Chapter 40: The Strange Flower Contest
Mysterious underground cave, dazzling five-colored strange flower, all of this is so hard to believe. In the quiet cave, Lu Yun gently held that moving delicate body, that one thread of enticing fragrance, like a secluded valley orchid, brought a subtle and elegant charm between them. Before their eyes, that mysterious strange flower, its radiance was slowly growing stronger, that piercing light, seemed to be hinting at something.
The black lotus was gently spinning, while the demon fairy was hiding in a black aura, apparently also watching the changes of that strange flower. Lu Yun looked at the magical five-colored flower, and his eyes flashed with light, revealing a mysterious smile at the corner of his mouth. He lowered his head to look at Cang Yue, who was quietly leaning against him, and softly said: "Rest assured and take a break, remember to relax your whole body, don't think about anything. I'll try this black lotus of the demon domain now, and see who's more powerful between it and the magic fairy of the magic domain. Just watch carefully, don't be surprised." After finishing speaking, he looked at her moving autumn water-like eyes, and gave her a reassuring glance. Cang Yue's heart was slightly shaken, and a rare smile appeared on her beautiful face, as she nodded slightly.
Lu Yun gazed at the mysterious flower, and his eyes became unfathomable in an instant. After a glance at Hei Lian and Mo Xian, Lu Yun's body suddenly flickered and vanished into thin air. The next moment, his body reappeared, dashing towards the strange flower with incredible speed that was almost invisible to the naked eye. In the cave, a furious voice echoed from Hei Lian, accompanied by Mo Xian's shrill cry. Both Hei Lian and Mo Xian, in their anxiety, forgot to be cautious and rushed towards the strange flower with all their might, trying to stop Lu Yun before he could reach it.
A flash of silver light, and Lu Yun's body reappeared in its original place, his eyes coldly staring at the black lotus rushing towards the strange flower and the demon fairy. In his arms, Cang Yue looked at him with a slightly puzzled expression, not only surprised by Lu Yun's incredible movement technique but also wondering why he had returned to his original position in an instant. What was the reason behind Lu Yun's actions? The answer would soon be revealed.
In the cave, the calm situation suddenly changed. The black lotus and the demon fairy both rushed towards the strange flower with all their might, wanting to occupy it first and make it their own. But just as they approached within a meter of the strange flower, a five-colored light burst out in an instant, and a powerful and unparalleled aura filled every corner of the cave. Around the pool, eight shining divine beasts suddenly appeared.
Only in the air, those eight divine beasts shining with light, distinguishable as dragon, phoenix, qilin, turtle, snake, eagle, tiger, and elephant. The eight divine beasts formed the Eight Trigrams formation, each displaying their own divine bravery. Various strange lights and colors, in the mountain cave, formed a dazzling five-colored glow, forming a strong barrier, instantly repelling the black lotus and magic immortal. Black Lotus and Magic Immortal both cried out in surprise, the black light around them dimming significantly. Apparently, they were injured by that mysterious formation, suffering great damage to their vitality.
Cang Yue looked at Lu Yun with a sudden understanding, he had intentionally tried to lure the Black Lotus and the Demon Fairy into a trap, which would not only consume their spiritual energy but also provide an opportunity for him to test the power of that formation. It was truly a clever move. Lu Yun felt Cang Yue's gaze and couldn't help but smile warmly at her, his right hand gently stroking her hair. His palm was filled with layers of pure spiritual energy, quietly pouring into Cang Yue's body, helping her rapidly recover her spiritual energy.
At this time, the eight divine beasts that shone with splendor instantly disappeared. On the ground, there were eight strange patterns, which did not look like the eight divine beasts at all, and it was indeed strange. Lu Yun looked at the strange flower and thought in his heart about how to pass through the mysterious formation perfectly and get that mysterious five-colored strange flower.
In the quiet mountain cave, Lu Yun fell into deep thought. Suddenly, Lu Yun's body flashed and moved two zhang away without warning, quietly staring at the mysterious man who had suddenly appeared. At the same time, in Lu Yun's mind, a ghost fairy clearly appeared, shaking off the attack of Confucius' Garden's Hao Yun and Bi Tian, appearing outside the cave and heading this way. And in the distance, the leaders of the six institutes were slowly moving in this direction, apparently everyone had sensed something.
