Ge Xiang hurriedly dropped the spirit stone and shouted furiously, "Mo Qi, you stop right there."
However, Mo Qi had already vanished. She could only chase in a direction guided by instinct.
A moment later, her persistence paid off, and she spotted Mo Qi's figure.
He was gasping for breath on a hillside, seemingly unable to run any further.
Ge Xiang caught up, raging, "Run! Why aren't you running anymore?"
Mo Qi turned back, a smile on his face, "I don't want to run anymore."
Ge Xiang sensed a hint of treachery in his inexplicable smile and stopped, "What are you up to?"
Mo Qi pointed his hand, and a light barrier rose from the ground, forming a circle that enclosed Ge Xiang.
"What are you doing?" Ge Xiang glared at Mo Qi, her eyes wide with anger.
"Nothing much, just teaching you a lesson," Mo Qi said calmly.
"Teaching me?" Ge Xiang scoffed, "This flimsy formation can trap me?"
"Want to try?"
"Try it is! Just you wait until I get out, I'll make you pay." Ge Xiang said fiercely.
Mo Qi pointed his hand, and from the sky directly above her, a powerful golden light descended like a breached celestial river, pouring down with immense force.
The ground beneath her feet suddenly erupted in flames, the entire area instantly becoming a fiery inferno with molten lava flowing.
Ge Xiang stood unfazed amidst the lava; its heat was insignificant to her. However, the golden light from above was not to be underestimated. She hastily formed a hand seal, and two crimson ribbons shot out, weaving and coiling in the air, sometimes merging into one, sometimes splitting into two.
From the sides of the two crimson ribbons, a red mist emanated, like tiny, free-roaming insects, darting to and fro in the air.
The crimson ribbons surged forward, like a colossal dragon opening its massive maw, spreading an aura of bloodlust and chilling cold.
The golden light roared forward and met the crimson ribbons, only to be chipped away bit by bit. The golden beam gradually shortened, golden debris scattering into the air, eventually forming a golden mist.
The golden light was progressively compressed, appearing almost depleted. Yet, the last wisp stubbornly held its ground. The crimson ribbons were about to touch the source of the golden light—the Xuanyuan Sword—but due to that final thread of defiance, they could not reach it.
Even by channeling more spiritual energy, she couldn't advance another inch.
At that moment, Mo Qi pointed his hand again. From behind Ge Xiang, another bead emitted a dazzling radiance, striking towards her.
Ge Xiang was fully focused on trying to bring down the sword, but she then felt the surge of spiritual energy behind her, roaring and surging like a tidal wave, unstoppable.
She dared not underestimate it and quickly withdrew her crimson ribbons, directing them towards the white light behind her.
The moment she withdrew the ribbons, the golden light intensified, fiercely striking at her again.
Ge Xiang moved her body, narrowly dodging the golden light. However, a small portion of its residual energy grazed her, causing her to grimace in pain.
Enduring the pain, she sent her crimson ribbons towards the white light. The white light enveloped her like a vast starry sky, boundless and seemingly about to swallow her. Yet, the crimson ribbons plunged into it like dragons entering water.
With a thunderous roar, it was as if a white melon had been smashed, exploding outwards with fragments scattering in all directions!
The fragments struck Ge Xiang one after another, causing intense pain that almost made her pass out.
However, at this moment, the Xuanyuan Sword rotated and shone, sweeping towards her.
Thus, she could only dodge left and right, relying on her peculiar footwork and occasional precise counterattacks, weaving through the onslaught.
It was then that she realized this formation was far more complex than she had imagined. If this stalemate continued, she would eventually be finished!
She could not simply wait to die!
She immediately unleashed her full speed towards the edge, charging directly at the light barrier.
At the same time, a small blood-red figure began to circle the perimeter of the light barrier, spitting out streams of blood as it spun.
Ge Xiang soon felt herself falling into a sea of red.
The surrounding blood enveloped her, continuously corroding her body, dissolving it layer by layer.
Above, golden and white lights continued to strike. In her continuous dodging, her energy was gradually depleted, and she even felt the intense heat underfoot slowly becoming a pressure.
Ge Xiang swung her crimson ribbons, and her entire body became wrapped in layers of red cloth. The sea of blood was torn and dispersed layer by layer. But the problem was that the blood sea seemed endless; no matter how she pushed forward, she couldn't reach its end.
The monotonous red, the continuous red, the maddening red, assaulted her endlessly.
She felt as if she had entered eternity. The only change was that the white and golden lights above constantly shifted their positions with her movements.
Although her crimson ribbons protected her tightly, from time to time, light or blood seeped through, corroding and tearing at her.
She began to feel despair. At this rate, when would it end?
Time seemed to pass for an eternity, perhaps a year, perhaps ten years, perhaps a hundred years.
Seas had turned into mulberry fields, and stubborn rocks had turned into mud, yet she was still trapped here!
It was as if she had undergone a thousand reincarnations, each time falling like a speck of dust into that vast expanse of red.
Each time she wanted to break free, each time she was unable to escape the dominion of fate!
