That flicker of fear in the King of Nanzhao’s eyes vanished as quickly as it appeared—so quickly that even Xuanyuan Lige failed to notice it. But at this moment, Xuanyuan Lige had no attention to spare for such things anyway; he cared far more about Ziqing’s whereabouts.
He was almost certain now—Ziqing was inside the Poison Beast World!
The three clan chieftains, however, were clearly quite interested in this particular question, all turning to look at the King of Nanzhao.
Regarding the Isolated Island, the three chieftains didn’t actually know the full truth—at the very least, they believed there were still secrets even the three tribes weren’t privy to, known only to the royal house.
And the question Xuanyuan Lige had just asked was one the three tribes had long been curious about themselves!
Unfortunately, the King of Nanzhao, just as generations of Nanzhao kings before him had done, insisted flatly, “There is none!”
“Young man, if there were, my royal ancestors would never have resorted to such cruel slaughter back then!” the King of Nanzhao countered, as though it were only natural.
Xuanyuan Lige nodded, not pressing the question further—what concerned him most now was Ziqing’s safety.
“Where is the entrance to the Poison Beast World? Why did they dig down to the secret chamber only to find it empty inside?” Xuanyuan Lige asked seriously.
“They… why would they be digging?… What… do they know?” the King of Nanzhao asked, probing.
“Searching for someone. Someone went missing in that tornado,” Xuanyuan Lige said seriously—without applying real pressure, this group wouldn’t feel urgency.
The King of Nanzhao and the three clan chieftains all tensed at once.
“Who?”
“Master Xuanyuan, this is no small matter—who exactly has gone missing, and how?”
“Are you certain someone has actually disappeared? Who is it, that the Xijing royal family would take it so seriously?”
…
However the question was phrased, it all came down to the same underlying issue—the missing person was the one immune to all poisons. Who was it?
Would Xuanyuan Lige answer? Absolutely not!
Seeing his silence, the King of Nanzhao finally couldn’t help himself, leaping to his feet. “Xuanyuan Lige, once a person immune to all poisons enters the Poison Beast World, that means Gu cultivation begins!”
The King of Nanzhao was truly anxious now, though Xuanyuan Lige was even more so, forced to hold himself back to get the full story.
“Why?”
“You! Do you even understand the gravity of this! You say she’s the woman you love most, don’t you? Let me tell you—what the poison beasts crave most is the blood of someone immune to all poisons; it can enhance a poison beast’s toxicity and power. Even if that person never bleeds, the beasts can still catch the scent of her blood in the air. Once someone immune to all poisons enters the Poison Beast World, whether or not Gu cultivation has begun, she will be forced to fight the beast horde for her life, and once she starts fighting, she won’t be able to stop. Her body will grow stronger and stronger while her consciousness grows weaker and weaker! Even without anyone controlling her mind, she will inevitably lose her reason and become a walking corpse!”
Not only the King of Nanzhao but all three clan chieftains had risen to their feet as well, each one agitated, practically jumping in place.
“Master Xuanyuan, how can you be so certain that woman is someone immune to all poisons!”
“Master Xuanyuan, why would that woman have appeared at Mingsha Mountain, and what caused that great windstorm!”
“Master Xuanyuan, say something!”
…
Faced with the anxious barrage of questions, Xuanyuan Lige pressed down his worry, pressed down the blood rising in his throat, and remained outwardly composed and elegant. “How can the seal on the Poison Beast World be opened?”
From what he’d learned from Yingzi, combined with what the King of Nanzhao had just said, he could be certain now—the Poison Beast World wasn’t a physical place at all, but a barrier, a sealed realm.
If one understood this barrier, understood how to unlock its seal, then regardless of where one stood, one could open the barrier and enter the Poison Beast World.
The Nanzhao royal family were the ones who had destroyed the Isolated Island; once the island fell, the Poison Beast World would surely have come under Nanzhao royal control.
Even having learned this much, Xuanyuan Lige had no intention of carelessly revealing Ziqing’s identity—let alone when he still hadn’t fully understood the situation.
Seeing Xuanyuan Lige’s composed, unhurried manner, the King of Nanzhao knew he had lost this exchange. Xuanyuan Lige might be able to afford to wait this out, but the Nanzhao royal house could not.
Once a human Gu was successfully cultivated, Nanzhao’s beast legions, the Yao clan’s poison den, the Jiao clan’s shark warriors—none of it would hold any advantage anymore. Nanzhao, this most understated yet most formidable of nations, would truly and completely lose its position as hegemon of Longyuan.
“The entrance is beneath Mingsha Mountain. But because of that great windstorm, the entrance has vanished.”
As the King of Nanzhao spoke, he studied Xuanyuan Lige carefully. “As for why that great storm arose, we’ve been investigating all along—but to this day we haven’t found a single clue.”
“The Poison Beast World is a barrier—how could it possibly have a fixed, physical entrance!” Xuanyuan Lige countered at once.
Generally speaking, the entrance to a barrier wasn’t a specific physical location at all, but a seal—one only needed to summon the seal forth, and opening the seal would open the passage.
The King of Nanzhao looked at Xuanyuan Lige and shook his head, at which point the Yao clan elder finally spoke up. “Master Xuanyuan, allow this old one to explain.”
“Master Xuanyuan, the Poison Beast World, this barrier, was created by the Isolated Island’s great Gu master. There are five seals in total—five gates. Whoever knows how to release the seals can summon them forth at any time, opening or destroying them as needed.”
Hearing the Yao elder’s words, Xuanyuan Lige finally saw a glimmer of hope—if it could be opened, that was good news.
He kept his expression neutral, continuing to listen.
The Yao elder sighed before continuing, “So, once the secret of the human Gu was discovered, the Nanzhao royal family specifically invited the most skilled barrier masters to destroy the east, west, south, and north gates of the Poison Beast World. But the fifth gate couldn’t be destroyed, because that fifth gate wasn’t summoned into being—it was linked directly to the underground spring beneath Mingsha Mountain!”
At this, the King of Nanzhao spoke up indignantly, “That great Gu master had planned it deliberately—he intentionally tied one of the seal gates to the underground spring, precisely because doing so would make it far harder to destroy!”
“It’s right there in the passage beneath Mingsha Mountain?” Xuanyuan Lige asked, incredulous.
The Yao elder nodded helplessly. “Yes. Once a seal is created based on a physical object, destroying that seal requires a massive undertaking to destroy the object itself.”
“You couldn’t destroy Mingsha Mountain, you had no authority to disturb it, and you didn’t want this secret to leak out—so all you could do was guard it,” Xuanyuan Lige said coldly.
“Yes, all we could do was guard it—secretly converting the underground cavern into a hidden chamber, generation after generation standing watch over that deep pool. Because ever since that entrance appeared, it has remained open to this very day!”
“Open!” Xuanyuan Lige was stunned.
“Yes, it has remained open the entire time! After the tornado, we grew anxious too, but later discovered the storm hadn’t blown away all the sand—not even the underground chamber had been exposed. We’ve kept watch on that stretch of desert ever since. Though Yelu Qianqian and her people dug down to the chamber, the true entrance lies beneath the deep pool—and that pool plunges down ten thousand fathoms, far too deep to easily reach,” the Yao elder explained seriously.
“So you haven’t been worried—you’re still simply watching and waiting,” Xuanyuan Lige said flatly.
To his surprise, at these words the King of Nanzhao slammed his palm down on the table and rose to his feet. “How could we not be worried? Xuanyuan Lige, you tell me—this person immune to all poisons you speak of, how exactly did she disappear!”