"How could it be you?" Mo Yongxin's face was filled with disbelief upon hearing the voice of the man.
"Miss Mo, I apologize for the offense. As long as Mr. Qin brings me the jade disc, I assure you that I won't harm you," the man behind Mo Yongxin said.
"Li Long, my family has treated you well. Why would you do this? And weren't you drowned by the millipedes in the river?" Mo Yongxin's tone was filled with anger and confusion as she questioned the man behind her.
"Miss Mo, I'm sorry, but I can't disclose that information," the man didn't answer Mo Yongxin's question and called out to Qin Yu, "Mr. Qin, I only want the jade disc in your hands. If you hand it over to me, I will let Miss Mo go. Otherwise..."
"Cough... Cough!" As the man tightened his grip on Mo Yongxin's throat, she felt discomfort and began coughing uncontrollably. Her face turned red due to the difficulty in breathing.
"Li Long, stop this nonsense. If you want the jade disc, I'll give it to you," Qin Yu said.
Qin Yu lifted the jade disc from the stone platform and started descending the altar step by step. Li Long's gaze was fixed on the jade disc in Qin Yu's hand without blinking.
"Qin Yu, be careful!"
"Ouch!"
Two different voices sounded from the mouths of Mo Yongxin and Li Long. The former was filled with concern, while the latter expressed pain. It turned out that Qin Yu stumbled after taking a step and missed a platform, nearly falling down. As a result, some of the Dragon Crystal Fluid inside the jade disc spilled, and a number of the red creatures fell out as well.
No one noticed that in that split second of stumbling, Qin Yu lowered his head, and a glint flashed in the corner of his eye. He had observed the expressions of both Mo Yongxin and Li Long, especially the latter's pained expression, which made him pensive.
After regaining his composure and carefully holding the jade disc once again, Qin Yu continued descending with great caution. It seemed as if he was afraid of stepping into empty space again. His eyes were fixed on the steps beneath him, without looking up.
Mo Yongxin and Li Long wouldn't notice that Qin Yu's eyes were constantly moving, and his gaze occasionally flashed with intensity. However, when he finished descending the steps and raised his head, he reverted to his usual appearance.
"Li Long, I believe you also saw it just now. This formation can only be passed if two people work together. Otherwise, it's impossible to cross," Qin Yu shouted to the opposite side as he reached the ninth pillar.
"Come over here, and don't try anything funny!" Li Long threatened Qin Yu, and he released his grip on Mo Yongxin's throat. However, the triangular dagger in his right hand still rested against her throat.
Previously, Qin Yu was at a distance from the two, only able to observe their actions. Indeed, they cooperated to pass through the formation, but he wasn't clear about the specific method. He had considerable knowledge about this formation, and even within the organization, no one was confident enough to overcome it. Otherwise, they wouldn't have lured the Mo family members to this place.
"Miss Mo, stand in the previous position and pay attention to the Five Elements for me."
"Fire!"
Qin Yu took a step forward as Mo Yongxin scanned the surroundings and called out.
Li Long's gaze kept shifting between the two, seemingly trying to see if there was anything suspicious between them. However, after observing for a while, he didn't notice anything and stopped worrying. Moreover, Mo Yongxin was still under his control, so he believed they wouldn't be able to pull off any tricks.
Just like before, Qin Yu proceeded with a stop-and-go approach. However, this time, his pauses seemed slightly longer than the previous ones, although it wouldn't be noticeable to someone who hadn't made precise calculations.
"Alright, here's the jade disc. You can release Miss Mo now." With the final step, Qin Yu arrived in front of Mo Yongxin and Li Long, extending the jade disc forward.
"Miss Mo, go and take the jade disc." Li Long glanced at Qin Yu and didn't reach out personally. Instead, he instructed Mo Yongxin.
"Miss Mo, once you have it, hold it securely and be careful not to drop it," Qin Yu said as he handed the jade disc to Mo Yongxin, speaking aloud. In a place hidden from Li Long's line of sight, Qin Yu lightly tapped Mo Yongxin's extended finger three times with his left hand.
Mo Yongxin looked at Qin Yu with a puzzled expression, but soon seemed to understand something. She nodded slightly, her eyes flashing with a bright light, and slowly took the jade disc.
"Step back and go to that corner," Li Long said after seeing Mo Yongxin take the jade disc. His gaze was fixed on the disc, and excitement appeared on his face. However, he immediately looked up and shouted at Qin Yu.
"Why are you being so cautious? With your physical condition, the two of us combined wouldn't be your match." Qin Yu revealed dissatisfaction, murmuring to himself. He walked slowly toward the corner.
"Miss Mo, give me the jade disc." Seeing Qin Yu move away, Li Long rudely snatched the jade disc from Mo Yongxin's hand. He glanced at the red creatures inside the disc and his face showed overwhelming excitement.
Just as Li Long held the jade disc in his hands with an excited expression, Mo Yongxing took advantage of his distraction and quietly lifted her foot. She took a step forward, followed by two more quick steps.
