Grown up?!
Xie Zhaolin instinctively stepped back half a pace as she stared at the massive lizard, and that tiny movement instantly set off a triumphant laugh from the human face in the flower's center.
"Hahaha! Finally scared?" The twisted face shook wildly inside the blossom, excitement breaking through its tone. "If you obediently merge with me, I might even have mercy and let you live!"
The black shadow in the shape of a lizard coiled at the center of the flower, its crimson eyes fixed on Xie Zhaolin. Strangely, it didn't actually attack, merely maintaining a menacing posture.
Xie Zhaolin's gaze swept across the lizard. A faint, meaningful laugh escaped her lips.
"What are you laughing at?" The face's voice suddenly rose, thick with confusion and irritation. "Laughing at the edge of death?"
Xie Zhaolin didn't answer. She formed a hand seal, a mocking glint flashing in her eyes. "A Rebirth Flower that could reshape a body and repair a Primordial Soul, if it truly had other offensive means, the Heavenly Dao wouldn't allow it to exist."
"If you really have some attack, then go ahead and show me."
The face's expression froze for a moment.
"You've only ever been able to manipulate the mind," Xie Zhaolin said coldly, laughing. "First pitiful, then threats, now this ridiculous form. In the end, you're just a bluffing waste."
The lizard's shadow shivered slightly, crimson eyes flickering with a hint of panic.
"You lie!" The face shrieked, sharp and high-pitched. "If I strike, you'll die without a doubt!"
"Really?" Xie Zhaolin quickened her steps, baleful qi shooting straight into the blossom. "Then let's see!"
"Stop!" The face screamed in terror. "You'll regret it!"
She ignored it and drove her baleful qi deep into the flower's center. The silver petals trembled violently. The face twisted in agony, letting out a heart-wrenching scream.
"Ah—!"
The lizard's shadow writhed frantically but couldn't actually attack. It could only watch as Xie Zhaolin's baleful qi churned within the blossom. The silver flower instantly withered, dissipating into glimmers of silver light.
Just as Xie Zhaolin thought it was over, the lizard's shadow began violently contorting. Dark scales peeled away, revealing silver-white light beneath.
"This…" She instinctively stepped back, hand forming a defensive seal.
The shadow twisted, gradually changing shape. Thick limbs retracted, the menacing head reshaped, the body compressed, and the crimson eyes slowly faded into pure silver. When it seemed the face's warnings were true, the lizard didn't attack. Instead, as it shrank, it solidified. Eventually, when it became the size of a palm, it transformed completely into a translucent silver crystal.
Xie Zhaolin froze, a flash of insight striking her mind. Suddenly, she realized they'd likely been going in the wrong direction all along.
"I see…" she whispered, eyes brightening with comprehension.
If the lizard had truly merged with the Rebirth Flower, how could it become a crystal after the face disappeared?
Coupled with the highly intelligent manipulation of the face, a shocking truth began to emerge— The Rebirth Flower's core had probably been right in front of them the entire time! That also explained why they had searched the cliff bottom for half a month without finding anything.
Who could have guessed that the fierce lizard was actually the core of the Rebirth Flower? No one would connect such a beast with a legendary holy artifact.
Xie Zhaolin reviewed every encounter with the lizard carefully.
At first, it had been smaller and clumsier, indicating the Rebirth Flower wasn't fully matured. Killing it then might've destroyed the flower entirely.
In Blackwater Abyss, everyone's cultivation was suppressed to the Foundation stage. If Mo Yan hadn't waited thirty years, knowing the environment inside out, it wouldn't have been so easy to severely injure the lizard.
For ordinary cultivators…
She recalled her first encounter with the lizard—almost being devoured, barely surviving thanks to the beast souls protecting her. Otherwise, she'd already have been a skeleton at the cliff bottom. Any normal person would flee immediately, never thinking to fight it to the death.
The most frightening part came later.
If left alone, once the Rebirth Flower matured, the lizard's power could surge to near Nascent Soul levels. At the suppressed state of Blackwater Abyss, no one could oppose it.
A chill ran down her spine.
Even if someone could slay a matured lizard, who could guess that this beast was the core of the Rebirth Flower? Killing it would destroy the core, and the legendary artifact would be lost forever.
"A flawless self-preservation scheme…" she murmured, a hint of fear in her eyes.
Even if a cultivator was incredibly lucky and encountered the lizard during its black orb phase, entering the internal space required nearly impossible conditions—the black orb had to consume their essence blood.
Essence blood was precious; wasting it on a nearly supernatural black orb was unthinkable.
Xie Zhaolin recalled her spirit sword fused with her essence blood and felt secretly relieved. If not for Mo Yan's talisman temporarily sealing the space, or her timely attack, she'd never have entered the mysterious inner world of the flower.
Even entering, she'd face the final deadly test—the human face identical to her, combined with the soul-eroding floral fragrance, enough to make most cultivators lose themselves. Without her three centuries of trial, her Dao heart as solid as rock, she'd have fallen for it. Any mistake, and she could've missed this chance entirely.
"No wonder no one in the Cultivation Realm has ever truly obtained the Rebirth Flower."
Every layer of trial seemed like a deliberate moat set by the Heavenly Dao. The Rebirth Flower itself was already extraordinary—reshaping bodies, repairing Primordial Souls. If anyone could claim it easily, it would disrupt the cycle of Heaven.
These trials weren't coincidental.
From the initial lizard form, to the matured black orb, to the flower's manipulative illusion, every step was a test by the Heavenly Dao.
A cold smile tugged at Xie Zhaolin's lips. "Too bad… you ran into me."
She no longer hesitated, fingers closing firmly around the silver crystal. In that moment, the entire space trembled violently. The silver-white sky began to shrink, the water level rising visibly, and the surrounding walls pressed inward toward the center!