Zi Yu and Xiao Zi appeared on Qing Ling's body at the same time, blocking the fatal blow, but some of the aftershocks still hit Qing Ling's body, and the backlash from the Ancient Demon Harp was no less powerful than that blow.

puff!

Fresh blood gushed out.

The music stopped abruptly there.

"Master, how are you?"

"Qingling, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just suffered a backlash. I'll be alright after a rest. But I can't help you anymore, Miss." Qingling said weakly, her face pale.

“You’ve already helped a lot,” Zi Yu said, then turned her gaze to Xiao Zi. “Take her down to recover first, I’ll help here.”

Little Purple transformed back to its original form and flew away lightly.

The music stopped, and the battle in the illusion also ceased. Their previously reddened eyes returned to normal, and the scenes of their loss of control flooded into their minds.

Ignoring the blood flowing from his wounds, and seeing the pathetic scene before him, he knelt on the ground in terror and howled, and the situation spiraled out of control once again.

"No, elder brother, I actually killed my elder brother..."

"Achin, I was wrong. I didn't mean to kill you."

"My son, I was wrong. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to kill you!"

"Which damned demon is it?!"

"Why did this happen? Why..."

Hateful roars and painful wails continued, and the crowd looked at the person lying in a pool of blood, their eyes filled with helplessness.

At this moment, Feng Luo suddenly remembered the girl who had turned into a demon while playing the zither at Longtou Mountain. She seemed to be Ji Jiuying's maid. A calculating look appeared in his eyes.

At this moment, Xin Yao realized that she was still in the formation, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"What kind of formation is this? It has such a strange structure, as if it has no core."

Feng Yan also noticed the problem, his eyes shining, "Fairy Xin Yao, have you figured out where the array's core is located?"

Xin Yao shook her head; this was the first time she had encountered such a formation.

"I must say, my niece is truly a rare genius." Feng Luo chuckled.

Feng Yan was overjoyed. This was set up by that girl? It seems she has a decent talent for formations. He'll discuss it with her again when he returns to the Feng family…

Xin Yao narrowed her eyes. Was this a setup by Ji Jiuying?

A competitive spirit instantly surged within her. How much talent could someone raised on a lower continent possibly possess? Since she was the one who set up this formation, she was determined to break it.

Xin Yao took out the Spirit Treasure Star Disc and continuously poured spiritual power into it, causing the needles within the disc to rotate continuously.

A sharp glint flashed in her eyes as she surveyed her surroundings.

Every formation has a key point, and the location of the key point is the key to breaking the formation.

Ji Jiuying secretly observed everything within the formation, her expression solemn. She had spent a great deal of mental energy activating this Saint-level formation, which was already at its limit, and she could not set up a second one.

Although this formation is not as powerful as a divine one, she drew upon ancient formation settings from the Heavenly Punishment Manual and the wonders of the Peach Blossom Formation in the previous secret realm, so she thought it could trap them for a while.

"Xiao Jiu, your array formation is amazing! Even that woman in white seems confused," Shen Miaoqing said.

"Miaoqing, you can't judge things by appearances alone. The magical treasure in the white-clad woman's hand is no ordinary item. It played a significant role in breaking the divine-level formation," Shen Qingqiu said solemnly. Although he didn't recognize the magical treasure in Xin Yao's hand, the aura it emitted was indeed not to be underestimated.

"Dean Shen is right, breaking the formation is only a matter of time. If this formation can be held up for half a day, that would be fine, but if not..."

Ji Jiuying said calmly, and everyone understood what she meant. They were all elders of the academy, having spent most of their lives at Star Academy. It would be a lie to say they had no feelings for each other. Now, these people were trying to cause trouble for the academy because of a rumor, and they would be the first to not allow it.

In the courtyard, the leopard-shaped Little Purple lay on the ground watching the person sitting on the bed recovering from their injuries.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and Qingling opened her eyes, exhaling a breath.

"Master, how are you?"

Xiao Zi instantly transformed into human form, her eyes filled with worry for her.

"Xiao Zi, I'm fine, don't worry."

As she spoke, Qingling glanced down at her blood-stained dress, her expression shifting slightly.

He put Xiao Zi into his spiritual sea, went to the wardrobe, glanced at it, and his gaze fell on the black dress.

Ji Jiuying looked at Qingling, who was dressed in black, not far away, and a look of surprise flashed in her eyes. In the original owner's memories, she had said that she never liked to wear dark-colored dresses.

"Miss."

Qingling arrived beside Ji Jiuying.

"Why did you choose to wear a black dress?"

Ji Jiuying asked curiously.

"Black is good, it doesn't get dirty easily," Qingling said with a smile.

Ji Jiuying held her hand and said softly, "In my eyes, my Qingling has always been a strong and brave person. In the past, when I was beaten, bullied, and humiliated, even if the other party was someone who could not fight back, and you risked being beaten to death, you never backed down."

"Now... why are you scared? Why are you backing down?"

Qingling widened her eyes and met Ji Jiuying's ambiguous smile.

"Miss... but he said he doesn't like me."

"So you're just giving up like this?" Ji Jiuying continued, "Let me put it this way, actually, he should have left after A-Yue came back..."

Qingling paused for a moment, then looked at Ji Jiuying. "Didn't you ask him to protect me, Miss?"

Ji Jiuying shook her head, her heart pounding as if it would leap out of her chest. Her intuition had been right; he was lying…

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