"The Flower God has been spreading seeds lately. We can just exchange something else for them."
Yaohua rubbed her forehead. "Then... are there any phoenix flower seeds?"
"There should be."
"I want to plant some phoenix flowers in my yard."
"Sure. I'll do whatever you want."
Yaohua smiled. "Second brother, you're not..." The words "just comforting me" remained unspoken as a sharp pain radiated from the mark of the blood contract, making her tremble violently.
"Yaoyao?" Feng Jing, noticing something was wrong with Yaohua, immediately stopped and gently laid her on the ground. "Father, come quickly! Sister doesn't seem right!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qingcang turned around.
"Yaoyao, what's wrong with you?" Forgetting his anger at Yaohua, he asked while releasing his spiritual power, trying to figure out what was wrong with her.
"It hurts! My forehead hurts so much!"
Yaohua covered her forehead, tears streaming down from the pain.
How could this happen!
Wasn't the blood contract just to connect the lives of two people?
Why did her contract mark always hurt so much!
What on earth had Zhao Wu done!
Yaohua gritted her teeth, tears flowing uncontrollably.
"Daddy, it hurts so much!"
Seeing her covering her forehead, Qingcang and Feng Jing were so heart - broken that they could hardly speak. "Yaoyao, my darling, loosen your hand a bit and let Daddy take a look."
Qingcang carefully pried her hand open and asked Feng Jing to hold it. Immediately, he saw the contract mark on her forehead, red as if it were about to drip blood.
His solemn face, as steady as green mountains and cypress trees, almost lost its composure. His eyes trembled, and his lips moved, but he couldn't say a single word for a long time.
Looking at his father's shocked expression, Feng Jing frowned slowly. "Father, what's going on?"
In just a moment, Qingcang's expression quickly changed from astonishment to complexity and anxiety. "Yaoyao... has formed a blood contract with a demon from the Heavenly Demon Clan."
Feng Jing was stunned. "The blood contract, the one that binds two people to share life and death and lifespan?"
Qingcang nodded regretfully. "Moreover, it's a blood contract with a royal member of the Heavenly Demon Clan."
The color drained from Feng Jing's face. "How could this happen?"
The Heavenly Demon Clan had a strict hierarchy. The purer the bloodline, the more difficult it was to break the blood contract.
He seemed to lose all his strength at once, so Yaohua easily broke free from his arms and covered her forehead again.
It hurt, really hurt!
It was even more painful than the last time the pain flared up in the Cangling Hall!
It was as if a blunt knife had been stabbed into her head and was stirring around randomly.
Yaohua curled herself up, moaning incoherently in pain.
The father - son duo came to their senses and quickly sent their spiritual power to her, trying to relieve her pain.
However, as time passed, Yaohua, who could still cry out in pain at first, finally broke out in a cold sweat all over her body. Her body trembled involuntarily, and her moans became so faint that there was still no improvement.
"Father, regardless of other things, isn't there any way to help Yaoyao?" Feng Jing frowned tightly. He wanted to wipe the cold sweat off Yaohua's face but was afraid of making her more painful.
Qingcang shook his head. "Normally, even if the other person in the contract is in critical condition, this shouldn't happen..." He frowned in thought. "You go to the Heavenly Realm and invite God Chongming to the Phoenix Clan."
Hearing this, Feng Jing quickly transformed into his phoenix form and disappeared into the sky like an arrow leaving the bow.
Qingcang picked up Yaohua and murmured, "Yaoyao, my precious daughter, your brother has gone to invite your master. Endure it a bit longer. It'll be okay soon."
At first, Yaohua only felt pain in her forehead. Slowly, she felt hot and cold all over her body. The pain spread from her forehead to her whole body, as if a big hammer was shattering her bones inch by inch, or as if someone had stuffed nails into her body and was pushing them along her meridians with spiritual power.
She heard Daddy talking to her second brother, and the next moment, he was coaxing her beside her ear. But after a while, the voice turned into that of her master.
Yaohua thought vaguely. Had she already had hallucinations from the pain?
Her master was in the Cangling Hall. How could he appear beside her so quickly?
But she seemed to smell the scent on her master's body.
It smelled so good.
She couldn't help but sniff, but just this one movement made her limbs spasm.
It hurt so much!
"God, what on earth is going on?" Qingcang frowned tightly. Looking at his daughter clutching Chongming's clothes, he wished he could take the pain for her.
"It's my negligence. She accidentally got the contract mark planted by the Heavenly Demon Clan while covering for me. When I trapped that demon in the Star Sea Realm before, Yaohua also had such a situation."
Chongming frowned slightly. "At that time, I released that demon, and Yaohua then recovered. This time... I'm afraid it's also because something has happened to that demon."
"So, do we have to find that demon first to make Yaohua better?"
"The Heavenly Demon Clan is elusive. No one knows where they are until now."
It was a pity that the Star Sea Realm was vast and boundless, claiming to be three thousand worlds. He couldn't find Zhao Wu's whereabouts and could only release him.
"What should we do with Yaohua now?" Qingcang didn't even care about blaming Chongming. He just wanted his precious daughter to feel better.
"That demon's cultivation is much higher than Yaohua's, so it's very difficult for Yaohua to bear the pain that the demon is suffering." Chongming furrowed his brows and quickly thought of a countermeasure. "If we can improve her cultivation, perhaps her endurance will be stronger, and she won't be in so much pain."
Qingcang punched the door frame and gritted his teeth. "One day, I will find that demon!"
How dare that demon treat his precious daughter like this! He would surely make the demon pay a heavy price!
"Other than evil and heretical ways, where is there a way to quickly improve one's cultivation in a short time?" Feng Jing looked full of worry.
"Now, we can only do this for the time being." Qingcang seemed to have made a decision. He walked up to Yaohua and tried to pick her up.
Yaohua tightly grabbed Chongming's clothes. Qingcang couldn't do anything for a moment and could only look at Chongming.
"Please hold Yaohua and follow me to the forbidden area."
Chongming nodded. He easily picked up Yaohua and followed Qingcang.
"Father!" Feng Jing suddenly widened his eyes. "What are you taking Yaohua to the forbidden area for?"
Since he could remember, he had known that the forbidden area was extremely dangerous. For ordinary clan members, getting close to it would result in either a long - term illness or even death. So no one was willing to get close to the forbidden area at all. Even the annual sacrifice had to bypass it.
But today, his father was actually taking his sister to such a place!
Qingcang smiled bitterly. "Now, only by taking Yaohua to the forbidden area can we help her suppress the influence of that demon. All the affairs of the clan will be temporarily handed over to you all for now."
"Father, is there really no other way?"
Qingcang shook his head. "You go and exchange some phoenix flower seeds with the Flower God. When I bring Yaohua back, she will surely be very happy to see the phoenix flowers all over the yard."