"You're awake." Mu Xinlian moved away from Yue Shu and walked over to Yun Di.
"Who are you?" Yun Di's eyes flickered with confusion, as if he didn't recognize her.
"I'm Mu Xinlian, don't you remember?" She waved a hand near his eyes, but he stared blankly, still not recognizing her.
"He's just regained his senses. There's a lot he can't recall yet; he needs time to recover."
Ling Chunian's eyes also lit up with joy, though it was tinged with a hint of complexity.
"Mm-hmm, now we just have to wait for Ye Lanshan to return." Mu Xinlian sighed and went back to Yue Shu's side.
"Ye Lanshan, you know Ye Lanshan?" Yun Di, who had been confused, suddenly became extremely agitated.
"Yeah, how do you still remember Ye Lanshan?" Ling Chunian looked at him curiously. It was no small feat to remember someone after being under the influence of the Gu poison for so long.
"Know her? Where is Ye Lanshan now?" Yun Di was visibly anxious, as if he had something very important to tell her.
"We don't know either. After she went for the Twin Fruit, we got separated."
That was the truth. Ever since Ye Lanshan charged toward the Twin Fruit, they'd lost contact and couldn't find her anywhere, so they came back first—and also brought a few captives along the way.
"Twin Fruit, right, the Twin Fruit is what matters most to him."
Hearing this news, he couldn't deny his disappointment, but he was self-aware. He always knew he'd never weigh as much in her heart as Ye Yu did.
Just then, his eyes caught sight of the captives. His pupils dilated, and he pointed a trembling finger at them, shouting, "Why are they here?"
"Ye Lanshan told us to capture them. She said we could get useful information out of them." Mu Xinlian glanced at the unconscious captives, thinking they weren't so tough—more cowardly than ordinary people.
"They're dangerous. You won't get any information from them, and you'll only end up getting yourselves caught up in it. It's safest to kill them." Yun Di seemed to know something.
Mu Xinlian shook her head, stubbornly refusing to agree to kill them now. "Even if we have to kill them, we should wait until Ye Lanshan gets back."
Ye Yutian had no objections, but even if they were to kill them, they'd need to ask Ye Lanshan first.
"What's this that can only be discussed when I'm back?" Ye Lanshan walked in from outside.
Indeed, she entered in her true form, so everyone recognized her.
"Chieftain, you're finally back." Ling Chunian felt a weight lift off his chest, no longer on edge.
"Wasn't this where the phoenix used to live?" Feng Qing also entered the cave, looking around with a sense of familiarity. Then he slapped his forehead, remembering that the phoenix had once been beneath this lava pool, though later, whether due to a failed nirvana or something else, she'd turned into an egg.
Thinking about it, he shook his head and sighed. The phoenix's strength alone should have kept those madmen away, but because she'd become an egg, they'd taken over this place.
Still, at least Ye Lanshan had managed to reclaim it.
"That's right, the phoenix was here before, but now she's been captured." Ye Lanshan fumed at the memory. Those people had not only taken her companion but also her contracted beast, and she had no idea what method they'd used to sever her connection with the phoenix, making it impossible to summon her.
"Oh, what's your relationship with this phoenix?" Feng Qing was surprised that Ye Lanshan knew so much about the phoenix's situation.
"She's my contracted beast."
"What? I never would have guessed you could tame her as your contracted beast. That one's not only proud but also incredibly hot-tempered. How on earth did you manage it?"
Feng Qing was astonished. He knew this human was interesting—smart, strategic, and strong—but he hadn't expected her to tame the phoenix.
After all, the phoenix had once been formidable, an ancient divine beast. Even at just the fifth-tier divine beast level, her ancient bloodline had allowed her to fight him to a draw.
But this human couldn't even beat him—how had she tamed the phoenix?
"Well, most of the credit goes to him." Ye Lanshan pointed at Ye Yutian. She hated to admit it, but she had to acknowledge her own weakness.
Even though her strength now made her a prodigy among prodigies, to the truly powerful, there was no such thing as talent—only strength. The strong live, the weak die.
Yes, no matter the place or the world, survival of the fittest was an eternal truth.
"If he hadn't beaten her into submission at the end, she wouldn't have yielded to you." Ye Yutian didn't take the credit, knowing full well the phoenix's pride. He had tried to use his pressure to force her to submit to Ye Lanshan, but in the end, it was Ye Lanshan herself who won her over.
Beaten into submission? Had she not even used her full strength against me? Feng Qing wondered but didn't ask.
That had been her full strength, but the phoenix had just undergone nirvana and was weak, unable to unleash her power. Combined with Ye Yutian's injuries, it had left an opening for Ye Lanshan.
"Ye Lanshan, these people can't stay. You have to kill them, or it'll be dangerous." Yun Di forced his stiff body over, his eyes flickering with struggle, as if the Gu poison hadn't been fully purged.
"Yun Di, you've regained your senses? Wait, what's wrong with your body? It was fine before, why is it so stiff now?" Ye Lanshan grabbed his arm to check his pulse, and Ye Yutian's demeanor turned icy cold.
Those standing nearby shivered involuntarily. Why was it so cold? They looked around blankly, completely missing the frosty Ye Yutian.
"Get away, I can't control myself!" Yun Di struggled to hold back his hand, which was reaching to kill Ye Lanshan.
"The Gu poison hasn't been fully removed? I underestimated them." Ye Lanshan stuck a sealing talisman on him, immobilizing him, and began chanting the Gu-removing incantation.
"Ahh~"
Yun Di screamed in agony, and even Qing Dai and the others clutched their heads, crying out in pain as if enduring immense suffering.
"So the Gu poison wasn't completely cleansed. I was careless—I didn't expect such stubborn Gu poison to exist in this world." Ye Lanshan expended nearly half her spiritual power to stabilize them again.
But Yun Di shook his head, his mind clearing, and he remembered everything that had happened before.
"How do you feel now?" Ye Lanshan watched him anxiously as he regained clarity.
"Much better, but they really can't stay." Yun Di pointed again at the captives.