Ruan Bei stood frozen in place, and Qin Gu felt a chill run down his spine.

Who to choose? That's obvious. Of course, it's not Luo Zikun. How could Qin Gu dare to let Xiao Bei be alone with him?

However, they also realized that Qin Gu had an accident here in his previous life, so the location he chose was probably problematic.

Qin Gu was caught in a dilemma, but Ruan Bei had already come to his senses and smiled: "Uncle-Master, I want to go with Kun Kun. I want to see how he breaks the formation."

Why think so much? We're already here. Even if there's danger, he'll stay with Kunkun.

"Alright then." Luo Zikun didn't take it seriously and gently instructed Qin Gu, "Take good care of Xiao Bei. I don't know what will happen after this illusion array is broken."

Qin Gu lowered his eyes, concealing the coldness in his pupils, and said in a gentle voice, "Understood, Uncle-Master. Xiao Bei, come here."

Ruan Bei immediately ran to Qin Gu's side, grabbed Qin Gu's outstretched hand, and scratched his palm.

Qin Gu turned his head, and Ruan Bei winked at him. Qin Gu understood; Ruan Bei had already signaled to his senior brother.

Feeling a little relieved, I realized that there was more than one formation master in the team led by my senior brother. No matter what trouble we encountered later, as long as they held out for a while, my senior brother would be able to get over.

Qin Gu considered it for a moment. Even if his martial uncle really made it clear that he was on the opposite side, there were only three of them in total.

Lu Sibai wasn't even considered a fighter; he was just an ordinary person. Zou Na and her martial uncle were facing him and Xiao Bei, making it a two-on-two situation.

His martial uncle was a fortune teller with average combat skills. Qin Gu wasn't exaggerating, but he felt that if they really fought, his martial uncle might not be able to beat him.

However, this place can barely be considered my uncle's territory, and his array formation skills are quite good. If he has set up some kind of trap, the final outcome is uncertain.

He wasn't sure about Zou Na's fighting ability. When he asked his elders before, his father only knew that Zou Na couldn't beat his mother, but Qin Gu didn't know her exact level either, since he had never seen his mother catch ghosts.

But Zou Na has been cultivating for decades, while Xiao Bei has only been in the industry for a few years. Although Xiao Bei's cultivation level has improved rapidly, he is definitely not as advanced as Zou Na, whose cultivation level is profound and whose spells are skillful.

However, Zou Na probably doesn't have many talismans and magical artifacts on her. The Yin energy in Ghost King Forest is too strong, and staying there for too long will corrode the magical artifacts and talismans.

For example, when Ruanbei and his team went to Ghost King Forest to retrieve the relics of those people during the last Ruanbei exchange competition, they must have brought magical artifacts, talismans, array plates, and the like. Even if the talismans were used up in a dangerous situation, the magical artifacts should still be there.

But all that remained were ruins, because they had been corroded by the yin energy.

In short, Ruan Bei is unlikely to defeat Zou Na. It's not that he's incapable, but rather that he hasn't been training for long enough.

After considering all this, their chances of winning are slim. However, they don't need to win the fight; they just need to stall until their senior brother arrives with his men, and that will be a victory.

With a clearer understanding, Qin Gu calmed down and, while holding Ruan Bei's hand, even had the mind to explain the illusion array to him.

This illusion array was much more complicated than the previous one. After going through several troublesome steps that made Ruan Bei dizzy, it circled back and forth in the forest for a long time before finally stopping in front of a big tree—there were trees everywhere in the forest, so no matter where it stopped, it was in front of a tree.

This time, Qin Gu led Ruan Bei straight toward the big tree. Just as they were about to crash into it, Ruan Bei instinctively shrank his neck and closed his eyes, thankfully not dodging backward.

When I opened my eyes again, everything in front of me had completely changed.

If the previous illusion array, once broken, still left him in the dense forest, this time the landscape seemed to have changed.

They stood in the vast wilderness. There were still trees, but they were all sparse and withered. Scattered on the dark ground were some sharp stones. Ruan Bei was wearing hiking shoes with thick soles, but he was still uncomfortable from stepping on some loose stones.

"Where is this?" Ruan Bei gripped Qin Gu's hand tightly, not daring to let go. If they got lost, he would never be able to find his way back.

"Within the formation." Qin Gu frowned deeply. He never expected that there would be another illusion formation within the two layers of illusion formations. But this was not a simple illusion formation. The trees and rocks were too realistic, but how could there be such a drastic change?

Ruan Bei dared not move around or touch anything around him, for fear of causing trouble for Qin Gu, so he obediently stayed by his side.

"Where is my martial uncle?" he asked.

"It's possible it's not here." The illusion array that was broken at the same time might land in the same place as them, or it might be in another place. It was because he knew this possibility that he dared not let Xiao Bei go with his martial uncle.

"Then how do we get out?" Ruan Bei asked again.

"Look around first—"

“Uncle-Master…” Qin Gu’s gaze fell behind Ruan Bei. Luo Zikun had suddenly appeared there at some point, smiling as he looked at them.

Ruan Bei also turned around, feeling a chill in his heart, and inexplicably felt that Luo Zikun's smile was terrifying.

"That's great, you broke through so quickly. Kunkun, you have a real talent for formations." Luo Zikun said with a smile.

"It's all thanks to my uncle's excellent teaching," Qin Gu said cautiously.

He was telling the truth; his mentor in array formations was indeed his senior uncle.

"I think so too." Luo Zikun nodded. Qin Gu looked up in surprise, not expecting him to answer like that; it wasn't like him.

