Su Shuang’er watched this scene from the edge of the blood pool, her hand gripping the long spear tightening instantly.
She saw it clearly. The power of that single hoe strike was several times more terrifying than her own full-strength spear thrust.
Seeing this, the old craftsman’s eyes suddenly turned grave.
The flower arrangement shears in his hand spun once, and he finally stopped holding back.
He raised his hand and drove the flower arrangement shears into his own left arm.
Yin Killing Technique: Flesh Blossom Arrangement.
Countless flower buds emerged from the wound, spreading along his arm and covering his entire body.
But unlike his apprentice, these flowers did not feed on his flesh and blood. Instead, they completely fused with his aura.
The Yang Killing Technique, Withering and Flourishing Gives Birth to Flowers, stabilized his life force. The Yin Killing Technique, Flesh Blossom Arrangement, borrowed the power of plants and trees. Yin and Yang combined, the two forces intertwined on his body, erupting with an astonishing aura.
“You evil creature, you’ve harmed so many lives. Today, I will eradicate you!”
The old craftsman leaped into the air, his entire body transforming into a giant white flower as he pounced towards the Burial Flower Anomaly.
Wherever the petals passed, even the plasma in the blood pool was purified, becoming clearer by a few degrees.
The Burial Flower Anomaly lifted her head, her pale face devoid of any expression.
She raised her hand and swung the hoe.
No flashy moves, just a simple swing.
Yet, with this one hoe strike, the ground of the entire valley bottom cracked open with several huge fissures. The plasma in the blood pool surged into waves several meters high.
The white flower the old craftsman had transformed into let out a crisp cracking sound the moment the hoe made contact. Petals withered and scattered one by one.
The old craftsman was sent flying backward, landing heavily at the edge of the blood pool. He spat out a large mouthful of blood. The Flesh Blossom Arrangement on his left arm completely withered, and the flower arrangement shears flew out of his hand.
He had lost.
Even the combined Yin and Yang dual killing techniques couldn’t withstand a single hoe strike from the Burial Flower Anomaly.
“Flower Path… in the end, it’s for protecting life, not taking it.”
The old craftsman lay on the ground, looking up at the dim vaulted ceiling above. Suddenly, he laughed, tears streaming down his face. “Apprentice… in the end, your master has fallen too…”
His voice gradually faded until there was no breath left.
This chaotic battle was ten times more brutal than all the slaughter on the cliff walls.
Countless streams of blood continuously converged into the blood pool, its surface churning madly.
The seven-colored flower bud at the center of the pool slowly swelled under the nourishment of the blood, its glow growing brighter and brighter, like a small sun being constantly charged.
The more people died, the brighter the flower became.
The chaotic battle lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
The number of humans and anomalies in the blood pool grew fewer and fewer. Corpses piled into a small mountain at the pool’s edge.
The seven-colored flower bud, watered by the blood, grew increasingly dazzling. Its light finally merged from seven colors into a blinding, pure white.
Seven colors overlapped, finally becoming white light.
In the end, the only one left alive was the Burial Flower Anomaly.
She still stood at the center of the blood pool, covered in dark red bloodstains, her face still pale, the hoe resting on her shoulder, her figure still looking frail and weak.
But in the entire valley bottom, there was no longer a single opponent left standing.
She swayed as she turned around, facing the seven-colored flower, and extended that slender, pale hand.
At that moment, the girl released the hand that had been resting on Gu Jiao’s shoulder all along.
She stepped forward, walking towards the blood pool.
Her bare feet stepped onto the surface of the blood pool, yet the surface didn’t collapse in the slightest.
The dark red plasma solidified beneath her feet into a smooth, mirror-like surface, like an invisible step, firmly supporting her.
She walked forward step by step. With each step, a flat foothold solidified beneath her foot.
The surface of the blood pool remained completely undisturbed, not even a single ripple forming, as if her weight simply didn’t exist.
The Burial Flower Anomaly suddenly turned its head, fixing its gaze intently on her.
It sensed a deadly threat.
Its body abruptly sprang up, and it charged towards the girl, hoe in hand.
It was the final victor in this blood pool, and it absolutely would not allow anyone to snatch away its spoils.
The girl raised her hand slightly.
The exact same motion as on the cliff wall. Casual, offhand, as if swatting away a bothersome fly.
The Burial Flower Anomaly’s body stopped in mid-air.
Then, the flowers bloomed.
Dense clusters of flower buds emerged from its pores, from the wooden handle of the hoe, from every inch of its bones and blood. In mere seconds, they covered its entire body.
The Burial Flower Anomaly, capable of shattering the Yin-Yang dual killing techniques with a single hoe strike, didn’t even let out a single scream before turning into a doll covered in white flowers.
The flower-covered figure swayed twice before heavily collapsing into the blood pool.
Dead.
The entire valley bottom fell into instant, deathly silence.
The few survivors, who had cowered at the edge of the blood pool and dared not enter the fray, all knelt prostrate on the ground, their faces pressed tightly against the earth, not daring to even breathe loudly.
The girl walked up to the seven-colored flower.
She reached out her hand. Her slender, almost transparently white fingers gently pinched the flower stalk.
And plucked it.
The seven-colored flower bud was pulled up by the roots, its roots trailing dark red plasma, as if just fished out of water.
The girl held the flower bud in her palm.
