What else needed clarifying?

Of course there was something!

Situ Haonan’s expression turned grave. “We can now confirm Ziqing is inside the world of poison beasts. When the tornado struck, we saw an old nanny who cultivates Gu — never mind why she was there in the first place, one thing is certain: after a full year, Ziqing…”

Even though he didn’t want to say it, he forced himself to continue. “Whether or not anyone deliberately cultivated her, Ziqing must, by now, have become a human Gu.”

The moment he finished, Yelu Qianqian cried out, “I don’t believe it! I refuse to believe it!”

Situ Haonan felt the pain of it too, but this was a reality they had to face, one that needed to be laid out clearly beforehand. He said firmly, “Qianqian, hear me out.”

Yelu Qianqian fell silent this time, biting her lip hard, lowering her head.

“Though Xuanyuan Lige never gave you a definite answer, judging by how the cultivation of a human Gu works, after a full year, Ziqing must already have become one, so…”

Before he could finish, he was interrupted again — this time by Yingzi. “Is it really certain? Even Xuanyuan Lige still holds out hope! Maybe the Princess Consort never even encountered a poison beast! Maybe she’s hiding somewhere — she’s such a good person, surely fortune favors her!”

Accepting this reality was far, far too difficult.

If Ziqing really had been cultivated into a human Gu, what was the point of their desperate search at all?

Finding her would only hand her straight over to whoever had cultivated her — and even without a Gu-cultivator involved, Ziqing leaving the world of poison beasts would itself be a catastrophe for the entire Longyuan Continent!

Wasn’t that exactly why the Nanzhao royal family had destroyed the lost island’s people in the first place?

They hadn’t even found her yet, and already there was a reason not to bother searching at all. Watching Situ Haonan’s grave expression, both Yelu Qianqian and Yingzi felt utterly wretched.

They would rather be like Xuanyuan Lige — not thinking so far ahead, simply focused on finding the entrance to the world of poison beasts first, and worrying about the rest later!

“Xuanyuan Lige…”

Situ Haonan suddenly smiled. “Do you have any idea what he’s actually thinking? Are you so certain he doesn’t have his own plans? You think he simply wants to find the entrance, find Ziqing, and that’s all? What happens after he finds her?”

Faced with Situ Haonan’s question, neither Yingzi nor Yelu Qianqian could answer.

If Ziqing hadn’t become a human Gu, that would naturally be cause for celebration — but that possibility seemed slim indeed.

If she had become one, what exactly would Xuanyuan Lige do about it?

And what were they supposed to do, in that case?

This was, indeed, something that genuinely needed to be clarified.

Situ Haonan looked at Yingzi and Yelu Qianqian, and they looked back at him, all three falling silent, until finally Yelu Qianqian couldn’t hold back any longer, stamping her foot in frustration. “Then what do we do! What do we do?”

“Fight for control of the entrance!” Situ Haonan said, each word deliberate and forceful.

“Fight for control of the entrance…” Yelu Qianqian was startled.

“Yes. We fight for control of the entrance — no one is allowed anywhere near it, no one is allowed to enter the world of poison beasts. Only this way can we guarantee Ziqing’s safety. If she hasn’t become a human Gu, wonderful. If she already has, we will guard that entrance with our lives and find a way to seek out a positive-polarity human Gu!”

Situ Haonan’s expression was grave, his reasoning thorough — once Ziqing became a human Gu, she would inevitably become the target of everyone’s schemes. She would be dangerous to this world, and this world would be equally dangerous to her.

The Nanzhao royal family, Gu-cultivators, and so many others besides would all have their eyes on her.

Now that they knew where the entrance was, the most critical thing was to agree in advance on exactly what to do once they found the entrance and found her — how to guarantee her safety!

This was no small matter, and had to be made absolutely clear — what exactly were they setting out to do, rather than blindly following Xuanyuan Lige’s lead and simply digging away!

Perhaps Xuanyuan Lige wanted to stay by Ziqing’s side in the world of poison beasts forever. Perhaps he wanted to bring her out, to take revenge on Nangong City, the Situ clan, the old Xiongnu nanny, Bai Mengmeng, and all the rest — or perhaps he even wanted to bring Ziqing out and restore his own Great Dongqin to power!

Once that man’s heart was set on competing with Jun Beiyue for something, was there anything he wouldn’t do?

Men fought over women — how much more fiercely would they fight over an entire world?

Xuanyuan Lige’s intentions were impossible to predict, which meant they absolutely needed a clear goal of their own!

“Competing with Xuanyuan Lige isn’t hard in itself, but…”

Yelu Qianqian hesitated a moment, then said uncertainly, “Xuanyuan Lige has the entire Nanzhao royal family backing him too — he traded the secret of Mingsha Mountain in exchange for revealing the truth to the Nanzhao king.”

Yingzi gave a cold laugh. “Xuanyuan Lige didn’t tell the Nanzhao royal family the whole truth either. The Nanzhao royal family wants to seal the entrance the moment it’s found — but that’s clearly not Xuanyuan Lige’s plan at all, given he’s had Young Beast Master feeding them false information the whole time! So…”

Before Yingzi could even finish, Situ Haonan understood at once. “So the key still lies with Xuanyuan Lige. We go along with everything he does, turn his own scheme against him, and strike from the shadows at the critical moment!”

Situ Haonan’s words weren’t a command, but more of a proposal. Yelu Qianqian and Yingzi exchanged a glance, each mulling it over for a moment, before both nodded in agreement.

“Then it’s settled!”

“Just a few more days now — we’ll reach the entrance soon!”

…

The three of them, once people who could never make a decision on their own, had somehow become people capable of taking charge and making bold choices. Now that their goal was set, both Yelu Qianqian and Yingzi let out a long breath, the anxiety that had gripped their hearts finally settling — all that remained now was to wait for the world of poison beasts’ entrance to open!

The three of them left that very night to catch up with Xuanyuan Lige, and Imperial Physician Beiqiu announced that same night that Situ Haonan had fully recovered and regained consciousness.

The news struck the Eighth Prince, Yelu Chenguang, like a thunderbolt, nearly scaring him out of his wits — he immediately sent an urgent falcon-message to the capital of Da Zhou.

As for all of this, Situ Haonan and Yingzi had no intention of confronting Imperial Physician Gu just yet, nor any plans to explain themselves to him — let the man stew in fear and uncertainty for now; that reckoning would surely come later. For the moment, the most important matter of all was the entrance at Mingsha Mountain.

Just as everyone was hurrying toward Mingsha Mountain, a fierce wind kicked up over the mountain — a full year had passed, and it was once again the season when the northwest wind blew strongest, and with Mingsha Mountain no longer there to block it, the wind howled all the fiercer. Time and again, yellow sand swept across the sky, forcing the excavation work to a halt.

As the gale raged and soldiers scrambled to shelter in makeshift windbreaks, a pair of unfamiliar faces — a father and daughter — hid behind a distant dune, watching everything unfold from afar.

“Little Duo, we’re a full year late — Mingsha Mountain has already been destroyed!”

The elderly father looked deeply troubled, but his young daughter smiled optimistically. “Father, don’t worry. That sealing gate is buried so deep, it wouldn’t be so easily destroyed.”

Yet the old man’s brow only furrowed deeper. “Once the appointed hour passes, the sealing gate vanishes on its own — no matter how deep it’s buried, it wouldn’t matter at all!”

At this, the young daughter spun around in shock. “Father, what do you mean? Isn’t that seal something a barrier-master set in place? How could it possibly…”