My Crown Prince Consort Is a Firecracker

CHAPTER 1101-1120

Chapter 1101: Someone Unexpected

Right now, only sending the Raksha Princess into a nightmare would allow her a chance at survival.

“Princess!” The female disciple behind the Raksha Princess yelped. She abruptly drew her sword and slashed at Sikong Fuling, who was on the alert as she produced demonic chants from the Phoenix Nether Demonic Flute she was playing.

Sikong Fuling had overconsumed her mystic energy, so at the moment, she was only hanging in there by willpower as blood trickled from her lips.

When Sikong Fuling saw that she was utterly unable to ward off this sword offensive, she couldn’t help but sigh dejectedly.

She hadn’t expected that this journey to the Mystic Beast Forest would actually be her final journey…

Suddenly, a fair and tender small palm shot out from beside her face. Its delicate fingers were slim, and its luminous wrist was as translucent as the moonlight.

It directly nabbed the Raksha Ghost Sect female disciple’s neck in the midst of her attack.

The slender, small hand exerted force!

*Crack!*

That Raksha Ghost Sect disciple’s eyes bulged in disbelief!

The moment she died, she thought, How was it possible?

That was clearly a female hand, yet it was as durable as jade stone, directly snapping the neck of a level-10 great mystic cultivator!

Sikong Fuling turned her neck around robotically as she gaped in astonishment at the little lady standing behind her.

She wore pale clothes and a frosty expression as she stood amongst the pitch-black undergrowth like a luminous jade sculpture!

*Bang!* The Raksha Princess, who had finally broken through the talisman matrix after flinging out wave after wave of mystic energy, just so happened to witness this scene when she turned her head.

Even with her wide experience, the Raksha Princess couldn’t help the terror sprouting in her heart upon witnessing that expressionless little lady snapping her subordinate’s neck with a single hand.

This kind of terror that weakened her will caused the Raksha Princess to feel terribly upset.

When had she ever been terrified of something?

It was simply laughable that she would feel dread towards such a young and stoic-faced little lady!

“You! Who are you!” The Raksha Princess stared at Qiao Mu sternly as she uncontrollably clenched her fists.

Qiao Mu suddenly moved, flitting straight over for the Raksha Princess to grab her neck.

*Boom!* As the Raksha Princess stepped back, she flung out an expansive mystic energy that struck Qiao Mu’s body.

The defensive barrier activated in an instant!

It withstood the Raksha Princess’s attack without any hesitation.

“Spiritual weapon!” While the Raksha Princess screeched in surprise, all of Qiao Mu’s fingers that were as sturdy as jade stone abruptly pierced toward the back of the Raksha Princess’s head!

This instant, never mind the Raksha Princess, even the spectating Sikong Fuling felt her breathing practically stop!

Too strong!

It had merely been two days since she last saw this little lady, so why did it seem like her cultivation had become a lot more powerful again?

Sikong Fuling simply could not believe her eyes.

The Raksha Princess dived forward in a fluster to evade her grab. However, just as she turned her head back yet before she could speak…

She saw Qiao Mu giving the ground a stomp, and a small pit instantly appeared beneath her foot. Her expression basically didn’t change as her small hand reached out for a grab, ripping off a piece of the Raksha Princess’s strapless dress from her bosom.

Sikong Fuling: …

F*ck! If this imp wasn’t female! She would have thought that this child was a raring lecher!

The face of this princess from the Raksha Ghost Sect had instantly turned green!

She gazed incredulously at this girl before she practically shrieked with a crease in her brows, “You, you are blind?”

Chapter 1102: A Life-Saving Grace

After Sikong Fuling looked over in shock, she was able to make out Qiao Mu’s present countenance.

Her eyes were like two deep pools of frigid water. Although they were limpid, pitch-black, and incredibly radiant, it was possible to tell that they were completely unfocused. She really was blind!

How could that be? Sikong Fuling sat up straight in shock!

She had clearly been fine several days ago, so how did she become blind now?

Qiao Mu pulled her thin lips into a line, with no fluctuation in her eyes at all. She instinctively used her spiritual conscious to scour the left side as she reached out to capture the vile person that destroyed her talisman matrix.

Afterall, she had said that she would not let off those who obstructed her from cultivating, sending them all into the underworld!

However, the Raksha Princess was thoroughly infuriated!

A blind person also dared to be insolent to her!

This lass truly needed a good dressing-down!

“Come out! Misty Night Wolf!”

With the Raksha Princess’s shout, a large, glossy, pitch-black wolf that was the size of two calves suddenly appeared beside the Raksha Princess.

Gulping down her saliva, Sikong Fuling yelled at Qiao Mu, “It’s a level-14 mystic beast, the misty night wolf! Careful!”

The misty night wolf bared its sharp teeth at Qiao Mu, pawing its claws on the ground before suddenly bolting towards her with a howl.

*Bang!* Qingluan suddenly appeared in front of Qiao Mu and kicked out at the misty night wolf. After the misty night wolf tumbled backwards with several groans, an overbearing and obstinate green light shone from its eyes.

Qiao Mu’s surging spiritual conscious also struck out with a swift and intangible mental attack, directly seeping into the other party’s conscious pool[1] and inflicting serious damage upon it.

“Ah!” Not expecting this, the Raksha Princess was caught off guard, feeling as if her conscious pool was being torn apart fiercely, with its roots threatening to shatter. In her fluster, her body also reacted honestly as she spurted out a large mouthful of blood.

This was mystic conscious? No… this was spiritual conscious, right! How could a measly mystic cultivator’s conscious pool generate spiritual conscious?

The Raksha Princess only felt her mind hurt as she blanked. Yet before she could dwell on it, she already had thoughts of retreating. After reaching out to summon back the misty night wolf, she fled disheveledly in defeat without turning her head.

Qiao Mu apathetically “watched” the Raksha Princess leave. Although she was unable to see, her spiritual conscious could trail after her for a long distance.

Upon seeing that that person had indeed fled from this area, Qiao Mu then indifferently withdrew her spiritual conscious and ambled forward without a destination.

Sikong Fuling glanced at her dumbfoundedly before calling out “hey,” yet Qiao Mu simply strolled away without even turning her head.

Sikong Fuling watched her back silhouette in dismay, sighing softly.

This little fellow had saved her life unwittingly, and she wasn’t someone who couldn’t tell good from bad either.

After this incident, Sikong Fuling felt gratitude toward the little fellow.

—-My Lian’s section break—-

“Greetings to the commandery princess.” Two royal maids dressed in pink and green clothes curtsied together toward a smiling female that was strolling over with a small, flower-patterned food box.

That girl was around 17 years old, and her small and fair oval face was delicate and charming with its rosy color.

Her combed head of beautiful, thick, raven hair was coiled up gently into an unusual spread-wings topknot with two garnet-red beaded hairpins.

Along with this, her fair wrists also showed the pair of priceless gold-threaded jade bangles that she was wearing.

Upon seeing the two royal maids’ curtsies, that female nodded her head and spoke with excellent etiquette, “No need for so many formalities.”

[1] ‘Conscious’ will now be known as ‘conscious pool.’

Chapter 1103: Yi’an

“Thank you, Commandery Princess.” The two junior royal maids said as they straightened their bodies.

“Is His Highness inside the study?” Commandery Princess Yi’an smiled faintly with an indescribable gentleness and refinement.

The two royal maids exchanged a glance before one of them plucked up the courage to answer, “Yes.”

“Could you send someone to relay to His Highness that Yi’an requests to see him.”

“Yes.” The other royal maid hurriedly ran off to the junior eunuchs’ workroom.

Commandery Princess Yi’an just stood outside the Eastern Palace’s courtyard wall as she waited quietly, revealing not a whit of impatience or agitation.

Soon, the eunuch Xiao’xi’zi strode over quickly and saluted Commandery Princess Yi’an. “Commandery Princess, His Highness has to deal with some pressing matters, so he is unable to spare time to receive you at the moment. It is best if you return.”

Giving a serene nod, Yi’an handed the small food box in her hands to Xiao’xi’zi. “If you would please deliver this food box to His Highness. These are pastries that Yi’an made for Her Majesty the Queen Dowager. Her Majesty the Queen Dowager was very pleased with them after having a taste, so she instructed Yi’an to deliver some to His Highness.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you to Her Majesty the Queen Dowager, thank you to Commandery Princess.” Xiao’xi’zi quickly and respectfully extended his hands to take it as he smiled at Commandery Princess Yi’an. “Take care, Commandery Princess.”

Commandery Princess Yi’an nodded with a faint smile before turning to board a sedan chair, going back the same way she came.

Xiao’xi’zi peered at that sedan chair before breathing in relief. He then mumbled to himself, “Fortunately she didn’t badger about it! Hm, at least she’s tactful.”

“Eunuch Xiao’xi’zi, why is His Highness not seeing the commandery princess?” A royal maid dressed in green couldn’t resist inquiring quietly in puzzlement.

The commandery princess held quite the esteem before Her Majesty the Queen Dowager, afterall. Accordingly, His Highness shouldn’t be treating the commandery princess this coldly even if only on account of Her Majesty the Queen Dowager.

