figures rapidly darted through, like phantoms quickly moving away from Fu City.
They didn't stop until they were dozens of miles away from Fu City, in a dense forest.
"Thousand Faces, your Dark Star must give us an explanation for this matter. My Ten Thousand Spirits Sect is not like your Dark Star. Now that the plan has failed, I'm afraid our two Sects will have no place to stand in Tiannan Prefecture."
"That's right. It's a wonder you've been able to survive for so long under the Imperial Court's pursuit, not even noticing that you had a spy under you. This time, you must give our two Sects an explanation."
"An explanation? What kind of explanation can there be? If the Imperial Court can place spies among us, there will only be more in your two Sects. Moreover, the matter of the Beast Suppression Army is clearly aimed at you Sect families. If you don't find a way to solve it, Gongsun Yuanzhou will make a move on you sooner or later."
Before Qi Ning could speak, Lan Man had already replied coldly.
"You..." Hearing this, a dangerous aura immediately surged from the Heavenly Desolate Old Man's body.
"What 'you'?" Lan Man opened the black umbrella in her hand, and an aura also spread from her body.
"Sect Leader Wan, Sect Leader Xiang, what's done is done. It's meaningless to say these things now. We should think about how to respond. Since the Imperial Court could set up a trap, they clearly intended to catch us all in one go."
Looking at the two people who were on the verge of a confrontation, Qi Ning slowly said at this moment, thus easing the tension.
"Tian Er, quickly return to the Sect and have them start preparing."
The Heavenly Desolate Old Man snorted coldly, no longer paying attention to Lan Man. He snorted again and instructed the tall, strong Sect Elder behind him.
"Alright, I'll go now."
This Sect Elder also understood the seriousness of the situation. After responding, he turned and disappeared into the forest.
Seeing this, Wanjun took Wan Shuang from the Elder behind him and also gave a few instructions.
They had already prepared for the worst before coming out, so they naturally had countermeasures.
However, before this Ten Thousand Spirits Sect Elder could leave.
Boom.
A deafening thunderclap sounded, and lightning flashed, illuminating the dense forest with a brief light.
Lin Sheng suddenly turned his head and looked towards one side of the forest.
The other few people also clearly sensed something and looked into the forest.
They saw the Ten Absolute Sect Elder who had just left, now standing blankly in the forest hundreds of meters away, staring at them with wide eyes.
"Tian Er, what are you doing..."
The Heavenly Desolate Old Man frowned and asked.
But the next moment, he saw a scene that made his heart tremble.
They saw the Elder in the Early Stage of the Divine Transformation Realm slowly fall to the ground, revealing the bald, muscular man behind him who was smiling at them, showing a mouth full of chilling white teeth.
"Gongsun Yuanzhou!!"