No one knew what the wine was made of, but demonic energy was surging in it. Jinghe drank it contentedly, and her cultivation level slightly improved.
Yaohua said with a cold face, "I won't drink this wine. Even if I were to truly fall into a Heavenly Demon, I would never collude with you."
Zhao Yue gave her a sidelong glance. "Then let's wait and see. No one can stop my great cause of unifying the Three Realms."
"You're so arrogant. I'm truly impressed," Yaohua said, raising her wine cup and splashing all the wine onto the ground.
Demonic energy immediately surged on the ground. The Heavenly Demon seed in her body sensed this surging demonic energy and started to stir. If she had drunk the wine just now, the demon seed would probably have germinated immediately, turning her into a Heavenly Demon.
Jinghe looked at the spilled wine with a pained expression. "If you don't want to drink it, you could have given it to me. Why waste such a good thing?"
Zhao Yue stared at the spilled wine on the ground and let out a silent sneer.
Yaohua took a vigilant step back, in case she launched an attack out of anger.
Seeing this, Zhao Yue put on a smiling face again, but there was a hint of nonchalance in her smile. "You'll surely pay the price for your disrespect today."
Since the conversation wasn't going well, Yaohua turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait!" Zhao Yue knocked on the table. "I have a grand gift for you."
Somehow, a mahogany box appeared on the table.
"Thank you, but I don't need it," Yaohua said disdainfully after just one glance.
She was sure that there was something sinister in the box.
Unexpectedly, Jinghe blocked her way at this moment. "Why are you in such a hurry to leave? This box is an authentic immortal item. It was found on your brother when the demons captured him."
Hearing her brother's name, Yaohua paused. "My brother never mentioned losing anything like this."
"He surely didn't have the face to talk about the details after his defeat!" Jinghe said, smiling as she handed the box over. "Look, there's your brother's name on it. I wonder which fairy gave it to your brother as a token of love."
Yaohua stared intently. Sure enough, she saw a line of delicate small characters. A hint of curiosity was stirred in her heart, but she also suspected it was Zhao Yue's scheme. She hesitated for a moment.
Zhao Yue knocked on the table. "Chief Yaohua, I'm sincerely trying to win you over. If you really don't trust me, why not open the box and take a look?"
Jinghe also persuaded her. "Our leader isn't like you, hesitating and unable to achieve great things! She has a grand vision. Otherwise, why did she invite you here today instead of ambushing you? Why did she choose to talk to you nicely?"
Yaohua didn't move for a long time. She was worried that there was a trick in the box, but if it was really her brother's thing and she missed this rare opportunity to get it back, she was afraid...
Seeing this, Jinghe showed a meaningful smile. "Let me open it for you—"
Her slender hand rested on the box. Just as she was about to open it, Yaohua snatched the box away with a cold face. "Thank you, but I can handle it myself! Since it's my brother's thing, I'll take it back and open it on a good day."
"Hey! Don't be like that!" Jinghe, for some unknown reason, firmly grabbed the box. "I love watching the fun. I wonder what's in this box. Why not open it and take a look?"
"This is my brother's thing. It's not convenient to open it in public." Yaohua knew that they were in cahoots. Jinghe's sudden attempt to open the box was probably a conspiracy, so she tightly held the box and wouldn't let the other side succeed.
Jinghe tugged at the box forcefully. "It's just an item. What's so shameful about it?"
The more she said, the more determined Yaohua was not to let go. They were at a stalemate for a while. Suddenly, a dagger appeared in Jinghe's hand and she threw it at Yaohua.
Yaohua dodged quickly. The dagger grazed her cheek, leaving a faint bloodstain.
She was no longer polite. She exerted force with her hand, and the True Fire of the Phoenix instantly exploded, falling towards Jinghe like a rain of fire.
Now her cultivation level was much higher than before. She could easily defeat Jinghe.
A demonic energy barrier emerged around Jinghe, trying to resist the True Fire of the Phoenix. But the True Fire was the natural enemy of the Heavenly Demons. Once it came into contact with the demonic energy, it burned like fire on dry grass, crackling. The sparks quickly turned into a raging inferno, turning her into a human torch.
"Leader, save me!" Jinghe let out shrill screams. Her eyes were full of pleading as she looked at Zhao Yue, but she still tightly held the box.
Seeing this, Yaohua was even more certain that the item in the box was extraordinary. Otherwise, why would a cunning Heavenly Demon like Jinghe fight for it even at the cost of enduring the pain?
Zhao Yue watched the scene with great interest. "Forget it, Jinghe. Why are you fighting with her? Come back."
Jinghe immediately obeyed her words and obediently let go of the box.
Yaohua stopped in time. The True Fire of the Phoenix went out. By now, Jinghe was burned so badly that her clothes were in tatters, and large areas of her exposed skin were swollen and red. She looked so pitiful.
With teary eyes, she leaned against Zhao Yue's side and sobbed softly. "Leader, I got so seriously injured all for you."
Zhao Yue smiled and patted her on the shoulder. Her fingers lingered on her skin, and her voice was full of temptation. "Such a beauty, yet Chief Yaohua showed no mercy. It's really a pity."
Yaohua was speechless. "We're both women. If you're not as good as me, that's that. I didn't pursue the matter further. Who are you trying to act coquettishly for?"
Jinghe pouted. Her red lips were slightly pursed. "I heard that someone was so rude to the leader, so I came back from afar. Now I'm just acting coquettishly, and someone is unhappy."
She glanced at Yaohua obliquely, and her gaze was extremely strange. "Tsk, being young and beautiful really has its advantages. I can see that with the golden flames surrounding you and the red mole on your forehead shining brightly, no wonder you dared to come to the banquet alone and even throw a tantrum by smashing the wine cup."
There was a hint of jealousy in her words, as if Yaohua was her love rival.
Yaohua was even more confused. "You... like Zhao Wu?"
Jinghe leaned into Zhao Yue's arms and giggled. Zhao Yue's eyes darkened slightly, and she waved her hand.
After a moment of dizziness, Yaohua was sent out of the Heavenly Demon Mansion. She steadied herself, but her heart was still full of doubts.
Did Jinghe rush back because she was loyal to Zhao Yue or because she was in love with Zhao Wu? Her attitude today was really strange.
After walking out of the passage of the Qingyan Secret Realm, Yaohua realized that she was covered in cold sweat.
She looked at the box in her hand. She knew that there must be something strange about it. Otherwise, Jinghe wouldn't have attached so much importance to it.
But she still took it away resolutely. Even if there was some kind of poison in it, it probably wouldn't be more poisonous than the Heavenly Demon seed in her body. Taking the box away might give her a glimmer of hope to study the contents.
Although Zhao Yue and the others said that it was her brother Yanling's thing, Yaohua had already noticed from the details that the delicate small characters engraved on the box were just an illusion of a formation, not real. So it had nothing to do with her brother.
The Heavenly Demons deliberately linked this thing to her brother. She wondered what their plot was. So she didn't want to take this thing back to the Phoenix Clan.
So, where should she open this box?