At the break of dawn, Zhaohua Palace welcomed not the rising sun, but a massive thunderbolt descending from the heavens. The lightning tore through the darkness before dawn, illuminating the entire palace as if it were daylight.
The thunderbolt struck the palace atop the suspended waterfall, and serpentine lightning snaked along the vines entwining the structure. Deep within the vines, Jiang Xi broke free from the tendrils coiled around her, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Her skin was pierced by the vine roots, and the lightning spread through them into her meridians, scorching her body with red lightning marks.
"Bitch, how dare you betray me," Jiang Xi cursed, thrusting a talisman into the Vine Demon's forehead, causing the spirit to lose its human form and collapse into a writhing mass of vines on the ground.
The activated Lightning-Attracting Talisman dissipated into the air, summoning thunderclouds that pressed heavily on the palace roof. One after another, lightning strikes tore through the dome.
The lightning reached a withered spiritual tree, splitting its trunk in half, and a blazing fire erupted from its core, quickly spreading to the vines wrapped around its base.
The Vine Demon screamed in agony as the flames consumed it, and the entire palace's vines writhed in pain. The fire spread rapidly, engulfing the front hall in a sea of flames.
Jiang Xi didn't spare it a glance, turning and stumbling towards the back hall, leaving a trail of blood like crimson plum blossoms on the ground.
The Vine Demon's sudden surge of power had caught Jiang Xi off guard, and its backlash had led to her own injury, causing her dantian to rupture.
But she couldn't afford to worry about her own wounds now. She continuously used talismans to dispel the lightning and flames until she reached the back hall, where she found it untouched by the Vine Demon and the thunderbolt. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief.
The thunder above had not yet subsided. She formed a seal with her fingers, and several talismans flew out from her sleeve, encircling the entire back hall and forming a barrier that enveloped the building.
Her dantian ruptured, and using her spiritual energy made her stagger, causing her to spit out another mouthful of blood.
Jiang Xi didn't look back at the inferno behind her. She took a handkerchief, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and brushed away the bloodstains on her skirt, cleansing herself of the scent of blood before slowly entering the back hall.
She gently closed the door, blocking out the lightning and flames, and lowered the heavy curtains, completely shielding the flickering light. The room was silent, filled with a faint fragrance, and a graceful orchid bloomed on the table.
Inside, the canopy bed's gauzy curtains swayed slightly, revealing the serene figure of Jiang Rao sleeping peacefully within.
Jiang Xi lifted the bed curtain and sat by the bed, gently stroking the sleeping girl's stray hairs, murmuring, "Rao'er, I'm glad you're safe."
Feeling her weakening breath, Jiang Xi's eyes welled up with tears. She leaned down and infused another surge of spiritual energy into her, forcibly maintaining her last vestige of life.
To care for Jiang Rao, Jiang Xi had not left Zhaohua Palace for ten years, rarely stepping out of Floating Flower Hall. Every seven days, she had to infuse spiritual energy to sustain her life. Once a half-step Unity-stage cultivator, Jiang Xi's cultivation had steadily declined due to this, now barely maintaining the early Nascent Soul stage.
After infusing spiritual energy, Jiang Xi's face grew even paler. She suppressed the metallic taste in her throat and said, "Rao'er, hold on a little longer, just a few more days. Mother has everything prepared. Once I get the Reincarnation Lotus seed, it will bloom soon, and you can be my daughter again."
She had been too muddled before. She should have brought the lotus seed back to Zhaohua Palace when she found it. If she had used her golden core to nurture it, the lotus would have bloomed faster, matured sooner. If so, her Rao'er would have already been reborn, and she might be holding her little hand, teaching her to recognize the flowers in Zhaohua Palace.
But at that time, Jiang Xi was concerned that her golden core would contaminate the Reincarnation Lotus and feared that Jiang Rao would learn of the human life sacrificed for her rebirth. She knew her daughter's nature; if she found out, Jiang Rao would surely develop a heart barrier, feeling guilty for life.
Jiang Xi never imagined that such a mishap would occur just before the lotus matured.
