Chapter 164: Flowers in the Sky:.

"?"

Elder Bai frowned. He seemed completely unprepared for the fact that his incantation had no effect and the magic array remained empty!

“How could this be…” Rong Xie took a step back, surveying the entire scene, focusing his spiritual energy into his eyes, unwilling to miss even the slightest fluctuation or change in the air.

I didn't see anything.

There was nothing there.

"Impossible!" Elder Bai repeated the incantation. "Absolutely impossible—manifest!"

He repeated this three times, his breathing becoming unstable. Clearly, both the Spirit Locking Array and the Manifestation Spell consumed a great deal of spiritual energy. The repeated failures were even taking their toll on Elder Bai.

Rong Xie's heart leaped into his throat, a numb sensation rising within him. His voice choked as he asked, "Could it be...?"

Which step went wrong, and why did the spirit-locking array fail to lock Xiaozhi's soul?

Was it because Lu Yingqi's sword strike was too powerful, and Xiaozhi's soul couldn't withstand it, shattering directly?

Or perhaps Xiaozhi was heartbroken, her three souls and seven spirits unable to reunite, and she fell apart on the spot?

Several terrifying possibilities flashed through Rong Xie's mind in an instant. His heart felt as if it were being squeezed by something heavy, and he was falling... below was a bottomless abyss.

If Xiaozhi really can't be saved, wouldn't he become an accomplice, an indirect murderer?

There's no such thing as an indirect or direct murderer... If Xiaozhi doesn't come back, all the cultivators present who watched without intervening are guilty, including Rong Xie, who helped set up the formation, whose hands are stained with blood.

A chilling feeling gripped Rong Xie's mind, and before he knew it, cold sweat had soaked his back.

"How is this possible! Why isn't it coming out!" Elder Bai was also a bit agitated. He formed an incantation again and shouted "Show yourself!" as he released a spell into the spirit-locking array.

"Wait a minute," Rong Xie forced himself to calm down, racking his brains, "Is there any other way to sense the spirit? As long as we can confirm that he's still here, things will be much easier..."

"He's still here, why doesn't he show himself?!" Elder Bai was furious.

“Perhaps he doesn’t want to reveal himself!” Rong Xie said. “Put yourself in his shoes. If you were the one being proven, would you still be willing to come out?”

"Why wouldn't you come out? If there's hope of survival, of course you should come out." Elder Bai looked puzzled.

"..." Rong Xie knew he had asked the wrong person. Elder Bai certainly couldn't empathize with Xiao Zhi. "Haven't you encountered this situation before?"

Elder Bai hesitated for a moment, then said, "No."

Rong Xie noticed his hesitation: "Elder Bai, did you... really successfully complete the Spirit Locking Formation?"

“Of course it was successful!” Elder Bai said immediately, then lowered his voice, “but it was to assist the then Palace Master of the Dao Palace…”

"What?" Rong Xie gasped.

He had assumed that someone of Elder Bai's status and position wouldn't boast so much, but he was wrong...

“There is no difference at all. The former palace master has already taught me all the steps. There is no way there could be any mistakes! Unless… unless…” Elder Bai’s eyes trembled. He thought of a certain possibility, then shook his head to deny it, muttering something to himself.

"Unless what?!" Rong Xie asked loudly, growing impatient.

Elder Bai suddenly raised his head, raised his hand, and released a beam of white light that struck a certain spot in the air.

"Bang!"

Something that seemed like an illusion rapidly contracted, creating noticeable ripples in the air, as if a cloth covering the object had slipped off, revealing the true form of what was hidden behind it.

"Unless there's something else here," Elder Bai said, emphasizing each word, "that's covering for that servant boy!"

Rong Xie's eyes widened.

Thick, dark clouds rolled and gathered above an unnamed mountain in Zhilan Ridge, with bursts of thunder rumbling from within them, as if some monster hidden in the clouds was emitting a low roar.

Every now and then a flash of lightning would pierce the dark sky, illuminating the figure of a lone person sitting quietly on the mountain peak.

After attaining enlightenment, Lu Yingqi felt the surging spiritual power within his body, so he left the crowd and came here. He meditated and refined the power while waiting for the tribulation that would allow him to transcend realms.

After proving their Dao through drastic means, cultivators of the Ruthless Path usually leap one or two realms. Given that Lu Yingqi's cultivation level is already quite high, leaping two realms is still quite difficult. He is likely to skip the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage and go directly to the middle or late stage. In any case, the tribulation between the Nascent Soul stage and the Nascent Soul stage must be overcome, and Lu Yingqi has already made preparations.

Lu Yingqi was prepared. His state of mind was different from before. He didn't know what had happened, but when Xiaozhi was still around, he would occasionally feel hesitant and uncertain. Now, none of that was there. The bond that connected him with Elder Bai, Xuantian Sect, and everyone around him had become weak. He felt an unprecedented emptiness. It was as if he could either prove the Dao or not, stay or leave. This emptiness blurred the boundaries of his self, as if he had merged with the surrounding nature.

Boom—

The clouds were illuminated by purple light, revealing a ferocious shape. Several bolts of purple lightning descended simultaneously, forming a dense and thick forest of electricity that struck the summit of the solitary peak.

In an instant, the lightning engulfed the figure.

The illusion fell away, and the scene before Rong Xie was completely unexpected.

A giant mimosa flower slowly bloomed, displaying its full glory. Each petal was richly colored, as if it had absorbed human blood, and the red glow on its surface was incredibly sinister, making it impossible to look directly at.