Looking at the mysterious man, a hint of vigilance appeared in Lu Yun's eyes. This person was so young and had already reached the last realm of Xiuzhen's tenth realm - Return to Immortal, which was truly an unthinkable thing. Thinking that he himself was also a genius, but only cultivated to the ninth realm of indestructibility, while this person had cultivated to the tenth realm, Lu Yun couldn't help but be extremely cautious in his heart.
The mysterious man glanced at Lu Yun and Cang Yue, his eyes extremely cold and detached, and hummed slightly. Turning his head, he looked at Hei Lian and Mo Xian, and a dark purple glow flashed in the mysterious man's eyes, giving off an eerie and mysterious aura. Without making a sound or speaking, the mysterious man's body instantly transformed into two dark shadows, like ghosts, extremely strange and eerie. The two dark shadows split to attack Hei Lian and Mo Xian, four clusters of black light amidst the colorful lights, dazzlingly bright. In mid-air, ear-piercing screeches and thunderous explosions were accompanied by a hint of cold laughter and several cries of surprise. After merging for an instant, the four dark shadows dispersed instantly.
A mysterious figure suddenly appeared on the right side of Lu Yun, one zhang away, with a flowing shadowy aura that flickered with an air of mystery and eeriness. In the black lotus, Ye Soul exclaimed: "What kind of person are you? Why do you know the ancient 'Dark Shadow Flowing Light' technique? This is impossible! This technique has been lost for over two thousand years, and it's extremely difficult to cultivate. How can you... how can you?" The tone was clearly shocked to the extreme.
"This is the Tai Xuan Mountain, how can there be the 'Dark Shadow Flowing Light' technique? To cultivate this technique, one must have been born with a yin body, in a yin year, month, day and hour. Such people are usually women, and it's rare for them to live past ten years old. How did you manage to do it?"
Lu Yun and Cang Yue, who were standing by, both had a slight change in their expressions. Although the two did not understand what was special about the "Dark Shadow Flowing Light" technique, from Hei Lian's and Mo Xian's words, they could sense that something unusual was going on. A mysterious technique that had been lost for 2,000 years, which only a woman with a extremely yin and soft body could cultivate, so why did this mysterious man manage to cultivate it? And all of this happened in the Tian Jian Academy, the number one sect in the cultivation world, making it even more strange.
A mysterious man sneered and said, "You know a lot, but unfortunately you've forgotten one thing - that you shouldn't have come here. What kind of place is this? You need to figure it out. Coming here is equivalent to seeking death. Now if you want to leave, I can still show mercy. But in a little while, don't even think about leaving." His eyes were filled with an extremely cold and sinister gaze as he stared at Hei Lian and Mo Xian.
"In the dark lotus, the Night Soul hummed softly: 'Although you have cultivated a long-lost ancient mantra, that doesn't mean you can destroy us. This black lotus of mine is an indestructible body, and even if you're extremely powerful, at most you can only severely injure me, but you cannot destroy my black lotus, you can't kill me.'"
On the other hand, Mo Xian also said in a gloomy tone: "At first, I didn't know you would use the 'Dark Shadow Flowing Light' technique. Now that I know, how could I be injured by you again? The 'Heart's Desire Without a Trace' of my Magic Domain is also mysterious and unparalleled, I'm afraid you won't have the upper hand either. Now that Gui Xian has also entered, it will be just you alone, who knows who will die in whose hands?"
The moment the magic spell was finished, a black light suddenly flashed in the cave, and a ghost fairy appeared out of nowhere. All that could be seen were a pair of eyes flashing with green, demonic light, staring intently at the magical flower blooming with flowing light, without paying any attention to others.
Lu Yun held Cang Yue's body, his outer aura filled with invisible mental waves, quietly retreating to the corner of the wall, avoiding the sharp edges from all directions. Carefully examining the mysterious five-colored flower, Lu Yun understood in his heart that the critical moment was approaching. Because the five-colored light had become increasingly brighter, enveloping the entire cave in a layer of five-colored radiance, suppressing all other lights.
Cang Yue looked at the flower and said softly, "Do you know what that flower is? Why is it so mysterious? These demons and monsters all came for this flower, what do they want from it? Is it just to increase their cultivation?" After finishing speaking, her eyes sparkled with a hint of curiosity as she gazed at Lu Yun.
