bird flower

Ye Ting's expression froze, and veins bulged on his forehead.

Those who were present almost forgot to breathe.

Everyone knows that these two brothers have a terrible relationship. It is said that Ye Ting not only hates Ye Hanyun to death, but there has never been any so-called brotherly affection between them. One is in the inner sect, and the other went directly to the Water Spirit Sect!

He gritted his teeth and managed to utter a few words: "Good, that's really great."

"No! It's past midnight, and the peacock flowers will bloom in just a few hours. Don't go looking for him!" Cheng Jin shouted, grabbing his clothes tightly.

Ye Ting looked at her with a forced smile, and Cheng Jin was so frightened that she immediately let go of her hand.

Everyone watched as he went up the mountain, exuding a murderous aura.

Cheng Jin pointed at Mu Qinghuai and cursed, "Which sect are you from! Are you sick? You know their business, yet you still insist on saying those three words!"

Mu Qinghuai crossed his arms and gave her a cold glance: "So what?"

Ouyang Lanyue closed her fan and rested it on her hand, smiling leisurely: "He is not a cultivator, and not everyone knows that. I didn't even recognize who that young master was."

"..." Cheng Jin was so angry that she didn't say anything more.

Indeed. For the Night Garden, the Night's Charm is more important than the Bird's Nest.

As dawn broke, all sound ceased from the mountain. The cultivators must have collapsed from exhaustion and fallen asleep immediately.

Ye Ting and Ye Hanyun did not return until dawn.

The disciples of the Water Spirit Sect waited anxiously for their senior brother, while Qi Yuan was not too worried about Ye Hanyun.

She knew Ye Ting well; even if he was really angry, he wouldn't do anything too outrageous.

One by one, the cultivators on the mountain came down, scratching their heads and asking others what time it was.

I'm so tired, I'm never playing again.

After a fierce battle all night, they really behaved themselves and wouldn't do anything else before the flowers bloom.

Qi Yuan and the other two followed the cultivators ahead. After passing a specific landmark, they felt the temperature around them suddenly drop, and the ice surface was bitterly cold.

Directly ahead is the snow cliff, covered with flower buds, but no one knows which one will actually bloom.

The exact time when the flowers bloom is around noon when the sun is strongest and the temperature is not too cold.

Several cultivators were eager to climb the snow cliff on the rocks in advance and pick the flowers when they bloomed. But just as they were about to move, they saw two unlucky souls who had stepped onto the rocks and were pulled down within seconds.

...It stopped moving.

Qi Yuan circled around and found a spot on the cliff with relatively little snow to sit down.

She saw Dongfang Yilin stop in a spot very close to her and took the initiative to say, "Junior Sister Qi."

"Senior Sister Dongfang." Qi Yuan didn't expect her to greet her.

Ouyang Lanyue and Mu Qinghuai had just parted ways with her, saying they were going to find a better vantage point.

Dongfang Linyi looked around and silently searched for the cliff face with the most snow and the most people.

Qi Yuan's plan was to fly up directly on her sword. Why climb when you have a sword? At most, it would cause another public outcry.

Most of the people present were independent cultivators and disciples from small sects, many of whom did not know how to fly on a sword, and even those who did not think of this at all.

The disciples of the Water Spirit Sect began to panic: "Our senior brother isn't here, let's find a chicken feather."

"I think we have to blame Senior Sister Qi's friend! I don't know how this person became friends with Senior Sister."

"Let's go back to the sect..."

Cheng Jin snapped, "Shut up! What's all the noise about? It's so annoying! You're not allowed to back down. Give it your all, understand? Just because Senior Brother isn't here doesn't mean you can treat him like your mother!"

The disciples fell silent.

Qi Yuan looked over with a half-smile, only to be met with a fierce glare from Cheng Jin.

She silently withdrew her gaze.

"Ah! A demonic cultivator!" A rogue cultivator took a step back in terror.

Upon hearing this, several cultivators raised their swords and aimed them at the demonic cultivator.

The demonic cultivator retreated to the corner of the cliff, raised his hands, and explained, "I don't harm anyone. I also came to pick sparrow flowers. There's no rule that only cultivators can pick these flowers..."

