After dealing with Qin Muyue, Mu Yunjin and her companions headed south.

The group walked at a leisurely pace, chatting and laughing along the way, showing no sense of urgency despite facing formidable enemies ahead.

Jiang Qingxue and Lei Yan remained on the snow mountain, providing backup and observing the real-time situation below.

Mu Yunjin and her group proceeded step by step toward the bamboo forest in the south that the tree person had pointed out earlier. They planned to lure out the leaders and resolve matters quickly to avoid wasting energy.

Halfway through their journey, Daoist Wind Xuan suddenly sighed, his brow furrowing with worry.

“Master, what’s wrong?” Mu Yunjin stopped and turned to look at Daoist Wind Xuan.

“I wonder how Chu Li is doing. It’s been so long without any news from him,” Daoist Wind Xuan said, his eyes deep with concern.

Logically, with Murong and Chu Li together, there shouldn’t be major problems, but the silence now seemed suspicious…

What could take them so much time?

Mu Yunjin crossed her arms. At the thought of Chu Li, her eyes flickered, and she unconsciously tightened her fingers. “Perhaps they encountered troublesome people or matters and couldn’t make it back quickly.”

She trusted Chu Li and Senior Murong. They would certainly be fine.

“Let’s hope so.” Daoist Wind Xuan’s expression remained troubled as he forced out a response.

Seeing the atmosphere turn gloomy, Imperial Tutor An patted Daoist Wind Xuan’s shoulder and joked, “Why are you so concerned about Chu Li?”

“Get off! I was just asking,” Daoist Wind Xuan pushed away Imperial Tutor An’s hand, clearly uncomfortable with the teasing.

“Oh my, look how anxious you are. I was just asking, too,” Imperial Tutor An said lightly, keeping his tone playful.

Nearby, Qiqi glanced at Hua Ying and continued the conversation, “Yes, I wonder how Huang Yan is doing now, and whether the dark spirit energy in his body has been dispelled.”

At the mention of Huang Yan, Hua Ying’s face briefly showed an unusual expression, but it disappeared immediately, revealing little emotion.

“Hua Ying, you…” Qiqi was about to speak when Hua Ying covered her mouth with her hand and gave her a helpless look.

Qiqi stuck out her tongue and smiled, obediently keeping quiet.

“This must be the bamboo forest.”

After walking south for a while, the group spotted a large bamboo forest. They all stopped, hesitating to approach immediately.

“I’ve barely gotten close, but I already smell killing intent,” Imperial Tutor An sniffed and peered into the deep, quiet bamboo forest.

“Stop trying to scare people,” Daoist Wind Xuan glared at Imperial Tutor An.

Imperial Tutor An simply smiled.

Standing behind them, Yun Lianqing showed hesitation in his eyes. “This Crown Prince has lost all internal power and doesn’t know when it will recover. I truly don’t want to become a burden on this journey…”

Beside him, Xiu Mei and Song Chun looked equally dejected.

“Brother, perhaps you should leave the Divine Continent for now,” Yun Shuangleng stepped forward, biting her lip as she carefully looked at Yun Lianqing.

Yun Lianqing’s expression stiffened. He lowered his gaze to his mud-covered clothes and sighed softly.

Indeed, he couldn’t help at all now.

Staying would only burden others and risk his life…

“Crown Prince Yun, Xiu Mei, Song Chun, why don’t you three go to Wind Moon Cliff for now? Your internal power might recover at any time, and you can join us then,” Mu Yunjin suggested.

Yun Shuangleng was right. Without internal power and unable to climb the snow mountain, the three would indeed be in danger here.

Besides, who knew what awaited them in the bamboo forest?

Although Yun Lianqing felt somewhat unwilling, things had come to this point, and he could only blame himself for his carelessness. There was no one else to blame.

So, narrowing his peach blossom eyes and smiling, he said, “Very well, this Crown Prince will leave first to change clothes. Wearing these dirty clothes while running around is truly uncomfortable for this Crown Prince.”

“This Crown Prince is leaving.”

With that, Yun Lianqing waved to everyone and walked back the way they had come.

Xiu Mei and Song Chun followed reluctantly behind Yun Lianqing, and the three headed toward the path to Wind Moon Cliff.

“Master, let me go with them. They have no internal power now and might not even be able to open the seal,” Qiqi said, looking at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin nodded.

With permission, Qiqi immediately followed.

With four people suddenly gone, those remaining felt a strange emptiness and inexplicably began to feel pressure.

“Let’s go in now,” Daoist Wind Xuan said, looking at the sky. It was already afternoon, and if they delayed until dark, entering the bamboo forest would be even more dangerous.

“Don’t rush,” Imperial Tutor An stopped him.

The others paused slightly, their gazes falling on Imperial Tutor An with questioning looks.

“Girl, don’t you find these dense bamboos annoying?” Imperial Tutor An asked Mu Yunjin with interest.

Mu Yunjin paused briefly before looking toward the bamboo forest. Then, seeming to understand something, she smiled, “Do you have some good weapons?”