“Shoo, shoo, what do you understand.” Xiao’xi’zi waved his hand at those two royal maids gruffly. “His Highness is busy. How does he have the spare time to see this person today and that person tomorrow. Alright, alright, hurry and go do your own work. Our Eastern Palace doesn’t need mouthy servants. Remember to just do what your master instructs you. There is no need for so many whys and wherefores.”

After that royal maid got chastised by Xiao’xi’zi, she promptly shut her mouth abashedly and curtsied with a quiet “understood.”

Meanwhile, the sedan chair cut through a small garden outside the Eastern Palace and made a detour to Her Majesty the Queen Dowager’s bedchamber.

“Commandery Princess.” A young servant girl with an oblong face couldn’t resist pursing her lips as she remarked, “His Highness is too unreasonable. Commandery Princess went to deliver pastries on Her Majesty the Queen Dowager’s orders, yet the crown prince will not even see you…”

“Shut up.” Commandery Princess Yi’an’s frigid voice passed through the curtain. “Is an unruly minor servant such as you able to thoughtlessly invent stories about His Highness’s matters? If you keep spouting nonsense tactlessly like this, I will send you out of the palace tomorrow and back to the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate.”

“Ah?” That young maidservant gaped in horror before grovelling on the ground in fright. She pleaded while kowtowing repeatedly, “Miss, please do not send this servant back! Yes, this servant had spoken out of turn, it is this servant’s fault! Miss, this servant will not dare to do so again in the future.”

Tepidly ordering the sedan chair to stop, Commandery Princess Yi’an lifted an inch of the curtain and bent over to step out. Subsequently, she walked up to the young maidservant gracefully.

While sighing lightly at the young servant girl’s look of fear and trepidation, Commandery Princess Yi’an stooped down to help her up.

Chapter 1104: Cold Shoulder

“Do you know what mistake you made?” While looking at her genially, Commandery Princess Yi’an raised her hand to brush off the dust on the young servant girl’s skirt.

Nevertheless, the young servant girl was trembling, her face still ghastly pale. “This servant ma-made a slip of the tongue.”

Commandery Princess Yi’an spoke mildly, “Xu’er, you are my senior maidservant. When outside, your every word and action represents this commandery princess’s! You must always remember to not speak carelessly in the future.”

Sniffling as she wiped her tears with her sleeve, the young servant girl nodded emphatically. “Yes, Xu’er will bear this in mind.”

Only then did Commandery Princess Yi’an smile and pull her back to the front of the sedan chair. “It’s getting late, so we should head back quickly.”

Ever since both of Yi’an’s parents had died, she had been living with Her Majesty the Queen Dowager. Her residence was thus inside the queen dowager’s Longevity Palace.

All these years, the queen dowager doted on her like she was her own granddaughter. Yi’an’s original identity as an orphan also rose to her present status, where people clamored to ingratiate themselves with her.

To maintain her present status, she needed to speak and act cautiously as well as follow the rules conscientiously. Even though the queen dowager treated her as her own granddaughter, she, after all, wasn’t her true granddaughter.

But if she could clinch another identity, then it would be a different matter altogether, and she would no longer have to worry about treading painstakingly in the palace in the future…

She had brought Xu’er with her into the palace from the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate back then. She could be considered her most trusted subordinate.

It was exactly because of this that she had to prod her occasionally, so that she wouldn’t foolishly invite trouble for her.

“Commandery Princess, we have arrived.” Xu’er reminded in a quiet voice.

It was only then that Commandery Princess Yi’an returned to the present. After stepping out from the sedan chair, she looked up for a while at Anya Pavilion, where she resided, before turning to walk towards the queen dowager’s bedchamber. “Let us first go see Her Majesty the Queen Dowager.”

“Commandery Princess.” At this time, a young lady dressed in yellow clothing came out from Anya Pavilion and curtsied toward Commandery Princess Yi’an. “The madam of the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate has come with an invitation card to request your audience.”

Yet Commandery Princess Yi’an creased her brow. “What is she here for.”

She did not have a good relationship with this aunt of hers. If Her Majesty the Queen Dowager had not taken her into the palace after her parents had passed away, then who knows how this aunt would have maltreated her.

As a result, her feelings toward the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate were fading by the day.

“It is best if the commandery princess sees the marchioness, so as to avoid idle gossip.” The yellow-clothed royal maid prompted thus, aware of how gossip could spread.

Commandery Princess Yi’an nodded tepidly. “Bring her over.”

After a moment, the marchioness of the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate walked over with mincing steps, followed by a well-endowed young, married woman.

Upon seeing Commandery Princess Yi’an, the marchioness lunged forward and bawled her eyes out. She cried while snivelling, “Little Ninth, you have to give your fifth brother justice.”

“Ninth Sister.” The young married woman also started crying dramatically.

The two people’s wailing gave Commandery Princess Yi’an a big headache, and her expression involuntarily turned cold. “What happened. Marchioness, Fifth Young Mistress, please calm down.”

The marchioness of the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate sniffled as she wrung her handkerchief. After being helped up by her daughter-in-law, she exclaimed, “Little Ninth, your fifth brother, he, he died so wretchedly!”

“What happened to Fifth Young Master?” Commandery Princess Yi’an questioned coldly.

“Someone killed your fifth brother! He died inside the secret room in his quarters! The doctor said, he, he… wuwuwu, he had been starved to death!”

Chapter 1105: Not Welcomed

The marchioness of the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate thumped her chest as she cried and wailed, “Yi’an, you must give your fifth brother justice! Your fifth brother cannot just die like this in vain!”

Beside her, the fifth young mistress also affectedly wiped the tears from her eyes even though she was sneering inside her heart.

This old biddy was simply being ludicrous. She really thought that Commandery Princess Yi’an would give her justice?

She dared to come begging before the commandery princess now, forgetting everything that she did to her back then? Ha, if it wasn’t because this old biddy insisted on also dragging her into the palace, then she would have long left that impoverished Marquis of Su’an’s Estate and absconded with her young paramour.

So what if Hu Youkang, that scumbag, died, and in such a scandalous way. He was found naked with the low-level maidservant from his court inside his secret room. It really made her lose all face!

She was unable to shed even a single tear for this scumbag. The fifth young mistress scoffed.

Nevertheless, she still pretended to sob on the outside, putting her all into her performance with her elderly mother-in-law.

Only after making sense of the situation did Commandery Princess Yi’an tell the marchioness of the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate calmly and distantly, “The marchioness really thinks too highly of me. With the occurrence of such a big incident, the Highest Judiciary will certainly investigate thoroughly. Yi’an is merely a girl who has not yet married, so how could I have the ability to meddle with the Highest Judiciary’s handling of this case? Will Madam please restrain your grief and wait for news at home.”

“You!” The madam of the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate glowered at Commandery Princess Yi’an. “Very good! You are completely disregarding the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate after becoming a commandery princess, right!”

The old biddy continued berating loudly, “Don’t forget! Your name is Hu Xueyin, a young lady who originated from the Marquis of Su’an’s Estate. Don’t you be unaware of even your forefather’s surname!”

At this, Yi’an clenched her fists angrily. “Will Madam please take note of your words!”

“I am your aunt and your senior. So what if I lecture you?” The old biddy reproved indignantly as she gave a hideously crooked harrumph. “If your fifth brother’s murderer isn’t caught, I won’t let you off!”

“Oh? Who don’t you want to let off!” A stern rebuke came from behind.

Commandery Princess Yi’an raised her head with reddened eyes as she frantically gave a curtsy. “Yi’an greets the queen dowager.”

The fifth young mistress jolted as she cursed this old mother-in-law to no end in her mind!

This d*mn old hag dared to yell so arrogantly even inside the palace. Great, now she even summoned the queen dowager here. Let’s see how she was going to get out of this, but don’t drag her into it!

The Marchioness of Su’an also gave a jolt before hastily putting on a sycophantic expression. She then greeted with a curtsy, “This subject pays her respects to Her Majesty the Queen Dowager.”

The queen dowager didn’t even spare the young and old duo a glance, walking straight past them to Yi’an’s side. She asked smilingly while patting her hand, “Yi’an, We heard that you went to the Eastern Palace. What is that grandson of mine doing?”

Commandery Princess Yi’an replied with a faint smile, “His Highness is busy with official business, so Yi’an left after handing over the pastries to Eunuch Xiao’xi’zi.”

The queen dowager was taken aback. After giving Commandery Princess Yi’an a glance, she remarked while shaking her head with a smile, “Indeed, this grandson of mine is exceptional, it’s just that once he gets engrossed in official business, he will neglect sleep and food and forget about everything.”

“Yi’an dared not disturb him.”

“Child, We know that you are the most sensible.” The queen dowager patted Yi’an’s hand with a smile. “Come, stroll around the royal garden with Us. We heard that they newly opened up quite a refined pond in the rear court.”

Commandery Princess Yi’an smiled as she complied with a nod.

Chapter 1106: Going to Find Her!

The floor-length yellow curtain swayed gently as two guards stood at attention in front of the door to the Eastern Palace’s small study.

