Chapter 342: Flower and Deer

Everything happened in an instant, and the brightly lit world transformed into a realm of ghosts.

Inside Longevity Tower, the candlelight held by the young boys and girls was consumed, turning into an eerie green glow. Meanwhile, the tender children in luxurious clothes, their fair skin turned green, yet their smiles remained. On the magnificent carpet, all the piled flowers became flowing fire, streaming towards the center of the pool. The graceful figures of the dancers turned into wisps of smoke, emitting shrill laughter.

Ahead, screens formed of firelight turned ghastly white. The old Taoist priest, whose sleeves fluttered, had flowers in his hair and antlers on his head, surrounded by clusters of young boys and girls.

“They are not human; they are Ginseng Fruits,” Simaing said, looking at the young boys and girls.

Ning Changjiu nodded gravely, and asked, concentrating his voice into a thread, “How do we kill them?”

“The third plan,” Simaing replied, “just follow my sword.”

Before Ning Changjiu could nod, Simaing vanished from his side. She drew an invisible sword from nothingness and in an instant extinguished most of the eerie flames in the room.

In the dim light, the White Deer Immortal’s face was half green and half white. He gazed at Simaing’s thrusting sword with extreme seriousness, then heavily pushed out two fingers, blocking the incoming blade.

He knew he shouldn't have met that strike, but having been suppressed on Bhikkhu Peak for too long, he also wanted to know the true gap between himself and the fourth strongest person in the mortal world!

The sword wind blew in his face, shattering his beard and hair. The flesh between the White Deer Immortal’s two fingers was instantly stripped away, revealing only stark white bone.

Bone against sword!

The bone was ground to dust, falling like fine powder.

The White Deer Immortal let out a muffled groan. From the fire screens on either side, long blades burning with eerie green flames sliced towards Simaing’s head.

Simaing remained unmoved.

Although these two fiery blades could corrode spirits and sever bones, to her, they were nothing more than two handfuls of flour thrown at her.

From the ethereal sword, a fierce sword wind erupted, lunging towards the White Deer Immortal's body.

Behind her, the young boys and girls, transformed from Ginseng Fruits, also bared their mouths, revealing sharp, bone-white teeth, and lunged at her back.

“Heh, the fallen immortal you spoke of back then only wanted a thousand hearts, but you… you've done far worse than that fallen immortal!” Simaing sneered as she stepped onto a raised platform. With her right hand drawing a sword and her left sleeve waving, she instantly tore away the screens on both sides, revealing piles of white bones behind them.

Each of these Ginseng Fruits had been cultivated with hundreds of liters of beast blood and bones, supplemented by the heart of an awakened demon. At this moment, they all revealed their true forms. Inside Longevity Tower, the stench of blood instantly became thick and cloying.

The White Deer Immortal, channeling his cultivation, fully resisted Simaing’s sword. His voice was like a roar, saying, “My purpose is different from that fallen immortal; how can we be compared? Everything he did was for his own ascension, while I made these sacrifices for the continued existence of the demon race for generations to come!”

As the young boys and girls, transformed from Ginseng Fruits, lunged forward, Ning Changjiu had also arrived behind Simaing.

He swept his sword horizontally. In the torrent of sword light, like a flowing river, the young boys and girls were simultaneously sent flying, their bodies breaking into several pieces.

But this could not kill them at all.

On the ground, the scattered fragments of bodies quickly writhed and reassembled. Some casually grabbed an arm and attached it to themselves, while others picked up a head and twisted it onto their necks. Others, with all limbs and heads severed, rolled once in the sea of body parts and immediately returned to their original state. There were also headless bodies hopping around, yelling about whether there were any spare heads to use.

Inside Longevity Tower, it was a chaotic clamor.

Ning Changjiu’s expression remained unchanged. With flicking fingers, countless sword blades stood upright, each blade resonating with the others, creating a barrier of thunder.

“Hahaha, don't waste your effort! These vengeful spirits are all formed by the Divine Tree; how could they be easily killed?” The White Deer Immortal laughed loudly. He could no longer withstand Simaing’s sword, and his body was forced to continuously retreat.

The White Deer Immortal, pushed by the sword, crashed through all the screens in the room and slammed into the wall.

Simaing’s sword pierced his body.

The White Deer Immortal’s body rapidly decayed.

Simaing’s eyes subtly changed. Behind her, scattered bones suddenly converged, forming an ancient blade that lunged at her.

“Bone Transformation Art?” Simaing murmured softly, then said, “No!”

