In the end times, many children bring more blessings. I pick up a goddess every day.

Liu Yang stared at Bai Song without saying a word. From the time he left the Hundred Treasures Pavilion until now, Bai Song's behavior had become increasingly strange. One moment he would help him, and the next he seemed to be scheming against him, making it impossible for Liu Yang to figure out what was going on with him.

“If you don’t believe me, you can come with me.” Bai Song turned and walked into the passage. “I will take you to see the Zhao family’s trap, and then you will know whether I am lying or not.”

Liu Yang hesitated for a moment, but ultimately followed him inside. He wanted to see what Bai Song was up to, and what the Zhao and Wang families were plotting by joining forces.

The passage was pitch black, with only the faint light emanating from the compass in Bai Song's hand. After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a sliver of light suddenly appeared ahead. Bai Song stopped and lowered his voice, "The secret chamber of the Zhao family's forbidden area is just ahead. Be careful, don't let them discover you."

Liu Yang peeked out and saw that the secret room was filled with various magical artifacts. In the center was a circular array, and several cultivators stood around the array. One of them was Zhao Qian, and there was also an old man in a purple robe whose aura was comparable to Zhao Qian's—clearly a member of the Wang family.

"Brother Wang, is everything ready?" Zhao Qian asked the old man in the purple robe with a hint of urgency. "That brat should be arriving soon. We must kill him before he finds the Ice Thunder Token!"

"Don't worry," the old man in the purple robe sneered, "The formation has been set up. As soon as he enters, he will be trapped by the formation. Then, if we join forces, no matter how strong he is, he won't be able to escape!"

Upon hearing this, a chill flashed in Liu Yang's eyes. It turned out that the Zhao family had indeed joined forces with the Wang family to set a trap in the forbidden area to kill him, and what Bai Song said was actually true.

"What do we do now?" Su Qingyao's voice suddenly rang in my ears, clearly indicating that she had secretly followed me in.

Just as Liu Yang was about to speak, Bai Song suddenly turned around, and the compass in his hand emitted a beam of light, striking a stone in the passage.

The moment the stone was struck by the compass light, a violent tremor ran through the passageway walls, and rubble rained down. Bai Song's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly shouted, "Not good! The formation has sensed the fluctuation of spiritual energy and activated its warning!"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhao Qian and the purple-robed elder in the secret chamber turned their heads, their gazes instantly locking onto the entrance to the passage. Zhao Qian shouted sharply, "Who's outside?!" Before his words even finished, the Thunderclap Sword in his hand was already unsheathed, purple lightning crackling along the blade as it slashed towards the entrance of the passage.

"Quick, get out of the way!" Liu Yang pulled Su Qingyao behind him, simultaneously gathering spiritual energy to form a shield. Lightning struck the shield, the booming sound shaking the passage, and the spiritual energy shield instantly cracked. He used the recoil to retreat, only to find that a stone wall had risen behind the passage, completely blocking his escape route.

"Bai Song, what are you doing?!" Su Qingyao gripped the jade pendant at her waist, glaring angrily at Bai Song beside her. If he hadn't acted rashly just now, their whereabouts wouldn't have been exposed.

Cold sweat beaded on Bai Song's forehead, and the compass in his hand flashed red wildly: "I didn't do it on purpose! The Zhao family has set up a linkage array in this passage. As long as any external force touches the warning point, it will automatically seal off the retreat route... Now we can only rush forward!"

His words had barely left his lips when hurried footsteps echoed from the direction of the secret chamber. Zhao Qian stormed in with three cultivators, his Thunderclap Sword slicing through the air, lightning striking the three once more. Liu Yang dodged to the side, unleashing a spiritual energy slash in his backhand, aimed directly at Zhao Qian's face. Zhao Qian parried with his sword, the impact of the collision forcing him back two steps, his eyes wide with astonishment: "You actually withstood my full-force attack?"

"Don't waste words with him, kill them first!" The purple-robed elder followed closely behind, a folding fan appearing in his hand, runes flashing on its surface. He waved it at Su Qingyao, and three wind blades roared out. Su Qingyao hurriedly activated the jade pendant at her waist, a transparent barrier blocking the wind blades, but she was still shaken, her blood surging, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Seeing this, Liu Yang's eyes turned cold, and he conjured three spiritual energy arrows at his fingertips, aiming precisely at the purple-robed elder's wrist. The elder was forced to close his fan to block, and Liu Yang took the opportunity to pull Su Qingyao deeper into the secret chamber, while Bai Song followed closely behind, his compass spinning continuously, seemingly searching for something.

"They can't escape!" Zhao Qian roared, slamming his hand on the ground. Suddenly, four stone pillars rose up around the secret chamber, their surfaces covered in runes that glowed red, forming a barrier that enveloped the entire chamber. "This is a spirit-locking array, capable of suppressing the flow of spiritual energy. Today, you won't be able to escape!"

