Linglong and Shiqi were hiding under a few big trees, worriedly watching the red clouds overhead.
Of course, Shiqi was also peeking curiously at Linglong. After all, it was her first time seeing a dragon girl.
When Hua Jian landed, she was hit by a couple of raindrops.
It felt like being splashed with warm water, but the Resentment she expected didn’t affect her.
Looks like A Meng was right.
She really wasn’t afraid of Resentment.
Lifting her skirt, she ran to the two girls and, as she opened the exit door, reminded them, “You two wait outside for me. I’ll need some time, don’t be anxious.”
With that, she kicked each of them out of the Godsoul Space.
Don’t blame her for being rough. Speed was more important—otherwise, if she wasted time and something went wrong, then what?
After sending them out, Hua Jian looked up at the red clouds, bracing herself to summon her huge vines as before.
And then she hit the same problem as last time—she had no appetite.
“Ugh, this stuff looks so filthy, can I really eat it?” Standing in the blood rain, Hua Jian looked at the vines she’d summoned and covered her face with a palm.
Going from eating normal food to eating these weird things was too much of a leap—she wasn’t ready.
She just needed some time to adjust.
The blood rain fell on the Illusory Dream Flower vines and was absorbed with ease.
A Meng felt the power flowing into her—Hua Jian really was absorbing the Resentment from the blood rain, just slowly.
She caught some of the blood rain, licked it with her tongue, and found it tasted like rotten tomatoes.
It wasn’t tasty.
“A Meng, if I can absorb this Resentment, can I use the same method to clear Bai Hua Zun Zhe’s Resentment too?”
While absorbing the Resentment, Hua Jian hugged her knees and pondered. Suddenly, she realized she’d just thought of a solution she hadn’t considered before.
Why stop Bai Hua Zun Zhe? Because Fenghua Venerable said the current method would drive her mad from Resentment.
But if Hua Jian could eliminate the influence of Resentment, wouldn’t that create a win-win ending?
They could finish their task, and Bai Hua Zun Zhe would also get what she wanted.
The only question was whether Hua Jian was ‘big’ enough to purify all that Resentment.
“Can I really eat all that Resentment by myself?”
“If you can’t, so what? Just turn it into Spirit Liquid of the Soul for later.” A Meng thought Hua Jian was being too cautious as an Illusory Dream Flower.
What are you? Illusory Dream Flower! You’re afraid of overeating?
If you’re full, just turn the excess into Spirit Liquid of the Soul for later. It’s not like it’s difficult.
Reminded by A Meng, Hua Jian’s eyes went blank for a moment, then her body turned to flower petals and vanished.
And then—the scene from fighting the black dragon repeated itself.
The whole Godsoul Space became a giant millstone, grinding everything within.
Hua Jian had figured it out. If converting Resentment into Spirit Liquid of the Soul wasn’t ‘eating,’ then she could do it and get the perfect ending—so why not?
The Blood Red Raincloud was quickly shredded by her vines, but mixed among them were some strange white specks.
Her vines tried to snatch them, but were bounced away. These were even harder to deal with than the black dragon before.
Heh, you think I can’t eat you? Hua Jian grew stubborn. Facing such tough souls, she didn’t flinch.
In her mind: I’m Illusory Dream Flower. I’d be scared of some little souls?
The giant vines shrank, using all their power to break down the little white spots.
Harsh grinding noises echoed. Finally, the specks began to crumble.
As the specks shattered, strange images appeared in Hua Jian’s mind—fragmented memories, perhaps.
Whose memories were these?
Hua Jian hurried to save them for later, planning to examine them once she was done.
“So if I eat souls, I get their memories?” This was the first time she realized her power had this side effect.
After all, this was only her second time using it—the first was on something she didn’t even know the nature of.
Not that she knew what this time’s target was either…
It took her almost a hundred times longer to digest these specks than the raincloud, and the result wasn’t even impressive—the energy gained was less than from a Spirit Lord.
It would barely make a snack for A Meng.
The only valuable thing seemed to be those memories.
Hua Jian drew them out and reviewed them carefully. They seemed like scenes of daily life in the mountains…
Eh?
Just as Hua Jian was about to dismiss the memories as unimportant, a man in one of the scenes caught her attention.
Not that he was remarkable, but because the sword in his hand was identical to the one Shiqi held!
Hua Jian quickly isolated that scene, enlarged it, and examined every detail.
In the night, the man holding the Black Sword stood in the dark forest, turning to look at the memory’s owner.
In the faint light, the wolf-head clothing on his body was clearly visible.
The man reached a hand to the owner, who hesitated as if unsure whether to reach back.
The scene stopped there. Whatever happened next, Hua Jian could only guess.
“Don’t tell me it’s that cliché?” And Hua Jian… had already guessed something.
She searched the other memories and quickly found more scenes with that man.
These must have taken place after the first—two people together, the man teaching the owner something.
In those, the man no longer wore wolf-head clothing, as if he’d changed identities, but the Black Sword was always by his side, making it clear he was the same person.
There was no need to guess now. The Black Sword proved it—the man could only be Shiqi’s deceased father.
So who was the memory’s owner?
Who made Shiqi’s father shed his wolf-head clothing and betray the Gang Wolf Legion?
“Oh my—have I uncovered a huge secret?!” Hua Jian clutched her head, wailing. Now things were really bad!
