Before the guard could finish speaking, the madam's maniacal laughter abruptly ceased, replaced by a sharp rebuke: "Shut up! Who do you think you are? What can you decide? You're nothing more than a groveling dog by Tuoba Ze's side, hardly any better than me. My today is your tomorrow. You were trapped and killed in the Wanjiao Pavilion by the King of Western Qin in just a few days. If it weren't for that secret passage, Tuoba Ze would have been dead long ago. You... will never be able to defeat Western Qin, never!"

As if making a prophecy before her death, the madam quickly reached out with her other hand and ripped off the black cloth covering the mysterious glass bottle as soon as she finished speaking.

At this moment, Yi Junhao and several guards from the Qin Prince's Mansion, who were hiding behind some bushes and watching everything unfold before them intently, all widened their eyes at the mysterious object hidden under the black cloth.

Yi Junhao narrowed his captivating peach blossom eyes as if stunned, but in the end he could only lower his voice and say, "It's the Ice Beauty Gu!"

The guard beside him turned to look at him and asked curiously, "What is that thing? It looks ghostly and sounds rather eerie."

Yi Junhao pondered for a moment and said, "This madam is really something. She even keeps her distance from the world's most skilled poison masters, and she dares to raise the most poisonous and evil Ice Beauty Poison Gu. She's so crazy that she doesn't care about her life."

Upon hearing this, the guards' eyes widened even more, and they looked at each other in bewilderment. One of them asked, "Young Master Yi, what exactly is that thing that looks like a ball of fire in the madam's hand? Is it dangerous?"

The sound of extremely loud flowing water could be heard all around him, booming and rumbling. Yi Junhao slowly said, "This is the legendary divine butterfly known as the Ice Beauty, which is from the far Arctic icy sea region outside the Lingkong Continent."

"'Ice Beauty Butterfly'? Shouldn't it be related to coldness? How come it looks like a ball of fiery red flame? Is it the saying of 'two extremes of ice and fire'?" The guard who asked the question asked with great doubt. Although the others did not say anything, they also stared blankly at Yi Junhao, waiting for him to explain.

Yi Junhao took a breath and said, "Don't be fooled by Ice Beauty's current fiery and blood-red beauty. After being tempered by ice and fire, it is now the most poisonous and evil Gu in the world."

Seeing that the guards were still looking at him with suspicion, Yi Junhao said with a solemn expression, "The Ice Beauty is the coldest creature in the world. Originally, it was a little over a foot long, emerging from its cocoon with the falling snow of winter. It feeds on ice flowers and has a crystal-clear body and thin wings. When it flies, it scatters ice flowers as it flutters its wings, and the ice flowers emit a seven-colored glow when they land. However, after being refined by some wicked and evil top-level poison masters, and nourished by the blood of this most poisonous beauty in the world, it will immediately become what you see before you. Its size and shape are just like an ordinary butterfly, but it is as still as a beautiful woman, its blood red and more pitiful than blood; when it moves, it is as beautiful and tragic as a lover weeping blood, which is heartbreaking; after being reborn, it is like a beauty bathing and burning in blood and fire, and the new life formed by the red flames becomes the most poisonous, beautiful and evil Ice Beauty poison.

The guards then realized what was happening, but they were all stunned by these unheard-of words.

After a long while, the guard who had asked the question slowly came to his senses and looked worried. He said, "What will happen to the person who is poisoned by this? Will they bleed from all seven orifices immediately and then die?"

Yi Junhao immediately chuckled, "Hmph... those poisoned by this won't necessarily die immediately..."

As if he hadn't finished speaking, Yi Junhao suddenly turned to the guard with a smile and asked, "Do you have someone you love in your heart?"

The guard touched his forehead with great embarrassment and said with an awkward smile, "No, nothing."

Yi Junhao then turned around, slightly raised his eyebrows, and said, "If you don't have someone you love in your heart, then that would be terrible. If you were to be poisoned by this, you would really die on the spot. But don't worry, when you die, you will have more dignity than anyone else in this world, and you will not shed a single drop of dirty blood. Moreover, if you are already old and frail before you die, this Ice Beauty Gu poison will restore you to the appearance of your most beautiful eighteen-year-old self right after your heart meridians are severed."

"Huh? That would make it a monster!" everyone exclaimed in unison.

Then the guard asked again, "But what does that have to do with whether or not you have someone you love?"

Yi Junhao glanced at him, smiled, and turned to look at the Ice Beauty Gu, which the madam was holding in front of her in a glass bottle not far away. The Ice Beauty Gu, now transformed into a blood-red creature, was dancing gracefully, its wings fluttering and scattering tiny, blood-red droplets. He said intently, "Ice Beauty, Ice Beauty. Though beautiful, it is not something one can easily fall in love with. Those poisoned by this must never fall in love, otherwise it will activate the Ice Beauty Gu's ultimate cold poison within them. Only the burning body of the most beloved person in the world can suppress it; otherwise, they will die of the cold on the spot."

