Suddenly, one person coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.
Everyone's hearts tightened, for that person was also a member of the Chu Heavenly Clan—one of the younger generation who had entered the Nine September Divine Domain this time.
Moreover, she possessed a certain degree of fame. Though not on the level of Chu Lingxi or Chu Ruoshi, within the Chu Heavenly Clan, and even across the entire Greater Thousand Upper Realm, she could be called a brilliantly renowned genius among the younger generation.
Otherwise, she would never have qualified to fuse the Yin Yang Destiny Pearl together with Chu Haoyan.
But what was going on with her sudden collapse?
"She's been poisoned."
Under the circumstances, several elders had already stepped forward to examine the situation, and now one of them delivered the verdict—the woman had coughed up blood and fallen unconscious from poison.
"Poisoned? How could she be poisoned all of a sudden?!" Confusion rippled through the crowd, and a wave of panic began to spread.
"How she was poisoned can only be determined once she wakes up. The poison won't threaten her life, but to fully detoxify it will require a considerable amount of time. I'm afraid she won't be able to participate in the cultivation within the Nine September Divine Domain this time," the elder said.
"Hssss—"
At those words, many people drew in a sharp breath.
Nothing had gone wrong at any other time—only now, at this critical moment.
People could think of only one possibility: someone had deliberately sabotaged her.
Instantly, many pairs of eyes turned toward a handful of individuals.
They were mostly women, and all possessed considerable strength. The reason everyone was looking at them was because those few had grudges against the poisoned woman.
Therefore, when it came to the poisoner, the first suspects on everyone's minds were them.
"Hey, don't look at me—I didn't do anything."
"Brother Haoyan, this really has nothing to do with me."
Facing the stares of the crowd, those women hurried to defend themselves. Some even made a point of explaining directly to Chu Haoyan.
The poisoned woman was, after all, Chu Haoyan's partner. If she was out of the picture, Chu Haoyan would be in trouble too. This wasn't merely a matter of finding a new partner—it could very well affect the rank of the Yin Yang Destiny Pearl itself.
And none of those women wanted to cross Chu Haoyan.
"I'll investigate this matter myself. But right now, what I need is a new partner."
"Is there anyone willing to enter the Nine September Divine Domain together with me, Chu Haoyan?"
Chu Haoyan said coldly.
He couldn't have cared less about whether the poisoned woman lived or died. The only thing on his mind right now was finding his new partner.
The moment those words left Chu Haoyan's mouth, quite a few women in the crowd began to entertain thoughts.
Before long, someone actually stepped forward, declaring she would abandon her original partner in order to team up with Chu Haoyan.
After the first person volunteered, another immediately followed. In the blink of an eye, seven people had given up their original partners, all eager to pair up with Chu Haoyan.
Yet even so, Chu Haoyan remained silent. He was still deliberating—still searching for the most suitable candidate.
"These people from the Chu Heavenly Clan really are mercenary. They trained together not long ago, and they can just toss their partners aside like that?"
"Sigh... It seems your clan has no warmth to speak of. Every last one of you is selfish—nothing matters but profit."
Watching all of this, the Queen wrinkled her nose, a hint of disdain in her voice.
It was clear that the Queen had a deep distaste for those who betrayed trust and abandoned loyalty for the sake of gain.
"Brother Chu Feng, Sister Chu Yue—would you mind letting us take a look at the Yin Yang Destiny Pearls you fused with?"
Just then, a gentle voice spoke up. It was the same woman who had earlier asked Chu Ruoshi to display her Yin Yang Destiny Pearl.
With her words, every pair of eyes turned once more toward Chu Feng and Chu Yue.
It seemed that rather than wondering who would become Chu Haoyan's new partner, people were far more curious about what rank of Yin Yang Destiny Pearl Chu Feng and Chu Yue had actually fused.