Chapter 266: Mirror Flower, Water Moon
Chapter 266: Mirror Flower, Water Moon
“Then stay trapped here until you finally offer yourself to me.”
Shui Yingyue asked in surprise, “You won’t kill me?”
The blood shadow answered, “My duty is guarding this checkpoint. I won’t kill unless you willingly sacrifice.”
Shui Yingyue frowned, “Why such rules?”
“For those who come later. If you fail this trial, so will they. Then you must fight each other—the winner sacrifices the loser’s corpse to proceed.”
The words sounded thoughtful but hid malice, forcing brothers to betray and lovers to part.
Imagine two trapped souls with no escape. Survival demands killing the other for sacrifice—how brutal!
Strangers might battle freely, but what of brothers, lovers, or spouses?
Shui Yingyue snapped, “A vile rule. Who created it?”
“The master of the blood lake.”
“Where is he?”
“You’re unworthy to ask.”
Shui Yingyue snorted and strode toward the blood shadow. Her mirror whirled, shooting golden beams that pierced the void and tore the sky.
The blood shadow dodged swiftly, apparently aware the magical artifact was dangerous.
Shui Yingyue advanced calmly, ignoring attacks as her mirror’s defense left it helpless.
Cheng Lingyu watched and exclaimed, “Incredible treasure!”
Hu Yuer said, “That’s the Water Moon Fairy’s Mirror Flower, Water Moon—a Holy Artifact.”
Cheng Lingyu had sensed the mirror’s power but not known its name.
“Mirror Flower, Water Moon… an ill-omened name implying emptiness.”
His brow furrowed, uneasy about Shui Yingyue wielding such a Holy Artifact.
Hu Yuer chuckled, “It’s still a Holy Artifact. You’d covet it if you could.”
Nearby, three Heavenly Palace experts and four other cultivators watched intently with mixed expressions.
The stone pillars in the blood lake were eerie—those standing on them saw differently than spectators by the lake.
The platform seemed vast atop the pillar, but the nine observers ashore saw no such illusion.
As Shui Yingyue pressed onward, the blood shadow yielded, letting her pass.
Seeing this, Ye Anlan and Yunxiu swiftly moved, inspiring others to follow.
Shui Yingyue soon reached the second stone pillar, guarded by a stronger blood shadow.
“Using artifacts to clear trials works! Go now!”
A cultivator dashed toward the first pillar, becoming the second challenger after Shui Yingyue.
None who entered the blood lake were weak—boasting either high cultivation or secret treasures. Soon, the man succeeded.
Watching this, the remaining cultivators grew impatient, scrambling toward the pillars.
Cheng Lingyu remained unfazed, watching quietly without urgency.
Yu Feilong glanced at him and sneered, “Kid, with your low cultivation level, all you can do is watch. Why embarrass yourself here?”
Cheng Lingyu replied flatly, “I came to see if you’d die here.”
Yu Feilong roared with laughter. “I’ll outlive you by centuries! Keep watching then.”
He leapt upward, joining Hua Yuehong and Li Moru in flying toward the first stone pillar.
Hu Yuer eyed Cheng Lingyu. “Really not worried at all?”
Cheng Lingyu chuckled. “Why rush? They say slow birds fly first. Let’s see how these slowpokes fare.”
His words carried sharply to Yu Feilong’s ears, provoking an angry roar.
Hu Yuer giggled. “You’re meaner than I thought.”
The island at the center of the lake lay too far for direct flight, requiring jumps between stone pillars. Eighteen pillars spanned dozens of meters each, forming a path across the blood lake.
Shui Yingyue led the group, having already cleared five pillars and now battling on the sixth. Each pillar’s blood shadow guardian grew fiercer, demanding more time and energy to overcome.
Ye Anlan and Yunxiu stood together on the fifth pillar, where challenges remained manageable.
Cheng Lingyu observed the scene, piecing together details. “They’re all at least Blood Martial Third Level, some reaching fifth level. My cultivation’s nowhere close.”
Hu Yuer snorted. “Since when did Mr. Arrogance grow humble?”
Cheng Lingyu grimaced. “Can’t even charm a little girl. Pathetic.” He shot her a pointed look.
Hu Yuer smirked. “Stop fishing. If circumstances were different, I might’ve fallen for your tricks.”
“Ah, so I am charming after all.”
“Keep gloating and I’ll toss you into the blood lake.” Her pout curved seductively, every gesture dripping temptation.
“You absolute vixen…”
“Flatterer.” She preened.
“Whoever marries you…”
“Would be blessed! Care to volunteer?” She batted her eyelashes like a smitten maiden.
Cheng Lingyu sighed. Trading barbs with this fox-spirit never ended well. Their playful bickering felt more like flirting than fighting.
Meanwhile, pillars across the blood lake pulsed with harsh light. Of twenty-eight cultivators, only Cheng Lingyu and Hu Yuer remained ashore while others occupied various stone columns.
Each stone pillar’s trial was fair. If one person challenged it, only one blood shadow appeared.
If two people entered, two blood shadows emerged.
With three participants, three blood shadows arose, allowing one-on-one or group battles—the difficulty remained unchanged.
“Eighteen pillars, eighteen trials; eighteen hells of blood entangle. Smiling blood faces devour the world, the blood lake mirrors the moon over the wilds.”
Cheng Lingyu felt both curiosity and wariness toward the blood lake.
Hu Yuer sighed softly, “Of the twenty-eight who came, how many will leave?”
Cheng Lingyu stayed silent. The lake felt strange—dangerous yet alluring.
Three blood rivers cascaded from above like crimson ribbons, their deafening noise echoing as they poured endlessly into the lake, yet its level never rose.
Amid the blood water floated bones and spirit artifacts, along with an invisible presence detectable only by the Destruction of Space Divine Thought Wave.
“What’s that?”
Protected by the scroll shielding him from blood energy, Cheng Lingyu focused on analyzing the lake’s surroundings.
“What’s on your mind?” Hu Yuer asked, watching cultivators on the lake’s surface.
“If the blood water corrodes everything, why hasn’t this place dissolved?”
Hu Yuer chuckled. “Corroding everything’s an exaggeration. Everything has its counterbalance. If soil eroded, where would the blood pool?”
“Then why does it corrode so fiercely?”
“Simple. This blood water resembles the essence of blood from a fifth-level Blood Martial cultivator—toxic and corrosive enough to decay Life, divine weapons, and magical artifacts. It’s even deadlier, mixed with some vile substance.”
Cheng Lingyu nodded. As a Soul Martial Sixth Realm cultivator, he’d overlooked this. The blood’s toxicity dissolved matter, rotted artifacts, and crumbled bones. Could this poison be harnessed?
Light shimmered around him as he activated the technique of origins and Destruction of Space Divine Thought Wave, probing the environment—sand, soil, blood water, mist, waterfalls. Was there something here he could control?
His thoughts pulsed rapidly, shifting size, direction, and frequency thousands of times instantly. Though invisible, these variations helped him scan the area.
Adjusting his thoughts’ rhythm and shape, he detected something chaotic between the soil and blood—formless, shifting. Beyond the blood’s corrosive energy lurked something stranger: an eerie force blended with the earth’s minerals, forming a new energy over time.
Guided by the Nine Ring Star Vortex, Cheng Lingyu combined Formation Martial Arts, the technique of origins, Dreamy Magic Eyes, and the mysterious grass’s power. After countless analyses, he identified it—blood soul energy.