Liu Yang tried to mobilize his spiritual energy, but found that the flow of spiritual energy within his body had slowed down significantly, and even the range of his spiritual sense had shrunk by half. He looked around and his gaze fell on the circular array in the center of the secret chamber—the array was more complex than the one he had seen before, with three black tokens placed at the array's core, engraved with lightning patterns, which were fragments of the Ice Lightning Token!

"So you broke the Ice and Thunder Token into pieces to activate the killing formation." Liu Yang sneered. "No wonder you were so afraid I would find the forbidden area."

Zhao Qian's face darkened: "Since you've figured it out, I won't waste my breath. Hand over the 'Far North Ice Soul' you possess, and I might leave you with a whole corpse!"

"The Ice Crystal of the Far North?" Liu Yang was taken aback for a moment, then realized—Zhao Qian was referring to the ice-type spirit crystal he had brought back from the far north. That spirit crystal could suppress the power of lightning and was actually the key to breaking the Ice-Lightning Killing Array. It seemed that the person who leaked his whereabouts had even revealed the spirit crystal he possessed to the Zhao family.

Just then, Bai Song suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with urgency: "Fellow Daoist, the key to the Spirit Locking Array is on the stone pillar in the northwest! As long as we destroy the key, we can restore our spiritual power! I'll distract them, and you can take the opportunity to make your move!"

Before Liu Yang could respond, Bai Song suddenly slammed the compass to the ground. The compass exploded with a blinding light, temporarily blinding Zhao Qian and the purple-robed elder. He seized the opportunity to rush towards the cultivator on the left, a dagger now in his hand, which he thrust straight at the cultivator's throat. Caught off guard, the cultivator was struck in the neck and collapsed instantly.

"You're courting death!" Zhao Qian snapped out of his daze and slashed at Bai Song with his Thunderclap Sword. Bai Song, agile as ever, dodged the attack while shouting to Liu Yang, "Quick! The array's core can only be broken in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!"

Without further hesitation, Liu Yang grabbed Su Qingyao and rushed towards the stone pillar in the northwest. Seeing this, the purple-robed elder immediately gave chase, waving his folding fan and unleashing countless tiny wind blades towards the two. Su Qingyao gritted her teeth and activated her jade pendant, causing the barrier to unfold once more, but it was still teetering on the brink of collapse from the wind blades.

"You go destroy the array's core, I'll stop him!" Su Qingyao suddenly turned around, took out a yellow talisman from her storage bag, and the talisman burst into flames, transforming into a firebird that flew towards the purple-robed elder. This was her trump card, the "Blazing Fire Talisman," which could briefly withstand attacks from Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Liu Yang nodded and quickened his pace to the stone pillar. He could feel the runes on the pillar constantly absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy to maintain the operation of the spirit-locking array. He concentrated all his spiritual power, compressing it into an invisible longsword, and fiercely stabbed it at the runes on the pillar.

"Bang!" The spiritual sword struck the rune, causing the stone pillar to tremble violently. The red light of the rune dimmed slightly, but it did not shatter. Liu Yang frowned, and was about to exert his strength again when he suddenly heard Su Qingyao's muffled groan behind him. He turned around and saw that Su Qingyao had been struck in the shoulder by the purple-robed elder's wind blade, her sleeves stained with blood, and the jade pendant barrier was completely shattered.

"Qingyao!" Liu Yang's heart tightened. He was about to turn around to help her when he heard Bai Song's voice: "Don't turn around! The array core needs to be reinforced! I'll help Miss Su!"

After Bai Song finished speaking, he suddenly took out a black bead from his storage bag and threw it at the purple-robed elder. The bead exploded upon landing, releasing a cloud of black mist. Corrosive sounds emanated from the mist, forcing the elder to retreat. Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Song pulled Su Qingyao to Liu Yang's side: "Fellow Daoist, hurry! The black mist won't last long!"

Liu Yang took a deep breath and took the Arctic Ice Soul out of his storage bag. As soon as the Ice Soul was taken out, the surrounding air instantly cooled down, and the red light of the runes on the Spirit Locking Array noticeably dimmed. He pressed the Ice Soul against the stone pillar, and at the same time mobilized his spiritual power, stabbing it at the runes again.

"Crack!" This time, the runes shattered, and the red light on the stone pillar disappeared completely. The spirit-locking array in the secret chamber instantly failed, and Liu Yang felt the flow of spiritual energy within his body return to normal, and the range of his spiritual sense's detection also expanded to its maximum.

