Chapter 99: Hellish Red Lotus
Chapter 99: Hellish Red Lotus
“There were quite a few cultivators here, all at the Soul Martial Realm. This place seemed busier than I’d imagined.”
Caiyun scanned her surroundings, a faint smile curling her lips.
Lan Xiaozhu murmured, “Let’s separate here. Stay alert outside—I suspect many experts are lying in wait.”
Cheng Lingyu gazed at Caiyun, reluctance evident in his eyes.
“Take care, Senior Sister. I’ll return quickly.”
Caiyun laughed lightly. “Don’t fret over me. Just ensure you don’t come back empty-handed. Go.”
They parted ways. Cheng Lingyu and Lan Xiaozhu disguised themselves, becoming unrecognizable to nearby cultivators.
Approaching Guishun Valley, Cheng Lingyu counted nearly a hundred cultivators clustered in small groups, none rushing to enter.
“Most aren’t from Yunyang City,” Lan Xiaozhu observed quietly.
Cheng Lingyu approached an isolated cultivator. “Why isn’t anyone entering?”
The cultivator eyed him. “Strange changes occurred here recently. People wait outside to get a general sense of the direction.”
“Does entering make orientation impossible?”
“First-timer, eh? Guishun Valley’s deceptive—small-looking but spanning thousands of miles. Over five thousand cultivators roam inside now.”
Cheng Lingyu gasped in surprise. This news was entirely new to him.
As groups began entering, Lan Xiaozhu tugged Cheng Lingyu into the valley.
Chilling winds shrieked around them, mingling with ghostly wails. The oppressive cold carried endless screams and furious roars—a true hellscape.
Lan Xiaozhu’s fingers tightened around Cheng Lingyu’s, seeking reassurance.
Darkness enveloped them as spectral forms darted past—twisted plants, phantom beasts, and humanoid shadows.
“Why human spirits here?” Cheng Lingyu wondered aloud.
“Blood Martial Realm cultivators become vengeful spirits upon death,” Lan Xiaozhu explained.
“With so many souls, how do we gauge their strength?”
“Similar souls cluster into soul fires—unpredictable energy masses.”
“Many types?”
“108 soul varieties exist here, but only 100 soul fires appear. Eight remain hidden, unknown. Many experts die seeking them.”
They progressed cautiously among other cultivators.
A sudden sword light hit Cheng Lingyu’s shoulder, hurling him backward.
“Who dares ambush us?” Lan Xiaozhu demanded.
“A True Martial Realm weakling? You mock us?” sneered a voice.
A brocade-robed man appeared before them, chilling winds parting to form a Special Area around him.
“Who gives you this arrogance?” Lan Xiaozhu challenged, anger flashing in her eyes.
The man in the brocade robe coldly declared, “Zhan Wumen, Luo Binghe.”
Lan Xiaozhu’s face paled. “The Zhan Wumen of Tianhua City?”
“Correct. Now scram.”
Luo Binghe radiated arrogance, dismissing Lan Xiaozhu entirely.
Cheng Lingyu had been slashed away by the sword strike. Though his Physical Body remained unharmed, his robes split open, fueling his inner fury.
He darted back like lightning, glaring at Luo Binghe, but before he could speak, Lan Xiaozhu seized his arm.
“We’re leaving.”
She dragged him away despite his protests.
“Why run?”
Lan Xiaozhu sighed. “That man’s dangerous. Zhan Wumen is renowned across the Tianyang Empire, second only to the Three Saints and Four Peerless. Their sect has experts in the Spirit Martial Realm.”
Cheng Lingyu clenched his fists. “So we back down?”
“Avoid confrontation now. This place teems with skilled fighters. Opportunities for revenge will come.”
Guishun Valley’s jagged landscape unfolded in barren valleys devoid of vegetation. Thick Yin energy permeated the air, flickering soul fires drifting through the gloom.
After crossing several peaks hand-in-hand, a crisscrossing blade strike suddenly hurtled toward them.
This time, Cheng Lingyu yanked Lan Xiaozhu sideways, evading the attack.
Three figures emerged from the Mist, blocking their path.
“Leave or die.”
The middle-aged man’s command left no room for argument. Cheng Lingyu studied the trio—all fourth-level Soul Martial Realm experts radiating oppressive auras far beyond his current strength.
