When they arrived at the Celestial Mountain Villa, it was still as dreamlike as before, with swirling mists creating an ethereal atmosphere. As the group stepped through the entrance, they felt cool breezes sweeping over them.

“Worthy of the name Celestial Mountain Villa—just entering makes one feel completely refreshed,” State Preceptor An smiled and remarked to the others.

“Indeed, otherwise it wouldn’t dare call itself ‘Celestial Mountain,'” Defense Minister Mo agreed.

Yun Guangyao, walking in the center, heard the comments from the two ministers beside him and raised his eyebrows proudly. “Speaking of which, in the entire Canghua Continent, only my Southern Ting Kingdom has such a fairyland.”

“Your Majesty speaks truly,” Defense Minister Mo nodded slightly to Yun Guangyao.

Nearby, Mu Yunjin and Chu Li smiled without speaking. The last time they came to this place, they hadn’t felt anything special, only thinking the scenery was exceptionally beautiful. This time, however, their feelings were quite different.

This place, like that thousand-year-old tree, was something that had remained from that time until now.

Here also were precious memories between her and Si Qing.

When the group reached the vicinity of the hot spring, they stopped. State Preceptor An turned around to look at Huang Yan. “You will first transform into a beast spirit form, and then enter the hot spring, correct?”

…

…

Huang Yan nodded, then glanced at Hua Ying. “There’s no time to waste. Let’s begin now.”

Hearing this, Hua Ying’s eyes showed hesitation. She stood motionless for a moment, frowning as she looked at Huang Yan. “Are you sure about this?”

“Silly girl, I’ve come all this way—do you think I haven’t made up my mind?” Huang Yan laughed lightly, reaching out to touch Hua Ying’s face.

“Alright then,” Hua Ying said, not adding anything more.

Seeing this, State Preceptor An stepped forward, approaching the couple, his gaze falling on Hua Ying. “How does one transform into a snake spirit?”

“Just swallow this pill,” Hua Ying said, taking out a bottle, removing the stopper, and pouring out a black pill.

“That simple?” State Preceptor An raised an eyebrow.

Hua Ying nodded. “When all of us beast spirits were created, it was caused by consuming medicine. So becoming a beast spirit is easy—the difficult part is whether one can endure the torment the body suffers after the transformation.”

“I see,” State Preceptor An’s expression became more serious.

“Look at all of you—how bad could the torment possibly be?” Huang Yan laughed, then took the pill from Hua Ying’s hand and swallowed it in one gulp.

Seeing this, Chu Li and Mu Yunjin focused all their attention on Huang Yan, waiting for his reaction.

After swallowing the pill, Huang Yan stood still for quite a while, waiting for his body to react to the medicine. However, even after the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed, he showed no reaction whatsoever.

“Don’t tell me I’m being played—not even allowed to become a beast spirit?” Huang Yan frowned tightly, suddenly feeling speechless. Did heaven truly not want him and Hua Ying to be together?

Just as these words fell, before anyone else could speak, a black light emanated from Huang Yan’s body, enveloping him completely. Surrounded by the black mist, Huang Yan suddenly felt overwhelming pain throughout his body, especially in his head, which felt as if it might explode.

Huang Yan gritted his teeth, clutching his head as veins bulged on his forehead. The pain made him emit low, growling sounds.

Everyone around widened their eyes, staring intently at the scene before them. They watched as Huang Yan’s body was gradually engulfed by black mist, and he seemed to be enduring extreme pain, his face becoming somewhat distorted.

Hua Ying bit her lip watching this scene, her heart tightly clenched, her hands unconsciously clasped together.

“Ahhh…”

After about half an hour, Huang Yan suddenly threw his head back and let out a howl. In that instant, the black mist that had surrounded him dissipated into nothingness.

After the black mist disappeared, State Preceptor An stepped forward, wanting to say something to Huang Yan, but Huang Yan immediately turned and flew toward the hot spring.

Then, with a loud splash, Huang Yan’s entire body fell into the hot spring, sending up a shower of water.

“He’s going to die…” State Preceptor An muttered, quickly running over.

The others also hurried over.

The water in this hot spring was famously brutal—most who fell in left no remains. This was the first time they had seen someone so eager to jump in.

Reaching the edge, they saw Huang Yan’s body pressed against the edge of the hot spring, but he was completely submerged in the water, motionless.

“Look, he doesn’t seem afraid of the hot spring water,” Mu Yunjin said. When her gaze fell on Huang Yan, she could vaguely see streams of energy emanating from within his body.

She estimated that this must be the yin cold energy and damp heat energy mentioned earlier.

State Preceptor An crouched down and held his hand above the pool water, testing the temperature. He sighed, “The water is still scalding hot.”

“For this young man, just entering the pool is the easiest part. Once his cold energy gradually dissipates, he will begin to feel the scalding temperature of the water. But he cannot leave the hot spring until the cold energy is completely gone. So when only the tiniest bit of cold energy remains, I’m afraid…” State Preceptor An didn’t continue.

Hua Ying pursed her lips and smiled at the others. “You all should go rest for a while. I’ll watch over him. This cold energy dissipates slowly, and it might take a day and a night.”