She used a back-sword technique to block the White Deer Immortal’s blade. However, in front of her, the decaying bones she had just pierced instantly revived and delivered another strike.

Simaing’s eyes narrowed, and with a mere glance, she directly blunted the blade’s edge.

The revived bones died once more. But by her side, the white bones that had been piled behind the screens came to life. They all took on the form of white deer and lunged towards Simaing.

“An illusion?” Simaing gently shook her head.

She formed a lotus gesture with her hands and slowly lowered them before her. Sword-fires ignited on the foreheads of the skeletal deer, forcing them back three feet.

Simaing’s divine robe shimmered lightly, and with a flick of her sleeve, all the white bones shattered at once, splashing onto the walls like ink.

Among the murals on the wall, a white deer that had been painted there vanished.

That seemed to be the White Deer Immortal’s true form.

The old man, with flowers in his Taoist topknot and wearing a yellow and black robe, reappeared. He gravely looked at Simaing, activated the Myriad Demon Art, and struck out with a palm, like a giant deer rearing its hooves.

This was a palm strike of immense power. If it were an ordinary person, they would instantly be turned into a pulp.

Simaing looked up.

A fierce wind poured down from above, making her silver hair and black robe stand straight.

In the past, Simaing might have needed some effort to break this palm strike, but she had comprehended the true path in her dreams, advancing her sword cultivation. Now, unless she faced the Myriad Demon Art at its peak, she would not even bat an eye!

Simaing raised her head, pointed her conjoined fingers like a sword, and aimed directly upwards.

It was a simple, decisive sword strike, seemingly as insignificant as a blade of grass beneath Mount Tai, or a small boat in a great wave. Yet, it was Mount Tai that crumbled, and the great wave that shattered.

Simaing stepped lightly, and the bricks beneath her feet shattered completely. Her figure had already appeared before the White Deer Immortal.

She struck out with another sword, slashing towards the antlers on either side of his Taoist topknot.

Spiritual power and demonic energy clashed, the sound like clashing tides. The surging spiritual storm overturned everything. Inside Longevity Tower, layers of walls crumbled, and wooden pillars snapped, creating a terrifying commotion.

After Simaing’s sword strike, the White Deer Taoist's steps crisscrossed, hundreds of hoofbeats sounding simultaneously. His voice was like a spirit deer's call, untraceable, and he actually found a way to survive within Simaing's crisscrossing sword light.

Even so, his Taoist topknot was still severed, and the stone camellia fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, hundreds of young boys and girls were all blocked by Ning Changjiu's single sword strike, but Ning Changjiu also seemed to have expended immense effort, his face pale.

The White Deer Immortal actually had leisure time. He glanced at Ning Changjiu and said, “This pretty boy you brought is truly useless; he can only block common soldiers for you, not share your worries.”

Simaing remained noncommittal, simply letting out a faint scoff and saying, “He was never useful.”

As she spoke, Simaing gracefully swung her sword. A stunning and peerless sword light, like a seagull breaking through a tide, thrust forward.

The already ravaged Longevity Tower was almost sliced in half by this sword strike.

The White Deer Immortal repeatedly dodged but failed to evade. Two sword lights pierced his shoulder blades like nails, flinging him backward, crashing through the wall behind him and into another room.

Simaing moved unhurriedly. She shattered the white bones attempting to reform nearby before stepping into the room.

The moment Simaing set foot inside, dozens of mechanisms in the room activated simultaneously. Swords and chains tempered by demonic fire crisscrossed, sealing her escape routes airtight, while endless killing intent pressed down on her!

“You told us such a long story earlier, just for this shoddy killing formation?” Simaing gently shook her head.

The rapidly slashing blades and swords, seemingly encountering an unknown hindrance, suddenly became extremely slow.

The White Deer Immortal watched with wide eyes as the black-robed, fox-masked woman strolled leisurely through the flashing blades and swords in his meticulously prepared slaughter chamber!

“You… what authority is this?!”

The White Deer Immortal's voice was laced with rage.

Simaing did not reply. Her leisurely figure moved like sudden thunder, instantly appearing before the White Deer Immortal. Where her hand raised, an ethereal sword instantly materialized. She casually gripped it and, as if throwing it, thrust it towards the White Deer Immortal's chest.

While Ning Changjiu was still blocking the hundreds of unkillable young boys and girls, he heard a loud noise from behind. It was the White Deer Immortal’s scream and the sound of dozens of mechanisms breaking simultaneously.

The White Deer Immortal’s aged body had been pierced through by a single sword strike. Simaing showed no hint of arrogance. After her initial strike, several swords suddenly emerged from either side of her silver hair, simultaneously thrusting towards the White Deer Immortal.

