Huowu's face instantly turned dark. She reached out and grabbed Zhuqing by the neck, hurling Zhuqing into the Ice Fire Spring. "You blind fool, you'll be my meal today!"
Zhuqing screamed frantically in mid-air, "Master, save me! Huowu is trying to murder me."
Xiao Man opened her eyes. With a wave of her hand, she swept the airborne Zhuqing back to the bank, where it landed in a heap at Huowu's feet. Huowu stepped on Zhuqing's head, grabbed its tail, and lifted it into the air, shaking it. Zhuqing felt its limbs go limp and powerless.
"Huowu, I was wrong. I'll never fight you for food again."
"Do I still look fat to you?"
"Not fat, not fat at all. You're not fat in the slightest." Knowing that discretion was the better part of valor, Zhuqing shook its head like a rattle drum. "Please let me go. My bones are all soft."
"You're a soft-boned creature to begin with." Huowu tossed Zhuqing aside and ignored it. She walked to the barrier, looking outside. There had once been many ferocious beasts outside, but ever since the Master had captured some to eat, those ancient ferocious beasts had kept their distance. She hadn't eaten meat in days.
"Where have all those ancient ferocious beasts gone?"
"Probably gone to find food," Zhuqing said, also crawling onto the barrier. It wanted meat too, but those beasts hid so far away that they couldn't catch them.
Just then, something else happened in the Ice Fire Spring. The spring water began to swirl around Xiao Man, forming a miniature version of the Ice Fire Spring in her hand.
"Supreme Law!" Elder Qin's eyes widened in shock. "This girl has comprehended the Supreme Law!"
Xiao Man opened her eyes, a radiant light flashing within them. "It seems I can leave this place now."
"Now that you have comprehended the Supreme Law, you can naturally leave. Before you leave, take this Ice Fire Spring with you," Elder Qin said excitedly. "Take it all."
"Alright." Xiao Man performed a hand seal, and the Ice Fire Spring, along with the barrier, vanished. Those watching from the periphery hadn't even had time to react before they discovered that both the Ice Fire Spring and Xiao Man were gone without a trace!
"It's gone!" The ancient ferocious beasts rushed to where the Ice Fire Spring had been, but there was nothing there now! The Ice Fire Spring was gone, along with the rare treasures that grew beside it. Even the humanoid beast had disappeared, leaving only mountains of demon beast carcasses to testify to the Ice Fire Spring's past existence!
Xiao Man had emerged from the Ice Fire Spring and taken it with her. The ancient demon beasts, which had finally calmed down, became active again. In their eyes, Xiao Man, now outside the protection of the barrier and carrying rare treasures, was a walking treasure trove. How could they sit still?
When Yu Ju entered Broken Evil Mountain, the mountain was teeming with ancient ferocious beasts, seemingly searching for something. Yu Ju stopped someone and asked, "Brother, what are you doing?"
"Looking for treasure."
"What treasure requires such a grand mobilization?" Yu Ju was extremely curious. Could it be that a divine artifact had appeared?
"A humanoid beast."
Yu Ju stared at the man for a long time, as if to say, aren't you a humanoid beast yourself?
"A very powerful humanoid beast, carrying a secret treasure, accompanied by an ancient divine beast, a fiery phoenix, and a snake."
Yu Ju's eyes lit up. Xiao Man was indeed here!
"Where is she? Have you found her?"
"No. A few days ago, she stole the Ice Fire Spring and disappeared. Everyone in Broken Evil Mountain is looking for her now. If the exit hadn't opened yet, we would have suspected she'd already escaped."
"Broken Evil Mountain is not a place you can enter and leave as you please. She must still be inside. Keep searching. Dig three feet deep if you have to, and drag her out!"
Yu Ju searched Broken Evil Mountain for several days without finding any trace of Xiao Man, and a hint of doubt arose in his heart.
"Could it be that the humanoid beast they're talking about isn't Xiao Man?"
"Quick, someone found the humanoid beast!" someone shouted, and everyone rushed to follow.
Yu Ju, unwilling to be left behind, followed in pursuit, wanting to see if it was Xiao Man. However, when he caught up, he didn't find Xiao Man. Instead, he saw a Jinwu with a bald head, its two wings also missing!
"Humanoid beast, I swear we are irreconcilable!" the Jinwu said furiously. It was a dignified Jinwu, an auspicious ancient beast. That scoundrel of a humanoid beast had said it had never eaten Jinwu before and wanted to try its taste, then cut off its wings and snatched them away!
Seeing this, the Demon Lord's forehead broke out in a cold sweat. Xiao Man had entered this Broken Evil Mountain, and the ones in danger were these ancient demon beasts. He had been too hasty. He thought Xiao Man would surely perish inside Broken Evil Mountain, but the result was that these ancient ferocious beasts of Broken Evil Mountain couldn't survive inside!
"What kind of humanoid beast was it?"
"It was a person..." The Jinwu thought for a moment. "...a humanoid beast!"
The Jinwu instantly added three words, absolutely unwilling to let anyone know that it, a dignified Jinwu, had its wings severed by a mere human. Otherwise, how could it possibly continue to exist in Broken Evil Mountain!
"Do you know where that humanoid beast went? We'll go after her to avenge you." Yu Ju squeezed forward, flapping his wings. "We will definitely catch that humanoid beast and get justice for you."
"She ran that way." The Jinwu pointed in a direction. It didn't believe these people wanted to help it get revenge. These people just wanted to see if they could get something for themselves. It didn't matter. That humanoid beast was incredibly powerful, and it wouldn't be easy for these people to try and take advantage. It couldn't be the only one to suffer a loss; these people should suffer too.
"She went southeast?"
"Yes, she went southeast. She was injured in our fight. If you go now, you might be able to catch her," the Jinwu added fuel to the fire. "She has many good things on her. Just the spiritual plants she brought out of the Ice Fire Spring are worth a fortune!"
Yu Ju glanced at the Jinwu and followed the southeast direction. Xiao Man was actually able to approach the Ice Fire Spring and take away the spiritual plants around it. No wonder she was being hunted by the ancient ferocious beasts of Broken Evil Mountain. Her courage was truly astounding.
"Brother, if we catch that humanoid beast later, we'll split the spirit medicine equally."
Yu Ju gave the other person a meaningful look. "If we can catch her, then yes."
"Brother, I knew you were a righteous person." The man was excited when Yu Ju agreed. "You have no idea, that humanoid beast crawled out of the Ice Fire Spring. Those spiritual plants are secondary. The truly valuable thing is her meat. When we catch her, we'll boil her and eat her. It'll be incredibly nourishing."
Yu Ju pursed his lips. Boiling Xiao Man and eating her? What audacious talk. It would be more like her boiling them and eating them. How could they possibly eat her? Even if they did, they probably wouldn't be able to digest her!