The Azure Emperor stared at the scene depicted in the painting, his eyes wide with disbelief. He slammed his fist on the table, roaring, "This is utterly preposterous! You're all ganging up on my disciple. Is this fair? Where's the martial integrity?"
Seeing the Azure Emperor's displeasure, everyone else felt a surge of satisfaction.
They had long been annoyed by this master and disciple duo. Moreover, the current situation was not something they had orchestrated.
It seemed, however, that these younger generation cultivators had reached a consensus: "Li Qingyun must be eliminated."
"Ahem, Lord Azure Emperor, please do not slander us. I can swear upon my Dao heart that I have never instructed my Daoist son to target Li Qingyun."
"Lord Azure Emperor, you must be reasonable. Popularity is also a part of strength. This is merely a small reflection of the accumulated grievances Li Qingyun has amassed over the years."
"In that case, the applicability of a hands-off educational approach remains debatable."
"..."
The Azure Emperor sat down in frustration. How could this child have such poor interpersonal skills? His personality was quite good, wasn't it!
In truth, he had pushed Li Qingyun to the brink. To keep pace with others, Li Qingyun had no choice but to desperately compete with those heavenly prodigies.
Meanwhile, Hong Yu and Li Qingyun were in a frantic escape.
"Fairy, do you have any more magical treasures? Perhaps an eighth-grade talisman to surprise them!"
Hong Yu's expression was grim, "Damn it, you only remember me now? What were you doing before?"
"Oh, don't dwell on such minor details. We're deep partners now, let's solve the immediate problem first!"
"Damn it, I have a spatial flicker talisman. You'll have to hold me if we want to teleport together!"
Li Qingyun's mind was filled with three question marks: "???"
He felt this woman was trying to lower his IQ. She was clearly trying to take advantage of him at every turn!
So, while Hong Yu was holding the teleportation talisman, Li Qingyun snatched it away!
Hong Yu immediately became agitated, "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Running away, of course! Don't you see those scoundrels behind us?"
Then, to Hong Yu's utter bewilderment, he grabbed her arm and activated the teleportation talisman in his hand!
"Whoosh—"
A golden light flashed, and the two vanished.
Everyone was left staring at each other blankly.
"Damn it! He took Fairy Hong Yu away!"
"The resolve to kill Li Qingyun has intensified!"
"Where did they go?"
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"
"What's with your attitude?"
"Do you have a problem? Come and fight!"
"I was already annoyed that Li Qingyun escaped, and if I can't deal with him, I can certainly deal with you!"
Thus, the geniuses who had not formed temporary alliances quickly erupted into conflict.
Someone had to be eliminated, and only the surviving hundred would advance. Therefore, as far as the eye could see, everyone was an enemy.
On the other hand, far from danger, Li Qingyun was lecturing Hong Yu.
"Fairy Hong Yu, I won't hold grudges about you trying to take advantage of me this time. Shall we part ways here?"
Hong Yu stomped her foot in anger, "Li Qingyun, what do you mean? I used a teleportation talisman for escaping to help you, and now you want to kick me out? You're too much!"
Li Qingyun pondered for a moment and said, "I'm doing this for your own good, Fairy Hong Yu. Think about how many people want to harm me. Following me means you'll be pursued!"
Hong Yu pouted, "You have the nerve to say that. Because I helped you, I'm now implicitly on your side. Their hatred towards me must be immense! If I get chased and eliminated because of this, will you take the blame?"
Li Qingyun gasped. Hearing it that way, it did seem to have some logic!
However, should he really be with this woman who had ill intentions towards him? He was constantly worried about losing his chastity!
Seeing Li Qingyun lost in thought, Hong Yu secretly gloated. She had secured an opportunity to be alone with him, so could she not win him over?
But then Li Qingyun suddenly thought of a plan and asked Hong Yu, "Fairy Hong Yu, do you have any research into formations?"
"Ah? I've studied them a bit, but not deeply!"
"Then let's set up a formation together. We'll be found by other contestants very soon, and if we're not prepared, we could be drawn into an encirclement at any moment!"
Hong Yu's expression lit up. Was this the legendary sharing of life and death?
It made her feel a little shy!
Li Qingyun produced a formation diagram, opened it, and said to Hong Yu, "This formation is called the [Misty Illusion Killing Formation]. Once set up, it can generate mind-distorting mist and launch terrifying mist blade attacks at enemies! It's very difficult for cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage to break. Shall we set it up together?"
"Ah? But I don't know how!"
Li Qingyun smiled, "It's fine, I'll teach you!"
Hong Yu felt she was incredibly fortunate. She quickly looked at the formation diagram Li Qingyun handed her.
Instantly, a mist appeared before her eyes, and she felt as if she had fallen into a state of chaos.
Moreover, a massive formation materialized before her, its beautiful patterns deeply captivating her.
Li Qingyun, watching Hong Yu completely engrossed by the formation diagram, revealed a triumphant smile.
This formation diagram was indeed the [Misty Illusion Killing Formation]. However, to learn it, one had to first immerse themselves in it and enter a state of forced formation breaking.
Only when she failed to break the formation would her consciousness be released.
But how could Li Qingyun let her break free so easily? He directly summoned the [Chaos Divine Lotus] and then invoked the giant Enlightenment Ancient Tree.
A wisp of Dao charm emanating from the [Chaos Divine Lotus] and the Enlightenment Tree began to influence Hong Yu. Her mind became increasingly clear, and for a moment, she entered a state of enlightenment while studying the formation.
Seeing this, she wouldn't be coming out anytime soon.
Li Qingyun smirked disdainfully, "Heh, woman, you're still ten thousand years too early to conquer me!"
After that, Li Qingyun began to set up formations around himself. While he hadn't studied them before, if he had, his formation attainments would surely not be inferior to Daoist Bai.
Those watching from outside were stunned by all this.
Especially Xia Yunxi, the Valley Master of Residual Incense Valley. When she saw Li Qingyun using the formation diagram to control Hong Yu, she thought her Saintess might be subjected to unspeakable acts by Li Qingyun.
However, Li Qingyun's actions surprised everyone.
He actually used the [Chaos Divine Lotus] and the [Soul of the Enlightenment Tree] to help Hong Yu enter a state of enlightenment, just to avoid interacting with her?
While it was a good thing, why was he so disdainful of their Saintess?
Xia Yunxi could only force a smile and say, "Disciple of Lord Azure Emperor, truly extraordinary, haha."
The Azure Emperor's mouth twitched slightly, "The Saintess of Valley Master Xia's family is also more extraordinary than I imagined!"