"This hidden passage was dug by my parents. They originally just wanted to dig a secret room to store things, but they didn't expect to discover an ancient formation underneath."
Yang Mei explained the origin of the hidden passage to Xu Yi.
Yang Mei's parents were also inconspicuous rogue cultivators in Bagua City.
They had no great ambitions and dared not reveal the existence of the ancient formation to outsiders after its discovery.
Until their accidental deaths, Yang Mei was the only one who knew this secret.
The passage was not long, and after a short walk, Xu Yi saw the complex and profound formation on the ground ahead.
Xu Yi couldn't help but quicken her pace, her greedy gaze scanning every inch of the formation, absorbing the information transmitted by the ancient formation like a thirsty sponge.
Seeing Xu Yi's eyes shining and her mind and body immersed in the formation, Yang Mei gave a satisfied smile, sat down cross-legged, and quietly watched Xu Yi.
At this moment, Xu Yi had completely forgotten the outside world. One formation line after another appeared in her sea of consciousness, quickly merging with another formation line.
Her hands moved according to the formation combined in her sea of consciousness, carrying a strong sense of rhythm.
Yang Mei, who had been watching Xu Yi intently, was subconsciously drawn to the movements of her hands, her eyes gradually becoming vacant, clearly immersing herself in her own consciousness.
When Yang Mei drowsily woke from that hazy feeling, she felt her mind open, the problems that had been bothering her were easily solved, and her understanding of formations had taken another step forward.
"Senior is so amazing."
She knew very well that her progress was entirely due to the influence of the senior.
Seeing that Xu Yi was still closing her eyes to comprehend, Yang Mei took out the formation disk she had completed earlier and began to modify it.
She had a premonition that the quality of the formation disk she was about to create would take a qualitative leap.
Just as Xu Yi was comprehending the formation, the night of Xiling City welcomed an unwelcome guest.
Cang Ying was currently seated cross-legged in the lord's mansion's sleeping quarters, surrounded by piles of crystal-clear spirit stones.
As soon as he gained power, he couldn't wait to enjoy the treatment of the city lord.
Cang Ying suddenly opened his eyes, his sinister gaze sweeping across the sleeping quarters.
He had just felt a chill down his spine, as if he were being stared at by a wild beast.
"Who is it, I have found you."
He dared not be careless, and quickly took out his defensive magic treasure and placed it around himself, vigilantly watching his surroundings.
"I knew you were a dog, your nose is really sensitive."
As the voice sounded, large drops of cold sweat broke out on Cang Ying's forehead.
Although the voice was unfamiliar, the tone was very familiar to him.
This was clearly...
"If it weren't for your foolish actions, I wouldn't have been exposed. Those four people are gone, so you will accept the punishment."
The voice was ethereal, with no discernible source, and a hint of terror appeared in Cang Ying's eyes.
Whoosh—
A cold wind blew.
Cang Ying felt a coolness on his neck, and the next moment his consciousness plunged into boundless darkness.
"Ah, a good dog has become a dead dog, hahahaha."
The voice gradually faded, leaving only a corpse lying in a pool of blood.
...
"My lord, you must uphold justice for me."
The middle-aged man knelt in the main hall with a distressed face. Seated above him was a man with a square face and an imposing demeanor.
"Tell me the situation yesterday in detail again," Hong Xingye said in a deep voice.
"The situation is like this: yesterday, a suspicious-looking woman came to our shop to sell formation disks, but she couldn't produce a formation cultivator's identification plate. I suspected the formation disks were stolen.
After I exposed her, she became enraged and found an accomplice to kick me away and snatch the formation disks.
My lord, everyone in Bagua City knows that you are the owner of the shop. Her actions clearly show that she doesn't respect you!"
It turned out that this person was the shopkeeper who had clashed with Xu Yi and Yang Mei yesterday, and Hong Xingye, a Nascent Soul cultivator, was the true owner of this shop.
"Someone in Bagua City dares to impersonate a formation cultivator." Hong Xingye's face was filled with rage.
Hong Xingye was a fifth-level formation cultivator and also the deputy leader of the Formation Heavenly Alliance in Bagua City.
Upon hearing that someone dared to impersonate a formation cultivator, he was furious.
"That's right, she even arrogantly said that it didn't matter if she didn't have a formation cultivator's identification plate, and that they were all lies."
Seeing Hong Xingye's anger, the shopkeeper added fuel to the fire, chuckling inwardly.
"Scoundrel!" Hong Xingye slammed his palm on the table, making a muffled sound, and the surrounding air pressure suddenly dropped.
The shopkeeper grunted and lowered his body even further.
Hong Xingye looked at the shopkeeper and asked coldly, "What is the background of those two women?"
The shopkeeper nodded first, then shook his head. Under Hong Xingye's displeased gaze, he explained, "The one selling the formation disks is a Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator from Bagua City named Yang Mei. However, no one knows the background of the female cultivator accompanying her, but her cultivation is at least at the Nascent Soul stage."
The shopkeeper had already investigated Yang Mei's background thoroughly but had found no information about Xu Yi.
"Nascent Soul stage female cultivator? Disparaging formation cultivator identification plates?"
Hong Xingye frowned. He felt that this woman sounded somewhat familiar.
After a moment of thought, a flash of inspiration struck him. He took out a jade slip from his storage bag and handed it to the shopkeeper, "See if the portrait in this jade slip is that woman."
The shopkeeper took it and concentrated his gaze, then shouted, "My lord, it's her, it's her! It turns out her name is Su Meier."
The portrait in the jade slip was indeed Xu Yi's appearance.
Hong Xingye sneered. It was that Su Meier again.
This jade slip had already been circulated among the branch alliances of the Formation Heavenly Alliance in various cities. Since it was information from above, he had deliberately memorized it, and now it had come in handy.
Having learned the identities of the two, Hong Xingye hesitated no longer and immediately ordered, "Send people to keep an eye on these two. Yang Mei can be ignored for now, but focus on Su Meier. Report immediately as soon as she leaves the city."
Whether he could advance further within the Formation Heavenly Alliance depended on her.
"Yes, I will arrange it immediately." The shopkeeper kowtowed respectfully.
Hong Xingye glanced at him faintly, remembering that he had only learned this information because of him, so he spoke a few encouraging words.
When the shopkeeper left, he couldn't suppress the excitement on his face.
By chance, he had made another great contribution. It seemed he still had to thank these two.
He secretly gloated and passed on Hong Xingye's order.
Before long, he received news from the person in charge of the stakeout that Su Meier had moved into Yang Mei's home and they had not yet appeared.
The shopkeeper had people continue to guard the place, reported to Hong Xingye, and received a couple more praises, his chin almost reaching the sky.
He thought that after he informed Hong Xingye of this matter, those two would surely not get away with it, but he didn't expect to wait for more than ten days.
After Yang Mei and Su Meier returned to that dilapidated house, they never came out again.
He now had to pass by Yang Mei's door every day and repeatedly ask the person in charge of the stakeout until he received a positive answer before he could feel slightly relieved.
Hong Xingye, who had originally expected to capture Su Meier quickly, gradually lost his patience as time went by.
If it weren't for the rules of Bagua City, he would have wanted to go directly to Yang Mei's house and drag them out.
After another half a month, when both of them were anxious and their mouths were full of blisters, Su Meier finally appeared.