Lu Yun glanced at her, their eyes met, and both of them vaguely sensed something. Weiwei hugged her a little tighter, that moving body tightly nestled in his arms. Lu Yun didn't even understand why, but at this moment, he seemed to be slightly different from before. Raising his head to look at the mysterious flower, Lu Yun's mind wave suddenly activated. The mind wave changed its frequency from time to time, searching for every movement of the strange flower with an unimaginable speed.
In the cave, the mysterious man glanced at the ghost fairy with a hint of coldness in his eyes. His gaze shifted to the mysterious and strange flower, and he took a slight step forward, standing quietly by the edge of the pool. Within less than a foot's distance from the ground in front of him was that magical pattern, which was now faintly shimmering with five-colored light, extremely mystical. Hei Lian, Mo Xian, and Gui Xian saw the mysterious man approach the pool and understood in their hearts that this strange flower was about to reveal its sacredness. Therefore, they all moved their shadows to form a square shape with the mysterious man, each occupying one side, carefully observing the changes of the strange flower.
At this moment, the five-color light in the cave suddenly burst out, and the mysterious array composed of the eight divine beasts reappeared. Only to see that in mid-air, the eight divine beasts stood still in the void, with five-color lights flowing outside their bodies, extremely dazzling and mysterious. Their appearance frightened Mo Xian, Hei Lian, and Gui Xian, and the three black shadows retreated several feet in a hurry, cautiously guarding against them. While Lu Yun's eyes flashed with a hint of divine light, his own mental wave was instantly reflected back, leaving only a small part still constantly increasing its frequency, colliding with the mysterious array boundary at high speed, rapidly analyzing all the situations of this array.
Suddenly, Lu Yun's body moved at high speed in an instant, and he had already moved hundreds of times in a flash. Cang Yue's face changed slightly, although Lu Yun didn't say a word, she also felt it, that Lu Yun was currently encountering a powerful attack. Only to see the entire cave, countless lights flowing and changing, the mysterious man's eyes flashing with strange light, two kinds of strange lights, one dark and one purple, gradually strengthening. All around, countless invisible true energies formed a scattered shape, attacking everyone in the entire cave.
The three of Mo Xian, Gui Xian and Hei Lian were all radiant with their own brilliant light, their bodies flashing with a predominantly black glow, interspersed with green, dark red and deep brown hues, creating a magnificent spectacle in the mountain cave. The mysterious man's body was flashing with a dark purple two-color light, his entire person slowly rising to a height of six feet off the ground, his eyes gleaming with an eerie gaze at the others in the cave.
The entire cave, under the backlight of the five-colored light, two lights of dark and purple are gradually becoming stronger. The mysterious man's whole body is flowing with dark purple light, surrounded by a layer of dazzling dark purple light waves, emitting countless true energy flows, fully attacking everyone here. That one dark and one purple light, reflected in the five-colored light, looks especially mysterious. Making the cave, at this moment, full of eerie atmosphere.
Lu Yun's body spun faster and faster, gradually forming a green and red light that wove into a rainbow-colored ribbon in the mountain cave. The mysterious man's powerful aura flow attack made Lu Yun extremely shocked in his heart. This aura flow was incredibly fast, reaching an astonishing realm of 1,800 times per breath.
Lu Yun understood that this true energy, which was cultivated through his own hard work, was different from the thought waves and spiritual waves. Thought waves and spiritual waves could reach frequencies of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands per second, a kind of strange and illusory attacking power that belonged to the realm of spiritual powers. In contrast, the mysterious man's true energy flow was real and tangible, an attack that was as sharp as a real sword, with boundless power once it hit its mark. This couldn't be compared to thought waves and spiritual waves. It wasn't that thought waves were inferior to this true energy flow, but rather that these two things were concepts of completely different natures.
Just as the mysterious man launched a full-scale attack on everyone, the cave suddenly flashed with light and several figures appeared out of thin air. Upon closer inspection, there were five people, namely Li Changchun, Xuan Yu Zhenren, Ao Xue, Qi Xuan Zhenren, and Ben Yi. As soon as the five entered the cave, they instantly received a powerful attack from the mysterious man. The five figures shook violently, their shadows moving at high speed, constantly dodging the incoming True Energy attacks.
Li Changchun glanced at the mysterious man, his eyes scanning the strange flower, and his face suddenly changed. He quietly looked at the remaining few people who were flashing around and the three alien demons from another realm. Li Changchun's expression was changing unpredictably, obviously considering something very important.
