"You!"
Tai Yi's forehead veins bulged. He swung his fist like the rising sun, unstoppable. A grand solar fire surged in all directions.
However, it was significantly weakened amidst the falling snow. When it reached Qing Ling, he pointed a finger. Three thousand emerald threads shot out, transforming into a green light screen that blocked his path.
"Boom~"
A deafening roar echoed, snow and fire mingling, the shockwave rippling for a thousand miles.
Qu's power had been restored to its peak, and with murderous intent rising, he wished to silence Qing Ling.
Qing Ling sighed. His Samsara Pupils flashed. Tai Yi, about to act, instantly clutched his chest, his face contorted in agony.
"Why bother? I am by no means a gossip. Rest assured, I will tell no one about your affairs.
Therefore, your identity is known only to heaven, earth, and us!"
Tai Yi, currently wearing Qu's face, was ferocious, his eyes filled with an unquothable killing intent, wishing to tear the person before him to shreds.
But the searing pain of life force draining from his heart made it impossible to muster his full power.
Although Qing Ling had compromised with Tai Yi then, he was far from foolish. The Nirvana Fire that could purify the strange mark could also remove the method he had planted within Qu back then.
Thus, Qing Ling infused the phoenix egg with ten thousand years of death energy and life force, soaking it day and night. After hundreds of thousands of years of accumulation, and guided by his Samsara Pupils, a flower of Rosha bloomed instantaneously in Qu's heart!
The flower was intertwined with the heart, its roots delving deep. To sever the flower meant damaging the heart and destroying the mortal body!
But if not severed, the blooming of the Rosha flower would signify the complete depletion of the mortal body's life force.
Qing Ling closed his eyes, then reopened them. The Rosha flower stopped growing, and the excruciating pain of life force being siphoned ceased.
Tai Yi slowly stood up, his murderous gaze fixed on Qing Ling without wavering.
Alas, this clone of Tai Yi's gaze could not kill.
Qing Ling looked at Tai Yi, who resembled an aggrieved child, and a smile tugged at his lips. "From now on, I will only call you Qu, and no one else will ever know your identity."
Tai Yi gritted his teeth, "Then can I leave?"
"Leave? Where do you think you're going?" Qing Ling asked, feigning surprise. "Don't you want to get rid of this Rosha flower? Come back here."
Upon hearing this, Qu paused and said, "Then hurry up and remove it for me!"
"So this is how one asks for help.
Let's take our time. Return to Xi Mountain with me. Once we reach my clan, I will remove it completely for you."
Qing Ling said with a half-smile, "Once this Rosha flower is planted, it can only be removed by the Great Luo Heavenly Dao. Otherwise, I can only remove it bit by bit!"
Qu's face flickered between pale and ashen. Finally, he suppressed his urge to attack.
If he attacked, it would likely leave traces. He, the Holy Son, had been missing for so long, and his return to the clan would be even more difficult to manage, making his ambitions harder to achieve.
Seeing his expression return to calm, Qing Ling smiled. "Qu, I need to draw out life and death energy from you every thousand years. You will have to stay with my clan for some time.
When you enter my clan, you must absolutely not reveal your aura as the Phoenix Clan's Holy Son, or you will bring disaster upon us!"
Qu replied coldly, "Then why not find another place? It would be more convenient with fewer people."
Qing Ling paused, then laughed. "I fear death. If you can't resist and decide to eliminate me, that would be unpleasant.
But if you were to silence me within my clan, I would have the opportunity to announce your identity to the entire clan. With so many members, once the news spreads, it will be impossible to keep secret.
Even your true form on the Sun Star might be found by the Phoenix Clan. Therefore, I advise you, my friend, not to harbor any ill intentions."
Qu scoffed, "You truly are afraid of death.
What ill intentions could I possibly have?
Once the poison is gone, we go our separate ways, never to interfere with each other again."
Qing Ling nodded. "Good! I also have no desire to see you again!
Now, let's get moving. The sooner we return to the clan, the sooner I can remove it for you."
Qu let out a cold hmph, his face still radiating arrogant disdain.
However, after seeing Qing Ling fly away, he reluctantly transformed into a rainbow and gave chase.
They sped along, flying towards Xi Mountain.
On the way, Qing Ling appeared calm, but inwardly, he remained vigilant. After all, this was a divine clone from the Sun Star, where light shone, everything was within its sight, and he couldn't afford to be careless.
This Rosha flower was a divine ability born from the unpredictable mutation of the mixed Wood Dao of life and death, governed by the authority of the Spring God's divinity. Even Qing Ling had no direct way to remove it.
He could only weaken the Rosha flower by gradually dissipating the life and death Dao, until the flower spirit became weak and collapsed. Then, it would be expelled by the Dao within the host.
Several years flashed by, and Qing Ling was finally nearing Xi Mountain.
In the sky, Qing Ling stood on the gale layer and pointed at Xi Mountain's main peak. "This is the territory of my Xi Mountain Snake Clan!"
Qu, standing beside him, glanced around and said, "It's too short. It's not even a tenth the height of the Phoenix Clan's Phoenix Platform."
Qing Ling was unfazed and smiled. "That is because there are great divine beings like the Phoenix Ancestor. A place is renowned because of its people.
Unlike the Sun Star, which might only become known in the future due to the blessings of the sun's radiance, and where there is also a Sun God!"
Qu's face turned cold, and he let out a cold hmph, not bothering to argue.
Seeing him flustered, Qing Ling felt a surge of relief and said, "Let's go."
However, as Qu took two steps, the life and death energies intertwined in his brow. The Rosha flower began to grow again on its own, causing him to writhe on the ground in pain.
Seeing this, Qing Ling quickly reached out, drew a pulse, and hot blood dripped down. It fell into Qu's mouth. The divine blood entered his body, and the life and death energies flowed to his heart, satisfying the Rosha flower's voracious appetite.
Upon tasting the blood, Qu actually grabbed Qing Ling's arm and began to suck the divine blood forcefully.
Qing Ling felt a sharp pain in his arm, and he immediately swatted him away with a palm. The flesh on his arm healed, and the wound vanished instantly.
"The Holy Son of the dignified Phoenix Clan can still bite!"
After being sent flying, Qu's pain from the Rosha flower within his body was suppressed, and his consciousness returned. His face regained its cold expression, and he said, "The blood of a mere auxiliary spring, what's so precious about it?"
Qing Ling said with a half-smile, "Yet you were so eager to drink it just now.
Since you say my blood is not precious, then next time, I'll ask you to drink Sun God's blood!"
Qu turned his head away, ignoring him. His expression was indifferent, and he wiped the blood from his lips, saying faintly, "Aren't you going to hurry up?"
Qing Ling wasn't angry. He had gotten a good grasp of this great god's temper.
He hadn't killed him before, only fearing that Tai Yi's true form might become enraged and directly incinerate him with a ray of sunlight. Now, however, he found a hint of tsundere in Qu's reclusive personality, which made him feel like coaxing a child.
On Xi Mountain, green light cascaded down.
Qing Ling did not conceal his aura, so the Golden Immortals within Xi Mountain all sensed it. It was the aura of their Xi Mountain Holy Son, the Spring God's return, and the mastery of prosperity and decay in the world by the deity.