Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 205 A Smart Mind
The group proceeded along the narrow passage and soon arrived at the dungeon where Liu Shiyuan was located.

Hearing footsteps, Liu Shiyuan looked up and saw Liu Sijun and the Chu family. A hint of panic flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Lord Si, elders of the Chu family." Liu Shiyuan bowed slightly, forcing a smile on his face. "I know I have committed grave sins. I am very grateful that you have come."

Chu Jinghong snorted coldly, his eyes icy: "Stop pretending. If you truly regretted it, you wouldn't have done what you did. Tell me, what clues do you have about the Chu family's soul?"

Liu Shiyuan took a deep breath and said, "I know that A-Yue's soul has been hidden by the Blood Spirit Sect in a secret place, which is protected by a powerful formation. But I have a way to break the formation and find Chu's soul."

Liu Sijun stared into Liu Shiyuan's eyes, trying to find a flaw in his gaze: "Why should we believe you? If you dare to lie to us, today is your death day."

Liu Shiyuan quickly said, "How could I dare to lie to you? I really want to make up for my mistake. Besides, what good would it do me if I lied to you? I also hope that A-Yue can rest in peace and that I can get the forgiveness of Si Jun and all the elders."

Gu Changzhou had been observing Liu Shiyuan's every move with caution. At this moment, he suddenly spoke up: "Even if what you said is true, why are you only saying it now? Why did you keep it a secret before?"

Liu Shiyuan's face showed a pained expression as he said, "Before, I... I didn't dare to say it, because I was afraid that the Blood Spirit Sect would harm me. But these days, I have been tormented by my conscience day and night, and I really can't bear it anymore. Moreover, I also want to do something for Si Jun and the Chu family, so I decided to risk revealing this secret."

Liu Sijun was still full of doubts, but she decided to give Liu Shiyuan another chance: "Okay, I'll trust you one more time. But you must take us to that place. If there's any unusual activity, don't blame me for being impolite."

Liu Shiyuan nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, I will definitely take you there."

So, Liu Shiyuan led the way, with Liu Sijun, Gu Changzhou, and the Chu family members following closely behind. They proceeded along a hidden passage, the sides of which were filled with various mechanisms and traps.

Liu Shiyuan carefully avoided the traps and led everyone to a huge stone gate.

“This is it,” Liu Shiyuan said, pointing to the stone gate. “The soul of the Chu family is hidden in the formation behind the stone gate.”

Liu Sijun frowned and looked at Liu Shiyuan: "You said you have a way to break the formation, so let's begin."

Liu Shiyuan nodded, took out a stone engraved with strange runes from his pocket, walked to the stone door, and embedded the stone into a groove on the door. Instantly, the runes on the stone door began to flash, and the stone door slowly opened.

However, the moment the stone door opened, a thick cloud of blood mist surged out, and the voice of the Blood Spirit Sect leader could be faintly heard from within the mist: "Liu Sijun, you have indeed come. Today is your death day!"

Everyone immediately became alert. Liu Sijun gripped the Taixu Mirror tightly, Gu Changzhou drew his Xuan Tie Sword, and the Chu family members also summoned their respective magical treasures, ready for battle.

From within the blood mist, countless puppets of the Blood Spirit Cult gradually emerged, baring their fangs and claws as they pounced on the crowd.

Liu Sijun's eyes instantly sharpened like an eagle's. She waved her magpie feather fan, and five spiritual winds howled out, forming a barrier that sent the first few Blood Spirit Cult puppets flying.

The puppets were shattered by the impact of the spiritual wind, but they quickly reformed in the blood mist and pounced again, baring their fangs and claws.

"Everyone be careful! These puppets can regenerate; attack their core!" Liu Sijun shouted a warning to everyone.

Lightning crackled on Gu Changzhou's longsword. He moved like lightning, weaving through the horde of puppets. With each swing of his sword, he precisely struck the core of a puppet, utterly destroying it.

The Chu family members were not to be outdone, and they all unleashed their family's unique skills, activating sword formations and unleashing sword energy to slay the surrounding puppets.

Chu Jinghong's eyes were like torches, fixed on the direction of the stone gate, trying to find the figure of the Blood Spirit Sect leader in the blood mist.

"Liu Shiyuan, what on earth are you up to! If this is truly your conspiracy, I will make sure you die a horrible death!" he roared angrily. Liu Shiyuan's face showed panic, and he said in a trembling voice, "I...I didn't know it would turn out like this. I really wanted to lead you to the soul of the Chu family!"

However, at this moment, the crowd had no time to discern the truth or falsehood of Liu Shiyuan's words. They were surrounded by more and more puppets, and new puppets continued to emerge from the blood mist.

Liu Sijun's five spiritual roots continued to circulate their spiritual power, and the Taixu Mirror also emitted a soft light to assist her in attacking the puppet. However, the long battle had greatly depleted her spiritual power, and her forehead was covered with beads of sweat.

Just as everyone was locked in a fierce battle, Li Qing's voice suddenly came from afar: "Sister, I'm here to help you!"

Li Qing, his body ablaze with the crimson flames of his mutated fire spirit root, charged into the group of puppets like a shooting star.

Although he no longer had the fire sword, wherever the crimson flames passed, the puppets were burned to ashes and could not be reassembled.

"Qing'er, what brings you here?" Liu Sijun was both surprised and delighted.

"And I."

Master Lu snorted: "If I hadn't asked the old lady, I wouldn't have known you were here."

That is, he had worked as an alchemist in the Liu family for several years, and the old lady greatly admired Alchemist Lu; otherwise, she would never have told him the location of the Liu family's forbidden area.

After all, the Liu family kept Liu Shiyuan's collusion with the Blood Spirit Cult a strict secret.

Once this gets out, the Liu family will become the target of everyone's hatred in Laiyang County.

Sometimes people say that Master Lu is impulsive, but he also has his moments of brilliance. Before he came, he even knew to pass on a message to Manager Qi, who was in charge of the Wuji Tower branch.

Steward Qi is quite clever.

If it turns out to be a trap, it will be a fierce battle.

Even if the entire Chu family were to come out, they might not be able to escape unscathed.

The main owner is not in Laiyang County for most of the year, so he is not clear about how many people are available in Laiyang County. However, the person in charge of the branch building knows very well.

He urgently summoned experts from the vicinity of Laiyang County to provide assistance.

With their addition, the pressure on everyone was immediately reduced considerably.

However, the Blood Spirit Cult Leader's voice rang out again: "Do you think you can escape like this? Today, none of you will leave alive!"

As the voice faded, the blood mist suddenly thickened, and several more powerful Blood Spirit Sect protectors emerged from it.

These guardians exuded a chilling aura, and their appearance made the situation even more dire.

One of the guardians held a blood-red whip in his hand. With a light flick, the whip lashed out at Liu Sijun like a red lightning bolt.