237: Chapter 237: You've been tricked

The equinox flower was right before his eyes, within arm's reach.

The golden radiance on the petals shone on his face, feeling warm and cozy, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding eerie green light.

He was in no hurry to pluck the flower.

Because the President of the Wanhua Society had said the equinox flower has five petals, and only one is the true equinox flower.

The other four are Yellow Springs illusions.

If the wrong one is plucked, it will trigger a siege by the Yellow Spring Army.

Xiao Ran crouched down and carefully observed the flower.

The five petals appeared identical in shape, with no discernible difference.

Even the patterns on the golden stamens were exactly the same.

He probed with his Divine Sense, and all five petals emitted the same fluctuations of spiritual power.

"The President was right; it's impossible to distinguish them with Divine Sense alone."

Xiao Ran frowned.

After a moment's thought, he took a ten thousand poison bead from his robes and placed it next to the petals.

The ten thousand poison bead grew slightly warm, and its reaction to the five petals varied.

Three petals elicited no reaction, one emitted a faint poisonous gas, and the last one gave off a warm, gentle aura, like the scent of spring soil.

"This one." Xiao Ran reached out, pinched the petal emitting the warm aura, and gently plucked it.

Upon contact, the petal transformed into a drop of golden liquid and merged into his palm.

A warm surge of spiritual power flowed from his palm into his body, circulating through his Meridians before finally gathering in his Dantian.

The Guixu Vortex in his Dantian became slightly more solid.

"It's real."

Xiao Ran felt a surge of joy and stored the golden liquid in a jade bottle.

The moment he plucked the equinox flower, the Ever-burning Lamps in the hall suddenly went out.

The eerie green light vanished, replaced by total darkness.

Within the eye sockets of the armors, ghost fires suddenly flared up—no longer eerie green, but blood-red.

Boom—!

All the armors moved simultaneously! Long halberds swung, stabbing toward Xiao Ran.

Dozens of attacks surged from all directions, sealing off all his paths of retreat.

"Shit! Didn't they say it would only trigger if I picked the wrong one?"

Xiao Ran didn't have time to think. He drew his sword to parry.

Clang, clang, clang—!

Sword and halberds collided, sending sparks flying.

The combat strength of these armors far exceeded his expectations; every strike possessed the power of a Soul Transformation expert.

Moreover, they were tireless and could not be wounded.

If a halberd was cut in two, they immediately picked up a new one from the ground.

Xiao Ran fought while retreating, attempting to exit the hall.

But the armors gave him no chance, surrounding him completely with wave after wave of relentless attacks.

"I need to find a way."

Xiao Ran gritted his teeth, his Guixu Vortex spinning frantically, devouring and transforming the shockwaves of the surrounding attacks to replenish his consumed spiritual power.

Suddenly.

He noticed that the movement of these armors depended on the runic formation on the floor.

Every time they took a step, the runes beneath their feet would light up.

Every time they attacked, the runes would flash.

The center of the formation was that well.

"So, the power source is that well?"

Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes and looked toward the mouth of the well.

The eerie green mist was still churning, but more violently than before.

There were even more faces in the mist now; some were roaring, some were weeping, and some were laughing maniacally.

Their gazes were all fixed on Xiao Ran, filled with hatred.

Xiao Ran took a deep breath, kicked away several suits of armor in front of him, and charged toward the well.

The armors pursued him frantically, their halberds stabbing at his back.

He neither dodged nor avoided them, letting the halberds strike his body.

The Guixu Body devoured a portion of the damage, but the remainder still made him grimace in pain.

Reaching the edge of the well, Xiao Ran slammed a palm toward its mouth.

The Guixu Vortex erupted, as a grey-black vortex formed a massive black hole above the well, frantically devouring the eerie green mist.

The faces in the mist let out shrill roars, struggling to escape the black hole, only to be sucked into the vortex.

As the mist diminished, the movements of the armors grew slower and slower.

Some armors lost their power and stood motionless where they were.

Some armors fell to the ground after taking a single step.

Others froze mid-air with their halberds half-raised.

"It's working!" Xiao Ran was overjoyed and increased his output.

The vortex grew larger, and the speed of devouring increased.

The mist was drained dry; the faces let out a final roar before vanishing.

Only an empty stone pit remained in the well, with nothing left inside.

All the armors in the hall ceased their movements, scattering on the ground like heaps of scrap metal.

Xiao Ran retracted the vortex and slumped onto the floor, gasping for breath.

Most of his spiritual power was spent, and the clothes on his back were shredded by the halberds, revealing black and blue bruises beneath.

He pulled out a few Medicinal Pills and stuffed them into his mouth, mocking himself as he chewed.

"President, oh President, you didn't mention that the traps would trigger even if I picked correctly. Had I known, I would have asked for more payment."

After resting for a while and recovering some spiritual power, Xiao Ran stood up.

He walked to the edge of the well and peered down.

The stone pit was deep, its bottom invisible, but he could feel a cold wind blowing up from below.

The wind carried a strange scent—not of rust, nor of blood, but... the smell of soil?

"Is there something else down there?"

Xiao Ran frowned but had no intention of going down to investigate.

His mission was to retrieve the equinox flower, not to explore the old lair of Venerable Huangquan.

The equinox flower was already in his possession; there was no need to cause unnecessary complications.

As for what lay below, it wouldn't be too late to return once his cultivation was higher.

He turned, preparing to leave.

Just then, his Divine Sense suddenly sensed something—deep within the hall, behind the rows of armor, something was faintly glowing.

Xiao Ran walked over, brushed aside the scattered armor, and found a stone tablet.

The tablet wasn't large, only three feet high and two feet wide, with several lines of text carved upon it.

The handwriting was blurred but still barely decipherable.

"I am Venerable Huangquan. I have cultivated the Dao for five thousand years and slain countless demons."

"My life's slaughter was too heavy; only in my later years did I realize the Dao and understand that life, death, and Reincarnation are all Karma."

"The equinox flower is born in the Yellow Springs and exists between Yin and Yang."

"He who obtains it can cleanse his Divine Soul and purify his spiritual power."

"But remember this—after taking the flower, one must leave the Yellow Springs Hall quickly and must not linger."

"My remnant soul has guarded the flower for three thousand years and is now about to dissipate. If a successor is fated to obtain the flower, do not forget to slay demons and eliminate devils in my stead."

"Final words of Huangquan."

Xiao Ran fell silent for a moment after reading.

"Three thousand years... Venerable Huangquan fell ten thousand years ago, yet his remnant soul guarded the flower for three thousand years before dissipating."

The obsession of a Body Integration Stage Peak expert was truly terrifying.

He bowed to the stone tablet and turned toward the hall's exit.

Leaving the hall, the outside light made him squint.

The dark red halo was still there, but much fainter than before.

The mist on the Ancient Battlefield had also thinned considerably, and the outlines of distant mountains were vaguely visible.

Xiao Ran took a deep breath, feeling much lighter overall.

Regardless, the equinox flower was in hand; the mission was half-complete.

Through the Soul Link, Li Changsheng's voice came through.

"Xiao Ran, how are things on your end? Did you get the equinox flower?"

Xiao Ran replied while walking out.

"Got it. I was almost chopped into mincemeat by a bunch of armors."

Li Changsheng was stunned upon hearing this.

Then, he turned pale with shock.

"Impossible."

"Xiao Ran, you just clearly told me you were preparing to go deep into the well to retrieve the flower."

"The equinox flower is a phantom!"

"You've been deceived."