With the Grand Sand Sacrifice Ceremony imminent and the peace conference right around the corner, everything was proceeding at a hurried pace.

Tomorrow, on the Mingsha platform, what a battle of words, what fierce clashes lay ahead!

This would be the first peace conference among the nations of the Longyuan continent — West Liang, West Jing, Da Zhou, and the Xiongnu. The emperors of West Liang, West Jing, and the Xiongnu had all come in person, each too preoccupied to rest, hurrying to consult with their advisors on how to deal with Jun Beiyue.

As for East Qin, the nation had already fallen, and so had no right to participate.

And yet the Empress of East Qin and Nanny Qin had also arrived at Akbachu — though, unable to gain entry into the city, they were now searching everywhere for Jun Beiyue.

The Emperor of West Jing, on the other hand, sat at ease, sipping tea leisurely while General Dugu reported the types and quantities of the spoils seized from West Liang.

“By the way, have you kept a close eye on Qianqian?” the Emperor of West Jing asked again, still uneasy.

“Rest assured, Your Majesty. She’s confined within the palace — aside from you and this subordinate, no one knows the princess has returned!”

That day, the moment Yelu Qianqian had seen General Dugu, she had tried to leave — but General Dugu had caught up with her and secretly brought her back, keeping her confined within the palace.

This had created the false impression that Han Ziqing and Situ Haonan were both still on the road!

It was precisely thanks to the cooperation of the Emperor of West Jing and General Dugu that Situ Haonan had been able to keep it all hidden from Jun Beiyue’s watchful eyes.

“Good. She must be watched closely! If that girl gets out, it’ll ruin everything for certain!”

The Emperor of West Jing spoke earnestly — if Yelu Qianqian got out, she’d surely go straight to Jun Beiyue. And besides, even if she didn’t seek him out herself, the moment Jun Beiyue learned she had returned, he would immediately understand exactly what was going on.

And then, if he came demanding answers from West Jing, where would West Jing even begin to find her?

This was a matter between the brothers Jun Beiyue and Situ Haonan — the Emperor of West Jing merely wanted to quietly fan the flames from the sidelines, then act as though he knew nothing at all!

Throughout the bustling city of Akbachu, everyone harbored their own secret schemes — and even as night fell, there was no peace to be found.

The wind grew even stronger as night fell over Akbachu.

Jun Beiyue’s cloak snapped and fluttered in the wind, his long black hair whipping about. He sat atop the city wall, relaxed and unhurried, his usual noble, aloof bearing tinged faintly with a rakish air rarely seen in him.

If one were to classify him as a rogue, he would be neither a common ruffian nor an idle dandy — only a noble rogue, and nothing less.

There is something truly striking about a man who waits earnestly, full of anticipation, for someone he loves.

He sat there without moving, unable to suppress his smile, a faint grin tugging at his lips, yet his deep, sea-dark eyes remained fixed steadily on the west, terrified of missing that long-awaited figure the moment it appeared.

Ziqing, hurry back!

The war was over, everything was over. Soon they would learn the secret of the totem, the secret of the Lishang score, and soon they would find the secret of the isolated island.

Ziqing, hurry back — he wanted so, so badly to hold her in his arms.

It had only been a month, and yet it felt like a hundred years, a thousand years had passed — so long that he’d nearly forgotten what it felt like to hold her close.

Ziqing, come back!

Would Ziqing be able to come back?

Perhaps no one could decide that — only she herself held that power.

In the dead of night, the cold wind cutting like knives, she was still fighting alone, bathed in blood — one small woman, facing down a pack of treacherous, cowardly wolves and tigers.

Her face was covered in blood, her hands covered in blood. She gritted her teeth, and even as her hands were slashed again and again, she never once let up, never once let go of the Wuzheng, still unleashing wind-blades sharp enough to pierce straight through bone.

She was determined to make every last one of them submit, to make Jun Beiyue’s sworn brother submit as well. She was determined to hold onto that last breath, determined to make it back for their promised meeting.

