Chapter 195: The Eternal Flower of the Sun
Chapter 195: The Eternal Flower of the Sun
“There are five Immortal Souls here, similar to Xingyun Ridge.”
Lan Xiaozhu remarked, “Five Immortal Souls indeed, but far fewer ordinary souls. Could the environment be the cause?”
Cheng Lingyu nodded slightly. Though this place held barely ten thousand souls in total, its Immortal Souls possessed unique qualities.
The Soul Gathering Valley on Yunjir Ridge housed fewer disciples than other regions—under a hundred—since scarce souls made hunting difficult.
“Let’s scout the area first,” Cheng Lingyu suggested.
The trio pressed deeper, tracking traces of Immortal Souls.
“Elder brother, I sense something odd… like a faint disturbance,” Fang Ruohua murmured.
Cheng Lingyu halted, sharpening his focus, yet detected nothing.
Lan Xiaozhu proposed, “Among the five Immortal Souls lies an Immortal Flower Soul. Should we investigate?”
Cheng Lingyu hesitated. “That’s the Eternal Flower of the Sun. With your current cultivation level, Fang junior sister, subduing it would prove challenging.”
“I still wish to try,” Fang Ruohua insisted.
Cheng Lingyu gave a slight nod. They shifted course, plunging further into Soul Gathering Valley.
An hour later, they reached a valley choked with raging flames. Shadowy figures darted through the inferno.
“At least five others seek it,” Lan Xiaozhu observed. Before she finished speaking, a voice cut through the heat.
“Halt! Identify yourselves!”
A young man in blue, appearing around thirty, materialized from the firestorm to block their path.
“Who are you to obstruct us?” Fang Ruohua demanded.
The man grinned. “Such lovely junior sisters! I stop you out of kindness—the Eternal Flower of the Sun isn’t ordinary. It’s perilous.”
“May we know your name, senior brother?” Lan Xiaozhu inquired softly, her smile honeyed.
“Jin Sangu of Yunjir’s Seventh Palace.”
“Senior Brother Jin,” Lan Xiaozhu pressed, “we seek to merge with this Eternal Flower. Any guidance?”
Jin Sangu scratched his neck. “Truthfully, countless have tried over centuries. None succeeded—not even me at peak of Soul Martial strength. You two, being Soul Martial Fifth Realm cultivators… no hope whatsoever.”
“We’ll know after trying,” Fang Ruohua retorted.
Jin Sangu kept ignoring Cheng Lingyu, who silently studied the valley. Activating his Dreamy Magic Eyes, Cheng Lingyu glimpsed a flaming sunflower rooted in underground fires—ten zhang tall, wreathed in black-gold flames, radiating palpable menace. The Eternal Flower of the Sun.
“Too dangerous for this junior sister,” Jin Sangu warned Fang Ruohua, his smile oozing false charm.
Cheng Lingyu turned to Lan Xiaozhu. “Does Fang junior sister stand a chance?”
Lan Xiaozhu gripped Cheng Lingyu’s left hand and began her divination.
Though the Celestial Cataclysm Divination drained her lifespan, Cheng Lingyu’s help in neutralizing the Backlash Power of the heavenly way made it bearable.
Her body shook faintly as sweat dotted her forehead.
“There’s a way,” she said after opening her eyes, “but it’s unorthodox. We must clear this area first.”
Cheng Lingyu scanned their surroundings. “I’ll handle their removal.”
Fang Ruohua chuckled. “We’ll leave it to you, elder brother.”
Lan Xiaozhu tugged Fang Ruohua closer, murmuring instructions while Cheng Lingyu approached Jin Sangu.
“What’s your game, brat?” Jin Sangu sneered, his courtesy reserved for beautiful women alone.
“You need to leave.” Cheng Lingyu’s voice held steady practicality – this wasn’t about morality, only results.
“You?” Jin Sangu barked a laugh. A peak Soul Martial expert like him wouldn’t bow to some Fourth Realm novice.