This demon king, at the initial stage of the Five Paths, was clearly a dominant force. Yet, once his true form was captured, he was utterly suppressed by the opponent’s realm, unable to offer any resistance. He could only watch helplessly as several swords thrust towards his forehead.

“It’s no use even if you kill me!” the White Deer Immortal shrieked. “You can’t take the Underworld Lord’s authority at all!”

“Why?” Simaing asked.

Before the swords pierced his skull, the White Deer Immortal laughed sharply, “Because… the Underworld Lord’s authority… is a sword!”

In Myriad Demon City, those who carry swords die!

This was the lingering echo of the White Deer Immortal’s words.

Simaing trembled slightly. She immediately thought of Yulü, the other Underworld Immortal Sword, named alongside Shentu.

Back in the Luo River Scroll, Qiu Yue once held a replica of Yulü, saying the real sword should have been destroyed in war long ago… But how could the Underworld Lord’s sword simply vanish? Shentu’s broken blade still existed, so Yulü might also remain in the world!

As this thought surged in her mind, the door of the slaughter chamber behind her suddenly slammed shut.

The sound of machinery abruptly started. Above her, a scorching sun seemed to bloom.

It wasn't a blooming sun, but a golden feather.

It was one of the two magical treasures the Golden-winged Great Peng had given to the White Deer!

Inside the entire room, all the killing weapons pressed in at once. Above the golden feather, the White Deer Immortal’s phantom image emerged, giving Simaing a sinister smile.

It used the golden feather for reincarnation, its spirit then projected outwards from the feather. It intended to heavily wound Simaing, at the cost of destroying this meticulously prepared room!

But it had still underestimated Simaing.

The moment the room was destroyed, it couldn’t even discern a trace of surprise in her icy eyes.

She was like an illusory figure embedded within the room; the collapse of the entire room had nothing to do with her.

This was one of Moon Sparrow's authorities, which bore a striking resemblance to Ning Changjiu’s Moon in the Mirror, Watery Bloom.

Simaing transformed into flowing light. Enveloped by the authority of time, she instantly crossed the gaps of the collapsing mechanisms, and with conjoined fingers, struck with her sword towards the golden feather.

The golden feather, enveloped by moonlight, had nowhere to escape. It shattered into golden light, and the White Deer Immortal’s figure tumbled out from it.

After enduring a strike from a Five Paths demon king, Simaing’s expression showed no ripple of change.

The outcome was largely clear. She flipped her hand, and the ethereal sword condensed in her palm, shooting out with a flick of her wrist.

After the strike, she clasped her hands behind her back, and leisurely walked to one side, exposing numerous vulnerabilities, appearing extremely overconfident.

A look of suppressed anger appeared in the White Deer Immortal’s eyes.

Its skeletal frame exploded at that moment.

Above, two antlers flew out like swords and landed in a pair of hands—it was a shadow, like a black wind, lunging out from the skeleton.

He lunged with all his might at Simaing's back, intending to perish with her.

Simaing remained unmoved.

With a dull thud, the antlers fell heavily to the ground.

The dark shadow had been cut in half at the waist.

The one who struck the sword was Ning Changjiu.

He had been waiting for a long time.

His apparent struggle when dealing with the Ginseng Fruits earlier was a pretense, because he and Simaing had already agreed that once she had nearly killed the White Deer Immortal, she would intentionally act overconfident and expose a large vulnerability, forcing him to reveal his true form and fight desperately.

While the White Deer’s entire attention was on Simaing, the well-prepared Ning Changjiu had already arrived behind him and intercepted him with a single sword strike.

The White Deer Immortal’s body fell to the ground, severed into two halves.

“Well done,” Simaing said faintly, turning around.

She glanced at the young boys and girls in Longevity Tower. After Grandfather Immortal died, they were all aghast, retreating to the walls, trembling.

Ning Changjiu said, “The White Deer is dead. Who do we ask for the whereabouts of the Underworld authority?”

Simaing confidently replied, “The Underworld authority doesn’t need to be sought; it’s inside the Ginseng Fruit Tree.”

“I see,” Ning Changjiu nodded. He turned around, looked behind him, and asked, “What about these Ginseng Fruits?”

Simaing said, “What else can be done? Should we throw them all into alchemy furnaces to make pills?”

Ning Changjiu gently shook his head.

Simaing walked towards them, muttering to herself, “He’s a demon at the Five Paths stage, yet he’s so weak?”

Ning Changjiu said, “Under the protection of a Saint, the soul should be indestructible. This White Deer Immortal died too easily.”