Jiang Rao's body could no longer endure another ten years, even if Jiang Xi poured all her spiritual energy into her, it would not prolong her life much longer. She had no other options now.
After confirming Jiang Rao's condition, Jiang Xi lowered the bed curtain and stepped out.
The thunder ceased, and the fire in the front hall was extinguished by Zhaohua Palace disciples who had arrived. A message talisman flew to her, and Jiang Xi waved it away. Shen Qingzhi's voice came from the other end, asking, "Master, did something happen outside? Is Rao'er alright?"
"She's fine," Jiang Xi replied, not mentioning her own injuries. "The Vine Demon brought this upon herself, attracting the heavenly lightning and fire. She wasn't a match for that demon, and Xue Chenjing escaped again."
Shen Qingzhi said, "Master, should I go personally..."
Jiang Xi interrupted him, "No need. He should be heading to the Sunken Flower Sea. Don't stop him. Lead the Immortal Alliance out first, and seal the seventh layer of the secret realm after he enters. If the Vine Demon can't kill him, let his master do it."
Shen Qingzhi pondered, "Yu Yi possesses the Heart Sword, her will is firm; the Sunken Flower Sea water may not be able to confuse her."
Jiang Xi chuckled softly, "Qingzhi, the Sunken Flower Sea water has the power to bewilder the mind and attracts so many spirits because of the Evil Desire Pearl sealed at the bottom. That pearl is said to be the evil desire fire cut down by a divine general of the Ji family, extremely impure. No one can resist that pearl."
"Her Heart Sword may be formidable, but she's still just a golden core cultivator. If the lake water can't confuse her, I'll find a way to shove the Evil Desire Pearl into her mouth."
After their discussion, Jiang Xi waved away the message talisman and sat cross-legged, sending a wisp of her consciousness into the depths of the Sunken Flower Sea.
Though injured, she had once been a half-step Unity cultivator, her consciousness incredibly strong. This allowed her to suppress the spirits in the Sunken Flower Sea.
Jiang Xi had left a fragment of her spirit in the Sunken Flower Sea, and with a single thought, she could return to the bottom.
As for Yu Yi, after being sucked into the whirlpool at the bottom of the lake, she fell into the deep fissure, landing in the lair of the spirits.
The terrain here was similar to what her master had depicted in his scroll: a submerged cavern, deep and dark, with only the crack above letting in a faint light.
The surrounding rocks were jagged, riddled with countless crevices and caves, teeming with unknown creatures.
As soon as Yu Yi landed, the creatures in the darkness were awakened. Red lights spread around her like lit candles, eventually covering the entire area, making one's scalp tingle.
A shadow cut through the water and rushed towards her. Yu Yi swung her sword to cut it down, only to realize that the red lights were the eyes of the spirits in the depths.
The crack above was soon covered by the spirits' shadows, and the last bit of light disappeared. The only remaining light source in this spirit lair was the blood-red eyes and her own Swimming Fish Robe.
The robe's light was too conspicuous here, making her a clear target. Yu Yi darted into a cave, quickly removing the robe.
The spirit lurking in the cave had just locked eyes with her when the robe was thrown over it, tying it up. The creature, illuminated by the light, revealed its true form: a human-faced, fanged monster with frog-like limbs and coral-like spikes on its back, quite deformed.
Yu Yi tied the robe tightly around it and kicked it out of the cave with all her might.
The monster, enraged, turned to bite the intruder, but as soon as it was kicked out, it was engulfed by the swarm of spirits.
Unhuman screams echoed through the water. Yu Yi held her breath and crawled out of the other side of the cave. Though not a skilled swimmer, she could navigate the uneven rocks. As a cultivator, she could circulate her spiritual energy to hold her breath for a long time.
However, it would be best to finish this quickly. Yu Yi took advantage of the distraction caused by the Swimming Fish Robe to swiftly swim deeper into the lair of the wraiths.
There were too many wraiths underwater, and she still encountered some of them. Yu Yi retracted the glow of her sword and silently dealt with them. She killed a creature resembling a seaweed, suppressing her disgust to wrap its corpse around her waist to mask her scent.
This trick worked and deceived some of the wraiths. She mingled among them, fighting and moving forward.
