After bidding farewell to Rong You, Mu Yunjin and her group gathered once more to discuss some matters before departing.

“Since the Black Robes have detected our movements, will they change their plans and not go to South Court Kingdom?” Qiqi crossed her arms and looked around at everyone in the hall.

“They probably won’t. They need the Snow Spirit Pill to save Qiuye, and they believe Master An is still in West Origin Kingdom, so they’ll want to seize this perfect opportunity,” Mu Yunjin said.

Upon hearing this, Ding Xian responded without hesitation, “Then let’s depart quickly and inform His Highness of this matter so he can be prepared.”

“Yes,” Mu Yunjin nodded in agreement.

With that, Qiqi activated her Formless Space, and the group set off for South Court Kingdom.

…

Meanwhile, in the Prince of Han’s residence.

“Hmph! Rong You goes too far in bullying others. This prince can no longer contain himself!” Rong Min finished speaking and took out a military order, slamming it heavily on the table.

…

…

The Black-Robed figure glanced at the military order on the table, his eyes flashing slightly. “The time is not yet right. It would be better for Your Highness to endure a little longer.”

“Yesterday I suffered another humiliation at that enchantress’s hands. Today at morning court, Rong You charged me with disturbing public order and ordered me to reflect in my residence for a month. It’s unbearable!” Rong Min grew increasingly angry as he thought about it.

Although the night before, when his guards were tracking Mu Yunjin, they had indeed caused quite a disturbance in the market streets, even damaging several shops, the common people originally didn’t know it was his doing. Now that Rong You had pointed it out, the people’s complaints made him lose a considerable amount of public support all at once.

“Small impatience ruins great plans. Your Highness must endure this month no matter what,” Shen Wanning advised softly from the side.

The Black-Robed figure nodded, agreeing with Shen Wanning’s words.

Seeing that both of them had spoken thus, Rong Min’s expression softened somewhat. He then changed the subject: “Is Senior about to depart for South Court Kingdom?”

“Yes,” the Black-Robed figure uttered.

“That enchantress infiltrated the prince’s residence last night and likely knows that Senior is heading to South Court Kingdom. I fear Senior’s journey might not go smoothly,” Rong Min said.

The Black-Robed figure laughed lightly. “That’s not a concern.”

After a pause, the Black-Robed figure’s gaze darkened as he continued, “What Mu Yunjin should be worried about now is not the so-called Snow Spirit Pill, but her father’s North Clarity Kingdom…”

…

An hour and a half later, at Master An’s residence in South Court Kingdom.

“Finally here!” Qiqi withdrew her Formless Space and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Each time she activated the Formless Space, it consumed a great deal of her inner strength.

As the group stood there, numerous guards rushed over and surrounded them.

The lead guard recognized Mu Yunjin. Upon seeing her, he immediately waved for the guards to withdraw, then walked over and bowed slightly to Mu Yunjin.

“Is your National Master in the residence?” Mu Yunjin asked.

Hearing this, the guard shook his head. “The National Master and Prince Ning left for Immortal Mountain early this morning.”

“Immortal Mountain? What place is that?” Mu Yunjin frowned slightly.

“Immortal Mountain is an estate outside the city. Because it’s constantly shrouded in misty vapors, it’s called Immortal Mountain, or the Immortal Mountain Estate,” the guard replied.

Mu Yunjin understood and pursed her lips. “Then what about Rong—I mean, Consort Yue?”

“Consort Yue is currently in the west wing,” the guard answered.

Mu Yunjin acknowledged with a sound and began walking toward the west wing.

At the entrance to the west wing, two young maids stood guard. Seeing the approaching visitors, they smoothed their clothes and curtsied. “Greetings, Princess Ning.”

“How is Consort Yue?” Mu Yunjin asked, her brow slightly furrowed.

“Master An sealed Consort Yue’s sleep acupoint. She’s currently sleeping,” one of the young maids replied, then gently pushed open the door.

Mu Yunjin stood at the doorway, looking in from a distance. Seeing the person sleeping on the bed, she pressed her lips together and left the west wing.

“Princess, you and Qiqi should rest here first. Huang Yan and I will go to Immortal Mountain to find His Highness,” Ding Xian said to Mu Yunjin, truly not daring to let her run around anymore.

Qiqi was indeed exhausted. Hearing Ding Xian’s words, she immediately agreed and took hold of Mu Yunjin’s arm. “Master, let’s go rest and eat something. I’m so tired.”

Mu Yunjin heard Qiqi’s voice and turned to look at her, seeing her face full of fatigue. She couldn’t help but nod. “Then you both go ahead.”

Seeing that she had agreed, Ding Xian and Huang Yan wasted no time and flew off toward Immortal Mountain.

…

Mu Yunjin and Qiqi found an empty room to rest. As soon as she lay down, Mu Yunjin let out a long sigh and rubbed her still somewhat sore arms.

Qiqi yawned, staring at the ceiling, then raised her wrist to look at it. “Huh? I’ve already sent a spirit signal to Hua Ying and the others, but they haven’t responded yet.”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin turned her head to look at Qiqi, suddenly remembering something. “By the way, we didn’t see Qin Muyue at the Prince of Han’s residence yesterday, did we?”

“I don’t think so…” Qiqi thought carefully.

“Could they have taken Qin Muyue to North Clarity Kingdom?” Mu Yunjin narrowed her eyes, once more feeling an ominous premonition in her heart.

Qiqi turned to look, her expression suddenly becoming strange. “That can’t be! What exactly are the Black Robes planning?”

Mu Yunjin pouted. “I don’t know.”