Xiao’xi’zi trotted over with small, quick steps.

Inside the room, Crown Prince Mo was creasing his brows as he extended his hand to observe his stiffening fingers. After enveloping them in a layer of medicinal power, this paralyzing sensation was soon dispelled.

While propping one hand on his chin, he continued knitting his brows as he studied the other hand that he was clenching and unclenching. He speculated that this should be a certain type of neurotoxin, but if he couldn’t find its source, then he would be unable to treat the root cause of this illness.

“Your Highness.” Xiao’xi’zi hurried inside while holding a small food box decorated with flowers.

Yet Mo Lian didn’t even look up, merely questioning indifferently, “She’s gone?”

“Yes, this servant relayed the message to Commandery Princess Yi’an as Your Highness had instructed. She did not pester about it and just left without another word.”

Mo Lian gave a nod. However, just as he lifted his brush and wrote a character, he gripped his right wrist, a faint viciousness flashing past his brows.

How hateful. He had just used medicinal power to restore his arm, yet that paralyzing sensation had already spread to his hand once again.

Should he get his hands on that Ding Tingding, he would definitely dismember him so as to vent the hatred in his heart.

After using medicinal power for another round of treatment, Mo Lian looked up and glared irritatedly at Xiao’xi’zi, who had rooted himself inside the room. “What else is there.”

“Yes, Commandery Princess Yi’an also left some pastries for Your Highness to sample, saying that she specially delivered them with Her Majesty the Queen Dowager’s instruction.”

Mo Lian peered indifferently at the food box Xiao’xi’zi was holding before saying with knitted brows, “Since it was the queen dowager that bestowed them, then pass them out to the palace maids.”

“Help Us pick a pot of superior-quality longevity flower to gift Grandmother in return.”

“As you bid.” Xiao’xi’zi kept his head and eyes down as he silently retreated out the door with the food box. He mused in his mind: His Highness doesn’t even want to touch the pastries Commandery Princess Yi’an made. His attitude is already so obvious, so why is this Commandery Princess Yi’an still coming over to the Eastern Palace all the time?

She really doesn’t have a discerning eye!

After Xiao’xi’zi left, Huifeng appeared before the crown prince with a flash. “Your Highness, the Hidden Night Pavilion received news that the Mystic Beast Forest secret realm opened back up in advance. Everyone was transferred out, but there was no trace of just the crown prince consort.”

Immediately unperturbed no longer, Crown Prince Mo abruptly jumped up from his chair. “What did you say?”

Why did the secret realm just open back up after merely ten days or so?

Where was the one month that had been agreed upon?

“Your Highness, at present, Lightning and his team that were standing by inside the Mystic Beast Forest’s base have already ventured into the forest first to search for the crown prince consort.”

Huifeng remarked in worry, “At the moment, the two sects, five factions, eight great patrician families, and four great manors, in addition to Anyi Prefecture, Luotian Prefecture, and co., have all run to the Mystic Beast Forest. What if there is some kind of trouble?”

Upon hearing this, Mo Lian couldn’t sit still. His little fellow didn’t have that cheery a relationship with the five factions and eight great patrician families. Moreover, there was also the covetous Anyi Prefecture and Luotian Prefecture as a factor, so how could he not be fearful for her safety?

“This won’t do, immediately make preparations. I must go to the Mystic Beast Forest to find her!” Crown Prince Mo decisively made up his mind.

He couldn’t wait another minute!

He needed to go find her! Find her, find her!

There was a voice that kept echoing like this inside his heart, just like… something bad would happen if he couldn’t find her.

His heart beat rapidly, but his expression was as still and chilly as water.

“Immediately assemble three thousand hidden guards to come with me to search for the crown prince consort in the Mystic Beast Forest.”

“Yes!”

Chapter 1107: Admiration

Huifeng was perfectly aware that His Highness the Crown Prince was burning with urgency at this moment, so he dared not delay any further, leaving through the window to notify the hidden guards to assemble.

Soon, the king, who was currently in Zhaoyi He’s bedchamber, accompanying the beauty to draw as he held her luminous wrist with a smile, received the latest news.

His Highness the Crown Prince had dispatched 3000 hidden guards to head to the Mystic Beast Forest with him, tossing all the matters that he had not yet dealt with to him!

This son that tossed his messes to his dad!

He really abandoned his dad after getting a wife. Every time a matter had to do with his wife, he could even forsake his dad for it!

Unfilial son! Simply infuriating!

—-My Lian’s section break—-

The entrance to Anya Pavilion.

The overjoyed Xu’er quickly kept up with her miss’s pace. When she passed by the marchioness and her daughter-in-law, who were sweating heavily as they continued to maintain their curtsy, she even provoked them by pursing her mouth and rolling her eyes at them.

From beginning to end, the queen dowager didn’t allow the marchioness and her daughter-in-law to straighten their bodies. Even up to when she disappeared from Anya Pavilion’s entrance with Commandery Princess Yi’an, she left them hanging, not even sparing them a glance.

The group of junior royal maids all covered their mouths as they peeked furtively at the marchioness and her daughter-in-law like they were an amusing show before scattering.

It wasn’t until after a quarter of an hour had passed that the sweating marchioness dared to straighten her waist. However, this caused her to yelp in pain as she beat the back of her strained waist. After exchanging glances with her daughter-in-law, whose heart was still fluttering in fear, they supported each other and left with long faces.

Having accompanied the former king to fight for state power all those years ago, the queen dowager was able to match men in ability and bravery. Her temper was naturally forthright, hence she very much disdained the pretentious marchioness and her daughter-in-law.

“You child, We have told you so many times already. Don’t see those unnecessary people if you don’t want to see them.” The queen dowager sighed as she turned to gaze at Yi’an beside her.

Commandery Princess Yi’an’s eyes reddened as she explained in a soft voice, “Yi’an was thinking that since they were family after all, it was not good to go too far for appearances’ sake.”

“Ay, you are just kindhearted!” The queen dowager shook her head before saying with a smile, “You should find an opportunity to go see your youngest sister-in-law and learn from her. Then, your temper won’t be so soft that other people can pressure you with it.”

“Youngest sister-in-law?” Commandery Princess Yi’an was stunned.

“That’s right! That youngest granddaughter-in-law that We have yet to meet.” The queen dowager declared with a smile, “These past few days, We have been calling Gong Chang’an over every day to tell me stories, hahaha!”

Upon mentioning the young crown prince consort, the queen dowager’s face was wreathed in smiles. “You don’t know how amazing she is! Hehe, I just like her methods all too much.”

“Did you know? The king’s Consort Zheng, she’s quite a figure to be reckoned with, right! Yet in the end, she was like a rat avoiding the cat in front of my youngest daughter-in-law! Also, also, she immediately retaliated against that old woman from the Shu Family when she tried to bully her. Even until now, that old biddy is still learning discipline at home, hahahahaha!”

When she got to the good part, the queen dowager burst out laughing.

Her personal nanny that was trailing behind her involuntarily twitched her mouth. She trotted up to the queen dowager and reminded gently, “Your Majesty, you have already mentioned this three times today.”

“Is that so?” The queen dowager laughed out loud before turning to say to the faintly smiling Yi’an, “Unfortunately, this little fellow hasn’t returned from the Mystic Beast Forest yet, otherwise I really want to meet her.”

Not knowing how to continue the conversation, Commandery Princess Yi’an could only maintain a faint smile.

“Yi’an, you are already 17 this year, correct. The youngest son from the Count of Jian’an’s Estate is older than you by two years.”

Chapter 1108: Matchmaking

“He is an all-around talent, and his cultivation is also excellent for his young age. We regard him with good prospects. If you are willing, then We will take charge for you and let you two meet.” The queen dowager added with a smile, “If you aren’t interested in him, then We will help you seek out other young men.”

“Queen Dowager.” Commandery Princess Yi’an’s expression stiffened before switching to a bashful smile, and the arm with which she had wrapped around Her Majesty the Queen Dowager’s also involuntarily froze before she quickly spoke, “Yi’an only beseeches that she may accompany the queen dowager always.”

“Ay, what nonsense are you spouting.” The queen dowager cast her a glance before saying with a harrumph, “There’s only me, so it’s fine with just Feng Gu accompanying me. You are still young, so of course you need to find a good family to marry into. What is there to be bashful for. That youngest granddaughter-in-law of mine is not yet 15 years old, yet my grandson has already confirmed their engagement. That is why it is suitable to be early and not late in regards to marriage. If you’re late, the good matches will already have been selected by other people.”

Behind her, Elderly Nanny Feng Gu couldn’t resist teasing with a chuckle, “Your Majesty, young unmarried ladies are all thin-skinned. How is the commandery princess to answer when you ask like this?”

“Alright, alright, then I’ll take charge for you, okay.” The queen dowager kept nodding with a chortle. “In a few days, we’ll invite the Countess of Jian’an for tea, as well as have her bring that young chap into the palace. So our Yi’an can take a look.”

Feng Gu complied with a smile. “Yes, yes, yes, Your Majesty. This old servant has taken note of this appointment.”

