By the time Chu Li and Mu Yunjin reappeared near the hot spring, more than two hours had passed. The sun had already set, and it was now dusk.

When they returned to the pavilion, Yun Guangyao had already left to attend to state affairs, and little Mu’er was temporarily under State Preceptor An’s care.

State Preceptor An was sitting alone in the pavilion, with little Mu’er fast asleep. He was bored and yawning when he caught a glimpse of Chu Li and Mu Yunjin approaching. His eyes revealed amusement. “Though the Celestial Mountain Villa isn’t small, was it necessary for your stroll to last over two hours?”

“We enjoyed ourselves!” Mu Yunjin raised her eyebrows, glancing at the sleeping little Mu’er.

“You two had a pleasant time, but those two over there are suffering,” State Preceptor An tilted his chin, pointing toward the hot spring.

Mu Yunjin looked toward the hot spring and saw Hua Ying still sitting at the edge, her gaze fixed on the pool, motionless.

“I’ll go check on them.” With that, Mu Yunjin rose and left the pavilion.

Chu Li didn’t follow her. He sat down in her former seat, his gaze serene as he stared at the hot spring ahead.

“I must ask, what exactly was in that large chest you had sent to my mansion a few days ago?” After Mu Yunjin left the pavilion, State Preceptor An turned to look at Chu Li, his face curious.

…

…

“You’ll know soon enough,” Chu Li replied leisurely, not explaining further.

State Preceptor An gave Chu Li a strange look and snorted lightly. “If not for our friendship, I wouldn’t bother keeping watch over this mysterious thing for you.”

Chu Li smiled lightly without responding.

……

Mu Yunjin walked to the edge of the hot spring and looked at Huang Yan, who was still submerged in the water. Energy was still faintly dissipating from around his body.

“Are you tired? Do you want to rest for a while?” Mu Yunjin turned to look at Hua Ying.

Hua Ying shook her head. “I’m fine. The longer Huang Yan stays in the hot spring, the more uncomfortable he becomes. I’m afraid he won’t be able to endure it.”

“Don’t worry, that guy is quite capable!” Mu Yunjin reassured Hua Ying, sitting down beside her.

“My lady, what if he survives the hot spring water and becomes a snake spirit, but cannot survive the curse?” Hua Ying looked at Mu Yunjin, her voice trembling slightly.

“I’m so afraid that all his efforts will be in vain,” Hua Ying’s face showed dejection as she lowered her gaze.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin’s eyes revealed a hint of bewilderment. At this point, one could only say it was fate playing tricks on them.

After sitting with Hua Ying for a while, the sky gradually darkened. The night at the Celestial Mountain Villa brought even more enchanting mist. Now the mist mixed with the steam from the hot spring had completely obscured Huang Yan’s body.

Hua Ying had someone bring a lantern over and held it toward Huang Yan’s position, but before long, the moisture condensed on the lantern, and eventually even the candle inside was extinguished.

“What should we do? During this long night, I won’t feel at ease if I can’t see him,” Hua Ying frowned, gradually becoming anxious.

Chu Li walked over at this moment and handed Mu Yunjin’s moonlight jade pendant to Hua Ying. “Try this.”

Hua Ying looked at the jade pendant emitting white light, her eyes lighting up with joy. She took the pendant, thanked him, and held it out over the pool.

This time, she could faintly see Huang Yan.

“My lady, it’s getting late, and you still need to take care of the young master. Please go rest. Let me borrow this jade pendant for the night, and I’ll watch over Huang Yan here,” Hua Ying said to Mu Yunjin and Chu Li after seeing Huang Yan and calming herself.

Mu Yunjin was concerned and pressed her lips together. “I’ll stay to keep you company. If anything happens, it’s better to have someone else here.”

She then looked at Chu Li. “You should take little Mu’er back to rest. I’ll stay here.”

“Alright.” Chu Li agreed, knowing Mu Yunjin’s words made sense. Having two people here was indeed better than one, and since Hua Ying was a woman, it wasn’t appropriate for him to stay in place of Mu Yunjin.

After reaching an agreement, they each went their separate ways.

Through the long night, Mu Yunjin and Hua Ying remained near the hot spring. With each other’s company, they didn’t feel bored.

Mu Yunjin sat on the ground, hugging her knees, looking at the misty surroundings as her thoughts gradually drifted to past events.

After an unknown amount of time, Mu Yunjin felt hungry. She touched her stomach and glanced at Hua Ying beside her, who also hadn’t eaten for a long time.

With this in mind, Mu Yunjin stood up and patted the dust off her clothes. “I’ll go find something to eat.”

Hua Ying looked at Mu Yunjin and nodded.

Mu Yunjin walked away, and shortly after she left, the spot where Huang Yan sat in the hot spring began to emit sounds of churning water.

“Glug, glug, glug…”

……

At night, the Celestial Mountain Villa was guarded by only a few palace guards. Mu Yunjin searched everywhere but couldn’t find any food, so she had to leave the villa and head toward the main street to buy something.

Just as she stepped out, someone on horseback stopped at the entrance of the villa. A guard dismounted, carrying a food box, and approached Mu Yunjin.