“Alright, we’ll stay nearby. Remember to call us if anything happens,” State Preceptor An said.

After speaking, he gave Chu Li and Mu Yunjin a meaningful look.

Catching State Preceptor An’s glance, Mu Yunjin didn’t say anything more and followed him away to a nearby pavilion.

From the moment Huang Yan had swallowed the pill, Yun Guangyao had been sitting in the pavilion holding little Mu’er, watching the activity at the hot spring.

Little Mu’er in his arms seemed to remember him, constantly babbling and tugging at him. Several times, he almost couldn’t resist playing with his dear little grandson, but with several palace eunuchs and maids standing nearby, he, as the august Emperor, couldn’t quite bring himself to do it.

It was truly frustrating.

Finally unable to contain himself any longer, he was about to order the eunuchs and maids to withdraw when he looked up and saw Chu Li and Mu Yunjin coming this way.

Ah, Yun Guangyao sighed.

When Mu Yunjin and Chu Li reached the pavilion, they didn’t enter but said something to State Preceptor An. State Preceptor An nodded in understanding, then entered the pavilion alone, while Chu Li and Mu Yunjin walked toward another cobblestone path.

“Where are they going?” Yun Guangyao asked after State Preceptor An entered the pavilion.

“They said they’re just going for a casual walk to clear their minds,” State Preceptor An replied.

Yun Guangyao made a sound of acknowledgment.

“Your Majesty, your technique in holding a child seems quite practiced…” State Preceptor An raised his eyebrows, teasing Yun Guangyao.

Yun Guangyao coughed lightly, not bothering to respond to State Preceptor An.

……

Chu Li and Mu Yunjin followed the cobblestone path, and as they walked, Mu Yunjin said, “I remember that beyond this path there was a purple bamboo grove. I wonder if it’s still there.”

“Of course it is,” Chu Li held Mu Yunjin’s hand, his tone gentle.

“Let’s go take a look,” Mu Yunjin said, quickening her pace.

After reaching the end of the cobblestone path, Mu Yunjin and Chu Li indeed saw a grove of purple-red bamboo. Mu Yunjin pulled Chu Li toward the bamboo grove.

“If only we had buried some keepsake under this bamboo grove before. We might be able to dig it up now—that would be interesting,” Mu Yunjin touched a nearby bamboo stalk, the corners of her lips turning upward.

“It’s not too late to bury something now,” Chu Li smiled.

Mu Yunjin paused briefly, glancing at Chu Li. “Now?”

Chu Li nodded, putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the purple bamboo grove. “Yes, we can bury something now and come back to see it when we’re old. How about that?”

“That sounds good,” Mu Yunjin smiled, agreeing with the proposal.

Having reached an agreement, they walked to the center of the purple bamboo grove, selected a relatively empty spot, crouched down, and began to dig into the soil.

While using a dagger to scoop out earth, Mu Yunjin secretly laughed at herself and Chu Li—they were already parents, yet still playing at youthful games.

But Chu Li was truly accommodating her; otherwise, with his personality, how would he have the leisure to do such a thing?

After digging a hole, they began to consider what to bury in it.

“I’m not wearing any ornaments today. I don’t seem to have anything to bury. What about you?” Mu Yunjin felt around, finding only daggers and concealed weapons—not a single piece of jewelry.

Chu Li also searched but only had Mu Yunjin’s moonlight jade pendant. That item was extremely precious, and he would not bury it here.

“Then, shall we bury some silver?” Mu Yunjin searched again and pulled out a small silver ingot from her sleeve.

“…” Chu Li pressed his thin lips together, staring at the small silver ingot in Mu Yunjin’s hand for a moment, his expression tense, brows slightly furrowed.

Just when Mu Yunjin thought Chu Li would refuse, she heard a cool voice, “Fine, this will do.”

“…” Mu Yunjin was also somewhat confused.

So, they had expended all this effort digging such a large hole just to bury a small silver ingot?

In the end, Mu Yunjin asked Chu Li to find another small silver ingot, saying good things come in pairs. After throwing the two silver ingots into the hole, they refilled it with soil.

This effort left both of them sweating.

“May these two silver ingots in this mud pit grow into many, many little silver ingots by the time we’re old!” Mu Yunjin bowed once to the mound of earth.

“If what you say comes true, wouldn’t that mean we just buried two spirits?” Chu Li’s lips formed a faint curve, his tone playful.

Mu Yunjin pouted, elbowing Chu Li. “Hmph, you have no sense of romance.”

“No sense of romance?” Chu Li immediately seized on these words, grabbing Mu Yunjin’s shoulders and leaning down to stare at her. His elegantly handsome face showed a rare mischievous smile. “Huan’er, I still remember that inside this purple bamboo grove, there’s a small cabin.”

“So?” Mu Yunjin shuddered inexplicably.

Chu Li looked with satisfaction at Mu Yunjin’s reaction, the smile on his lips deepening. “So, I need to prove myself.”

With those words, not waiting for Mu Yunjin to speak, Chu Li bent down and hoisted her onto his shoulder, walking toward the small cabin…