I am destroying the protagonist in the fantasy world!

The old voice echoed like thunder from the sky, echoing through the empty valley. Lei Yi and Dongfang Liuli both looked in the direction of the sound, alertly seeing an elderly man in a cyan robe, leaning on a cane, walking steadily towards them. The man had white hair but a youthful face, a sharp gaze, and a powerful aura in his every move. He was a hidden master.

"Junior Lei Yi, nice to meet you, Senior." Lei Yi bowed, but a sense of caution remained in his heart. This suddenly appearing old man was unfathomable, no ordinary person, but the timing of his appearance was too coincidental to be doubted.

"I'm Gongsun Yu. I've long heard of Young Master Lei's great name." The old man nodded slightly, his gaze lingering on Lei Yi for a moment. "I wonder why you're here?"

Lei Yi's heart trembled. It seemed that this Mr. Gongsun was indeed closely related to Master Murong. He must be cautious in his dealings. "I just happened to be passing by here. I have no other purpose," Lei Yi replied calmly, secretly observing Gongsun Yu's reaction.

Gongsun Yu seemed unaware of Lei Yi's vigilance. He just smiled faintly and said, "In that case, I will not disturb you any longer. The mountains are high and the roads are long. Take care." After that, he turned and left without stopping at all.

"He's gone?" Dongfang Liuli asked softly, watching Gongsun Yu's receding figure. "Is he really Mr. Murong's man?"

"Almost certainly." Lei Yi nodded, a cold glint in his eyes. "Judging from his words and attitude, he should know something, but he just doesn't want to reveal it."

"Then what should we do now?" Dongfang Liuli asked, "Should we go find him directly?"

Lei Yi pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "No, not yet. Gongsun Yu's strength is unfathomable. Any rash action would only alert the enemy." He paused, a glint in his eyes. "We need to investigate covertly and find solid evidence before we can capture him."

At nightfall, Lei Yi quietly left the cave. With his newfound abilities, he moved through the night like a ghost, silently following Gongsun Yu. Gongsun Yu seemed oblivious, heading deep into a dense forest. Lei Yi felt a surge of joy, anticipating a reward tonight.

However, just as Lei Yi was about to approach Gongsun Yu, a powerful aura suddenly reached him from the front, sending a chill through his heart. He quickly held his breath, completely concealing his presence, and hid in the shadow of a towering tree.

Gongsun Yu seemed to sense something, and he paused for a moment, scanning his surroundings sharply, but finding nothing. He snorted coldly and muttered to himself, "Am I being too suspicious?" Then he continued walking forward.

Lei Yi watched Gongsun Yu disappear into the depths of the dense forest, secretly rejoicing. He hadn't expected Gongsun Yu's perception to be so sharp; it had nearly exposed his whereabouts. It seemed he needed to be even more cautious if he wanted to uncover the truth. He took a deep breath and was about to follow when he realized an invisible barrier had appeared ahead, blocking him out...

Gongsun Yu disappeared into the depths of the dense forest. Lei Yi was about to follow when he suddenly collided with an invisible wall and was thrown back. He steadied himself, frowning, and reached out to touch it. His palm felt a piercing chill, accompanied by a slight numbness.

"It's a formation!" Lei Yi muttered to himself, a solemn look flashing in his eyes. This formation was very hidden, and if he hadn't touched it personally, he wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

"How's it going?" Dongfang Liuli's voice came from not far away, a hint of worry in her tone. She had been on guard outside, keeping a close eye on the surroundings.

"There is a formation set up here. I need some time to break it." Lei Yi said without turning his head, his eyes fixed on the invisible barrier in front of him, and his mind was quickly deducing a way to break it.

Dongfang Liuli didn't say anything more after hearing this, but instead observed her surroundings more vigilantly. The night wind blew, and the shadows of the trees swayed, as if countless dangers were lurking.

Suddenly, a light sound of footsteps came from behind. Dongfang Liuli was startled and turned around suddenly, only to see several dark shadows approaching her silently.