At this moment, when the five people appeared in that instant, Lu Yun's mind clearly presented the situation of the five people. At this time, Ao Xue was dodging the strange true energy flow attack with all his might, and his figure was as fast as a flash, making it hard to see the white figure clearly. Lu Yun's intention moved, and in an instant, he analyzed the route that Ao Xue would dodge next. Seeing the rapidly moving Lu Yun, his body flashed silver light, and in an instant, he appeared beside Ao Xue's body. At the same time, a strong red glow enveloped her, protecting her from the true energy flow attack.
Ao Xue reacted extremely quickly, and the purple sword instantly burst out a dazzling light, wrapping herself tightly inside. At the same time, her eyes carefully watched the suddenly appearing red light ball. Fixing her gaze, Ao Xue exclaimed in surprise: "Lu Yun, it's you! You... what happened to her?" After speaking, her eyes looked at Lu Yun's chest with a slightly unnatural gaze, and a hint of strange color flashed at the bottom of her eyes.
Cang Yue looked at Ao Xue who suddenly appeared in front of her, and her heart slightly trembled. Her slender body unintentionally shook for a moment. Looking into Ao Xue's eyes, Cang Yue's face revealed a hint of shyness, with an unusual gaze that seemed to be observing the changes in Ao Xue's expression. The two locked eyes, and both felt an inexplicable sensation rising simultaneously in their hearts, as if they had vaguely sensed something from each other, yet seemingly wanting to conceal it.
Lu Yun glanced at Ao Xue, then looked down at Cang Yue and slightly raised his head: "Cang Yue Shijie was ambushed by the demon fairy and suffered heavy injuries. Since you're here, I'll leave her in your care. I'm going to pay attention to the movements of that mysterious five-colored flower." After finishing speaking, he lightly handed Cang Yue over to Ao Xue's hands and his body swayed as he moved away.
"Are you alright?" Ao Xue asked softly, looking at Cang Yue in her arms. Cang Yue's expression had returned to normal, and she smiled calmly: "Thank you for your concern, I'm fine now. You should be careful of the surroundings, that mysterious man is extremely powerful, his cultivation is exceptionally strong. And these demons and monsters are all here for that extraordinary flower. Now that strange five-colored flower has started to change, it will probably make a move soon, and when that happens, a big battle will likely begin." She said, looking at the extraordinary flower.
On this side, Lu Yun flashed to the side of Xuan Yu Zhenren and whispered: "Master, what should we do now? That strange flower looks extraordinary, I don't know what kind of magical object it is. If something changes later, should we take action to stop Hei Lian and Mo Xian or take the initiative to seize that strange flower?"
Xuanyu Zhenren glanced at the mysterious man and asked Lu Yun in a low voice, "When did you come in? Do you know who that mysterious man is? When did Hei Lian, Mo Xian, and Gui Xian arrive?"
Lu Yun's body moved quickly with Xuan Yu Zhenren, and he said in a low voice: "When I came, that mysterious man was fighting a ghost fairy in another cave, while this Hei Lian and Mo Xian had already arrived here one step ahead. I entered the cave with Cang Yue, and as soon as I entered, I was attacked by Hei Lian, but she was severely injured by Mo Xian when she was unprepared. As for that mysterious man, he came in later. As soon as he arrived, he started attacking Hei Lian and Mo Xian, injuring both of them badly. According to what Hei Lian's Ye Hun and Mo Xian said, this mysterious man has cultivated a lost technique that has been lost for over 2,000 years, called An Ying Liu Guang. I don't know if Master Shibo has heard of it?"
Xuan Yu Zhen Ren's expression changed greatly as he stared at the mysterious man in mid-air. Li Chang Chun then spoke to the mysterious man, "Wu Xin, stop! Why are you attacking us too? What is going on here? Why did this mysterious flower appear here and how come we never knew about it before? It seems that these demons and monsters have also come to steal this flower. We must use all our strength to stop them. This is Tai Xuan Mountain, if such a divine object appears in our Tai Xuan Mountain, we should do everything in our power to protect it and absolutely cannot let the flower be taken by demons and monsters."
