After the main character who took the blame retired, the female lead quit.

A person who is fixated on a single point and gets stuck in a dead end cannot be pulled out.

Having accepted the treasure the girl offered, the matter can be considered closed.

Xiao Yu was too lazy to argue any further. He glanced at Long Wanyan, who was standing there staring intently at the man, and then, carrying Li Yunshang, he walked deeper into the area, just as he had done at the beginning.

The shrinking of the fire ring doesn't mean it has stopped; it's because the permafrost is rich in icy air, making it a tough nut to crack, but it's not impossible, just that the pace of progress has slowed down.

If you look closely, the flames are still advancing slowly at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, and it's only a matter of time before they engulf this place.

We need to speed things up.

Chapter 48, The Mysterious Pharmacist

The burly man remained kneeling, while the barefoot woman who had been holding the paper umbrella stood at a distance, having witnessed the events unfold.

He held the paper umbrella in his wrist, twirled it back and forth, and finally turned away and walked away on his own, leaving the brother and sister alone by the circle of fire.

Xiao Yu had already walked some distance carrying Li Yunshang when Long Wanyan, who had been standing still, followed. The two remained silent.

"how is she?"

After following silently for a while, Long Wanyan spoke in a dry voice.

Xiao Yu glanced at her, and the restless dragon scales had already retracted. Her eyes were no longer the vertical dragon pupils, but a hazy gray.

"It's alright, the situation has stabilized. We just need to find a physician cultivator, otherwise, if this drags on, problems will inevitably arise sooner or later."

Holding the girl in his arms tightly, Xiao Yu replied.

It's a dream, really. Just a moment ago, Long Wanyan was focused on killing the girl she was holding, but now she almost killed someone because of her.

It wasn't necessarily for her sake. After all, being splashed with dirt and almost dying in the flames would make anyone furious.

Xiao Yu was also angry, but he didn't show it. First, he was in a hurry to take care of Li Yunshang, and second, Long Wanyan had already attacked first. With the system's warning, he had to be mindful of her.

The situation was complicated at the time, and with a crying girl watching, there was no time to get angry.

Dragon nature and human nature...

Xiao Yu let out a leisurely breath, his gaze sweeping over the towering ancient tree, and said casually:

"Speaking of which, what did you talk about in the cave back then?!"

"Just like she said..."

"Huh?! Really?"

“Otherwise what? But I know who to ask…” Long Wanyan glanced at Xiao Yu, then continued:

"When we were in the square, I noticed that there were people from the Southern Medicine Sect and that famous Xuan Ding Pharmacist in the secret realm. They probably came to the secret realm for the Phoenix Blood, which can bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded. Now the fire circle has gathered the cultivators in the secret realm in one place. If we look carefully, we should be able to find them."

Xiao Yu pricked up his ears and listened carefully for a while before realizing that what Long Wanyan was talking about next was about healing Li Yunshang's injuries.

"Okay." He replied, and found someone to treat Li Yunshang's illness. It was the same whether he saw it inside the secret realm or outside.

"It would be best to find that Xuan Ding Pharmacist. Her medical skills are superb. Normally, when she is out consulting, you can have to wait for a month or two. Now that she is participating in the secret realm, it is an opportunity to save the trouble of queuing. Perhaps we can save her life."

Thinking of something, Long Wanyan looked at Li Yunshang in Xiao Yu's arms and added a sentence.

"it is good."

…………

"Hiss... Almost the same symptoms, soul damage, but not to the point of amnesia. The condition isn't severe, thankfully. I'll prepare a few formulas to nourish the spirit and strengthen the soul for now..."

Inside the brightly lit tent, the so-called Xuan Ding Pharmacist tugged at Li Yunshang's eyelids, glanced at her complexion, and listened to her pulse. After confirming that everything matched, he waved his hand as if giving an order.

