A useless person with five spiritual roots? I sacrificed the proud daughter of heaven.

Speaking of birthday gifts, Mu Yao put down her hoe and cheerfully took out more than a dozen porcelain bottles from her storage bag: "Look, this is all the empire that your senior sister has built up over the past few months! Pick whatever you like!"

"correct!"

Mu Yao mysteriously picked up one of the black porcelain bottles, opened the lid, and a medicinal fragrance wafted out.

"This is a new formula I developed, which includes a special secret ingredient. I've already tested it. Xiao He, take a look at it, is there anything different?"

Mu Yao winked at Sheng He.

Sheng He carefully looked Mu Yao up and down, then suddenly exclaimed with delight, "Senior Sister, you've already reached the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment!"

Mu Yao nodded heavily and poured the only pill in the porcelain bottle into Sheng He's palm.

"Yes! This pill can actually improve cultivation. It's just a pity that the secret treasure is too rare. I only managed to refine these two. Consider this one your birthday gift! Why don't you try it?"

Under Mu Yao's expectant gaze, Sheng He swallowed the black pill in one gulp.

As soon as he swallowed the pill, a familiar feeling surged up. Sheng He felt hot all over, and it felt like something was about to explode in his chest.

"Xiao He, I've also refined several other batches of Grade 3 pills. Take them with you."

Mu Yao stuffed the remaining porcelain bottles into Sheng He's arms.

Sheng He shook her head vigorously, trying to keep her mind clear. She looked down at her palms.

There was a red feather mark there.

It's that feather again...

The senior sister Mu in front of me seems to have multiplied into three, and the senior sister Yun into five. And there's a man too. Who is he?

Sheng He's face turned bright red. She tried her best to control herself, but felt a wave of dizziness.

Looking at the eight or nine fierce-looking men and women in front of her, Sheng He stood up unsteadily and drew Ao Shuang from behind her back without hesitation.

"Who...who are you? Where is my senior sister? How dare you hurt my senior sister! You'll die!"

Three little radish heads: ...Why are you here again?

Mu Yao and Yun Qianshan, with swords pointed at them: ?

Yun Qianshan looked at Mu Yao with a blank expression: "Xiao Yao, is this situation normal?"

"Of course this isn't normal! You'd better run!"

Before they could dodge, Sheng He thrust his sword at them.

Mu Yao was shocked when she saw Sheng He's sword move: "No way, the eighth move of the Azure Cloud Sword Technique! Xiao He, do you have to be so cruel to your senior sister!"

As Mu Yao spoke, she quickly pulled Yun Qianshan and Song Jinzhi behind her, and then instantly held up the purple umbrella that Sheng He had given her.

With a "thud!", Aoshuang crashed into the umbrella and was bounced back heavily.

Sheng He tilted his head, looking at the purple umbrella in front of him with a puzzled expression, seemingly not understanding why a thin umbrella could block his attack.

The next instant, she raised her sword and charged forward again.

"Xiaoyun!"

Yun Qianshan nodded and immediately took out a pipa. She was a music cultivator and was most skilled at creating illusions.

As the melodious music began, Sheng He's movements with the sword gradually slowed down. Upon seeing this, Mu Yao immediately took out the Spirit Binding Rope and tightly bound Sheng He.

After being bound by the Spirit-Binding Rope, the cultivator's spiritual power would be suppressed. Seeing Sheng He still wielding his sword and constantly waving it in the air, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Shenghe is no longer a threat.

"Xiao Yao, what kind of pills are you refining? They're so unreliable!"

Mu Yao was also puzzled. She felt full of spiritual energy after taking it and broke through a minor realm in less than three days.

Why did Shenghe's condition change after taking it?

Mu Yao quickly took out an antidote pill and fed it to Sheng He.

Sheng He's movements became slightly smaller, but the hand holding the sword continued to wave.

Mu Yao frowned. It didn't work?

Isn't it poisoning?

Butterfly Dream Blue, Flowing Light Vine, Moon Shadow Flower... Mu Yao carefully recalled the materials needed to refine that pill, but she had used these materials before and had never encountered this problem before!

The only difference is...

Red-feathered bird!

The Red Feather Bird only appeared a thousand years ago. Ancient books say that the Red Feather Bird is a treasure from head to toe, and its tail feathers are a rare medicinal material.

Mu Yao had never heard of the Crimson Feather Bird in the Pure Moon Secret Realm before. She encountered it by chance a few months ago and thought it was just good luck. She chased the Crimson Feather Bird for two days before she managed to pluck the tail feather from it.

Why did the pills, which were refined together, have completely different effects on her and Sheng He after taking them?

unless……

Mu Yao looked at Song Jinzhi with a serious expression: "Has Xiao He experienced this situation before?"

Song Jinzhi recalled the scene when he first met Sheng He and nodded quickly: "When I met Fairy Sheng five months ago, she looked just like this, but later she suddenly got better for some reason."

Five months ago?

Wasn't that exactly when she encountered the Red Feather Bird?

Mu Yao was shocked. She knocked Sheng He unconscious with a single palm strike and quickly searched Sheng He's body. Finally, she found a small red feather mark in Sheng He's palm.

Mu Yao's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Xiao He has been cursed."

"Gu? What kind of Gu?"

Yun Qianshan helped Sheng He up, looking at the feather marks on Sheng He's palm with puzzlement.

"No wonder there are red-feathered birds here. What a coincidence!"

Mu Yao murmured softly, and when she looked up again, her face was deathly pale.

"This is the Heart-Severing Gu. When the Crimson Feather Bird activates the Gu, the Gu worm will begin to gnaw at Xiao He's heart and lungs. However, due to the Crimson Feather Bird's medicinal properties, Xiao He will not only not feel pain, but will instead fall into a state of extreme excitement."

"Until...until...that worm ate up all of Xiao He's internal organs, and then...then..."

"It's my fault! It's my fault that she's in this situation!"

Mu Yao covered her face and cried softly. Yun Qianshan looked at Sheng He in his arms, still somewhat incredulous.

Everything was fine just a moment ago; she even gave Sheng He a birthday gift. How did things turn out like this in the blink of an eye?

Suddenly, as if she had just remembered something, she quickly grabbed Mu Yao: "Didn't you raise Gu when you were refining pills before?"

Yun Qianshan kept gesturing with his fingers: "It's that bottle of little black bugs, the ones you said you raised for over a year that could cure all diseases!"

"Yes! Yes! That's the Gu King I raised!"

Mu Yao quickly took out a crystal-clear porcelain bottle from her storage bag. The bottle was covered with tiny black insects. As soon as she opened the lid, one of the black insects crawled onto her finger.

With trembling hands, Mu Yao carefully tried to feed the small black worm on her finger into Sheng He's mouth, but as soon as the worm got close to Sheng He's body, it frantically retreated as if it were afraid of something.

Mu Yao's face paled even more. She grabbed the little black worm's body, trying to force it into Sheng He's mouth, but the little black worm stiffened and stopped moving as soon as it touched Sheng He's skin.