The guard suddenly understood, but still seemed to have some doubts, and asked, "Young Master, you just kept talking about suppression, not detoxification. How can this poison be completely cured?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao narrowed his long, gentle peach blossom eyes almost into slits and said in a deep voice, "This poison has no cure!"

The guard was stunned upon hearing this, and asked in astonishment, "What? Does that mean that anyone poisoned by this will eventually die from the poison?"

Yi Junhao didn't say anything more, but stared intently at the glass bottle in the madam's hand with extreme hatred in his eyes.

The guards beside him swallowed hard, their eyes wide with fear. They exchanged glances and then turned their gazes to the two people in front of them.

In the madam's hand, in the transparent glass bottle, an ice beauty, her entire body crimson, with dazzling red flames flickering in every vein, was gracefully dancing. She flapped her wings, scattering tiny, blood-red droplets, as if she were brimming with power and ready to pounce, eager to try her luck, as if she might fly out at any moment to 'hunt for food'.

The brothel madam and Tuoba Ze's bodyguard remained locked in a stalemate, with the bodyguard determined to obtain the Ice Beauty Gu.

Otherwise, he would be unable to report back to his master, who, of course, knew how much his master valued the Ice Beauty's Gu poison.

If he cannot protect it, his master will not let him off easily, and his life may even be in danger.

The madam initially did indeed create this most poisonous Gu for Tuoba Ze so that he could help her take revenge.

But now, it all felt like a dream. Upon waking, she found herself abandoned by everyone. Lanxiang's words, like icy water from a deep well, completely jolted her awake.

It turns out that all she has done over the years has long since made her a kind and loving mother, and has long since made her able to stand openly in front of her child again, to face her son, Hao'er, whom she thinks about day and night.

It turns out, she could never go back.

Originally, she was just a pitiful person who had been framed.

But now, she has strayed further and further astray, blinded by hatred. She has aided and abetted so many evil deeds, her hands stained with the blood and tears of countless pitiful people. "I didn't kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren died because of me." She has truly transformed herself into a veritable "poisonous woman" despised by the world.

She can't continue to indulge herself like this.

She was powerless to change what had happened before. But at the very least, she could no longer allow the demon she had created and brought into this world, this Ice Beauty Poison Gu, to continue living and harming humanity.

Today, right now, she must destroy it.

Thinking about all this, the madam couldn't help but burst into tears.

These tears are filled with resentment towards those who plotted against him and drove him out of the country;

These tears are the lingering reluctance to part with her son, the final longing for their separation by life and death;

These tears also reflect deep self-reproach and remorse for the hardships she has endured throughout her life.

These tears contained so much...

By now, there's no going back for her.

But at this moment, she still greedily longed to see the red soil of her homeland, Nan'an, one last time, to drink a sip of its sweet water, and to see her only son she could not let go of in this world—Hao'er.

If all of this is unattainable, and she no longer deserves to possess it, then at least let her see the people of her homeland, Nan'an, one more time. Anyone will do. Then she will have a complete life and no more worries.

Yes, at this moment, she was ready to sacrifice herself.

This Ice Beauty Gu is a Gu that can be described as 'immortal and indestructible'.

If one truly wishes to remove the poisonous Gu on the Ice Beauty, it can only be done by using the secret incantation cast on her by the Gu master who personally created it, along with the Gu master's own heart's blood.

This is the main reason why all poison masters in the world keep their distance from this Gu.

Moreover, the Ice Beauty Gu is extremely difficult to control; if one is not careful, it will go out of control and spread throughout the world, endangering all living beings.

Once the Gu poison is removed from the Ice Beauty, she will regain her original pure, pristine, and free nature, as if reborn. She and the Gu refiner and the Gu destroyer, one yin and one yang, will never meet again in this life.

What they had in common was that when they parted, they said goodbye to each other in the most beautiful way they had ever been.

At this moment, the madam was seen holding the glass bottle containing the Ice Beauty Gu high in front of her with both hands, swaying as if she was about to give way.

Meanwhile, Tuoba Ze's close guards kept a close watch on him at all times.

Left with no other choice, the madam suddenly began to slowly retreat step by step.

Just as she was retreating behind him, Yi Junhao, who was hiding to the side observing the situation and looking for an opportunity to strike, saw a sudden movement of figures. Seven or eight people immediately jumped out of the woods beside the road, holding sharp long swords, and blocked the madam's retreat.

The madam seemed to sense the movement behind her, abruptly stopped, turned around, and then, startled, retreated towards Tuoba Ze's close guards, as if she were tightly trapped between them with nowhere to go...