“Greetings, Princess Ning. By order of Prince Ning, I’ve brought some food for you,” the guard said, presenting the food box to Mu Yunjin with both hands.

Mu Yunjin looked at the food box, feeling a sense of delight. Indeed, no one knew her better than Chu Li.

“Thank you for your trouble,” Mu Yunjin said, accepting the box.

The guard acknowledged with a smile, then left on horseback.

Mu Yunjin carried the food box back into the villa, heading toward the hot spring.

On her way back to the hot spring, Mu Yunjin quickened her pace, wanting Hua Ying to eat the hot food as soon as possible. But as she approached, she saw a startling and strange sight in the distance.

The water light formation in the hot spring had somehow activated. Now streams of water droplets shot skyward, and at Huang Yan’s position, a vortex like a tornado had appeared, trapping him inside.

Hua Ying was hovering in midair, continuously releasing energy from her palms, aiming at the massive vortex. But the vortex showed no fear of these attacks; instead, it spun faster and faster, growing larger and larger.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin quickly put down the food box and flew over.

When Hua Ying saw Mu Yunjin, she urgently called out, “My lady, what should we do? This vortex appeared so strangely. If it disrupts Huang Yan’s cultivation technique, he could go mad with spiritual energy and die on the spot!”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin frowned, her expression becoming grave. She knew something about this tornado-like vortex.

This hot spring had once been set with a water light formation that would automatically appear if someone rashly entered the hot spring water.

As for this vortex, although she had never seen it before, she had heard rumors. It was said that beneath this hot spring, an extremely fierce, strange beast called the Dark Spirit was imprisoned. This beast had been confined for thousands of years and spent most of its time sleeping, occasionally waking up. It was said that each time it awoke, it would go into a frenzy, roaring wildly at the bottom of the pool for seven days and seven nights.

The vortex before them was a sign of its awakening and rage.

Thinking of this, Mu Yunjin’s brow furrowed tightly. In the past, she had treated this legend as just a story, but she never expected to witness this vortex with her own eyes today.

Could it be that this Dark Spirit beast existed?

If so, wouldn’t this vortex continue for seven days and seven nights?

Then Huang Yan would surely die!

With no other options, Mu Yunjin channeled spiritual energy through her fingertips, summoning the Five-Colored Divine Phoenix.

Suddenly, there was a flash of golden light from behind Mu Yunjin, accompanied by a phoenix cry. As usual, the Five-Colored Divine Phoenix emerged from her back, its golden flames illuminating the space above the hot spring.

The Five-Colored Divine Phoenix flew above the vortex, flapping its wings and directing powerful streams of fiery red flames toward the whirlpool.

Water and fire have always been opposing forces. When the Five-Colored Divine Phoenix’s fire touched the vortex’s water, there was a tremendous “BANG!” Fire and water splashed in all directions, neither gaining the upper hand.

Mu Yunjin stepped back, watching the scene before her. She bit her lip, her gaze fixed, not daring to look away for even a moment.

The great commotion attracted all the guards watching over the villa. When they saw the Five-Colored Divine Phoenix, they were astonished.

Looking again, they saw that the usually calm surface of the pool had transformed into something extraordinary.

“Princess Ning, this is…” a guard looked toward Mu Yunjin.

“It’s nothing. You may withdraw,” Mu Yunjin glanced at them and said.

The guards paused briefly, then nodded and ran off.

After the guards left, the Five-Colored Divine Phoenix attacked the vortex again. This time, the fierce flames were accompanied by powerful bursts of energy that penetrated deep into the vortex.

“Will this hurt Huang Yan?” Hua Ying’s heart clenched as she anxiously clasped her hands together.

Why, when they had come to the final step, did they still have to endure such trials?

“BOOM…”

“BOOM! BOOM!”

Several more explosive sounds erupted as the Five-Colored Divine Phoenix’s flames touched the vortex. The vortex exploded in an instant, causing even the surrounding ground to shake violently.

“ROAR…”

Suddenly, a hysterical roar emerged from beneath the vortex, filled with anger and frenzy.

“What’s that sound?” Hua Ying frowned, thinking she must have misheard.

Mu Yunjin bit her lip, also frowning tightly. Could that roar be from the Dark Spirit beast?

Heavens, what bad luck had she stumbled into now?

“ROAR…”

The roar sounded again. This time, though Mu Yunjin wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, she seemed to detect a note of plaintive wailing in it.

At this moment, the Five-Colored Divine Phoenix suddenly stopped its attack and turned its head to look at Mu Yunjin.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin stared at the Five-Colored Divine Phoenix. “Do you know it?”

The Five-Colored Divine Phoenix nodded, then flew down to land beside Mu Yunjin, staring at the hot spring before them, no longer attacking.

“My lady, there’s light in the vortex…” Hua Ying noticed the sudden blue-green light emanating from the vortex and grabbed Mu Yunjin’s arm in surprise.

Mu Yunjin looked and saw a streak of blue-green light dispersing from within the vortex.

At the same time, the water light formation in the hot spring suddenly disappeared, and along with it, the vortex gradually calmed down. Everything around became increasingly quiet.

A moment later, the hot spring returned to its peaceful state. The only difference from before was that the blue-green light remained, rising from the bottom of the pool and enveloping Huang Yan’s body…