The avalanche lasted for God knows how long. It was not until the noise outside died down that Yaohua poked her head out.
The once - well - shaped hill had exploded right in the middle. Half of the mountain had broken off from the ridge, revealing the crystal - clear ore inside.
"Sure enough, it's the ice - crystal jade marrow."
The Immortal Muyang's eyes were glowing. If it weren't for Bailu holding him back, Yaohua would have suspected that he was going to rush over and take a lick of it the next moment.
"Don't worry. I know my limits," he said soothingly as he patted Bailu's hand, but his eyes remained fixed on the ore.
At this moment, the sinful immortals who had been hiding everywhere came out one by one, marveling at the exposed ore.
Shi Tou stood calmly in the front, directing them to dig deeper along the ore.
The Immortal Muyang rubbed his hands eagerly, longing to join them.
"Such a large ore. We only need one piece," he said while gesturing to Yaohua.
The three of them squatted in a corner, planning to quietly take some back after everyone left.
But as night fell, there was no sign of the sinful immortals leaving.
Even in the middle of the night, there were still people guarding the place.
Yaohua shook her head. "This won't work."
She had observed for a while today and found that Shi Tou didn't have a good relationship with the other sinful immortals. They were afraid of him and deliberately kept their distance.
"I have an idea. Listen to it?"
Bailu looked over curiously.
The Immortal Muyang also showed an eager look.
"There are so many sinful immortals here. I've noticed that they don't seem to know each other well. Moreover, Shi Tou is so arrogant. If we three disguise ourselves, we should be able to blend in successfully," Yaohua paused and gave a mischievous smile. "By then, we'll be respectful to Shi Tou so that the other sinful immortals think we're his people. At the same time, we'll keep a proper distance from them so that Shi Tou thinks we're on their side. What do you think?"
"But most of the northern sinful immortals know what the Immortal Muyang looks like..." Bailu hesitated. "You're just a young girl. I'd better go alone."
Muyang disagreed. "What if you're in danger when you go alone?"
"I look like my father. They might guess my identity, but they'll only think I've defected to the northern village."
He did have a point.
Yaohua warned, "If anything goes wrong, just run away. Don't worry about the ore."
There were many ways to get the ore. There was no need to sacrifice a comrade.
Bailu nodded and urged Yaohua to turn around. He was going to strip the clothes off a dead sinful immortal.
Yaohua let him do as he pleased and hid on the way down the mountain with the Immortal Muyang, waiting to pick up Bailu.
This day seemed extremely long. Just when Yaohua couldn't help but want to go up and check the situation...
Bailu finally came down the mountain, hiding a piece of ore furtively.
As soon as the Immortal Muyang touched the ore, he quickly put it away, as if afraid that someone would covet it.
Just as the ore was put away, a childish voice came from the direction where Bailu had come from.
"No wonder I smelled a familiar scent. It's you, sister."
Dozens of sinful immortals surrounded them, encircling the three of them tightly.
Yaohua felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
She slowly turned around and looked at Shi Tou with a complicated expression.
No, to be precise, this was no longer Shi Tou himself.
The simple and kind - hearted Shi Tou had long been left in Jincheng.
"Who are you exactly? What are you doing here?"
Shi Tou forced out a stiff smile, like a wooden mask being forcibly bent into a smile. It was stiff and distorted, as if his face was about to break apart completely the next moment.
"I'm Shi Tou, sister. Don't you remember I helped you in Jincheng?"
This person seemed to know everything.
He even remembered clearly that Yaohua had given Shi Tou fruits.
But this person definitely wasn't Shi Tou!
Yaohua pinched her palm and sternly stopped Shi Tou's movement. "Don't come near!"
"Okay. I'll do as sister says."
He called her "sister" again and again, combined with his creepy look, which made Yaohua really uncomfortable.
"Sister, why are you here too? Did the supreme god abandon you?"
Thinking of her master, Yaohua felt bitter.
She didn't know if her master knew what kind of situation she was in now, if his injury had fully recovered, or if Xilan treated him well.
She only knew that even if she managed to escape from the ice field alive, it was unlikely that the relationship between her and her master would ever be the same as before.
Hiding her emotions, Yaohua's tone became colder. "You haven't answered my question yet."
Shi Tou seemed to be in a daze, as if recalling what Yaohua had asked. After a while, he slowly said, "I'm Shi Tou, sister. Don't you recognize me?"
"Don't lie to me. You're full of the aura of the Heavenly Fiends. You're not Shi Tou at all!"
Just because she couldn't use her spiritual power now didn't mean she couldn't smell the Heavenly Fiend aura on Shi Tou. The aura was so strong that she could smell it without getting close.
"Okay. Since sister has guessed it, I won't hide it from you."
Yaohua couldn't help but say, "Don't call me sister!"
She had pure phoenix blood and had nothing to do with this Heavenly Fiend!
"I can't do that," Shi Tou smiled. "My name is Zhao Jun. I'm here to find my uncle. Sister, you have the smell of the Heavenly Fiends on you. You should... have met my uncle, right?"
Could he be talking about the Heavenly Fiend with a damaged brain?
The Heavenly Fiend clan had grand schemes. There must be no good in looking for the Heavenly Fiend prince!
"So Zhao Wu is your uncle. No wonder your names are so similar," Yaohua squinted slightly. "In that case, you should call me aunt instead of sister."
"Zhao Wu..." Zhao Jun seemed a bit surprised. "It's been a long time since I saw him. I didn't expect him to be so useless and get mixed up with the gods."
"Yes. If you dare to touch me today, Zhao Wu will surely not let you off in the future."
At this point, she could only use Zhao Wu's name to bluff. She hoped he would live up to it.
"In that case, I shouldn't call you sister anymore," Zhao Jun seemed to sigh. "Sister - in - law, since you're one of our family, you shouldn't be hanging out with these dubious people anymore."
Yaohua twitched the corner of her mouth, feeling a sense of absurdity.
Wasn't the Heavenly Fiend clan deeply loathing the Phoenix clan? Shouldn't Zhao Jun be disgusted and afraid of her?
Why was Zhao Jun's attitude towards her so strange?
"Sister - in - law, come here. As Zhao Wu's elder brother, I should protect you well."
The sinful immortals were eyeing them greedily. It was impossible to leave by force.
"Fine. Since I came to the ice field, I haven't been able to eat or sleep well. With you protecting me, I think life will be better."