Edited by RED

In just their short separation, Xu Qi discovered that Zhuque1 had actually changed her outfit, and her face was now much cleaner.

Xuanwu couldn’t help but crease his brow slightly at seeing her head full of white hair.

On the other hand, Zhuque only let out a slight smile at Xuanwu.

The two divine beasts, who had not seen each other for many years, didn’t show any extreme reactions at seeing one another.

Xuanwu finally broke the silence and said, “Your cultivation had regressed considerably. It seems you’ve had it tough.”

“You weren’t much better, either. I heard you were forced into your true form a few days ago?” Zhuque smiled back.

Xuanwu shook his head helplessly at hearing this, lamenting that her temper was still the same; that mouth of hers was as unsparing as ever.

Xu Qi took out a Green Mystique Fruit with a flip of his palm and placed it on the table, asking, “You two, what are your thoughts on this matter regarding the fruits?

“Uncle, as you are aware, my subordinates have all consumed Green Mystique Fruits before, and were unhindered in doing so. However, Blackie and this madame couldn’t even lay their hands on the fruit. What exactly is happening?” Xu Qi asked.

After hearing this, Xuanwu extended his hand and touched the Green Mystique Fruit. Nothing unusual happened, however, and to get further confirmation, he actually picked up the fruit, and there still wasn’t any reaction.

Xu Qi was even more baffled after seeing this. The Black Tortoise is able to touch them, but the Vermilion Bird and Ice-Armored Horned Dragon were unable to. Why is this so?

Zhuque was filled with doubts, too, and tried to touch the Green Mystique Fruit in Xuanwu’s hand. However, just as she made contact with it, a golden ray burst out and struck her hand, forcing her to quickly retract it.

The three stayed silent in the room, staring at the Green Mystique Fruit as they all considered the reasons behind this.

After thinking for a while, Xu Qi suddenly left the room, leaving them unsure about what he was going to do.

Soon, Xu Qi returned to the room with Xu Xiaomei in tow.

The latter was dumbstruck for a moment seeing the white-haired Vermilion Bird, but immediately smiled widely at her.

“You’re a Five-clawed Golden Dragon? That’s not right; your aura is similar, yet it differs?” Zhuque said doubtfully, sizing Xu Xiaomei up.

“Let’s talk about that later. Xiaomei, try grabbing the Green Mystique Fruit in Uncle’s hand. Be careful,” Xu Qi instructed.

Xu Xiaomei was very familiar with Green Mystique Fruits. When she consumed the Five-clawed Golden Dragon’s inner core by accident back then, she was also fed several Green Mystique Fruits by Xu Qi, and her strength rose considerably.

Unsurprisingly, Xu Xiaomei picked the Green Mystique Fruit off the Black Tortoise’s hand without trouble. The golden radiance was nowhere to be found.

“Ehh! How strange! What exactly is going on?” the Vermilion Bird exclaimed, looking at the Green Mystique Fruit in Xu Xiaomei’s hand with her hands on her hips, looking ready for a fight.

“This Sister, may I say something?” Xu Xiaomei asked gently, looking at the Vermilion Bird.

The Vermilion Bird had a great first impression of Xu Xiaomei and quickly nodded at her request.

Xu Xiaomei pointed at Zhuque’s body, and said, “Pardon my straightforwardness, Sister, but there’s a pungent smell coming from you. It is exactly like the smell from Blackie. It stinks.”

Xu Qi, Xuanwu, and Zhuque were all intrigued after hearing this. Zhuque hurriedly took a whiff of her own body, but she didn’t smell anything untowards.

Xuanwu and Xu Qi leaned closer to to Zhuque as well, and took a sniff. Other than a faint fragrance, there wasn’t any other smell.

“Fiery girl, it seems like the problem is on you!” Xuanwu said.

On the other hand, Xu Qi was more interested in Xuanwu’s addressing Zhuque as “fiery girl”.

Zhuque rolled her eyes at hearing this. It seems like she wasn’t fond of that nickname, but the matter at hand was more important and she didn’t say a word about it.

A flash of inspiration came to Xuanwu, and he said, “Xiaomei, get closer to her. See if you can pinpoint the origin of the the smell.”

Xu Xiaomei nodded and came to Zhuque’s side. She sought Zhuque’s permission with her gaze, who nodded and raised her arms cooperatively. Xu Xiaomei was relieved and closed the distance.

Xu Xiaomei brought her nose in front of Zhuque and circled around her. In the end, she stopped behind Zhuque and pointed at her back, saying, “Uncle, the smell should be coming from here.”

Xu Qi and Xuanwu hurriedly went over at hearing this. Xu Qi even extended his arm impatiently, wanting to see whether there was any clue on Zhuque’s back.

However, he immediately realized his rudeness and said awkwardly, “Xiaomei, Uncle and I will leave the room first. Look for any clues on her back.”

Then, Xu Qi and Xuanwu turned to leave.

“You don’t have to leave. Isn’t it just taking a look at my back? It’s no big deal,” Zhuque said, stopping Xu Qi and Xuanwu.

She turned around, facing away from Xu Qi and Xuanwu. Her clothes slowly slid down her shoulders. However, Zhuque’s control was superb. Her clothes immediately stopped falling once the greater part of her back was revealed.

