Mortal: My name is Ma Liang, and I also possess a magic brush.

Outside the blood-red forbidden area, the cultivators from the seven sects stood guard beside the barrier, completely unaware that the inside had been turned upside down.

The sect leader of the Hidden Moon Sect, Ni Chang, glanced at the sky. "It's almost time."

One of the Core Formation cultivators could no longer contain himself and immediately drew his sword. With the infusion of spiritual power, the longsword burst forth with a dazzling sword light, and a sharp sword aura slashed towards the entrance of the restriction.

With a loud "boom," a gap was forcefully cleaved open in the barrier!

After waiting for a while, seeing that no one came out of the forbidden area, the group did not initially take it seriously.

After all, the Crimson Trial is inherently dangerous, so it's normal to come out a little late.

A full quarter of an hour passed before a figure staggered out from the gap in the barrier—it was Han Yunzhi!

Her face turned deathly pale, and she collapsed to the ground. Before she could even regain her footing, she screamed hoarsely, "Elder! Something terrible has happened! A terrible incident has occurred inside the forbidden area!"

Elder Han from Spirit Beast Mountain instantly appeared beside Han Yunzhi, asking, "What exactly happened?"

Just as Han Yunzhi was about to speak, another Qingxu Sect disciple rushed out from the gap in the barrier. He scrambled forward and shouted to Fu Yunzi in the crowd, "Elder Fu! Something terrible has happened! A major incident has occurred inside the forbidden area!"

Seeing that two disciples were in such a panicked state, everyone felt a chill in their hearts, knowing that this was no small matter.

The cultivators from the seven sects quickly surrounded the entrance to the forbidden area. Fu Yunzi stepped forward, "What's the panic! Speak slowly, what exactly happened inside the forbidden area?"

The Qingxu Sect disciple, panting heavily, exclaimed, "For some unknown reason, four pillars of light suddenly rose up inside the forbidden area! Those pillars of light went straight up to the sky!"

While everyone was still processing the news brought by the Qingxu Sect disciples, another figure rushed out from the gap in the barrier—it was Zhong Wu.

He glanced at the heavy atmosphere in the room and instantly understood the reason. He then strode towards Elder Han of the Spirit Beast Mountain.

Before Zhong Wu could speak, the seven sect cultivators who had surrounded him pressed him with questions: "What exactly happened inside the forbidden area?!"

Zhongwu replied, "Four pillars of light rose up inexplicably, shooting straight into the sky."

Elder Han immediately pressed, "Did you go closer to investigate?"

Zhongwu shook his head: "I was already close to the exit at the time and did not go forward to check."

Upon hearing Zhongwu's words, Ni Chang immediately looked anxious.

With their Core Formation stage cultivation, they were completely unable to enter the forbidden area and were at a loss for what to do.

Li Huayuan, who was standing to the side, advised, "Things have come to this point, we can only wait and see if any other disciples come out and bring back more information."

This wait lasted for nearly 15 minutes.

Another disciple of the Giant Sword Sect rushed out from the gap in the barrier. He was even more disheveled than Han Yunzhi, falling directly to the ground and rolling several times.

Li Huayuan immediately reached out a palm and used his spiritual power to support him, which stopped the rolling and caused him to collapse on the ground, panting heavily.

Li Huayuan immediately activated his spiritual power, pulling the disciple to him from a distance and supporting him to steady himself. "Don't panic, speak slowly!"

The disciple staggered to his feet, his face still showing shock, muttering repeatedly, "Dead...all dead..."

These words struck the seven sects' Core Formation cultivators like a thunderclap.

The Fairy of Rainbow Robes strode forward and shouted sternly at the disciple of the Giant Sword Sect, "Wake up! What happened? Explain yourself!"

The sharp shout, imbued with spiritual power, finally brought the disciple back to his senses.

"After the four pillars of light rose, everyone assumed it was a great treasure appearing in the world, and they swarmed towards them!"

"I was flying slowly and hadn't gotten close when I saw countless beams of light of different colors suddenly shoot out from one of the beams of light and sweep towards the cultivators who were surrounding me."

