462: I'll Share Half With You
Jiang Mo realized the seriousness of the situation and volunteered to search for the flowers.
However, Sect Leader Qingxiao ultimately didn't agree. The reason was simple—because the previous flower had issues, and she had picked it with her own hands and pinned it in Yun Qingyue's hair for so long, who knew whether it had affected the two of them? So as a precaution, it was better for her and Yun Qingyue not to leave the lightning pool for now, and ideally, they should even soak in the lightning pool again.
Jiang Mo refused this in her heart. Soaking in the lightning pool with her beloved, cuddling together, was certainly an enjoyable experience that would make one reluctant to leave, but tis were different now. With so many people in the lightning pools, there was no space to spare for them.
Soaking in a lightning pool with many others wasn't a pleasant experience, and judging by the current density, the lightning pools now had more people than the most crowded swimming pool she'd seen in her previous life. She didn't want to soak in the lightning pool like this, and soaking itself wasn't comfortable to begin with. So after her insistence, she and Senior Sister rely remained temporarily in the lightning pool area.
Jiang Mo felt sowhat awkward, leaning against Senior Sister's shoulder, her entire tiger form sowhat wilted: "Ah Yue, was I wrong to be selfish this morning? If I hadn't kept you on Purple Cloud Peak making sachets, I wouldn't have picked that flower, and we wouldn't have this undeserved calamity now."
Staying in the lightning pool area was a minor issue. Jiang Mo tugged at Yun Qingyue's robe, very concerned that the flower might have affected Senior Sister.
Yun Qingyue could sense Jiang Mo's caution and could guess her worries and self-bla. However, as the person concerned, she was quite open-minded and harbored no grievances. She caught Jiang Mo's hand that was tugging at her robe, her voice still carrying its coolness, her tone still unhurried: "It's alright. It's all just coincidence, and moreover, this isn't necessarily a bad thing."
Speaking from her personal perspective, Yun Qingyue felt that Jiang Mo was truly very fortunate, seemingly favored by the Heavenly Dao since birth—she was born in the spiritually deficient Cloud Ridge Secret Realm, where the spiritual energy was insufficient to support her birth, yet she still stubbornly ca into the world and struggled to appear before her. Though initially physically weak, even lacking the Nascent Soul cultivation that divine beasts should possess at birth, her re-cultivation speed was astonishingly fast. Despite her lazy nature, sohow during these eighty years of separation, she had managed to cultivate to the Fusion stage in such a short ti. Then their reunion, the sea journey, discovering secrets, encountering crises—it seed she always turned danger into safety.
Each past experience seed to verify the Heavenly Dao's favoritism toward the white tiger. And with Yun Qingyue by her side, she naturally experienced and witnessed many things as well.
Including this current crisis—although the Sect Leader had not yet determined whether Xuanqing Sect's anomaly originated from the unknown mutated flowers, what they had seen and heard made Yun Qingyue 80% certain. Having the mutated flower pinned in her hair was indeed dangerous, but without this danger, who knew when the flower's abnormality would have been discovered, and what state Xuanqing Sect might have been in by then?
In simple terms, this was dangerous for her, but for Xuanqing Sect and the bigger picture, it might be the key to breaking the impasse. And the one who discovered this key was Jiang Mo, as if heaven had casually handed her the clue.
As a disciple of Xuanqing Sect, Yun Qingyue wasn't afraid of being implicated; she was just glad that progress had been made in the matter.
Yun Qingyue hadn't initially planned to say all this, but seeing the little tiger hanging her head in dejection, she spoke gently and eloquently. It was both a statent of facts and a form of comfort.
Jiang Mo took it all in. At first, she was indeed anxious and regretful, but under Senior Sister's unhurried explanation, her drooping ears gradually perked up again. Unconsciously, Jiang Mo sat up straight, her eyes bright as she looked at Yun Qingyue. When she finished speaking, the entire tiger beca shy: "It's not, not that amazing. I just, just have slightly better luck, that's all."
Yun Qingyue laughed, and seeing the little tiger's embarrassed look, she reached out and lightly pinched her cheek. The originally fair cheek quickly turned red and hot, as if about to burn under her fingers.
"In the cultivation world, luck has always been a type of strength," Yun Qingyue said with smiling eyes, though her tone was serious.
Jiang Mo knew she wasn't wrong. Luck, or fate, was always more important in the cultivation world than in other worlds. She raised her hand to hold Senior Sister's hand, rubbing against her palm: "Then I'll share half my luck with you..."
Before she could finish, Yun Qingyue raised her hand to cover her mouth, saying seriously: "Don't say such things!"
"Three feet above one's head, there are deities watching"—this was a saying from other worlds, and whether it applied to the cultivation world was unknown, but the cultivation world did have the Heavenly Dao. Cultivators could make Heavenly Dao oaths, and their every word might be recorded by the Heavenly Dao, so such words truly couldn't be said casually. What if the Heavenly Dao took it seriously?!
Jiang Mo could see the tension in Yun Qingyue's eyes and knew she was concerned for her. Even if her words ca true and she herself would benefit, Yun Qingyue showed not a hint of greed.
How could one not be moved, not love such a Senior Sister?
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Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue temporarily remained in the lightning pool area. Though they couldn't leave, with each other's company, they didn't feel lonely or bored. On the contrary, having leisure ti to confide in each other, their feelings gradually ward without them noticing.
