Chapter 258

At this critical moment, a deep male voice rang out.

"Stop!"

Everyone turned to look and saw a middle-aged man in a blue robe walking towards them.

The man in the blue robe appeared to be in his thirties, with deep eyes. Although his clothes were simple, they could not conceal the fierce aura emanating from him, clearly indicating that he was a powerful and experienced Life and Death King.

Behind him followed a young man with a handsome face who bore a striking resemblance to the man in the blue robe.

Upon entering, the young man visibly paused for a moment when he saw Xiao Minghuang and the others, but quickly concealed his surprise.

"Husband, what brings you here?"

The woman's eyes lit up when she saw her husband, and she immediately went to greet him, her face beaming with joy.

City Lord Su's gaze swept across the entire room, and he said with a smile, "I heard that Changge and several fellow practitioners are gathered here. As the city lord, I naturally must extend my hospitality!"

Upon hearing this, the city lord's wife showed an embarrassed expression.

Ye Ruoshui said sarcastically, "Hospitality as a host? I wonder who just called someone a fox... What? Why are you changing your tune now? Are you two putting on a show?"

Seeing that the other party was unwilling to back down, City Lord Su still smiled and continued, "My wife is a country peasant woman who is ignorant of etiquette and has offended you fairies. I apologize on her behalf!"

As she spoke, she patted the city lord's wife's shoulder heavily and gave it a firm squeeze.

"Ah..."

The city lord's wife screamed in pain, almost collapsing to her knees.

"You vile woman! Quickly apologize to the fairies!"

City Lord Su let out a cold growl, his eyes gleaming with a chilling light.

"I..."

The city lord's wife's lips trembled, and she finally gave in, bowing her head and apologizing to Ye Ruoshui and the others.

"I was ungrateful just now and offended all of you fairies. I deserve to die!"

Ye Ruoshui curled her lip and said disdainfully, "To be obsequious at first and then servile at second, it's laughable!"

City Lord Su bowed and said, "Please rest assured, fairies, stay here without worrying about being disturbed by anyone. If you have any needs, please feel free to ask Changge."

Ye Ruoshui snorted coldly, ignoring her.

At this moment, Xiao Minghuang finally spoke, saying calmly, "City Lord Su, you're too kind!"

"In that case, I shall take my leave."

After saying that, City Lord Su glanced indifferently at his wife and whispered, "Isn't it embarrassing enough? Get out of here!"

The two men, along with their armored soldiers, quickly left the courtyard.

After they had all left, Ye Ruoshui walked to Xiao Minghuang's side and whispered a reminder: "This City Lord Su is not a good person. Your Highness had better be careful of him!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Minghuang raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What makes Ruoshui say that?"

Ye Ruoshui pondered for a moment and explained, "He even beat his own wife, of course he's not a good person!"

"That makes sense. No matter what happens, I will not hit Xiao Ruoshui!" Xiao Minghuang whispered in Ye Ruoshui's ear.

Ye Ruoshui blushed slightly and gave Xiao Minghuang a coquettish look.

"Your Highness, there are so many people here..."

Xiao Minghuang chuckled softly and stopped teasing her.

After this ordeal, Su Changge became increasingly haggard. He squatted blankly on the ground, completely lost and bewildered.

Thinking about how my parents died when I was young, how my younger sister has been suffering from illness for many years, and how I myself am frustrated and unsuccessful, my whole life feels like a complete failure!

"I'd rather be dead!"

Su Changge was ashen, and he suddenly uttered this sentence.

Xiao Minghuang sighed softly, stepped forward, and comforted her, "Fellow Daoist Su, I have nothing else to say, but we will do our best to treat your sister. You must take good care of yourself; your sister will need your help in the future!"

Mentioning Su Miaomiao, Su Changge seemed to regain a bit of her spirits and whispered, "I'm entrusting this to Princess Xiao!"

Xiao Minghuang got up and walked back to Su Miaomiao's side.

At this moment, Xu Xiuer had almost finished using her Destiny Divine Ability. As she withdrew her finger, the runes in the void dissipated like starlight.

"Did you find anything?" Xiao Minghuang asked.

