After descending the mountain, my aloof fiancée became completely devoted to me.

Lin Ping looked up at the little fish that was flying through the air, a faint, mocking smile playing on his lips. His vast true energy surged around him, showing no trace of the weakness and exhaustion he had just displayed.

"You think your mere, dilapidated earth vein array is worthy to stop me? Today, I will not only destroy your sacrificial scheme, but also uproot this killing array, severing the foundation for your future chaos among the martial artists of the Southern Border."

Little Fish stood in mid-air, its mechanical right arm crackling with scarlet lightning, and roared fiercely, "How dare you! This formation isn't something you can destroy just like that!"

"Why not give it a try?"

Lin Ping turned to look at the group of martial artists who were gradually withdrawing from the formation behind him, and shouted, "Those who are willing to help, join me in shattering the formation's core and eliminating future troubles!"

The Yu family patriarch immediately raised his arm, leading all the clan's martial artists forward, their true energy gathering in their palms. "Mr. Lin saved the lives of my entire clan; the Yu family has an unshirkable duty!"

In contrast, the Zhou family head stood at the back of the crowd, his hands behind his back, observing coldly without showing any intention of moving. The Yang family members looked around, their eyes constantly glancing at the Zhou family head. Since he didn't move, they held back, not daring to step forward and get involved in the battle.

Zheng Yan gripped the long sword at his waist, standing beside Lin Ping, poised to strike, and whispered, "Mr. Lin, I will also join you in breaking the formation!"

Lin Ping nodded slightly, his palm surging with golden true energy, and he charged towards the core platform of the blood-red formation. The Yu family members followed closely behind, dozens of martial arts energies simultaneously bombarding the formation's eye.

Boom! The deafening explosions continued incessantly.

The crimson barrier shattered layer by layer, and the earth vein nodes supporting the operation of the great formation collapsed one after another. The few remaining deputies on the high platform were unable to escape and were directly swallowed up by the dissipating baleful energy.

In just a few breaths, the sacrificial array that Xiaoyuer had spent months setting up completely collapsed, leaving behind a mess of broken magical artifacts and mechanical debris.

As the formation broke and the malevolent energy dissipated, the rescued martial artists showed joy and looked at Lin Ping, assuming that the crisis was completely over.

Lin Ping stood with his hands behind his back, a faint sense of relief in his eyes, thinking to himself that he had finally thwarted Xiaoyuer's conspiracy.

But the little fish in mid-air showed no panic whatsoever. Instead, it tilted its head back and let out a maniacal laugh, the sound echoing throughout the entire Tianshan Mountains.

"Lin Ping, do you really think that destroying a trapping formation will solve everything?"

Her eyes revealed a sinister glint as she slammed her fingertips onto the control button on the mechanical right arm.

The next instant, the entire Tianshan Mountains trembled violently, the rocks beneath our feet shook wildly, and boulders tumbled down from the cliffs on both sides. The earth-shattering roar made everyone's eardrums ache.

"Oh no! The mountain is about to collapse!" someone in the crowd exclaimed in alarm.

A massive crack spread from the mountaintop, widening the ravines. Warm, luminous light surged from the ground, and a snow lotus rooted in the core of the earth's veins, its petals translucent like jade, slowly rose, its rich spiritual energy sweeping in all directions. This was the legendary divine medicine that could break through the shackles of cultivation.

Little Fish flashed into the crevice, transforming into a black shadow. He grabbed the snow lotus root with his fingertips, holding the treasure firmly in his hand.

She stood on the edge of the collapsing cliff, looking down at the crowd with a mocking and smug expression.

"Many thanks, Mr. Lin, for breaking the formation. This earth vein seal can only reveal the Snow Lotus by forcibly breaking it. I could never break the earth vein's restraint and retrieve the divine medicine on my own. Today, you have personally paved the way for my success!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she didn't linger. Her body transformed into a blood-red afterimage and fled swiftly towards the deep mountains and dense forests, disappearing into the clouds in an instant.

The mountain trembled more violently, and it could collapse completely at any moment. The group of martial artists hurriedly retreated towards the mountain path, all their suppressed anger directed at Lin Ping.

"It's all your fault! You insisted on destroying the formation, which only made things easier for Xiaoyuer, allowing her to steal the treasure!"

