63: The Myriad Poisonous Lotus

Facing the "ultimatum" from Hua Jieyu, which was filled with extreme humiliation and the threat of death.

All the female disciples of the Purple Cloud Holy Land who were still standing had their pretty faces flushed red and their delicate bodies trembling with rage!

"Shameless!"

"A bunch of despicable villains who only know how to hide in the shadows and shoot poisoned arrows!"

"If you have the guts, fight us fairly and honorably!"

They drew their swords and adopted defensive stances, their eyes filled with the determination to die rather than surrender!

However.

Hearing this furious reprimand filled with "righteousness."

Hua Jieyu and the hundreds of Hundred Flowers Valley female disciples behind her burst into another round of frantic laughter, full of disdain and pity, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world!

"Giggle, giggle, giggle..."

"Fair and honorable?"

Hua Jieyu laughed so hard her body shook like a swaying branch, and tears nearly came out.

She slowly shook her head, looking at the Purple Cloud Holy Land disciples before her, whom she found ridiculously "naive."

She slowly spoke in a tone full of superiority, as if explaining the "truth of the world" to an "ignorant child":

"My dear sisters."

"Did you perhaps misunderstand something?"

"One-on-one? Fair duel?"

"That's a game only 'idiots' like you, whose brains are filled with muscle, would play."

Her voice suddenly turned cold, filled with a self-evident, cruel logic!

"The creed of our Hundred Flowers Valley is very simple."

She extended her slender, jade-like fingers, painted with bright red nail polish, counting them one by one.

"First, if it can be solved with poison, we absolutely won't resort to fighting."

"Second, if we can gang up, we absolutely won't fight one-on-one."

"Third, if we can use superior numbers, we absolutely won't take any risk of challenging someone above our level."

"Fourth, and most important..."

A malicious, scorpion-like sneer curled up at the corner of her mouth.

"—Only the final victor is qualified to define what the hell 'fairness' means!"

Double standards!

Shameless!

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong!

Yet utterly self-righteous!

This is the true modus operandi of the "Vipers" of the Hundred Flowers Valley!

"So..."

Hua Jieyu looked at the Purple Cloud Holy Land group, who were too enraged by this "twisted logic" to speak, and her smile became even more smug.

"I'll give you three more breaths to consider."

"Will you leave honorably on your own."

"Or..."

Her voice suddenly turned sinister!

"Will we 'help' you leave dishonorably?!"

"Three!"

She began the final death countdown!

Lin Chen still stood in place.

He simply watched the women before him, who were jumping around like clowns.

His face even showed a trace of interest.

As if enjoying a very interesting... circus.

"Two!"

Killing intent was fully exposed in Hua Jieyu's eyes!

The hundreds of Hundred Flowers Valley disciples behind her had already activated their combined attack formation!

Black energy lotuses, filled with deadly poison and the aura of death, slowly bloomed beneath their feet!

A sickeningly sweet fragrance began to permeate the air!

"One!"

When the last number left Hua Jieyu's mouth.

She saw no surrender or pleading.

She only saw the increasingly brilliant smile of "pity" on the face of the man who had always been regarded as a "vase."

"It seems you have chosen... the latter."

A cruel, ferocious grin appeared on Hua Jieyu's face.

"In that case, don't blame us for being vicious and merciless!"

"Junior Sisters! Attack!"

"Hundred Flowers Killing Formation — Myriad! Poisons! Return! To! Heart!"

Boom—!!!

Accompanied by Hua Jieyu's sharp scream filled with cruel delight!

The terrifying killing formation, jointly activated by hundreds of elite Hundred Flowers Valley disciples, instantly revealed its most ferocious fangs!

The Hundred Flowers Killing Formation is the Hundred Flowers Valley's supreme inherited technique! Legend says its founding ancestor comprehended this supreme killing formation from an ancient venomous dragon's lair! Once activated, this formation draws upon the myriad poisonous malevolent energies between heaven and earth, condensing them into the Myriad Poison Demonic Lotus, powerful enough to corrode everything and annihilate souls!

