"So I'm just a tool?" Qing Ling couldn't help but laugh, "My life is truly unfortunate.
Alright, I've detoxified you nine times. Only one more to go, and the Luo Sheng flower will be gone. You can then return to the Phoenix Clan and continue with your business."
Qu asked hesitantly, "This last time, is it the largest amount?"
"Naturally. That's why I'm afraid of directly draining your essence. I'm letting you recuperate for another hundred years." Qing Ling glanced at him, chuckling.
Qu's complexion turned slightly pale, as if recalling something, his expression changing. "Then I'll wait. It's only the last time, so a few hundred years won't make a difference."
Bai Fu stood to the side, somewhat bewildered, watching the two powerful figures exchange words he couldn't understand. Was he truly still a child, unable to comprehend the adult world?
Qing Ling didn't respond, simply smiling and continuing forward.
This was a region where plains mingled with mountains. After the Toad Clan's retreat, desperadoes from the chaotic lands began to pour in, claiming mountains and territories as their own, transforming this beautiful landscape into a savage, chaotic expanse.
On a plain where dandelions grew waist-high, the three walked amidst a sea of floating seeds, white fluff drifting like snow or rain, up and down.
The sky cleared, and the setting sun painted the sky with continuous twilight hues. The setting sun illuminated the flower fields, and the three strolled leisurely. The flower fields stretched for thousands of miles, and white fluff swirled around Qing Ling, making him appear divine, ethereal, or like a spirit.
With the affinity of the Spring God, endless white fluff gathered on these flower fields, encircling Qing Ling.
Bai Fu looked up and said dazedly, "The High Deity is truly a divine being!"
Qing Ling turned back and smiled. The setting sun shone through his eyes, and amidst the flower fragrance, divinity, sunset, and sky, it felt as if time had stopped, or as if all conflict had receded, leaving only the present, brilliant and pure.
Qu's eyes were pierced by that ray of sunlight. A spring breeze swept through the sea of flowers, and the sky filled with dancing white fluff. The deity's smile stirred the fiery heart of the young man. Light dispelled darkness, and a deity descended upon the world, appearing in Her realm and becoming an eternal savior.
In the endless sea of flowers, a phantom of a white-clad maiden materialized above the vast flower fields, transforming into a spirit. She bowed respectfully to Qing Ling, "This minor deity pays respects to the Spring God."
Qing Ling was slightly surprised and asked with a smile, "Which god are you?"
The maiden's white hair fluttered, her divine aura soft and gentle, as ethereal as a celestial being, as noble as a deity.
"This minor deity is Bei Xu, the Flower God of Duguang Dandelion, in charge of these fifty-two thousand square miles of flower sea. The path ahead is a dangerous one, hence I wish to advise the High Deity to turn back."
Qing Ling smiled, "Thank you, Flower God. However, my journey is unimpeded. You may withdraw."
Flower God Bei Xu could only bow respectfully and take her leave, feeling helpless.
Qu looked up in the direction where Bei Xu and the Spring God had departed, his eyes flickering slightly.
Qing Ling walked unhurriedly through the ten thousand miles of flower sea, his sight falling upon boundless plains of corpses.
As he stepped into this place of ultimate resentment, countless wandering souls on the plains halted their movements. They lifted their bowed heads, their hateful eyes falling upon a figure in green clothing that did not belong to this realm of death.
In the overcast sky, a black-robed elder looked down at Qing Ling.
Qing Ling also looked up, his gaze meeting the elder's pupils across thousands of spectral figures.
The elder sighed faintly, "This old one merely wishes to claim a territory to recuperate his weakened body. Fellow Daoist, please detour."
Qing Ling said with a half-smile, "Fellow Daoist is at the peak of Taiyi realm, how can you be content to stop below Da Luo? this death realm is your doing, is it not?"
A flicker of surprise crossed the elder's brow. He seemed unused to such bluntness, lacking any pretense or deception.
"Fellow Daoist has keen eyes, knowledge, and courage. Since you have arrived, add some power to my Undying Dao Domain."
