Seeing this, Fuhuan’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Siqing in disbelief. Just as she was about to rush into the raging fire to rescue Youlan, her arm was suddenly grabbed.

“Siqing, what are you doing? This will truly cost a life, do you realize that?” Fuhuan tried to shake off Siqing’s grip but found that he applied even more force.

Siqing glanced coolly at Fuhuan. “Since she committed a capital offense, why should you save her?”

“Besides, you also had killing intent toward her just now, didn’t you?”

Fuhuan frowned, completely unprepared for Siqing’s decisive action against Youlan. “But, but she…”

“There are no ‘buts.’ If she dared to enter the Jade Ancient Forest, she should have been prepared for all consequences.” Siqing released Fuhuan, his gaze sweeping over the fire.

Fuhuan followed Siqing’s gaze and could faintly see a figure struggling helplessly in the blazing flames.

She hadn’t expected Youlan’s life would end here.

Nor had she expected that Siqing would personally do it.

…

…

…

“Let’s go.” After finishing here, Siqing continued toward the depths of the forest.

Fuhuan turned around and realized Siqing was alone. “Where is Lengyuan?”

“Don’t know.” Hearing this name, Siqing frowned with disdain and glanced at Fuhuan beside him, his eyes hiding deep meaning.

If Lengyuan weren’t her elder sister, those raging flames would certainly have contained Lengyuan as well.

“Don’t know? Didn’t she leave with you?” Fuhuan looked around and could see neither Lengyuan nor the three young immortal officials.

“How did you know she left with me?” Siqing asked in return, raising an eyebrow with rare interest.

Fuhuan pouted. “Youlan said so.”

Siqing smiled faintly without saying more and continued walking forward. Fuhuan followed leisurely beside him.

In the quiet forest, the sound of dry wood and fallen leaves under their feet could be heard. Fuhuan walked with her head down, her gaze occasionally falling on their hems that sometimes floated up and touched each other as they walked.

She truly wished time would pass more slowly.

After leaving the Jade Ancient Forest, they might never have such an opportunity again.

Everyone wanted her to keep her distance from Siqing, including Siqing himself. Once they left the Jade Ancient Forest, she would completely become a puppet under the Heavenly Emperor’s watchful eye.

Fuhuan sighed inwardly, disliking her identity as the Phoenix Lady for the first time.

With this identity, she was destined to serve the Celestial Realm.

Beside her, Siqing read all of Fuhuan’s thoughts, and a strange color flashed in his cool eyes, quickly replaced by darkness.

“We’ve walked for so long, I wonder how far we are from the end,” Fuhuan said as she played with a twig she had picked up from the ground.

“If I’m not mistaken, we haven’t even reached half of this forest yet,” Siqing quietly poured cold water on her hopes.

Hearing this, Fuhuan immediately deflated. “Why don’t we use our lightness skill to leave?”

“Mm.” Siqing nodded.

“Hey, there’s a small path here.” Just as they were about to leave, Fuhuan’s peripheral vision caught a secluded path in the bushes nearby.

Before she could ask Siqing if they should take this path, he had already grabbed her hand and quickly led her toward it.

Feeling the coolness transmitted from his palm, Fuhuan lowered her gaze to look at her right hand, which was tightly held by Siqing. She secretly curled her lips and thought to herself, his person is cold as ice, and so are his hands.

With this thought, Fuhuan gripped Siqing’s hand in return, wanting to pass some of her warmth to him.

Siqing suddenly turned and gave her a look.

Fuhuan froze, inexplicably blushing at that glance. Just as she instinctively wanted to pull her hand away, Siqing said, “Hurry.”

Fuhuan didn’t understand his meaning but still followed Siqing, quickly walking away on the small path.

…

As soon as they left, Lengyuan descended from the sky, standing in the forest with an icy expression, tightly gripping a red tassel hairpin in her palm.

…

Just now, she had been with Siqing, but in the blink of an eye, he had suddenly disappeared. No matter how she searched the Jade Ancient Forest, she couldn’t find a trace of him.

And also…

She had seen red flames rising from the west and hurried over, only to see a figure in the huge fire pit reaching out a hand, barely alive.

“Save, save me…”

Hearing that weak plea for help, Lengyuan looked closer and vaguely recognized the figure in the flames, her heart alarmed and her face filled with astonishment.

Youlan, how could it be her?

What exactly had happened here?

Lengyuan was just about to use her power to extinguish the fire when she heard that plea for help again: “Fu, Fuhuan, it’s, it’s her and…”

Fuhuan?

Lengyuan frowned. Looking down, she suddenly noticed a red tassel hairpin by her foot.

She bent down to pick it up, examining it in her palm. Then her lips curved into a bewitching smile.

The true energy she had just gathered silently withdrew as she looked at the person in the fire. “Immortal Youlan, may you rest in peace.”

With a smile, Lengyuan turned and left.

“Ahhh…” A hoarse, desperate scream rose from the fire pit.

Youlan never imagined that in this life, she would perish in a sea of flames, and that the ones who harmed her would be Fuhuan and Siqing.

In the next life, in the next life…

Before she could contemplate her next life, the raging fire had already completely consumed her form…

…

Lengyuan stood in place for a while, then tucked the red tassel hairpin into her sleeve and walked on alone.

