Patriarch Hua's expression was calm, but the amusement in their eyes grew deeper by the second.
"I'm sure you've all seen it clearly," they said slowly. "This final round's simple. Whoever can bring Xiao Shiba back to life wins first place."
The moment they finished, the cultivators erupted.
"Patriarch Hua, that's not what you said before! You clearly said as long as we win the last round, we'll get the reward even if we can't revive it!"
"Yeah! Now you're saying it only counts if we bring it back to life? You're screwing us over!"
The Wolf Clan's alchemist was the first to speak up, his tone dripping with displeasure. In his mind, among everyone here, he held the highest status. The Hua Clan should've given him at least some face.
But Patriarch Hua only gave him a cold, detached look.
"The two aren't in conflict. If you have a problem with it, you can leave. I won't stop you."
The Soul-Nurturing Flower was incredibly precious. They weren't about to hand it out for free. If they wanted the reward, then they had to earn it—by saving Xiao Shiba.
"You—!"
The Wolf Clan alchemist's face turned crimson. He hadn't expected such a blunt refusal. He'd always been respected within his clan, but now he was being completely dismissed in front of everyone. His pride was in shambles.
Still, faced with Patriarch Hua's cultivation level, he didn't dare talk back. He stood there stiffly, cheeks burning with shame. He looked utterly pathetic.
But in the end, he didn't leave. They'd already come this far, and giving up now would be even more humiliating.
"Hmph."
Patriarch Hua sneered and stopped wasting words. They gave their orders plainly. Whoever could revive Xiao Shiba would win. Those who failed wouldn't get the reward. And anyone who damaged Xiao Shiba in the process… would die with it.
Once the rules were made clear, everyone instantly grew cautious. No one dared to make a move.
"Song Daoyou, are you confident?"
Li Qingya spoke up beside her again, sounding friendly.
Song Wanníng shot her a sideways glance. "This woman still hadn't given up, huh?"
She curved her lips into a smile, then suddenly reached out and looped her arm through Li Qingya's.
"Nope. I'm a single fire spiritual root, only know a bit of basic planting techniques. Why don't you try instead? You look like you'd be good at it."
Her words carried double meaning, and Li Qingya's brows twitched ever so slightly. Neither of them was stupid. Both knew they were probing each other.
"I can't either," Li Qingya said with a dry laugh, turning her attention to the Wolf Clan's alchemist who was stepping forward.
"I'm the most gifted alchemist of the Wolf Clan," he announced proudly. "I'm fairly skilled with planting arts too. Let me have a look first."
He approached the dying flower, clearly planning to inspect it up close.
But before he even touched it, one of Xiao Shiba's petals suddenly fell off. His face froze. He stared at it like he'd just seen a ghost. Before he could react, Patriarch Hua struck.
Boom!
The alchemist exploded into a cloud of blood on the spot.
Nearby beast cultivators were splattered in red, staring blankly at what used to be the Wolf Clan alchemist.
No, not him—just his blood and flesh.
"I already warned you," Patriarch Hua said coldly. "Whoever dares to harm Xiao Shiba won't leave here alive."
Frosty spiritual energy radiated from them as they carefully picked up the fallen petal, their face full of pain and fury. They looked like they wanted to dig the alchemist's corpse out just to kill him again.
The plaza went dead silent. No one dared to make a sound.
They'd all come for the prize, not to die here!
Now, not a single soul dared to take the next step.
Time crawled by. No one moved an inch.
Patriarch Hua's expression darkened, irritation flashing in their eyes.
"You—"
They had just opened their mouth when the sky suddenly shifted.
The once-clear blue darkened under a surge of roiling black clouds.
From the distance, dozens of blood-red lotus flowers came hurtling toward them, radiating a killing intent so overwhelming it made the air tremble.
Patriarch Hua's face turned ashen.
"Run!" he roared.
Without a moment's hesitation, they bolted toward the exit passage, clutching Xiao Shiba protectively in their arms.
The rest of the Hua Clan scrambled after them, panic clear on every face.
Song Wanníng frowned and quickly followed suit.
The others didn't hesitate either. Everyone raced toward the passage, terrified out of their minds. If even Patriarch Hua was that scared, then whatever was coming was bad news.
But no matter how fast they ran, the blood lotuses were faster. In moments, the entire area was engulfed in crimson light. The lotuses dissolved into waves of blood mist that poured down from above.
Everyone immediately activated their treasures to defend themselves. But no matter how precious their artifacts were, the mist corroded them in seconds. Panic spread fast. They tried everything—spiritual shields, beastic energy barriers—but nothing worked.
Then a streak of red mist landed on a beast cultivator's body.
"Ahhh!"
He screamed in agony, and in the blink of an eye, his beast form was forced out. His skin melted away, bones sizzling under the blood mist's touch. He thrashed wildly, howling in pain, but there was no escape. Within moments, he was reduced to a pile of bones.
Dead.
Just like that.
Everyone's pupils contracted in horror.
Only Patriarch Hua remained eerily calm, as if they'd seen this before.
That calm made the others even more desperate. No one wanted to die like that—corroded and screaming.
While everyone was panicking and fighting for their lives, Song Wanníng stood perfectly still. Every movement of hers was unhurried, effortless. Because the blood mist didn't harm her at all.
In fact, it felt... comforting.
The blood energy seeped into her skin, merging with the aura of the Twin Blood Lotus inside her body. It flowed through her meridians and acupoints like it belonged there.
A moment later, her eyes widened slightly. Her cultivation was rising—slowly but steadily. Faster than if she were absorbing spiritual energy directly.
Realizing this, her mind raced. These blood lotuses... were connected to her Twin Blood Lotus.
Li Qingya noticed almost immediately. She'd been watching Song Wanníng closely the whole time. When she saw what was happening, her heart sank. Then her voice rang out loudly, sharp with alarm.
"Song Daoyou! Help me!"
She lunged toward Song Wanníng's direction. Her sudden cry made everyone turn to look—Patriarch Hua included.
All eyes locked on Song Wanníng in an instant.
Li Qingya's lips curled slightly, satisfaction glinting in her eyes. If Patriarch Hua took care of Song Wanníng for her, Gong Ye would be shocked beyond belief. Staying by her side would definitely be the best decision he'd ever made.