Commandery Princess Yi’an’s fair hand that was hanging by her side gripped tightly before letting go. She then revealed a sweet-tempered but bashful smile, showing a gentleness that was just right.

The party of people soon returned to the Longevity Palace after they accompanied the queen dowager in a stroll around the small garden for an hour.

After Yi’an took her leave and departed, Feng Gu presented a cup of tea to Her Majesty the Queen Dowager.

Holding the cup as she watched Yi’an’s departing back figure, the queen dowager shook her head lightly. “Feng Gu, what do you say this child is thinking about on the inside.”

Feng Gu quickly replied, “Your Majesty has already done your utmost for Commandery Princess Yi’an. The commandery princess will definitely understand.”

“Today, We only casually mentioned that the crown prince would probably also like these well-made pastries. Yet for her, it turned into she went to the Eastern Palace to deliver pastries on ‘imperial orders.’”

If the crown prince wasn’t quick-witted enough, perhaps he would even harbor a grudge against her.

Feng Gu nodded lightly. “Your Majesty has penetrating insight. Nothing can escape Your Majesty’s notice.”

“It is not like We are unaware. All these years, Yi’an has always wanted to gradually get close to the crown prince, but… if the crown prince was truly interested in her, would there be a need to wait until now?”

“Your Majesty is most wise.” Feng Gu nodded as she handed a hot hand towel to the queen dowager for her to wipe her hands. She then spoke her mind, “Then about the young sir from the Count of Jian’an’s Estate, that was also Your Majesty sounding out the commandery princess on purpose?”

“Actually, no.” The queen dowager shook her head, taking the hand towel to wipe her hands. “I have watched Yi’an, this child, grow up from a young age, so I also hope that she will be able to find a good husband, and a good family to marry into, in the future. The Count of Jian’an’s family has good moral standards, and the Count of Jian’an and his wife are also accommodating people.”

“The most important thing is, his family doesn’t have concubines that make matters messy. The Count of Jian’an has only ever had his madam, just as it was when he had married her all those years ago. How good is this! The Count of Jian’an’s son, Pei Yidao, is also a young and promising man and has never partaken in unhealthy indulgences! As a young man that the crown prince regards highly, his future prospects will naturally be boundless.”

“We truly want to betroth her to the Count of Jian’an’s son.” The queen dowager sighed as she lamented, “But seeing her like that, it will probably fall through.”

Chapter 1109: Chance Encounter

“Yi’an will surely understand Your Majesty’s pains in the future.”

“It was also my failure in disciplining the king, spoiling the king into becoming like this today. Back then… sigh, it’s best not to mention it. The mistake has already been made, with no way to remedy it.” The queen dowager sighed in melancholy.

She had suffered enough hardships and misery while fighting for state power alongside the former king, so just like a normal mother, she wanted to give her son the best in the world.

By coddling and pampering the king Mo Lei from young, she had ended up raising him into a good-for-nothing.

As it stood, the king had formidable parents shielding him as well as a forbidding son picking up after him. Since he was in want of lofty aspirations, he had just muddled his way along like this…

“It’s just that my grandson has to suffer with this unreliable dad. He has had a heavy burden ever since he was young.” The queen dowager sighed, “It’s been so difficult for him to finally find someone that he wants to spend his life with, so no matter what, We cannot let anyone get in the way.”

“That is of course.” Feng Gu remarked with a nod, “Hearing Gong Chang’an talk about the crown prince consort’s deeds for these past days has also made this old servant itch to see the crown prince consort immediately.”

The queen dowager laughed again, her eyes nearly turning into slits from her smile. “I just know I like her from what I have heard. This child is definitely my kindred spirit.”

“Everything is good about Yi’an, this child, but it’s just that she postures herself too much and is not genuine enough.”

Yi’an actually did not understand the queen dowager. The queen dowager was a forthright old granny, which was the reason that she liked the crown prince and Little Twelfth so much. In front of her, these two children would call her “Grandmother” joyfully as normal grandsons.

However, the other children would not do that. If Yi’an didn’t posture as much, opening up in front of the queen dowager instead, the queen dowager might like her even more.

“Her standards are so high, having taken a fancy to the crown prince. She clearly knows that it is a dead end, yet she still insists on plunging in headfirst even when We try to lead her back,” lamented the queen dowager.

At this time, a hidden guard came to report news of the crown prince leaving the capital. After hearing this, the queen dowager started guffawing, pulling at Feng Gu to assert, “Look, look, look, this grandson of mine has gone to chase after his wife. She has merely been gone for less than ten days, yet look at how fretful he is, hahahaha!”

Feng Gu also couldn’t stop chuckling behind her hand.

—-My Qiao’s section break—-

At the same time, Qiao Mu was ambling aimlessly about the Mystic Beast Forest.

If she encountered a mystic beast that was so blind as to pounce over, then she would mercilessly kill it with one strike before instinctively digging out their core.

The entire Mystic Beast Forest had become like her backyard. She would walk and stop, walk and stop, occasionally scanning her surroundings with her mystic conscious to see if there was a better place with concentrated mystic energy for her to cultivate.

Ahead of her was a babbling brook whose murmuring could be heard through the forest.

Sikong Fuling, who was sitting on a stone beside the creek, was cleaning her kill. When she heard the sound of soft footsteps, she turned around guardedly.

This look involuntarily made her stunned.

Qiao Mu walked out expressionlessly. After scanning around with her spiritual conscious, she stepped forward to advance.

“Hey, hey, it’s water up ahead. You’ll get wet if you step into it!” Sikong Fuling quickly got up and pulled her back.

Qiao Mu turned around, her unfocused gaze settling on Sikong Fuling’s face.

“Grumble!” Yet the resounding sound of hunger churned out from her stomach.

After getting taken aback, Sikong Fuling involuntarily smiled as she pulled her back several steps. “Wait here!”

Chapter 1110: Hesitation

Qiao Mu didn’t comprehend what Sikong Fuling was saying to her at all. She merely found a clean place to sit on by instinct.

Meanwhile, Sikong Fuling had soon built an open fire, starting to roast the small-sized mystic beast that she had cleaned.

Before long, the scent of roasting meat wafted out, and Sikong Fuling grumbled, “Chomping on dry food every day has made my mouth tasteless. Even though the meat from this small-sized mystic beast isn’t too tender, the good thing is that it hasn’t mutated. So just make do with some of it.”

“I had put in a good amount of effort to get rid of its gamey smell,” Sikong Fuling mentioned as she tossed her a chunk of thigh meat that was wrapped in a tree leaf.

Qiao Mu sat there like a jade sculpture, but when the bundle flew in front of her face, she automatically reached out to grab it, catching it securely.

Sikong Fuling raised her brow, her probing gaze settling on Qiao Mu’s body.

She was clearly blind, so how were her movements so precise?

Unless her mystic conscious was… very powerful!

She thought back to when the Raksha Princess had been defeated into fleeing by Qiao Mu. It seemed that the Raksha Princess had suddenly yowled while gripping her head as she retreated backwards.

Could it be that that was the legendary mystic conscious attack?

Sikong Fuling’s pupils promptly contracted, and she bit the mystic beast meat in her hand. It was tough, sour, and disgusting, making her truly feel like she would not be able to swallow it.

When she looked up again, she saw that the little lady had already finished nibbling at that chunk of thigh meat in just a short period of time.

Sikong Fuling secretly started to admire the little fellow on the spot. She was so young, yet she was willing to bear such hardships. In order to fill her stomach, look at how she ate such disgusting meat without even wrinkling her brows!

Yet she herself could not even compare to such a young little lady!

She was a bit unconvinced on the inside upon thinking about this. Therefore, Sikong Fuling wrinkled her brows, and with the determination to undergo the most severe trials, she swallowed down that tough and slightly souring meat, feeling nauseous as she ate.

Her admiration for Qiao Mu in her heart increased several degrees further.

No wonder she could become the crown prince consort at such a tender age. Sure enough, she possessed the mettle of a bigwig from birth!

How could Sikong Fuling have known that the little lady completely lacked a sense of taste, and everything she ate felt like chewing wax. This was only a subconscious action of filling her stomach.

If she were to recover her sense of taste, then she would spit the meat out after one bite, not to mention such a large chunk!

When night fell, Sikong Fuling found a clean place to lay down to rest. Yet upon glancing over, she saw that Qiao Mu was sitting up properly underneath the tree, meditating with closed eyes.

She couldn’t resist twitching her mouth. Did this child have to be so unforgiving!

Would people die or something if they didn’t cultivate for a single day? It simply scarred her eyes seeing that Qiao Mu was not sleeping and still cultivating at night!

She touched the dagger beside her. After tossing and turning for more than half the night, she finally sat up, eyeing that expressionless face of Qiao Mu’s in the dim light of the night.

Right now, she should be fully immersed in cultivation, right.

Gritting her teeth, Sikong Fuling stood up and walked nimbly over to her side.

Should she strike her?

This cruel and vicious little fellow had nearly reaped her elder brother’s life with that stab!

That was truly a stab to the heart. Even she, as a bystander, felt her heart hurt.