"Who is it?" Dongfang Liuli shouted sternly, unsheathing the long sword in his hand with a cold light flashing.

"The one who will take your life!" The leading man in black spoke in a cold tone without any emotion. Before he finished speaking, he swung the sharp blade in his hand and attacked Dongfang Liuli.

Dongfang Liuli snorted coldly and rushed forward fearlessly. Swords clashed, sparks flew, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle.

Dongfang Liuli was outnumbered, and although she wasn't at a disadvantage, she couldn't escape easily. These men in black were clearly well-trained assassins, their moves ruthless and merciless, clearly intent on taking her life.

Dongfang Liuli knew in his heart that these people must have been sent by Young Master Murong. It seemed that they had already noticed his intentions.

"Lei Yi, be careful!" Dongfang Liuli shouted while resisting the attack of the man in black.

Lei Yi was completely focused on breaking the formation before him, and had no time to think about anything else. He knew Dongfang Liuli's strength and believed she could handle the situation.

As time passed, beads of sweat formed on Lei Yi's forehead, but he dared not relax. This formation was even more complex than he had imagined. If he was not careful, he would trigger the restriction and bring about greater trouble.

Finally, after trying countless methods, Lei Yi finally found a flaw in the formation. A gleam flashed in his eyes, and his hands quickly formed seals. Mysterious runes shot out from his fingertips and disappeared into the barrier before him.

"break!"

With Lei Yi's low shout, the barrier in front of him suddenly trembled violently, making a buzzing sound, as if it would collapse at any time.

At this moment, Dongfang Liuli's voice came again, with a hint of anxiety in her tone: "Lei Yi, hurry! They want to..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the sound of fierce fighting. Lei Yi's heart tightened, and without caring about anything else, he suddenly pushed the true energy in his body to the extreme and slammed his palm towards the weak point of the barrier.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the barrier shattered. Lei Yi's eyes suddenly lit up and he saw Gongsun Yu standing in front of a stone platform not far away, talking in a low voice with several masked men in black, as if they were plotting something.

Lei Yi held his breath and approached them cautiously, wanting to hear their conversation clearly.

"...We must ensure that nothing goes wrong..."

"Don't worry, everything is going according to plan..."

"...when the time is right..."

Lei Yi heard the intermittent conversation, and although he couldn't quite hear it clearly, he sensed a strong hint of conspiracy. He thought to himself: It seems that a bigger storm is about to come...

Suddenly, Gongsun Yu seemed to notice something. He turned around abruptly, his eyes like lightning, staring directly in the direction of Lei Yi. A cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he slowly said, "Since you're here, why don't you show yourself?"

Lei Yi was startled, knowing he'd been exposed. He hadn't anticipated that even after breaking through the formation barrier, Gongsun Yu would still have such secret warnings. Gongsun Yu was truly the foremost counselor to Master Murong, his meticulous mind making him impossible to guard against.

Lei Yi did not show up, but held his breath and dared not move, hoping that Gongsun Yu had only noticed something unusual rather than having determined his location.

"Who is it?!" Gongsun Yu shouted sharply, his eyes flashing coldly. He flicked open his folding fan and glanced around vigilantly. Seeing this, the masked men in black immediately stopped talking, weapons drawn, and surrounded Gongsun Yu. Their eyes were as sharp as hawks, searching for any suspicious movements.

The night wind rustled the trees, adding to the tense atmosphere. Lei Yi hid behind a sturdy tree, completely concealing his form within the shadows. His heart pounded as if it threatened to burst from his chest. He knew he had to remain calm to find a chance to escape.

Gongsun Yu looked around and didn't notice anything unusual, but his brows were still furrowed, and he felt a sense of unease. He trusted his intuition. That was definitely not an illusion. Someone must be lurking nearby!

"Sir, what's wrong?" a man in black asked in a low voice with a hint of doubt in his tone.

Gongsun Yu didn't answer, but slowly walked to the stone platform, picked up a document on the table, and examined it carefully. His eyes swept over every word on the document, not missing any clues.