"They didn't even have time to scream before the beam pierced their skulls and they collapsed instantly!"

Upon hearing this, Fairy Ni Chang became even more worried about Nangong Wan, who had infiltrated the forbidden area.

She took two steps toward the barrier, "Junior sister, please don't let anything happen to you..."

……

Beside the stone hall, Ma Liang gazed at the towering pillar of light and finally sighed, "Well, at this rate, we definitely won't be able to get out."

A muffled thud suddenly came from the ground, and a large stone slab emerged from the soil in the open space in front of the stone hall.

"You're finally done."

The next instant, the stone slab turned into specks of spiritual light and dissipated, and two figures leaped out from the underground hole.

Han Li was about to say something to Nangong Wan when he saw her staring ahead in shock. He felt a chill and followed her gaze to look around, his pupils suddenly shrinking.

Four dazzling pillars of light stood in various parts of the forbidden area, shooting straight into the sky.

Just as the two were stunned, a voice suddenly came, "You two stop looking. If you delay any longer, you won't be able to leave the forbidden area either."

The two looked in the direction of the sound.

When Han Li saw the person's appearance clearly, the shock on his face was far greater than when he saw the pillar of light.

Nangong Wan stared at the figure dressed in Huangfeng Valley attire, sitting atop a level-two demon beast.

"Who is this?"

Han Li was the first to react, exclaiming in surprise, "Senior Brother Ma? What are you doing here?"

Nangong Wan immediately turned to look at Han Li, frowning as she asked, "Do you know him?"

Han Li nodded quickly, "Yes, this person is my senior brother from Huangfeng Valley, and we have some dealings."

Ma Liang leaped down from the python's head and interrupted the two, saying, "Now is not the time for idle chatter."

He then solemnly clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Nangong Wan, saying, "Senior Nangong, I have an important matter I would like to discuss with you!"

When Han Li heard Ma Liang reveal Nangong Wan's identity, his heart tightened suddenly, and his fingers unconsciously clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white, before relaxing again in an instant.

He wasn't afraid of Ma Liang's malice, but he was worried that this matter might cause unforeseen complications and implicate Nangong Wan.

On the other side, Nangong Wan's eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced at the level two demon beast behind Ma Liang, then at his calm demeanor in the face of the towering pillar of light. She was certain that this strange phenomenon was related to this person.

"What brings you here?"

Ma Liang pointed to the pillar of light reaching the sky and said frankly, "To be honest, senior, this strange phenomenon was created by us. We created this commotion in order to break the formation."

Nangong Wan's eyes darkened. "Break the formation? What formation are you breaking?"

"Naturally, it's the protective array between the second and third layers."

Ma Liang gazed into the depths of the forbidden area. "We need to enter that pagoda."

Nangong Wan caught the key point: "You? Who exactly are you?"

"We are naturally disciples of the Seven Sects."

Nangong Wan chuckled lightly, "Who would believe that?"

Ma Liang didn't argue, but changed the subject: "Now is not the time to investigate identities. This junior only wishes to ask that after you leave, you convey a message to the Seven Sects."

Nangong Wan glanced at the towering pillar of light, then at Ma Liang, and already had a guess in her mind.

"Judging from this situation, it seems you're unable to break the barrier before the forbidden area closes, and you're hoping we'll reopen it for you in five years, right?"

Ma Liang cupped his hands again, "Senior Nangong is indeed wise! What are your thoughts, Senior?"

"Of course we won't let the seven sects help us for nothing! If we gain anything from the tower challenge, we will definitely give them some rare treasures as a gift."

"If one unfortunately dies in the tower, the tower's restrictions have been lifted, and the seven sects are free to enter the tower to seek opportunities."

"This is a sure-fire deal, with no losses for the seven factions. What do you think, senior?"

Han Li stood quietly to the side, listening to the conversation between the two, and a sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.

With his current cultivation level, he didn't even have the right to interrupt; he could only remain silent and observe.

I must break through my cultivation level quickly. Only by increasing my strength can I stop being passively isolated from the situation like I am now.

He no longer has the right to stand in front of the person he wanted to protect, or even shield her from any harm.