The leader of the cultivation alliance has a crush on me.

While grilling the meat, Zhu Yan, though knowing that Song Chen must have given instructions, still reminded Song Ke again: "Let me make it clear first, I won't be keeping outsiders here for long. Once you've recovered from your injuries, leave as soon as possible."

"Also, you'd better not go near the frozen lake behind, or I'll get angry."

Song Ke listened, glanced behind her, and then nodded: "Okay, I understand."

After saying that, he still asked out of curiosity, "But I'm still curious, is there something inside?"

"I heard the Four Directions Ghost King mention something before. Do you have some kind of treasure here?"

Zhu Yan's expression changed upon hearing this, and he immediately turned cold: "I told you, don't be curious about what's happening on this mountain, or get out."

As Song Ke listened, she realized that she had gone too far in asking the question, but when the Four Ghost Kings said that she resembled that goddess, she suddenly thought of the goddess who was burned to death in the Western Qiong Kingdom.

Suddenly, he asked, "Do you know what fireflies are?"

Zhu Yan reacted strongly to this. He stared at Song Ke with a fierce, almost animalistic look in his eyes and asked unhappily, "Why do you have so many questions?"

"Nothing to do with you."

After saying that, Song Chen ignored Song Ke and called her into the house. She glanced at Zhu Yan, who was still grilling meat outside.

"Why are you asking such random questions?"

“When I was copying the classics before, I saw the records of the sects here. Zhao Ying, whom you just asked about, was once the goddess recommended by various sects. I heard that she had profound cultivation and a kind and benevolent heart. Some sects even gave her cultivation techniques. Therefore, the goddess had a high reputation among the sects. Every year on the goddess’s birthday, they would hold a grand celebration to express their gratitude for the goddess’s guidance and blessings.”

"But later, it seems that the people of the surrounding sects contracted the plague after drinking the spring water flowing down from Dagu Mountain. No one knows whether it was a conspiracy or someone did it on purpose. Anyway, everyone asked the goddess to go to Dagu Mountain to find out. But later, everyone's disease became more and more serious. Even the cultivators' Qi Sea could not be stored, so they could not cultivate. They became even more anxious, so they decided to burn the mountain."

Song Ke frowned upon hearing this: "Arson again?"

Song Yi nodded: "Yes, it is said that fire can destroy everything, including epidemics."

"Even the local people heard the news from somewhere, and they secretly went down to the foot of the mountain and set it on fire."

"But look, this mountain is covered in ice and snow all year round. What kind of state do you think they could burn it to?"

“Zhao Ying discovered this and intervened, and then the people turned their anger towards Zhao Ying, saying that she was not worthy of being a goddess, that she did not care about their lives, and some even went further, saying that she originally came down from Dagu Mountain, and that she might have released the plague so that the world would be grateful to her.”

"Later, someone else said that I guessed it was the Four Ghost Kings. I heard that there is a divine deer on Mount Dagu, and under the divine deer are two messengers, He Xi and Zhao Ying, the goddess Zhao Ying and the Four Ghost Kings He Xi."

"What is the magical artifact used by Zhao Ying?" Song Ke asked, looking on with suspicion.

Song Chen thought for a moment and said, "It's said to be a woodcutter's knife."

That's it, this goddess and the goddess of Xiqiong Kingdom are the same person.

Is that goddess immortal?

It doesn't seem so. Every time she appears, it seems to be related to Feng Xun. Feng Xun said that Zhao Ying is his old friend, and they have known each other for far more than a few hundred years.

Song Ke was now worried about Feng Xun, wondering if he had escaped from the illusion.

She was getting restless and asked Song Chen, "When is that old man coming to pick up his things?"

Song Chen shrugged: "I don't know either, but I think if we want to see him, we should at least go down the mountain and leave this place first."

"This seems to be a separate space. It appears in the world but does not exist in the world. If Zhu Yan hadn't brought us here, we probably wouldn't have been able to get up here."

Song Ke nodded in agreement: "Then let's go down the mountain tomorrow."

Song Chen looked at her with some concern. Song Ke knew what she was worried about, so she quickly said, "I'm fine. I want to find my other half as soon as possible and go back to my hometown."

Song Chen paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "I'm not used to you being so ambitious all of a sudden."

"I'll ask around later and see when would be the best time to go down the mountain."

Song Ke nodded and said, "Okay, but the sooner the better."

The two of them took the opportunity to meditate and cultivate for a while, until Zhu Yan finished grilling the meat and knocked on the door, at which point they came to their senses.

Song Ke's stomach rumbled at the smell of meat. When she came out, there was not only meat, but also wine. Song Ke asked in surprise, "Where did the wine come from?"

As Zhu Yan cut the meat with a knife, he said, "What are you saying? I've lived here for many years, so I have some savings."

"Moreover, this is brewed from a spiritual spring, and it will only bring benefits and no harm to cultivators who drink it."

"You guys are getting a good deal today. For many years, I've been the only person on this mountain. Eat and drink."

Song Ke asked curiously, "You've been here the whole time and haven't gone out?"

Zhu Yan said, "I can't leave."

"I can't leave here."

Song Ke was a little confused. It didn't seem like he was imprisoned here by anyone.

This time, Song Ke didn't ask any more questions. She reached for the meat, and her sleeve slipped down, revealing her fair wrist. A thin blue thread was wrapped around her wrist, as if it had been painted on. Zhu Yan's gaze paused when he saw it, and he stared at it intently.

Song Ke felt his gaze, looked down, and was surprised to find that she didn't even know when the blue thread had gotten wrapped around her wrist.

Actually, to be more precise, it's more like a very long hair that's wrapped around the wrist several times, rather than a thread.

Song Ke took it back and touched it. It really did feel like hair. She suddenly thought of the Spirit Binding Silk she had seen in Feng Xun's Qi Sea.

Song Chen noticed it too, and asked curiously, "When did you get this on your wrist?"

Song Ke pulled down her sleeve and said, "I don't know."

Song Chen became even more worried, fearing it might be something unclean. She passed by Song Ke's wrist and examined it carefully: "It doesn't look like anything unlucky, it looks like hair."

"You really don't know when it was born?"

Song Ke thought for a moment and said, "I really don't know. It wasn't here before. It might be a strand of spirit-binding silk that Feng Xun gave me."

Song Chen asked in confusion, "Isn't the Spirit Binding Silk red?"

"You really don't feel like anything's wrong?"

Song Ke shook her head: "No."

As the two were talking, they didn't notice Zhu Yan, whose gaze was fixed on Song Ke's wrist. He seemed to have a vague guess in his heart.

At midnight, the top of Dagu Mountain was not pitch black because of the night. On the contrary, the colorful light reflected from the glacial lake made the mountaintop shine brilliantly.

Zhu Yan walked to the edge of the frozen lake, staring intently at it. After a long while, he closed his eyes, made a hand seal, and muttered incantations. Moments later, his soul burst out of his body and plunged directly into the depths of the frozen lake.