Xu Xiuer sorted out her thoughts. She had just reviewed all of Su Miaomiao's past experiences and discovered some peculiarities.

"Your Highness, this girl is indeed somewhat different. The Innate Fire within her doesn't seem to be something she was born with; it's more like it was injected into her later."

Xu Xiuer said earnestly, "When she was born, she was just an ordinary mortal with nothing unusual about her. But when she was a month old, her past was covered up, and afterwards, Innate Fire appeared in her body!"

"Moreover, this is not pure Innate Fire. Your Highness knows that Ruoshui possesses pure Innate Fire, and I am not mistaken."

"The initial intense heat within Su Miaomiao's body was more like the Sun Power —fierce and scorching!"

Hearing this, Xiao Minghuang felt a sense of foreboding. She continued, "So, what does this mean?"

Xu Xiuer did not answer, but instead asked, "Does Your Highness know that among the many Cauldron Cultivation Method a person's body by injecting some kind of Heaven and Earth Divine Object into the body and allowing it to grow, even by accelerating its development? As long as one waits quietly for a long enough time, it will become Human Body Great Medicine. After absorption, it may be able to restore the mortal body from its acquired state to its innate state!"

Xiao Minghuang fell silent immediately.

Of course she knew about the art of nurturing a furnace or cauldron.

This kind of unorthodox and secret art is against the natural order and has long been classified as Outer Dao, and has been lost in the far east.

"Xiu'er, what do you mean?"

Xu Xiuer nodded very seriously, "That's right! Someone used a furnace cultivation technique on Su Miaomiao's body, planting a rare Heaven and Earth Divine Object containing the Sun Power, and nurturing it for decades. Now, it's about to reach perfection."

"The Innate Fire is just a decoy to prevent anyone from seeing through his evil magic!"

325. Life and death are preordained, wealth and honor are determined by Heaven.

Xu Xiuer's eyes gleamed with wisdom. "As long as we find the person who planted the furnace cultivation technique, and extract that person's essence and blood, we can break the evil spell. Then, Ruoshui can draw the flames out of Su Miaomiao's body, and she will be cured."

Xiao Minghuang frowned. She had some guesses about the mastermind behind this, but she wasn't sure, and she had no evidence.

"Xiu'er, who do you think is behind this?"

Xiao Minghuang pressed for an answer.

Xu Xiuer pondered for a moment and said, "Obviously, that person must have spent every day with Su Miaomiao, otherwise he wouldn't have had the opportunity to nurture the Heaven and Earth Divine Object within her body for so many years. In addition, this person must have a certain level of strength, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to suppress the Sun Power, otherwise Su Miaomiao have died long ago."

"Hmm, a very reasonable analysis."

Xiao Minghuang nodded slightly in agreement.

Xu Xiuer smiled and said, "Your Highness, I think you already know who it is, right?"

"You understand me best, Xiu'er!"

Xiao Minghuang smiled faintly, "I do have some suspicions, but... without evidence, it's not wise to act rashly. After all, this is Dongling, and Su Changge invited us here."

Before she left, the Sun Hall Mistress told her that the Su Clan of Dongling had always obeyed the instructions of the Holy Academy and had no connection with forces such as the Ziwei Sacred Land, so she should not provoke any trouble.

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiuer was speechless for a moment. Although she could see through the scheme behind it, she needed more than just supernatural powers to catch the mastermind.

At this moment, Lin Wanqiu, who had been listening to their conversation, walked over and suggested, "Your Highness, this is not difficult."

"Hmm?" Xiao Minghuang turned his gaze and it fell on her.

In the past, she would have consulted Lin Wanqiu's opinion from the beginning, but this time, perhaps because she was troubled by her background, Lin Wanqiu was in low spirits and rarely spoke, so Xiao Minghuang was too embarrassed to bother her.

Lin Wanqiu slowly said, "The solution is simple. Since the furnace cultivation technique is about to Major Accomplishment, the mastermind behind it must be extremely nervous and wish he could stay by Su Miaomiao's side at all times. However, our presence is hindering him."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiuer's eyes lit up, and she replied, "As long as we take Su Miaomiao away, we can lure out the mastermind behind it all!"

