Shen Mo felt as if all his bones and soul had been drained away.
He collapsed limply onto the cold jade bed, his eyes vacant, staring at the ceiling with no trace of life left in him.
The quiet room was filled only with his weak, intermittent breaths and the suffocating silence.
After a long while, Qin Shuying finally spoke slowly. “Su Wan’er’s injury… is not entirely without hope.”
Those words were like a stone thrown into stagnant water.
“The Spring Breeze Once Scattered was already a thousand poisons, designed to erode the Dao Foundation and disturb one’s spirit soul. She forcibly suppressed it, and when the killing intent and demonic energy struck, the lust poison and the qi of violence intertwined, eroding her Nascent Soul and shaking the very root of her soul. Ordinary elixirs or cultivation methods truly cannot save her.”
She paused, her fingertips unconsciously tapping lightly on her knee—a habit of hers when thinking.
“But it’s not unsolvable. To save her, three things are needed.” Qin Shuying slowly raised three fingers, white as jade.
“First, the core of the Extreme North Wan-Year Frozen Ice Cave. From the purest ten-thousand-year ice energy, crystallized into the Ice Soul Snow Lotus Heart.”
“This item is ultimate Yin and extreme cold, pure beyond compare. It can cleanse the filth from the spirit soul, stabilize the Nascent Soul, and is especially effective for cultivators of ice or Yin attribute methods. As it happens, the Jiao Yue Ning Hua Jue that Su Wan’er practices requires this very item to solidify her foundation, suppress her cultivation, and subdue the violent qi.”
“Second,” she put down one finger and continued, “Near the Abyss Eye of the Eastern Sea, the Purifying Soul Dragon Spine Liquid, which appears once every thousand years. This liquid is formed from the purest Qi between heaven and earth. It can wash away impurities in the soul, calm restless inner demons, and work wonders on spirit soul damage or violent qi backlash caused by external forces or medicines. However, obtaining it requires venturing deep into the dangerous Abyss, and the timing is unpredictable.”
“Third,” she put down her last finger, “A cultivator at least at the late Nascent Soul stage, skilled in soul projection. Using their own source soul power as a guide, combined with the two previous items, they must enter her Sea of Consciousness and gradually extract and refine the root of the curse power. The process is perilous. If the slightest mistake is made, both the rescuer and the rescued will suffer severe soul damage.”
After she finished, the quiet room fell into silence again.
Those were three conditions so harsh they were almost impossible to fulfill.
The Ice Soul Snow Lotus Heart? The Purifying Soul Dragon Spine Liquid from the Eastern Sea Abyss?
Both were elusive, appearing once in a thousand years. The environment was extremely dangerous.
Heaven-grade beasts watching over those treasures were at least at the peak of Nascent Soul.
The Abyss Eye of the Eastern Sea was fraught with spatial turbulence and deadly dangers.
And finally, they needed a Nascent Soul elder willing to sacrifice thirty percent of their cultivation for a hundred days of work?
Any one of these conditions was enough to make anyone back down.
All three together? It was a dead end.
The light in Shen Mo’s eyes flickered back to life as Qin Shuying spoke, but it quickly dimmed when he heard the final, cruelly hopeless conditions.
“The weather is nice today,” she said casually.
“As it happens, in the heritage treasury of my Heavenly Sword Peak, we have a Ice Soul Snow Lotus Heart that an ancestor obtained by chance from the Wan-Year Frozen Ice Cave. I’ve kept that item in my personal care.”
“These three things,” she continued in a flat tone, as if talking about the weather, “Coincidentally… I have the whereabouts of the Purifying Soul Dragon Spine Liquid from the Eastern Sea Abyss as well.”
“Fourteen days from now, the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion will hold its decennial Flower Queen Competition. At that time, young talents from the Yun Yin Mountain Range and even farther lands, famous ladies from noble families, and cultivators of all paths will gather in Ten Thousand Flower City.”
Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion? The Flower Queen Competition?
Though he had long managed affairs from Jiaoyue Peak, Shen Mo had heard of its reputation.
It was the largest establishment of pleasure, intelligence trading, and gray underworld forces in Yunzhou and the surrounding regions.
Its influence was deeply entangled, and its depths were unfathomable.
The Flower Queen Competition was by no means a simple beauty contest.
It was an intricate battle of absolute beauty, talent, schemes, and even the power of one’s backing.
Participants were all from formidable backgrounds with impressive skills.
The competition was fierce and brutal beyond imagination.
The Flower Queen was no ordinary brothel boy, but often a cultivator skilled in arts, possessing both beauty and talent.
The grand prize of this competition included a chance to enter the Hidden Treasure Pavilion of the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion and choose any one treasure.
And on the list of prizes for this year’s competition…” Qin Shuying saw his confusion and explained with rare patience.
“Among the prizes, there happens to be a bottle of Purifying Soul Clear Spirit Liquid!”
This news struck Shen Mo like a second thunderbolt! With a clear location, there was a chance to obtain it.
Though the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion was mysterious and the competition fierce, it was still more realistic than aimlessly searching the Eastern Sea Abyss for an evasive thousand-year opportunity!
“I have to go! I must get that liquid!”
“You’re quite out of touch,” she raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with undisguised mockery.
“The registration for the Flower Queen Competition ended three days ago.”
Registration… ended?
His face turned as white as paper.
“No…” She drew out her tone, like a cat playing with a mouse, with the calm of someone in control. “But the competition rules include a supplemental clause.”
“If, on the day of the competition, someone on site believes their own beauty, talent, bearing, and grace surpass all the current Flower Queen candidates, they may issue a public challenge.”
“Then, all qualified spectators present will vote collectively. If more than seventy percent agree that they deserve to compete, they can break the rules and gain entry to the stage alongside the original candidates.”
“This method—” She paused, looking into his eyes. “Unless one is so stunningly beautiful, so captivating, that at first sight they make all other candidates seem dull and ordinary, it is impossible to sway those discerning spectators who are used to seeing beauties. You would need to obtain over seventy percent approval.”
“If you fail, the challenger becomes the laughingstock of the entire venue, their reputation ruined. No one dares try unless they have absolute certainty.”
Her gaze swept over Shen Mo’s pale but still strikingly handsome face, her tone as calm as assessing goods.
“After all, to make others willingly break established rules for you, you need to have… that kind of value.”
Stunning beauty? A challenge on the spot? On-site voting?
Shen Mo’s mind was in chaos.
He knew he was reasonably good-looking—he had known since childhood.
But this was the Flower Queen Competition of the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion, the highest contest of beauty and art in the entire East Continent.
Those flower queens were trained from childhood in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, song, body language, appearance, speech, and manners—all meticulously selected.
What was he? A devoted man who had managed his wife’s peak for seven years.
“I…” he lowered his head, stammering. “I can’t.”
Qin Shuying looked at his insecure demeanor and suddenly laughed. “You have no idea how charming you really are.”
Her eyes, sharp as the finest knife, traced every inch of his features.
“Do you know? The first time I saw you, you were standing in a pool of blood, covered in wounds, but your back was straight as a rod. I thought to myself back then—if I put you on that stage and let those arrogant people see what true beauty really is.”