Chongming was half - convinced but also knew that he couldn't get the truth from her at this moment. So he simply relaxed his expression. "I hope so. But in the future, never do such a risky thing again. Don't think you can ignore the Heavenly Demons just because you have the True Fire of the Phoenix."
Yaohua obediently admitted her mistake. "Got it! I won't take such risks again. Please rest assured, Master."
After a pause, she asked, "Just now Zhao Yue said that if you forcefully use the Linglong Pagoda, it will cause irreversible damage to your body. Is this true?"
"It's just her nonsense to manipulate people's minds. Don't take it to heart," Chongming replied.
In the past, if he had said so, Yaohua would surely have believed him. But now, with their own concerns and mutual concealment, she didn't know whether this was true or false.
She sighed silently and decided to observe Master's condition more carefully from now on.
After settling the Dianzhu sisters in the Immortal Realm, the master and the disciple returned to the Phoenix Clan.
Unexpectedly, the Phoenix Clan members were already waiting at the gate cheerfully. "The clan leader is back!"
They swarmed forward, all praising the clan leader for his prowess. Even those clan members who had originally been dissatisfied came over to offer their admiration.
Yaohua was puzzled but accepted their praise with a smile, thinking that after this incident, they had finally recognized her merits.
After passing by the clan members, she saw several elder brothers standing not far away. She couldn't help but smile and ask, "What are you guys doing?"
The elder brothers glanced at each other. Due to the cold war with her some time ago, they felt a bit embarrassed to speak at this moment.
Zhuyuan, who had a lot of interactions with her in farming, took the initiative to wave and break the ice. "Sister, the flowers in the field are blooming. Do you want me to take you to have a look?"
"Look at what flowers?" Mo Qing kicked him. "The eldest brother just came back and is still ill in bed. We should go and visit him first."
"Sixth brother is right," Yaohua said, also worried about Yan Ling's condition.
Yan Ling was currently recuperating in his own cave. Several doctors from the clan were surrounding him, looking eager. "He's awake! He's awake!"
The brothers rushed forward. They saw Yan Ling's eyelashes flutter, and he slowly opened his eyes.
He said in a daze, "Damn Heavenly Demons... I will never yield to you... Sister, run away..."
Yaohua's eyes grew hot. Looking at the wound on his face, she couldn't help but choke with sobs. "Eldest brother, I've implicated you."
Yan Ling suddenly grabbed her hand, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Sister, why are you here? Were you also captured by them?"
Yaohua shook her head. "We've rescued you."
Yan Ling was usually a steady - tempered person, but it took him a long time to come to his senses this time. It showed how cruelly he had been tortured in the Heavenly Demon Clan, which had left him so dazed.
He heaved a sigh of relief thankfully. "That's good. How's father? Is everyone okay?"
"We're all fine," the elder brothers clustered around the bed. "Eldest brother, you don't know because you've been in a coma. Sister was so brave. She directly rushed into the Heavenly Demon Clan and rescued you."
"Yes! Now the remaining Heavenly Demons have been captured by father."
"Father has captured Heavenly Demons too?" Yaohua felt something was wrong as she listened.
Just then, Qing Cang strode over.
There was still a bandage on his shoulder, obviously injured by Zhao Yue's demonic arrow. Seeing Yan Ling safe and sound, he couldn't help but nod slightly, his face full of relief.
Yaohua stepped forward and asked, "Father, did the Heavenly Demons come to attack again after I left?"
"If you mean the army of Heavenly Demons, there wasn't any," Qing Cang said, his expression turning solemn when talking about this topic. "Originally, with our clan's protective formation, it was more than enough to resist the Heavenly Demons. But unfortunately, a clan member near the formation was accidentally bewitched by the Heavenly Demons, which led to this great disaster. Now I've replaced the person guarding the formation. I believe that even if the Heavenly Demons come again in the future, we won't be afraid."
"That's good," Yaohua nodded, then asked suspiciously, "Since there was no army of Heavenly Demons, why did they say they captured new Heavenly Demons?"
She had a bad premonition in her heart. Could it be that Zhao Wu had been captured...
Qing Cang's words confirmed her suspicion. "A Heavenly Demon carried your eldest brother here and shouted that he was your fiancé. When he saw me, he directly called me father - in - law, so I captured him!"
Yaohua covered her face.
Seeing her reaction, Qing Cang's expression changed slightly. "Could it be that he is your... Then he must be captured!"
"This matter is a long story. Where is he now? Has he been tortured?" Yaohua asked awkwardly.
Qing Cang looked displeased. "He spoke nonsense, so he will surely suffer some hardships in the Punishment Hall. Why do you care about him?"
Although Yaohua didn't like Zhao Wu in her heart, she actually felt quite guilty towards him now. This guy had already been injured in the battle with Zhao Yue. He had risked his life to send the eldest brother to the Phoenix Clan, but now he had to be punished in the Punishment Hall because of his injury. There was no need to mention how unjust this was.
She quickly explained, "He deserves great credit for rescuing the eldest brother this time. On second thought, it's actually me who owes him. Hurry up and release him."
Qing Cang clearly wasn't willing. "He rashly made a contract with you, which caused you so much suffering. Why would he help you rescue Yan Ling? He must have some ulterior motives. Don't be deceived by him."
The other elder brothers also said one after another, "I don't think that Heavenly Demon is a good guy."
"I think we should just send him to the Immortal Realm and find a way to make him break the contract with you."
Yaohua rubbed her forehead and said, "One thing is one thing. It was actually me who deliberately tricked him into rescuing the eldest brother this time..."
She explained the ins and outs of the matter. Only then did Qing Cang's expression ease a bit, and the others looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
Originally, they had planned to send this Heavenly Demon to the Heavenly Realm in Yaohua's name, begging the god to erase the contract and at the same time announcing to the world that Yaohua had nothing to do with the Heavenly Demons.
But now that Zhao Wu had become an outcast because of rescuing Yan Ling, the matter had become a bit tricky.
"If we wipe out all his past sins just because he rescued the eldest brother, it's too easy on him," Mo Qing muttered.
Qing Cang nodded. "I think so too."
Zhuyuan said in a low voice, "But if we send this Heavenly Demon to the Immortal Realm, he will surely be tortured to the point of wishing he were dead. If we do such an unjust thing, won't we become ungrateful people?"
He usually didn't talk much and was an honest and steady person. As soon as he spoke, the others fell silent.
"Forget it. I naturally have a way to deal with it," Yaohua thought for a while. "Now, let's release him from the Punishment Hall as soon as possible."
She rushed to the Punishment Hall in a hurry. Just as she heard a miserable scream from inside, her heart skipped a beat. Just as she was about to step in, she heard Zhao Wu roar, "I can't bear it anymore!"
Immediately afterwards, there was a loud bang, and thick demonic energy exploded inside the Punishment Hall.