The chamber prepared for gu cultivation had been set up in the lowest deck of the ship, almost entirely sealed off, with only a single barred iron door slightly taller than a man left as an entrance.

Before they’d even drawn close, Xuanyuan Lige could already hear the low, guttural roars of wild beasts.

Suddenly, Yanzi’s tiger-leopard beast darted out from the side, scrambling up against the iron bars, immediately stirring the creatures within the sealed chamber into a frenzy. A purple-hued leopard lunged out from the darkness!

An ordinary leopard would never be purple—this was clearly a beast laced with medicinal poison.

“Just a handful of poisonous beasts, and you think that’s enough to raise a human gu?” Xuanyuan Lige asked coldly, judging roughly by the sounds alone.

“Not enough yet, but I can keep supplementing it gradually.” Yanzi said, entirely unconcerned.

“The risk is far too great. Gu cultivation requires a full year—once it begins, without a steady supply of poisonous creatures, there are only two outcomes: either the cultivator suffers the backlash and becomes prey themselves, or the subject being cultivated dies! Why not simply wait until you’ve gathered every creature you need before starting?”

“Beasts carrying medicinal poison aren’t easy to come by. These few here took me several months to track down as it is! If I wait until I’ve gathered every last beast I need before beginning the cultivation, the risk would be… even greater.”

Yanzi said with a smile. Of course she knew perfectly well that Jun Beiyue was searching for Han Ziqing like a man possessed!

The longer this dragged on, the greater the danger they themselves faced!

“When the backlash comes, don’t say I never warned you.” Xuanyuan Lige said gravely.

“Heh heh, don’t worry. I’ll personally take my tiger cub out searching myself—I guarantee we can find one more creature every month!” Yanzi said with a smile, turning back to look at the man in black. “Hey, isn’t that right? You’ll help me search too, won’t you?”

The man in black didn’t answer, simply turning and walking away. Xuanyuan Lige, however, was left utterly stunned—what exactly did that response mean?

If they were going out to search for venomous beasts starting now, did that mean they wouldn’t be sailing to Yaoshun Island together with this ship at all?

What exactly were the two of them planning?

Yanzi patted Xuanyuan Zhaoxi on the shoulder, smiling. “Well done, heh heh. I’ll leave everything in your hands from here. Remember—anyone who knows the secret of the totem, and anyone who knows the secret of Lishang, must never be allowed to leave Yaoshun Island.”

“Don’t worry, I know exactly what to do!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi said with full confidence.

Yanzi walked past Xuanyuan Lige, deliberately pausing mid-step. Her previously harmless smile suddenly darkened, her voice turning cold as she questioned him sharply, “Yaoshun Island doesn’t just hold the secret of Lishang—it holds the secret of the totem too. Why haven’t you ever mentioned that, Xuanyuan Lige?”

“You and he never intended to set foot on the island yourselves in the first place—isn’t that also something you never mentioned?” Xuanyuan Lige’s voice turned equally cold. By this point, whether the mask came off or not no longer mattered.

These two had never once trusted him from the very beginning—they’d entrusted everything instead to Xuanyuan Zhaoxi.

“Since someone else will be going ashore in our place, why should we bother showing our faces? Heh heh, just be a good boy and follow your sister. Stop obsessing over Han Ziqing all day—you don’t even dare look at her, so what exactly do you still want with her?”

Yanzi’s tone suddenly turned sharp and cutting. “Think about your Demon Zheng instead. Until we find the final two notes of Lishang, you can forget about ever seeing your precious instrument again.”

With that, she swept her sleeve and turned to leave!

“Safe travels, Miss Yan. I won’t see you out. Please pass along my regards to… your master.” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi called after her a couple steps, then stopped, not following further, and said coldly instead, “Someone, bind the Crown Prince!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Xuanyuan Lige’s expression turned murderous at once!

“Try me and see! You survived the Thousand Eagle Formation without dying—you really ought to be thanking Miss Yanzi properly for that.”

With a single glance from Xuanyuan Zhaoxi, two black-clad assassins immediately stepped forward. Beneath Xuanyuan Lige’s purple robes lay a body riddled with countless wounds—all Yanzi had ever done for him was stop the bleeding, keep him alive, nothing more.