"What are you doing?"
Li Long quickly realized, but it was too late. Just as Mo Yongxin took her third step, all nine stone pillars began to rotate, and swish! Several crossbow arrows shot out from the pillars, directly aimed at Li Long.
Hearing the sound of arrows piercing through the air, Li Long bent over, but unfortunately, due to holding the jade disc, he couldn't make big movements. He managed to dodge the arrows above, but couldn't avoid the ones below.
"Ah!" Three arrows pierced his knee, passing through directly. Li Long couldn't help but let out a cry of pain and knelt down. He could no longer maintain his balance, causing the dragon crystal liquid and the red creatures in the jade disc to scatter on the ground. At the same time, blood gushed out from the pierced knees, soon submerging his lower body in a pool of blood.
"Stay there, don't move!"
Mo Yongxin was frightened by the bloody scene in front of her. She was only three steps away from Li Long, and the blood was about to flow to her feet. She was about to lift her foot to step away when she heard Qin Yu's dissuasive words.
"If you move, the formation will activate again." Qin Yu quickly ran over. When he deliberately stepped into the empty space on the stairs earlier, it was intentional. It was the only way to create an opportunity for him to lower his head and contemplate the formation without raising suspicion.
Once someone made a wrong move within the Nine Stars and Three Elements Formation, the entire formation would activate, continuing until everyone within the formation was annihilated. However, if someone touched the Nine Stars Formation outside the Three Elements Formation, it would trigger a separate mechanism, which was much preferable. Qin Yu had been estimating the mechanism of the Nine Stars Formation, and fortunately, he figured it out by the time he returned to Li Long.
"You set me up!" Li Long knelt on the ground, his gaze fiercely locked on Qin Yu. His eyes were almost spewing fire.
"No one set up anyone. Weren't you the ones setting us up from the beginning? The one who kills will also be killed. You should understand that same principle."
Qin Yu shook his head and said. From the beginning, the other party had set a trap to ensnare them. If he didn't understand the Nine Stars and Three Elements Formation, they would have likely succeeded.
"Now tell me, your goal should be the red creatures inside this jade disc, right? Tell me, what is this thing."
"Haha, you think you can get information from me? Impossible! Cough... cough..." Li Long burst into laughter, but his face turned pale due to excessive bleeding. His voice turned into a slight cough towards the end.
"Li Long, my Mo family treated you well, didn't we? Your salary was several times higher than industry standards. Why did you betray me?" Mo Yongxin raised her eyebrows, scolding him.
"Miss Mo, you've been good to us, and indeed, you've been a good employer. Unfortunately..." Li Long's words trailed off.
"Unfortunately, when you applied to be a bodyguard for the Mo family, you came in with a special identity. Your task was to infiltrate the team searching for the dragon crystal liquid and then hide here, waiting for an opportunity to obtain the jade disc on this altar."
Qin Yu interrupted Li Long's words and his tone changed, filled with disdain. "You think your plan was flawless, but it was full of loopholes."
"Don't talk nonsense. I have no idea what you're talking about," Li Long argued.
"Qin Yu, what do you mean by that?" Mo Yongxin asked, her expression filled with doubt.
"Miss Mo, from the beginning, there has been a force setting up a scheme, and you were their bait," Qin Yu explained when he saw Mo Yongxin's skeptical look. "There is this force that entered this cave before us. Their goal is the jade disc on this altar, or more precisely, the red creatures inside the jade disc."
"Unfortunately, they encountered trouble, which is the Nine Stars and Three Elements Formation before us. I believe they tried for a long time, but they couldn't break this formation. They might have even lost a few lives in the process."
Qin Yu stared at Li Long with a mocking face, and the latter met his gaze without hesitation, as if he considered everything Qin Yu said to be ridiculous.
"Hehe, don't pretend. When I walked past the Three Elements Formation earlier, I found something on the ground." Qin Yu took out an item from his pocket and waved it in front of Li Long. "A wireless miniature blue earphone. This must be what your companions dropped when they last attempted to break the Nine Stars and Three Elements Formation."
"I don't understand what you're talking about." Li Long's gaze started to evade when he saw the miniature earphone. He didn't dare to meet Qin Yu's eyes. Even Mo Yongxin on the side could tell he was guilty. Thinking about Qin Yu's words, she realized she had been the target of the other party's scheme from the beginning. Biting her silver teeth lightly, she said, "Qin Yu, tell us everything you know."
"Since you couldn't break this formation, you naturally had to find someone to break it for you. However, your identities weren't suitable for regular cultivators, and you couldn't afford powerful masters. So, you must have set your sights on Miss Mo. The Mo family has considerable wealth and status, and if you could leverage the power of the Mo family, there would be a chance to crack this formation."
"Wait a minute, you said they wanted to leverage the power of my Mo family, but how would they know about the Mo family's affairs? And why were they so confident that I would enter their trap?" Mo Yongxin frowned and interrupted Qin Yu, asking.