While the lightning pool area was peaceful, outside, Xuanqing Sect was in turmoil.
The reason was simple: after discovering the abnormality of the mutated flower, Sect Leader Qingxiao had ordered everyone to search the sect—the thods of the cultivation world were no worse than those of the technological world. Although others hadn't seen the mutated flower, Sect Leader Qingxiao had seen it and could materialize an image to inform everyone. Then, everyone extended their divine sense to search. Not only could they find mutated flowers hidden in rock crevices and mountain gaps, they could even dig three feet into the ground if needed.
This search shocked everyone, for this never-before-seen mutated flower had unknowingly spread throughout the entire Xuanqing Sect. But mixed among hundreds of flowers, they weren't conspicuous, which was why they hadn't attracted attention.
Looking at it this way, Jiang Mo truly was heaven's darling. Although many mutated flowers had grown on her Purple Cloud Peak, only one had sprouted on the sliced mountaintop, and she happened to pick that one.
Sect Leader Qingxiao looked at the compiled results and felt a weight on his chest, followed by a headache.
At the sa ti, in Lingyun Hall, besides him, only Peak Master Qingyuan was present. Peak Master Qingyuan was currently staring at a wooden box before him, containing a mutated flower he had personally picked and imdiately sealed within a barrier in the box.
Half a day had passed, and the picked mutated flower still maintained its original appearance, not withering or decaying despite being separated from its stem and leaves, nor showing any trace of demonic energy. It was like the most ordinary spiritual flower, still vibrant and fresh, as if just plucked from its branch.
Peak Master Qingyuan had been observing this flower for a long ti. Though not an alchemist, as a tool refiner, his curiosity about new things was just as strong. After observing for half a day, exceeding the ti since Jiang Mo had picked her flower, he determined that the changes in the mutated flower were unrelated to ti. So with a hand seal, a subtle bolt of lightning flickered and danced at his fingertips.
He wasn't a lightning spiritual root, but this small amount of lightning drawn by his Lightning Drawing Technique was sufficient—he casually threw this thread of lightning into the wooden box. In just a mont, the box was charred black, and the mutated flower that had remained vibrant finally showed changes.
"It's starting to lt. This flower truly fears lightning," Peak Master Qingyuan finally spoke.
Sect Leader Qingxiao didn't respond, as this had already been verified in the lightning pool.
Unexpectedly, Peak Master Qingyuan continued: "Fire burning and water drowning don't work. The quickest solution is still to call down lightning to strike it."
Sect Leader Qingxiao was sowhat surprised; he hadn't seen Peak Master Qingyuan try fire or water, so he asked: "You've verified this?"
Peak Master Qingyuan nodded: "Of course. While the flower is problematic, the most important issue isn't the flower itself, but eradicating it completely. I don't know if the stems, leaves, and roots have any effect, but keeping them is definitely trouble. So when picking the flowers, I tried to see if I could burn them clean... Perhaps my spiritual fire's grade isn't high enough, as burning wasn't very effective, and drowning couldn't kill them either."
Sect Leader Qingxiao was worried about the sa thing. There were too many mutated flowers, and picking them was risky. Without completely eradicating them, it felt like wasted effort. He knew lightning was effective, but did that an they should draw the lightning from the lightning pools and electrify the entire sect?
This idea was childish and impossible to implent.
Of course, if the lightning from the pools couldn't be used, there was another thod: summoning heavenly lightning. For instance, finding several disciples about to undergo tribulation, guiding the tribulation lightning down, and having them fly around the sect, letting the tribulation lightning help plow through the entire sect. Whether sect buildings were destroyed would be a minor concern then.
However, this approach had many concerns. First, Xuanqing Sect was large enough that completely striking it would require not just a few dozen or even a few hundred bolts of tribulation lightning, and the intensity couldn't be weak. It was questionable whether Xuanqing Sect had that many disciples about to undergo tribulation, and when the tribulation lightning struck, the Sect Leader couldn't demand they sacrifice themselves for the sect; survival would still be the priority. Second, although damage to sect buildings from tribulation lightning was a minor issue, so places truly couldn't be struck by heavenly lightning. For instance, if the core of the protective grand formation was accidentally destroyed, there would be no place even to cry.
With all these considerations and worries, Sect Leader Qingxiao felt extrely troubled, especially since this matter couldn't be delayed. He couldn't help but sigh and say: "If Qinglan were still in the sect, perhaps it wouldn't be so troubleso."
Peak Master Qinglan was Xuanqing Sect's best alchemist master, most knowledgeable about spiritual plants. If he were here, he might quickly research the weakness of the mutated flowers. Unfortunately, he wasn't present, having gone with Qingyu to aid the Buddha Sect. Even if he received the news and hurried back, it wouldn't be a matter of a day or two.
Peak Master Qingyuan also felt it was unfortunate, but he had another idea. He gave the Sect Leader a look and said: "I have no solution for these mutated flowers, but perhaps we could ask Niece Qingyue to try? You know, she underwent ancestral reversion through nirvana and now possesses the highest-grade phoenix true fire. I can't burn these mutated flowers, but that doesn't an she can't."
Hearing his suggestion, Sect Leader Qingxiao suddenly rembered the ice-sealed wound on Jianbing when the two returned—he didn't know if phoenix true fire would work, but Yun Qingyue's ice truly seed able to seal demonic energy.
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