"Senior Brother Luo Qing, Senior Sister Duan Qingqing." Upon seeing the two of them appear, Yu Qingdi was overwhelmed with the urge to cry. When the Rock Armored Snake charged toward him, he truly believed that his life would end here. But who could have imagined that these two would suddenly show up? To him, they were like a pair of saviors sent from the heavens.
With a pained roar, the Rock Armored Snake swiftly retreated.
Luo Qing quickly helped Yu Qingdi to his feet and handed him a healing potion. "Wasn't this mission supposed to be with Lin Tian? Why is it just you here in Maple Leaf Forest? Where is Lin Tian?" he asked, unable to conceal his curiosity.
"After we descended the mountain, we separated. How would I know where Lin Tian is now?" Yu Qingdi replied with frustration in his voice. Clearly, he blamed Lin Tian for his near-death experience in Maple Leaf Forest.
After all, if Lin Tian hadn't been part of his team, he would never have ventured alone into the forest. And when the Rock Armored Snake appeared, he wouldn't have been so helpless, nearly losing his life in the process.
"Lin Tian is such a bastard," Duan Qingqing spoke with righteous indignation upon hearing this. Her opinion of him sank even lower.
"Since this little brat has treated you like this, we can't just let him off easily," Luo Qing said, his tone suddenly sharp.
"Senior Brother Luo Qing, do you have any ideas?" Yu Qingdi's eyes lit up at the prospect of a plan, eager to support whatever Luo Qing had in mind.
"If I'm not mistaken, Qingqing, doesn't the Symbol Peak have a Spirit Concealment Talisman?" Luo Qing asked, looking toward Duan Qingqing.
"Yes," she nodded in confirmation.
"Since Lin Tian has accepted the Blood Spirit Herb mission, he will undoubtedly come to Maple Leaf Forest. What if I set up a trapping formation near the Blood Spirit Herb and you use the Spirit Concealment Talisman to mask the energy fluctuations from the formation? That way, Lin Tian will never notice. Once he steps into my formation, he'll be at our mercy," Luo Qing said, a sly smile curling at the corners of his lips.
"That's a great idea," Duan Qingqing's eyes sparkled with admiration. Luo Qing's plan was indeed brilliant.
"Then let's move quickly," Luo Qing said, already making his way toward the location where the Blood Spirit Herb grew.
After gathering the herbs, Luo Qing immediately set to work. A series of spiritual seals flew out, quickly surrounding the Blood Spirit Herb. At the same time, Duan Qingqing released the talisman, effectively masking the spiritual fluctuations from the formation. On the surface, everything seemed perfectly normal. But as soon as Luo Qing willed it, the formation would activate. Even a cultivator at the first stage of Foundation Establishment would be unable to escape. And as for Lin Tian, with his Qi Condensation at the sixth level, he wouldn't stand a chance.
With everything in place, the three of them hid and waited quietly for Lin Tian's arrival. As expected, after leaving Maple Leaf City, Lin Tian made a beeline for Maple Leaf Forest.
Although Lin Tian's cultivation was only at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, his mastery of formations had already reached the Foundation Establishment level. Moreover, his recent training had further honed his skills, allowing him to unleash up to ten strikes of dark energy with a single punch.
Even without relying on formations, he could hold his own against spirit beasts at the eighth level of Qi Condensation. And with the Fire Ling Whip in his possession—an artifact capable of unleashing the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator—his journey was incredibly smooth.
"This is the Blood Spirit Herb?" Lin Tian's lips curled into a smile as he arrived at the herb's location.
"Lin Tian really showed up," Luo Qing said, his excitement palpable. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Once Lin Tian stepped into the formation, Luo Qing would finally have the opportunity to repay the humiliation he had suffered in the past.
Watching Lin Tian step closer and closer to the formation, Luo Qing's fists clenched tightly, his eyes burning with anticipation.
Duan Qingqing's emotions were more complicated, but she couldn't help but feel eager to teach Lin Tian a lesson.
As for Yu Qingdi, his hatred for Lin Tian ran deep. He couldn't help but wish that the formation Luo Qing had set up wasn't just a trapping formation, but a killing formation.
At that moment, Lin Tian's feet stepped into the formation. Seeing this, Luo Qing wasted no time and activated the formation.
But to his shock, he found that the connection between him and the formation seemed to have been severed. No matter how hard he tried to activate it, the formation remained completely still.
"Luo Qing, what are you waiting for?" Duan Qingqing urged impatiently.
Yu Qingdi, though he dared not speak out, was also watching Luo Qing with anxious eyes. Lin Tian had already stepped into the formation, yet Luo Qing was hesitating—what was going on?
"I… I'm trying to activate it, but it seems like the formation is completely cut off from me," Luo Qing said, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he struggled to make the formation move. But despite his efforts, there was no sign of activation. The three of them could only watch helplessly as Lin Tian calmly picked the Blood Spirit Herb and walked away without a care.
"Luo Qing, what the hell are you doing?" Once Lin Tian was out of sight, Duan Qingqing stood up, furious. Their carefully laid trap had been ruined, and Luo Qing was to blame.
"I don't know! I double-checked everything," Luo Qing said, his frustration mirrored by his own angry steps toward the formation. He wanted to see what had gone wrong.
"To think you're called the top talent of the Formation Peak, and you couldn't even set up a simple trapping formation properly," Duan Qingqing's eyes held a trace of disdain as she followed him.
Yu Qingdi, though annoyed, also moved forward to see what had gone wrong.
Just as all three of them stepped into the formation's range, a sudden surge of spiritual energy erupted. The formation, which had appeared dormant, immediately sprang to life.