They did not lower their swords and remained locked in a stalemate.

Immortal cultivators have a strong prejudice against demonic cultivators. Most people, once they start cultivating immortality, always have a sense of superiority and look down on demonic cultivators even more.

Qi Yuan glanced at it indifferently and continued burying the sword.

What she needed to do right now was to grab a handful of snow from the cliff and throw it onto the ice, burying Shuangqian in the snow. Then, she would step into that small patch of snow, and the flower buds would open and take flight.

She felt that there was nothing wrong with demonic cultivation; whether one cultivated demonic cultivation or immortal cultivation was the same, it was all a matter of personal choice. However, she regarded anyone who attacked the Silver Bamboo Sect as an enemy.

The only thing she despised was those who outwardly cultivated immortality but secretly colluded with demons to plot against the cultivation world; such behavior was truly despicable.

"What evidence do you have to prove you won't harm anyone? You demonic cultivators are all wicked and hypocritical!" Sima Chu was the most agitated, pointing his sword directly at the demonic cultivator's neck.

Her sister was killed by a demonic cultivator, and she hated demonic cultivators to the core.

"My demonic energy is weak. I only came here to try my luck and see if I could pick a flower. There are so many of you, I can't beat you." The demonic cultivator swallowed hard, speaking haltingly.

"Alright. We have no evidence that he would harm anyone, so let's all disperse." Qi Yuan, disturbed by the noise, came over to persuade them.

Several cultivators who recognized her lowered their swords and made way for her out of respect, but Sima Chu did not move.

Qi Yuan reached out and pressed down on Sima Chu's sword, gently lowering it, and reassured him, "It's alright..."

She looked at the demonic cultivator and said, "You have the right to pick flowers, but if you kill someone, I will kill you without hesitation."

The demonic cultivator nodded vigorously.

Sima Chu reluctantly sheathed her sword: "Senior Sister Qi... I'm still worried about him."

“Since the fighting between cultivators last night can be ignored, then we don’t need to feel too much disgust for the normal fighting that this demonic cultivator was doing while picking flowers.” She patted Sima Chu’s head.

*

Of the thousands of flower buds, which one will eventually bloom?

Most of the people present were young people, and few of them had seen the blooming of sparrow flowers two hundred years ago, and they didn't even know whether the flowers were big or small.

The flower buds are white. According to the book, the color of the bird flower is the same as the flower bud. It is difficult to find the bird flower quickly in a snow and flower buds. It is quite hard on the eyes.

Qi Yuan had heard of some examples from previous years: a rogue cultivator, his eyesight failing him, excitedly climbed towards the wrong place, and others, before they could even see clearly, followed him up, grabbing the rogue cultivator's leg and pulling him down.

When they reached the bud area, they discovered the real birdflowers were in another section. The cultivators, furious, climbed to the other side, only to find the birdflowers already in someone else's hands, and they couldn't snatch them back. In the end, they blamed the rogue cultivator and gave him a good beating.

Qi Yuan began to carefully observe the flower buds on her head. They were indeed pure white, almost indistinguishable from the snow on the cliff. Only the growing roots showed a hint of light green, which was not very noticeable in the vast whiteness. Looking at them for too long would really make your eyes dizzy.

Why not go all the way and take all the flowers she can see if she's the first one up?

Duan Yu looked at the snow cliff thoughtfully.

Such a magnificent flower, will it glow with golden light when it blooms?

Qi Yi yawned: "Don't think about it, the flower is pure white."

"How did you know what I was thinking?!" Duan Yu's pupils dilated in shock as he asked in horror.

"..." Your thoughts are written all over your face.

Sima Chu asked, puzzled, "What...is Senior Sister Qi doing?"

Qi Yuan piled up almost all the snow on the lower parts of the nearby cliff face and onto the ice surface.

The ice is so hard; if someone were to fall through it in an accident, they would be half-dead.

The sun is peeking through the clouds; it's almost noon!

Everyone standing on the ice held their breath, ready to scramble to their feet at any moment.

The moment the blinding sunlight shone out, everyone began to move at the same time.

