Burial Flower Falls from Sky

Hua Jiu'er sat Sword Intent Passage, her body surrounded by fine sword Sword Qi.

The silvery-white light, like nimble gossamer threads, sometimes wrapped around her fingertips, sometimes brushed past her hair, emitting a faint hum in the silent hall.

She closed her eyes tightly, her Spiritual Sense spreading out like a spider web, trying to capture the trajectory of the flowing sword intent.

Suddenly, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and a hint of surprise appeared on her face.

The instant her Spiritual Sense touched the Tongyu stone wall, she seemed to glimpse a trace of the true essence of swordsmanship. It was a subtle and elusive understanding, like a flower shadow in the mist, hazy yet real.

She held her breath and focused all her energy on concentrating her Spiritual Sense, trying to grasp the elusive sword intent in her hand.

However, just as she was about to touch the core of that sword intent, all her insights slipped through her fingers like grains of sand, and the sword Sword Qi in the passage suddenly became chaotic, exploding into tiny bursts of light beside her.

Hua Jiu'er suddenly opened her eyes, her eyes filled with resentment and helplessness.

She clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white, and with a long sigh, slowly stood up.

Turning to look at Li Qingshui not far away, he was still immersed in his enlightenment, his body enveloped in a halo of sword intent, like a tranquil sword statue.

She quietly withdrew from the Sword Intent Passage and stepped into the open space outside.

His eyes darted around frantically, searching, but he couldn't find Hua Qiang anywhere.

A mountain breeze swept by, ruffling the strands of hair at her temples, bringing a touch of desolation.

The two had separated when they entered the Secret Realm, and now there was still no trace of him. A sense of loss welled up in his heart like a tide.

She took a deep breath, suppressed the melancholy in her heart, and her gaze became firm again.

"Eldest Brother must have taken it somewhere else; I will find it myself."

As she muttered to herself, she lifted her skirt and walked toward the fork in the road to the east.

The sunlight streaming through the window shone on her, casting a long shadow as she walked along the winding path, taking a series of determined steps.

After passing through the thorny canyon, the view suddenly opened up.

Hua Jiu'er's steps suddenly froze—the crimson flowers all over the mountains surged in the wind, like clouds falling to the ground, or like blood staining the spring mountains.

Each petal shimmered with a deep blue halo, its rich fragrance carrying a sharp sword intent, as if it had condensed the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into a sea of flowers.

She slowly stepped into the flower bushes, her skirt brushing against the petals, and in that instant, countless rays of light burst forth from the flower stamens.

Flowers seemed to swarm around her as if they were alive, swirling around her in the shape of a butterfly of light.

Hua Jiu'er lightly touched the nearest flower with her fingertips. As soon as her Spiritual Sense probed in, she heard countless whispers exploding in her sea of consciousness.

"The blooming of flowers is the beginning, the falling of flowers is the end." The ethereal voice echoed deep within the sea of flowers, and the entire flower field suddenly grew in reverse, with flower branches hanging upside down and petals turning into sharp sword blades.

Startled by this strange phenomenon Hua Jiu'er took a half step back, only to see the ground beneath her feet crack open with spiderweb-like patterns, and countless vines bursting out of the soil, trapping her in the center.

In the midst of the crisis, she calmed down instead.

With eyes closed and mind focused, images of flowers and their symbolism flowed through my mind:

Spring flowers bloom with vitality, autumn frost withers them, but the final, resolute brilliance before their souls fade away remains.

As the last petal fell to the ground, she suddenly understood—the so-called swordsmanship lies in seeking it between life and death.

"I see!"

A long, gleaming silver Longsword appeared in Hua Jiu'er's hand, its blade reflecting the crimson sky.

She spun around and danced, her sword intent carrying flower petals soaring into the sky, condensing into a giant phantom of a flower mound in mid-air.

The flowers withered faster and faster, and the entire sea of flowers instantly lost its color, turning into countless pale streaks of light that disappeared into her sword strikes.

"The Burial Flower Falls from Sky!"

With a clear shout, she slashed her Longsword down in front of her.

The void seemed to be torn open with a crack, and countless petal-shaped blades rained down, shattering space inch by inch wherever they passed, and half of the distant mountains were cut off by the Sword Qi.

