The whole family went mad, but the junior sister turned the tables and her luck soared.

Since it was inconvenient for Mu Yunjian to kneel in his current transformed form, he knelt on all fours and touched the table with his head to express his apology.

Rong Xuan and Ning Tinglan naturally wouldn't hold it against him, and simply said they had forgotten what happened before.

The emperor waved his hand dismissively: "Alright, apologize as you please, but don't let your pride be completely extinguished."

If the emperor were to say, the old Mu Yunjian, who would never kneel unless his legs were broken, was more interesting.

After Mu Yunjian got up, everyone went back to their rooms to rest, afraid of bringing up Yun Yici's sad memories.

As for Mu Yunjian, Ning Tinglan took him back along the way.

After all, Bai Wu said there were other things to announce the next day, so they should rest and recuperate.

Yun Yici guessed it was about the post-ritual sacrifice, but this time the post-ritual sacrifice resulted in many deaths and injuries, and no one had the heart to continue the post-ritual sacrifice. No one knew what solution Qingqiu would come up with.

She returned to her room, opened the scroll, and the previously empty scroll was now glowing with a soft green light.

The moment the scroll was unfurled, Xiao Ba darted out of it, chattering incessantly as if making a accusation.

Yun Yici grabbed Xiao Ba with one hand and moved closer to the edge of the painting, where she saw Zhu Jian also peeking out.

The once enormous Zhulong is now only about the thickness of her little finger, its entire body glowing red, like a burning red candle.

Zhu Jian chuckled and said, "This silly bird pecked at me like an earthworm and then burned its mouth."

Yun Yici was surprised that Xiao Ba had started pecking at people randomly again. She picked him up and put him on the table, giving him a serious and earnest lecture.

Zhu Jian looked up at Yun Yici scolding Xiao Ba and said, "This is no ordinary bird, it's a Kunpeng."

Yun Yici stopped abruptly, looking completely bewildered as she held Xiao Ba in the air: "Is this a Kunpeng?"

The little hare is shedding its feathers, and there are still some bald spots on its body. It really doesn't look like a "divine bird" at all.

Zhu Jian replied, "It's Kunpeng, don't you know that?"

Yun Yici really didn't know that Huaichuan had speculated about the species of Xiao Ba, but she never thought of Kunpeng at all.

However, Xiao Ba's egg was discovered on the beach, and the Kunpeng legend says it has the body of a fish and the wings of a bird.

Moreover, when Hachi was a baby, it was round and plump like a ball, and its two wings were very short compared to its body.

Thinking back on it, Yun Yici seemed to see a bit of the future Kunpeng in Xiao Ba.

Zhu Jian said, "I have never seen an adult Kunpeng, so I don't know if I am bigger or he is bigger."

The little dog in Yun Yici's hand understood and started chattering, wanting to rush up and passionately peck at Zhujian again.

Zhujian was sealed away for ten thousand years, and his size shrank to the size of a small red snake.

Knowing she couldn't harm Xiao Ba, she decided to play and flew out of the painting to chase and frolic with him in the room.

Seeing them playing around, Yun Yici felt much better. Once the dragon and the bird were tired of playing, she put them back into the painting.

Zhu Jian said that the life essence given to her by the divine tree was still in the fire, and she had not yet fully digested it, so she could nurture herself in the fire.

Nothing was said that night, and the next day, Bai Wu indeed sent someone to invite them.

However, this person was none other than Bai Ruo.

Throughout their journey through the Blood Abyss, Bai Ruo remained on their side and even provided much assistance, which is why everyone held her in high regard.

Bai Ruo came to invite Wen Fuyue and her disciples, along with the Emperor's decree summoning Li Ji, to discuss the post-sacrifice ceremony.

Wen Fuyue asked in bewilderment, "I heard that when the Candle Dragon turned over, many... perished. Will the subsequent ritual still be able to proceed normally?"

Bai Ruo said, "Lady Bai Wu has already notified the clans of the cubs who lost their elders to come and pick them up."

"They probably won't participate in the post-ritual ceremony."

"As for the others, proceed as usual."

Bai Ruo's cold words and aloof expression made Wen Fuyue sigh.

Can we back out?

Wen Fuyue thought that Yun Yici had a deep connection with Zhulong and worried that she would be heartbroken to see Zhulong perish.

Moreover, it took him a night's rest in the twilight to barely regain his human form.

His disciples simply couldn't handle returning to the dangerous Ziya Blood Abyss to participate in the devastating post-ritual sacrifice, where death and injury were inevitable.

Bai Ruo's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she said, "Fellow Daoist Wen, don't rush to make a decision. This post-ritual ceremony may be a little different from what you expect."

This is the limit of what he can suggest.

Yun Yici understood Bai Ruo's implied meaning and said, "Master, let's go take a look."

The group then followed Bai Ruo back to the Demon King's Palace, where they had held their meeting that day.

The seat at the head of the table was empty, with neat tables on both sides. The elders sat on one side and the children on the other.

As soon as Yun Yici and the others entered the hall, the soft, fragmented conversations ceased.

She transformed back into human form amidst the twilight clouds, her white hair and crimson eyes making her stand out among Yun Yici and the other four.

The five of them chose a place away from the other demon cultivator cubs and sat together.

Unexpectedly, Hua Yi, one of the cubs, suddenly got up and walked over.

Seeing that Hua Yi was standing and looking down at them, Yun Yici and the other four had no choice but to stand up as well.

Hua Yi's expression was complicated. He first looked at Mu Yunjian, who seemed to be in good condition, and asked, "Have the evil spirits on your body been cleansed?"

Mu Yunjian nodded without saying anything more.

Hua Yi added, "I'm sorry, I said this on behalf of my father."

Hua Zhong is still alive. He realized something was wrong that day and backed down, unlike Li Zheng who was greedy to the end, which is why he survived.

Hua Yi only found out what her father had done afterward.

He deeply regretted not stopping Hua Zhong at the time.

He had no idea what was hidden beneath the Blood Abyss; it was only after Hua Zhong told Bai Wu and the others that he found out.

If he had known, he would have tried his best to persuade his father.

After apologizing, Hua Yi lowered his head and said, "I promised you that I would keep my promise to repay the debt of a treasure I made before."

After he finished speaking, he didn't look at the expressions of the crowd anymore and returned to his seat.

The other cubs were both curious and afraid of them.

Yesterday's scene of Yun Yici riding the Candle Dragon left a deep impression on them, and they had no idea how to get along with these cultivators.

Fortunately, Bai Wu arrived shortly afterward.

The hall fell silent, and only Bai Wu's voice could be heard: "I did not expect this post-ceremony, but since you fellow Daoists have come to Qingqiu, it is not the way Qingqiu treats its guests to return."

“Yesterday, our tribal priest communicated with the Mother Tree, and the Mother Tree proposed a new location and rules for the post-ritual ceremony.”

Both the great demons and the cubs listened intently.

After all, Bai Wu's next words would determine their next plan.

Bai Wu thought of the post-sacrifice plan proposed by the divine tree, closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and said quickly, "That is, hide-and-seek."

???

Everyone in the room was shocked.

A great demon exclaimed in surprise, "Hide and seek?"

"what is that?"

"Wait, I think I've heard that before. It's a game that cubs play. Didn't you play it when you were little?"

"That was hundreds of years ago when I was a child. You remember something from hundreds of years ago?"