He Lan Tianxia

Ding. Murong Junlan finally understood the situation. Looking at the white-haired woman's expression and eyes, he concluded that the drop of liquid that Lingyi's tail had just dripped was a treasure. How could he let the white-haired woman touch such an essence? She had to take this essence back and return it to Lingyi.

Murong Junlan leaped in and darted in. He had already put away the thin rope and replaced it with a purple bamboo flute. He stretched out the flute, and the drop of essence was about to drip into the flute.

The white-haired woman panicked when she saw this. Her divine power had given Murong Junlan an opening. In order to prevent the essence from being taken by the Purple Bamboo Flute, she immediately released a blast of cold air to block between the liquid and the Purple Bamboo Flute, and then forced a force upward to push the essence upward.

Murong Junlan flicked his purple bamboo flute again, secretly drawing in the essence. The white-haired woman pushed the essence away with all her might. The two of them pushed and pulled back and forth, each using all their strength to fight for the essence. The essence floated in the air, and if it weren't for the faint light reflecting off the liquid, probably no one would have been able to see the single, water-like, transparent droplet in the air.

The two had stopped fighting; their minds were now focused on vying for the essence.

Crack! Jiang He secretly channeled his power, shattering the ice in his hand. He slammed it down on the ice above his head, but it didn't break with a thud. He continued pounding it relentlessly. At this rate, the ice on Jiang He's head would eventually break. The white-haired woman watched anxiously, but she couldn't spare a hand. She had only glanced at it briefly, and the essence was just a hair's breadth away from falling into Murong Junlan's purple bamboo flute. She had no choice but to concentrate on dealing with Murong Junlan, hoping to seize the essence before Jiang He could break free of the ice. Otherwise, with Jiang He's help, Murong Junlan's chances of winning would be greater than hers.

*Snap.* The ice on Jiang He's head shattered. If he hadn't broken it soon, he would have suffocated inside. This woman was ruthless; she had shattered the ice without leaving any gaps. If he had lingered a few more seconds, he would have suffocated. Jiang He took a few deep breaths to catch his breath, then turned around, lit the torch, and decided to rescue Ling Yi first.

Jiang He picked up the knife from the ground again, changing his previous rescue method, and directly grabbed the wire suspending Ling Yi and began sawing frantically. He really didn't know where the white-haired woman had gotten such a stubborn little wire; he fiddled with it for a long time without damaging it at all.

Unable to figure it out, Jiang He grabbed the string and pulled on it, intending to grab Ling Yi and Cangying and run away. But to his surprise, the four skeletons not only didn't fall apart when he exerted force, but they immediately stood up and started chattering.

"What the hell is this thing? I can't pull it apart or break it!" Seeing that the two men were too preoccupied to pay attention, Jiang He simply squatted down to examine it. But as soon as he squatted, someone poked his butt. Jiang He turned around and saw it was Young Master Bai. He saw a flicker of fear in Young Master Bai's lifeless eyes. Jiang He thought, "You've been tied up here for a month, you must be terrified by now." He assumed Young Master Bai was just worried he wouldn't rescue him, hence the expression. But then, Young Master Bai handed Jiang He half a broken tortoise shell. Jiang He scoffed, "What I need now is a knife, a knife that can cut that line! What are you doing giving me this broken tortoise shell?"

Jiang He completely ignored Young Master Bai. Little did he know that the tortoise shell was the very tool Young Master Bai had used to saw through the ropes binding him. "Hey," Jiang He thought, "you have no idea how I used this tortoise shell to cut through the ropes this month! Don't underestimate this shell; it's the oldest and sharpest in the pile. While it can't compare to a knife, only this shell could cut through that thin rope." As for how Young Master Bai knew this secret, that was thanks to his experience of living for ten thousand years after consuming the elixir of immortality.

Bound for so long without a drop of water, it was a miracle that Young Master Bai, with his frail physique, had managed to hold on this long. His throat was temporarily unable to utter a sound. Seeing Jiang He's disdain for this pathetic creature, he reached out and tugged at Jiang He's pants. Jiang He, who had just stood up, was displeased by the tug. He thought, "You've been trapped for so many days, and your situation is better than Ling Yi's and the others. You're not going to die anytime soon. What kind of coward are you, a grown man?" Ignoring Young Master Bai, Jiang He angrily swung his foot. The force of the swung wasn't great for Jiang He, but it was deadly for Young Master Bai, who was thrown to the ground. Being thrown to the ground wasn't the worst part; the worst part was that the drop of essence that the white-haired woman and Murong Junlan were fighting over had just landed, landing precisely on Young Master Bai's nose.

*Bang!* The white-haired woman kicked the young master away, but his weak body, unable to move, was further blasted across the room, bouncing back down and crashing into the woman with the Twin Snow Swords. The woman with the Twin Snow Swords awoke. It was unclear how long she had been bound, but she seemed to still be capable of fighting. A surge of rage erupted from her eyes. She twisted her body, trying to untie the ropes binding her, but to no avail. This woman was even more stubborn than the white-haired woman; unable to untie them, she simply stood up and charged straight at the white-haired woman.

