A moment passed.
The collapsed coffin had vanished, leaving the ground flat and empty.
A box, inlaid with phoenix patterns and bordered in gold, came into view.
Gu Qianying and Duan Xifeng both looked towards it.
"What is this?"
Duan Xifeng asked, but he did not approach.
Gu Qianying, holding the elder madam, took two steps back and then looked at Duan Xifeng, her meaning clear.
Duan Xifeng sneered, "Could there be another mechanism here?" He then used his sword sheath to tap the ground back and forth.
At this moment, Gu Qianying spoke, "The death gate has passed. I surmise this must be the life gate."
As she spoke, Gu Qianying gently placed the elder madam's body on the ground.
Hearing her words, Duan Xifeng felt a sense of relief.
As he picked up the box from the ground and opened it, Gu Qianying lightly uttered, "Be careful of your footing..."
Before she could finish speaking, with a creak!
The spot where Duan Xifeng stood suddenly collapsed, becoming an empty space.
At this moment, Gu Qianying quickly picked up a small stone from the ground and flicked it towards Duan Xifeng's hand.
The box flew out of Duan Xifeng's embrace.
He, however, lost all composure and fell straight down.
His voice echoed in the place: "Gu Qianying, I've been tricked by you again!"
The moment the box flew out of Duan Xifeng's embrace, Gu Qianying, with her sharp eyes and quick hands, caught it and opened it.
At the same time, she threw the silver snake, hidden in her medicine pouch for days, into the place where Duan Xifeng had fallen.
Inside the box was a branch emitting cold air and shining with light, its form resembling a snow lotus encased in ice shards.
Gu Qianying reached her hand in. The bone-chilling coldness penetrated her body, giving her a sudden illusion of falling into an ice cave.
She instinctively withdrew her hand, but unexpectedly discovered that as her hand retracted, the radiance of the Ice Spirit Grass dimmed slightly, and the layers of petals covering it began to fall off one by one.
Without a second thought, she reached in again.
If this item was truly the medicinal ingredient for resurrection, she would preserve it completely, no matter what.
With it, her mother would surely have hope!
As if pierced by the heart-wrenching coldness, a chill began to spread through her body, her internal temperature slowly dropping.
Gu Qianying gritted her teeth fiercely, feeling as if she were crawling on the ground in a land of ice and snow, the cold leaving its mark on every part of her.
"Ah!"
She cried out, unable to bear it any longer.
At that moment, the Ice Spirit Grass in the box rapidly shrank, becoming smaller and then disappearing altogether.
Gu Qianying, however, felt the coldness within her growing stronger, her entire body covered in layers of frost.
Her internal true qi could not be exerted.
She consequently knelt stiffly on the ground, wanting to move but unable to.
Just as she thought she would freeze to death, the ice and snow melted, her hands regained some strength, and a faint imprint, resembling the shrunken Ice Spirit Flower, appeared on her brow.
It seemed as though some strength had returned to her body, and even the internal injuries left by Master Yuan Ji's severe attack seemed to have vanished.
As she stood up, her body felt much lighter and more comfortable.
Yet, she did not know that the moment she stood up, outside the thatched hut, and indeed throughout the entire forest, the ice and snow melted, and the temperature rose significantly.
However, this was not what Gu Qianying desired.
She glanced back at her mother, feeling a deep sense of regret.
The Ice Spirit Grass had vanished for some unknown reason, and what would become of her mother?
Suddenly, a thought seemed to strike her.
Gu Qianying quickly turned, went to her mother's side, and bending down, cradled the elder madam's body in her arms. She extended her wrist, rolled up her sleeve, drew her short sword, and made a deep cut on her wrist.
Blood flowed like pearls, which Gu Qianying disregarded.
She pried open the elder madam's mouth and let the blood from her wrist drip into it.
At this moment, the elder madam's appearance began to change.
Her skin was no longer decaying, and her complexion had returned to its original state.
Her appearance was as if she had been fed a divine medicine for eternal youth, restoring all her bodily functions to their prime.
"Wonderful!"
Gu Qianying was extremely excited at this moment.
