At Xu Chunniang's question, the smile on Yan Yu's face suddenly froze.
When she had given the vermilion bunting to Xu Chunniang, she had said that it could be used for communication, but concealed the fact that she could sense its exact location.
During the thirty years after entering Spirit Demon Island, Xu Chunniang had never taken out the vermilion bunting. Thus, the moment Yan Yu sensed its location, she had rushed straight over without giving it much thought.
Yan Yu's thoughts raced as she swiftly came up with an excuse.
"Fellow Daoist Xu may not know this, but I personally crafted this vermilion bunting. As long as it is within a certain distance of me, I can sense its location.
"On the contrary, Fellow Daoist Xu, why have you never taken the initiative to contact me all these years?"
"So that was it. My apologies—I nearly misunderstood Fellow Daoist Yan."
Xu Chunniang lightly brushed the matter aside and lied through her teeth. "From the very first day I entered Spirit Demon Island, I used the vermilion bunting to contact Fellow Daoist Yan. Did Fellow Daoist Yan never receive my messages?"
Yan Yu's expression became quite a sight. She was absolutely certain that Xu Chunniang had never once contacted her.
Even this vermilion bunting had only been taken out recently.
"Is that true, Fellow Daoist Xu? I truly never received any messages. Perhaps the distance between Xu Chunniang and me was simply too great."
Yan Yu casually offered a few perfunctory words, skipped over the subject, and asked with feigned curiosity.
"This lake does not appear particularly dangerous, yet everything that passes over its surface sinks to the bottom. Why did Fellow Daoist Xu come here?"
Xu Chunniang looked toward the lake, a smile curling her lips. "I merely heard