Seeing this, Lei Yi's heart stirred, knowing this was an opportunity. He quietly circulated his inner Qi, blending his figure into the night, and like a spirit cat, he stalked towards the stone platform.

Gongsun Yu was so engrossed in examining the documents that he didn't notice Lei Yi approaching. Holding his breath, Lei Yi approached the stone platform step by step, his eyes fixed on the contents of the documents, hoping to find some useful information.

Finally, Lei Yi arrived at the stone platform, less than ten feet away from Gongsun Yu. He lowered his body, trying not to make any noise, and quickly scanned the contents of the document.

Suddenly, his eyes fixed on the document and he saw a line of small words on it: "...Get rid of Lei Yi..."

Lei Yi's heart trembled, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He knew that he had guessed correctly. Young Master Murong had indeed decided to kill him!

At this moment, Lei Yi accidentally touched a loose stone with his feet, and there was a light "crack" sound, which was particularly harsh in the quiet night.

"There!" Gongsun Yu suddenly raised his head, his eyes like lightning, shooting straight in the direction of Lei Yi. A cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and the folding fan in his hand instantly turned into a cold light, shooting towards Lei Yi, "You finally showed up!"

The folding fan, bearing a sharp gust of wind, pierced the air. Knowing he couldn't dodge it, Lei Yi rolled sideways, barely avoiding the vitals. He didn't dare to fight any longer. Before the men in black could attack, he tiptoed and, like a night owl, darted into the depths of the dense forest, disappearing.

"Chase! Don't let him run away!" Gongsun Yu shouted coldly, with murderous intent in his eyes.

The men in black immediately dispersed in pursuit, but there was no sign of Lei Yi. Gongsun Yu stood there, his face gloomy and terrifying. He hadn't expected that despite his carefulness, Lei Yi would still discover his tracks.

"It seems I underestimated him before." Gongsun Yu muttered to himself, a sinister look flashing in his eyes. "However, since you already know my plan, don't even think about leaving alive!"

Lei Yi ran furiously until he was sure he had shaken off his pursuers. Only then did he dare to stop and lean against a tree trunk to catch his breath. He looked down and found that his clothes had been torn and blood was oozing out. Fortunately, the injury was not serious.

The situation just now was too dangerous. If he hadn't reacted in time, he would have died on the spot. Although he didn't hear the entire conversation, the phrase "eliminate Lei Yi" and the words "poison" and "assassination" mentioned in the document were enough to make him understand that Master Murong had murderous intentions towards him.

Lei Yi took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He knew these clues were just the tip of the iceberg. Young Master Murong's plot was far more than just getting rid of him. He had to find out the truth as soon as possible to resolve the crisis.

Upon returning to his residence, Lei Yi immediately told Dongfang Liuli about what had happened tonight. Dongfang Liuli frowned and after a moment's hesitation, she said, "It seems our previous suspicions were correct. There is indeed something wrong with Master Murong. But why did he do this?"

Lei Yi shook his head, puzzled. He and Master Murong had never met before, let alone any deep hatred. Why would the other party want him dead?

"There must be something fishy going on when things are out of the ordinary. I'm afraid this isn't that simple." Dongfang Liuli pondered, "We need more clues."

Lei Yi nodded, a cold glint in his eyes. He was not a fish to be slaughtered at will. Since Master Murong wanted to play, he would accompany him to the end!

"Tomorrow, let's go to the forest again." Lei Yi said in a deep voice, his eyes falling on the wooden plaque with strange symbols engraved on the table. "I have a hunch that there may be the answers we are looking for there."

Dongfang Liuli followed his gaze and saw the wooden sign that they had found in the forest before. The symbols on it were very strange, like some kind of text, but no one could recognize it.

"Okay." Dongfang Liuli nodded in agreement, a look of determination flashing in her eyes, "This time, we must get to the bottom of this!"

Lei Yi clenched his fists, his eyes gleaming with determination. He wanted to see who would have the last laugh in this game...

The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, Lei Yi and Dongfang Liuli set out towards the mysterious forest...