First annul the engagement, then sever ties with the empress; the empress reigns supreme.

The four exchanged information and discovered that the disciple in blue robes that Mu Lingye interrogated, just like the disciple that Gu Junxi interrogated, revealed Su Li's whereabouts without even starting the interrogation.

It is clear that Qingyanzi was already universally resented by his disciples.

The four of them were already prepared for Su Li's situation, but when the secret passage in the artificial hill was opened and they entered the cold and damp dark room, and saw Su Li in the snake and insect pool, they still couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in their hearts.

In the densely packed, horribly disturbing Five Poison Pool, a person lay in the ground, his entire body, even his face, covered in snakes and insects, making him unrecognizable as a human.

If it weren't for the pain, the occasional twitching and groaning, one would surely think this person was already dead.

“This person is… Su Li.” Gu Junxi didn’t dare to recognize her.

Murong Yuan clenched his fist, making a cracking sound, and tried to rush into the pool despite the snake venom, but was stopped by two disciples in green robes.

"Don't move yet."

One of the disciples in green robes said, "Our eldest sister has been bitten by these snakes and insects since she was a child, and she is already immune to all poisons. She is the best test subject for poisons. She has been in this Five Poisons Pool for two days. She will not die from being bitten by these snakes and insects, but she will only suffer excruciating pain. If you rashly rescue our eldest sister, our master will find out."

As he spoke, he paused slightly, his gaze fixed on Gu Junxi, as if he wanted to ask Gu Junxi for a promise.

"Unless, after rescuing her, you can truly protect her from Master's persecution again!"

After the disciple in blue finished speaking, another disciple in blue knelt heavily in front of Gu Junxi: "I know you. You are the Crown Princess and also the eldest sister's sister. We grew up with our eldest sister in Snake Spirit Village. If it weren't for our eldest sister protecting us, we would have died long ago. Please, help our eldest sister."

After saying that, he kowtowed several times, one after another.

Gu Junxi felt she couldn't accept such a grand gesture and had to take two steps back.

How utterly pathetic is she to have to ask an outsider for help when her own sister has suffered so much!

Moreover, Su Li was actually turned into a testing tool for Gu poison by that pervert Qing Yanzi, and was made immune to all poisons by being bitten by thousands of snakes and insects. The suffering she endured is beyond imagination.

At this moment, Gu Junxi really wanted to dig Gu Yuanbai out of the ground.

Such a beast should not have his body collected.

They also wanted to dismember Qingyanzi into fifty thousand pieces.

"Don't worry, as long as I live, I will never let Su Li die." Gu Junxi's eyes were red with anger.

Murong Yuan nearly crushed his sword. Before Gu Junxi could finish speaking, he had already dashed into the pool of ten thousand poisons, his sword splattering blood wherever it went.

A longsword is effective at killing snakes, but it's too slow.

Gu Junxi reached into her purse and called out to Murong Yuan, "Murong Yuan, please step aside for now."

Murong Yuan glanced at Gu Junxi, and after understanding what Gu Junxi was going to do, he stepped slightly to the side, his toes touching the wall.

A cloud of white powder was sprinkled towards the snakes and insects.

As soon as the powder touched the snakes and insects, they immediately scattered and fled.

Su Li's original appearance was also revealed, her body covered in blood, her eyes half-closed.

Murong Yuan rushed into the pool and scooped Su Li out of the water. Gu Junxi then stepped forward to take Su Li's pulse.

His breathing was disordered and his body was weak, but there were indeed no signs of poisoning.

With a stern face, Gu Junxi put a blood-replenishing and qi-nourishing pill into Su Li's mouth.

Seeing that Su Li's breathing had stabilized a bit, Gu Junxi said, "Let's leave here first."

Murong Yuan had just gotten up while carrying Su Li when Su Li, her fingers covered in blood, grabbed Murong Yuan's shoulder: "No... I won't leave here."

