Without a doubt, everything lay within the forbidden grounds.

“The Meng Clan’s forbidden ground atop Xuyu Peak is a two-tiered pagoda called the Xuyu Dream Pagoda. The first level houses the Flowing Light Dagger, and the second level, it’s said, holds the Meng Clan’s forbidden techniques.”

As the Meng Clan Leader spoke, everyone listened with bated breath, utterly absorbed—even Xiong Bao sat perfectly still.

As for what exactly these forbidden techniques were, even the Meng Clan Leader didn’t know. Ever since the founding ancestor’s passing, every successive Clan Leader had only ever been able to enter the first level—none could ascend to the second.

Beyond the summit guard formations set by the attendants, the Xuyu Pagoda itself was, by its very nature, an impenetrable, impregnable barrier.

“The Xuyu Pagoda is a barrier itself—that’s why we didn’t see the tower yesterday when we were on the mountaintop!” Ziqing said with furrowed brows.

The Meng Clan Leader nodded. “I know Fourth Sister’s temperament well. She never fights a battle she isn’t certain of winning. She must have made it to the second level and learned something there—only then would she have decided to steal the Flowing Light Dagger and go searching for the Dead Barrier!”

“Could the forbidden technique perhaps be a way to break the Dead Barrier—to restore it to its original form?” Jun Beiyue asked cautiously.

The moment these words left his mouth, every gaze in the room instantly turned to the Qiankun Poison Pouch, now held by the Meng Clan Leader.

And then, Baili Weisheng’s next remark made everyone’s expression change.

“So it would seem, then, that the founding ancestor’s concealment of the Dead Barrier’s true nature back then had something to do with the Qiankun Poison Pouch as well,” he said, a mocking smile curling at the corner of his mouth. “Quite the sought-after little bag, this one that raises poisonous creatures!”

Baili Weisheng’s words were subtle enough, but anyone could grasp their meaning.

The Qiankun Poison Pouch didn’t merely raise ordinary poisons—it cultivated poison medicines, poison beasts, human Gu vessels. Whoever coveted the Qiankun Poison Pouch either wanted to destroy it and put an end to such practices, or wanted to claim it for themselves and put it to good use.

If the Meng Clan’s founding ancestor had truly wanted to destroy the Qiankun Poison Pouch, why would he have needed to hide it from the Nanzhao royal family?

The Meng Clan’s founding ancestor was even more formidable than the Solitary Island’s Great Gu Master—concealing this secret from the Nanzhao royal family, sealing it away within the Xuyu Pagoda, waiting for some talented enough disciple in a future generation to break the seal and learn the forbidden techniques.

The man was long dead, and yet he had still managed to arrange matters across generations to come—truly formidable; he had not lived, nor died, in vain.

Baili Weisheng’s blunt words left the Meng Clan Leader somewhat embarrassed, but his reasoning was entirely sound.

They didn’t even need to visit the Xuyu Pagoda to be certain their guess was correct!

But all of this concerned the World of Poisonous Beasts and the Qiankun Poison Pouch. As for the pouch’s past, now that it was in her possession, Ziqing had no interest in dwelling on it. What she urgently wanted to know now was whether there was any connection between the Meng Clan’s bloodline and the Solitary Island’s bloodline—and whether her son would truly be all right.

But before Ziqing could speak, the Meng Clan Leader spoke first. “Let us open the Qiankun Poison Pouch and rescue Fourth Sister.”

Only Meng Wanyue could enter the second floor of the Xuyu Pagoda—rather than trying to force their way in, it would be far better to rescue her first!

For his son, he needed an answer. For his grandson, he bore a responsibility. And for the Meng Clan, he owed everyone an explanation.

Opening the Qiankun Poison Pouch was now unavoidable. Ziqing pressed her lips together—it would be impossible to claim she wasn’t nervous.

This Meng Wanyue reminded her of Nanny Gu, her natural nemesis by birth.

Except that Nanny Gu, she could kill or torment as she pleased—but Meng Wanyue was Jun Beiyue’s own birth mother!

Whether for Beiyue’s sake or her own, this was going to be a massive headache. An absolutely massive headache.

Just as Ziqing was feeling glum, Jun Beiyue tightened his grip on her hand, his eyes so reassuring. “Don’t worry. Whatever comes, we’ll deal with it. I’m here.”

Silly boy—it’s precisely because I care so much about you that I’m anxious and worried!

