Huang Yan and Hua Ying followed the small path for a long time without seeing any trace of Mu Yunjin. In their urgency, they suddenly heard a sorrowful phoenix cry coming from not far behind them.

The two paused their steps and turned to look toward the source of the phoenix cry.

“What’s happening? Could something have happened to the five-colored Divine Phoenix?” Hua Ying murmured, then shook her head, thinking she was probably overthinking.

Hearing this, Huang Yan turned to look at Hua Ying, his expression becoming uncomfortable as his gaze passed over the scar on Hua Ying’s neck.

“Let’s find the Princess Consort first and get the Snow Spirit Pill for His Highness,” Huang Yan said in a muffled voice.

Hua Ying nodded, and the two continued forward.

…

Mu Yunjin was submerged in the small stream, the bone-chilling cold spreading throughout her entire body. Yet it could only temporarily suppress the burning heat inside her, not eliminate it.

“Huff…” Mu Yunjin emerged from the stream, taking several breaths of fresh air.

…

…

Leaning against the edge of the stream, Mu Yunjin felt somewhat frustrated. Now that she had the misfortune of being afflicted by this aphrodisiac, she could only rely on the stream water for relief, unable to go anywhere for the time being…

As she was thinking, her cheeks began to burn again. Just as she was about to dive back in, she heard footsteps coming from behind.

Thinking that the black-clothed men had pursued her, Mu Yunjin looked back and caught sight of two familiar figures. Her eyes suddenly brightened with excitement as she called out, “Hua Ying, Huang Yan!”

After hearing Mu Yunjin’s voice, Hua Ying and Huang Yan were startled then quickly ran toward the source of the sound.

“Master, we’ve finally found you!” Hua Ying ran close to the stream, and upon seeing Mu Yunjin, heaved a long sigh of relief.

Huang Yan, however, noticed that something was wrong with Mu Yunjin and frowned. “Princess Consort, don’t tell me you’re taking a bath right now?”

“Ahem, no…” When questioned about this, Mu Yunjin found it somewhat difficult to explain.

Hua Ying examined Mu Yunjin closely, noticing that her lower lip was bitten through and there was some bluish-purple coloring around her eyes. She frowned, squatted down, moved closer to Mu Yunjin, and lowered her voice. “Has Master been poisoned?”

Mu Yunjin nodded and sensibly exposed her wrist.

Hua Ying placed her hand on Mu Yunjin’s pulse, carefully diagnosing before showing some discomfort. “This is too troublesome…”

No wonder Master could only stay in this stream. The dosage of this aphrodisiac was unusually potent; if left unresolved for a long time, it might cause death through bleeding from all seven orifices.

“Have you seen Chu Li?” Mu Yunjin spoke softly, wanting to know about Chu Li’s current situation.

At the mention of Chu Li, Hua Ying and Huang Yan exchanged glances.

It was Huang Yan who first spoke, smiling slightly with a deliberately casual expression. “Princess Consort, do you have the Snow Spirit Pill with you?”

Mu Yunjin nodded, then her heart tightened as she gazed sternly at Huang Yan. “What happened to Chu Li? What’s wrong?”

If all was well, why would they need the life-saving Snow Spirit Pill?

Mu Yunjin clenched her fist, preparing to leave the stream, but was held back by Hua Ying. “Don’t rush, Master. Prince Ning has only suffered some internal injuries and wants to use the Snow Spirit Pill to recover quickly. A mysterious expert has appeared, along with Leng Yuan, and it’s difficult for Prince Ning to deal with them while injured.”

Hua Ying’s answer did nothing to reduce Mu Yunjin’s concern for Chu Li, but she didn’t ask further. She took out the Snow Spirit Pill and handed it to Hua Ying.

Hua Ying looked at the small Snow Spirit Pill and said to Huang Yan, “You take this to find Prince Ning first. I have something to discuss with Master.”

Hearing this, Huang Yan didn’t delay, as Chu Li’s situation was urgent. After taking the Snow Spirit Pill, he turned and left.

After Huang Yan left, Hua Ying sighed softly. “Master, the poison in your body is indeed complex, involving matters between men and women. It’s not easily resolved.”

“Is there a way to temporarily suppress it?” Mu Yunjin asked. She couldn’t stay in this stream forever.

Hua Ying nodded. “I can temporarily seal several of your acupoints to suppress the poison, but doing so will also block several of your meridians, affecting your internal energy.”

Mu Yunjin bit her lip. This was truly a troublesome matter.

“Then seal my acupoints first.” Mu Yunjin quickly made a decision. In any case, she couldn’t stay in this stream and wait to die.

Having received Mu Yunjin’s affirmative answer, Hua Ying took out the silver needle pack she carried with her, extracted several silver needles, and began to seal Mu Yunjin’s acupoints to suppress the poison.

…

On the other side.

“The time has come. Take the Divine Phoenix’s blood!”

Looking at the five-colored Divine Phoenix trapped in the spider web formation in mid-air, unable to move, Chu Qing’s eyes revealed a sinister smile. This time, even the heavens were helping him.

He had originally thought that dealing with this five-colored Divine Phoenix would be extremely difficult, but who knew he would encounter it during its transformation period.

Now the spider web formation had easily trapped this Divine Phoenix. He just needed to take some of its blood, and everything would be accomplished, just waiting for dawn.

Thinking this, Chu Qing didn’t hesitate. He leaped up, approaching the five-colored Divine Phoenix.

The Emei daggers in his hand flashed with a sharp light. Chu Qing narrowed his eyes at the immobilized Divine Phoenix within reach, flicked his wrist, and viciously stabbed the Emei dagger into the phoenix’s tail closest to him.