As they climbed, they looked up to search for flowers, and someone asked as they went, "Have the flowers bloomed yet?!"

Another person, struggling to crawl, replied, "Who cares if it's open or not, just do it!"

Qi Yuan leaped up on her sword and landed directly at the top where the flower buds were in bloom.

She was quick-witted and picked one flower after another, skipping over any patch that was full of buds.

"Holy crap! Someone's cheating!" someone exclaimed.

Dongfang Yilin was very fast and had already climbed to the middle. While the people below were still looking up at Qi Yuan, he directly reached out and used his spiritual power to sweep, and large snowflakes fell down, directly killing more than a dozen cultivators.

Duan Yu and his companions quickly realized what was happening, released their grip on the cliff, summoned their swords, and charged towards Qi Yuan above.

Seeing that things were not going well, Qi Yuan moved even faster, but still couldn't find the sparrow flower among so many buds.

The three had caught up with her. Sima Chu shouted, "Qi Yi, stop her! Let's go find flowers!"

Qi Yi stood in front of her, his sword on his side. Qi Yuan looked behind him and saw Duan Yu and Sima Chu looking down at the flowers.

She frowned and reached out, unleashing her spiritual power towards Qi Yi. Qi Yuan used the explosion as an opportunity to pass over him.

Duan Yu was entangled with the unexpected arrival of Pei Yin, while Sima Chu was still searching desperately among thousands of flower buds.

Qi Yuan controlled the sword to move it downwards a bit, quickly scanning the flower buds in this area, but the sword suddenly began to shake.

Originally climbing the cliff, Dongfang Yilin ascended on his sword, his target Qi Yuan. It was also she who was casting a spell on Qi Yuan's sword.

From the moment she arrived in Quanzhou and saw Qi Yuan, she had a hunch that the person who would find the flower would be Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan took a deep breath, trying to steady her sword. She cast the same spell on the other's sword as well, her eyes fixed on the flower bud, afraid of missing the sparrow flower.

Her gaze swept over the area, and she suddenly sensed something was wrong.

One of the flower buds is different from the others!

Yes, it's a flower bud.

The flower bud did not tightly close its petals; instead, two or three petals loosened slightly outwards.

A thought flashed through Qi Yuan's mind, and she picked up an ordinary flower bud and threw it at the lone Qi Yi.

Qi Yi instinctively reached out and caught it, while Qi Yuan shouted at the top of her lungs, "The bird flower is in his hand!"

The cultivators who finally climbed up looked in the direction of the sound, and because of the distance, they believed the white flower bud in Qi Yi's hand and rushed towards him with great joy.

Duan Yu and Sima Chu believed Qi Yuan's words and left the battle to protect Qi Yi.

The other cultivators who still had doubts saw Qi Yi's two companions flying towards him and dispelled their doubts, quickly climbing in that direction as well.

Qi Yuan plucked the special flower bud and put it into her storage bag. Just as she was about to take it off her wrist, someone grabbed her.

Dongfang Yilin controlled his voice well so that no one else could hear him: "If you choose to cooperate, you can get a three-petal flower; if you don't cooperate with me, don't even think about taking this flower away."

"Senior Sister Dongfang, you should worry about yourself." Qi Yuan was caught off guard and pulled out a magic weapon from her left hand, instantly binding Dongfang Yilin.

The moment her wrist was released, Qi Yuan flew away swiftly. Dongfang Yilin was no weakling; his magic weapon couldn't hold her for long.

"Don't even think about running!" Duan Yu chased after her.

When they discovered that Qi Yi was holding a flower bud, they immediately realized they had been tricked by Qi Yuan.

"Hurry down!" Qi Yuan had already swooped down to the middle of the snow cliff.

"Bang!"

A burst of spiritual energy launched by Cheng Jin was aimed at her feet, and her sword was knocked off course.

Qi Yuan lost her balance and fell, her head pointing downwards, making it impossible for her to recall Shuang again!

This spot is no longer where she used to pile up snow!

She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the intense pain.

The pain she had imagined didn't come; instead, she fell into a familiar embrace.

"Zhu Fu?"

Mu Qinghuai asked softly, "Does it hurt?"