Why was Bai Hua Zun Zhe so interested in Shiqi’s Black Sword? Why did she give her a White Flower Bracelet after seeing it?
There could be only one answer!
“Shiqi! The Venerable we’re supposed to save is your dear mother!”
As soon as Hua Jian blurted this, Linglong was so stunned she forgot to karate chop Hua Jian’s head.
What do you mean, the Venerable we’re saving is Shiqi’s mom?
Shiqi was even more baffled. Wasn’t she told she was an orphan? Now she had a mother—and a Venerable at that?
No way, you’re making this up!
“Stop, stop, don’t you think what you’re saying is weird?” Shiqi grabbed Hua Jian’s shoulders and shook, trying to rattle the nonsense out of her.
Linglong also looked at Hua Jian worriedly. “Did you damage your head dealing with Resentment?”
Since they didn’t believe her, Hua Jian produced her proof.
She opened her palm, and colorful spiritual energy gathered above it, forming a picture.
It was the memory scene of Shiqi’s father.
“This is your dad, right?” she asked, glaring at Shiqi and pointing at the man.
Afraid of making a mistake, Shiqi leaned close and studied it for a long time before nodding.
Yes, it was the dad she remembered.
Though a little younger in the image, the aura and sword proved it was him.
Hua Jian then showed the other scenes one by one, explaining her reasoning.
After seeing everything, Shiqi fell silent. Finally, she could find no grounds to refute it. She had to accept her father had been ‘abducted’ by a Venerable.
It was too bizarre—why?
There were too many questions: how did the Venerable end up with the Gang Wolf Legion, why did her father help her escape, and how did they part? All hidden in mist.
To get answers, she’d have to ask the Venerable herself.
Maybe even now… Hua Jian looked at the Flower Ring on her wrist—the white was nearly drowned in red.
Forget it, she didn’t know the Venerable’s state. Better tell her the most important thing first.
Pressing her Flower Ring, Hua Jian shouted, “Venerable, I know how to clear the Resentment!”
After a moment, she heard the reply: “Don’t come. It’s too dangerous.”
The Venerable’s voice was icy cold—serene on the surface, but a raging storm beneath.
Hua Jian could sense the killing intent hiding behind that warning. She knew the Venerable was on the verge of losing control.
All the more reason to hurry.
This Bai Hua Zun Zhe was truly kind. Hua Jian didn’t want to see her fall to madness.
And Shiqi had just found her mom—she couldn’t let her lose her again so quickly.
“Trust me, I’ll definitely help you clear the Resentment!” After saying this, Hua Jian looked at Linglong and Shiqi.
“The road ahead will be dangerous. Are you ready?”
Linglong nodded without hesitation. She’d come here for this and was ready.
Shiqi, who hadn’t been prepared before, was now eager to rush into Huahai’s depths and get answers.
There were too many questions—she had to confront the Venerable herself and ask why she abandoned her father!
“Alright, let’s go!”
……
The path into Huahai’s depths was almost unimpeded.
In no time, the three of them reached the base of the Blood Cloud vortex and saw the secret hidden at Huahai’s core.
It was a bottomless Blood Pool. At its very center, a pure White Pearl was held up by blood. The blood tried over and over to build a human body on the pearl, but failed every time.
Each failure stained the pearl with an ominous red glow. Judging by how much of it was red, the White Pearl had failed countless times.
“She’s trying to build a human body, but it doesn’t seem to work.” Hua Jian understood the situation, but didn’t get why even a Venerable couldn’t do it.
“Because she wants not just a body, but a real human body.” Linglong saw through Bai Hua Zun Zhe’s aim in a glance. “But the Resentment is too heavy—her work is influenced by too many other things.”
Such delicate work demanded a calm heart. Right now, Bai Hua Zun Zhe couldn’t find peace, so her efforts kept failing.
If this went on, she really might lose her mind…
“The key’s at the pearl. Get me there!” Hua Jian didn’t fully understand, but she knew where the problem was.
The Venerable was under the Resentment’s influence—so all she had to do was remove it.
As she flew into the Blood Pool, a rush of Miasma assailed her, and dark thoughts flooded her mind.
But soon, they faded.
Unnoticed by her, the floral scent around her grew stronger, letting Linglong and Shiqi break free of the Miasma’s influence as well.
When the Miasma’s first move failed, it tried to use energy from the blood sea to block them.
A giant hand began to form, but just before it finished, the pearl in the blood sea suddenly flashed and shattered it.
The Venerable was not their enemy.
Knowing what they were here to do, she didn’t try to stop them.
After so many failed attempts, she realized Fenghua Venerable had been right—she alone could not resist this overwhelming Miasma.
Her soul was too pure. Once tainted, disaster was certain. Only with help could she hope to prevail.
A wave of soul energy radiated from the pearl, and her voice sounded in their minds.
“I cannot fully control the Blood Pool. Be extremely careful.”
She could only help a little. Right now, she had to focus on resisting the Miasma invading her inner core, so as not to become an evil spirit.
She could guarantee only that there wouldn’t be an attack strong enough to destroy them instantly.
But that was enough.
Blood-shaped monsters emerged in the pool, but before they could take form, Linglong shattered them with lightning.
“Hua Jian, leave these things to us!”