The Zongzi emitted an enticing aroma, and as Feng Zikang lifted the lid of the pot, he saw two mounds of green, fist-sized dumplings tumbling in the boiling water. Strangely, his mouth began to water, and the hunger deep within him was thoroughly roused.

"Something's not right!"

Feng Zikang sharply bit the tip of his tongue, calling back a thread of clarity. He spun around, kicking both jade censers crashing to the floor!

"Heh heh heh, youngster! You have some wit, I'll grant you that! But you've already walked into my snare. Even if you possessed the power to reach the heavens, what use would it be?"

From somewhere unseen, a chilling, indifferent female voice drifted out.

Feng Zikang recoiled violently, but it was already too late!

The scenery within the white bamboo hut warped. The apricot blossoms on the windowsill transformed into two-headed snakes hissing menacingly. The dumplings had become a pair of vividly colored scorpions, and the pot of warm realgar wine had turned into flowing, viscous green fluid.

The original bamboo walls had shifted into a cage of white bone, trapping him within!

Feng Zikang scoffed, surging upward. As sword light flashed, the white thatch scattered everywhere, revealing the scaffolding of bleached bone beneath—it was a cage!

"Heh heh! A cultivator, I see. No wonder you were so bold!"

Peering through the gaps in the bone structure, Feng Zikang saw a mass of colorful clouds tinged with black drifting before him; the voice originated from within.

Presumably, the mistress of this domain.

Feng Zikang dared not slacken. He cupped his hands respectfully and announced in a clear voice, "Senior, please do not be angered. I am a disciple of the Military School from Dragon Tiger Mountain. I was sent by Elder Yun Yi of the Merit Hall to convey a message to you!"

"Oh?"

From within the colored mist came a voice laced with both surprise and delight.

"Yun... Yi? He actually became an Elder of the Merit Hall... Ah..."

The five-colored cloud suddenly condensed, revealing a woman clad in blue, adorned with silver trinkets and leaning on a bone staff. She wore her hair in a high topknot, her eyes held a deep, enigmatic quality, and she did not resemble the Han people. Her skin was smooth, though faint crow's feet creased the corners of her eyes, making her true age impossible to guess.

"He... what did he ask you to tell me?"

Her expression was intensely eager, and the hand gripping the bone staff trembled uncontrollably.

Could my initial suspicion truly be correct—a matter of tragic romance?

When Elder Yun first entrusted this task to him, his awkward demeanor had suggested some hidden affair. Feng Zikang had initially dismissed it as mere childishness when the Elder spoke of the lost wager, but seeing the woman's reaction now, it seemed impossible to believe she held no private feelings for Elder Yun.

Alas, it seemed the feeling was one-sided. Judging by Elder Yun's attitude, he seemed concerned only with the terms of the bet; there was no trace of genuine affection to be seen.

Feng Zikang’s guess was right; the woman and Elder Yun did share a history. However, Yun Yi was obsessed with the path to longevity and lacked romantic sentiment. The woman, feeling slighted, had dared him, claiming that her Miao frontier secret arts could grant eternal life without the need for traditional cultivation. Yun Yi had scoffed and set a three-hundred-year deadline for a wager. The woman had indeed found some method, remaining eternally youthful and deathless to this day.

Yun Yi lost the bet and was too ashamed to admit it, so he sent Feng Zikang as his proxy.

"Senior, perhaps you could release me first?" Feng Zikang asked with a wry smile, gesturing toward the bone prison. Without a word, the woman brushed her sleeve, and the thousands of bones forming the cage clicked apart, gathering together to reform into a bone comb, which she tucked diagonally into her hair.

This divine ability was truly astonishing. Feng Zikang was inwardly startled. While the woman was not strikingly beautiful, the casual manner in which she displayed such power—effortlessly and without any trace of worldly effort—was far beyond what someone at the Foundation Establishment stage could manage.

Was she truly a Core Condensation master, comparable to Elder Yun?

Feng Zikang inwardly despaired. This task involved such tangled emotional history. Given the woman's actions over the past few centuries, she clearly was no benevolent figure. She likely adored that old man, and if the message delivered lacked any warmth, she might vent her fury upon him—a catastrophic outcome for Feng Zikang.

This mission was a private entrustment from Elder Yun. Although there was no corresponding mission token, they shared a spiritual bond; failure would undoubtedly result in the reclamation of all previous benefits extorted from Elder Yun, not to mention forfeiting any future reward.

He gripped his Star River Shuttle, ready to vanish and flee at a moment’s notice, before steeling himself and speaking, "He asked me to relay one sentence to you, Senior."

"What is it?" The woman's voice was filled with anticipation.

Feng Zikang gritted his teeth. "He said: The wager from three hundred years ago, Old Yun lost!"

The words resonated clearly. Feng Zikang felt a sudden relief; the private task entrusted by Elder Yun was complete, and the old man should be sensing it now. Whatever followed was now up to fate.

However, the woman fell silent for a long time, showing no reaction.

Feng Zikang was taken aback. Had he guessed wrong?

Looking up, he saw her expression twist strangely. The light of hope in her eyes gradually dimmed, replaced by a hint of ruthlessness, yet she still asked in disbelief, "This... this is the whole message? There’s nothing... nothing more afterward?"

"Reporting to Senior, there truly is nothing more..."

"Yun! Yi!"

The woman suddenly screamed with manic intensity, her voice tearing. With a toss of her head, all her elaborate hair ornaments scattered across the floor. Her hair streamed down, completely stripping away the dignified aura she possessed moments before.

"You! Fine!"

Her face flickered between expressions, her eyes bloodshot, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

"Youngster! When that old wretch sent you, did he tell you who I am?"

Feng Zikang sighed, knowing the true drama was about to unfold.

"I do not know, Senior..."

"Hahahaha!" The woman let out a burst of wild laughter. "You were born far too late! You truly have never even heard the name of the Miao Frontier Hundred Poisons Fairy?"

"Hundred Poisons... Fairy?"

Feng Zikang had to admit the name carried notoriety, but it seemed terribly generic. Perhaps in a place like the Miao frontier, known for its toxic arts and sorcery, hundreds of people might bear such a title. It was no wonder Elder Yun hadn't mentioned the recipient’s name; it would have been useless information.

The title of the Hundred Poisons Fairy clearly failed to intimidate him. Feng Zikang maintained a composed demeanor, merely taking a small step back to settle into a more advantageous defensive posture.

The Hundred Poisons Fairy continued her hysterical laughter, oblivious to him. Eventually, the tears dried, and what flowed from her eyes began to resemble blood.

After a long silence, she took a deep breath and asked coldly, "Since the old wretch admitted defeat, then, youngster, did he send you with the stake for the wager?"

"The stake?"

Feng Zikang was utterly confused; Elder Yun had never mentioned any stake.

The Hundred Poisons Fairy's face darkened.

"You mean to tell me he intends to renege on the debt?"