“Forget about them for now. I’m exhausted and need to sleep,” Qiqi stretched lazily, then turned over and fell asleep.

Mu Yunjin sighed and stopped thinking about it further. Her eyelids grew heavy, and before long, she too fell asleep.

Some time later, in the middle of her dream, Mu Yunjin felt as though she had just fallen asleep when she was awakened by an urgent knocking at the door…

“Who is it?! So annoying!” Qiqi was also awakened and threw a pillow toward the door.

Outside, Ding Xian’s voice rang out, “Princess, something terrible has happened! The South Court King has challenged His Highness to cross the hot pool at Immortal Mountain. If His Highness succeeds, he’ll give him the Snow Spirit Pill. But that hot pool, also known as the Man-Eating Pool, has never been crossed by anyone in all these years…”

Hearing these words, Mu Yunjin’s drowsiness instantly vanished. She sat up, put on her shoes, and walked to the door.

“What did you say?” Mu Yunjin recalled what she had just heard, feeling a sudden surge of anxiety.

Ding Xian looked anxious. “Princess, please come with me to Immortal Mountain to persuade His Highness! We can’t risk losing him while trying to save Consort Rong.”

“Lead the way,” Mu Yunjin said without hesitation, following Ding Xian as he flew off.

In the room, the slightly delayed Qiqi also quickly followed.

…

Immortal Mountain Estate.

Mu Yunjin stood before the main gate of the estate, looking at the misty vapors surrounding her, feeling as if she had truly entered a realm of immortals.

The terrain was flat and not particularly high—where did all this mist come from?

“Princess, quickly, this way.” Ding Xian was anxious to lead the way.

Mu Yunjin’s thoughts were suddenly pulled back, and she hurriedly followed Ding Xian toward the estate’s main entrance.

As soon as she stepped through the main gate, Mu Yunjin’s footsteps suddenly froze in place. She felt a piercing pain surge through her head, and even her heart began to ache.

Strangely, she had a strong feeling that she had been to this place before.

“Princess, are you alright?” Ding Xian saw Mu Yunjin’s pained expression and was frightened for a moment—if anything happened to her, he couldn’t bear the responsibility.

Mu Yunjin’s discomfort came and went quickly. After easing for a moment, the unbearable pain gradually dissipated.

After steadying herself, Mu Yunjin shook her head and said calmly, “Lead the way.”

Only then did Ding Xian relax and proceed forward.

Mu Yunjin followed behind Ding Xian, and as they walked, she felt increasingly familiar with the terrain. Strangely, she pointed to a direction in the west and asked, “That’s where the hot pool is, isn’t it?”

Ding Xian was startled and instinctively nodded.

Mu Yunjin pressed her lips together. At this moment, she felt her heart beating fast, as if something was about to burst out from within her.

As they approached the hot pool, Mu Yunjin could see from afar a vast expanse of steaming, boiling water. The pool seemed almost endless at first glance.

Was Yun Guangyao requiring Chu Li to cross this hot pool?

If Chu Li couldn’t make it across, wouldn’t he perish in this hot pool?

At that thought, Mu Yunjin’s heart tightened. She looked around and, spotting a figure standing by the edge of the pool, flew toward him.

“Chu Li!”

The figure by the pool heard her voice, his body slightly stiffening before he turned around.

As Mu Yunjin approached the pool’s edge, she felt waves of heat rushing toward her, like the most intense summer day. Just standing there made her entire body begin to sweat, indicating the extreme temperature of the pool.

“Chu Li, it’s too dangerous,” Mu Yunjin said, meeting his gaze and looking into his deep eyes.

“There’s no need to worry. This prince has confidence,” Chu Li replied gently, reaching out to wipe away the beads of sweat on Mu Yunjin’s cheeks. He pulled her back slightly, away from the hot pool.

Mu Yunjin frowned as she looked at the seemingly endless hot pool before her. Although one could use qinggong (lightness skill), even with qinggong, one needed a landing point after flying for a while. But with this vast expanse of scalding water ahead, where could one find a place to land safely? Unless one truly had wings to fly across…

“Chu Li, since your princess consort has spoken thus, why do you still insist on taking this risk?” From the side came a rich, pleasant voice.

Mu Yunjin looked toward the source of the voice and saw Yun Guangyao sitting in a nearby pavilion, dressed in casual clothes and drinking tea. Beside him were Yun Lianqing, with a worried expression, and Master An, who looked unwell.

Upon seeing Yun Guangyao, Mu Yunjin slightly clenched her fist, knowing he was deliberately making things difficult for Chu Li by refusing to give the medicine, yet she couldn’t say anything at the moment.

“Your Highness, this is truly too dangerous. No one has ever crossed the hot pool,” Ding Xian also tried to dissuade him.

“That’s right, this is risking your life. Your Highness, you’re about to become a father—don’t throw your life away,” Huang Yan also appeared to add his voice.

Hearing this, Chu Li’s brow furrowed tightly. Then he looked at Mu Yunjin with a somewhat amused expression. “Silly girl, do you have no faith in this prince?”

“I…” Mu Yunjin opened her mouth but didn’t know how to answer Chu Li’s question.

“Hmm?” Chu Li saw her silence and slightly lowered his gaze, staring at her.

Mu Yunjin bit her lip, closed her eyes briefly, and after a long moment finally said, “Go then. I’ll wait for you here.”

Regarding Chu Li’s decision, she trusted that he surely had his confidence and judgment. What she needed to do was to trust his decision completely.

Besides, Chu Li was doing this to save his mother, a matter of life and death. All the more reason she shouldn’t interfere or cause him trouble…