A hundred years ago, a demonic giant at the Early Nascent Soul Stage in the Canglan Dynasty attempted to force his way into the Hundred Flowers Valley mountain gate. The result was that the Valley Mistress, personally leading three hundred Golden Core disciples, used this formation to trap and kill him. In the end, not even a complete skeleton remained; he completely dissolved into a pool of bloody pus!

And at this moment!

That legendary black Demonic Lotus, capable of "slaughtering gods," which blotted out the sky and sun, was slowly blooming above Lin Chen and the others!

A terrifying, colorless, odorless, yet utterly overbearing poisonous gas instantly swept across the entire area like an invisible tide!

"Ah—!"

"My... my spiritual energy... it's dissipating!"

"Oh no! This poisonous gas... it can corrode the soul!"

The female disciples of the Purple Cloud Holy Land with slightly weaker cultivation instantly turned pale and went limp, falling from mid-air like dumplings, merely from inhaling a wisp of the stray poisonous gas!

Although protected by the Qi and Blood Barrier Lin Chen had secretly set up earlier, preventing them from being poisoned and collapsing instantly like the previous dozen people, they had clearly lost all combat ability!

In the crowd.

Xiao Qingxue clenched her silver teeth tightly!

She forcefully activated the Golden Core that her ancestor had just repaired, using pure ice elemental energy to deploy layers of ice shields around her body, struggling to resist the pervasive, terrifying poisonous gas!

Her face was filled with unwillingness and a trace of indescribable... competitive spirit!

She looked at the man not far away who, from beginning to end, stood with his hands behind his back, hadn't even raised a trace of protective Qi, yet was strolling casually through the terrifying poisonous mist as if breathing the freshest air.

Her heart, which had already "submitted," uncontrollably gave rise to an absurd thought.

(I... I want to see!)

(Just how big is the gap between us!)

She actually wanted to compete with Lin Chen!

To see who could last longer within the Hundred Flowers Killing Formation!

However.

Reality was cruel.

In just ten breaths!

The ice shield condensed from her ice elemental energy began to emit cracking sounds under the corrosion of the overbearing poisonous gas, unable to bear the load!

Twenty breaths!

The shield completely shattered! The poisonous gas invaded her body! She felt an excruciating pain, as if her meridians were being chewed by ten thousand ants! Her spiritual energy scattered wildly like a flood breaking through a dam!

Thirty breaths!

"Pfft—!"

She could no longer hold on!

She violently spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with black threads!

Just before she completely lost consciousness, her once immensely proud beautiful eyes looked with deep unwillingness at the figure who remained calm and unscathed.

Then, her vision went dark, and she fell heavily to the ground with a "thud"!

The moment Xiao Qingxue, this former "Goddess," finally collapsed heavily to the ground.

The tightly strung cord in the hearts of all the remaining standing female disciples of the Purple Cloud Holy Land completely... snapped!

It's over!

It's completely over!

Even Senior Sister Xiao Qingxue, the strongest among them, has fallen!

Then what can they... these ordinary disciples who haven't even reached Golden Core do?

Despair!

Endless despair instantly flooded their hearts like the coldest tide!

However!

Right at this darkest, most helpless moment!

They subconsciously and simultaneously cast their final gazes, filled with fear and supplication, toward the very front of the team... the composed figure who had remained motionless from start to finish!

—Lin Chen!

He was like the only lighthouse in the dark night.

Becoming their last and only... hope in this sea of deadly poison!

And at this moment.

This "savior," who carried everyone's hope, did not immediately erupt with world-shaking power to save the masses, as they had imagined.

He merely raised his head quietly.

Looking with calm eyes, full of "curiosity" and "investigation," at the black Demonic Lotus above him, which continuously emitted the aura of death and corrosion.

There was no fear in his eyes.

Not even a trace of solemnity.

Only a kind of... focus, like that of a scholar observing an interesting "experimental specimen."

(An interesting formation.)

Inside Lin Chen's mind, the Moonlight Divine Pupils were already operating at their peak!

In his vision, the entire world shed its superficial appearance, transforming into its fundamental form, composed of the most basic "Qi" and "Principle"!

The hundreds of Hundred Flowers Valley female disciples, who seemed scattered but whose positioning was extremely meticulous, were no longer individuals in his eyes.

The position and spiritual energy circulation of every single person were like... a meticulously drawn stroke on a massive, invisible "talisman paper"!