The underwater cave was vast and labyrinthine, with numerous layers of rock formations, resembling a maze. She had been sucked into this place by a whirlpool and had not entered according to the route on her master's map, so she had no idea where she was.
Yu Yi wandered aimlessly for an unknown amount of time before accidentally finding her way deeper into the lair.
The item the Xian Alliance sought was a piece of Ten Thousand Year Sunken Yin Wood. In the depths of the Sunken Yin Wood Forest, there was a grove of Sunken Yin Wood, and all Yu Yi needed to do was enter the forest and dig out a piece.
However, that place was the main base of the wraiths. As the saying goes, where there are people, there is the jianghu (a metaphor for the world of martial arts and intrigue). These wraiths were even more so; they gathered together, fought each other, and devoured each other to establish a hierarchy.
According to the scroll drawn by her master, there was an underwater palace within the Sunken Yin Wood Forest, where the Ghost King resided.
Before coming, Zhang Zai had warned her that she only needed to dig out a piece of Sunken Yin Wood from the outermost part of the forest and not to venture into the wraith palace and disturb the Ghost King.
Yu Yi saw the Sunken Yin Wood Forest. Here, it was not as dark as outside; a strange green light floated on the water, outlining the contours of the trees, making it look like the underworld, eerie and terrifying.
The wraiths outside no longer dared to follow her in, but it was evident that the monsters inside were much stronger and had a strong sense of territory.
Yu Yi was extremely cautious. She cut off the seaweed-like creature around her waist; its scent was no longer useful, and too weak a scent might attract wraiths that wanted to devour it.
The closer she got to the Sunken Yin Wood Forest, the more enormous the trees appeared, standing like palace pillars in the water. She chose one on the outer edge that looked slightly smaller and slowly approached it.
Something touched her in the water. Yu Yi paused and looked down to see a thin, blood-red rope-like object, like a writhing snake, just inches from her hand, which had already bled where it was touched.
She retreated alertly, and the ripples in the water spread her blood. Another one lit up to her right, then a second, a third. In an instant, countless long, writhing blood-red tendrils lit up around Yu Yi, like lanterns.
These tendrils floated around her in all directions, their ends converging at one point, attached to the Sunken Yin Wood, like a blooming flower of the underworld, with her now at the center surrounded by its petals.
Yu Yi gripped her sword tightly and slashed at the blood-red tendrils, trying to break free.
A pair of eyes lit up deep within the bud, and then, all the dense red tendrils around her surged towards her. Any slight touch would scrape a fresh wound on her skin.
The scent of blood spread, and the tendrils became even more frenzied. Yu Yi enveloped herself in sword energy, cutting through several tendrils in a row, but they seemed endless. She was in a very passive position, almost trapped inside the bud of the flower of the underworld, which was closing in, twisting the tendrils together to devour her completely.
At that moment, a burst of talisman light shot in from outside, exploding with a loud boom upon contact with the tendrils. The shockwave caused the closing bud to reopen, and a hand reached through the water to grab her wrist, pulling her out.
Yu Yi opened her eyes and, through the scattered tendrils, saw a familiar face.
Xue Chenjing? Why was he here?
"Follow me," Xue Chenjing transmitted his voice into her ear, gripping her wrist tightly and pulling her forward.
Yu Yi glanced at the direction he was swimming towards and immediately struck his wrist with a palm, breaking free from his grasp, alertly saying, "I'm not going in."
The commotion here had already alerted the monsters in the Sunken Yin Wood Forest. The water around them suddenly became murky, and behind the eerie trees, there was a terrifying stir and low growls.
Xue Chenjing turned back and smiled, "You have to go in whether you want to or not."
With that, he pushed his hand forward, and the water ripples from his palm stretched into a circular arc, instantly condensing into a talisman array that shot straight towards Yu Yi.
Yu Yi raised her sword to cut through it, but the water array did not break after being struck by her sword; instead, it grew larger and finally formed a whirlpool that sucked Yu Yi in.
Before the water calmed, Yu Yi heard his voice from outside, saying, "Master, I'm sending you to a place you'll like."