"Not good!" Zhao Qian's expression changed drastically, and he slashed at Liu Yang's back with the Thunderclap Sword. Liu Yang was prepared and turned to block the blade with the Arctic Ice Soul. The moment the Ice Soul touched the lightning, it emitted a crackling sound, and most of the lightning was absorbed by the Ice Soul. Zhao Qian was so shocked that his hands split open, and he almost dropped the Thunderclap Sword.

"This...how is this possible?!" Zhao Qian stared in disbelief at the Ice Soul in Liu Yang's hand. "How did the Arctic Ice Soul end up in your hands?!"

"That's none of your business." Liu Yang sneered, raising his hand to unleash a spiritual energy punch at Zhao Qian. Zhao Qian hastily blocked, but was blasted away by the spiritual energy punch, crashing into a stone pillar and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing the situation was dire, the old man in purple turned to run towards the entrance of the secret chamber. Su Qingyao quickly took out a talisman and threw it at his retreating figure. The talisman exploded in mid-air, and a vine suddenly rose from the ground, wrapping around the old man's ankle.

"Trying to run?" Liu Yang caught up in one step, gathering spiritual energy in his palm and striking the old man's back. The old man screamed, spitting out blood, and collapsed to the ground, his life force instantly waning.

Zhao Qian looked at the fallen purple-robed elder, then at Liu Yang holding the Ice Soul, his eyes filled with despair. Suddenly, he took out a red token from his storage bag. The token burst into flames, transforming into a signal flame that shot towards the ventilation opening at the top of the secret chamber.

"He's calling for help!" Bai Song's expression changed. "The Zhao family definitely has a backup plan. We need to get the Ice Lightning Token fragments quickly and leave this place!"

Liu Yang nodded, quickly walked to the circular array in the center of the secret chamber, and put the three Ice Lightning Token fragments into his storage bag. Just then, a flurry of footsteps and shouts of battle came from outside the secret chamber—the Zhao family's reinforcements had arrived!

"The passage is blocked. Where do we go?" Su Qingyao asked anxiously, looking at the closed passage.

Bai Song suddenly laughed. He walked to the west wall of the secret room, pressed his dagger against it, and a hidden door suddenly appeared in the wall: "I've already investigated. The Zhao family left a backup escape route in the secret room, leading to the back of Luoxia Mountain. Quick, reinforcements will be here soon!"

Liu Yang looked at the hidden door, then at Bai Song, feeling that Bai Song's actions were too smooth, as if he already knew the whole plan. But he didn't have time to think about it anymore, as the Zhao family reinforcements had already broken through the door of the secret chamber, and countless cultivators rushed in.

"Let's go!" Liu Yang pulled Su Qingyao along, following Bai Song into the hidden door. The hidden door slowly closed behind them, shutting out the shouts and cries of the Zhao family cultivators.

The secret passage was pitch black, with only the faint light emanating from the compass that Bai Song had taken out again. The three of them walked along the passage for about half an hour before light finally appeared ahead—the exit of the passage was on the back of Luoxia Mountain, outside of which lay a dense forest.

Just as he stepped out of the secret passage, Bai Song suddenly stopped, turned around, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Liu Yang: "Fellow Daoist, we were able to escape danger this time entirely thanks to your strength. I have important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Before Liu Yang could speak, Bai Song turned and disappeared into the woods, his figure quickly vanishing into the dense foliage. Su Qingyao looked in the direction Bai Song had disappeared and asked in confusion, "Master, why did Bai Song leave in such a hurry? It seems like he's hiding something from us."

Liu Yang frowned and took out three fragments of the Ice Lightning Token from his storage bag. The moment the fragments were taken out, they emitted a red light, as if sensing something. He looked up at the summit of Sunset Mountain, where a familiar spiritual energy fluctuation emanated—it was ice-type power originating from the same source as the Far North Ice Soul!

“It seems that the complete Ice Thunder Token is not in the Zhao family’s forbidden area, but at the top of Luoxia Mountain.” Liu Yang’s eyes became firm. “Moreover, Bai Song… he knew the true location of the Ice Thunder Token from the beginning. He helped us before, probably to use us to destroy the Zhao family’s killing formation.”

Su Qingyao suddenly realized: "No wonder he knew the layout of the secret room so well, and even knew the escape route! Should we go to the top of the mountain now to find the complete Ice Lightning Token?"

"Hmm." Liu Yang nodded and put the Ice Lightning Token fragment into his storage bag. "But before that, we need to deal with the tail behind us—the Zhao family has probably caught up already."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of cultivators' footsteps echoed from the woods behind him, along with Zhao Qian's angry shout: "Liu Yang! Come out here! Return the Ice Lightning Token fragment!"

Liu Yang sneered and pulled Su Qingyao towards the mountaintop. At the summit of Luoxia Mountain, not only was the complete Ice Thunder Token found, but also the answer he had always wanted to know—who had secretly leaked his whereabouts and why they had led him to Qingyang City.