As the last petal faded, Hua Jiu'er was drenched in sweat, but her eyes shone with an unprecedented brilliance—she had finally grasped the true essence of sword techniques from the flower's language intertwined with life and death.

The sea of flowers gradually returned to calm, and the flowers bloomed in vibrant colors.

Hua Jiu'er gently stroked the sword, feeling the powerful sword intent flowing within it.

This mysterious sea of flowers not only gifted her with deadly moves, but also allowed her to glimpse a deeper realm of swordsmanship.

After straightening her clothes, she bowed deeply towards the depths of the flower field, then turned and continued her journey in search of opportunity.

The gravel path meandered beneath her feet, and Hua Jiu'er suddenly stopped.

The wind swept sand and gravel past her ankles, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible, sword intent.

She narrowed her eyes, her fingertips tracing the path of the flowing Spiritual Qi in the air, her expression suddenly changing.

This—it contains the aura of death!

This aura comes from Yiyu Canyon.

As her skirt fluttered, she lightly touched the ground with her toes, like a streak of crimson light turning back.

After turning a corner on a mountain ridge, a dark canyon stretched out before us.

The cliffs on both sides looked as if they had been cleaved by a giant sword, with ancient vines growing from the cracks hanging down, swaying eerily in the twilight.

Hua Jiu'er drew the Longsword that had replaced the large knife she used to carry, and explored the depths of the canyon following the sword's intent.

When the Sword Comprehension Stele, engraved with ancient patterns, came into view, her heart leaped into her throat—there was no one in front of the stele, only a few withered leaves swirling on the stone platform.

"Am I too late, or has my Eldest Brother not arrived yet?"

She murmured to herself, her fingertips lightly brushing the air; the icy touch only amplified her sense of loss.

Just then, a soft laugh suddenly came from above.

Hua Jiu'er suddenly looked up and saw a young man dressed in a peacock blue brocade robe leaning against an ancient pine tree on the edge of a cliff. Peacock Feather feathers hung from his waist, gleaming faintly in the twilight.

The boy's toes touched the ground, like a blue cloud drifting down, and his black boots landed without disturbing a speck of dust.

He raised an eyebrow and sized up Hua Jiu'er, his narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes crinkling with a smile, "Little sister, what's wrong with you?"

Hua Jiu'er took a half step back, pointing her Longsword at her opponent, the Sword Qi energy condensing into a cold light between the two.

"Who are you? How do you know me?"

She stared warily at the peacock-patterned jade pendant at the other person's waist; the pattern was exactly the same as the legendary mysterious Peacock King totem.

The boy walked closer, one hand behind his back, and as his clothes brushed past, several illusory peacock tail feathers bloomed.

"You guess?"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly reached out and touched Hua Jiu'er's brow with lightning speed, his fingertips swirling with blue spiritual Spiritual Qi.

Hua Jiu'er's pupils contracted sharply, and she lightly touched the gravel with her toes, retreating swiftly like a startled swan.

With a slight tremor of her jade wrist, the Longsword traced a graceful arc. With a clear shout, a "hum" resounded, and thousands of petals emerged from the void, weaving together in the air to form a crystal-clear flower sword.

The petals shimmered with dazzling light, like the gathering of dawn, exuding a breathtaking beauty and danger.

The foil, imbued with a sharp sword intent, pierced the air with a shrill, ear-piercing sound, aiming straight for the boy's throat.

Seeing this, the boy's lips curled into a playful smile, and his figure flashed like a ghost, easily dodging the fierce attack.

Suddenly, a peacock blue streak of light shot out from his sleeve, transforming into a phantom image of a peacock about to take flight, which collided violently with the flower sword.

In an instant, Spiritual Qi energy filled the air, petals fluttered down, and a deafening roar erupted from the canyon.

Hua Jiu'er dared not slacken in the slightest. She swung her Longsword repeatedly, and more and more flower swords appeared one after another, attacking the boy like a rain of pear blossoms.

The young man remained calm, his fingertips gleaming with light. Brilliant rays burst forth from his hands, clashing fiercely with the flower sword. For a moment, the canyon was ablaze with light and filled with the crisscrossing energy of Sword Qi.