In the cave, the light suddenly dimmed and the mysterious man carelessly withdrew his true energy flow. The attacks around him stopped instantly. He coldly glanced at everyone and said indifferently: "I don't know about this either. I was chasing a ghost fairy to get here. Everything here is full of mystery. I also don't know what this strange flower is or why it's emitting five-colored light."
As soon as the words came out, Xuan Yu Zhenren, Lu Yun, Ao Xue, Cang Yue, Ben Yi, and Qi Xuan Zhenren, who had slowly stopped their movements, all showed a hint of doubt in their eyes. It was clear that they were suspicious of the mysterious man's careless words. After glancing at Li Changchun, Qi Xuan Zhenren asked softly, "Li Zhangjiao, I don't know what position this person holds in your Tianjian Academy, can you tell me?"
Li Changchun's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he smiled: "I've told you all not to laugh, this one is our Tianjian Academy's eldest disciple, the senior brother of Jian Wucheng, named Wu Xin. He has been in our Tianjian Academy for many years, usually cultivating in the back mountain and guarding the safety of the entire Taixuan Mountain's back mountain. Wu Xin is naturally cold and taciturn, not good at interacting with people, so although his cultivation is quite good, unfortunately, his personality is a bit too aloof, that's why I've had him guard the back mountain for many years."
Qiuxuan True Person heard this and glanced at Wu Xin with a hint of suspicion in his eyes. He looked at Xuanyu True Person, and the two exchanged a glance, nodding slightly to each other. His gaze shifted to the radiant flower, and Qiuxuan True Person asked, "Brother Li, do you know the origin of this flower?" After finishing speaking, he swept a glance over the three objects opposite him, including Hei Lian, and quietly looked at Li Changchun.
In the cave, the five-colored light became more and more prosperous, and the entire cave was slowly undergoing a transformation. Everyone, including Hei Lian and the other three heterodox spirits, gazed intently at the strange flower, and the atmosphere around them seemed very depressing. Li Changchun looked at the mysterious five-colored strange flower and said in a low voice: "To be honest, when I first saw this thing, I wasn't very sure either. But according to the ancient records of my Tianjian Institute, this divine flower is likely to be the second-ranked Five-Colored Immortal Orchid among the three legendary divine flowers. What do you think, fellow Taoist?"
Qī Xuán Zhēn Rén slightly nodded and said: "Cháng Chūn Zhǎng Jiào's words are not false, I also think that this is the legendary, extremely mysterious five-colored immortal orchid. It is said that this orchid has great benefits for cultivators, whoever obtains it can avoid heavenly calamity, directly transcend the boundary between mortals and immortals, and enter the mysterious and unfathomable Cloud Law Realm. I don't know if this legend is true or not?"
Xuan Yu Zhen Ren took over the conversation and said: "I've indeed heard of this legend, but as for this mysterious immortal orchid, it's also my first time encountering it. Who knows if it really has such effects? This time I met it, who knows what will happen? These demons and monsters came, probably won't let go so easily either. And this mysterious array on the ground, can you two see what kind of array it is?"
Li Changchun and Qi Xuan Zhenren both looked at the eight patterns on the ground, their eyes revealing deep thought. Raising his head, he glanced at everyone, and Qi Xuan Zhenren spoke up: "These eight patterns are very strange, and looking at these eight divine beasts in mid-air, I guess that this formation is extremely likely to be the ancient 'Eight Beasts Hunting Immortals Formation'. What do you all think?"
Li Changchun glanced at Xuan Yu and nodded slightly: "This indeed resembles the 'Eight Beasts Hunting Immortal Formation'. It's said that this formation is extremely powerful, capable of trapping even immortals inside, unable to escape. It can also block all external objects from entering, truly overbearing. Now, with this Five-Colored Immortal Orchid being guarded by this strange formation, not only are these demons and monsters unable to make a move, but even we ourselves will likely be unable to do so." He let out a soft sigh after finishing his words.
In the cave, Lu Yun, Ao Xue, Cang Yue and Ben Yi, all four of them did not speak a word, but instead gazed at the mysterious five-colored immortal orchid, thinking to themselves how to break through this magical formation and obtain the orchid inside.
In the quiet mountain cave, everyone was silent. The colorful lights around them were undergoing unbelievable changes without their knowledge. Was this mysterious fairy orchid as mysterious as the legend said, or was there another unknown secret? All of these were a mystery waiting for them to unlock.