Xu Qi and Xuanwu weren’t interested in admiring her back. They immediately noticed a tiny talismanic rune on her back, like a tattoo, and Xu Qi exclaimed, “There’s a problem, as expected!”

“What, what problem?” Zhuque hurriedly asked, unable to see her own back.

“What problem? A huge problem! Didn’t you realize in all these years that someone used an underhanded move on you? If I haven’t seen wrongly, there is a Dragon Snare Talisman on your back!” Xuanwu explained, irritated.

“What!? There’s a Dragon Snare Talisman on my back!?” Zhuque exclaimed in shock. Her shoulders jerked for a moment, and her clothes were back in place.

Seeing how Xuanwu had recognized the rune on Zhuque’s back, Xu Qi was suddenly reminded of Xu Xiaomei’s claim of a similar smell on Blackie. Thus, he told Xu Xiaomei to bring the Ice-Armored Horned Dragon here.

Blackie soon appeared in the room along with Xu Xiaomei. He immediately turned tail to run at seeing the white-haired Zhuque.

However, just as his feet lifted off the ground, he realized where he was and put his feet down awkwardly once more.

At this moment, everyone’s minds were on the Dragon Snare Talisman. Xu Qi directly pulled Blackie over without any explanation and ripped his clothes off.

“Hey! What are you doing!?” Blackie blurted out in response to Xu Qi’s improper conduct. The latter even ripped his clothes off, causing goosebumps to rise on Blackie’s skin.

“What!? Shut up if you want to restore your strength!” Xuanwu humped coldly from the side.

As expected, Xuanwu’s word intimidated Blackie into submission immediately.

Xu Qi and Xuanwu discovered an identical talismanic rune on Blackie’s back as well.

“It can’t be wrong. It seems like someone played a dirty move on Blackie scoundrel and fiery girl,” Xuanwu said.

“Hmm. That is indeed the Dragon Snare Talisman!” Zhuque echoed in agreement after seeing the talismanic rune on Blackie’s back.

“Dragon Snare Talisman!? You’re saying that there’s a Dragon Snare Talisman on my back?!” Blackie exclaimed in shock. He was obviously agitated hearing the words “Dragon Snare Talisman”.

Xuanwu knew that Xu Qi didn’t understand the Dragon Snare Talisman, and explained it roughly.

The Dragon Snare Talisman first appeared in the ancient era, when monsters were running rampant. No one knew who created it, but it was a nightmare for monsters. Those planted with a Dragon Snare Talisman would find their strength declining, and were unable to absorb, or even touch, any spiritual objects. They would be met with a backlash in their attempts to do so.

There were many instances of monsters cursed with the Dragon Snare Talisman. Their strength gradually regressed, and they were finally killed by others, who obtained their inner cores and blood essence. It was a nightmarish period for monsters.

Even so, as time passed, the method to practice the Dragon Snare Talisman was gradually lost, and it ceased to exist. Unexpectedly, it actually appeared on the Vermilion Bird and Ice-Armored Horned Dragon’s bodies.

“Is there a way to undo it?” Xu Qi asked the most crucial question after hearing this.

“Yes, and it is very simple for you to do so,” Xuanwu smiled at Xu Qi and whispered something into his ear.

Xu Qi looked at Xuanwu out of the corner of his eye, asking in disbelief, “It’s that simple?”

Xuanwu nodded with a smile, and left the room with Xu Xiaomei, leaving the three of them in the room.

“You two, remove your clothes. I’ll dispel the Dragon Snare Talisman on you,” Xu Qi said.

Zhuque was a little doubtful at hearing this, but she complied and turned around, revealing her back once more.

Blackie didn’t dare to look at Zhuque and turned his head sideways, revealing his tanned back.

Xu Qi took a deep breath and extended both his arms, placing them on Zhuque and Blackie’s backs respectively as the golden All-Tempering Flames burned in his hands.

Zhuque and Blackie’s bodies shook for a moment. They seemed to be in great pain.

As the All-Tempering Flame burned on their backs, the talismanic rune began melting like ice, turning into black ink. This time, Xu Qi picked up the pungent smell, too.

Xu Qi endured the odor and increased the intensity of the All-Tempering Flame.

When the talismanic runes were about to completely disappear, Xu Qi suddenly pushed out with his palms, and the two’s clothes were caught in flames, burning into ash.

By the time Zhuque and Blackie reacted to this, Xu Qi was nowhere to be found, and the doors were swinging back and forth.

Immediately after, Zhuque’s furious screams were heard, and Blackie was kicked out of the room naked.

Blackie bumped into Xu Qi and Xuanwu outside. Upon seeing the sly smirk on Xuanwu’s face, Xu Qi realized that he had been tricked about how far to go with the flames.

“Cough cough!~ Right, I have something to tell you,” Xuanwu suddenly said seriously before Xu Qi could blame him.

Xu Qi knew Xuanwu was trying to change the topic, and glanced at him sideways, wanting to see what stories he was going to weave.

“While you weren’t around, I discovered that Luo Tianming went out frequently. Out of curiosity, I tailed him in secret, and found out that he actually met with some masked men,” Xuanwu said.

Xu Qi couldn’t help but crease his brow after hearing this. He sighed and muttered, “Luo Tianming, are you really going to disappoint me?”