She finally understood why the Ice Spirit Grass had disappeared, and suddenly realized that the Ice Spirit Grass had not vanished but had merged into her body.
Her blood now possessed the same efficacy as the Ice Spirit Grass. Only by finding the other ingredient, the Blood of the Lotus Emperor, and fusing the two to form the medicinal guide, could she revive her mother.
However, there was still a toxin within her body, and she wondered if it would affect the efficacy of the medicinal guide.
Recalling her thoughts, Gu Qianying gently set the elder madam down. She tore off a strip of cloth from the hem of her skirt and wrapped it around her wrist, preventing her blood from flowing uselessly.
For now, she had to detoxify herself first, and then find the Blood of the Lotus Emperor.
Stepping out of the thatched hut, Gu Qianying launched a signal flare into the air.
A moment later, a white-robed elder appeared with over a dozen men dressed in green.
"Master!"
Gu Qianying met up with them.
The white-robed elder, seeing only Gu Qianying, was startled: "Where is that Duan Xifeng fellow?"
"He was tricked by this disciple and fell into the cave."
The white-robed elder looked at her and gave her a thumbs-up: "Well done, a promising student."
"Master!" Gu Qianying called out to the white-robed elder again.
The white-robed elder walked over and pulled Gu Qianying aside, "Speak. What do you need your master to do?"
Gu Qianying was a cunning girl. Normally, she would call him Old Man Bai or Divine Elder Bai, but whenever she needed something, she would call him Master repeatedly.
Gu Qianying looked at the white-robed elder and suddenly knelt before him: "Master, please accept your disciple's bow."
The white-robed elder was startled and quickly helped her up: "My girl, could it be... you want to elope with someone and abandon your master?"
"..."
Originally, the old man, who was not serious and often joked around, became very solemn when he saw Gu Qianying emerge from the hut carrying her mother.
Upon learning what Gu Qianying intended to do next, the white-robed elder had a carriage prepared. After placing the elder madam inside the carriage, he turned to look at Gu Qianying and said with a serious tone: "Disciple, rest assured, your master will protect your mother well. After the matters in the capital are concluded, your master will accompany you to search for the Blood of the Lotus Emperor."
Hearing the white-robed elder say this, Gu Qianying smiled enchantingly: "Alright."
As the white-robed elder left with the elder madam's remains, Gu Qianying watched their receding figures for a long time. Only after the white-robed elder and his group had descended the mountain did Gu Qianying turn and walk back towards the thatched hut.
If she left Duan Xifeng in the cave for too long, he would go mad.
She leaped down alone.
When Gu Qianying landed, her body was stable, and the dress she wore was not wrinkled.
"Gu Qianying!!!"
Seeing someone approaching from afar, and recognizing the person's appearance, Duan Xifeng became furious.
At this moment, several foxtails were stuck in his hair, and a silver snake was coiled around his shoulder, flicking its tongue at him.
Having been afraid of snakes since childhood, as he touched the head of the silver snake coiled around his shoulder, he felt like crying without tears.
"Gu Qianying, quickly take this thing away!"
Gu Qianying walked over, removed the silver snake coiled on Duan Xifeng's shoulder, and put it back: "Uncle-Master, you've worked hard."
At this place, they were in a mountain cave of moderate size. The cave was empty, and it was easy to leave.
Duan Xifeng watched Gu Qianying leave the cave entrance, her receding back, and gritted his teeth as he followed: "Gu Qianying, you don't trust me?"
Gu Qianying stopped and looked back at him: "I only trust myself."
Duan Xifeng wanted to say something, but the words remained on his lips, ultimately not spoken.
After leaving Suling Temple, the two of them galloped their horses all the way back to the capital.
However, Duan Xifeng and Gu Qianying had already parted ways on the journey back to the capital.
Gu Qianying's return journey was uneventful and smooth.
But the Ninth Prince's mansion was exceptionally lively at this moment.
"Did you hear? Our Ninth Princess Consort's injury seems to be faked. Some people say they saw the Princess Consort secretly leaving the mansion."
"Really? How is that possible?"
"The person spoke with details, and I think it might be true."