Chapter 489: Joyful Flower Silhouette

Xu Qing's voice, devoid of emotion, caused the head to tremble even more violently when it reached its ears. It truly never expected that the reunion it had merely mentioned would actually come true. This scene left it stunned.

The Adamantine Sect Patriarch, standing by, was now incredibly excited and urged it on.

"Get in there!"

The head was genuinely on the verge of tears. Just as it was about to speak, Xu Qing raised a hand and waved, instantly forcing it into Cell 132 amidst its screams. It was placed in its original cell. The instant it entered the cell, the head immediately sensed the presence of the God's Finger, and its wails of agony transformed into cries of terror.

"This... this... this..."

Before it could fully react, the stone lion, amidst a flash of light, was also sent into Cell 132, landing in its former cell. Lying there, its body erupted with a thump, transforming into the appearance of a cloud beast. After sensing its surroundings with a blank gaze, it silently turned around and began to eat its own tentacles, as if only this could offer it some solace. However, each time a tentacle was about to be eaten, it would first transform it into the likeness of the head, clearly showing its hatred for the head's talk of reunion.

Upon noticing this, the head genuinely cried. But before many tears could fall, Cell 132 flashed with light again, and the Danqing elder appeared. To provide the God's Finger with a sense of familiar closeness, Xu Qing chose not to kill the elder but instead sent him into Cell 132 to suppress him. The Danqing elder, covered in countless bite marks and riddled with holes, especially as he gazed at the familiar cell, listened to the head's wails, and watched the sleeping God's Finger, his expression became dazed.

"Cell 132, the reunion is almost complete." Xu Qing's voice echoed through the Tenth Heavenly Palace.

The head wept, the stone lion bit, and the Danqing elder trembled. But the God's Finger had clearly found its former familiarity and slept much more soundly.

Having completed these tasks, Xu Qing disregarded his Tenth Heavenly Palace, looked up towards Morning Glow Mountain, and then shot away. His previous body couldn't travel long distances under the Abyss Sea, but his current form was capable of it.

Thus, time slowly passed. A day later, under the Abyss Sea, still two days' journey from Morning Glow Mountain, Xu Qing, who was rapidly advancing, suddenly halted. He vaguely heard cries for help echoing from a distance. Had he been in his previous body, his five senses wouldn't have been so acute. Now, once again confirming the extraordinary nature of his current form, Xu Qing paid careful attention to the sound.

As he concentrated, the sound gradually became clearer.

"Help... Is anyone there? Help me... Please help me..."

The voice was very faint. As it reached Xu Qing's ears, he raised an eyebrow, finding it somewhat familiar. After a moment's thought, Xu Qing immediately recognized it.

"Ning Yan?"

Xu Qing was surprised. He looked around at the dark Abyss Sea, recalling that Ning Yan had teleported away from the Ten-Intestine Tree and hadn't returned since. "Could it be that because there are many solar wind spatial rifts here, he fell into this place during his teleportation, encountered an accident, and thus couldn't return?"

Curious, Xu Qing followed the sound. Half an hour later, under the Abyss Sea, he saw a giant, enchanting flower blooming in the distance. It was a Joyflower. The flower, dozens of zhang in size, was covered in colorful, constantly wriggling petals, from which hundreds of stamens floated, transforming into various alien women. They hadn't spread beyond the Abyss Sea, but instead clustered around the flower disk, each with a joyous expression, continuously absorbing.

On the giant flower disk, amidst countless fluttering petals, a person could vaguely be seen lying there. It was Ning Yan. He was disheveled, barely alive, and his body was extremely emaciated, like a skeleton. His vacant eyes now showed blankness and dullness. As the surrounding alien women absorbed from him, his body continuously trembled, growing weaker, while faint cries for help emerged from his mouth.

"Help... Help..."

The Joyflower is a unique and strange plant endemic to Morning Glow State. Xu Qing had previously seen one on his journey and heard the head explain that even ordinary strong men would have their life essence absorbed by this flower within three to five breaths, turning them into withered corpses. Even Golden Core cultivators couldn't last too long. The characteristic of this flower is that when it blooms, its stamens transform into attractive individuals of various races, each conforming to that race's mainstream aesthetic, thereby attracting travelers.

Xu Qing's expression was somewhat peculiar as he glanced at the enormous Joyflower before him. Its size was smaller than the one he had encountered earlier on his journey, yet its enchanting allure was far greater. Particularly the transformed alien individuals of various races—each possessed rosy skin, plump figures, and incredible charm, indicating that Ning Yan had clearly provided them with ample nourishment.

"This Ning Yan... if he was truly teleported here, how much time has passed? He's actually still alive!" Xu Qing was somewhat moved. Recalling the scene at the Ten-Intestine Tree, he increasingly felt that the captain's assessment was correct. "There's something seriously wrong with this person."

Xu Qing, deep in thought, scanned the emaciated Ning Yan, yet still resolved to save him. After all, Ning Yan was a rather convenient tool for both him and the captain; it would be a pity to let him die.

