“By the way, how's Big Brother Ye Yu? Is his body getting any better? Have you found out why the spread of the curse is slower in his body?” Wu Ya asked in a lowered voice while glancing at the third floor of the Ice Stone building.

“No,” Wu Lan replied, shaking her head. Her eyes scanned across the followers sealed in the first floor. The followers sealed inside the building had good Cultivation and were loyal to her.

These followers and Ye Yu were cursed at the same time, yet Ye Yu's curse remained on his legs only. It even showed signs of retreating downwards.

But many of her followers were completely calcified. They were thrown into the cellar by her and sealed within.

During this time, she observed Ye Yu's condition day and night. She even secretly took some of his blood to check, but it was no different from the other followers.

If they could locate the secret behind it, their Five Poison Sect could be saved.

“Elder sister, don't lose heart. We'll definitely find a way to save Father and the followers,” Wu Ya comforted Wu Lan.

“Okay, don't worry about things here. You'd better hurry up and take some people with you to bring back the poisoned followers from the swamp. I'll go take a look at what they're talking about,” Wu Lan instructed. After she sent her troublesome sister away, she went up to the third floor.

Yun Jiuge had also finished examining Ye Yu thoroughly at this time and had just pushed the door open when she came face to face with Wu Lan.

“Miss Wu Lan, you came at the right time. I was going to discuss something with you,” Yun Jiuge said flatly.

“Miss Yun, please go ahead,” Wu Lan prompted with a smile.

“I want to take Ye Yu with me and leave this place,” said Yun Jiuge, going straight to the point.

Wu Lan stared blankly and quickly asked, “Why? Have we not been taking good care of him?”

“No, it's not that. I want to take him out of s.h.i.+wan Grand Mountain to look for a friend to see if the power of the curse on his body can be removed,” Yun Jiuge replied. This was an excuse that Zi Shang and she came up with after their discussion.

“Miss Yun, there's something you might not be aware of. Once people who have been struck by the power of the curse leave s.h.i.+wan Grand Mountain, they would immediately be reduced to ashes,” Wu Lan said with a serious expression. “I've done experiments before. Not to mention those who have already started to calcify, even those who have spent a long time in Five Poison Sect — they would immediately calcify and turn into ashes once they leave s.h.i.+wan Grand Mountain.

In other words, one may already have been infected with the power of the curse, but it may not have begun to take effect yet. If you leave now, it may only lead to perilous consequences.”

“Is there really such a thing as that?” Yun Jiuge asked. She did not expect the power of the curse to be so dominating — it was even more terrible than the plague.

“Miss Yun, these Ice Stones can suppress the outbreak of the curse. Whenever we go outside for too long, we will come back here to meditate. I dare say that there is no better place than here at s.h.i.+wan Grand Mountain. Moreover, Ye Yu is our benefactor. I cannot stand by and just watch you take this risk with him,” Wu Lan persuaded patiently.

“Why don't we stay first and see what happens?” Yun Jiuge looked at Zi Shang.

They and Wu Lan shared a common enemy. There was no need to sour the relations.h.i.+p.

“As you wish,” said Zi Shang, neither for nor against it.

“Oh, that's right, why didn't you let me ask her questions about the Empress Mountain earlier?” Yun Jiuge asked through mental transmission.

“Wait for her to ask about it on her own. Trust me, she must be more anxious than we are,” Zi Shang said with loaded meaning.

“Very well!” Yun Jiuge replied. She did not think they could not go wrong by listening to him.

“Miss Yun, what do you think?” Wu Lan asked after seeing that Yun Jiuge did not have any reaction for a long time. She was feeling somewhat unsure.

“We'll talk about this matter later. Miss Wu, I'm more curious that you've been tracking down information on the curse for so long. Why aren't there any clues yet?” Yun Jiuge asked.

“It's hard for you to believe it if I say that there's no clue. The fact is, before the power of the curse came about, my father suddenly said that he had received a decree from G.o.d. Then we built a Divine Temple on the Empress Mountain and sent a bunch of Miao people to go over there to stand guard. After the Divine Temple was built, there was big trouble in our Five Poison Sect,” Wu Lan answered. She felt that Yun Jiuge would not act without any incentives, so she felt it was better to dangle a carrot.

A decree from G.o.d? Interesting… In her many years of being a G.o.ddess, she had never come across any decree from G.o.d!

Yun Jiuge slightly sneered, and then continued to ask, “Then did you send someone to the Divine Temple at the Empress Mountain to take a look?”

“I sent a lot of people in, but none came out alive, including the Legendary Venomous Insects,” Wu Lan replied. At the mention of Empress Mountain, her face had the look of horror.

Although she had not gone in, she felt fear in the depths of her soul just by looking at the Empress Mountain from afar.

Yun Jiuge frowned. It looked like they still had to go to the Empress Mountain to find the ultimate secret.

“Not necessarily. Wu Lan still has something she hasn't told us,” Zi Shang secretly said to Yun Jiuge through mental transmission.

“Really! Why can't these people just speak the plain truth? What's the point of hiding here and there?” Yun Jiu said in exasperation.

“Well, you just arrived here today. Even a fool wouldn't lay all the cards on the table right away,” Zi Shang answered truthfully.

“Very well!” Yun Jiuge admitted that Zi Shang was right.

“I'll test her again when I get the chance to,” Zi Shang comforted Yun Jiuge.

“I'll leave it to you,” said Yun Jiuge, feeling a.s.sured.

Wu Lan had been stealing glances at Yun Jiuge the whole time. But she did not know how to read the constantly changing expressions on her face. She felt a little uneasy inside.

“Miss Wu Lan, I've decided to stay on with you to find the reason behind the appearance of the curse. I'd appreciate your kind advice in future,” Yun Jiuge said, revealing a friendly smile to Wu Lan after she and Zi Shang ended their mental transmission exchange.

“That's wonderful,” Wu Lan said with a sigh of relief. She then half-jokingly asked, “I don't know why Miss Yun has come to s.h.i.+wan Grand Mountain? Ye Yu couldn't have sent you a distress signal, could he? The boundaries around our s.h.i.+wan Grand Mountain are full of miasma and Poisonous Gas. It's extremely difficult to send out a Communication Talisman.”

“Truth be told, I'm a disciple of the Yin Corpse Sect. Our sect sent two Golden Core Seniors on this trip to visit the Five Poison Sect's Religious Leader. However, they didn't return. After I broke into the Five Poison Sect, I discovered that one of the Golden Core Seniors had become a stone statue, while the other Golden Core Senior was missing. When I escaped, I saw Ye Yu's Yin Corpse and followed her. That was how I found you,” Yun Jiuge explained, speaking some half-truths.

“Why did the Seniors in Yin Corpse Sect came to look for my father?” Wu Lan asked. She had long guessed that Yun Jiuge was from Yin Corpse Sect.

“I'm not sure about this. The Seniors did not say much. But I guess they might have come here to ask for Legendary Venomous Insects!” Yun Jiuge said and shook her head.

What she said was also plausible. Legendary Venomous Insects in s.h.i.+wan Grand Mountain were richly varied, and their functions could be customized. They were more versatile than Spiritual Beasts.

Whenever some sects had special requirements, they would come here to specifically look for the Legendary Venomous Insects.

“I see. You said earlier that there's a Golden Core Senior who went missing. Where did he go?” Wu Lan continued probing.

“I was just going to ask you about that. Since you've been watching the Five Poison Sect from the swamp land, have you seen anyone escape from there?” asked Yun Jiuge. She would need to rely on Wu Lan's help if she wanted to find Yin s.h.i.+li.