Chapter 705 |
Seven days later, under Jiao Xiuyuan's deliberate influence, a piece of news spread throughout the entire Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance in just half a day.
The mysterious cultivator who possessed the Heavenly Spirit Flower was about to appear once more.
At that time, he would host a Flower Appreciation Gathering, inviting all cultivators interested in this flower to come and admire it.
The location of this Flower Appreciation Gathering was set in Tianling Prefecture!
Most cultivators found the news rather baffling when they first heard it. After all, things like flower appreciation and admiration seemed far removed from their daily struggles—earning contribution points, calculating how long it would take to acquire their desired cultivation techniques, and simply trying to improve themselves. If they had the spare time, they’d rather take on another mission or two.
However, those who had been keeping an eye on the Heavenly Spirit Flower were now growing restless. They began making inquiries, trying to uncover the identity of this mysterious cultivator.
As soon as the Qianli Hall, which had branches in every city of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, began displaying “replica copies” of the true Heavenly Spirit Flower, things started to spiral into madness.
The true Heavenly Spirit Flower—a title newly coined by the Qianli Hall for the world's only original Heavenly Spirit plant.
Although there had long been rumors about how mystical and extraordinary this flower was, only a handful of fortunate individuals had actually witnessed it with their own eyes.
Thus, when those initially indifferent cultivators laid eyes on the transparent petals within the Qianli Hall, their skepticism quickly turned into awe.
"Gifted by the heavens… truly gifted by the heavens! I thought people were exaggerating, but now…"
"I heard that the divine aura of these transparent petals isn't even one-tenth of the true Heavenly Spirit Flower? If the replica is already this astonishing, then what kind of supreme existence must the real one be?"
"Ah… it can only be admired from afar, never possessed. A divine artifact like this will never fall into the hands of ordinary cultivators like us."
For most cultivators, while they were indeed stunned and captivated by the beauty of the true Heavenly Spirit Flower, if it was merely a matter of aesthetics, they would have simply sighed in admiration, etched the memory in their minds, and eventually forgotten about it over time.
Would they go through the trouble of traveling thousands of miles to Heavenly Spirit Prefecture just to attend a Flower Appreciation Gathering?
The sheer lifespan loss from the journey alone was significant, not to mention the various costs and dangers along the way…
There were countless beautiful treasures in the world—losing out on one Heavenly Spirit Flower was hardly a big deal.
That was how most cultivators felt—until a series of inexplicable events occurred, completely overturning their perception of the flower.
It all began with a late-stage Golden Core cultivator who had been trapped for years due to the Heavenly Calamity. Upon witnessing the transparent petals displayed at the Qianli Hall, he was struck with sudden enlightenment, inexplicably breaking through his bottleneck.
He advanced to the Golden Core Perfection stage, with the Nascent Soul realm now within reach.
At that moment, he was so overwhelmed with emotion that he wept openly, letting out a long cry of joy.
Soon after, more and more similar cases began emerging across different prefectures.
Rumors spread of cultivators achieving breakthroughs upon merely seeing the replica petals—some even claimed to have comprehended powerful divine abilities from the mystical visions hidden within the flower’s essence.
As the stories became more and more exaggerated, skepticism arose.
Some people began to suspect that this was all just a publicity stunt by the Qianli Hall—a scheme to artificially inflate the value of the true Heavenly Spirit Flower.
"Instant enlightenment? Sudden breakthroughs? Hah, it’s all an act! A ploy to drive up the price!"
Conspiracy theories always had an audience.
Yet, regardless of the rumors, the number of cultivators flocking to Heavenly Spirit Prefecture continued to grow…
This skepticism quickly resonated with many cultivators. They spontaneously began investigating the identities of those who had recently broken through within the Thousand Mile Hall.
However, after thorough investigations, an unexpected discovery emerged.
Every cultivator they could find was genuinely someone who had been stuck at a cultivation bottleneck for many years.
And indeed, in recent times, they had successfully broken through. Each one had their friends, family, and numerous records as evidence—there was no room for falsification!
Facts spoke louder than words, and the investigation results immediately caused an uproar.
This True Heavenly Spirit Flower was not only beautiful—it could even help cultivators break through bottlenecks and comprehend divine abilities!
The difference in value between something merely beautiful and something that could enhance cultivation was immeasurable.
More importantly, treasures that could aid in Dao comprehension were typically monopolized by the powerful, making them nearly impossible for ordinary people to obtain.
Yet now, this Heavenly Spirit Flower was freely available for public viewing!
Even though the displayed ones were only replicas, they still had the effect of aiding comprehension!
Cultivators couldn't help but be tempted.
Thus, before the news spread too widely, they rushed toward the nearest Qianli Hall in a frenzy.
In an instant, the Qianli Hall became overcrowded.
Long lines formed at the entrance, and Jiao Xiuyuan beamed with joy as he maintained order.
"Young Master, was this within your expectations?"
In the Beast Realm, Liu San raised an eyebrow in confusion as he read the joyous report from Jiao Xiuyuan.
"The True Heavenly Spirit Flower does indeed have unique properties. But even the imitations you created can help cultivators comprehend the Dao?"
A trace of doubt flickered in his eyes.
"Perhaps it's because Elder Liu’s natural talent is too low," a thoughtful voice suddenly echoed from the floating golden eyeball beside him.
"Why are you haunting me like a lingering ghost?!" Liu San's expression darkened.
He reached out to grab the Eye of Shared Vision, but his grasp caught nothing but air.
"Tch, trying to catch me? Do you think I’d make the same mistake twice?" Fang Zaiji spoke smugly.
Meanwhile, Xu Bai's clone ignored Fang Zaiji’s antics, temporarily halting his painting of the Heavenly Spirit Flower replicas. He turned to look at Liu San.
"It’s not just about my replicas capturing a fraction of the True Flower’s essence. Even a blank sheet of paper—if enough cultivators observe it—will eventually inspire some to gain insights." He smiled.
"Hiss… So that’s how it is. Master, since when did you become so cunning?" Fang Zaiji's incredulous voice rang out.
Xu Bai remained expressionless and extended his hand.
This time, Fang Zaiji failed to dodge. The golden eyeball was caught firmly in his grasp.
Fang Zaiji’s voice was abruptly silenced.
Li Fan turned to Liu San and explained, "Elder Liu, your divine sense is still synchronized with the Eye of Shared Vision, which is why Elder Fang could anticipate your movements. If you temporarily disconnect, you won’t miss again."
Liu San suddenly realized, "I completely forgot about that."
Xu Bai smiled slightly, choosing not to comment further.
His expression then turned serious as he asked, "Elder Liu, how is the pill refinement coming along?"
Liu San carefully took out a wooden box from his robes.
"The Soul-Melting Body-Dissolving Pill is refined from over a hundred highly toxic ingredients. Upon ingestion, the body will dissolve completely within a single breath’s time—erasing one’s existence from the world. Even Dao Integration cultivators are no exception."
"Young Master, you intend to…?"
"It’s for myself—to make suicide more convenient when the time comes." Xu Bai said indifferently.