“Qianqian, let me ask you, what is your impression of the techniques of Hundred Flowers Valley?”
Ye Qingyuan did not answer directly, but asked a question in return.
“Uh… probably a Demon Cult that cultivates flower and plant techniques? Actually, I don’t know much, I’ve only heard some rumors,” Lin Qianqian replied after thinking for a moment.
“That description is roughly correct.” Ye Qingyuan took a sip of tea and accepted the roasted sunflower seeds Lin Qianqian handed him, smiling.
“Hundred Flowers Valley is indeed one of the oldest Demon Cults. Its disciples mostly use flowers and plants as a medium to practice wood-element techniques, but that’s not entirely the case. At least for the last three generations — oh, if you count Rongrong, it should be four — the successors of the Valley Master have not followed the path of plants and wood.”
“Cough, I’m getting a bit off-topic. Let’s get back to Hua Yan’s techniques.”
“In fact, when Hundred Flowers Valley was founded, ‘Hundred Flowers’ didn’t just refer to 100 types of plants, but took the meaning of ‘100 flowers blooming together.’ And this Hundred Flowers Returning to One Manual is undoubtedly the top secret method inherited in the Valley, without exception.”
“The Hundred Flowers Returning to One Manual, as the name suggests, gathers 100 types of methods into one body. Although saying ‘mastery of 100 methods’ is a bit of an exaggeration, it does allow one to master several Great Daos simultaneously, just as Hua Yan demonstrated earlier.”
“If this technique is so powerful, why doesn’t everyone in Hundred Flowers Valley practice it? If all members practiced this, wouldn’t they be invincible?” Lin Qianqian asked.
“Hah, how could it be that easy?” Ye Qingyuan waved his hand. “First, and most importantly — the Hundred Flowers Returning to One Manual has extremely harsh physical requirements. It cannot be practiced unless one possesses the Hundred Flowers Spirit-Absorbing Physique, which only appears once in several thousand years.”
“Hundred Flowers Spirit-Absorbing Physique?” There were countless strange physiques in the land of Shenzhou, but Lin Qianqian was hearing about this unfamiliar one for the first time.
“Precisely. The so-called Hundred Flowers Spirit-Absorbing Physique is a special constitution that can simultaneously accommodate and drive multiple Magic Treasures for one’s own use.”
“Generally speaking, the physique itself isn’t that powerful — after all, if one person uses multiple magic tools without the corresponding methods, no matter how many or how good they are, they can only exert 30% or 50% of their power. But once one cultivates the Hundred Flowers Returning to One Manual with this physique, they can nurture various magic tools within themselves from a young age. Then, using the special methods in the manual, they use these high-grade magic tools as a medium to directly learn the memories of the methods carried within the tools, turning them into their own divine abilities.”
“However, this technique requires a massive amount of resources in the early stages of cultivation. The practitioner’s strength is also limited by the number and grade of the natal magic tools they nurture — the more and more advanced the tools, the better. Therefore, practicing this technique inevitably costs a sea of resources.”
“Only an only grandson like Hua Yan… I mean, only granddaughter, could support such consumption.” He shook his head helplessly.
‘Uh… so Daoist Friend Hua’s family is especially wealthy, with more Spirit Stones than they can spend?’
Lin Qianqian looked at the scene of flashing blades and roaring spells on the Martial Arts Stage, lost in thought.
‘If Senior Sister marries Daoist Friend Hua, wouldn’t she have endless Spirit Stones to buy Sword Manuals?’
Ignoring Lin Qianqian’s wild imagination, two little girls were standing on small stools in front of the stands, clutching the railing side by side and whispering.
“Rongrong, your mother is so amazing… will Cloud Sword Head lose the match?”
Ning Shiliu watched Hua Yan’s dazzling barrage on the stage, her red eyes wide as she turned to look at Hua Xiangrong.
“I don’t think so,” Hua Xiangrong said, cracking sunflower seeds, her gaze still fixed on the Martial Arts Stage.
“Why?” Ning Shiliu was confused.
Right now, Hua Yan clearly held the initiative, pouring out all kinds of spells, while Yun Xuechang seemed to be responding passively.
No matter how you looked at it, Hua Yan had the upper hand. Why did Rongrong think Cloud Sword Head would win?
