“Can the Eldest Miss explain more about this protective formation?” Gong Xifan stiffened his expression into a more serious one.

There was no mention of any protective formation in the Spiritual Practitioner Alliance’s investigative reports.

“Certainly.” Ye Jiuge did not hide anything, and she revealed everything that Jun Yichen had told her.

Gong Xifan listened as Ye Jiuge described a protective formation riddled with obstacles and poisonous traps—it even had swarms of poisonous mosquito lurking around. At that moment, his heart skipped a beat. “It was that powerful.”

“Yes, so having the Detoxifying Repellent Pill is a must.” She couldn’t care less about others, but Ye Jiuge had to produce the pill for herself.

“The Danyang Sect probably won’t have enough Three-star Nether Grass. I will also arrange a batch for you from my end. I would like you to help produce enough pills for about 30 people. Also, the Legendary Venomous Insects that I mentioned just now, I will be purchasing them from you myself. You are free to name your price.”

Gong Xifan earnestly entrusted the task to Ye Jiuge. From the start, he had never considered taking advantage of Ye Jiuge.

“Great Master Gong is forthright indeed. Forget about the payment. But if it is possible, I hope you can help me find an herb—Dark Spirit Herb.” Ye Jiuge was taking a soft approach to getting her way.

The Gong Clan had their own Spiritual Medicine Hall in Baimu City. They would have a way to obtain the Dark Spirit Herb for her.

“That is no problem,” Gong Xifan promised without even a hint of hesitation. Although the Dark Spirit Herb was rare and expensive, it was worth the price of befriending Ye Jiuge.

“You have my thanks.” Ye Jiuge nodded. She appreciated dealing with someone so forthright.

“We only have 15 people on our small team, and we will be leaving in ten days. What are your plans, Eldest Miss Ye? Will you be coming with us?” Gong Xifan asked.

“No. We will be leaving five days ahead of you to check out the situation. We will just meet at Bloodcloud Peak!” Ye Jiuge had initially been thinking about going with Gong Xifan, but seeing Yue Lingjun’s attitude had made her think twice.

If the people of the famous and orthodox sects were all snobbish and arrogant like Yue Lingjun, she would spare herself the pain.

“Alright!” Gong Xifan knew that Yue Lingjun and Qiao Shaohua’s attitude just now had disgusted Ye Jiuge. So, he did not force the issue and changed the topic. “I heard Great Master Yun has sent a highly skilled guard to protect you. Is that true?”

“Yes.” Ye Jiuge nodded.

“Is it possible for Eldest Miss to introduce me?” Gong Xifan smiled.

“My apologies, but he isn’t here at the moment.” Ye Jiuge sent him an apologetic look.

“That’s a pity,” Gong Xifan laughed.

“If there is a chance, I will bring him along when I call at your place,” Ye Jiuge offered out of politeness. She still had to rely on the Gong Clan for the Dark Spirit Herb, so keeping up the niceties of social etiquette was a necessity.

“I will be awaiting your visit.” Gong Xifan’s attitude turned serious again. Then, he said gravely, “Eldest Miss, I have one more thing to ask of you.”

“Please, speak, Great Master Gong.” In fact, Ye Jiuge had already guessed what he was about to say.

“Eldest Miss would probably have heard this by now, but my eldest brother’s son, Gong Baiyu, was born with an eye disease. After visiting so many spiritual doctors, there is still no cure. I have been thinking of seeking Great Master Yun’s help. If Great Master Yun is able to cure Baiyu’s disease, the Gong Clan will pay any price for his service.”

Gong Xifan’s solemn promise was very attractive, and even Ye Jiuge wavered.

But sadly, she did not even know where her maternal grandfather was. The promise could only be fulfilled through her own efforts.

Hence, Ye Jiuge told the man apologetically, “My grandfather’s whereabouts are unknown. Even if I had a way to contact him, I don’t know when he would receive the message. If Great Master Gong doesn’t mind, why don’t I have a look at Young Master Baiyu’s condition first?”

“Of course, that would be great. But Baiyu isn’t in Baimu City now, he’s with the Wuliang Sect,” Gong Xifan replied.

