The group followed the secret passage to Anxin Hall in Water Cloud Temple.

“Alright, we’ll now split into two routes. I’ll take the brat girl and her group and leave first. You go meet that Cloud-whatever Holy Maiden, and then hurry to Pingfeng Cliff from Liuxi Lake!”

Daoist Feng Xuan spoke, looking at Chu Li and his group.

“Mm!” Chu Li nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Mu Yunjin. “Remember to listen to Elder Feng Xuan.”

“I know. Be careful.” Mu Yunjin had been to Pingfeng Cliff once before and was not unfamiliar with the route there. However, she was vaguely worried about them taking the water route.

Before leaving, Huang Yan paused his steps, looking hesitantly at Hua Ying beside Mu Yunjin. “Miss Hua Ying, aren’t you a snake spirit? You should be very familiar with water routes. Why don’t you join our team? You can help us along the way.”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin curved her lips slightly, naturally knowing what Huang Yan was planning.

Hua Ying thought for a moment. Although she was Mu Yunjin’s subordinate, looking at the bigger picture, what Huang Yan said was correct.

“Alright then, I’ll take the water route with you.” Hua Ying nodded, agreeing to Huang Yan’s suggestion.

Huang Yan hooked the corner of his mouth upon hearing this.

After confirming everything, the group exchanged brief goodbyes, and the two teams left Water Cloud Temple separately.

…

Mu Yunjin and her group arrived at the book pavilion behind Anxin Hall, found the secret passage leading outside the city, and one by one entered it, using their lightness skills to quickly move toward the exit.

Just like last time, they found horses that Chu Li had ordered to be prepared in advance near an abandoned village.

After traveling all night, they finally reached the vicinity of Pingfeng Cliff by the hour of Si the next day.

Mu Yunjin and her group now stood behind a rocky outcrop, looking at the rugged mountain path entering Pingfeng Cliff territory ahead, gradually feeling a sense of tension rising within them.

“It’s daytime now. If we go down directly like this, we’ll be detected quickly. Moreover, that black-robed old ghost has raised so many eagles; we’ll be easily discovered.” Qiqi, remembering how she was seriously injured here last time, still felt somewhat apprehensive.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin took out the black jade hairpin that Bei Tang Wenfeng had given her from her bosom. “This hairpin can ward off eagles and blood bat flocks, preventing them from getting close.”

“Also… never mind, it’s nothing.” Mu Yunjin paused, almost about to mention that a mysterious old man lived on Pingfeng Cliff. After thinking about it, she decided not to mention it.

That old man was a reclusive master. It was better not to expose his whereabouts.

“We’ll now split into three small teams. One team will go down from the leftmost side, one team will fly down directly with Xiumei, and one team will first pass through the mountain path ahead and go down from that end. The leftmost and the farthest ends of the ground are the positions that provide the best cover. We’ll go down Pingfeng Cliff first. Chu Li and his group should arrive soon!” Daoist Feng Xuan spoke solemnly.

Mu Yunjin nodded, raising her eyes to look at Qu Xinyao and Xiumei. “Sister Xinyao, you caught a cold a couple of days ago and haven’t fully recovered. You should fly down with Xiumei to conserve your energy.”

“Mm.” Qu Xinyao nodded.

“Master, then I’ll go with Brother Lei Yan, is that alright?” Qiqi pointed at Lei Yan beside her, smiling at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow. “Master deliberately separated me and Chu Li, saying that romantic feelings would hinder our mission. I didn’t expect him to overlook you two.”

“Master, what nonsense are you saying!” Qiqi’s face reddened, and she lowered her eyes shyly.

“So that’s settled. Little kitten, you go directly down from this mountain range. Xiumei and City Lord Qu will go with them and just fly down. The brat girl and I will go down from the far end! When you all reach the bottom, don’t move around carelessly. Wait for us to meet up with you.” Daoist Feng Xuan looked at the four people before him, cautioning them.

The four nodded.

After confirming, Qu Xinyao and the other three first walked in the direction Daoist Feng Xuan pointed. Qiqi, being a cat spirit, had first-class climbing skills, and Lei Yan was the same. The four easily made their way down Pingfeng Cliff.

Mu Yunjin looked at Daoist Feng Xuan. “Master, shall we set off too?”

“Grab my sleeve!” Daoist Feng Xuan glanced at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin looked at Daoist Feng Xuan dubiously but still obediently grabbed his sleeve. Just as she barely held on, she felt her body lighten, and then her entire person flew toward the rugged path ahead like a gust of wind.

Before Mu Yunjin could marvel at this lightning-fast lightness skill, she was frozen by the biting cold wind that hit her face, making her head instantly go numb.

This old man, did his lightness skill have to be so formidable!

By the time she came to her senses, she was already standing at the end of the mountain path he had pointed to earlier.

Mu Yunjin shook her head. Several strands of hair had been blown loose by the gust of wind. After tidying her hair, Daoist Feng Xuan spoke again, “Let’s go down!”

“Mm.” Mu Yunjin stood at the edge of the cliff and drew out her phoenix-tail whip.

“Your lightness skill is so miraculous, how can it be so fast!” Mu Yunjin touched her nearly frozen face, unable to help but exclaim.

“Hmph, one of the three great masters in the world, did you think it was a joke?” Daoist Feng Xuan raised his eyebrow somewhat arrogantly.

Mu Yunjin also raised an eyebrow. “Then I must make an extra effort to come out of Ghost Valley Cave alive. Don’t forget you said you would impart your lifelong skills to me.”