“Shhh…”

Bright red blood sprayed from the Divine Phoenix’s tail. Chu Qing quickly collected some blood and poured it into a small porcelain bottle. After filling the entire bottle, Chu Qing landed on the ground.

Rong Min had also run over from a distance. Seeing the scene before him, he was somewhat excited.

“Chu Qing, you succeeded?” Rong Min raised his eyebrows and asked.

Chu Qing glanced at Rong Min, weighing the porcelain bottle in his hand. “All preparations are complete.”

“It seems my previous worries were unnecessary.” Rong Min looked at the five-colored Divine Phoenix and frowned again. “This divine beast isn’t as formidable as legend says!”

“That’s because we were fortunate to encounter it during its transformation period…” Chu Qing said softly. After speaking, he put away the porcelain bottle containing the Divine Phoenix’s blood and walked away.

Rong Min hurriedly followed.

After the two left, the black-clothed men who had been fighting with several tribal chieftains also withdrew.

Left behind were the panting chieftains and the five-colored Divine Phoenix, which was now lying motionless on the ground.

“I’m exhausted. These bastards, so many died, yet there are still so many alive!” Tuer spat, looking at some corpses lying on the ground, then at his wounded arm. He tore off a corner of his clothing and simply bandaged it.

“I can see that these people are all difficult to deal with. Let’s leave quickly. If we stay, we might lose our lives,” several chieftains came forward.

Tuer had the same intention. As he was preparing to leave, he looked at the Phoenix Tail Whip in his hand. “That little girl has run off somewhere, and I haven’t returned the whip to her.”

“Return what? Isn’t this whip a divine weapon? You should take it with you. Consider it a reward for saving her life!” one chieftain said.

“That’s not right. Although I covet divine weapons, I can’t be so base as to take someone else’s possession and run!” Tuer firmly refused. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the five-colored Divine Phoenix and was stunned.

Running to the side of the five-colored Divine Phoenix, Tuer didn’t dare get too close. He walked around the Divine Phoenix several times, clicking his tongue repeatedly. “My goodness, look at this! This must be the legendary phoenix, right?”

“It is…” The other chieftains also gathered around. They had been so busy fighting the black-clothed men earlier that they hadn’t noticed this phoenix.

“This phoenix has a golden body with five-colored tail feathers. It’s truly beautiful. This is truly an eye-opening experience,” Tuer said, looking at the five-colored Divine Phoenix. He wanted to reach out and touch it, but didn’t have the courage.

The other chieftains came closer. “Oh, it’s injured and bleeding. No wonder it’s not moving at all.”

Tuer looked and saw that the Divine Phoenix’s tail feathers were dripping blood.

“Alright, enough looking. It’s getting dark. Let’s leave quickly. This place is so eerie!” one chieftain spoke up, making to leave.

Everyone except Tuer was ready to depart.

Tuer was somewhat conflicted. He looked around, sighed, and said, “Alright then, let’s go.”

After speaking, he placed the Phoenix Tail Whip beside the Divine Phoenix. “I’ll leave this whip here. I hope that little girl will see it when she returns.”

“Now you’re playing the good guy. We’ve lost out this time, searching in vain for so long for some Jade Moon Spring. In the end, all those people ran away. This is meaningless!”

“That’s right! There was a divine weapon whip, and Tuer didn’t even want it. Today is truly strange!”

The figures walked further and further away.

At this moment, a flash of white light appeared in the surroundings, and Feng Cang’s figure appeared beside the five-colored Divine Phoenix.

Feng Cang wore a deep blue robe, his hair and beard white, his deep, profound eyes filled with an air of vicissitude.

After approaching the five-colored Divine Phoenix, Feng Cang looked at his left palm again. The faintly visible red phoenix mark was slowly fading away.

“Phoenix Tail Whip…” After seeing the Phoenix Tail Whip beside the five-colored Divine Phoenix, Feng Cang frowned, bent down to pick it up, and heaved a long sigh.

When he was young, he had once saved an injured fire phoenix. Later, after the fire phoenix had recovered, it left behind a section of its tail feathers and the red phoenix mark in his palm.

Later, he used this section of tail feathers to craft the Phoenix Tail Whip.

Due to its exceptional spiritual nature, it was quickly reported by the disciples of the Feng Hua Sect, and gradually, tales of the divine weapon Phoenix Tail Whip spread throughout the jianghu.

After he retired, he sent the Phoenix Tail Whip to the Western Brocade Garden in Butterfly Flower City.

It was said that the owner there was an eccentric person who only sold items to fateful individuals. He wondered if the Phoenix Tail Whip would meet its fated person.

Later, it was reported that for more than a decade, the whip remained in the Western Brocade Garden, unsold.

A year ago, while in seclusion in the mountains and forests, he saw the red phoenix mark in his palm emit light for the first time, which greatly surprised him. He had thought it was just an ordinary mark, but unexpectedly, it showed changes.

After that time, the red phoenix mark became quiet again, just as it had been before.

Until just now, when it lit up again.

“Clang, clang…”

The five-colored Divine Phoenix suddenly made a sound, turning to look at Feng Cang.

“Is it you?” Feng Cang extended his palm, pointing the red phoenix mark in his palm toward the five-colored Divine Phoenix, although he didn’t know if this phoenix could understand his words.

The five-colored Divine Phoenix wagged its tail at Feng Cang, indicating that its tail feathers were injured…

Feng Cang sighed, bent down, and examined the five-colored Divine Phoenix’s tail feathers. Indeed, there was a bloody hole.

This journey had truly been inexplicable. Not only had he encountered this fire phoenix, but he had also seen the Phoenix Tail Whip. He wondered who the owner of the Phoenix Tail Whip was…