The faint fragrance of mimosa blossoms wafts through the air, subtle yet deeply refreshing.

Rong Xie was startled and immediately covered his mouth and nose, but it was too late.

He felt dizzy, weak in his limbs, and light-footed, unable to muster any spiritual energy.

Elder Bai was no better than him.

Although Elder Bai was more powerful and even had time to cast a spell to isolate himself from the outside air, he exclaimed the moment he saw the mimosa flower: "How come there are mimosa flowers here!"

It was this sound that made Elder Bai inhale even more of the fragrance of mimosa flowers. The fragrance of mimosa flowers has hallucinogenic effects, and no one knows this better than Elder Bai, who had been deeply involved with the Hehuan Sect.

Elder Bai took a few steps back, trying to call for help, but he collapsed to the ground, his mouth agape as if he had soup dumplings in his mouth.

Unfortunately, Elder Bai dismissed all the disciples of the Ruthless Dao Palace. To keep it a secret, Elder Bai told them that they were not allowed to approach the open space in front of the gate before dawn the next day, and that they should use the side gate or the back gate if they needed to do anything.

Now, Elder Bai can't call anyone, and no one will pass by here. He and Rong Xie are trapped in the magic array, powerless, and facing the enormous and unprecedented mimosa flower, they are completely on the defensive.

This is clearly not an ordinary mimosa flower.

It has no roots, only an enormous flower head that floats in mid-air.

Like a peacock spreading its tail feathers, it flaunts its bright red flower head, and as the bright red color becomes more and more dazzling, the fragrance of the mimosa flower becomes more and more intense.

Rong Xie reached into his robes, his mind racing through the magical artifacts and talismans he had brought with him.

Caught off guard, the mimosa flower head swooped down, quickly passing by Rong Xie's ear. By the time he reacted, Elder Bai had already been knocked to the edge of the magic array. The impact of his physical body with the barrier made a loud noise, and Elder Bai rolled on the ground like a rag doll. Then, he was dragged up by an invisible force.

"Bang!"

Once again, and again.

Like playing a game of hitting a sandbag, Elder Bai was thrown against the barrier wall at the edge of the magic circle again and again. His chest was visibly caved in, and a lot of blood flowed from his mouth. However, there was no expression of pain on his face. Instead, he was as calm as if he were asleep.

When the mimosa flower head turned towards Rong Xie, Rong Xie sat on the ground, moved backward, and supported himself with one hand behind him.

"Young Master Rong," a familiar voice came from the flower head, which felt very strange, "Hehehe, how have you been?"

"Little...Little Branch?" Rong Xie froze, looking at the flower head in disbelief. There was only one person here who would call him Young Master Rong, even though he was not a young master at all.

That person is Xiaozhi.

The voice coming from the flower head was Xiaozhi's voice, but Xiaozhi wouldn't laugh so freely.

Rong Xie composed himself and guessed that Xiao Zhi's soul was probably related to the Albizia flower head. The Albizia flower head attacked Elder Bai but not him. Was there Xiao Zhi's will involved?

“Xiaozhi, I know you're upset, but things aren't entirely as you think. Elder Bai didn't really intend to sacrifice you. You should have noticed, right? This Dao-proving formation has a nested Soul-Locking Formation, which can lock your soul and prevent it from dissipating.” Rong Xie forced himself to speak. “Look, we brought your body with us. As long as you return to your body, Elder Bai can find a skilled healer to treat you, and you can come back to life—”

"Really?" came Xiaozhi's voice from inside the flower head, and the flower head tilted towards Rong Xie, as if Xiaozhi was scrutinizing Rong Xie's face, trying to discern whether what he said was true or false.

“Of course it’s true!” Rong Xie said. “If you don’t believe me, I can swear.”

"Hehehe, swearing an oath using the moral integrity of a judge? No, it's a former judge!"

"..."

"What, you don't dare to send it? You're reluctant to send it?" The flower head provocatively looked at Rong Xie. Although it had no facial features, Rong Xie could almost see its mocking smile.

“This matter has nothing to do with Shen Bingsi. I don’t like to swear on irrelevant people.” Rong Xie lowered his head slightly, looking at the mimosa flower warily. “What exactly are you…who are you? Where is Xiaozhi? Where did you hide Xiaozhi?”

"Hehehe, I am Xiaozhi," the mimosa flower shook its petals, floated upwards, then sank downwards, its enormous flower head pressing down on Rong Xie, enveloping him in red light. A powerful pressure weighed heavily on Rong Xie, and the mimosa flower's color seemed to deepen as well. "Young Master Rong, thank you and Elder Bai so much for allowing me to see the light of day again. You have no idea how grateful I am to you—"

"Clang!"

The mimosa flower head used the same trick again, launching an attack on Rong Xie. A silver sword light appeared out of nowhere, piercing through the petals near the flower's center.

The petals, though seemingly soft, produced a metallic clanging sound upon contact with the sword light. A sharp cry emanated from the flower, and the mimosa flower suddenly shot upwards, breaking through the collapsing spirit-locking array and flying into the air.

Cold sweat dripped down Rong Xie's forehead. His hand, which had been hidden behind his back, was now facing forward. A small, light, and bright silver sword, as delicate as an orchid leaf, was in Rong Xie's hand. The blade was raised, and streaks of blood-red stains appeared on the sword. These were the sap left by the white orchid that had just passed through the heart of the mimosa flower.

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Wow, I've started posting daily!