“Isn’t Wuliang Sect for Buddhist Practitioners? Why is Young Master Baiyu going there?” Ye Jiuge was puzzled.

Based on how highly the Gong Clan thought of Gong Baiyu, it was impossible that they would allow him to become a Buddhist monk.

Gong Xifan hesitated for a moment, then confessed, “Baiyu’s condition has worsened, making him unable to sleep at night. Only at the Wuliang Sect has he enjoyed short bouts of reprieve.”

“It has already gotten to that stage?” Ye Jiuge suddenly felt that the situation was not looking good.

Eye disease affected the brain. If it spread too fast, even for her, there was no possibility of saving him.

“That’s right, rumor has it that the Blood Lotus can calm the heart. I was thinking of finding one for him to try.” The most important reason why Gong Xifan had agreed to lead the small taskforce team—besides seeking revenge for Gong Hongyu—was because he wanted to obtain the Blood Lotus to delay the deterioration of Gong Baiyu’s condition.

“I see,” Ye Jiuge sighed.

Great Master Dongfang was also determined to get his hands on the Blood Lotus, and he was even willing to exchange it for the Master Solidifying Pill. Hopefully, the Blood Lotus in the Bloodthirsty Sect would be enough for them to fight for!

Gong Xifan chatted with Ye Jiuge for a little while longer. Just as he was prepared to leave, Gong Honglei, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke up: “Eldest Miss, I have a question, but I’m not sure if it is appropriate.”

“Please ask, Young Master Gong.” Ye Jiuge turned to him politely.

“You are the only bloodline of the Yun Clan left. Why don’t you change your name back to Yun?” When Yue Lingjun had been humiliating Ye Jiuge earlier, Gong Honglei had wanted to ask this.

“Well…” How was she going to answer this question?

When she’d fallen out with her rotten father and become independent, the thought of changing her name had crossed her mind. But Emperor Xuanwu had suddenly bestowed a Ye Mansion plaque on her, so he obviously wanted her to continue her fight against her rotten father.

She had just become independent, so it would not be nice to slap Emperor Xuanwu in the face—especially in case Imperial Consort Xi landed in a bind.

But when Yue Lingjun had attacked her because Ye Shanshan had become a concubine, she realized that, so long as she kept the Ye name, she would be dragged into the mud by any of Ye Yuxuan’s stupid actions.

Now that it had been brought up, she had to change her last name. But she had to find the right time to do it.

“I have a bit of say with the Emperor Xuanwu. If Eldest Miss Ye would like to change her name, perhaps I can help?” Gong Xifan saw the wariness in Ye Jiuge regarding the Emperor Xuanwu.

Just that simple sentence showed the brilliance of an erudite person.

Emperor Xuanwu might be the Emperor of Lei Kingdom, but he still paled in comparison with the Gong Clan.

It was really no big deal for the Gong Clan to ask him to change his edict.

“In that case, I would be grateful.” Ye Jiuge nodded.

Since the Gong Clan was willing to help, she would not be pretentious and reject the offer.

“I will send people over with the Three-star Nether Grass and Dark Spirit Herb soon. Will Eldest Miss be available in the afternoon?” Gong Xifan asked.

“I will be home these next few days.” Ye Jiuge nodded.

“It’s getting late. We will take our leave now.” With that, Gong Xifan bade his farewell.

Later that afternoon, the Gong Clan sent over the Three-star Nether Grass and Dark Spirit Herb.

The amount of Three-star Nether Grass they’d sent was only enough for three to four doses of pills. This was all the stock the Gong Clan held in the Lei Kingdom. The rest had to be urgently dispatched from other countries and would probably take another two days to reach Ye Jiuge.

However, the Dark Spirit Herb they’d sent over was more than enough. The box brimmed with black spiritual herbs and emitted a thick, heavy spiritual energy like a black fog. The quality was very good. Gong Xifan was really a forthright man.

With the Three-star Nether Grass in hand, Ye Jiuge decided to produce a batch of Detoxifying Repellent Pills to examine the results. As for the refining of the Lightning Snake Magical Whip with the Dark Spirit Herb, that was Zi Shang’s duty.