"Oh! By the way, let me make this clear first: the medicinal herbs inside are related to the soul and spirit, and are rare. You'll need to bring your own, as my stock ran out recently."

After she finished speaking, she seemed to remember something and held up a finger as a reminder.

"No problem, there's no need to trouble the pharmacist with the medicine; we'll prepare it ourselves."

Xiao Yu took the prescription she had casually written down. The handwriting was messy, but it was still barely legible. He then connected it with the dog system in his mind, which allowed him to buy anything from it.

Then he spoke to the Xuan Ding Pharmacist in front of him, who had brown skin, wore a carved green robe, had a petite and delicate figure, looked like a young girl, and held a black medicine cauldron in his hands.

Xuan Ding, a pharmacist and a Golden Core cultivator, was recently searching for a medicinal herb called Nine-Story Flame Lotus in the desert. Under the scorching sun, his skin turned a different color. Upon hearing of the emergence of the Phoenix Hill Secret Realm, he was preoccupied with the phoenix blood essence and temporarily put aside his work to rush to the secret realm, only to unfortunately encounter this incident.

His medical skills were superb, and he focused on the therapeutic effects of medicinal diets. He followed the example of Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs, and tried every medicinal material in the world to personally experience its effects and drawbacks before using it as medicine. As a result, in his early years, he accidentally ate a seed of immortality, which caused him to revert to his youth, solidify his cultivation, and maintain his current form. He had no choice but to give up.

So although he looks young, his actual age and experience may be much greater than Xiao Yu's appearance suggests.

Does she look like a little girl but is actually an old woman?

Thinking back to the things Long Wanyan had taught him on the way, Xiao Yu thought to himself.

Peng!

Suddenly, he felt a pain in his calf. Looking down, he saw that it was the Xuan Ding Pharmacist who was carrying the medicine cauldron, who kicked him with a resentful expression.

"What rude thing are you thinking?! This is so rude... wait... you..."

Suddenly, the Xuan Ding Pharmacist stared at Xiao Yu's face, his expression turning serious as if he had discovered something, as if he were looking at a terrible and difficult disease.

"No... don't do that, I don't want the doctor staring at me like that..."

Xiao Yu took a step back, not wanting her to say something like, "Congratulations, you have a terminal illness. Therefore, we have decided to name this terminal illness after you."

However, in the end, the Xuan Ding Pharmacist simply smiled, revealing two rows of gleaming teeth beneath his brown skin:

"Take care of your health and be more moderate! Young man, your physique is so well-developed, even more robust than some of the martial artists I've ever seen."

"You're just too weak, your vital energy is severely depleted. If this continues, it will endanger your very health. Do you want me to prescribe some remedies to nourish your kidneys, strengthen your foundation, regulate your qi and blood, and balance yin and yang? Just some food will do... the herbs aren't as expensive as hers, and it's alright, one meal will replenish it."

"Um... thank you, doctor, I'm sorry to trouble you." Xiao Yu forced a smile and said dryly, without refusing.

Fortunately, there weren't many people in the tent, so the pharmacist's explanation made things less awkward.

To be honest, finding this renowned Pharmacist Xuanding to treat me wasn't that difficult this time.

Because of the fire ring, most cultivators were driven to the area around the ancient tree. Although the tree was right in front of them, strangely, no one went to explore it. Instead, they set up camp and built tents around it to rest for the time being.

Humans are social animals; they are subconsciously drawn to each other.

Therefore, finding the tent with the Xuan Ding Pharmacist sign was quite easy. As soon as they met, her accompanying mermaid attendant realized that Li Yunshang had been harmed by the white fire and her soul had been damaged. He quickly made way for her, saying that the pharmacist would treat and care for any cultivator with this symptom for free.

They said the treatment was free, probably because they saw the unusual symptoms and wanted to find a solution; doctors always have a strong thirst for knowledge.

After receiving another prescription written by the pharmacist Xuanding, Xiao Yu carefully put it away this time to avoid confusing it with Li Yunshang's prescription.

