Chapter 372: Three Hours

Cang Li let out a soft hum, "I won't tell you."

Yuan Yao asked, "Third senior brother, you really won't say?"

"I won't say."

"Forget it if you won't say."

Yuan Yao pursed her lips.

She suddenly thought of something, swiftly stood up, and said to Song Yan and the others, "I'll go to the underground labyrinth first."

She had already discovered that layer of restrictive barrier before, but because many people from the Tianyi Sect were there, she hadn't tried to break it.

Song Yan, Xiao Lingwei, and Xue Jin showed puzzled expressions.

Yuan Yao immediately gave them a brief explanation.

After hearing, they were somewhat shocked.

Who would have thought that this seemingly ordinary place actually concealed such a precious and rare immortal-grade formation manual?

Immediately after, Xiao Lingwei spoke without hesitation, "In that case, let's go with you."

Naturally not refusing Xiao Lingwei's suggestion, Yuan Yao nodded and said, "Good."

Afterwards, the group headed toward the underground labyrinth.

At that moment, the underground labyrinth's interior had already shown a severe collapse, with piles of rubble and earth blocking their path like a mountain.

Seeing this, Yuan Yao without a word immediately thrust her palm forward with force.

Accompanied by a thunderous boom, the previously incredibly hard rubble ahead was instantly blasted apart.

But unexpectedly, at the very next moment—

"Watch out!"

Song Yan beside her was quick-eyed and quick-handed, swiftly gathering his spiritual power into his palms, then using all his strength to block the endless rolling stones falling from above.

Yuan Yao was startled.

Ying Wuji softly said, "Let's move forward first."

They cleared the blocking rubble and dirt ahead as they walked.

Soon, they returned to the original spot.

Yuan Yao glanced at her senior brothers and sisters, then stepped forward, beginning to focus her mental energy to seek the restrictive barrier.

After a moment.

"Senior Yue Liu, my divine sense has touched that layer of restrictive barrier!" Yuan Yao exclaimed happily to Yue Liu.

Yue Liu's emotive voice echoed in Yuan Yao's sea of consciousness: "I didn't expect you to actually find the restrictive barrier I set up in such a short time; it seems you may well be able to learn immortal-grade formation techniques in the future."

"Next, you only need to locate the eye of the restrictive barrier. The eye lies at the position of Heaven Qian and Earth Wu, with the main divine fire, leaning southwest."

Under Yue Liu's hint, Yuan Yao quickly found the eye of the restrictive barrier.

She attacked its eye with her divine sense.

After half a quarter-hour.

With a "hum", a dazzling golden light burst forth ahead; as the light faded, an engraved gold box gradually appeared on the ground.

Yuan Yao opened her eyes, stepped forward, opened the box, and saw the formation manuals neatly arranged inside.

She felt delighted.

"Is this the saint-grade formation manual and the immortal-grade formation manual?" Cang Li approached, squatted down, picked up one of the manuals, flipped a few pages, couldn't understand it at all, and felt dizzy.

Song Yan, Xiao Lingwei, Xue Jin, and Ying Wuji also picked them up and flipped a few pages.

They also couldn't understand them.

"Let's put them away for now," Ying Wuji said to Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao smiled and nodded.

She closed the box and placed it into her storage space.

Just as she stood up, she sensed a breath coming from outside.

Song Yan and the others also sensed it.

They exchanged glances and then left the underground labyrinth.

When they returned to the snowy ground, they saw a small golden-pupil snow beast standing not far away; it looked somewhat weak, its gaze fixed intently on Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao's eyes met its gaze.

She walked a few steps toward it and said, "Tian Xue, if you form a contract with me, I can protect you."

Tian Xue spoke in human language: "How could you break your master's restrictive barrier?"

Yuan Yao: "Because Senior Yue Liu has been reminding me. Senior Yue Liu also hopes you can form a contract with me, but it mainly depends on your willingness. I won't force you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yue Liu unusually anxiously interjected: "You should force it."

Yuan Yao: "……"

"What else does he want to say to me?" Tian Xue's golden eyes locked firmly onto Yuan Yao.

Yue Liu fell silent for a moment, then spoke softly: "Tell it that my master-servant bond with it has ended here. From now on, do not live for my sake, nor remain trapped because of me. Lastly, thank it for everything it has done for me."

Yuan Yao conveyed every word to Tian Xue without omission.

After hearing, Tian Xue lowered its head, gazed silently for a long time, and said to Yuan Yao: "Please allow me some time to consider."

"About how long?" Yuan Yao asked, fearing that while Tian Xue pondered, Xie Yan might find it and extract its beast core.

"Three hours." Tian Xue said, then gazed deeply at Yuan Yao's direction, its eye sockets already moist, it bit its lower lip tightly.

Then, it actually knelt slowly toward Yuan Yao's direction.

Yuan Yao knew it was kneeling for Senior Yue Liu.

Immediately afterward, a flash of light passed, and the snow beast gradually transformed into a human shape.

The girl appeared to be about eight or nine years old, with a face delicately carved like jade and ivory; she had a pair of round eyes, golden pupils, and on her head were two small, exquisite horns; her skin and hair were both white, forming a stark contrast with her eyebrows and eyelashes, which were a faint golden-yellow hue.

There was also a golden mark on her forehead.

Tian Xue kowtowed three times in the direction of Yuan Yao.

"Master, thank you for your care over the years."

Her voice choked with emotion.

At this moment, Song Yan and the others also had complex feelings.

Yue Liu saw that Tian Xue had grown quite a bit, and a hint of bitterness welled up in her heart.

Yuan Yao walked up to Tian Xue and gently stroked its head with her hand.

Yue Liu's lingering thought also reached out a hand, overlapping with Yuan Yao's hand.

At this moment, Tian Xue sensed the master's aura; her tears burst forth, she suppressed her emotions, and only whispered a call.

"Master..."

Yuan Yao squatted down and gently wiped away her tears.

…

After a moment, Tian Xue left.

Yue Liu's voice echoed in Yuan Yao's sea of consciousness: "Tian Xue has accepted you."

Yuan Yao: "Ah?"

Yue Liu slowly said: "According to my understanding of it, not saying refusal means tacit agreement; its departure now is also to resign from the position of Mountain King, giving an explanation to all the snow beasts."

After a pause, he said uneasily: "Yuan Xiaoyou, I hope you can stop that masked youth, not let him act against Tian Xue. Given Tian Xue's current state, it stands no chance against that youth."

Hearing this, Yuan Yao's heart also sank.

She wanted Tian Xue to stay by her side.

Therefore, she did not want Xie Yan to kill Tian Xue.

Yuan Yao recalled Xie Yan saying he would wait for her in that cave.

Now the problem is……

How can she meet with Xie Yan smoothly without arousing suspicion from her own senior brothers and sisters?

She suddenly thought of something.

If Xie Yan were to keep waiting for her in that cave, then he would have no time to hunt down Tian Xue!

But she feared that Xie Yan was just saying it offhand.

After all, Xie Yan's temperament is fickle and changeable.

Yuan Yao's face was full of worry.

Three hours is neither long nor short.

Should she choose to trust that Xie Yan will wait for her in the cave, or go find him now to delay as much as possible?