And then, there was that small pond.

Two water lilies had bloomed on the surface, attracting dragonflies to perch, while the other pink lotus buds pointed toward the sky. Fish could be seen frolicking among the lotus leaves—besides two showy koi, the rest were common species like dark silver carp and grass carp, picking at algae and snails from the bottom of the pond.

She then entered the house for a brief look. It had a very orderly layout. The main room upon entering served as the hall, with a small chamber on each side, their bedding neatly arranged. Behind the house was the kitchen. Every corner had been cleaned spotlessly, with even the pot lid on the stove polished to a gleaming shine.

The scene before her was incredibly peaceful, as peaceful as a rural farmhouse that could be found anywhere in the countryside. Why would such a place exist in the Inch Bottle of the dignified Imperial Advisor?

The light in this tiny inch-sized world was very dim, and Feng Miaojun could not see the outside situation, suggesting that Yun Ya had hidden the bottle. Since there was no use in being anxious, she simply sat down in the house, lit an oil lamp, and began treating the burns on her hands.

If there was anything unusual about this house, it would be the five-drawer cabinet in the right chamber that stored various medicines. This room contained a multitude of items—some she recognized, others whose purposes she couldn’t identify at all—but all were neatly categorized.

Now that she had a moment to relax, she felt the extreme pain in her fingers—truly heart-piercing.

Earlier, at the crucial moment, she had decisively set aside the golden bell shovel and used her bare hands to dig. On that land above the magma sea, even an egg would immediately turn to charcoal, and flesh would be instantly cooked through. She had channeled all her spiritual power into her fingertips, employing a mystical technique called “Golden Hook Point” to make her ten fingers harder than steel.

But steel conducts heat just the same.

So her ten fingers could not escape the fate of being scalded to the point where skin split and flesh was exposed, with the deepest parts revealing bone.

Feng Miaojun did not complain about her bloodied hands. The fact that they hadn’t been completely cooked in such extreme conditions showed that her previous cultivation had been diligent and her mystical techniques were well-practiced.

Being able to dig out the small tree under the indirect burning of earth fire was a remarkable achievement for her.

She even found a jar of wine in the main hall, and with a gentle sniff, detected a crisp, fragrant aroma.

“Good wine!” Coming from the Imperial Advisor’s collection, how could it be of inferior quality? She exclaimed in appreciation, took a couple of sips first, then sprayed some on her fingertips to disinfect them.

This brought both pain and relief, leaving her drenched in sweat.

Since there was no one around, Feng Miaojun simply cried out in agony, adding a few strong curses for good measure.

After a good while, she finally wiped away the tears in her eyes, retrieved medicines from the cabinet to stop bleeding, promote tissue regeneration, and prevent infection, then wrapped her hands with clean cotton gauze.

Fortunately, her fingers had not died, otherwise they would have needed amputation. Although cultivators possess strong vitality, she wasn’t confident she could regenerate limbs like a lizard.

Speaking of lizards, she seemed to have seen something unusual outside.

Adjacent to the side chamber was a shed, but now instead of poultry or livestock, it was covered with black cloth. Feng Miaojun gently lifted the cloth and entered, only to discover that various strange animals and plants were kept there. Some looked quite ferocious at first glance, while others appeared somewhat cute, such as an orchid-like small grass with leaves adorned with dewdrops, crystal clear. From a distance, she could smell a sweet fragrance that made her mind waver and her head slightly dizzy.

Recognizing the danger, she quickly covered it with a crystal dome before daring to breathe freely. Feng Miaojun had seen this plant in books. It was called “Beauty’s Favor,” not because its fragrance was particularly sweet and pleasant, but taking the meaning of “most difficult to bear” from the preceding phrase. Just a wisp of its flower scent could make other creatures mentally confused, either drowsy or frenzied, even exhibiting strong aggressive tendencies. In jungles where Beauty’s Favor grew, people or animals often went missing, with only scattered bones eventually found on the ground.

There was another plant with a hideous appearance. The fruits inside its pods resembled eyeballs, and they grew in a straight row, able to rotate about each other. Thus, as soon as she walked in, she felt dozens of eyeballs staring at her, giving her goosebumps all over.

Many other organisms looked like visitors from hell—how could such things exist in the mortal world?

However, what occupied the most space here were crystal Gu containers. Their transparent material allowed the owner to observe the condition of the gu insects inside. In several containers, poisonous scorpions were fighting each other, with a winner soon to emerge.

Feng Miaojun recalled the substance Yun Ya had forced her to swallow in the magma world, which was most likely a poison used to control people. Her throat suddenly itched unbearably, and she nearly vomited.

She used her energy to calm the congestion in her chest, muttering to herself: “What kind of good person would raise such things?”

After examining this area, she remembered the fire tree placed in the front yard.

Walking there casually, she discovered that the small tree, which had been lying horizontally on the ground, had somehow stood upright on its own. Its single intact root had burrowed into the soil, looking like a desert traveler who had finally found water after several days of thirst.

On the surface, this tree appeared pitifully weak, but Feng Miaojun remembered the blood-red sticky fluid that had oozed from its cut roots. Objectively speaking, although this thing was bizarre, its bone-chilling property had also been of great help to her; otherwise, her hands would have been thoroughly cooked during the digging.

Thinking of this, she felt uneasy. Her hands had been covered in the red fluid, with exposed flesh and blood. She wondered how harmful this substance might be to her body. However, after circulating her spiritual power through several cycles and checking her body multiple times, she could not detect any abnormalities, so she had to let it go.

What had happened to the Yaishan underground palace? Had Yun Ya escaped?

She sat under the tree and dozed briefly. Before there was any movement from outside, her stomach began to growl.

Because the team had been traveling, her last meal seemed to have been seven or eight hours ago.

Feng Miaojun circled the house several times but couldn’t find anything edible, and her hunger grew increasingly intense. She couldn’t help but fall into contemplation:

Would it be better to catch a brocade pheasant from the back mountain or a fat fish from the pond to eat?

With her culinary skills, direct roasting would probably be the simplest method.

Fortunately, at this moment, everything suddenly brightened, and then a familiar voice came from outside: “Come out, it’s safe now.”

Immediately after, an irresistible force extracted her from the bottle.

When Feng Miaojun opened her eyes again, she happened to see the setting sun, its orange-red light filtering through the gaps in the forest branches, coating the icy world with a rare warm hue.

The surroundings were still cold enough to freeze one’s breath, indicating they had not yet left the Great Snow Mountain territory. The White Elephant Mountain Range was so vast that even though Yun Ya had escaped, how could he possibly have left its boundaries so quickly?

Feng Miaojun looked up and found herself standing at the entrance of a cave. Leaning against the backlit stone wall was a figure who gave her an overwhelming sense of pressure before even speaking.

The Inch Bottle was placed at his feet.

Without needing to see the person’s face clearly, she knew it must be Yun Ya, and she couldn’t help taking two steps back, her heart full of caution.

In the magma sea, they had been like two grasshoppers on the same string, having no choice but to advance and retreat together, living and dying as one. It was still the same now, but Yun Ya didn’t know that, did he?

With the external threat gone, would he simply pinch her to death with a flick of his finger?

But then this man smiled and said in a hoarse voice: “Am I that frightening?”