"If we had known this would happen, we would have been better off leaving ourselves trapped inside the formation, and we shouldn't have helped the enemy break the seal on the ley lines!"

"Now the formation is gone, the divine medicine has been stolen, we've lost everything, and we almost perished in the landslide!"

A cacophony of accusations rose and fell, everyone's faces filled with resentment, but Zheng Yan stood quietly to the side, his lips pressed tightly together, not uttering a single word, not joining in with a single reproach.

Lin Ping looked up into the depths of the clouds where Xiaoyuer had disappeared, a cold light surging in his eyes, and he was secretly surprised. He had calculated all of his opponent's backup plans, but he never expected that Xiaoyuer had hidden this trick of using someone else to steal his treasure.

Seeing everyone criticizing Lin Ping, Zheng Yan quickly walked to his side and began to explain in a deep voice.

"Please calm down, seniors. This matter cannot be blamed on Mr. Lin."

He pointed to the cracking ground beneath his feet and explained clearly, "Xiaoyuer's sacrificial array is based on the complete ley lines of the Tianshan Mountains, with the array's core connected to the ley line seal. If the sacrificial array isn't broken, all of us will have our souls extracted and sacrificed; but once the array's core is destroyed, the balance of the ley lines will be directly broken, the seal will naturally be broken, and the Snow Lotus will be revealed. This was a double trap that Xiaoyuer had laid long ago; whether we acted or not, she had already planned her escape route."

After these words were spoken, the surrounding crowd that had been criticizing them fell silent instantly, their faces filled with embarrassment, unable to utter their previous angry curses.

The Zhou family head coughed lightly and stepped forward, pretending to offer advice but actually trying to distance himself from the situation: "So there's more to this story. The reason I was unwilling to break the formation earlier was because I vaguely sensed that the earth's veins were hiding a hidden danger. Fortunately, my Zhou family remained inactive and did not get involved and cause trouble."

The Yang family members nodded in agreement, praising the Zhou family head for his foresight.

Lin Ping glanced indifferently at the hypocritical faces of the Zhou family and did not argue further. With the mountain continuing to collapse, it was not advisable to stay there for long.

"This place is no place to stay any longer. Everyone, descend the mountain immediately."

Without daring to delay, the group hastily retreated along the mountain path. Zheng Yan remained by Lin Ping's side, his brows furrowed.

"Mr. Lin, once Xiaoyuer obtains the Tianshan Snow Lotus, her cultivation level will definitely increase dramatically. Coupled with the large number of cultivators and modified assassins under her command, Southern Xinjiang is likely to face an even greater disaster."

Lin Ping rubbed his palm with his fingertips, a faint worry hidden in his eyes, while maintaining his weak appearance due to depleted blood and energy, and spoke softly.

"It doesn't matter. She thinks that getting the treasure means she's won, but little does she know that I've already planted a tracking device on her. No matter where she runs, I can accurately track her movements."

The two followed slowly behind the crowd, retreating down the shaky mountain path to the foot of the mountain.

Suddenly, the secret voice transmitted by Ake through a secret technique rang in Lin Ping's mind, the words clearly entering his ears.

"Lin Ping, Zhu Xiaohan has seriously injured Aoxue, and everyone in the manor harbors resentment towards her. When you return, it will be the time when the two of them completely break up. Xiaoyuer has taken Xuelian away. We only need to wait for you to return to the manor and be distracted, then we can gather all our forces for a surprise attack and take down all the women in the manor in one fell swoop."

Two crises are looming at the same time: on one side is Little Fish, who holds a treasure and is waiting for a chance to counterattack; on the other side is the manor, where misunderstandings are rampant and there are traitors hiding in the backyard.

Lin Ping paused, looked up at the direction of the suburban manor in the distance, and a chilling killing intent slowly rose in his eyes.

He had been playing dumb and hiding his true intentions for days, patiently waiting for the right moment to wipe out the Illuminati forces in one fell swoop, but he never expected to fall into their trap after trap.

Zheng Yan noticed the sudden chill in the person beside him and asked softly, "Mr. Lin, what's wrong?"

Lin Ping slowly withdrew his gaze, suppressed the surging anger in his heart, and shook his head slightly.

"It's nothing. I have something else to take care of after I go down the mountain."