“Such ambition!” Daoist Feng Xuan snorted at her.

The path down the cliff was much more difficult than the path up the cliff last time. Mu Yunjin held onto the cliff rocks with one hand and wielded her phoenix-tail whip with the other, securing a rock under her feet, then carefully climbing down.

Because she was going down, she didn’t dare to entrust her entire weight to the phoenix-tail whip, nor did she dare to use her lightness skill, fearing that if something went wrong, she would lose control and fall.

Compared to her, Daoist Feng Xuan was much more relaxed, using his lightness skill to easily go down. Every once in a while, he would adhere to a rock and wait for Mu Yunjin to come down.

On the way down, Daoist Feng Xuan showed rare patience, not urging Mu Yunjin. As he went down, he looked around, and his gaze occasionally fell on a deserted island below.

…

Not far away, the group taking the water route from Liuxi Lake was also progressing very smoothly.

After leaving Water Cloud Temple last night, they departed from the easternmost direction of Liuxi Lake and then headed toward Pingfeng Cliff.

Now they were on a small boat, their eyes on Pingfeng Cliff ahead.

“Your Highness, look, is that black figure the Princess?” Ding Xian pointed to a rock on the edge of the mountainside and spoke to Chu Li.

Chu Li had noticed this figure since they approached Pingfeng Cliff. His attention had already been drawn to her, his eyes tinged with a faint mist.

“Princess Ning is truly no ordinary woman. She’s amazing.” Yun Shuangleng sat nearby, her hands clasped together, looking at Mu Yunjin’s figure in the distance, a slight smile on her lips.

On the other side, Hua Ying and Huang Yan had no mood to look at Mu Yunjin’s location. Since boarding the boat last night, Huang Yan, who had always been Chu Li’s capable assistant, had surprisingly had motion sickness. Not long after the boat set sail, he was hanging over the side, vomiting nonstop.

Unfortunately, this journey required staying on Liuxi Lake for more than an entire night, and they hadn’t brought along Qingmeng, who was skilled in medicine. For Huang Yan, who was prone to seasickness, having to sit on a boat for a night meant having to vomit all night, which was extremely painful.

In the end, it was Hua Ying who came up with a harsh solution, poisoning Huang Yan a little to make him pass out!

So, for the entire night, Huang Yan remained unconscious from the poison, which was peaceful in its way.

Now, having reached Pingfeng Cliff territory, Hua Ying quickly began to detoxify Huang Yan, too busy to join their discussion about her master.

“How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?” Hua Ying, having completed the detoxification for Huang Yan, looked down at him.

Huang Yan felt like he had slept for a very long time, to the extent that when he opened his eyes, he didn’t know where he was. After Hua Ying asked him, he just stupidly shook his head.

“Then it’s fine. The poison is all gone, and we’ve reached Pingfeng Cliff.” Hua Ying sat back and no longer paid attention to Huang Yan.

Huang Yan sat up, looked at the lake water around them and the towering Pingfeng Cliff in front, and finally remembered that he had been seasick last night…

And had been knocked out by Hua Ying’s poison…

At the time, he was too busy vomiting to feel embarrassed, but now, thinking about it, why did he feel so cowardly?

“Master Huang, hang in there, we’re almost there.” Yun Shuangleng, afraid he might still vomit on the boat, comforted him.

“Mm, it’s fine. I’m better now. Thanks to Miss Hua Ying.” Huang Yan looked at Yun Shuangleng, then at Hua Ying, with a smile on his face.

Hua Ying glanced at Huang Yan lightly without speaking.

“Hey, isn’t that the Princess and Daoist Feng Xuan? Where are the others? I don’t see them.” Huang Yan also noticed Mu Yunjin and Daoist Feng Xuan coming down Pingfeng Cliff. He stretched his neck but didn’t see the others.

“They probably also split up and took different routes.” Chu Li answered calmly.

Huang Yan nodded in understanding and added, “Fortunately, we brought Miss Hua Ying to our side before setting off. Otherwise, I would have died on the boat before even entering Ghost Valley Cave.”

“That’s right. Last night, you were vomiting at first, making us all too nauseated to eat! Later, after you passed out for a long time, we were barely able to eat something.” Ding Xian teased Huang Yan. He used to see Huang Yan as a frivolous character with many skills, but he didn’t expect him to have this seasickness problem.

Huang Yan glared at Ding Xian, glancing toward Hua Ying, indicating that Ding Xian shouldn’t talk carelessly.

Ding Xian shrugged and pouted.

…

After descending Pingfeng Cliff, Mu Yunjin’s gaze immediately fell on a deserted island in front of her.

That day, she had fallen from Pingfeng Cliff onto this island. If it weren’t for the elder inside, she would probably be dead by now.

“Master, let’s go find them now!” Mu Yunjin averted her gaze and spoke softly.

Daoist Feng Xuan didn’t answer her.

Seeing that Daoist Feng Xuan wasn’t responding, Mu Yunjin looked up at him. She saw him with his brows tightly knit, his old yet profound eyes fixed unblinkingly on the deserted island in front of them.

Mu Yunjin pursed her lips, feeling that Daoist Feng Xuan seemed a bit unusual now.

“Master…” Mu Yunjin called out again, gently tugging at Daoist Feng Xuan’s sleeve.

Daoist Feng Xuan finally came to his senses, looked at Mu Yunjin, then at the island in front, and chuckled, “That island looks quite special. I got lost in thought for a moment. Let’s go, now we’ll go meet up with them.”