Not to mention how pitiable and heartbroken her elder brother, the true recipient of this stab, must be.

Sikong Fuling reached toward the dagger strapped to her calf. She drew her blade but then halted, gazing back at Qiao Mu with a doleful look.

Forget it, she still owed her a life. How could she do such a thing as requiting kindness with enmity?

Chapter 1111: Emergence of the Phoenix Egg

Moreover, even if she were a demoness, she still adhered to her principles as a human being.

Out of sight, out of mind. Sikong Fuling simply turned around to leave this place beside the creek, heading elsewhere into the forest that very night.

Just a second after she left, Qiao Mu opened her eyes, and her tensed aura also gradually began to relax.

Just now, if Sikong Fuling had attacked her, then Qiao Mu would have killed her in one strike without any hesitation.

Because anyone who obstructed her from cultivating needed to go to hell!

A single thought was all it took for Sikong Fuling to skirt past the gates of hell.

Qiao Mu didn’t care about where Sikong Fuling went off to. After all, she didn’t even know this person, so she closed her eyes again.

Sikong Fuling also didn’t know how long she had walked for, but she felt like she had probably walked for more than half the night.

One was unable to observe the rising and setting of the sun inside this gloomy Mystic Beast Forest. However, according to her calculations, it should already be daybreak.

Sikong Fuling halted her footsteps and looked back behind her.

What had happened to that fellow? She acted so mechanically on top of losing her eyesight.

Did she go too far by leaving like this?

After all, she had even saved her life before, so their prior minor conflicts could go unmentioned.

What to do if that fellow just starved herself to death like this? Then wouldn’t she have indirectly killed her savior!

Sikong Fuling couldn’t make sense of what she was feeling right now, either. After brooding it over, she simply couldn’t stop herself from turning around and galloping toward the creek again.

However, when she arrived at the creek, she discovered that the little fellow was already long gone.

And just at this moment, an expanse of red clouds rocketed up into the sky, setting half the sky ablaze!

A golden-red light descended upon the earth alongside this expanse of red clouds, forming a magnificent golden celestial pillar that connected the sky and earth together!

Sikong Fuling gaped as she looked up at the horizon in shock.

F*ck, what is that?

“The phoenix egg has descended!!”

“The bloodfire phoenix egg!”

“Dad, the bloodfire phoenix egg really did descend,” Liang Qingqing shouted elatedly.

Sect Master Liang nodded with a smile. “Everyone, careful. It’s not like this bloodfire phoenix egg had emerged from a rock. If the phoenix couple is also present, don’t do anything and just watch how it unfolds.”

“That is correct.” Heavenly Dao Sect’s Sect Master Situ Min also nodded before turning to forewarn his excited disciples.

Yet the most unfortunate people were Mu Boming’s, Dou Heping’s, and Qin Guilu’s parties.

They were originally flying towards Qiao Mu’s cultivation grounds, yet they had only travelled halfway there when they noticed that the energy glow had all but disappeared. At that time, Qiao Mu had exited her cultivating state and started exchanging blows with the Raksha Ghost Sect’s Sect Master, the Raksha Princess.

After Mu Boming and company lost Qiao Mu’s coordinates, they could only search cluelessly nearby.

However, Qiao Mu also continued to wander through the forest after that, so how was it possible for them to find her?

When Mu Boming and the rest saw where this bloodfire phoenix egg had lit up at this moment, they couldn’t help but vomit blood. Even in terms of straight line distance, it was very far away from where they were right now.

It was a matter of being in totally opposite directions, not to mention how things were actually further away than they appeared. This time, they truly picked up speed in a mad dash. Along the way, there were also constantly disciples who were dropping out because they couldn’t keep up. Nevertheless, Mu Boming, Dou Heping, and the rest couldn’t bother about that anymore. They only continuously hypnotized themselves to go faster, faster, and even faster!

They each didn’t hope for someone else to beat them to their phoenix egg first!

Meanwhile, on Qiao Mu’s end, she also exited her cultivating state shortly after Sikong Fuling had left.

Chapter 1112: Instinctual Disdain

She disdained the mystic energy area around the creek for not being rich enough for her needs, so she got up to search for another place. Just as she was ambling about randomly, she sensed that a large tract of the Mystic Beast Forest had suddenly been encapsulated by an agitated and intense fire spiritual energy!

*Whiz…* Suddenly, something descended from the sky, aiming straight for her head.

In the blink of an eye, Qiao Mu swiftly stepped aside to evade the sound of this whistling wind.

*Plunk!* That thing smashed into the thick pile of dead grass inside the forest.

Glancing over with her spiritual conscious, Qiao Mu saw that it was a strange oval object just “sitting” on top of the pile of dead grass. Furthermore, as light coursed through its body, it also emitted a flashing red light, looking quite large and hefty.

What the hell was that thing? When it descended from the sky just now, it almost bashed her head in.

Just as Qiao Mu turned around and planned to keep strolling about, she heard a tumbling sound. When she looked back, she found out that that oval object had rolled to her feet.

Qiao Mu directly kicked it flying without any hesitation.

Yet Qingluan, who had quietly appeared, couldn’t resist covering its eyes with its wing upon seeing the situation.

Really, don’t act cute in front of Master. Master simply wasn’t a normal girl. She never liked cute things.

“Ma-Master.” Qingluan felt that it needed to remind its blockheaded master.

How pitiable was its master to be cozened by the giant ape into this state. Even when a transcendent bloodfire phoenix egg that descended from the sky had rolled to her feet, she didn’t want it!

Qiao Mu actually didn’t hear Qingluan’s voice. She only sensed that something had appeared beside her, and she turned around cluelessly to “look” at Qingluan. Her mind was completely blank, but a voice in her heart wanted to tell her: This weak chicken shouldn’t be beaten.

“Master, this is a bloodfire phoenix egg. You shouldn’t kick it. You should pick it up and bring it with you.” Only after saying this did Qingluan realize that its little master couldn’t hear its words at all.

Moreover, even if she heard its words, she wouldn’t be able to comprehend them with her current state of mind.

After all, the living skills of a person who only had the word “cultivation” in her mind were basically reduced to zero. Everything was reliant on her instinctual survival response.

From how she couldn’t even sense her hunger previously, it was obvious to see just how tragic she was faring right now!

After flapping its wings to perch on its little master’s shoulder, Qingluan nuzzled its fuzzy body against her neck.

Masta was so pitiful. Don’t worry, don’t worry, Qingluan will protect you!

The next second, its expressionless little master very cruelly slapped it flying with a fwoosh.

*Roll, roll, roll.* The bloodfire phoenix egg that got kicked flying rolled back strenuously on its own. However, just as it reached Qiao Mu’s small legs again, it saw that she had raised her small foot for a kicking motion.

“Wait!!”

*Bwok!* Qiao Mu couldn’t even hear what Qingluan was saying, so how would she hear the voice from an egg?

This kick was even fiercer than the last.

After getting kicked up into a tree, the bloodfire phoenix egg bounced back with a fwoosh, once again rolling back to Qiao Mu’s side.

“Masta!!” After deciding to transform into its human form, Qingluan now sported a disheveled bird’s nest hairdo as he ran back to Qiao Mu’s side in tears before pulling at her small hand. “Don’t kick it anymore! This is a bloodfire phoenix egg! It can fight and cast an ultimate. There’s no problem even if you want to ascend peaks or go into the sea. At worst, you can even roast it to eat!”

Chapter 1113: For You!

He knew that his little master couldn’t hear anything and could only use her spiritual conscious to “see” him.

Hence, Qingluan hastily mimed various strange poses, hopping and bouncing around. In the end, he even swiped out a chicken egg and cracked it to shell the egg. Afterwards, he handed it to his little master and pointed at her mouth.

Qiao Mu impassively took that chicken egg and chomped down on it; furthermore, since she couldn’t even feel the sensation of eating, she directly stuffed the whole egg into her mouth.

Our dear Qingluan twitched his mouth. Why the heck did he feel like Master was even cuter than before when she acted this!

Qiao Mu turned to look at that bloodfire phoenix egg, and a small hammer suddenly appeared in her hand as she treaded over.

Behind her, Qingluan suddenly widened his eyes and blurted out, “You can’t eat it right now, not right now…”

Meanwhile, the round, bloodfire phoenix egg involuntarily shuddered as it rolled about under the trees. It then jumped up indignantly in a huff, shouting in a soft voice, “You woman! Stop right there!”

Qiao Mu raised her small hammer up high, but Qingluan, who had rushed over in time, held her back strenuously.

Qingluan once again pantomimed another series of movements for Qiao Mu to understand that this bloodfire phoenix egg needed to get roasted first. Only after roasting it could she eat it!

The bloodfire phoenix egg bounced up and knocked against Qingluan. “You d*mn cyan bird, stop spreading lies!”

“You dumb egg[1], quickly rein in the radiance from your body!” Qingluan rebuked in irritation.

At this precise moment, all the people inside the Mystic Beast Forest were swarming over to this spot.