So, Xu Qing's expression remained calm as he walked forward. The moment he drew near, the Joyflower immediately sensed danger. With a tremor, the stamen-transformed alien figures encircling Ning Yan all turned in unison, fixing their gaze on the approaching Xu Qing. Unlike their usual encounters with other travelers, this time these stamen-transformed aliens clearly sensed a crisis. They bared their teeth at Xu Qing, emitting threatening sounds to protect their "food."

Xu Qing remained expressionless, approaching step by step. Witnessing this, the Joyflower's body trembled, and it emitted a large cloud of pink mist. As the mist churned, the flower itself began to move across the ground, seemingly attempting to escape. Within this mist, those stamen-transformed alien individuals twisted away from Ning Yan's body and rushed directly towards Xu Qing, intending to block him. But before they could even get close, within an instant, several of the foremost alien individuals let out horrific screams as their bodies visibly rotted, turning into black liquid that splattered onto the ground.

Xu Qing was deep in thought. He sensed that his poison restrictions, when unleashed with his current body, propagated even faster. As he pondered, Xu Qing continued to walk. Wherever he passed, all approaching stamens rotted and withered. The transformed alien individuals, their beautiful faces contorted with fear, screamed as they recoiled, trembling, as if saying, "Don't come any closer."

This scene felt strangely familiar to Xu Qing. He was reminded of his Heavenly Palace when confronted by the approaching purple crystal, and also of similar instances involving the God's Finger. Xu Qing frowned, disliking the sight. He then raised his foot and stomped, causing the ground to rumble. Instantly, all of the Joyflower's stamen-transformed alien figures collapsed in unison, shattering completely. Only this stamen-less Joyflower remained, trembling in terror.

Satisfied, Xu Qing stepped onto the flower disk and pulled the withered, trembling Ning Yan out from among the abundant petals. Ning Yan was completely naked. He looked at Xu Qing weakly, his eyes pleading for help.

"Senior Brother Xu Qing, why are you here... Help... Save me..."

Seeing the young man tormented to such an extent, Xu Qing felt a pang of emotion, gaining a deeper understanding of the horrors of this world. He then took out a pill, fed it to Ning Yan, and produced a piece of clothing to cover him. Supporting the weakened Ning Yan, he walked out of the Joyflower. As they left, the Joyflower behind him was immediately engulfed by poisonous mist, rapidly decaying until it finally collapsed into a pool of black liquid, its demise echoing with a mournful shriek.

The moment the Joyflower perished, Ning Yan, still supported by Xu Qing, stiffened. Some vitality returned to his eyes, and he immediately turned to look at the Joyflower, his expression complex.

"Reluctant to part with it?" Seeing Ning Yan's expression after waking up, Xu Qing was surprised.

"No..." Ning Yan stammered, trembling, and quickly looked at Xu Qing, his eyes filled with intense gratitude. "Senior Brother Xu Qing, Ning Yan will never forget your life-saving kindness! How did you know I was here..."

"How did you end up here?" Xu Qing asked calmly. He wanted to know if Ning Yan had recognized his identity at the Ten-Intestine Tree. However, whether Ning Yan recognized him or not was ultimately irrelevant. After all, if the significant act the four of them had committed together were to become known, none of them would fare well.

"Huh?" Ning Yan hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly. "Senior Brother Xu Qing, I was out on a mission in Morning Glow State when I was caught by these damned Joyflowers and trapped for a long time..."

"So you're unaware of what's happening in Sealed Sea County right now?" Xu Qing looked at Ning Yan.

Ning Yan was startled, unaware of what had happened outside. In fact, Xu Qing's earlier speculation was correct: Ning Yan had indeed fallen into this location during a teleportation attempt. He had intended to leave, but then encountered the Joyflower. Initially, the Joyflower was a small plant with ordinary power. But for some unknown reason, as time passed, it grew larger and larger, and its suction became increasingly stronger. Consequently, he was unable to break free and had been continuously absorbed until this moment.

From Ning Yan's expression, Xu Qing saw the answer. "It seems he still hasn't guessed it was me..." Xu Qing said nothing more and walked forward.

Ning Yan felt uneasy. He was already afraid of Xu Qing, and now, after seeing him, he instinctively grew even more fearful for some unknown reason. He vaguely sensed that Xu Qing appeared far more powerful and terrifying than he remembered, so he cautiously hurried to follow behind him.

"Senior Brother Xu Qing... where are we going?" Ning Yan asked timidly.

"To Morning Glow Mountain." Xu Qing, walking ahead of Ning Yan, replied calmly.

Thus, time slowly passed, and as Xu Qing and Ning Yan continued their journey, they drew closer and closer to Morning Glow Mountain. At the same time, Morning Glow Mountain's crisis reached a critical point. Amidst the howling of heaven and earth, black sharp spikes shot from all directions towards Morning Glow Mountain, striking its protective formation. The violent impact caused the formation to shake intensely, echoing with a series of rumbling sounds. A glance revealed that the Morning Glow Mountain formation was now covered in thousands of such black spikes. Their penetration made the signs of the Morning Glow Mountain formation's impending collapse even more apparent.

It seemed it wouldn't last much longer.