Qing Ling shook his head helplessly, "You do not possess that strength yet."
The pretense in the elder's eyes vanished, replaced by a sneer. "Fellow Daoist is perhaps too confident. Once you enter my Undying Domain, even a god must bow to me!"
Qing Ling's lips curled upwards, showing no fear. His heart was as still as a mirror, his demeanor elegant and his aura ethereal.
The elder unleashed a barrage of moves. Black death energy surged like a tide within this death realm, and countless souls pounced forth, their numbers seemingly infinite. Simultaneously, the Undying Dao Domain's death energy raged, sealing the surrounding heavens and earth. To step in was to face an insurmountable difficulty in stepping out. Within his Undying Dao Domain, the law of death was the core. His Undying Dao Domain was immortal, and the endless death energy would never be extinguished. Even several Taiyi Grand Cultivators might not escape. He wanted to see how much power this boastful young man truly possessed.
Qing Ling shook his head with a hint of pity and waved his sleeve. The Divine Slaying Arrow shot out, tearing through the void along a thread of the Grand Dao of Space, almost instantaneously appearing at the elder's brow. This was an application of spatial laws at extreme velocity, a trace of the Dao of Space Qing Ling had comprehended from the congenital dao restrictions of the Mi Tian Suo. The Four Symbols Chaotic Divine Power, which had nourished Qing Ling's divine essence for countless years, had been strengthened daily and transformed annually. The arrow's sharpness had been honed countless billions of times. The arrow shot through space at near light speed, but the elder reacted even faster. A ghost head appeared on his brow, swallowing the Divine Slaying Arrow's edge. Simultaneously, his body and soul flickered with rising and falling death energy, and the elder's figure was about to withdraw.
But in the next moment, Qing Ling, on the ground, calmly said, "Life and death in an instant, Luo Sheng flower blooms."
A blood-red spiritual flower suddenly bloomed within the elder's soul, growing out of his body. As the bud unfurled, the Divine Slaying Arrow shot out, and the Divine Slaying Needle pierced his brow. Immense pain spread throughout the elder's body. His primordial spirit was pierced by the Divine Slaying Needle, and a large, vibrant Luo Sheng flower bloomed. His soul body was collapsing, his eyes filled with terror and despair. Only at death did the elder realize that the young man before him might be a Da Luo. However, he died unaware that it was only a Taiyi who had killed him.
A world appeared above Qing Ling's head, black and white threads of life and death drawing in countless wandering souls. They were absorbed into the world and scattered as ashes in the Life and Death Realm, serving as nourishment. Death energy surged like a tide, and ninety million beings in all directions had perished here, transformed into vengeful spirits by the elder, losing all sentience. Now, reduced to ashes by Qing Ling, they had found release. The Undying Dao Domain dispersed, and the death dao here, which was once undying, was now dead. Using the dao of death against him was the elder's greatest mistake. Qing Ling, who had merged the daos of life and death and comprehended their rise and fall, had a power that far surpassed Taiyi Grand Cultivators. In fact, his strength had already surpassed the Taiyi realm, but had not yet entered the Da Luo realm. The dark clouds in the sky dispersed, and heavy rain poured down, scattering into the wilderness, cleansing away the death energy.
Behind him, Qu and Bai Fu slowly approached. They saw Qing Ling, clad in green, kneeling in the torrential rain and planting a vibrant, blood-red nine-petaled flower. The heavens wept rain as the dao of a Taiyi Grand Cultivator was severed by Qing Ling, planted into this flower, and buried in the earth. It would neither ascend to heaven nor descend to the underworld, but would remain suspended within those blood-colored flowers. Because the dao does not perish, the flower would not wither. If it does not wither, it does not die. Therefore, the Luo Sheng flower was also an immortal flower.
Qing Ling turned around. The dark, overcast sky and the heavy rain, coupled with the dim daylight, created a somewhat oppressive atmosphere.
"From now on, I will plant flowers here."