Murong Yuan had a gloomy face the whole time. He was very careful when holding Su Li, afraid of hurting her. When he heard Su Li say that she was not leaving, his brows furrowed even more and anger flashed in his eyes. He could not suppress his temper.

"Even after all this, you still won't leave? Do you want to stay here and be eaten alive by these animals? Haven't you suffered enough at the hands of that damned old Taoist Qingyanzi?"

Since his stepmother's death and leaving the Yan Kingdom, Murong Yuan had not lost his temper like this for a long time; this time, he truly couldn't control himself.

But his temper wasn't directed at Su Li; it was directed at himself.

He always felt that his childhood was miserable and unfortunate, but that misfortune was nothing compared to Su Li's.

Because he wanted to escape his shameful childhood and because he was traumatized by Su Li's ruthlessness, he initially chose to refuse to acknowledge her.

If I could recognize her sooner, I could treat her better sooner.

Although this may not necessarily heal the wounds in her heart, it might heal a little bit.

Su Li has her own dignity, and she hates to expose her weakness in front of outsiders.

Especially in front of people she cares about, she wants to show her strength. She hates it when others pity her; it makes her feel useless.

Murong Yuan's roar gave Su Li an excuse to retaliate. She raised her hand and slapped Murong Yuan across the face: "I just like being bitten by snakes and insects, I just like being tortured by Qingyanzi. What can you do about it? Put me down."

Having not eaten for two days and having stayed in the Five Poison Pool for so long, Su Li's slap had no weight at all; it was just a gentle touch that made no difference.

Murong Yuan intended to carry Su Li directly to the dark room, but he inadvertently caught a glimpse of Su Li's red, tear-filled eyes and stubborn expression. He chose to stand still, holding Su Li in his arms.

Essentially, he and Su Li are the same kind of people; both appear strong on the outside but are sensitive and insecure on the inside. He can empathize with Su Li's feelings at this moment.

Su Li struggled in Murong Yuan's arms, but her efforts only aggravated her injuries. Eventually, she gave up and let Murong Yuan hold her, looking at Gu Junxi.

"Wen Gu's death..."

“I know, it wasn’t you. It was Qingyanzi.” Before Su Li could even speak, Gu Junxi said with certainty, “You were willing to risk being punished by Qingyanzi to let Mother go, which shows that you have feelings for us. The reason you’ve never been close to us is because you’re afraid that Qingyanzi will use our feelings to take advantage of us.”

Su Li chuckled softly, feeling both happy and heartbroken.

I never expected my sister to understand her so well.

Every time Qingyanzi threw her into the Five Poisons Pool, she hoped someone would descend from the sky and rescue her from the abyss. Each time, her hopes were dashed.

Just now, when the snake and insects retreated and saw Gu Junxi, all her defenses dropped, and she was willing to try to open her heart.

"thank you for trusting me."

Gu Junxi touched Su Li's face tenderly: "You are my sister. If I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"

Gu Junxi saw through everything: "Are you worried about not leaving now? Or does Qingyanzi have some leverage over you?"

This question struck a chord with Su Li.

Su Li was silent for a moment before raising her eyes: "Like you and my brother-in-law, I've been afflicted by a Gu. The difference is that your Gu came from Mu Lingxuan and Leng Xuanjue, while mine came from Qing Yanzi. But our Gu species are different. If I leave him, I will die."

Su Li weakly raised her hand and touched the red beauty mark at the corner of her eye.

In the dimly lit room, by the light of candles, Gu Junxi and the others saw something wriggling under Su Li's skin.

It wasn't until this moment that Gu Junxi realized that Su Li didn't have an extra mole compared to her, but rather that she had an extra mole because she was under a spell.

Gu Junxi's eyes welled up with tears. No matter how much she said, it couldn't make up for the suffering Su Li had endured.

Su Li revealed that she was bewitched not to gain sympathy, but to explain why she could not leave now.

Her hand fell to her sides: "That's why I can't leave until I get the cure."