Chapter 265: Morning Sky Tree Appears

"Indeed... Master, your judgment is likely correct. My Sacred Lotus hasn't felt any chill whatsoever."

"Yes, my soul source feels the same. It seems all the phenomena in this mountain range only affect living beings. If this is truly just one of that Celestial Flower's divine abilities, then this flower is truly terrifying!"

As the Sacred Lotus descended, it drifted into a corner of the icy peak, quickly taking root in the ground and beginning to furiously absorb the surrounding spiritual energy.

For seven consecutive days, there was no movement near the mountain range; no flaws appeared at all. The Sacred Lotus continued to absorb spiritual energy, which was also a cultivation method that made Bai Lianxue stronger than others. This was because the Sacred Lotus was the essence of her physical body, intrinsically linked to her life force. The lotus absorbing spiritual energy was akin to Bai Lianxue's external cultivation.

Meanwhile, the Empress's spiritual power constantly shielded Bai Lianxue, hidden within the lotus's petals to prevent any detection.

Three more days passed in the blink of an eye, making it ten days in total. During this time, Xu Yang's team never rested, constantly observing the surroundings and searching for traces of the Northern Jin individuals, but they found nothing.

"There's an anomaly!"

The Empress suddenly spoke, once again drawing everyone's attention in the spirit vessel.

"What's happening?"

"It's an extremely powerful, materialized spiritual energy, slowly approaching. It's not emitting a threatening aura; rather, it feels like a vast, inclusive power drawing near!"

The Empress's words were directly transmitted into Xu Yang's mind.

"Excellent. Don't make any moves. Keep guarding it like this. I want to see what tricks this mountain range is playing."

When this aura fully manifested, the scene captured in her sea of consciousness utterly shocked the Empress. At the same time, she relayed the information she gathered to Xu Yang through soul resonance.

"Good heavens... Is this the true form of that Celestial Flower, the Nine-Petal Heavenward Plant?"

What was revealed in her mind was the outline of an incredibly massive Celestial Flower, so large it seemed to blot out the sky. More importantly, the so-called nine petals were actually nine opalescent, jewel-like tendrils, and the aura touching the Sacred Lotus was merely a part of one such tendril.

"If this plant truly unleashed its fury, it could obliterate the entire mountain range in an instant. Its true power, I fear, might be beyond even primeval ancestral beasts like the Tao Tie; it's comparable to a true divine bloodline!"

Xu Yang was utterly stunned. What was more alarming was that he even felt that if he were to forcibly inject his aura at that moment, with his current strength, he could barely protect the Sacred Lotus, but he wasn't entirely confident he could conquer this colossal Celestial Flower.

*Whoosh!*

Just as he began to worry about Bai Lianxue's true body, the colossal outline of the Celestial Flower suddenly changed, transforming into the appearance of a small human girl. The girl was about the same size as Xiao Tuan Tuan, with rosy cheeks that made her look incredibly adorable. She approached with immense tenderness, cupping the Sacred Lotus in her hands and gently caressing it, without any hint of malice.

"Good heavens, if such a cute little girl were truly harmed by those Tabai Yun fellows, wouldn't that be dreadful..."

*Rumble!*

Just then, an incredibly powerful roar suddenly erupted from the other side of the mountain range.

"That's... Feng Xiu's aura!"

A colossal sword beam appeared in the void, slashing down directly towards the little girl.

"Hahahaha! Nine-Petal Heavenward Plant, I've been waiting for so long, and I've finally caught your aura! Did you really think no one could break through this illusory space you've cloaked with your spiritual power? Our team is here to visit Qilin Mountain, comprised of the most powerful experts from all three thousand provinces, and there's more than one among us proficient in spiritual power!"

Feng Xiu's voice, naturally, also entered the minds of everyone in the spirit vessel through the Empress's soul perception.

"This is bad. We must act now; we absolutely cannot let that Celestial Flower or the Sacred Lotus get hurt! Long Kun, stay here and guard Lianxue and everyone else. A'Xue and I are going down!"

"Understood!"

*Whoosh!*

The Empress's soul source returned to its place, guiding Xu Yang to swiftly descend towards the little girl's location, naturally alerting Feng Xiu on the other side of the mountain.

"You all..."

Upon seeing Xu Yang and the Empress, the little girl's expression instantly turned incredibly cold.

"Don't misunderstand. We're here to protect you. That sword-wielding man outside is a minion of the Northern Jin imperial family. They covet the Dragon's Hoard of Qilin Mountain and intend to take your life as a medium to reach the heavens. They also annihilated the Qianyun Sect previously. We rushed here after receiving news."

Although the girl looked very young, her intelligence was remarkably high.

"So, in that case, this Sacred Lotus... you brought it down?"

Xu Yang chuckled, "There was no other way. Your spiritual power is too immense. This Sacred Lotus is my disciple's life-bound soul lotus. Only through it could we find a way to locate you. Believe us, we never intended to harm you."

The girl gently sniffed the Sacred Lotus, her eyes filled with affection.

"Of course I can feel it. This Sacred Lotus is very gentle. Almost every flower seed under heaven would surrender to me, but this one, like a ray of light, prefers to quietly protect me without growing too close. That is why I cherish it. Since you are not my enemies, you may leave. I do not yet need your help."

*Whoosh!*

As the Nine-Petal Heavenward Plant finished speaking, Bai Lianxue's true form appeared. More precisely, she gradually materialized from within the Sacred Lotus.

The two looked at each other. Perhaps due to their shared essence as floral entities, despite never having met, a profound sense of kinship lingered between them.

"Flower Sister, these people have malicious intentions. With me here, I promise you won't be harmed."

Bai Lianxue's gaze was incredibly resolute. To Xu Yang and the Empress's astonishment, she gently embraced the little girl.

"You... are you truly willing to protect me? After hundreds of thousands of years of solitude in this mountain range, I have finally waited for you, Lotus Sister, who brings me hope!"

"I will guard you with my life, Sister. Anyone who dares to target you, I will make them die!"

A dense killing intent emanated from Bai Lianxue, but it quickly subsided under the little girl's soothing presence.

"As for fighting and killing, why don't we leave that to them? Aren't they all your friends?"

As the Heavenward Plant spoke, Bai Lianxue instinctively turned and glanced at Xu Yang and the Empress. Both smiled and nodded with great satisfaction, then ascended into the sky, swiftly confronting Feng Xiu.

To their surprise, Feng Xiu's strength seemed to have significantly improved, and the killing aura emanating from the sword on his back was intensely powerful!

"This guy... did he deliberately hide his cultivation before? That makes no sense! You suppressed him badly, and he should have been injured. It's impossible for him to recover this quickly in such a short time!"