“You truly understand me,” Imperial Tutor An said, rolling up his sleeve.

Mu Yunjin followed his gaze and her eyes suddenly brightened with delight as she pointed at the small wooden tubes tied around Imperial Tutor An’s arm…

Those were explosives!

Imperial Tutor An had prepared explosives!

“How about it? Surprised?” Imperial Tutor An raised an eyebrow and took the circle of small wooden tubes down.

As he removed them, he said, “I searched everywhere to gather the materials for these explosives. Combined with some modern technology, don’t be fooled by their small size—their destructive power is astonishing.”

“What are you two whispering about? What are these little sticks?” Daoist Wind Xuan, who hadn’t heard their conversation clearly, moved closer to look at the small tubes.

“Here, try the first one,” Imperial Tutor An handed a small tube to Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin had been itching to try them and took one without hesitation. She was looking for a fire source to light it when Imperial Tutor An frowned and said, “Just pull out the stopper!”

“Nice! You’ve upgraded them to hand grenades!” Mu Yunjin exclaimed with a smile.

The others still hadn’t figured out what these small sticks were. They only saw Mu Yunjin take one, quickly and decisively pull out a stopper from the end of the stick, then throw it toward the bamboo forest.

Everyone’s gaze fell intently on the bamboo forest.

“Bang… Crack…”

The once peaceful and serene bamboo forest suddenly erupted with a massive explosion, accompanied by towering flames and rolling black smoke.

Dust and rock fragments blasted in all directions, and even the ground trembled.

“Girl, want another one?” Imperial Tutor An, satisfied with the scene before him, handed Mu Yunjin another tube.

Mu Yunjin naturally reached out to take it, inwardly marveling at Imperial Tutor An’s skill—such a small wooden stick with such tremendous power.

Now the large bamboo forest before them was engulfed in raging flames. She wondered what those people would think when they saw this.

With that thought, Mu Yunjin gave a light laugh, pulled out the stopper, and threw another one.

Imperial Tutor An also casually threw two more…

With three “bombs” thrown at once, the explosion was deafening, almost shaking several nearby mountains and causing many rocks to fall from their peaks.

The bamboo forest before them was instantly destroyed.

Due to the powerful shock wave, Mu Yunjin and the others were forced back several steps. Yun Shuangleng’s legs even gave way, and she fell to the ground.

“There are two left. Let’s save them for later,” Imperial Tutor An put away the remaining two tubes.

“Kong Shi, what exactly is in that head of yours?” Daoist Wind Xuan asked, his face full of disbelief.

At first, he thought they were just like firecrackers, but when the wooden sticks exploded, it was clear they were far more powerful.

In just a brief moment, they had destroyed the large bamboo forest and laid waste to the surrounding area…

Deep in the bamboo forest.

“What devilish thing is this? So powerful! If I hadn’t dodged quickly, I would have been blown to pieces by now!” Shen Wanning sat on the ground, looking at the flames in the sky as she wiped her soot-blackened face, clearly displeased.

Nearby, Qiuye and Black Robe exchanged a glance, frowning.

“Though Kong Shi has lived in luxury as the Imperial Tutor of South Court Nation all these years, he hasn’t been idle behind the scenes. Facing him and Mu Yunjin together will not be easy,” Qiuye said with furrowed brows.

Thinking of this, he cursed Qin Muyue again.

They could have caught Mu Yunjin and Kong Shi in one swoop, but that fool had ruined everything. The thought was infuriating.

“Our only option now is to find a way to separate them,” Black Robe said angrily.

Qiuye looked at Black Robe. “Do you have any good ideas?”

“Kong Shi has no desires or ambitions, so we can’t identify his weakness. But Mu Yunjin is different. That vixen values relationships and loyalty. We just need to target her soft spot,” Black Robe said with a cold laugh.

Finally, he looked toward Chu Qing, who had been standing silently, “I trouble the Chen King to make a trip to bring the ruler of North Ming Nation here. He is that vixen’s father after all. Though he may not have shown much parental care, she wouldn’t disregard him completely.”

“Moreover, Jiang Qingxue has also come. This family of three—we might see quite a show.”

Chu Qing stroked his chin and smiled slowly, “This King thinks this plan may not work.”

“At this moment, everything should prioritize the bigger picture. Even if Mu Yunjin values relationships, her father is a national ruler. Would he be swayed by emotions? What if North Tang Wen commits suicide during capture?”

“If that happens, not only would our efforts be wasted, but it might also trigger the potential power within Mu Yunjin…”

Chu Qing’s words made Black Robe and Qiuye fall silent for a moment…

Indeed, they had been too hasty.

“Then what do you suggest we do to maximize our chances of victory?” Shen Wanning looked at Chu Qing.

Chu Qing narrowed his eyes, his lips curling into a bloodthirsty, dark smile as he gazed at the still-burning bamboo forest before them, and spoke unhurriedly—

“Perhaps only the purple-clad lady can draw Mu Yunjin away.”