Lin Wanqiu shook her head and said, "No! If we take Su Miaomiao away, given the cautious nature of the person behind it all, they probably won't take the risk."

The fact that the person behind the scenes has been able to guard such a Human Body Great Medicine for over a decade without making a move speaks volumes about their patience.

"So what should we do?" Xu Xiuer asked.

"It's very simple, we just need to..."

Lin Wanqiu leaned close to Xiao Minghuang's ear and whispered a few words.

After listening, Xiao Minghuang smiled slightly and said, "Good!"

Xu Xiuer watched the two of them whispering, looking puzzled.

"Your Highness, what did she say?"

Xiao Minghuang chuckled, "It's nothing, you'll find out tonight."

Ye Ruoshui noticed their whispers and walked over, interrupting them, "Your Highness, Su Miaomiao is probably beyond saving. She has almost been assimilated by the Innate Fire. I can't penetrate her Dantian; otherwise, I'll be squeezed out. That should be the source of the Innate Fire."

Xiao Minghuang nodded and said, "Yes, tell Su Changge about this. We'll leave tomorrow for the Quasi-Emperor Ancient Tomb."

"Ah?"

These words startled Ye Ruoshui slightly, and she subconsciously asked, "Are we just leaving like this?"

"What else can we do?" Xiao Minghuang frowned slightly. "We can't cure her anyway, and keeping her here will only add to Fellow Daoist Su's sorrow."

"Oh," Ye Ruoshui lowered her eyes and replied softly.

Seeing her downcast mood, Xiao Minghuang patted her head and comforted her, "Life and death are predestined, wealth and honor are determined by fate. We are not immortals, we are not omnipotent, don't blame yourself too much."

Ye Ruoshui looked up at her, hesitated, and finally nodded. "Yes."

"Let's each find a room and settle in. We'll set off early tomorrow morning."

Xiao Minghuang walked to Su Changge's side, and naturally overheard the conversation.

"Fellow Daoist Su, I'm so sorry I couldn't help your sister," she said apologetically.

"No."

Su Changge sighed, "It's because my younger sister lacks good fortune; this is her tribulation."

"Please, ladies, stay at my humble abode. I will see you off early tomorrow morning."

"That would be perfect."

That night, the group stayed in the courtyard.

Midnight.

The moon hangs high in the sky, and all is desolate.

A shadowy figure leaped into the courtyard and landed on the roof.

The shadow was semi-transparent, moving silently as it leaped across rooftops and walls, without revealing even a trace of its presence. Under the cover of darkness, it was almost impossible to detect.

He flew to the door of the house where Su Miaomiao was, his entire figure transformed into flowing water, pouring into the house through the crack in the door, and then transformed back into human form.

On the bed, Su Miaomiao lay quietly, her face rosy and her breathing long and even, as if she were fast asleep.

The shadow stood beside her, gazing at her for a long time. He stretched out his right hand, hovering it above Su Miaomiao's head. Wisps of white smoke escaped from his palm, entered Su Miaomiao's body, and then disappeared.

Soon after, he withdrew his hand, moved his head as if to nod, and then left Su Miaomiao's room.

Not long after he left, "Su Miaomiao," who had been sleeping with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

Her appearance changed rapidly, and she soon returned to Xiao Minghuang's appearance.

She sat up straight, raised her right hand, turned her palm over to reveal a dark golden crystal, and said calmly, "Fellow Daoist Su, do you believe me now?"

Within the crystal, there was a blazing flame.

Su Changge emerged from the darkness, staring blankly at the crystalline ball of flame. After a long pause, she said bitterly, "I really didn't expect this..."

His feelings were complicated; he was extremely angry, but also confused.

What infuriates them is that their uncle, who raised them for fifteen years, actually used their sister as a sex slave!

The puzzling thing is, why would his uncle do such a thing?

Xu Xiuer then came out and sighed softly, "Fellow Daoist Su, perhaps you should find out how your parents died back then."

"What did you say?" Su Changge was stunned, then her face turned deathly pale, and she said in a trembling voice, "Could it be... could it be that he killed my parents?"

"I didn't say that, but it's a possibility, and you should probably investigate."