Chapter 947: This is Shan Shan

Xiao Jiu carried Shan Shan on his back.

Shan Shan didn't refuse, obediently lay on Xiao Jiu's back, mother and daughter chatted as they walked back.

"Does your foot still hurt? Does anything else hurt?"

"Just now Shan Shan was so hot; it might have affected her body."

"Not painful, just a little panicked inside; this uncontrollable feeling is awful."

"Yes, anyone who discovers their body is being invaded and controlled by another force would feel helpless and afraid."

"Shan Shan's reaction was already quite composed."

Xiao Jiu thought, then said: "Shan Shan, if you want to get out of your current situation, I might have a way…"

"No, I don't want to." Shan Shan said firmly, "Mom, I am the Phoenix Lord; in major affairs of the Feng Clan, anyone can have a retreat, but I cannot. If the other side wants to achieve some goal by controlling my body, let them—I want to see how big their ambition really is."

Xiao Jiu asked: "What if it wants to devour the entire Feng Clan?"

That remark hit Shan Shan like a thunderbolt, but she quickly realized what Xiao Jiu meant.

In short, that 'eye' seeks to control Shan Shan's body to find a breach and seal the present Feng Clan inside the Spirit Mirror.

Just as the ancient Feng Clan once faced a calamity that threatened to overturn heaven.

This is the old trick reused.

Shan Shan wondered: "Mom, even if it has that ambition, do you think it has the ability?"

"Since it dares to have such ambition, it surely has the ability." Xiao Jiu said, "But after all its calculations, it probably never imagined we wouldn't be fighting alone now; the ancient Feng Clan couldn't prepare back then, but we can. Besides, even back then, wasn't a Male Phoenix Egg left behind?"

Whenever the Male Phoenix is mentioned, Shan Shan feels a pang of sorrow; since that third 'eye' has begun to control her, does it mean the Male Phoenix has already been reduced to a puppet?

What a pity.

But Mom's words also make sense.

Her parents are high officials who manage the earth veins; even the Feng Clan's earth veins, as the mother of the Earth Deity Maiden, she has the right to intervene, after all the Feng Clan's earth veins connect to the Nether Realm.

If the other side really dares to move against Cangwu Mountain, Xiao Jiu will be the first to object!

This is Shan Shan's confidence.

Thinking this through, Shan Shan declared more firmly: "Mom, no matter what happens to me from now on, don't intervene; just help me guard the Feng Clan. I'm willing to use myself as bait to lure it out completely."

By the time they finished speaking, they had already returned to the room.

Xiao Jiu laid Shan Shan on the bed and brought water to wash her feet.

While Shan Shan soaked her feet, Xiao Jiu took off the Mòyù Bānzhǐ from his right thumb, about to put it on her.

Xiao Jiu supported Shan Shan's decision.

If it happened to her, she would surely make the same choice.

But as a mother, she couldn't bear to watch her beloved daughter rush into danger; the Mòyù Bānzhǐ could save Shan Shan's life at a critical moment.

But Shan Shan knows full well what the Mòyù Bānzhǐ signifies—how could she possibly accept it?!

"Mom, the Mòyù Bānzhǐ is the symbol of the Earth Deity Maiden's status; if you give it to me, I can't use it—it wouldn't be appropriate."

"You can't use it, but I can control it; wearing it could save your life at a crucial moment."

"I don't want it!"

Shan Shan's stubbornness flared up, and Xiao Jiu's pleas had no effect.

Finally Xiao Jiu had to put away the Mòyù Bānzhǐ and summon Feng Wu to follow Shan Shan.

This time Shan Shan accepted it willingly.

Not only because Feng Wu is merely a spirit implement—the mother now has many other magical tools at her disposal; lacking Feng Wu won't make much difference.

More importantly, Feng Wu originally comes from Cangwu Mountain; she and that great wutong tree share the same origin—emotionally and rationally, she cannot stand by and do nothing.

Shan Shan put Feng Wu away, and Xiao Jiu applied medicine to the wound on her foot.

The earlier incident had already alarmed everyone, but they didn't dare enter the bedroom; except for Tang Xun, they all waited outside.

After Shan Shan was settled, Xiao Jiu told her to rest first, then went to discuss the next steps in detail with everyone.

Xiao Jiu briefly recounted Shan Shan's sleepwalking episode to everyone, then concluded: "We can basically confirm that the other side aims to control Shan Shan's body to devour the Feng Clan; so far their strength seems insufficient, and Shan Shan means she will not resist, continuing to use herself as bait to lure them in."

"Now we have two points we must hold," Liu Junyan said. "The Spirit Shrine and Cangwu Mountain—the defenses inside and outside the Spirit Shrine are already solid; I will guard Cangwu Mountain myself."

Xiao Jiu shook his head: "No, Āyàn, I'll guard Cangwu Mountain; your task is harder—you must protect the Feng Clan's entire earth vein. If I fail here, you must launch a counterattack immediately; no matter how strong the Dust Pearl's ability to create illusory space, or how huge its appetite, it couldn't possibly devour the whole earth vein, could it?"

This is the most crucial point.

That thing has always grown by absorbing the yin-yang qi between heaven and earth and the spiritual qi of various beings.

At most it can absorb the earth-vein qi of Cangwu Mountain; as long as it dares to do so, Liu Junyan has plenty of ways to control it.

Xiao Jiu's arrangement is quite reasonable; Liu Junyan immediately agreed.

"Me too," Ao Jing said. "I'll also help guard the earth veins."

Liu Junyan nodded in agreement.

Tang Xun and A Cheng, meanwhile, continued to guard the Spirit Shrine side.

The day passed in a flash.

Xiao Jiu intended to monitor Shan Shan's condition; he found that after she fainted at night and woke up, her complexion was noticeably off, but after catching up on sleep in the second half of the night, she quickly recovered.

This shows that while that thing controls Shan Shan's body, it harms her body.

Xiao Jiu didn't mention it aloud, but he ached for his daughter and just wanted to end this quickly.

That night, Shan Shan sleepwalked again.

This time, after standing under the wutong tree, she suddenly made a hand seal, pointed her sword finger at her brow, then reversed her hand and pointed at the wutong tree.

Each of her movements tugged at Xiao Jiu's heart; he feared that in the next moment the entire Cangwu Mountain would vanish along with those actions.

A rustling of leaves rose as the birds roosting in the wutong tree were startled, scattering in panic, flapping their wings in midair and crying out, as if questioning why Shan Shan was awake in the middle of the night, disturbing their peaceful dreams.

The next moment, Xiao Jiu felt spiritual qi drifting on the wind from the direction of the wutong tree enter Shan Shan's brow.

No, not only was it the direction of the parasol tree; even the ground beneath his feet had earth qi surging.

At the same time, Xiao Jiu also did not overlook that there was a heat source stirring within Cangwu Mountain… that was the heat released from the disturbed Nirvana fire region.

Xiao Jiu had once witnessed the power of that fire region.

Shan Shan had also trained in the Nirvana fire region.

I also don't know whether this third 'eye' can swallow that Nirvana fire region…