All she could do was endure, in that endless sea of red!
She was almost lost!
Mo Qi's somewhat demonic voice echoed from above her, "Vile creature, do you know your mistake?"
Ge Xiang snapped back to reality, realizing she was merely within his formation.
What arrogance!
What was there to be so proud about?
It was just that she had accidentally fallen into his trap!
Ge Xiang's inherent stubbornness was ignited.
How could she admit defeat? She continued to brandish her crimson ribbons and charge forward.
But the more anxious she became, the more unsolvable the situation became!
She still couldn't break free!
She began to curse Mo Qi from within the formation, like a shrew in the market, completely losing the elegant, dignified, and lofty demeanor she had possessed earlier.
Mo Qi ignored her completely. After a round of curses, she finally broke down and started crying, "I didn't do anything to you! I just pushed you a few times and said a few words, and you want to torment me to death! You narrow-minded, insidious, and treacherous wretch, may you die a terrible death!"
Mo Qi, however, said with an innocent expression, "I asked you at the time, didn't I? I said I'd try teaching you a lesson? And you said, 'Try it is.' Now you're blaming me."
"We've tried it now, so why haven't you dispelled the formation?" Ge Xiang asked, still waving her crimson ribbons and sobbing.
"No, you haven't begged for mercy yet," Mo Qi stated resolutely.
"But your cultivation is so low, it's too humiliating to beg for mercy from you!" Ge Xiang still stubbornly said.
"Never mind you, even Chou Ci was repelled by me, and he's a Golden Immortal. He didn't find it humiliating, so why should you?" Mo Qi said dismissively.
"I beg you, dispel the formation!" After a moment of hesitation, Ge Xiang said in a low voice.
Mo Qi was about to dispel the formation when he suddenly thought of something and stopped, "But I'm afraid you'll beat me after you get out."
"I swear I won't hit you, I'm not narrow-minded," Ge Xiang said immediately.
"Then swear that if you hit me, you'll turn into an ugly monster and never find a cultivation partner in your life!" Mo Qi said.
"That's too malicious!" Ge Xiang felt a chill.
"Don't hesitate anymore, or we'll lose," Mo Qi said anxiously. "The Wang family has already found many spirit stones."
"You still remember we're in a competition? And you stopped searching for spirit stones to deal with me? Can't you be more magnanimous? A true man standing between heaven and earth should be able to bend and stretch..."
"Between pleasing you and the competition, I choose to please you."
"Is this how you please me?"
"I'll subdue you first, then please you. That way, it'll be easier to achieve my goal."
"Subdue me? Try dispelling the formation and see if I don't beat you into a pig's head," Ge Xiang said defiantly.
"See, you still want to hit me. I'm leaving," Mo Qi said impatiently.
"I swear that after I get out, I won't hit you. If I hit you, may I turn into an ugly monster and never find a cultivation partner in my life," Ge Xiang exclaimed as if shouting.
"Good, very good," Mo Qi nodded and pointed his hand. The Xuanyuan Sword, the Dinglong Bead, and the little blood-red figure all returned to Mo Qi's storage bag. He then retrieved the formation flags.
Instantly, the wind was calm and the clouds dispersed!
A gentle sunlight!
The trees swayed, and birds sang amidst fragrant flowers!
Ge Xiang took a deep breath and then collapsed to the ground.
Only when she relaxed did she realize how severely injured she was, her body a bloody mess, festering everywhere!
Mo Qi rushed forward to support her and fed her a healing pill!
Within moments, Ge Xiang's injuries rapidly healed. She found herself lying in Mo Qi's arms, a mixture of shame and anger flooding her, and she raised her fist to strike.
"You'll turn ugly, you know," Mo Qi whispered.
Her fist stopped an inch from Mo Qi's chest.
Ge Xiang retracted her fist, broke free from Mo Qi's arm, and said, "Hurry up and find the spirit stones!"
Mo Qi acknowledged and quickly returned to the urgent task.
"If we want to win, you still have to do one thing," Mo Qi said while putting spirit stones into his storage bag.
"You dare to order me around?" Ge Xiang retorted angrily.
As she spoke, she threw another punch at Mo Qi.
"You'll turn ugly, you know."
Ge Xiang immediately retracted her fist and said through gritted teeth, "What do you want me to do?"
"Find Gu Dahhu and others from our Zhou family and protect them, giving them time to collect spirit stones without interference," Mo Qi said.
"If we don't win this time, I'll make you pay," Ge Xiang glared fiercely at Mo Qi and then left.
Only then did Mo Qi resume collecting spirit stones.
As the deadline approached, Mo Qi suddenly thought of a quick way to collect spirit stones. Those dried corpses he had seen earlier must have collected some spirit stones.
So, he immediately went to the place where he had found the dried corpses and inspected all three of them. Unfortunately, two of the dried corpses had already been searched, and their storage bags were gone. The remaining dried corpse was in a more secluded location, and its storage bag was still there, containing two bags: one for magical treasures and one for spirit stones.