Simaing replied, “After all, I was the one who made the move.”

Ning Changjiu nodded approvingly, praising, “Master’s achievements are unparalleled; no demons or devils can hide from you.”

Simaing’s brow furrowed slightly. “The White Deer Immortal is dead; have you become addicted to acting?”

No sooner had she spoken than a glimmer of light suddenly flashed in Simaing’s eyes.

The golden light was thrown by a young girl from among the crowd.

This was the second magical treasure the Golden-winged Great Peng had lent it: the Golden Rope.

This was a relic of the fallen immortal from back then. Later, the White Deer Immortal, seeking to curry favor with the Golden-winged Great Peng, gifted it to the Great Peng.

The Golden Rope shot towards Simaing like a golden arrow. Simaing watched this long-suppressed, yet somewhat weak, attack and gently shook her head.

She reached out, and with a twist of her palm, the Golden Rope hovered three feet in front of her, writhing in pain like a snake being preyed upon by an eagle.

It was also at this moment that a murderous intent, like a blade sharpened on a whetstone, surged menacingly from behind!

The source of the murderous intent was a stone camellia—it was the stone tea flower that had fallen to the ground when the White Deer Immortal’s Taoist topknot was severed earlier!

The moment the murderous intent arose, Simaing, still restraining the Golden Rope, felt a chill down her spine. She did not understand the cause of this killing intent, but she suddenly realized that simple defense was too late. This strike was certainly not enough to kill her, but if mishandled, she could be injured!

But Ning Changjiu seemed to have anticipated it.

The moment the stone camellia’s murderous intent surged, a Golden Crow flew out, landing on it like light.

The death qi from the Underworld seemed to encounter its natural enemy, struggling before being dispersed.

The Golden Crow, carrying the half-withered flower in its beak, slowly flew up and gently set it down.

As the stone camellia landed, a boy in tea-brown clothes tumbled out from it. His eyes and brows were dark, and he lay on the ground, black blood oozing from his seven orifices, looking on the verge of death.

Simaing dispersed the Golden Rope’s immortal qi and grasped it tightly. She looked at the black-clad boy on the ground, then raised her head to Ning Changjiu, asking in confusion, “What exactly is going on?”

Ning Changjiu said, “Let it explain.”

The tea-clad boy stared intensely at Ning Changjiu and said, “I never thought… I never thought that you would be the one I underestimated in the end?!”

Ning Changjiu calmly said, “You’ve done quite well.”

The tea-clad boy, hearing this almost insulting comfort, asked unwillingly, “When did you guess my identity?”

Ning Changjiu replied, “The first time I saw you, I felt something was off.”

The tea-clad boy continuously bled black blood, staring at Ning Changjiu with resentment and unwillingness.

Simaing only then realized, “He’s a stone camellia demon?!”

Ning Changjiu gently nodded and said, “Do you remember the demon we encountered in the haunted temple outside the city back then?”

Simaing’s eyes narrowed.

Ning Changjiu continued, “The centipede holding the chicken hostage, the mantis holding the oriole hostage, the mosquito holding the frog hostage… At that time, I felt that the legendary Ghost Emperor harbored intense resentment towards natural enemies being countered.”

Ning Changjiu looked at the tea-clad boy and explained to Simaing, “I once thought that since the White Deer was the peak master of Bhikkhu Peak, its status should be extremely high. But at the mountainside, I saw women specially driving away white deer to protect stone camellias. In the temple, I saw many offerings of venison. Even the fertilizer used for the longevity fruit trees contained many deer bones. More importantly, we were received by two flower spirits. These two flower spirits, who were clearly chosen specifically to entertain guests, were very arrogant and dared to be disrespectful to… my Master.”

Hearing the word “Master” now, Simaing always felt he was mocking her.

The tea-clad boy on the ground listened, letting out bursts of cold laughter. “You’re right… I am not the White Deer Immortal at all; I am the stone camellia spirit… It was I who killed the White Deer and took over its consciousness. I am the hero of our clan, the king who leads them to embrace light and morning dew!”

He coughed for a while, then continued, “Originally, Bhikkhu Peak was the pure land of our flower spirit clan. But after the White Deer and that dead fox arrived, they trampled the sea of flowers beyond recognition. They ate most of the unawakened flowers and seized the awakened flower demons for themselves! Even our divine Ginseng Tree was plundered by them!”

The tea-clad boy’s voice was hoarse. “All of this only eased when the ‘fallen immortal’ monarch it spoke of arrived. The monarch, considering us rare flowers and strange