Chapter 124: Gu Qingcheng’s Flower Burial (Third Update)

Ye Wenxin was even more dumbfounded as she heard this, Zhao Teddy’s words had completely blocked off her escape route. If she were to use Ye Liangchen’s identity again, even if she was somewhat acquainted with Qian Bingxue, she would definitely be suspected.

Head Senior Sister Qian Bingxue was no stranger at all to this name Ye Liangchen, yet she was still very doubtful. Last night, she had also seen through Ye Wenxin’s identity, but it was Master’s instructions at the beginning, something about ‘That girl can change Shura Hall’s fate, don’t keep her from doing anything,’ that made Qian Bingxue so tolerant towards Ye Wenxin.

But upon hearing the words coming out of Zhao Teddy’s mouth, although Qian Bingxue was dubious, she still came with the mentality of finding Ye Wenxin; how could she have known such a disastrous demonic beast was sealed in this backwoods’ forbidden area?

If this demonic beast ran loose from the backwoods, it would certainly upend the world.

Head Senior Sister Qian Bingxue panicked a little, not to mention the younger Shura Hall disciples.

“You lecher! You led us to this calamitous road on purpose!” someone cursed after realizing Zhao Teddy’s evil thoughts.

Zhao Teddy felt no guilt at this, “Human beings will die for riches, just as birds will for food¹. Big Brother Serpent, I’ve brought people, can you let me live now?” Zhao Teddy reminded the hydra ingratiatingly. The hydra narrowed its eyes and replied with a laugh, “Not bad, not bad, from now on you’re our useless fool. There are still too few people, go and bring some more.”

The hydra nodded its heads, gratified, yet did not have the intention of releasing Zhao Teddy.

Zhao Teddy’s face turned blue, but he still bobbed his head compliantly and flattered the hydra again, “Well, Big Brother Serpent, can you wait a bit longer before eating them? I still haven’t tasted a woman…”

Zhao Teddy tried to bargain with the hydra, he was even more tempted especially after seeing the incomparably beautiful yet aloof Qian Bingxue.

At this moment, let alone the other sisters, even Qian Bingxue was incensed.

“A scholar would rather die than be humiliated!” Saying this, they went up and confronted the hydra.

The disciple at the front was the most misfortunate, she barely got half a step closer before her head was bitten off by a hydra head. When the hydra head pulled back, the disciple’s head was already missing, traces of blood covered the clothes she wore, dying them red.

The other disciples were provoked to the point of frenzy. Qian Bingxue transformed the long sword in her hand into a long whip, her chilling aura instantly flooding the entire main hall.

The sky began to show faint signs of anomalies, Qian Bingxue had forcibly broken through in her cultivation. Be that as it may, in the face of a thousand-year-old demonic beast, such a small breakthrough could not change the situation.

The hydra was also a playful beast, seeing that there were some delicately pretty female cultivators standing to its opposite, it wantonly teased, biting off an arm here and then a leg there, letting them feel the despair of being dominated.

There were no large waves in Ye Wenxin’s heart as she watched. On one hand, she was numbed to murder, on the other, she bore no great sentiment towards Qian Bingxue. She did not want to act rashly, because once she made a move, she could only use Flower Burial.

Shura Hall was full of enmity when it came to the Demon Lord, no matter what, Ye Wenxin had no reason to save Shura Hall. Ye Wenxin admonished herself thusly, reminding herself not to be impulsive……

Within ten strokes, everyone had laid down their weapons and surrendered, except for Head Senior Sister Qian Bingxue barely holding on, the others were all missing limbs, yet they still stubbornly wanted to fight the hydra.

The hydra felt very bored, thinking that this brand of torture was not in line with its identity as the most evil demonic beast.

The lackey Zhao Teddy immediately moved closer, solicitously telling the hydra his idea.

“This group of female cultivators all practice the art of draining², it would be too cheap to let them die so quickly, how about…you let me…” Zhao Teddy tittered, not forgetting to try fighting for his benefits.

Those female cultivators’ faces changed drastically as they listened. Though they practiced dual cultivation, they were still decent young women. Besides a few disciples who practiced human furnace cultivation techniques, it was mostly consensual. Now, seeing Zhao Teddy’s appearance, those disciples could not bear it any longer.

“I’d rather die!” said one of the female cultivators, directly slitting her throat without hesitation.

Zhao Teddy looked somewhat regretful for a moment, but then he laughed, “Picking up corpses is also good…”

That statement went beyond madness. The disciples looked at each other, unsure if they were dealing with a human or a beast. Even Ye Wenxin, who knew Zhao Teddy’s character, could not believe that he could stoop so low.

But for some reason, Ye Wenxin felt that Zhao Teddy’s words were deliberate, as if he wanted to provoke someone.

Ye Wenxin could not find any flaws in her concealment technique. She activated her Divine Sense again and sensed two figures nearby.

Could it be Liu Yansheng and Xi Mengxuan?

