Outside the formation, Wei Wu observed Xie Ren closely. The moment he saw him feed Mo Wushuang the elixir, his eyes flashed with greed. That was a Profound Grade elixir! If Xie Ren had more, why should they be wasted on Mo Wushuang?
"Kid, how many of those elixirs do you have?" Wei Wu demanded, stepping forward with an arrogant sneer. "Hand them over, and maybe my Mystic Frost Sect will spare your life!"
Xie Ren glanced at him lazily. "There was only one. I already gave it to Mo Wushuang."
Wei Wu's expression twisted. "You really have guts, repeatedly going against my Mystic Frost Sect. Once our experts break this formation, I'll make sure your life is worse than death!"
Just as his words fell, a powerful aura surged from the distant sky. An elderly man with silver hair streaked across the horizon, his robes fluttering as he hovered.
A Nascent Soul cultivator!
Wei Wu's initial anger was replaced with excitement. With this elder present, Xie Ren was as good as dead!
The silver-haired elder hovered above the formation, his sharp gaze scanning the intricate patterns of the array below. His eyes gleamed with an icy brilliance, and a sneer curled his lips.
"This formation is nothing but a child's trick before the might of my Mystic Frost Sect," he declared, his voice like rolling thunder.
Lifting his right hand, he summoned a surge of frosty-blue energy. The temperature around him plummeted as a biting cold swept across the land.
BOOM!
A palm strike filled with freezing energy slammed onto the formation, sending ice crawling over its surface. Wei Wu smirked, waiting for the formation to shatter.
But instead of breaking, the array pulsed with a strange, eerie light. Symbols shimmered, absorbing the elder's icy assault before rebounding the energy outward in a violent backlash.
The elder's eyes narrowed as he flicked his sleeve, dispersing the rebounded force before it could reach him.
Inside the formation, Xie Ren leaned lazily against a boulder, watching the spectacle with amusement.
"An elder of the Mystic Frost Sect, and this is the best you can do?" He chuckled, shaking his head. "A Nascent Soul cultivator, yet you can't even break a simple formation set up by me? Should I be impressed or embarrassed for you?"
The elder's face darkened. "Hmph! You overestimate yourself, brat. That was merely a test."
With a flick of his wrist, a translucent ice mirror appeared before him, reflecting the formation. His gaze sharpened as he analyzed its structure. Moments later, a smirk tugged at his lips.
"Found it."
As he lifted his fingers, thousands of frost needles materialized in the air. Each one was as thin as a strand of hair yet radiated a chilling, deadly aura.
They gathered in a dense formation, then shot forward, converging on a seemingly insignificant point within the array.
Xie Ren, still leaning lazily, let out a slow yawn. "Oh? You think that's the core?"
The moment the frost needles struck, the formation trembled, but instead of collapsing, its runes rearranged, shifting like living creatures.
A sudden force repelled the attack, sending the frost needles flying back at double their original speed.
The elder's expression flickered. He reacted instantly, flicking his sleeve to summon a barrier of ice, barely blocking the returning assault.
Xie Ren clapped his hands mockingly. "Ah, so you are trying! Good, good. I was worried you'd die from frustration before even making a dent."
The elder's face was like a frozen lake, cold and unreadable, but the killing intent in his eyes was unmistakable. "Arrogant brat! I'd like to see how long you can hide in there!"
Turning away from Xie Ren, he faced Wei Wu, his expression grim. This formation wasn't something he could break with brute force. In fact, he didn't even recognize it.
"Master Dan, even you can't break it?" Wei Wu asked, his voice carrying disbelief and disappointment.
"I can't," the elder admitted, his tone heavy. "I've never seen a formation like this before."
Master Dan studied the formation intently, his gaze lingering for a moment before he turned to Xie Ren with a sharp, calculating look.
"Kid," he said, his voice calming down a little, "if you hand over the traitor Mo Wushuang and the treasure sword, I'll offer you a position as a disciple in the Mystic Frost Sect. What do you think?"
The Mystic Frost Sect was no small faction, it was a powerful sect in the region. To gain entry, one needed to have at least innate talent.
For someone like Xie Ren, who was eighteen and still in the Qi Refining Stage, passing the rigorous admission trials would have been impossible. But Master Dan's offer was clear: he was extending special treatment to Xie Ren, offering him a chance most could only dream of.
Xie Ren yawned lazily. "What's so grand about becoming a disciple of a sect whose elder can't even break a small formation?"
Master Dan's face twisted in anger. "You ungrateful brat! Fine, keep hiding. But I don't believe you'll stay hidden forever!"
With a sharp gesture, he turned to Wei Wu. "Seal off this place. Don't let anyone escape."
As soon as Master Dan gave his orders, he soared into the air, his figure vanishing into the distance. He was willing to wait, knowing that eventually, Xie Ren would have to leave the formation, and then he would strike.
As the Mystic Frost Sect set up their defenses outside the formation, Xie Ren couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. This was perfect. Now, he could keep Mo Wushuang trapped within the formation without worrying about her escaping.
But he still needed to make sure she understood the stakes. Turning to her, he called out, his voice laced with warning. "Mo Wushuang, if you want to stay alive, don't leave the range of the formation!"
"Yinyin, Yue," Xie Ren added, turning to his disciples, "Let's go up the mountain!"
Chen Yinyin had long since grown tired of Mo Wushuang's presence. The moment Xie Ren spoke, she was already darting up the mountain.
Lan Yue paused for a moment, her gaze lingering on Mo Wushuang, but then she too followed Xie Ren, disappearing into the distance.