The thin, long-robed cultivator withdrew his gaze from Mi Heng and subtly exchanged a meaningful look with the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators who had remained silent. They all understood each other's thoughts and smiled inwardly.
But at the same time, a wicked fire rose in the thin cultivator's heart. He recalled Fairy Miao's snow-white body and the enchanting way she moaned under him. It truly made him unable to stop every time. He remembered how, before this Mi Heng arrived, Fairy Miao would wander among them every night. It was only after Mi Heng came and secretly killed two cultivators who were careless in their interactions with Fairy Miao that the remaining few had stayed away from her.
The other two Foundation Establishment cultivators saw the hidden meaning in the thin, long-robed cultivator's eyes and understood. Their gazes all seemed to inadvertently sweep over Fairy Miao. Only then did they all look towards the sky and slowly squint, as if sensing the movements on the distant horizon. But in their hearts, it was a different story.
Fairy Miao saw the momentary reactions of the three thin cultivators clearly, but she also pretended not to see, feeling contempt in her heart. 'Timid as mice!'
Since Mi Heng's arrival, she could no longer enjoy the pleasure of many men, which was a form of torture for her. But Mi Heng's cultivation was no match for anyone else here, and he was sinister and ruthless, making Fairy Miao herself afraid to interact with others. Mi Heng had warned her that if he discovered it one more time, he would place a blood restriction in her body, making her unable to live and unable to die.
However, looking at the tottering formation in front, the few people behind were also filled with admiration for Mi Heng. After all, this grand formation hadn't shattered even after three attacks from the manor master yesterday. They knew the manor master's divine arts. For Mi Heng to be able to crack a formation that could withstand a Golden Core's attack to this extent, although it took a long time, showed that he was truly formidable in the art of formations.
An ordinary Foundation Establishment stage Formation Master, when breaking a formation that could resist a Golden Core's attack, would probably be killed by the backlash. But Mi Heng, apart from his face growing paler and paler, had managed to withstand the backlash from the formation's restrictions.
With these thoughts, they momentarily forgot about the manor master. Besides, they weren't worried about his safety. But there was still one thing that made them uneasy.
After a short while, a Foundation Establishment cultivator who was looking at the horizon looked at the others and, after some hesitation, finally spoke up. "The matter of the young manor master... the consequences are extremely severe. We didn't lift a finger yesterday. I'm just afraid..." As he spoke, the worry on his face grew deeper.
The moment he said this, the fiery thoughts that the others, except for the short, green-robed cultivator, had just been having were instantly doused with cold water.
How could they not know that the young manor master was the apple of the manor master's and his wife's eye? This time, his accidental death, although it had nothing to do with them, made them all feel a chill down their spines when they thought of the manor master's principle of acting solely on his whims.
Even Fairy Miao's pretty face turned a few shades paler, and the fear in her eyes greatly increased.
The methods the manor master and his wife used to punish people were not something they could bear. Every punishment for a mistake made them wish they were dead. It was like having their tendons pulled and bones scraped at all times. They only wanted to end their lives early, but they couldn't even die if they wanted to.
Even the usually clueless short, green-robed cultivator trembled immediately upon hearing this, his fear self-evident.
The thin, long-robed cultivator, being older, was the first to regain his composure. He first looked back grimly at the group of Qi Condensation disciples behind him. They had not deliberately lowered their voices when they spoke, and those behind them were all cultivators, so they had naturally heard.
Being looked at by the thin, long-robed cultivator, many of the Qi Condensation cultivators behind him felt their legs go weak, and they almost knelt on the ground. They didn't want to hear these conversations, but it was as if the few people in front were doing it on purpose, not using voice transmission, forcing them to listen.
Then, if these seniors suffered at the hands of the manor master, their own fate was predictable. It was possible that a few of them would die. Anyway, these Qi Condensation cultivators had all been captured and had restrictions placed on them. They usually just did menial chores. With their cultivation, even if they were allowed to leave, they would probably die. Without the ability to fly, although there were few demonic beasts here, the territory was vast. If they encountered one, they probably couldn't even withstand a single clash.
Moreover, letting them leave was just a beautiful wish of theirs.
Only when these Qi Condensation disciples could successfully establish their foundation would their status greatly improve. But at that time, it would be the manor master's turn to personally plant restrictions on them, making it even more impossible to escape this place.
They had heard that the restrictions planted by the manor master were even more vicious. Anyone with a restriction planted on them, the moment they had a rebellious thought, the manor master would know. With just a thought, he could make you wish you were dead, as if you were in the eighteen levels of purgatory at all times. And taking your life was also just a matter of a thought.
The group of Qi Condensation disciples behind knew that the few people in front seemed to have had their minds twisted long ago. Whenever they suffered at the hands of the manor master, they would often vent their anger on this group of Qi Condensation disciples, even enjoying torturing and killing them. So when the thin, long-robed cultivator and the others let them hear the content of their conversation without any scruples, they were already trembling with fear, knowing that a few more people might disappear from this world today. They could only pray in their hearts that this disaster would not fall on their own heads, but on someone else's.