The flower bud slowly bloomed in her hand. The light of seven colors erupted violently from between the petals, like seven waterfalls simultaneously cascading down from between her fingers, instantly illuminating the entire valley.
Then, she placed the flower into her mouth.
And swallowed it.
Seven-colored light erupted from within her body. The blinding intensity forced everyone to instinctively close their eyes.
Bai Ye also closed her eyes for a moment. Her soul body was enveloped by that light, becoming nearly transparent, like a glass person pierced by a searchlight.
When the light weakened slightly, she opened her eyes.
The girl’s body was undergoing a change.
Her fifteen- or sixteen-year-old face continued to regress. Twelve or thirteen, ten, then eight or nine.
Her figure kept shrinking. The black dress on her body changed accordingly, shifting from a young woman’s style to exquisite children’s clothing. The hem shortened, the cuffs tightened, and her jet-black hair automatically tied itself into two buns fastened with bows.
The transformation finally stopped at the appearance of a seven- or eight-year-old.
A black Lolita-style dress, two exquisite bows, skin so white it was almost transparent.
At this moment, Bai Ye completely understood.
From the withered old woman under the roadside tree who claimed to be fifty-eight, to the increasingly younger “beautiful auntie” along the journey, to the fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl, and now to this little girl before her eyes.
From beginning to end, it was the same person.
It was the very existence who had accepted her rainbow candy, given her the black bow, and said with a smile, “We are friends.”
The entire Hundred Flower Valley, all the flowers, all the struggle and death, her continuously regressing appearance along the journey—all of it was to nurture this one seven-colored flower and complete this final step.
To condense a true, physical body capable of bearing her power.
The little girl, restored to her original form, did not awaken immediately.
She closed her eyes, her body suspended above the blood pool, the seven-colored light slowly circling around her.
A voice suddenly sounded in Bai Ye’s mind.
It wasn’t the little girl’s usual childish tone. It was older, deeper, like an echo from a thousand years ago, falling upon her ear across endless time.
“Bai Ye.”
Bai Ye’s soul trembled.
The voice was very soft, carrying an emotion Bai Ye couldn’t quite discern.
Was it joy?
Relief?
Or had the wait been so long that even the emotion itself had weathered away, leaving only a faint, weightless confirmation.
“I’ve waited for you for a very long time.”
Bai Ye stood at the edge of the blood pool, motionless, watching the little girl suspended in mid-air.
Su Shuang’er and Mu Yingying stood behind her. They couldn’t hear the voice in her mind, but they could see Bai Ye’s suddenly stiffened posture, the slight trembling of her soul body.
“Now, you have two choices.”
“First, kiss me. I will complete my physical transformation, awaken fully, become your companion, and stay by your side forever.”
“Second, kill me before I grow old. In doing so, you will obtain all of my power.”
The voice paused. When it sounded again, it carried a sense of complete surrender.
“Everything… depends on Bai Ye’s own choice.”
The voice disappeared.
Bai Ye stood frozen in place. She truly didn’t understand. The little girl clearly had the ability to force her to complete everything, yet she was letting her make a choice.
What did she really mean?
“Little Bai Ye, are you okay? What’s wrong?” Su Shuang’er asked in a hushed voice.
“It’s nothing… I feel like I might have really known her before, but I truly can’t remember…”
Bai Ye explained softly as she drifted towards the blood pool.
Su Shuang’er hesitated for a moment but did not stop her.
Mu Yingying also remained where she was. She, too, respected Bai Ye’s own choice.
Bai Ye drifted towards the center of the blood pool, drifting until she was in front of the suspended little girl.
She remembered the first time she saw the little girl. She had handed over the rainbow candy. That existence, radiating an aura of coldness, took the candy jar, and in that instant, a childlike smile appeared on her face—sweet, with a hint of cunning.
She remembered when that black bow floated before her, that voice saying, “Giving you a gift. You don’t need to repay anything. Let’s just be friends.”
Bai Ye lowered her head, looking at the little girl with closed eyes.
She didn’t remember the so-called “before.” She didn’t remember the “Bai Ye” from before. She didn’t remember when she had protected this person who had waited for her for thousands of years.
But she remembered that this little girl had given her candy, had given her the bow that protected her life.
Bai Ye didn’t hesitate for too long. In that short time, the little girl’s hair had already turned completely white, and she had grown into the appearance of the young woman from before.
Seeing that the young woman might continue to age, Bai Ye quickly leaned down.
She placed a gentle kiss on her smooth forehead.
The seven-colored light erupted once more.
This time, the light was more magnificent than all the previous times combined. The entire valley bottom was illuminated as if in broad daylight. The surface of the blood pool was pressed down by the light, forming a concave ring before rebounding, sending out rippling waves.
This was the first time the blood pool had rippled.
After the light dissipated, the figure suspended above the blood pool slowly descended.
A graceful, beautiful young woman.
The black Lolita dress on her body automatically adjusted to her figure, changing from children’s clothing to a style fitting her young woman’s form. The two bows remained in her hair, adorning her waist-length silver-white tresses.
Her features were so exquisite they seemed not of this mortal world. Her skin was so white it was almost transparent, her lips a faint pink.
She opened her eyes.
A pair of pure black pupils, without a trace of white.
Seeing Bai Ye’s face so close, she was momentarily stunned.
Then, she smiled.
A completely unreserved smile.
She had waited for thousands of years and had finally waited for the person she wanted, so she smiled with immense joy.