A luxurious palace in the Lin Kingdom.
A woman, adorned in a magnificent gown and headdress, her hair studded with jewels, her exquisitely made-up face as fair as jade.
Several maids attended her.
The woman, her slender white hand holding a bowl of soup, raised her eyes and glanced at the nearest maid, "Have those old fools been behaving themselves these past few days?"
Her slightly sharp gaze made the maid tremble.
The maid respectfully lowered her head, "Princess, some are still the same, they do not obey you."
The woman's eyes immediately widened, a flicker of displeasure crossing them. "Troublesome old fools. In the Lin Kingdom now, who else can shoulder the responsibility besides me? They are all so old, yet they still fail to understand."
"The Princess is right! It is useless for those old fools to disobey!"
The maid hastily agreed, utterly submissive, daring not to defy the woman in the slightest.
The woman grunted softly, and a searing heat emanated from the jade bracelet on her wrist.
She quickly lowered her head to look.
The jade bracelet was emitting a dazzling red light.
The red light seemed on the verge of bursting from the bracelet!
The intense radiance illuminated the entire room!
The woman's heart lurched, and she stumbled back in disbelief, her eyes fixed on the jade bracelet. "What... what is happening?"
The phoenix bone within the jade bracelet seemed to sense something and struggled wildly.
A wave of heat, following the jade bracelet, instantly burned the woman's wrist!
"Ah!"
She cried out in surprise and quickly removed the jade bracelet, throwing it to the ground.
A clear burn mark encircled the woman's fair wrist.
As if her tail had been stepped on, she glared with fury. "Vile thing, how dare you injure me!"
The woman's anger caused the maids in the room to hold their breath, their heads bowed, not daring to look.
She flicked her sleeve, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy struck the jade bracelet.
As if frightened, the phoenix bone within the jade bracelet quickly dissipated without a trace.
Only then did the woman let out a soft hum, placing the jade bracelet on her other wrist, her exquisitely made-up face contorted with malice. "Vile thing, just like your master!"
The phoenix bone seemed to protest this statement, emitting a dim light.
The woman seemed to recall something, and her gaze turned cold as she looked at the maids behind her.
She raised her hand, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy instantly swept towards the maids.
In an instant, all the maids collapsed.
The woman then withdrew her gaze, her icy voice slowly stating, "Qiu Qiu, drag them out and bury them."
The maid called Qiu Qiu did not dare to delay and quickly set about the task.
This was not the first time Qiu Qiu had done such a thing; she skillfully dragged the fallen maids away.
Many things could not be known to outsiders; only the dead could keep secrets forever.
In a short while, the grand sleeping chambers became empty.
The woman furrowed her brows, her hand covering her chest with unease.
The phoenix bone had been dug out from that vile woman. Why would it suddenly light up without reason?
Could it be...
She was still alive?
The moment this thought crossed her mind, the woman panicked. She rushed to the window and looked towards the sky.
The sky was clear and bright, peaceful and serene, yet an ominous feeling lingered in her heart.
If that woman were still alive, where would she be now?
That woman had clearly died by her hand, and even her funeral had been grand. Yet, why was the phoenix bone acting strangely?
The woman paced back and forth in extreme anxiety...
*
Xuanjing Secret Realm.
The anomaly in the sky did not last long and soon dissipated.
In the forest, the burly man's face was filled with emotion. As if he had found a treasure, he kept circling Feng Ninghe, "This little娃娃's talent is so extraordinary, truly worthy of being my disciple. If this gets out, I will have a lot of face!"
"Your disciple?"
Xiao Zhao, with a puzzled look, reached out and gently scratched his head. "When did the Master gain another master?"
The burly man chuckled and turned his gaze to Xiao Zhao. "It's good that you know now."
Si Jianye remained silent, his deep eyes filled with an indescribable depth, his gaze fixed on Feng Ninghe.
Suddenly, he saw Feng Ninghe's eyelids twitch, her long, thick eyelashes trembling.
At that moment, Feng Ninghe also opened her eyes.
"Master, you're finally awake!"
Xiao Zhao eagerly pounced over, tears of joy welling up in his azure eyes, blurring them.
The ginseng sprout also wrapped itself around Feng Ninghe's arm, its large eyes constantly looking her over. "Master, you almost bid us farewell forever just now! I was so worried!"
Xiao Zhao's cheeks still bore dried tear tracks, indicating he had been crying.
Feng Ninghe's lips curved into a bright smile. She reached out and gently stroked both their heads. "Don't worry, I have a strong life. No one can harm me. Minor poisons like this, I don't even bat an eye at."
Xiao Zhao nodded obediently, his face beaming with smiles.
From not far away, a continuous sound of footsteps could be heard. Even from a distance, the clamor was audible.
Feng Ninghe instinctively raised her eyebrows, a hint of displeasure appearing in her eyes. "What happened? Why is it so noisy?"
Si Jianye calmly stepped before her, his gaze calmly sweeping over her. "They have all come for you. Let's leave quickly to avoid trouble."
"For me?"
Feng Ninghe's eyes were clouded with confusion, not quite understanding.
The burly man eagerly leaned in. "Good disciple, let's go first. We'll tell you about this later."
Looking at the burly man before her, her doubts only grew.
But she did not rush to ask, and instead, followed them away.
Shortly after they left, many cultivators arrived.
Feng Qingcheng, having rushed with all her might, also arrived at the first opportunity.
Around them, apart from the arriving cultivators, there was no other anomaly.
Feng Qingcheng's beautiful face instantly tightened.
Wang Junzhao scanned the surroundings before retracting his gaze. "Why is there nothing to see? The strong light clearly came from here."
The powerful aura was alluring.
Everyone desired to obtain that potent strength.
Yet, they had detected nothing.
Feng Qingcheng was equally perplexed and slowly withdrew her gaze. "Perhaps someone has already gotten to it before us and obtained the treasure, or perhaps no one obtained it and it simply vanished. Quickly send disciples to patrol the surroundings; perhaps there will be some discoveries."
Wang Junzhao immediately nodded and, as per her instructions, briefed the disciples of the Immortal Sect.
More and more people gathered at this spot.
Bai Niannian and Feng Xing also arrived, meeting up with the people from the Willow Face Sect.
Bai Niannian looked eagerly at the Willow Face Sect members, her voice tinged with worry. "Did you see my master?"
"We did."
Su Xian nodded generously, recounting the entire sequence of events. "We all landed in the snow, and to be honest, we have to thank..."