The thin, long-robed cultivator's face was wooden as he swept his gaze over the people behind him. Every person he looked at trembled even more violently. But in the end, the thin, long-robed cultivator didn't say anything. He turned his head back to Mi Heng in front and said in a low voice.
"As long as Brother Mi can break this formation before the Manor Master returns, and we capture all the cultivators inside, it might offset the Manor Master's thunderous wrath. But I warn you all, we must capture a few alive for the Manor Master to perform a soul search."
After he finished speaking, the several Foundation Establishment cultivators, including Fairy Miao, all nodded.
They were now in a remote location, basically in a state of hibernation. They might not even encounter a single cultivator for half a year. So, to obtain information, apart from the contact points of the manor master and his wife, the cultivators in the manor rarely had contact with the outside world. But the manor master also had to travel far to gather news, so he would often capture a few more cultivators on his way back and slowly search their souls to get the most accurate information.
This time, these foreign cultivators had appeared here secretly, so they must be targeting them. Therefore, they naturally had to get the most accurate intelligence from these outsiders.
And recently, a few mysterious cultivators had come to see the manor master. Their cultivation was unfathomably deep, and they all used magical arts to cover their figures and faces. Even Mi Heng, who was most valued by the manor master, didn't know who they were. Only the manor master, his wife, and the young manor master knew. But afterwards, the several Foundation Establishment cultivators in the manor had managed to get some information from the manor master. Their "great undertaking" was about to begin, and they had to be extremely careful in their actions recently.
"You don't need to worry anymore. Break for me!" And just at this moment, Mi Heng, who had been continuously casting hand seals while sitting cross-legged in front of the formation, let out a low shout.
His voice was filled with deep exhaustion and... a trace of pride. The first half of his sentence was directed at the people behind him, while the second half was a low shout to encourage himself.
Then, just as his voice fell, and the manor's cultivators hurriedly looked at him, they saw Mi Heng's hands waving in front of his chest like a violent storm. As his hands waved, a dazzlingly bright white ball of light between his hands was constantly growing. As the ball of light expanded, arcs of electricity intertwined and flashed on its surface, emitting a "crackling" sound. The pressure emanating from the ball of light grew stronger and stronger, and the white light on its surface was so blindingly bright that the crowd could not look directly at it.
At the same time, inside the grand formation, seven people were either lying, sitting, or standing. Many of them were staring anxiously at one person in front.
At the very front of the grand formation, a person was also sitting cross-legged. He was facing the entrance of the formation, his face as red as blood. The blue veins on his forehead bulged like earthworms, and his expression was ferocious. There were still traces of blood at the corner of his mouth, and the white shirt on his chest was stained red with a large patch of blood, which had long since dried and darkened. This person was holding a palm-sized, old, bronze-colored formation plate in his right hand, and his left hand was continuously drawing runes. These runes would flash in the air and fall onto the grand formation in front of him. Every time a rune landed on the formation, the already flickering light of the formation would stabilize slightly. And after drawing each rune, this person's body would tremble violently.
Ding Yushan stood behind the white-robed Formation Master with his hands behind his back. The flickering light of the grand formation cast shifting shadows on his face, making it look gloomy one moment and clear the next. This was originally just a normal outing to gather intelligence, but due to one wrong decision, it had led to the current life-and-death situation. Thinking of this, Ding Yushan couldn't help but feel annoyed. It was all his reckless decision that might have cost all of them their lives.
"It's been almost a day and a night. The Ten-Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talisman was also sent out at the first opportunity. Why haven't the reinforcements arrived? Could there be a problem with the voice transmission talisman?"
Ding Yushan was anxious. There were ten of them on this trip, from three different sects, all under the jurisdiction of the Jingtu Sect.
Since Ding Yushan and his junior brother Bao Wuxin had come out of the palace under Red Maple Pool in the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda last year, they had returned to their sect in high spirits.
The sect Ding Yushan belonged to was called the "Wind and Snow Sect." Although the name sounded grand, it was actually just a second-rate sect, with only two Golden Core masters. His master was at the Mid-stage Golden Core, and his master's wife had just stepped into the Initial-stage Golden Core no more than eleven years ago.
Ding Yushan and his junior brother Bao Wuxin were the first and second senior brothers in the sect. Their cultivation was also the highest among the sect's disciples, both having reached the Late-stage Foundation Establishment. Both were only about fifty years old, which was considered talented in the cultivation world. Both had hopes of forming their Golden Cores within a hundred years, so among their junior brothers and sisters, they were like heavenly geniuses, and also the pride of their master and his wife. For a second-rate sect to be able to nurture disciples who were not inferior to those of the Four Great Sects was something worthy of praise in any sect.