The red glow from the bloodfire phoenix egg’s body was too dazzling that even a blind person could find its coordinates. Not to mention that in this dark forest, this radiance was simply a beacon light pointing the way!

However, the bloodfire phoenix egg replied weakly, “Can’t rein it in.”

This gremlin!

Qingluan directly picked up that egg and stuffed it into Qiao Mu’s arms before dragging her deeper into the forest with a dash. “Hurry up, Little Master, a lot of people are chasing over!”

“Where are you running!” Suddenly, a loud shout came from above, with the interloper coming at a swift speed.

In an instant, a colossal black shadow covered up the entire space overhead.

This was a middle-aged man with a dark face, a square jaw, and a wide nose, while his black robe fluttered in the forest breeze.

While holding the bloodfire phoenix egg, Qiao Mu “looked” at that middle-aged man without much of an expression.

Qingluan could sense that man’s strength, but fortunately, that person had only come alone.

Subsequently, he quickly pushed his little master behind him as he mimed for her to leave first. “Master, quickly leave first with the bloodfire phoenix egg. I will stop him here.”

Yet Qiao Mu’s gaze quivered. At this instant, something seemingly wanted to worm its way out of the depths of her mind, causing her to inadvertently knit her brows.

She yanked Qingluan’s arm and pulled him behind her. Then, the little fellow looked up at that middle-aged man before abruptly tossing that bloodfire phoenix egg that she was holding.

Qingluan twitched his mouth. In the next second, he saw his little master happily performing a roundhouse kick in mid-air, sending that bloodfire phoenix egg straight for that middle-aged man’s face.

Qingluan: …

Actually, after so long, he should understand his little masta very well!

She would indeed do such a thing.

She was the Little Master that could even abandon Lady Holy Water for her own sect, after all.

[1] Dumb egg also means idiot.

Chapter 1114: Difference Between Close and Distant

Little Master simply turned her nose up at cute things, so naturally, she wouldn’t be fond of or be unable to bear parting with them in her heart.

In her eyes, there was only the difference between close and distant. She had to protect those who were close to her, while those who were distant could be cast away at any time. For example, right now, this bloodfire phoenix egg, when compared with Qingluan, was just a rotten egg that could be discarded at any time!

It was no use at all.

The weirdest thing was how that middle-aged man reacted. He actually thought that this phoenix egg that his little masta tossed over was a booby trap!

Because of this, he augmented the mystic energy pressure in his body with a roar. Mystic energy pressure coursed through his chest and abdomen, and he tossed down that bloodfire phoenix egg that flew to his side with a boom.

Our dear Qingluan suddenly felt sympathy for this egg.

On the other hand, Qiao Mu was still expressionless after seeing this. However, if she still possessed her senses and emotions, then she would certainly have been enraged. She would think: Was this person sick in the head? Didn’t he come for this oval object? Why did he reject it now when she gave it to him?

With this pause, Qiao Mu once again kicked the phoenix egg into the sky.

While the middle-aged man kicked the egg to the ground again…

After getting kicked back and forth several times, the phoenix egg finally lost it and flared up!

What were these two puny humans treating him as?!

He was a bloodfire phoenix, the only one of its kind found in this world.

When Qiao Mu flew up to kick it to the middle-aged man, a bright red spiritual energy light burst forth from the phoenix egg. No, it didn’t even seem like it was spiritual energy but a higher-tier energy.

This terrifying energy promptly engulfed the middle-aged man’s body, causing his entire body to explode into bits.

This merely happened in a single breath!

The bloodfire phoenix egg had flown off the handle and pounced over, clobbering Qiao Mu’s head by jumping up and down on it. “You d*mn woman! What are you treating this one as!! A ball? That you could kick about as you pleased! Does this one not need to save face!”

Qiao Mu expressionlessly watched as this phoenix egg hopped about in front of her and incessantly ran over to bonk her head.

She simply didn’t know why the egg was blowing its top.

“You impudent fool! You’re actually discarding this one for this weakling cyan bird! Do you know what this one is? This one is an ancient bloodfire phoenix egg! This one is an ancient bloodfire phoenix egg that takes more than ten thousand years to conceive! This one is ahhhhh! You fool! Why aren’t you fawning on this one!! What kind of absurd expression are you wearing ahhh!”

Seeing how this egg was being driven mad, Qingluan feebly reminded it out of kindness, “Th-That, Egg!”

“What egg! This one’s name is Bloodfire!! This one is a bloodfire phoenix egg that is rarely encountered even once in ten thousand years. The Venerable Bloodfire! The bloodfire deity!”

“Okay, okay, okay. Deity, Deity…” Qingluan twitched his mouth and said, “Th-That, don’t shout in front of Master anymore. H-Her senses got blocked, so she can’t hear nor see. She is only able to use her spiritual conscious to see somewhat…”

With this, the bloodfire phoenix egg promptly burst into a new round of roars. This time, however, it was directed toward Qingluan. “You dumb bird! Why didn’t you say so earlier! You are trying to kill this one from anger!! Ahhh!”

“You come over and gesture. Ask her why she doesn’t want this one, why!!!”

This phoenix egg was truly going nuts!

Weakly going up to Qiao Mu, Qingluan tugged his little master’s sleeve before using his motions to ask her, “L-Little Masta, the phoenix is asking you, why don’t you want him.”

Chapter 1115: Retaliation

There was no ripple on Qiao Mu’s forever expressionless face.

At this, the phoenix egg was even more miffed, and as he bounced up again, he wished for nothing more than to clobber her awake. “I am a thousand times, a million times more powerful than this stinking cyan bird. Why do you want him and not me? You fool! You simply do not know who I am, right?”

“Hurry up and say it!”

“M-Masta can’t speak.”

Why didn’t you say that earlier! The phoenix egg’s wrath had reached the breaking point. Subsequently, he extended its powerful divine conscious straight towards Qiao Mu’s conscious pool.

After this glimpse, he roared with even greater fury, “You d*mn woman, you actually already have a contract with another mystic beast? Don’t you know you humans can only form a contract with one mystic beast in your lifetime? Yet you actually so casually formed a contract with a weakling mystic beast! With your talent, you clearly could have had a better choice.”

The phoenix egg communicated this spiel inside her conscious pool by means of her mental energy, so Qiao Mu was able to “hear” it, but she subconsciously disliked this fellow’s tone of voice very much.

Although her memories had been temporarily blocked, she was very protective at heart. Even if she had formed a contract with a weakling mystic beast, she didn’t need this d*mn phoenix egg to criticize her so peskily.

“Woman! Do be grateful to me! Right now, let me help you undo your previous mystic beast contract.” The phoenix egg declared with immeasurable self-satisfaction.

Yet it didn’t expect that Qiao Mu would be unwilling. With a jolt of her mental energy, she immediately communicated, “You’re not allowed to undo it!”

Although she didn’t know what the heck this phoenix egg wanted to do, she subconsciously felt that he was up to no good.

“Why!!” The bloodfire phoenix egg was truly livid.

He had never seen such a person who didn’t grasp such a good chance when a phoenix egg dropped down from the sky and presented itself to her on a platter.

She would rather keep her contract with the weakling than want him, the bloodfire deity?

This made him utterly outraged.

“Give me a reason!” The bloodfire phoenix egg’s voice was no longer soft and adorable. Instead, it was suffused with a heavy, intangible, and oppressive force so as to pressurize Qiao Mu.

“Don’t want you!” Qiao Mu communicated irritatedly with her mental energy, and she took the soundly sleeping little white squirrel out from her bosom, stroking its soft fur.

The bloodfire phoenix egg was so infuriated that he was practically about to burn himself into ashes.

He suddenly sniggered. “Unfortunately, you can’t reject.”

This d*mned human wanted to reject him? The reason he wanted to form a contract with her was because he appreciated her talent!

Yet this d*mned hateful human didn’t accept his favor gratefully and wanted to reject him instead!

An intense fire flared up from the phoenix egg’s body. That was the literal flames of his anger…

Without warranting rejection, an extremely imperious and tyrannical force seeped into the depths of Qiao Mu’s conscious pool and rushed for that mental contract.

No sooner said than done, in the depths of Qiao Mu’s conscious pool, the twelve jade slips that had rolled into a bundle abruptly unfurled into a wall. The Golden Talisman Jade Tome launched its self-protective consciousness and warded off the phoenix egg’s mental energy.

Simultaneously, an incensed consciousness charged out from Qiao Mu’s conscious pool and collided toward the phoenix egg’s mental contract.

Qiao Mu only felt as if raging waves were overturning in her conscious pool as the two attacks collided fiercely. Her pupils contracted, and she spurted out blood in the next second because of the incessant pain in her conscious pool.

The green vine inside her sleeve shot out as an instinctual response, attacking that phoenix egg that assailed her conscious pool.

The bloodfire phoenix egg was dumbstruck!

Chapter 1116: Foes Meet

Because he didn’t react in time, the green vine whipped him squarely.

Even though he was still in the form of an egg, it was still a bloodfire phoenix egg after all, so it was impossible for this vine whip to do anything to him.

He just felt very aggrieved, along with a slap to his pride!