Otherwise, why would I care who she is at all?

Of course, Ziqing kept this thought to herself. She responded with a faint, calm smile and tucked Jun Beiyue’s words away in her heart.

Opening the Qiankun Poison Pouch wouldn’t be difficult for the Meng Clan Leader, surely.

After all, the hardest part had already been overcome by Meng Wanyue over more than twenty years of effort. If Xiong Bao hadn’t stepped in and complicated things, this Qiankun Poison Pouch would have been opened long ago!

Still, though it wasn’t difficult in principle, it would require careful consideration and preparation.

With the Qiankun Poison Pouch left temporarily in the Meng Clan Leader’s care, Ziqing and the others naturally turned to seeking out Old Meng Five, to demand an explanation.

Old Meng Five was being held in the dungeon. Before Ziqing’s group had even drawn close, they could already hear mournful weeping. In the Meng Clan, who else but Meng Duo’er would come here at a time like this?

Sure enough, after just a few more steps, they saw Meng Duo’er sitting in front of the cell’s iron bars, wiping at her tears and running nose in a mess, sobbing while muttering something under her breath.

To Jun Beiyue and Baili Weisheng, who held firmly to the philosophy that tears were useless, Meng Duo’er was essentially invisible. Ziqing didn’t have much of an impression of her either, only recalling that the girl wasn’t a bad sort.

Still, Ziqing wasn’t truly a kind person by nature—her capacity for sympathy had its limits. Just because Meng Duo’er wasn’t bad didn’t mean she could forgive her father. Meng Duo’er couldn’t stand in for her father.

The moment Meng Duo’er saw them approaching, she immediately stood up and stopped crying. Ziqing had expected the girl to cling to them, pleading for help—but she didn’t.

She simply retreated silently to one side and stood there.

A flicker of appreciation crossed Ziqing’s eyes. She gave a small smile but said nothing, while Jun Beiyue and Baili Weisheng continued treating everyone else as if they were invisible.

Father and daughter though they were, Old Meng Five, seated within the cell, only raised his head to glance at them once, gave a calm, composed smile, and then lowered his head again.

“Old Meng Five, do you think you’ve succeeded?” Ziqing said coldly.

Old Meng Five was no man of serene detachment—his composure came from his belief that he had succeeded, that he had sacrificed himself for a noble cause. Did he really think that by giving himself up like this, he could keep Jun Beiyue here?

Old Meng Five ignored Ziqing entirely and instead addressed Jun Beiyue. “Beiyue, forgive me for what I’ve done. But everything I did was for your mother’s sake—for the sake of our clan.”

Jun Beiyue said nothing, utterly disgusted by such a self-righteous, self-serving excuse.

Whether Old Meng Five simply couldn’t read the room, or felt he absolutely had to explain himself, he pressed on despite Jun Beiyue’s increasingly icy expression. “Beiyue, if you’d only stay and join forces with your mother, the Meng Clan’s rise would be a certainty. Our people would never again need to be confined to this small archipelago. Our clan’s barrier techniques have never been inferior to the Beast Clan’s beast-taming arts, or the Medicine Clan’s Gu-cultivation techniques—one day, our Meng Clan could become one of Nanzhao’s great clans!”

Old Meng Five spoke with impassioned fervor—this was the ambition he had buried deep in his heart since childhood, all the way into old age. Today, he had finally spoken it aloud.

He knew his own abilities were limited, knew his daughter would never amount to much, and knew all too well Meng Wanyue’s ambition and talent.

So he had pinned everything on that elder sister of his—preparing everything for her eventual return, paving the way for her.

He had it all planned out. He had no intention of tearing Jun Beiyue and Han Ziqing apart—as long as Jun Beiyue stayed in the Meng Clan and became Clan Leader, Han Ziqing would simply have to stay with him, assisting her husband and raising their children, keeping quiet and out of trouble regarding the whole matter of the Solitary Island.

As long as Jun Beiyue became Clan Leader, even if Meng Wanyue were found guilty, she could still be granted her freedom!

Such a perfect plan. Such a terrifying ambition.

But what he didn’t realize was just how insignificant this ambition, which he’d never dared voice aloud, appeared in Jun Beiyue’s eyes.

“One of Nanzhao’s great clans?” Jun Beiyue laughed. “Fifth Elder, is that really all? Such a ‘great’ ambition—truly disappointing.”