Chapter 660

"Good, it's a deal."

Chu Yu stepped out from the crowd and said to the female commander: "Alright, everyone put your weapons away, and you, treat their injuries."

"Yes, Princess."

The female commander nodded and busied herself with the others, treating the arrow wounds of the seven men.

Fortunately, Yin Qi had held back, and the arrowheads had not damaged any bones; after treatment by the mages, the wounds healed on the spot.

However, it would likely take a few days for them to fully recover.

Chu Yu had bright, intelligent eyes and a dignified demeanor; she asked with a reserved smile on her face: "I am Chu Yu, the Third Princess of the Chu Kingdom; I do not yet know how to address you, Young Master?"

Yin Qi cupped his hands in a salute: "Yin Qi, a man of the mountains."

Chen Nan also reported his name: "Chen Nan, also a man of the mountains."

"So it is Young Master Yin. I see that Young Master Yin has high martial arts skills and an extraordinary bearing; you do not look like a man of the mountains at all. As for someone else, he certainly is a man of the mountains."

Chu Yu was one way when facing Yin Qi, but her expression changed immediately when she looked at Chen Nan.

She was clever and quick-witted; recalling the previous events, if it weren't for this person's big mouth, she and Yin Qi could have pretended not to know, but now it had become common knowledge.

Chen Nan said unhappily: "You little girl, can't you understand that I was being humble? I was just saying that Brother Yin..."

"Say no more."

Chu Yu interrupted him immediately, her fists clenched tight, teeth gritted.

"Ahem."

Yin Qi coughed lightly: "Brother Chen, you misunderstood; I only caught a glimpse of a figure in the water pool and didn't see clearly. After all, it was so far away, and the water surface reflects the sunlight, so it's impossible to see clearly."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yu hurriedly raised her voice: "You heard that, you dead scoundrel, Yin Qi didn't see clearly."

Although she said this to Chen Nan, she was actually saying it to the guards as well.

"Hehe!"

Chen Nan naturally understood Yin Qi's intention, but he just wanted to annoy Chu Yu, so he let out an inexplicable smile.

Chu Yu was so angry her teeth itched.

If Yin Qi weren't right beside her, she would have wanted to kill him.

Yin Qi changed the subject: "Princess Yu, where is the Blazing Fire Immortal Lotus you mentioned, and how much further is it from here?"

Chu Yu glared at Chen Nan before withdrawing her gaze and saying: "It's not very far from here. Originally, if it were just us, we would have had to detour around powerful magical beasts, which might have taken six or seven days, but with you here, we can reach it in two days at most."

Yin Qi nodded.

After treating the injuries, the group did not linger and set off.

……

Two days later, the group arrived at their destination; a volcano appeared before them, with layers of smoke and clouds swirling around the crater, as if the flames could erupt at any moment.

Seeing this, everyone felt secretly alarmed.

Once the volcano erupted, they were too close to have any chance of escaping with their lives.

An apprentice mage hesitated: "Your Highness, is there really a Blazing Fire Immortal Lotus in this crater?"

Chu Yu was a bit displeased and hummed: "Of course there is, do you think I would lie to you? This is what my master told me; it wasn't mature when he first saw it, so he didn't pick it, but calculating the date, it should be within these few days."

A female guard reminded: "Your Highness, I heard that all heavenly materials and earthly treasures have spirit beasts guarding them; I wonder if this immortal lotus..."

Chu Yu said dismissively: "It's fine, my master said it's just a small snake; even if you can't handle it, isn't there Young Master Yin? Right?"

She turned to look at Yin Qi, her face filled with a pure smile.

Yin Qi said lightly: "Princess Yu, the Blazing Fire Immortal Lotus is an immortal medicine; how could an ordinary spirit beast guard it? If my guess is correct, the spirit beast is at least a fifth-tier demonic beast, and it might even be in the transformation stage of turning into a dragon."

"A fifth-tier demonic beast!"

Chen Nan and the others were startled, a look of fear flashing in their eyes.

Thinking about it carefully, what Yin Qi said was not unreasonable.

With such an immortal medicine growing here, it would constantly attract surrounding demonic beasts, and the one that could ultimately remain to guard the Blazing Fire Immortal Lotus would naturally be the strongest among the demonic beasts. A fifth-tier demonic beast is entirely possible.

"Ah!"

Chu Yu was also stunned.

However, she did not want to retreat just like that, and instead gritted her teeth and said: "Even if it is a fifth-tier one, it's not like we have no way to deal with it. This time I brought the Chu Kingdom's national treasure, the Houyi Bow. I will entrust the Houyi Bow to you to use; it's not impossible to kill the small snake."

"The Houyi Bow!"

Chen Nan exclaimed.

This was the weapon of his father, Chen Zhan; he never expected to encounter it again after ten thousand years.

He turned to look at Chu Yu, who had a long package on her back.

He figured that must be the Houyi Bow inside.

Chu Yu ignored Chen Nan and took the package off her back, her gaze fixed on Yin Qi as she said: "I will entrust the Houyi Bow to Brother Yin to use; Brother Yin won't take it for himself, will you?"

Please... you... bookmark 6... 9... shu.... ba....!

"Eh!"

Chen Nan and the others all felt a shiver, goosebumps rising all over their bodies.

Yin Qi laughed: "You had better call me Young Master Yin, or Yin Qi is fine. Rest assured, although the Houyi Bow is an immortal treasure, it hasn't reached the point where it would make me greedy. Moreover, as far as I know, this Houyi Bow can only be used once a year, so even if I took it for myself, it wouldn't be of much use, and I would instead be hunted down by the experts of your Chu Kingdom."

"Hehe, I knew you were a good person who keeps his word."

Chu Yu also breathed a sigh of relief.

She wasn't afraid of Yin Qi being powerful; she was only afraid that Yin Qi would have no awe for the Chu Kingdom.

"Give the Houyi Bow to me, and you all stay here; do not get close. Once I engage in battle with the opponent, it will be easy to implicate you."

"Mm-hmm, here you go."

Taking the package from Chu Yu's hand, inside was an ancient, long box.

Opening the box, it was a long bow shimmering with a dark, glossy luster.

Picking up the Houyi Bow, Yin Qi felt an ancient and heavy sensation, no less than a low-grade innate spiritual treasure.

The Houyi Bow is said to have been refined from a spiritual root after the opening of heaven and earth; if its seal were completely broken, its power would be unimaginably vast, and later its essence would be reincarnated as Chen Nan's daughter, Yiyi.

"I'm going."

Yin Qi nodded to Chen Nan and Chu Yu, then walked toward the crater.

The closer he got to the crater, the higher the temperature of the air became.

Soon, Yin Qi arrived at the crater; bursts of smoke drifted out from the crater, the air was scorching hot, the crater was like an oven, and at the same time, a rich, fragrant scent drifted out from the smoke.

"Truly worthy of being an immortal medicine; what an enticing fragrance."

Yin Qi's eyes lit up.

His gaze burned as he looked down and saw the Blazing Fire Immortal Lotus rooted on a cliff three zhang below the crater.

The entire plant was about half a meter tall, its whole body fiery red and shining.

The stem had nine crystal-clear red leaves, and the flower at the top was shaped like a lotus.