Chu Jiang No. 2 was not stupid; he had already found the source of the sound, which was the huge "black stone box".

Nevertheless, his hands did not stop moving at all.

The "black stone box" seemed to have anticipated his reaction. The next moment, the sleeping "Qingqing" suddenly floated up.

The meaning is clear: if the lightning-summoning spell is used, the first one to suffer will inevitably be this woman.

Chu Jiang No. 2 had no choice but to stop angrily, but it still did not retract its longsword, remaining poised to strike.

“Young man, you are far too cautious,” the black stone box continued. “Don’t worry, I mean you no harm.”

Chu Jiang No. 2 isn't stupid. This person is suppressed here. Who knows what kind of monster he is?

So he called out, "Then put Qingqing down first."

A muffled laugh came from inside the black stone box. "Young man, since you are not afraid of my yin wind, what if you run away if I release her? Besides, even if I let her go now, she probably won't agree."

The man chuckled softly before saying, "Wake up, my girl."

Strangely enough, after saying that, Qingqing, who had been sleeping, suddenly opened her eyes and sat up unharmed.

She saw Chu Jiang No. 2 and was thrilled. "Brother Chu, you've come!" But she remained rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

Chu Jiang No. 2 waved to her, "Qingqing, come here to me."

Qingqing seemed hesitant. She looked at Chujiang No. 2 and then at the huge black stone box behind her, as if she was having a hard time making a decision.

Yan Qing, who had been observing, also sensed something was wrong. She nudged Chu Jiang's arm and asked,

"Is something wrong with your Qingqing? She's suddenly acting like a completely different person?"

Chu Jiang's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Yan Qing could tell that he deeply loathed that black stone box.

Do these two have some kind of grudge?

Surprisingly, Chu Jiang actually offered her an explanation.

"This is what the Eighteen Villages call the Cave God. However, unlike the rumors, the Eighteen Villages were not established because of the Cave God's protection. Rather, they were established in the deep mountains and forests to guard the Cave God who was suppressed here by the Eight Heavenly Dragons and Yaksha King."

Good heavens! Yan Qing felt her understanding had been completely overturned. She pointed incredulously at the huge black box.

"Could this large box be there to suppress the cave spirit inside? What exactly is a cave spirit?"

Chu Jiang shook his head. "I don't know either. According to the secret records of the Eighteen Villages, the key to the array guarding the cave god has always been in the hands of the great shamans of each generation. It is said to be the personal magic weapon of the Yaksha King, but no one has ever seen it."

"The Yaksha King's personal magical artifact?! My god, that's a true divine artifact!" Yan Qing clicked her tongue in amazement. "Chu Jiang, you really don't know what that artifact is? And—"

She pointed somewhat uncertainly to the scattered pieces of silver chain throughout the cave, and asked with some doubt,

"According to what you said, there should be a formation here, but I don't see it. There are only broken chains left on the ground."

Chu Jiang's expression was somewhat complicated. "The reason is simple. Over the course of thousands of years, the formation has been almost completely broken. The only reason it can still trap him now is because of that huge black stone box."

"So that's how it is," Yan Qing suddenly realized. It seemed that the broken traces at the cave entrance on the ground were probably related to the so-called formation.

But why did he capture Qingqing?

This time, Chu Jiang didn't answer her; instead, he pointed ahead.

At this moment, Chu Jiang No. 2 had seen that Qingqing had tried to persuade him several times, but after some hesitation, she finally refused him with some reluctance.

"I'm sorry, Brother Chu, I have to stay here."

Chu Jiang No. 2 seemed to have suffered a heavy blow. He never expected that his fiancée, whom he had gone through so much trouble to save, would run off with someone else.

"Qingqing, have you been threatened by him? Don't worry, I'll get you out!"

Chu Jiang No. 2 was not giving up. He was convinced that Qingqing must have been bewitched by something. He had to find a way to deal with her quickly!

At that moment, the man's voice came from inside the black stone box again.

“Go, my girl, kill him, and you will be with me.”

Just as he had guessed, Qingqing did not make any move after hearing the man's words, and her attitude of rejection couldn't be clearer.

The black stone box began to shake violently, the chains rattling loudly as they were pulled. The entire box swung back and forth in mid-air like a kite, the thin silver chains looking exceptionally fragile, as if they would break at any moment.

Sitting on the black stone box, Qingqing was nearly thrown off several times by the swaying. But despite this, she clung tightly to the silver chain, remaining completely still.

The man inside the black stone box looked even angrier. Visibly, the entire stone box gradually became covered with a layer of ice.

"Qingqing—!!"

The ice was spreading very quickly, and seeing that Qingqing was about to freeze to death on it, Chu Jiang No. 2 was so angry that he wished he could fly up and take her place.

Just then, the lava lake beneath the black stone box suddenly began to churn violently.

A dazzling beam of red light shot straight out of the lava lake and struck the black stone box.

The effect was immediate; the black stone box quickly became still. The ice that had spread halfway through vanished without a trace.

Before Chujiang No. 2 could even rejoice, Qingqing, who was above the stone box, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Chu Jiang No. 2 was quite frightened; his voice began to tremble.

"Qingqing, what's wrong? Has it relapsed again?"

Qingqing wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, smiled at him,

“Brother Chu, it seems I can’t leave here. I still can’t escape the fate of my family—” As she spoke, she slowly rolled up her sleeve, revealing the shocking bluish-black lividity on it.

Dark bluish-black lividity had completely covered her body, making it almost impossible to see any normal skin.

She couldn't help but sigh, "What's stolen must eventually be returned!"

Qingqing's gaze lingered on Chujiang No. 2's face for a long time before finally slowly shifting to the spot where Yan Qing was standing.

Chu Jiang No. 2 subconsciously turned his head after her, only to find that the place was empty and there was nothing there.

Yan Qing instinctively sensed that Qingqing was looking at her. Although she didn't know how this person could suddenly see her. Moreover, the other person's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

"I failed, but it's okay. With you here, my efforts won't be in vain."

Just as Yan Qing finished recognizing her lip movements and before she could understand what they meant, a small burst of blood suddenly erupted from above the black stone box.