Luo Zikun ignored his reaction and continued, "Your mother is not good at formations at all, and her knowledge of talismans is also average. In fact, she is not good at any of the miscellaneous skills. However, she is naturally very good at spells and incantations. She can learn even the most difficult spells after learning them twice, and she can master them after practicing them a few times. She can use all kinds of spells with ease."

Qin Guxin sank. His martial uncle had never mentioned his mother in front of him before. When he was a child, he overheard people in the sect saying that his martial uncle had a crush on his mother, and he thought that was why his martial uncle was unwilling to mention her.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Luo Zikun looked at him, his face still bearing a smile, but the smile seemed to be stuck to his face, and the curve of it hadn't changed much.

Qin Gu was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "I heard you have a crush on my mother."

Luo Zikun was taken aback, then burst into laughter. It was no longer the polite, superficial smile he had been given; it was as if he had genuinely been struck by a funny moment or had thought of something happy.

Ruan Bei felt that her martial uncle was acting a little strange, so she tugged at Qin Gu's hand worriedly, while secretly stroking her ring with her other hand, ready to take out the Yu'an Umbrella at any moment.

Qin Gu also found his reaction strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

He frowned and asked tentatively, "Did I say something wrong? Don't you like my mother?"

"Of course I like her, who wouldn't like her?" Luo Zikun stopped laughing, the smile still lingering on his face. "Your mother is cheerful and lively, sincere and friendly. I grew up with her, just like you and Xiao Bei—"

His gaze fell on their tightly clasped hands, and his pupils contracted.

"Yes, just like you and Xiao Bei. For a long time, I thought that when we grew up, we would become Daoist partners and be together for life."

This development sounds a bit like love turning into hate.

While observing his expression, Ruan Bei tried her best to persuade him: "When it comes to feelings, there is no such thing as first come, first served. It's just a matter of whether it's the right person or not. If I fall in love with someone else before Kun Kun and I are officially together, I believe Kun Kun will definitely bless me as an older brother."

So you and Aunt He didn't end up together. She married Uncle Qin, and you should wish her well. Don't overthink it!

However, before Luo Zikun could speak, a curt voice came from beside him: "I can't."

Ruan Bei: "???"

Qin Gu: "I won't give you the chance to fall in love with someone else."

Ruan Bei: "..."

Ruan Bei frantically tried to signal to him with her eyes, until her eyes were practically twitching.

What's wrong with you?! I was just saying that, so please cooperate with me so that my martial uncle doesn't suddenly turn evil. Why are you undermining me?

Luo Zikun couldn't help but laugh. Just as he was about to say something, a hoarse, deep voice suddenly sounded behind him: "Why are you wasting so much time talking? There's plenty of time to reminisce about the past and get things done. Hurry up!"

Ruan Bei and Qin Gu were startled and looked in the direction of the sound, only to find that there was nothing behind Luo Zikun.

But they were sure they hadn't misheard that voice, and it sounded like a woman's voice, so it must have been Zou Na.

Luo Zikun's smile vanished, and he frowned, saying, "I'm not your subordinate. Helping you is something I owe you. Don't boss me around."

A female voice, seemingly Zou Na's, sneered. Then, a figure suddenly appeared behind Luo Zikun. She was short, with a thin face, and looked more than ten years older than Luo Zikun beside her.

However, according to the information provided by Qin Zhengze, Zou Na should be younger than Luo Zikun.

After Zou Na appeared, she reached out and pulled out a person who was wrapped up tightly.

The man was wearing a black hooded outfit with the brim pulled low, and a mask covering his face, revealing only a pair of familiar eyes.

Lu Sibai!

Ruan Bei immediately thought of that name.

Lu Sibai stared intently at Ruan Bei, his eyes filled with malice and hatred. When he saw Qin Gu standing next to him, his hatred was mixed with a hint of jealousy.

"You good-for-nothing." Zou Na kicked him, her tone extremely harsh.

Lu Sibai flinched, because Ruan Bei couldn't see his expression clearly when he looked down. But when he looked up again, the malice in his eyes was even more obvious, and there was even a hint of excitement and schadenfreude.

Ruan Bei sensed something was wrong, and Qin Gu subconsciously took half a step forward, blocking Ruan Bei's path, and looked coldly at Luo Zikun: "Uncle-Master, what do you mean by this?"

Luo Zikun put on his signature smile again and even had the leisure to introduce them: "This is Zou Na, your Aunt Zou. She was also a good friend of your mother back then, but you may not know her."

Qin Gu's face turned ugly, and he couldn't help but sneer, "I don't have an aunt like that. If my mother were alive, she would regret not knowing people better and treating just anyone as a friend. Why don't you introduce that other one? Are you too embarrassed to say?"

Luo Zikun seemed completely oblivious to the sarcasm in his words: "What's there to be embarrassed about? This is your Aunt Zou's son, Lu Sibai."

Qin Gu felt that this was the first time he had met Luo Zikun, and the difference between the uncle in front of him and the one he remembered was too great.

He didn't want to say anything more; anything he said now would be pointless. But in order to buy time, he couldn't just break off relations directly.

As Zou Na was considering how to bring it up, she couldn't wait any longer and urged, "Hurry up, you're dawdling too much. Get this done quickly so we can get out."

Luo Zikun glared at her, displeased that she didn't give him face, but finally spoke up: "Kunkun, your Martial Uncle owes your Aunt Zou a big favor, and now she's come to me to ask for it back, so your Martial Uncle has no choice but to help her. Don't worry, your Martial Uncle won't let her hurt you, he'll just let you stay here for a while."

Qin Gu keenly sensed the problem in his words: "Won't hurt me? What about Xiao Bei?"

"Ah, this..." Luo Zikun frowned as if in trouble, but finally assured him, "It won't be anything serious, it's just that Xiao Bei's eyes are gone. We can give them to Lu Sibai."