Qin Yu was displeased to hear this. He felt that while Chen Xiaofeng hadn't said it explicitly, his words were a clear slight. Since he had also sided with Lu Sangjiu's group earlier, Qin Yu's opinion of Chen Xiaofeng instantly soured.
He snorted coldly, decided to ignore the two of them, and strode ahead.
Chen Xiaofeng saw this and tried to hurry after him, but Lu Sangjiu slowed him down, claiming she was scared.
She said pitifully, "Senior Brother Qin doesn't like me. I'd better not get too close to him. What if I make him angry and he attacks me?"
Chen Xiaofeng hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't say anything in Qin Yu's defense. He and Lu Sangjiu simply walked on, keeping a distance of about five meters behind him.
Lu Sangjiu feigned fear, but in reality, she was constantly using her Divine Sense to scan their surroundings.
After they had walked for a bit, she suddenly stopped, pulling Chen Xiaofeng to a halt with her.
Chen Xiaofeng frowned. "What is it now?"
But Lu Sangjiu looked at Qin Yu's back ahead of them and said, "Brother Chen, we can't go any further. Look, something seems off with Senior Brother Qin."
Startled, Chen Xiaofeng took a closer look at Qin Yu and realized that while he seemed to be walking forward quickly, he wasn't actually covering much ground.
'Could it be that he's already inside an Array?'
Chen Xiaofeng immediately called out Qin Yu's name, but Qin Yu seemed not to hear him, continuing to walk forward relentlessly.
Chen Xiaofeng asked anxiously, "Junior Brother Li and the others could still reach us with Communication Talismans earlier. How is it that Junior Brother Qin can't hear us the moment he went in?"
Lu Sangjiu thought for a moment. "He's probably so worried about Senior Sister Ye's safety that his mind is in turmoil, making him fall prey to the Illusion Realm much faster... Looks like we can't count on him."
Lu Sangjiu said with a sigh, "Brother Chen, we need to find the Array's core, quickly. We might be able to destroy it with brute force from the outside!"
'This Array is definitely a High-level one. Otherwise, I wouldn't have only noticed it after Qin Yu walked in.'
Now she was even more worried that this composite Array was siphoning their Essence Qi. If that was the case, the longer Li Qiancheng remained inside, the greater the danger he was in.
With no other options, Chen Xiaofeng could only brace himself, force himself to calm down, and carefully search for any sign of the Array.
As she searched for the Array, Lu Sangjiu tried to contact Li Qiancheng again, but this time, there was no response.
The fog grew denser, and soon, even Qin Yu's figure was completely obscured.
Fortunately, Lu Sangjiu was seasoned and exceptionally knowledgeable, and her Divine Sense was powerful enough.
So even with the dense fog obscuring her vision, she quickly located the Array and deduced the position of its core... It was right in the center!
She immediately unleashed her Flying Sword, aiming for the core's location.
However, the moment her Flying Sword touched the edge of the Array, it was like hitting an iron wall. It shattered instantly!
The backlash of power slammed into her, knocking her back two steps and causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Hearing the commotion, Chen Xiaofeng immediately ran over. "Junior Sister Lu, are you alright?"
Lu Sangjiu had no time to feign weakness now. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "Brother Chen, the core seems to be in the center of the Array, but my cultivation is too low. I can't get an attack through to it. You try."
Perhaps it was Lu Sangjiu's composure that inspired such trust, because Chen Xiaofeng didn't doubt her judgment for a second. Without another word, he unleashed his most powerful attack.
Unfortunately, while his attack did penetrate the Array, its power was diminished by more than half. When it finally struck the ground, it didn't even leave a crater.
Chen Xiaofeng was dumbfounded. "This... What do we do now?"
Lu Sangjiu was at a loss. 'If this were my old self,' she thought, 'I could have obliterated this Array with a flick of my finger.'
'But now I'm just an ordinary Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, with all the theoretical knowledge but none of the raw power.'
"Then there's only one last resort..."
Lu Sangjiu took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Senior Brother, help! If you don't wake up, your dear Little Junior Sister is going to die!"
Chen Xiaofeng stared, speechless.
'He'd never imagined this would be Lu Sangjiu's solution... Could this possibly work?'
Chen Xiaofeng didn't get it, but Lu Sangjiu continued shouting with gusto.
"Senior Brother, the Peach Blossom Brew you buried over a decade ago is about to be dug up and drunk by Master!"
"And those Spirit Stones you've been hoarding! Second Senior Sister has been eyeing them for ages, and I know where you've hidden them!"
"And that peach tree you raised yourself! It's always attracting bees, and Third Senior Brother has wanted to chop it down for ages. If you don't make it back, you'll be giving him the perfect excuse!"
Chen Xiaofeng was at a loss for words.
'He was being forced to listen to so much of Red Peak's gossip. Would he be killed later to keep him quiet?'
But, to his utter disbelief, the ridiculous method actually worked!
Just as Lu Sangjiu was about to shout again, they heard Li Qiancheng's strained voice coming from within the fog.
"...Don't you dare touch my precious things, damn it!"
His voice was strained, as if he were trying to lift a giant boulder off his chest. Then, at the last moment, his power erupted, and he seemed to cast the boulder aside completely!
The next moment, Li Qiancheng's voice sounded much lighter, though it was laced with concern as he asked, "Little Junior Sister, are you hurt?"
Lu Sangjiu was overjoyed. "Senior Brother, I'm fine! The core is in the center of the Array. Destroy it, quickly!"
'Those of them outside couldn't reach the core, but for someone inside who was now lucid, it would be a simple matter.'
"Leave it to me!"
The next moment, a tremendous BOOM echoed from within the fog. A dazzling Light from a spell shot toward the sky, instantly scattering the mist.
Lu Sangjiu could finally see the three people who had been trapped. As the Array shattered, Ye Zhiyao and Qin Yu crumpled to the ground.
Li Qiancheng flashed to their side, scooped one up in each arm, and rushed out of the Array's bounds to join Lu Sangjiu and Chen Xiaofeng.
"Senior Brother, are you hurt?"
Li Qiancheng shook his head cheerfully. "Nope, and it's all thanks to that life-saving tip you gave me, Little Junior Sister!"
Chen Xiaofeng asked curiously, "Hm? What life-saving tip?"
Li Qiancheng answered, "If all else fails, stick close to Junior Sister Ye and don't leave her side! That's what Little Junior Sister told me!"
He added with a chuckle, "And it worked like a charm! This composite Array had some lethal techniques, but since I stayed right next to Junior Sister Ye, not a single one of them touched me!"
Chen Xiaofeng was completely baffled. "Er... What's the logic behind that?"
Li Qiancheng shook his head and said with complete conviction, "I have no idea, but my Little Junior Sister would never steer me wrong!"
Chen Xiaofeng was speechless.
'What kind of absurd trust was that? The relationship between these martial siblings is just bizarre.'
Seeing Chen Xiaofeng's utter confusion, Lu Sangjiu offered an explanation. "It's nothing. I just figured Senior Sister Ye has always been pretty lucky."
'After all, she's the one with the heroine's halo.'
'Still, that's a tactic to be used only as a last resort. Sometimes, sticking close to the heroine just gets you killed faster.'
While the three of them were talking, Chen Xiaofeng was the only one dutifully tending to the two injured Cultivators.
But he soon frowned. "Come take a look at Junior Sister Ye. I feel like there's something strange about her condition."