And everyone connected together formed a living... gigantic talisman filled with negative "Dao Rhymes" such as "poison," "corrosion," and "death"!

(So that's how it is...)

Lin Chen instantly understood!

(The essence of this Hundred Flowers Killing Formation is not merely the superposition of energy.)

(Instead, it is a living Great Killing Talisman drawn using "people" as "ink," "the earth" as "paper," and the "poisonous malevolent energies of heaven and earth" as the "catalyst"!)

(The three hundred and sixty-five disciples are the 'strokes' of this 'talisman,' maintaining the basic structure.)

(And the leader, Hua Jieyu, her unique Hundred Flowers Poison Body is the most critical part of this 'talisman'... the Talisman Eye!)

(She is the one guiding the operation of the entire 'talisman,' twisting everyone's power into a single thread and granting it the attribute of 'poison'!)

Countless pieces of information fiercely collided and deduced within Lin Chen's mind!

In just three breaths!

He had thoroughly analyzed this "Great Killing Talisman," capable of trapping and killing a Nascent Soul expert, from the inside out, from structure to principle!

He even found the smallest yet most fatal... flaws on this "talisman," which arose because the formation setters lacked sufficient cultivation!

(What a pity.)

A trace of genuine "regret" flashed through Lin Chen's heart.

(If these 'strokes' could be replaced by three hundred and sixty-five Nascent Soul experts.)

(Perhaps this 'talisman' could truly draw out a hint of the 'Great Dao of Death.')

(But now...)

In just three breaths!

Lin Chen had already analyzed this "Great Killing Talisman," capable of trapping and killing a Nascent Soul expert, from the inside out!

But he did not immediately make a move.

Because he discovered an even more interesting phenomenon.

(So... that's it.)

A playful arc curved at the corner of his mouth.

Although the structure of this "Great Killing Talisman" was exquisite and its power immense.

Perhaps because the formation setters lacked sufficient cultivation.

Or for some other reason.

The spiritual energy circulation of the entire "talisman" was not as smooth and flawless as he had imagined.

Instead, it appeared somewhat sluggish.

Especially at a few critical spiritual energy transfer "nodes" among the three hundred and sixty-five "strokes."

Whenever the massive poisonous malevolent energy flowed to those spots, there would be an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible, stutter and fluctuation.

(If I haven't guessed wrong...)

Lin Chen's gaze penetrated layers of poisonous mist and illusions, landing precisely on those "nodes."

He saw that although the female disciples responsible for guarding the "nodes" wore expressions of shared hatred against the enemy.

Deep in their eyes, there was a subtle, unmistakable sense of estrangement and disdain toward the other disciples beside them.

Their clothing also had subtle differences from the gorgeous inner disciple robes worn by others.

—They were Outer Disciples.

Lin Chen understood instantly!

(So that's it... internal discord.)

He could instantly visualize the entire "harem drama" scenario.

—In order to give Outer Disciples a chance for "experience," they were forcibly inserted into a killing formation that should have been composed solely of Inner Elite Disciples.

The high-and-mighty Inner Disciples naturally felt discontent and disdain.

The Outer Disciples also harbored resentment and were unwilling to be looked down upon.

This internal conflict, stemming from "class," prevented them from truly achieving "mutual understanding and spiritual energy fusion"!

This was what caused the seemingly small but actually fatal flaw in the operation of the entire "talisman"!

Of course.

Hua Jieyu, as the core of the formation, was naturally well aware of this "truth."

But she didn't care at all.

(A bunch of trash that even Xiao Qingxue couldn't handle.)

She looked at the Purple Cloud Holy Land group struggling in the poisonous mist, a cruel, mocking smile appearing on her face, like a cat toying with a mouse.

(Dealing with you is more than enough even if I only use seventy percent of the power.)

(Furthermore...)

Her gaze finally landed on the man who was still "spacing out."

(...What could an idiot man who doesn't even know how to activate a protective aura possibly see?)

If it were anyone else, they truly might not have seen anything.

Those faint spiritual energy fluctuations had been perfectly concealed by the overwhelming poisonous malevolent energy.

But Lin Chen was different.