Ah, Fuhuan, your sister truly didn’t expect that you would personally kill Youlan.

If the Heavenly Emperor learns of this, it will certainly be a serious crime.

Oh, Fuhuan, if you behave, your sister will certainly keep this matter buried in her heart and protect your safety. But if you don’t behave…

Don’t blame your sister for being heartless.

…

Fuhuan followed Siqing along the small path. All this way, Siqing had not released her hand.

“Siqing, I feel like it’s getting colder and colder.” After walking for a long time, Fuhuan instinctively shivered, feeling the temperature around them suddenly drop significantly, waves of cold invading.

Siqing nodded. “Ahead is an ice pool. Once we cross this ice pool, we’ll reach the end of this forest.”

“How do you know all this?” Fuhuan looked at Siqing.

“A guess.” Siqing offered these two words.

Fuhuan’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed. This guess seemed remarkably accurate.

Soon, Siqing’s guess was indeed confirmed. Fuhuan looked at the vast expanse of the ice pool before them, the cold air hitting her face making her teeth chatter.

“This ice pool blocks our way. How can we get across?” Fuhuan saw that there was no path forward. If they didn’t cross this ice pool, they would have to turn back and go through the outer forest again.

Although they could use their lightness skill to cross, she belonged to the fire element and feared things like this ice pool the most, as it would suppress more than half of her power.

“I’ll carry you on my back.” Siqing’s voice sounded in Fuhuan’s ear.

Fuhuan suddenly thought her ears were playing tricks on her. She turned to look at Siqing with a surprised face. Did he just say he would carry her?

Had she misheard?

“You didn’t mishear!” Siqing released Fuhuan’s hand, walked in front of her, and slightly crouched. “Get on.”

Fuhuan suddenly felt that the Jade Ancient Forest was truly mysterious; otherwise, how could Siqing be acting so unusually today, holding her hand and now offering to carry her?

However, since she couldn’t cross the ice pool herself, she decided not to be fussy.

With that thought, she leaned forward onto Siqing’s back, allowing him to carry her across the ice pool.

Siqing used his lightness skill, carrying Fuhuan as they flew over the ice pool.

“Hiss, it’s so cold.” Fuhuan realized that the cold air in the center of the pool could truly freeze a person to death. She instinctively tightened her hold on Siqing.

“They say the Phoenix Lady possesses the divine power of the phoenix, with immense power. Yet I feel it’s all just rumors.” Siqing smiled faintly, teasing her.

Fuhuan pouted. “Everyone has weaknesses. This ice pool is my fatal point.”

Hearing this, the smile in Siqing’s eyes expanded a bit.

“Gugu…”

“Bang bang bang!”

Following a beast’s cry, layers of ice on the pool’s surface quickly burst open, emitting a series of ice-breaking sounds.

Seeing this change, Siqing’s expression darkened.

“Gugu gugu…”

The beast’s cry sounded again, followed by two ancient spirit crocodiles emerging from the pool—one deep green and one deep red.

The two spirit crocodiles surrounded Siqing and Fuhuan, one in front and one behind, baring their sharp teeth and swinging their huge tails to show their displeasure.

Fuhuan examined these two ancient spirit crocodiles, which she had only seen in books recording strange beasts. These two crocodiles were male and female, with bizarre appearances—one covered in sharp spines on its back, the other with wings, very different from ordinary crocodiles.

“To think these two ancestors were lurking at the bottom of the pool.” Fuhuan was impressed. These two ancient spirit crocodiles had a heavy, murderous aura and looked difficult to deal with.

“You go ahead, leave this to me.” Siqing glanced at the opposite shore, estimated the distance, and, after ensuring Fuhuan’s spiritual power could sustain her to the shore, told her to leave first.

Fuhuan hesitated. “Are you sure you can handle this?”

These two ancient spirit crocodiles didn’t look easy to deal with.

“Can you?” Siqing raised an eyebrow in return.

Hearing this, Fuhuan let out an indignant snort. It was only because they were over the ice pool that she couldn’t handle them. On solid ground, of course, she could!

“Then be careful.” Fuhuan didn’t want to burden Siqing any further. She activated her true energy and, taking advantage of the path Siqing had cleared for her, flew toward the opposite shore.

She hadn’t flown far when the cries of the ancient spirit crocodiles, along with bursts of true energy explosions, came from behind.

Fuhuan looked back and saw Siqing trapped between the two ancient spirit crocodiles, engaged in a life-and-death struggle with them.

…

Reaching the shore, Fuhuan was about to land when she noticed the ground covered with venomous snakes. She sighed helplessly, mobilized her energy, and regulated the fire-element true energy within her body.

This Jade Ancient Forest was truly a hellish place.

“Luaner, burn!”

Fuhuan summoned the Five-colored Divine Phoenix.

After emerging, the Five-colored Divine Phoenix flapped its enormous wings and spewed fierce flames from its mouth, burning away large areas of the venomous snakes on the ground.

Fuhuan had no time to pay attention to the snakes here; her gaze fell on the distant ice pool where the battle was taking place, her heart tightly clenched…