“Oh, Little Pomegranate, you don’t understand.” Hua Xiangrong shook her head with the air of a little adult.
“Mother’s mechanism is impressive, and her moves are flashy, but unfortunately, Mama’s stats are just too high — she can completely make a brick fly with sheer strength!”
“Mechanism? Stats?” Ning Shiliu whispered these new words, her face full of curiosity.
“Um… simply put, Mama’s swordsmanship and raw strength are strong enough to use One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws. Even if Mother knows many methods and has great coordination, it’s useless against an absolute gap in strength.”
Hua Xiangrong explained, turning her gaze back to the stage.
“Trust me, we’ll know if we keep watching.”
…
On the Martial Arts Stage.
Hua Yan threw out another Entrapment Array. Sand and stones instantly swept across the stage, briefly trapping Yun Xuechang.
She took the opportunity to pop a Spiritual Qi recovery pill into her mouth.
Huff… huff…
‘Yun Xuechang, as expected, is still unreasonably strong.’
In a moment, the Entrapment Array was shattered by a sharp Sword Qi. Yun Xuechang charged forward with her sword.
Hua Yan retreated, a cloud of green smoke exploding around her as she barely dodged the certain hit.
‘Doesn’t this woman get tired? Is her Spiritual Power bottomless?’
Hua Yan threw several golden darts with one hand and conjured a tall ice wall with the other.
Then she took out several copper mirror Magic Treasures, her figure weaving rapidly through the light and shadows.
Using the moment Yun Xuechang cut through the ice, she quietly slipped into her blind spot.
Clang — !
The sound of metal clashing rang out. Yun Xuechang turned her sword with incredible speed, her blade accurately hitting Hua Yan’s silver dagger and blocking the sneak attack.
Hua Yan raised her leg, a flame-wrapped kick hitting Yun Xuechang’s waist and sending her crashing toward the Martial Arts Stage floor.
Simultaneously, she pulled out an Array Disk and laid down a Maze Array, shrouding the stage.
‘Dammit… at this rate, I’ll be exhausted by her!’
‘I absolutely cannot lose to her again in front of so many people!’
Hua Yan bit her lower lip.
In the past, she only needed to see the opponent’s cultivation path to use a counter-method.
At most, she’d swap a few magic tools to secure the win.
But 10 years ago, on the Hehuan Sect’s Yin-Yang Platform, she did the same and lost to Yun Xuechang, whose realm was lower then.
That woman seemed to have no weaknesses, shattering all her attacks.
After 10 years, she believed she had mastered all the methods, yet why still couldn’t she win?
‘There’s no choice, I have to use that move!’
Hua Yan clenched her fists, her expression serious. She seemed to have made a difficult decision.
Ultimately, Yun Xuechang was a Sword Cultivator. Sword Cultivators focused on killing; while they were decent in other areas, their primordial spirit defense was always a weak point.
Since her zither’s sound waves didn’t work, she would try this!
She had to risk it!
…
On the other side, Yun Xuechang broke through the Entrapment Array once more, but as soon as she escaped, she was enveloped by a sudden pink mist.
Within the mist, her vision was obscured, and her Divine Sense was blocked, leaving her unable to sense Hua Yan at all.
‘Is this a new move Yan’er has been hiding?’
The white-haired Fairy gripped her sword hilt, on guard.
In their previous clashes, whenever Hua Yan used a new move, she would briefly fall into a passive state, so she didn’t dare be careless now.
The pink mist was silent, and the air was filled with a faint floral fragrance — strange yet charming.
Suddenly, a slender figure appeared in the mist, slowly approaching Yun Xuechang.
‘Here it comes!’
Yun Xuechang gripped the Autumn Water Sword tighter but didn’t strike recklessly. She suspected this was another trick or trap, so she watched the figure with intense focus.
As the mist thinned, the figure became clear — it was Hua Yan.
But strangely, she had discarded her gold and red combat outfit.
She now wore a thin pink gauze dress, her clothes slightly disheveled and her cheeks flushed with an unusual red.
Her pale gold eyes were misty and blurred.
“Xuechang… I feel so uncomfortable~~”
The Hua Yan in front of her spoke softly, the gauze slipping from one shoulder to reveal skin like jade.
Her voice was soft and lingering, like it had hooks — both tender and seductive.
“Come and help me… please~~”