Had it been daytime, one would surely have seen the yellow sand around Mingsha Cave stained an entire sea of red.

And as the smell of blood thickened, the sense of smell of the Gu Nanny’s blood lizard was badly thrown off.

The blood lizard had originally led the Gu Nanny a long way in one direction, but a few days ago it had suddenly turned back, wavering and hesitant the whole way, often stopping in its tracks, unable to settle on a clear direction!

“Sweetheart, is it because the big day is almost here, and the medicinal-poison scent around here is too strong, throwing off your senses?”

The Gu Nanny’s attitude toward this venomous little lizard had grown far gentler than before — because this little creature was her very last hope of finding the one immune to all poisons.

Tomorrow — the year of Jiazi, the month of Jiazi, the day of Jiazi — was exactly the great day recorded in the scriptures, the great day of Akbachu!

It was also the very best day for cultivating a human Gu!

She had originally thought she wouldn’t make it in time for this day, and yet, unexpectedly, the blood lizard had turned back and begun circling around the area near Mingsha Mountain!

Without a doubt, that woman immune to all poisons was somewhere near Mingsha Mountain!

Everything, it seemed, was fated!

That girl couldn’t escape now. Thinking of this, the Gu Nanny couldn’t help but burst into laughter — after all these years of effort, heaven had finally rewarded her perseverance!

She had to find that girl, had to find her before noon tomorrow, no matter what!

The Gu Nanny was so anxious she could have grabbed the blood lizard by the neck to hurry it along, but she didn’t — instead, she held her patience and gently stroked the creature.

“Sweetheart, be good, hurry up and find her.”

“Otherwise, we might not make it in time.”

“Sweetheart, be good…”

…

Suddenly, in the middle of the Gu Nanny’s gentle pleading, the blood lizard gave a sudden shudder and stood upright!

The Gu Nanny felt her heart nearly stop — it had found her!

The blood lizard, remarkably intelligent, flicked its tongue at the Gu Nanny before darting off toward the northwest!

“Northwest…”

The Gu Nanny murmured to herself, murmuring on and on before suddenly crying out in shock, “Mingsha Mountain!”

Continuing northwest from here led straight to Mingsha Mountain!

“Ha ha ha, heaven is on my side, heaven is truly on my side!”

The Gu Nanny practically fell into a fit of manic joy, chasing after the lizard like a woman possessed.

She had every reason to be excited — after all these years of hardship, all these years of enduring in silence, what had it all been for?

It had all been for one purpose — to escape her fate!

The fate of the High Priestess!

She refused to be controlled by kings, refused to be imprisoned forever within the sacrificial hall after stepping down. She wanted freedom, she wanted power!

With enough strength in one’s own hands, one could stand against an entire imperial house!

Within the Great Barbarian Shaman Cult, she had found her own way to salvation!

With a human Gu in hand, none in the world could stand against her!

It wasn’t only the Gu Nanny who turned back toward Mingsha Cave — Baili Weisheng, too, coming from another direction, was rushing back in much the same frenzied state.

As a human Gu himself, having gone through the process of Gu cultivation, he was exceptionally sensitive to medicinal poisons. The closer he got to Mingsha Mountain, the thicker the scent of poison in the air became.

Baili Weisheng felt that everything about this was wrong — not just himself, but the entire desert seemed wrong, as if something enormous were about to happen!

This felt exactly like the calm before a storm!

His first thought immediately went to the secret chamber beneath Mingsha Mountain, and the underground world that lay beneath that chamber!

That was a world of poisonous beasts, everything inside as primordial as the age of chaos — countless beasts living among its mountains and forests, every single one venomous!

The scriptures recorded, word for word, that this world was the finest place to cultivate a yin-natured human Gu!

Any woman with yin-natured immunity to all poisons who entered that world would, without question, be transformed into a Gu!

How terrifying!

Thinking of this, Baili Weisheng couldn’t help but shudder, shrugging his shoulders and racing forward like the wind! He had to get to that secret chamber and see for himself — something down there had surely gone wrong!