Lan Xiaozhu tugged him back. “Not worth it.”
Cheng Lingyu seethed. Twice driven off within hours—it grated his pride.
“Want payback? Watch.”
Lan Xiaozhu released his hand and punched skyward. A radiant burst pierced the Mist.
They hid nearby as dozens of cultivators soon swarmed the area. Clashes erupted—the trio who’d expelled them now battled the newcomers. Screams soon pierced the fog.
“Borrowed blades cut deep,” Cheng Lingyu remarked.
“Brute force falters here. Cunning survives.” Lan Xiaozhu gestured forward. “They guarded something valuable. Let’s investigate.”
Slipping past the skirmish, they reached a valley where a massive red lotus blazed. Its thirty-foot petals burned with eerie soul fire, emitting horrifying disturbances. A dozen cultivators encircled it, transfixed.
Cheng Lingyu stared. His first soul fire sighting here took floral form—unlike any ordinary flame.
Lan Xiaozhu squeezed his hand, whispering urgently, “The Hellish Red Lotus—supreme among plant souls. Hundreds of soul lotuses compose it. The brightest bloom in its core holds its ultimate skill. Subdue it through merging, and we might gain divine cultivation methods.”
Cheng Lingyu discreetly checked his martial soul manual. The text confirmed the Hellish Red Lotus’s elite status among botanical spirits.
The martial soul manual recorded sixty-four types of plant souls and eighty-one types of Beast Souls, all of which were common varieties.
There were thousands of martial soul types in existence, many remaining unknown and unrecorded.
At that moment, cultivators in the valley launched their attack, employing various methods. Some even summoned magical artifacts to seize the Hellish Red Lotus’s soul, only to face terrifying counterattacks.
The massive red lotus flower writhed like a demonic entity, spewing flames as smaller crimson lotuses interwove to form a sprawling net that engulfed half the valley.
Over ten cultivators – all experts at the third martial soul level or the Soul Martial Fourth Realm with soul-capturing abilities – found themselves overwhelmed. Each blossoming lotus released annihilation energy, forcing many to stagger backward.
A piercing scream suddenly tore through the gloomy haze, freezing everyone’s blood.
Surviving cultivators bellowed furiously, driving their magical artifacts into frenzied assaults. Eventually, someone seized a red lotus while others became permanent residents of Guishun Valley.
Lan Xiaozhu and Cheng Lingyu watched stealthily from afar, sensing the Hellish Red Lotus’s chilling aura – the eerie soul flower had clearly detected them.
Screams reverberated through the valley as five experts fell within moments.
New cultivators soon arrived from nearby areas, weapons and magical artifacts slicing through air toward the Hellish Red Lotus.
This prime-grade plant soul promised immense benefits if captured and fused into one’s sea of consciousness.
The Hellish Red Lotus retaliated fiercely against dozens of attackers. Its colossal form darted across the valley while crimson brilliance erupted skyward, transforming into falling petals.
The spectacle was breathtakingly beautiful yet lethally dangerous.
Many cultivators became entranced by this Beautiful Scene, only realizing their peril when death loomed.
The valley transformed into hell itself as screams and furious roars mingled with blood and scattered souls beneath the trembling sky.
Cheng Lingyu stood awestruck. This plant soul rivaled late-stage Soul Martial Realm entities, far beyond ordinary experts’ capabilities.
Lan Xiaozhu tugged his sleeve urgently. “We’re no match for that. Let’s find another path.”
With modest cultivation levels, they knew better than to harbor grand ambitions.
In subsequent hours, they witnessed seven or eight soul fires – some from plant souls, others from Beast Souls, each varying in strength.
While many perished in Guishun Valley, a fortunate few departed gleefully with captured souls.
The duo scavenged occasional spoils from the fallen, accumulating decent gains.
Nightfall brought heightened eeriness to the valley. Chilling winds carried vengeful spirits’ wails, making hearts tremble.
Cheng Lingyu scanned their surroundings with dagger-sharp eyes.
“Guishun Valley’s enormous,” Lan Xiaozhu murmured. “We’re still in the outer reaches. We must advance toward the central area gradually.”
Deep in the nocturnal valley, unnatural lights pierced the darkness, shapeshifting while radiating terror.