At this moment, the white-haired woman was focused on preventing the drop of essence from sliding haphazardly. Her left hand had already picked up the tortoise shell containing several tortoise beads from the ground, attempting to catch the drop. Suddenly, she was struck by the woman with the Twin Snow Swords, causing the tortoise shell in her left hand to fly towards Murong Junlan, while the drop of essence was about to fall to the ground. In a moment of quick thinking, the white-haired woman lay down on the ground, stretched out one hand along the ground, and forcefully pushed the drop of essence back into the air.

At this moment, the tortoise bead inside the tortoise shell fell into Murong Junlan's hand, and Murong Junlan stood still. Now that he had the bargaining chip, he would wait for a better opportunity to snatch the essence. In any case, even if the white-haired woman got the essence, it would be a loss for her.

The woman with the twin snow swords wasn't as amiable as they were. She didn't know anything about turtle beads or essence; she just wanted someone to untie her and help her escape. With nowhere to vent her anger, she kicked a skeleton next to her.

Despite the chattering and spitting, the skeleton, instead of falling apart, actually started spinning in place. At this moment, Murong Junlan had already approached Ling Yi. He swiftly swung his knife, but the thread didn't break. Murong Junlan tried several more times, but to no avail. Ling Yi and the eagle were being dragged around the cave by the skeleton, both barely alive. If this continued, their lives would be in imminent danger.

The white-haired woman had already caught the drop of essence in her palm. She dared not be careless, fearing that the essence might slip through her fingers.

"Give me the tortoise shell and the pearl, and I'll let you out," the white-haired woman said.

"Why should I give it to you?" Murong Junlan glanced at the pearl in his hand, his gaze fixed on it. The large tortoise-shaped pearl seemed to have two eyes? And it was even trying to move? If he dripped that essence on it, would it come to life? At this moment, Murong Junlan finally understood why the white-haired woman cherished that essence so much. It was Lingyi's spiritual essence, capable of bringing the tortoise-shaped pearl to life. Tortoises are creatures of longevity, and a tortoise-shaped pearl refined from so many tortoises was already long-lived. Combined with Lingyi and the essence, it would truly grant immortality. This white-haired woman was actually researching immortality? Wasn't she already immortal enough?

Before Murong Junlan could answer, the white-haired woman suddenly pushed with both hands, and the broken tortoise shell on the ground began to spin rapidly, flying towards Murong Junlan and the others in a massive whirlwind. She had somehow managed to pull a string in her hand, and with a tug, four skeletons attacked the broken-down figure. Oh, so the women with the Twin Snow Swords weren't being watched over by the white-haired woman, but rather trapped by these skeletons.

At this moment, Lingyi and Cangying in Murong Junlan's hands were pulled and spun around by the skeleton bones. With the turtle shells flying around randomly, Murong Junlan had no choice but to stand in the skeleton bone circle to protect Lingyi and Cangying. Jiang He was also helpless and had no choice but to deal with the situation as it came and run away.

As Murong Junlan passed by Bai Gongzi's feet, his trousers were suddenly tugged. Murong Junlan glanced at the tortoise shell Murong Dubai handed him, but before he could react, he was covered by a barrage of tortoise shells thrown at him by the white-haired woman. Murong Dubai struggled to move, his hand reaching for the broken tortoise shell. Murong Junlan finally understood what Murong Dubai was trying to say. He said, "Jiang He, look for something," and then resumed his fight with the white-haired woman, this time using the tortoise shell and tortoise bead.

The skeletons jumped around more and more excitedly, their chattering and slurring sounds rising and falling like a powerful magnetic field, driving people's nerves crazy and making them lose control. Murong Junlan almost threw the tortoise bead back to the white-haired woman several times.

Jiang He and the woman with the Twin Snow Swords also vomited. Murong Junlan, fearing he might lose his footing, leaned against the thin thread, gripping tightly the line suspending Ling Yi and the Azure Eagle. The white-haired woman, still unwilling to give up, shook the area like a tsunami for about half an hour. Murong Junlan felt like his bones were about to fall apart.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his trouser leg and handed him the broken tortoise shell.

*Snap!* The wire snapped, and skull bones scattered across the ground. A more frenzied storm flashed in the white-haired woman's crazed eyes. Suddenly, she swung her foot at Young Master Bai, sending him hurtling into the air. Seeing this, Murong Junlan pulled Jiang He to protect Ling Yi, while he reached out to catch the falling Murong Dubai. Just as Murong Junlan reached out to save him, the white-haired woman swiftly struck out at Murong Junlan with her palm, snatching the tortoise bead from his hand. She then haphazardly smeared the bead with the same hand that had received the essence, quickly glancing down. A bizarre smile appeared on her face. Only the white-haired woman saw that the tortoise bead had suddenly sprouted two eyes.

Just as everyone was pondering the purpose of this feint, the white-haired woman swiftly swallowed the tortoise pearl, then vanished like a gust of wind from the cliff cave.

Everyone in the cave, including Murong Junlan, was completely bewildered, wondering what kind of bizarre song this freakish white-haired woman was singing.