Flames erupted beneath Cheng Lingyu’s feet as formations interlaced into a Composite Formation, its defenses snapping into place. Jin Sangu backpedaled, hurling attacks from his treasure artifact – all missing their mark as Cheng Lingyu closed in like a vengeful shadow.
The four other peak Soul Martial disciples watched Jin Sangu’s defensive retreat with scorn.
“Since when do we tiptoe around Fourth Realm whelps?”
“That formation-casting brat’s got claws.”
“Enough yapping!” Jin Sangu roared. “Make him the target – first to floor him wins!”
A burly disciple cracked his knuckles. “Dumb provocation, but I’m bored enough to play.”
Within moments, five experts circled Cheng Lingyu.
“Fools begging for a beating,” Lan Xiaozhu snorted.
“They’ve never faced true power,” Fang Ruohua agreed. “Bullies only know how to prey on weakness.”
As the five attacked in unison, Cheng Lingyu’s formation flared outward, its reach exploding tenfold.
In that moment, five figures fell from mid-air. Before they could even approach within ten paces of Cheng Lingyu, the supergravity field trapped them.
“You’ve got some tricks, kid. Using a formation to create this supergravity field. Think it’ll work?”
Cheng Lingyu shot back, “What do you think?”
As his words lingered, the gravity around him exploded in waves—leaping from a hundredfold to three hundred, five hundred, eight hundred, then twelve hundred times normal. The four surges happened in an eyeblink, but for five peak Soul Martial disciples, it became pure nightmare.
Though useless against souls, the supergravity field’s crushing force on physical bodies grew monstrous with each increase.
At eight hundredfold gravity, the five disciples already lay flattened against the ground, coughing blood, bones creaking near breaking point.
When it hit twelve hundredfold, bone-snapping cracks echoed through their heart-wrenching screams—a truly terrifying sight.
Cheng Lingyu glanced sideways, dialing the gravity back to eight hundred. He had no intention of killing them all.
“Mind leaving now? Any objections?”
“N-none… We’ll go!”
These peak Soul Martial cultivators valued their hard-earned strength too much to throw it away over pride. All five nodded hastily, even Jin Sangu bowing low with terror-stricken face.
As fellow Lou Ri City disciples, Cheng Lingyu avoided extremes. Constant killing bred too many grudges.
After chasing them off, he rejoined the two women.
“Should I withdraw?”
Lan Xiaozhu nodded. “Yes—guard the valley entrance.”
Cheng Lingyu turned to Fang Ruohua with a smile. “Give it your all.”
“Wait for my good news, elder brother!”
Fang Ruohua’s radiant smile lingered as Cheng Lingyu retreated three miles to guard the path.
Guided by Lan Xiaozhu, Fang Ruohua entered the valley of Eternal Flower of the Sun. Flames swallowed her figure whole.
Lan Xiaozhu activated Shadow Transformation, two cave heavens blooming around her. The Cold Crystal Illusion Flower and Blue Crystal Fire Scorpion struck simultaneously.
Valley flames roared skyward, Immortal Soul energies rippling outward through quaking earth. Cheng Lingyu’s formation sealed the entrance, dampening the disturbances.
Half an hour later, the tremors subsided. Cheng Lingyu glanced back, smiling faintly.
“Never thought she’d succeed. That’s Soul Gathering Valley’s second-ranked Immortal Soul…”
A figure burst from the flames. “Elder brother! I did it!”
Fang Ruohua grabbed his hands, vibrating with joy. Lan Xiaozhu hung back, watching with a complicated smile.
Cheng Lingyu grinned. “Knew you could. Merge it fast—charge toward Sixth Layer Soul Martial.”
“Count on me!”
Lan Xiaozhu approached, smiling. “Next stop.”
They raced toward Soul Gathering Valley’s heart.
One hour later, they faced an Abyss oozing ink-black flames—unnatural, wrong.
Red, blue, green flames Cheng Lingyu knew. Black fire? Never.
His Fang Tian Bao Yin quivered. The Nine Nether King Sparrow fluttered eagerly.
Lan Xiaozhu and Fang Ruohua paled. Their Immortal Souls recoiled, screaming to flee whatever lurked below.
“Elder brother… this place…”