Even now, aside from circulating his internal energy to slowly mend his own inner strength, he hadn’t so much as touched a single dose of medicine!

The assassins flanking Xuanyuan Zhaoxi were each formidable masters in their own right!

Now that Yanzi and the man in black were preparing to leave, how could they possibly fail to guard against him?

Xuanyuan Lige let the assassins bind him tightly, offering no futile resistance, merely staring coldly into the distance as Yanzi and the man in black disembarked. The gangplank was slowly being raised, and the ship was weighing anchor…

These two had personally delivered both him and Ziqing all the way here, only to leave now—even with Xuanyuan Zhaoxi proving so useful, surely they wouldn’t entrust everything to her with such ease unless something else was at play.

There could be only one explanation: they had something even more important to attend to elsewhere!

In just over ten days, Xijing’s royal family would be holding the Sand Worship Ceremony. The thought unbidden surfaced in Xuanyuan Lige’s mind—between Mingsha Mountain and Yaoshun Island, they’d chosen the latter. Did that mean these two…

Xuanyuan Lige had no time to dwell on it further, because Xuanyuan Zhaoxi, having seen the pair off, was now striding toward him with unmistakable satisfaction, and by now, the great ship had already set sail.

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi settled herself comfortably before him. “Brother, it’s just the two of us now. Why don’t you speak plainly with me about a few things?”

“Release Han Ziqing, and I’ll agree to anything you ask.”

“Anything except releasing Han Ziqing, and I’ll agree to that too.”

“Holding Da Zhou’s Princess Consort of Prince Yao hostage benefits neither you nor Dongqin!”

“You won’t tell, and I won’t tell—so who’s going to know the Princess Consort is aboard my ship?”

“Don’t bring trouble down on Dongqin!”

“What a joke! I’m securing an opportunity for Dongqin! Let me tell you something—once I’ve handled this matter properly, Xichu will soon belong entirely to Dongqin. And when that happens, there’ll be no need for you as Crown Prince anymore!”

“They’re from Xijing!”

Xuanyuan Lige’s voice suddenly turned furious—he’d guessed correctly. Across this entire continent, only Da Zhou and Xijing could possibly offer Xuanyuan Zhaoxi such a guarantee!

It had to be Xijing!

Yanzi was the guardian of Mingsha Mountain!

A flash of panic crossed Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s eyes—only then did she realize she’d said far too much. In front of her sharp-minded brother, silence would have served her far better.

“Heh heh, you’re overthinking this. I suggest you behave yourself and not try anything clever!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi said, then snorted coldly and walked away.

Xuanyuan Lige watched her go in silence, his bound hands behind his back quietly working their way toward the dagger concealed in his sleeve. He tilted his head up to face the sea wind, silently calculating the time remaining until they reached Yaoshun Island!

Seven days left before Ziqing would be locked away in that sealed chamber—and reaching Yaoshun Island would take at least ten days.

What was he going to do…

The ship slowly pulled away from the port. Yanzi and the man in black stood atop the cliffside by the sea, gazing after it in the distance.

“Such a shame to let it go—just two notes away from finding the Solitary Island, and you insist on turning back?” Yanzi mused.

“Can Xuanyuan Zhaoxi be trusted?” the man in black asked.

“Don’t worry. Yaoshun Island is a vassal territory of Dongqin—only her royal ship can even reach it. Xuanyuan Lige may hold the title of Crown Prince, but he has no real power, and gravely wounded as he is besides, he won’t be able to stir up any real trouble.” Yanzi said with complete confidence, then added with a smile, “Once Jun Beiyue learns about this place called Yaoshun Island, I’ll unleash my human gu on him. What do you think?”

“A full year’s time—aren’t you underestimating your beloved just a bit?” the man in black said with a cold laugh.

“If Xuanyuan Lige hadn’t let it slip, even I wouldn’t have known Yaoshun Island held any secret at all—let alone him. His mind has always been fixed on Mingsha Mountain. Last time, during the peace talks between Xijing and Xichu, his intentions were obvious enough. The ceremony’s coming up in a few days—surely he’ll go, won’t he?” As Yanzi spoke, she suddenly grew visibly excited.

The man in black said nothing, simply turning and walking away…