Third day afternoon.

The maid, Xiao Wu, came to the west wing and informed Liu Le'er that Baishi Zhenren was ready and could treat Liu Shi.

Led by Xiao Wu, Liu Le'er led Liu Shi through a series of corridors, across four courtyard houses, and out of a circular archway before finally arriving at the back garden of the Yu mansion.

The winding courtyards and corridors had already amazed Liu Le'er, but when she saw the small lake covered with green lotus leaves in the backyard, she finally realized the true extent of the Yu mansion.

Calling it a small lake was only in comparison to the great rivers and seas Liu Le'er had seen before. In reality, this lake was at least three to four hundred zhang in circumference. The ponds in ordinary wealthy people's homes were naturally incomparable.

"Miss Le'er, that is where Baishi Zhenren refines elixirs and cultivates," Xiao Wu said, raising her hand and pointing to a small island in the center of the lake.

Following Xiao Wu's finger, Liu Le'er saw a nine-turn stone bridge made of white jade, weaving through the lotus leaves and leading to the island.

The island was not large, but it was densely wooded and shrouded in clouds and mist, making it difficult to see clearly.

The thought that her "Stone Brother" might be cured once they reached the island filled her small face with excitement, and her thoughts began to stir.

"The Zhenren's place of cultivation is not somewhere we servants can go. Miss Le'er, you can go on your own from here," Xiao Wu said with a giggle, noticing Liu Le'er's absent-mindedness.

"Thank you, Sister Xiao Wu," Liu Le'er said, snapping back to reality and quickly expressing her gratitude.

Liu Le'er's sweet "Sister" pleased Xiao Wu very much. She waved her hand happily and turned to leave with light steps.

The girl looked at the misty island in the center of the lake, holding the stone bridge railing with one hand. Without hurrying onto the bridge, a thought suddenly popped into her head:

"If Stone Brother is cured, will he leave Le'er?"

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel uneasy, but when she looked at the tall young man's exceptionally familiar face again, she suddenly felt relieved.

"Stone Brother, let's go."

The girl took the first step onto the stone bridge, leading Liu Shi towards the island.

Walking between the green leaves and stone bridge, Liu Le'er couldn't help but feel nervous as they got closer. Liu Shi, on the other hand, was calm, occasionally attracted by the koi fish peeking out from under the lotus leaves, looking around.

When they arrived at the edge of the island, Liu Le'er felt that the smoke on the island was not as thick as it looked from afar. There were also not many birds chirping around, making it particularly elegant and quiet.

At the end of the stone bridge, there was a small path paved with bluestone slabs, winding into the depths of the island.

Liu Le'er and Liu Shi walked along the path, without any forks, and came straight to an ancient Taoist temple with white walls and black tiles.

Baishi Zhenren was standing in front of the Taoist temple, waiting. Seeing the two, he simply said, "Come in," without any expression and turned to walk towards the back hall of the temple.

The two followed the old Taoist through three main halls and arrived at the back courtyard of the Taoist temple, where there was a huge rockery.

Baishi Zhenren walked to a rock wall and pressed on it. A heavy stone door slowly opened, revealing a man-high cave entrance.

After the two followed the old Taoist into the cave, the heavy stone door behind them slowly closed.

The cave was man-made, and the space inside was not very large, only slightly larger than the west wing where they lived. Several lamps were lit on each of the four walls, burning an unknown oil that produced no smoke at all.

In the center of the ground was an octagonal pattern, resembling the Eight Trigrams, but clearly different.

The carvings in the pattern were very deep, containing not only strange bird and animal patterns but also bizarre lines. She vaguely felt that she had seen them before, seemingly some kind of ancient seal characters.

At each corner of the octagon, there was also an inserted dark red triangular flag, on which similar strange patterns were drawn with gold thread.

"What are you waiting for? Make him sit in the center of the formation," Baishi Zhenren said coldly, glancing at Liu Le'er, who was examining the formation.

"Yes."

Liu Le'er quickly retracted her gaze and led the tall young man to sit blankly in the circular pattern in the very center of the formation.

"Stone Brother, you will get better, Le'er will be here with you," Liu Le'er said seriously, staring into Liu Shi's eyes. Then, reluctantly, she left the formation and stood against the stone wall, watching the old Taoist with a nervous expression.

"Now you stay where you are. Do not make a sound to disturb me, and do not move even half a step. Do you understand?" Baishi Zhenren instructed solemnly.

Liu Le'er nodded quickly.

Only then did Baishi Zhenren step forward. He first put his palms together in a Taoist salute and then walked around the formation, chanting obscure incantations.

As his chanting began, golden lines on the eight triangular flags around the formation lit up with a dazzling golden light, spreading from all directions and covering Liu Shi.

Liu Shi, who had been looking around, suddenly shook as if electrocuted when the golden light covered him, sitting up straight.

Seeing this, Liu Le'er's heart jumped, feeling both worried and expectant.

Golden light flowed around Liu Shi's body, vaguely beginning to condense into strange golden patterns. At the same time, specks of golden light seemed to gather in his eyes, making him look even more eerie.

Baishi Zhenren's chanting suddenly stopped, and the hand gestures forming the magic seal changed abruptly. He shouted loudly, snapping his fingers:

"Suppress!"

The golden light that had been wandering around Liu Shi suddenly solidified, enveloping him like a layer of golden paper.

Through the golden light, Liu Shi's face could still be seen, his brow furrowed, appearing somewhat painful.

A "sizzling" sound rang out!

The eight flags around the formation glowed red brightly, and streams of black and gray mist flowed out of them, gathering towards the center of the formation.

Seeing this, Liu Le'er's expression changed slightly. For some reason, the moment the black and gray mist appeared, she instinctively felt extremely uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Liu Shi groaned, and the muscles in his face twitched.

"Ah!"

Liu Le'er couldn't help but exclaim, but she quickly covered her apricot mouth with a pale jade hand.

"Shut up! Can you bear the consequences if you interfere with my incantation?" Baishi Zhenren scolded sharply, his fingers still tightly clasped.

Liu Le'er's heart trembled, and she dared not say another word, but the panic in her eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

The mist, like a living thing, weaved into tentacles, writhing and climbing up, directly engulfing Liu Shi.

Then, the old Taoist formed a magic seal with one hand, and a gloomy incantation sounded.

The black and gray mist grew more and more abundant, and thicker and thicker.

The tall young man in the mist first showed a confused expression, then his eyelids drooped, and he slowly closed his eyes, actually falling asleep while standing.

Seeing this, the old Taoist's face revealed a hint of joy. The magic seal in his hand suddenly changed, and he opened his mouth again, spitting out a ball of essence blood that turned into specks of blood light, directly disappearing into the black and gray mist.

Instantly, a strong bloody smell emanated from the mist, and blood-colored runes emerged frantically.

"Something's wrong..."

Seeing this, Liu Le'er's expression changed several times, and her intuition strongly told her that the situation in front of her was wrong, but due to the previous warning, the girl hesitated.

But at this moment, with a low shout from the old Taoist.

The temperature of the black and gray mist suddenly dropped sharply, turning into a huge black ice block in the specks of crystal light, freezing the tall young man in the middle.

"Stop it! What are you doing?" Liu Le'er finally affirmed the "malice" of this Yu Shi Zhenren. Immediately, she shouted with a flushed face, disregarding everything else and stepping towards the formation. A palm-sized rattle drum appeared in her hand, ready to smash the ice block and save him.