From the beginning to the end of the lightning strike, Yun Qingxue felt as though she had experienced countless cycles of life and death. In the end, she survived!
Fearless and composed, she gazed at Chen Qing, whose murderous intent had flared up again. On the ground, Hua Yin’s desperate voice continued to plead, “Go! Just go!!!”
Yun Qingxue lowered her head, glanced at Hua Yin, and smiled. “There’s no escape now…”
The despair in Hua Yin’s eyes deepened, and for the first time in his life, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness emanating from the depths of his soul. Then, he clearly saw Yun Qingxue’s lips move twice—a silent message, just two words: “You go!”
“Grand State Preceptor of the Human Race.”
After silently mouthing those two words to Hua Yin, Yun Qingxue turned back to face Chen Qing, whose murderous intent was surging, and gave him a cold smile.
Chen Qing frowned, eyeing Yun Qingxue warily, afraid that the “demoness” in his eyes might hatch some sinister scheme.
“Do you know who I am?” Yun Qingxue asked casually, yet her demeanor carried an unmistakable air of regal arrogance.
Chen Qing narrowed his eyes coldly, scrutinizing her. His voice was rigid and devoid of emotion. “Demon, don’t play tricks. Today is your death day!”
“How dare you!”
As soon as Chen Qing spoke, Yun Qingxue’s expression turned icy and imperious. She barked sharply before continuing, “You dare call me, the King of the Flora Clan, a ‘demon’? Are you deliberately provoking hostility between our races? Oh—so tonight, your attempt to assassinate me represents the stance of your human emperor, does it? Your human race intends to declare war on my Flora Clan, is that it?”
“Enough of your nonsense!” Chen Qing’s cold eyes narrowed further, utterly unconvinced by her words.
Yun Qingxue didn’t bother arguing further. With a flick of her will, she reverted to her original form—a peony.
A blue peony bloomed in the darkness, its entire body shimmering with silver starlight. The fusion of blue and silver was as dazzling as the midnight sky.
Unconsciously, the spell Chen Qing had been preparing dissipated in his palm. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the peony that had suddenly appeared before him.
He wasn’t mistaken—it was indeed the legendary Starlight Blue Peony, the most noble bloodline of the Flora Clan…
In the blink of an eye, the peony vanished, and Yun Qingxue returned to her human form, looking at Chen Qing with a faint, mocking smile, her eyes devoid of warmth.
“Grand State Preceptor of the Human Race, do you now see the true identity of the ‘demon’ you so vehemently denounced?”
“This…”
Chen Qing was at a loss for words, his expression twisting with conflict.
Seizing the opportunity, Yun Qingxue subtly gestured for Hua Yin to leave.
Hua Yin cast her one last deep glance, mustered his strength, and swiftly fled.
Seeing Hua Yin escape, Chen Qing’s face darkened, and he instinctively moved to pursue, but Yun Qingxue swiftly stepped in his path, blocking him.
“Grand State Preceptor of the Human Race, do you intend to chase down and kill my guard?” she asked, raising an eyebrow with a faint smile.
In that brief moment, Hua Yin had vanished without a trace. Yun Qingxue exhaled inwardly in relief.
“This…” Chen Qing felt as though his mind had become a tangled mess.
The “world-seducing demon” he had divined was actually the king of an entire race—not someone he could simply eliminate at will. Moreover, the man who had just fled was clearly the Flower King’s guard, given how fiercely he had defended her.
But…
Chen Qing couldn’t shake a lingering doubt. Something about the Flower King felt… off.
He quickly reviewed the events in his mind and seized upon the key detail—the Flower King’s magical power was far too weak!
Realizing this, Chen Qing’s gaze at Yun Qingxue grew tinged with suspicion.
Yet he couldn’t reconcile it—if this Flower King were a fake, how had she transformed into the unmistakable Starlight Blue Peony? That couldn’t have been an illusion; he was certain of what he’d seen.
“Ahem…”
As Chen Qing pondered, Yun Qingxue covered her lips and feigned a weak cough, looking at him with self-deprecating mockery. “Are you thinking of how to kill me quietly? Ha! I lost my powers temporarily due to a cultivation mishap, so of course I’m no match for you. No need to deliberate—just kill me quickly if that’s your intent!”
Her words provided a plausible explanation for her current weakness while simultaneously dispelling Chen Qing’s doubts about her strength.
Of course, she wasn’t truly waiting for him to kill her—she was exploiting a loophole.
In the Xuanling Continent, aside from humans, most other races knew that the King of the Flora Clan, Yun Qingxue, was a “useless” ruler. But humans remained ignorant of this—largely because they disdained mingling with other races. Likewise, most non-human races who took human form harbored little goodwill toward humans.
Naturally, there were exceptions—human men falling in love with beastwomen, flower spirits enamored with human scholars, or mermaid spirits befriending woodcutters…
But these were rare and often ended in tragedy.
This mutual distrust naturally led to poor information flow—a fact that now worked in Yun Qingxue’s favor.
She stared coldly at Chen Qing. “Though I can’t defeat you now, killing me will come at a price.
You’re aware of the fate of the previous Flower King, Lan Xuechen, who reincarnated only to die violently, aren’t you?”
Chen Qing remained silent, watching her intently. Even if human intelligence on other races was lacking, the uproar surrounding Lan Xuechen’s death had been impossible to miss. But why was the Flower King bringing this up now?
“As the saying goes, ‘One mountain cannot shelter two tigers.'” Yun Qingxue smiled faintly, her tone a mix of pity and resignation. “I actually sympathized with Lan Xuechen. Had the Flower King’s Seal still recognized her as its master, she wouldn’t have met such a tragic end.”
Her words struck a chord in Chen Qing. The woman was implying that the Flower King’s Seal—the artifact commanding all plant spirits—was in her possession!
No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than Yun Qingxue’s expression turned resolute. “They say the road to the underworld is lonely. If I’m fated to die today, I might as well take others with me. After all, with the power of the Flower King’s Seal, it wouldn’t be hard to ensure years of famine. Countless mortals, devoid of magic, would starve to death and keep me company in the afterlife. The Yellow Springs would surely become lively…”
“Don’t you dare!” Chen Qing’s face paled, his voice tinged with panic.
Yun Qingxue smirked darkly. “And all of it, in the end, would be thanks to you, Grand State Preceptor.”
“Your Majesty exaggerates!” Chen Qing’s tone softened abruptly.
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