After exchanging greetings, Xiao Yu parted the curtain and temporarily left the tent. Li Yunshang was being cared for by a professional doctor, so he wasn't too worried. Even if something happened, his floating spirit, Tanluo, could protect her.

Just before leaving the tent, a wounded man lying near the entrance caught his attention. He was a man with red hair and beard, dressed in Yanghua Valley clothing, his clothes were tattered and torn, his body covered with hideous wounds, missing an arm, his lips tightly pressed together, and he was unconscious.

"His soul is damaged, one of his souls and two of his spirits are missing, and he is on the verge of death."

As expected, she had the same symptoms as Li Yunshang, only much more severe. It should be considered what Bu Suantian called the "loss of soul syndrome".

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yu stepped out of the tent and exchanged a glance with Long Wanyan, who was guarding the entrance.

"how?"

"Thankfully, things are much better now." Happiness is relative. Compared to the guy at the door who was in such a terrible state, Li Yunshang's previous lively state was indeed much better.

Long Wanyan nodded, and Xiao Yu then turned to the side and found an angle where no one could see him, and contacted the system to exchange the medicinal materials that Li Yunshang needed.

Then it was handed over to the merman servant who was waiting at the door.

Mermaids...

Xiao Yu looked at the merman attendant in front of him, who was holding the prescription and medicinal herbs and checking them with his head down. Seeing the person reminded him of a certain unreliable saintess.

Merfolk who dare to venture into the flame-strewn Phoenix Hill Secret Realm are a rare sight.

Chapter 49, Searching for the Lost Mermaid Saintess

The merman before them had undoubtedly retracted her fishtail and transformed into a human form. Although she generally looked like a person, the fish fins by her ears and the soft scales at the corners of her eyes still revealed her identity as a merman.

Xiao Yu stared intently, scrutinizing the details of the merman before him. Perhaps his gaze was too intense, attracting the attention of his master.

?

The yellow-scaled merman in front of him tilted his head and looked at Xiao Yu with a questioning gaze, as if asking what business he had.

"You...you're a merman from the South China Sea, aren't you? What are you doing here?!"

Xiao Yu's gaze swept around, finally settling on the unique gemstone headdress on her forehead.

Well……

The yellow-scaled merman was startled. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her lips moved as if she were mute.

Merfolk are ultimately aquatic creatures. Although they may be fine on land for a short time, they will dry out once they leave the water, unless they possess a thousand-year-old water-controlling pearl.

This involves the secret techniques of the Merfolk. Xiao Yu wasn't quite sure of the specifics, but it seemed to involve exchanging the ability to walk on dry land for the price of suppressing sound. There were no other drawbacks, except that the technique would be broken when exposed to hot water.

For the mermaid race, known for their melodious singing, being unable to speak is indeed a severe punishment.

After the initial panic, the yellow-scaled merman, who had been performing a pantomime, realized his situation and telepathically transmitted his thoughts:

"Fellow Daoist, how...did you recognize me as a merman from the South China Sea?!"

As the thoughts collided, Xiao Yu's divine sense detected this meaning.

The so-called "heart-to-heart communication" has no specific sound; it is merely a thought that carries the consciousness one wants to convey, like sending a telegram, transmitting the message to the other party.

"It seems so. Don't you South Sea merfolk all have the custom of wearing headdresses on your foreheads? I'm not too familiar with other merfolk clans, but the South Sea merfolk all dress like this. I guess it's something like this..."

Xiao Yu pointed to his forehead and said.

"I see... Well, you can't say that. Never mind, it seems you're quite familiar with us South Sea Merfolk. Do you have some relatives there?" Upon hearing Xiao Yu's explanation, the Yellow-Scaled Merfolk smiled gently.

Although the reason wasn't quite right, that was roughly the case. She was also curious about how Xiao Yu knew that most of the merfolk in the South China Sea dressed like this.