The white marten curled into a ball, not leaving: “I’m not in a hurry. I’ll only leave when you do.”

Feng Miaojun smiled: “What’s the difference between leaving and not leaving?”

Bai Ban had no response. It also understood that for cultivators nowadays, withstanding sixteen strikes of heavenly lightning in succession was almost impossible.

She simply sat down and gazed at the distant black tornado. Fu Lingchuan was truly remarkable, manipulating so many people on the island with minimal effort on his part.

Getting something for nothing—wasn’t this the kind of person they spoke of?

As she watched, she suddenly narrowed her eyes and said: “Can the Crab Spirit exist separately from its spiral shell?”

“Yes,” Bai Ban replied in a deep voice. “After all, it’s dead, and the connection between soul and physical body is far less tight than when alive. Even if it stays in the spiral shell, it won’t receive nourishment from the body.”

Feng Miaojun gazed at the distant ship, murmuring: “Something doesn’t feel right.” Although sailing away was an unexpected tactic, there were too many variables. If the mermen caught up with the merchant ship in the final hour and stopped the ritual, wouldn’t Fu Lingchuan’s efforts be in vain?

She didn’t feel this was the optimal plan, and Feng Miaojun had another doubt: Princess Changle was now tens of li away from the island. Although the Crab Spirit was essentially the spirit of Spiral Float Island, could the heavenly sacrifice ritual continue when she was so far away?

After all, countries that had performed the ritual of offering national treasures to heaven were few in this world. The most recent was several hundred years ago, leaving scarce reference materials for study. Not just her, but even the Merman King probably couldn’t deduce more useful clues.

The white marten’s black eyes gazed at her, seemingly hesitant to speak. But Feng Miaojun was lost in thought and didn’t notice.

After much internal struggle, Bai Ban finally couldn’t help saying: “Mistress, actually…”

“Hmm?” She wasn’t paying attention.

It stammered: “Actually, there’s something unusual on this mountain.”

She asked casually: “What’s unusual?”

“I smell rare metals, which should be from a valuable magical artifact.”

“Hmm, rare metals.” As she said this, she suddenly came to her senses. “A valuable magical artifact, are you certain? Right now?”

Bai Ban gently hushed: “Please keep your voice down.”

Feng Miaojun’s phoenix eyes widened, her heartbeat quickening, as a peculiar thought suddenly entered her mind.

Liquid metal monsters fed on rare metals and thus had a special sensitivity to them. Normally, finding minerals in mountains was unremarkable. But although this place was called Cone Tail Mountain, it was essentially a large spiral shell, primarily composed of limestone. Where would metal ores come from?

Earlier, the Merman King and others had been standing here, with many magical artifacts in hand, but what about after they left? And for Bai Ban to describe something as “valuable,” unless…

She lowered her voice, speaking so softly on this windy peak that only Bai Ban could hear: “Can you find its location?”

“I can sense it, but it’s somewhat vague,” Bai Ban replied. “I fear an array formation is obscuring my perception.”

Well done, Fu Lingchuan! Feng Miaojun secretly praised, but asked aloud: “Why are you willing to tell me now?”

She noticed! Mistress truly had a brilliant mind; even with such good news before her, she hadn’t lost her head. If Bai Ban had skin, it would probably be blushing now.

Indeed, after the Merman King left, it had sensed the aura of a divine weapon at the peak, yet concealed this information, not immediately informing Feng Miaojun.

Bai Ban’s little calculation was very clear.

It had originally been the free-spirited River God of Fu Tai, forcibly captured by Yun and made to sign a master-servant contract, obliged to serve Feng Miaojun since then. It was an intelligent being, far smarter than humans, and naturally resentful.

The contract stipulated it must obediently follow its master’s orders, but didn’t say it had to show initiative. Therefore, the best outcome for it now would be to keep this discovery secret, letting Feng Miaojun die from the heavenly lightning. That way, it would regain its freedom, and as long as it avoided appearing before Yun in the future, it would once again be a liquid metal monster roaming freely between heaven and earth.

Why had it changed its mind?

Bai Ban chuckled: “You’re still thinking of me at this time, so I should at least return the favor once.”

Feng Miaojun knew her chances of survival were slim, yet was willing to let it go, not forcing Bai Ban to accompany her in death. This kindness had to be acknowledged.

Moreover, though Feng Miaojun and it were nominally master and servant, she had never mistreated it, feeding it her privately hoarded precious metals. If Bai Ban had to rely on its own slow cultivation, who knew how long it would take to advance to the next level.

There were benefits to following the mistress, which was also why it couldn’t bring itself to harm her.

Feng Miaojun saw through its little scheme and coldly snorted: “If you want to redeem yourself, go find it!” She was certainly not pleased with Bai Ban’s thoughts but didn’t hold a grudge because of it. Self-interest was the nature of all beings. Although Bai Ban recognized her as its master, it instinctively yearned for freedom.

With this mindset, she understood better than anyone.

Bai Ban responded with an “Alright” and transformed into a blob of mercury, slipping away. It had always been an expert at stealth. The current nightfall, along with the thin mist on the mountain, provided excellent cover.

With a new glimmer of hope before her, Feng Miaojun instead felt uneasy. People were like this—knowing certain death could bring calm acceptance, but having a way out led to anxiety, fearing they wouldn’t make it in time or seize the opportunity.

She forcefully suppressed her chaotic thoughts and closely followed behind Bai Ban.

The path down the mountain grew wider. Halfway down, Bai Ban signaled to her, and Feng Miaojun immediately stopped, watching its figure slowly disappear into the air.

This ability to blend with the surrounding scenery was something even Yun had to admire.

This place was much quieter than the peak. The poisonous mist drifting down from above had swept away all life, large and small, so the mountain forest was now deathly silent, with an oppressive atmosphere.

Even Bai Ban had vanished without a trace.

Time ticked by, and soon nearly half an hour had passed.

The cloud vortex in the sky grew increasingly thick as if it would press into the sea at any moment. The time left for Feng Miaojun was diminishing rapidly.

She still leaned against the rock, taking several deep breaths, gradually entering a state like an old monk in deep meditation. Others might have been like ants on a hot pan by now, but she understood that at this point, anxiety was useless.

All she could do now was her best as a human.

After an unknown period, a sudden gust of wind blew up from below, ruffling her hair.

The direction of the wind was somewhat strange. Feng Miaojun abruptly opened her eyes, stealthily moved forward about ten zhang, and pressed against the rock wall to look down:

Five zhang below was a small mountain hollow, sheltered from the wind. Due to the deep grooves on the spiral shell, Cone Tail Mountain was full of such small hollows, nothing attention-grabbing.

However, the previously empty hollow now unexpectedly contained two people:

Fu Lingchuan and Princess Changle!