Because he possessed the Moonlight Divine Pupils!

In his eyes!

Those "flaws" that Hua Jieyu thought were flawlessly hidden!

Those spiritual energy circulation "stutters" caused by "internal strife"!

Were like fireflies in the dark night!

So clear! Obvious! And fatal!

"Very well."

He finally slowly retracted his gaze, which could "see through falsehood."

He did not erupt with earth-shattering power to forcefully clash with the deadly Demonic Lotus, as everyone had imagined.

There wasn't even a hint of movement.

He simply turned around slowly.

With a calm, almost cold and unquestionable tone, he issued an order that baffled everyone to the Purple Cloud Holy Land female disciples behind him, who had long fallen into despair but still held onto a final shred of hope for him.

"Everyone listen to my command."

"Lin Ziyan, lead thirty Sword Cultivation disciples to form the Purple Heavens Sword Formation and attack the third flower under that crooked-neck tree three hundred meters to your front left!"

"Luo Bingli, lead fifty Magic Cultivation disciples to condense the Heavenly Stellar Thunder Technique and bombard the black rock shaped like a reclining ox seven hundred meters to your rear right!"

"The rest of you divide into three teams..."

A series of commands, precise to the point of being uncanny, were issued methodically from his mouth!

Every target he pointed to seemed utterly unremarkable and had no connection whatsoever to the sky-blotting Hundred Flowers Killing Formation!

"Holy... Holy Son?"

"This... what is this..."

All the Purple Cloud Holy Land female disciples were dumbfounded!

At the critical juncture between life and death, instead of telling them to defend with all their might, he was telling them to attack irrelevant "flowers, plants, and rocks"?!

Wasn't this courting death?!

However!

In the instant they hesitated!

The voice of the man who had been standing with his back to them suddenly became icy cold!

"Execute the command!"

"Or are you saying..."

"You want to lie on the ground and wait for death like Xiao Qingxue?"

Boom!

This sentence was like the coldest current, instantly extinguishing all hesitation and fear in their hearts!

What replaced it was absolute obedience to this "god-like" man!

"Yes!!!"

Daring not to hesitate for another second, they immediately mobilized all their strength according to Lin Chen's commands!

Meanwhile, on the other side.

At the core of the formation.

Hua Jieyu, who was smugly enjoying the death throes of her "prey."

When she heard Lin Chen's series of seemingly "absurd" commands.

A trace of confusion appeared for the first time on her beautiful face, which had been filled with mockery and cruelty.

(Attacking those spots? What is he doing? Is he crazy?)

However!

When she followed the direction Lin Chen pointed and extended her divine sense to investigate!

When she saw that those seemingly "unremarkable" locations were precisely the weakest formation nodes in her Hundred Flowers Killing Formation, guarded by "Outer Disciples"!

Her enchanting, beautiful face instantly drained of all color!

An inexplicable chill uncontrollably shot up from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head!

"Wha... what?!"

"He... he can actually... see through it?!"

A monstrous wave surged in her heart!

(Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! The core of the Hundred Flowers Killing Formation is unpredictable, blending reality and illusion! Even a Nascent Soul Stage Elder trapped inside would never find the formation nodes in such a short time! How... how did he, a man, do it?!)

But she was, after all, the Hundred Flowers Valley's Chief Heaven's Chosen!

Although she was extremely horrified!

Her panic lasted only an instant!

Immediately, an even colder killing intent and ruthlessness surged into her mind!

(So what if he saw through it?!)

(Do you think my formation only has this much variation?!)

(Naive!)

"All disciples listen to my command!"

Her voice was filled with icy determination!

"Change the formation!"

"Hundred Flowers Killing Formation, Second Style—"

"—Flowers! Bloom! On! The! Other! Shore!"

Boom—!!!

Accompanied by her sharp shout!

The entire Hundred Flowers Killing Formation instantly underwent earth-shattering changes!

Those previously fixed "formation nodes" began moving at high speed and chaotically in an instant!

The entire "Great Killing Talisman" seemed to have completely "come alive" at this moment!

Becoming even more bizarre! Even more impeccable!

And the Myriad Poison Demonic Lotus floating above the sky shone brightly!

The poisonous gas it emitted was more than ten times denser than before!