The bloodfire deity realized that this little lady in front of him truly disliked him from the bottom of her heart, and it absolutely didn’t seem like she was faking it.

But… he was the bloodfire deity, the unparalleled bloodfire phoenix egg of the heavens and the earth. There was actually someone who didn’t want him in this world?

Moreover, when he tried to forcibly undo that weak beast’s mental contract just now, he discovered that that weak beast didn’t seem all that simple.

On top of that, there was also a formidable barrier inside this little lady’s conscious pool that controlled everything with absolute mental defense.

He truly didn’t expect that there would be such an abnormal existence inside the conscious pool of this girl that didn’t look to be more than 15 years old.

By this time, the second batch of people—the people from Anyi Prefecture—had arrived.

Anyi Prefecture disciple Gong Yang led fifty plus disciples to where Qiao Mu and them were. Once he arrived, he couldn’t help shouting in surprise at whom he saw.

“It’s you?” Even after so many years, this little lady’s visage had been deeply imprinted inside his mind.

After all, the battle at Holy Water Sect’s main peak two years ago had practically taken the lives of all the Anyi Prefecture’s disciples on the spot.

As Hong Jinchuan’s eldest disciple, Gong Yang, a level-12 mystic cultivator, had followed beside Hong Jinchuan the entire way as their team trampled Holy Water Sect’s various peaks underfoot.

Before Qiao Mu activated the Tianji Treasure Blueprint, Gong Yang had already collapsed from overexertion.

Hence, he escaped the calamity of “enjoying” the Tianji Treasure Blueprint’s attack up close and personal.

He only saw that little lass from the Holy Water Sect madly flinging out a divine weapon that indiscriminately annihilated many people. Subsequently, a tremendous shock threw him off the main peak, completely knocking him out.

It was only after he fled back to Anyi Prefecture’s base like a stray dog that he found out from the others that his master Hong Jinchuan’s life tablet had completely shattered.

Of the three hundred plus Anyi Prefecture disciples that went with him to encircle and annihilate the Holy Water Sect, only a dozen had fled back. Moreover, quite a few of them had lost a limb or gone mad, unable to even speak clearly.

He didn’t expect that two years after that incident, he would once again encounter this little girl from the Holy Water Sect in the Mystic Beast Forest.

A hint of fear and envy flashed past Gong Yang’s eyes, and he quickly approached a strong and healthy elder around sixty years old, shouting out, “Pundit Li, that is her. Holy Water Sect’s surviving member. It is possible that she knows the whereabouts of the sacred water! Also, she possesses a divine weapon, the Tianji Treasure Blueprint.”

“What?” Pundit Li was overjoyed upon hearing this, and he lifted his eyelids to look at Qiao Mu before he bellowed in laughter, “Looking for something high and low yet finding it when you least expect it!”

“Sure enough, there is a kind of person who is exceptionally gifted and carries tremendous fortune! Look, she has the divine weapon, the Tianji Treasure Blueprint, and now the sacred beast, the phoenix egg.” Pundit Li’s gaze promptly settled on the bloodfire phoenix egg beside Qiao Mu’s feet, greed overflowing from his eyes.

“Wait until I capture you little girl and meticulously torture the whereabouts of the sacred water out of you.” Pundit Li then grabbed at Qiao Mu as soon as he finished speaking.

However, he only ended up grabbing at empty air. After rapidly stepping aside, Qiao Mu kicked the phoenix egg at the elder.

She instinctively thought that this person had also come for the phoenix egg.

Even so, she simply didn’t hear one sentence of all that the elder had jabbered on about earlier.

But the bloodfire phoenix egg was very furious!

Chapter 1117: Cultivation Vessel

Because he was still only an egg at the moment, he had already used up all of his strength to finish off that middle-aged man in one move earlier.

At this moment, he was powerless to continue attacking.

The most comical thing was that Pundit Li also didn’t dare to directly grab that phoenix egg that was burning fiery flames.

He had just taken out a net from his inner world, planning to catch this egg.

Yet who knew that this egg had its own consciousness. Upon seeing Pundit Li using a net to catch him, the egg seemed to have grown legs as it rolled back to Qiao Mu’s side on its own.

The atmosphere around Pundit Li immediately sunk, and he emitted a powerful mental pressure to crush Qiao Mu.

Although Pundit Li’s cultivation had been suppressed to that of a level-one spiritual cultivator, nor did he lightly dare to use spiritual energy under Heavenly Law’s nose, his mystic conscious had reached level-nine.

He presumed that this was enough for him to have his way wherever he went in the Lower Star Domain!

Originally, he thought that this move would certainly crush the little girl into vomiting blood and sprawling on the ground.

Yet the result was contrary to his expectations. This mystic conscious attack was unable to make a splash at all, and the little lady before him was still perfectly all right.

Even so, he didn’t know that if it weren’t for the fact that Qiao Mu’s conscious pool had been injured previously, causing her spiritual conscious to be considerably weakened, then this geezer would have suffered a backlash that would’ve sent him to who knows where.

“Eh?” Letting out a faint sound of puzzlement, the geezer switched to using the strength of a level-one spiritual cultivator to oppress Qiao Mu. “It’s rather the little lass that is unsafe.”

“Pundit Li, you must not treat her lightly. This lass has the Tianji Treasure Blueprint on her…” Just as he was speaking, Gong Yang suddenly saw Qiao Mu turning around to look at him.

He only felt like the glint and flash of daggers and swords were flitting across the bottom of this little lady’s eyes that were akin to ice beads. They looked abnormally sinister and vicious.

How would Gong Yang know that Qiao Mu’s memories had been blocked at this moment?

However, she subconsciously seemed to remember this person.

Many years ago, she had looked repeatedly through many people’s life lanterns in the ancestral hall, and she had seen all the scenes of how the Holy Water Sect disciples had died.

If her memory was still intact at this moment, then she would definitely recall that this Gong Yang before her was the person who made Fat Sister self-detonate in determination.

Fat Sister, who tirelessly attended to everyone’s meals and accomodations on the First Peak every day, was gone because of this bastard.

She “looked” at Gong Yang coldly before abruptly injecting a pulse of spiritual conscious into his conscious pool.

Compared to Pundit Li, Gong Yang’s conscious pool was far too lacking.

This ferocious spiritual conscious attack knocked Gong Yang back three steps. His brain was buzzing, and he yelped out several times as he gripped his head.

“Lay out the matrix!” Pundit Li bellowed with a sullen face.

Fifty plus Anyi Prefecture disciples swarmed out from behind Gong Yang, simultaneously drawing their swords as they laid out a tight encirclement with their sword matrix.

The Anyi Prefecture disciples had trained with this sword matrix for many years, so they were rather well coordinated.

Once the entire sword matrix was up and running, it was like a thousand swords had taken the shape of a red sun, swaying back and forth as they encircled Qiao Mu.

Pundit Li sniggered sinisterly as his powerful cultivation once again oppressed Qiao Mu’s figure. “It’s okay if you cut off a limb, but you’re prohibited from taking her life! This old man still needs to keep this little lass to find out the sacred water’s whereabouts.”

Gong Yang’s pale face had finally recovered some of its consciousness at this time, and he glared at Qiao Mu resentfully. “Pundit Li, I see that this little lass is a cultivating genius. If you use her body as a cultivation vessel, Pundit Li’s cultivation will definitely increase by leaps and bounds.”

As Pundit Li hadn’t thought of this, he involuntarily laughed out loud at Gong Yang’s prompt.

Chapter 1118: Waking Up

“Gong Yang, your idea is quite excellent.” Pundit Li smiled sinisterly at Qiao Mu, who was standing inside the sword encirclement. He then shouted at the disciples, “Remember, don’t take her life. It will suffice to slice her tendons.”

“Upon closer look, she is rather an unrivalled beauty. It can be considered your good fortune to be able to become this old man’s cultivation vessel, hahahaha,” that geezer declared with a complacent chortle.

Nevertheless, he didn’t forget to release a wave of a level-one spiritual cultivator’s strongest mystic energy to control Qiao Mu inside the sword encirclement.

This sword encirclement hinged on coordination, amassing the cultivation of more than 50 people and congealing it as one.

Within a short time frame, it was a bit difficult for Qiao Mu to break out of this sword encirclement on her own.

Additionally, her conscious pool had gotten injured just earlier, so she felt a faint headache right now. The best solution was for her to find a secluded place to sit down and continue cultivating so as to recover her spiritual conscious.

However, her present situation did not allow her to stop and rest.

She could only continue fighting!

Of course, in the depths of her heart, she did not fear anyone at all.

Besides, although she did not know what the other party was prattling on about, she knew that it wasn’t anything good upon “seeing” that that person was wearing a vulgar expression.

As if realizing something, a spark of insight suddenly flashed inside the depths of her mind, and she fished out a round bead from her pocket.

“The Duan Clan’s Core Ravaging Thunder!” Gong Yang suddenly screamed, “Hurry and get out of the way! This thing is incomparably destructive!”

Gong Yang had actually been paying attention to Qiao Mu the entire time because he was afraid of her suddenly taking out the Tianji Treasure Blueprint for a crowd kill.