Ye Wenxin reached a conclusion. If there were no problems with her concealment technique, then someone must have been exposed.

While Ye Wenxin was contemplating, Head Senior Sister Qian Bingxue struggled to stand back up. She was the least injured among them, but her injuries were still severe. Qian Bingxue’s cold eyes carried a hint of determination as she looked at the disciples on the ground and spat out with a suppressed voice.

“Either fight or die!”

As if inspired by these words, the disciples on the ground all stood up, their eyes resolute, each of them determined to die.

Although they were not righteous cultivators or great heroes, they did not fear death. Ye Wenxin felt compassion, not for Zhao Teddy compromising for the sake of survival, but for the women’s courage in facing death.

It was this bravery that made Ye Wenxin willing to intervene.

She was no saint, and she had committed many immoral deeds, but in this world, she only admired those who were unafraid of death. Only those who faced death without fear could truly become exceptional.

“Head Senior Sister, how can you leave me out of a fight like this?” And it was with this sentence that Third Senior Sister Liu Yansheng, who had been hiding, finally came out.

She looked somewhat battered, with wounds from various fights visible on her body. Her tail and ears were exposed, perhaps because her injuries were too severe for her to hide her demonic features.

Yet, in her eyes, there was the same willingness to face death as Head Senior Sister Qian Bingxue.

Xi Mengxuan next to her, on the other hand, looked clean and neat, but her eyes were filled with resignation, as if she had experienced something with Liu Yansheng during the time unbeknownst to Ye Wenxin.

Regardless, they charged forward again, determined not to be humiliated even if it meant facing death. However, their cultivation was too low, and they were easily repelled.

Everyone was pushed back by inertia, expecting to hit the wall but finding themselves instead cushioned by something soft. They looked and saw that huge red flowers had grown in the hall, enveloping each person’s body.

The red flowers bloomed gorgeously, exuding beauty.

“Are these Red Spider Lilies?” Liu Yansheng was momentarily stunned, then recognized the name of the flower. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she shuddered.

Red Spider Lily, also called Higanbana, was believed to bloom only on the banks of the Sanzu River, a guide to the other side of the River of Forgetfulness.

Higanbana, splendidly red like blood, covered the road to hell. It had no leaves and was the only flower in the underworld. Thus, it carried ominous connotations of death and separation, often used in funerals and known as the flower of death.

And anyone with a bit of knowledge would know that when the Higanbana bloomed, the road to the underworld was opened.

“Flower Burial.” Immediately, someone uttered these four words, sending shivers down everyone’s spine.

Flower Burial was one of Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng’s famed techniques. Using blood as a catalyst to make flowers bloom, and after killing someone, flowers would blossom from the corpse, hence the name Flower Burial.

This Flower Burial was extremely sinister and not everyone could practice it. But if Flower Burial had appeared, it meant that person was also here.

“What are you afraid of?” The hydra, having been sealed away for so long, naturally did not know about Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng, but upon hearing the name ‘Flower Burial’, some long-forgotten memories seemed to resurface.

The hydra felt a touch of fear. It remembered a long, long time ago when it had witnessed the blooming of these flowers, and after that, it fell into a deep slumber.

Now, with these flowers reappearing just as the seals were broken, the hydra’s fear was no less than that of anyone present.

Zhao Teddy also seemed uneasy. As a person from the Martial World, he understood very well what Flower Burial entailed. But why did everything happen so coincidentally?

At this moment, hearts were in chaos, swaying like duckweeds. Ye Wenxin had long since reverted to her original form, standing there for a moment, but everyone was too immersed in fear to notice her presence.

Ye Wenxin felt a bit awkward. She had intended to handle this matter in a low-key manner, but in the end, she had to reluctantly dispel the seal on her cultivation and fully unleash her aura.

“Are you all looking for me?” Ye Wenxin spoke, but her first sentence came out with a bit of a choke because she was not used to speaking up.

At this moment, everyone noticed Ye Wenxin indolently leaning on the high platform, her eyes half-closed. She wore red robes with her black hair cascading down, adorned with no jewelry or accessories.

She was beautiful and beguiling, truly living up to the name Qingcheng (gorgeous). However, her gaze was cold, and with just a casual glance, everyone did not dare to meet her eyes, inexplicably evoking a sense of reverence and fear.

No one dared to show any disrespect. With every move and smile, she seemed to rule over the world.

This was none other than Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng, whose cultivation had become even more exquisite after breaking through to the Tribulation stage. For a moment, even the extremely arrogant hydra did not dare to speak.

The awkward atmosphere lingered until Head Senior Sister Qian Bingxue reacted and continued, “May I ask who the Senior is?” Ye Wenxin smiled approvingly, suddenly finding this Head Senior Sister Qian Bingxue somewhat intriguing.

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Footnotes:

1. – (Idiom) fig. man will do anything in his means to become rich ↩︎
2. 
   – Written as caibu, meaning plucking to nurture, usually without consent. Similar to how a succubus drain their victims life force ↩︎