But after waiting for a bit, it wasn’t the Tianji Treasure Blueprint but an immensely dangerous Core Ravaging Thunder that had appeared.

Yet before he could finish screaming, Qiao Mu threw down the Core Ravaging Thunder onto the ground while instinctually sticking teleportation talismans onto herself and Qingluan.

They shifted out of the sword encirclement with a whoosh, teleporting a thousand meters away as fast as lightning.

Pundit Li’s eyes bulged, but before he could react, a huge boom could be heard.

All the Anyi Prefecture disciples that had assembled together were out of luck.

The disciples that just so happened to be situated in the inner encirclement and at the heart of the Core Ravaging Thunder’s explosion directly had their limbs blasted off into a badly mangled state.

The dozen people in the outer encirclement fared a bit better, but their faces and bodies were still covered with blood as they got knocked away by the blast of the explosion.

The Core Ravaging Thunder’s might alarmed all the mystic beasts in this half of the forest.

For a moment, a fierce roar came out from the depths of the forest, as well.

Because of the bloodfire phoenix egg’s descent previously, all of the beasts had gone into hiding. It was only after seeing that the phoenix egg didn’t do anything that the king of the forest finally dared to let out a roar to indicate its wrath.

Qiao Mu and Qingluan had long turned around to skedaddle, leaving behind an egg. However, the egg sorely hopped and bounced to pursue them, repeatedly shouting in fury, “Stand there, stand right there!”

*Slap!* A large, furry white tail abruptly attacked the bloodfire phoenix egg.

If the phoenix egg hadn’t rolled away fast enough, then it would have already gotten whipped by that tail.

Missing its mark, the tail lashed out a white trace on the ground, causing a huge rock that was half a person tall to be directly lashed into broken bits.

Qiao Mu was taken aback, and she looked down at her empty hands before turning around to “look” at that small, snow-white beast with an ineffable expression.

If she were conscious right now, she would definitely happily shout out, ‘Chirpy, you’ve woken up.’

Yet right now, she looked at them expressionlessly without a ripple of emotion.

Chapter 1119: Played for a Fool

At this brief pause, Anyi Prefecture’s Pundit Li had caught up to them with an unsightly expression. With a wave of his hand, the remaining dozen or so Anyi Prefecture disciples surrounded Qiao Mu.

However, everyone’s faces were green as they looked at Qiao Mu in apprehension.

“Stinking lass! I really underestimated you!” Pundit Li shouted as he sent Gong Yang a look.

Gong Yang nodded in understanding. He furtively slid his feet over twice before abruptly grabbing at Qiao Mu’s shoulder, a malicious glint flashing past his eyes.

He intended to break Qiao Mu’s arm by twisting it back.

“Chirp!!” Yet a white and furry figure shot over like an arrow, furiously using its small claws to slap Gong Yang’s face.

Gong Yang screamed at this pounce, and when he reached out to cover his face, fresh blood trickled from between his fingers.

The little fat squirrel had moved too fast. It had launched a successful surprise attack in a single breath, clawing one of Gong Yang’s eyes blind.

Pundit Li cursed “useless thing” before directly pouncing at Qiao Mu with a flash. He snickered, “D*mn lass, if you have the guts, try and throw another Core Ravaging Thunder again.”

He wasn’t a fool, so he naturally knew that destructive killing weapons like Core Ravaging Thunder were hard to come by even in the concealed weapons patrician family.

Because he was certain that it was impossible for Qiao Mu to have a second Core Ravaging Thunder, Pundit Li fearlessly struck his palms toward Qiao Mu. Concentrated mystic energy abruptly lassoed her within.

As he covered his face with his hand, Gong Yang screeched with a contorted expression, “Pundit Li, quickly capture this d*mn lass.”

Wait until Pundit Li turned this stinking lass into a cultivation vessel. He, Gong Yang, would make sure that she wouldn’t have the mercy of life or death to take revenge for this blinded eye today!

This hateful woman actually dared to let a small weakling mystic beast from who knows where claw his eye blind, ah! Gong Yang was beside himself with resentment as he quivered on the spot in fury.

Meanwhile, Pundit Li laughed coldly.

This old man’s speed was not bad. While fearlessly immobilizing Qiao Mu with mystic energy, he had already flashed before her, reaching out to clutch her delicate small neck in the next second.

Yet Qiao Mu suddenly raised her small hand.

In Pundit Li’s fright, he rapidly retreated backwards like a bird startled by the twang of a bow.

On the other end, Gong Yang, who was still pressing against his eye with his hand, also shouted in terror as he abruptly retreated backwards, as well.

The dozen Anyi Prefecture disciples in the outer encirclement also stumbled several meters backwards, staring at her in panic.

Even so, Qiao Mu merely “looked” at those people coldly before quietly putting down her small hand.

When Pundit Li saw that she did nothing else after some time, he involuntarily barked in anger.

This d*mn imp actually dared to bluff him!

The hateful thing was that even with so many of their people, she had succeeded with a single try!/

So aggravating.

Turning fierce, Pundit Li leapt up, his strong leg sweeping at Qiao Mu’s feet, while also exhibiting his wrath on his face.

The dozen Anyi Prefecture disciples followed as they once again surrounded Qiao Mu like tigers and wolves.

At this moment, Qiao Mu once again raised her small hand, motioning to toss a Core Ravaging Thunder.

In his alarm, Pundit Li swiftly rolled onto the ground like a ball to the side, hastily activating his defensive barrier for all-around defense.

While those dozen Anyi Prefecture disciples, too, rolled on the ground with faces drained of color. They panted heavily, retreating backwards once again in fright.

Yet after a long while, there was still not a wisp of noise.

Pundit Li and company looked dumbfoundedly at that little lass who played them all for fools.

Chapter 1120: Earth Spirit!

So hateful! Pundit Li’s face had contorted so much that it looked deformed!

He was absolutely livid.

After being played for a fool again and again and again by this d*mn lass, he felt his face burning in extreme embarrassment.

While still covering his eye, Gong Yang screeched sharply, “Pundit! Do not be taken in! This d*mn lass is only trying to intimidate us! She definitely does not have another Core Ravaging Thunder! Definitely not!”

“Do not hesitate to capture her! Do not let her escape.” Gong Yang pressed, “Do not forget, she is the only person to know the sacred water’s whereabouts! Also, she has the Tianji Treasure Blueprint…”

Qiao Mu blinked, unable to make sense of why these people had been surrounding her this entire time.

If, say, they had wanted that tumbling egg, then she had already given it to them; however, they were still surrounding her for some reason.

So annoying…

She should be cultivating. It was best if she killed these people that were obstructing her from cultivating so as to avoid them buzzing around her nonstop like those d*mn flies.

As soon as Qiao Mu separated her palms, a pulse of spiritual energy appeared from her body.

Suddenly, Pundit Li and the rest discovered in shock that the dirt on the ground was swirling up leaves, vibrating like a wriggling water dragon.

Layers of soil rose up so steeply that they blotted out the sky before flipping down to crush the people.

“Earth spirit!!” Pundit Li was instantly dumbstruck.

With his eye of discernment, he could naturally identify at a glance that Qiao Mu was using one of the five spirits, the earth spirit.

This d*m lass had already sensed the earth spirit at such a tender age.

She had sensed the earth spirit in the Lower Star Domain? Or was it that she wasn’t from the Lower Star Domain at all…

Pundit Li suddenly jolted in fright. He flitted back speedily like lightning, attempting to flee from these earthen walls that were turning everything on its head.

*Boom!!* An entire area of overturned earthen walls toppled down, instantly burying those spent dozen Anyi Prefecture disciples that had lost their arms or broken their legs.

Seeing that things were going downhill, Gong Yang also turned around to flee.

Yet suddenly, a round item rolled all the way to his feet.

Upon looking down, Gong Yang’s eyes bulged as he yowled tragically, and before he could flee, he was knocked away by a tremendous explosive force.

This time, he just so happened to be at the epicenter of the Core Ravaging Thunder’s explosion. It was impossible for him to survive.

After getting knocked away, he crashed heavily into an old, broken tree with a boom; furthermore, after rolling down to the ground, his upper body fell off like a wooden puppet. He couldn’t even close his eyes before death, seemingly unable to believe that Qiao Mu, this little fellow, would actually possess a second Core Ravaging Thunder and throw it so casually.

When Pundit Li jumped out after breaking through the earth layer with a shout, he saw Gong Yang’s tragic, wide-eyed state of death. It was quite horrifying how his mutilated body hung from the scorched, broken tree.

Pundit Li felt his scalp exploding. When he turned around to look, he discovered that he was the only one left from the large Anyi Prefecture team.

This little lady’s combat prowess probably couldn’t be judged according to her current cultivation.

Pundit Li already had thoughts of retreating.

After all, compared to treasures, Pundit Li cherished his life more.

That Core Ravaging Thunder that the little lass possessed in particular was extremely horrifying.

Its might was even more powerful than the ones he had seen before. It was actually able to explode Gong Yang, a level-12 mystic cultivator, into pieces at once!

How inhumane was this!

——