Curio: Worry Flower

A dull, lusterless seed lay in Su Ling'er's palm.

"This thing is special."

A messy head leaned over. Shen Nong's hoarse voice sounded beside her ear.

"It can only be awakened with your essence blood."

Essence blood?

He wanted my essence blood?!

Did raising this demonic plant really require essence blood?!

Alarm bells rang in Su Ling'er's mind.

"Here, hold out your hand."

A dirt-covered hand grabbed her wrist with such force that she couldn't break free.

She watched helplessly as Shen Nong produced a silver needle.

"Don't be afraid. It'll be over in a moment."

A cold sensation touched her fingertip, followed by a slight sting.

A bead of blood welled up. Shen Nong pinched her finger, buried the seed in a pot of black soil, then held her fingertip over the soil.

"Plip."

The drop of blood fell, seeped into the black soil, and vanished.

After waiting a while...

That was... it?

Had it failed?

Suddenly!

The black soil in the pot rustled and churned. A tender shoot broke through the surface, then grew rapidly before their eyes.

It had only one twisted main vine, which split into two side branches as it grew to about half a foot tall. At the

tip of the vine, a deep blue flower bloomed.

In the center of its stamens was a blurry outline. One could just make out the traces of eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

It was a face.

A face full of terror, gloom, and bewilderment—and it looked remarkably like Su Ling'er.

Shen Nong examined the little demonic plant. A glimmer flashed in his eyes as he cast [Spirit Plant Appraisal] at it, then nodded with satisfaction.

[Curio: Worry Flower (Immature)]

Quality: ???

Category: Companion Spirit Plant

Binding Status: Bound to "Su Ling'er" by essence blood.

Description: Awakened by its master's blood, it feeds on its master's worries and takes on its master's appearance.

When the flower blooms, it will have an unexpected effect...

Current State: Seedling

Growth Requirements: Absorb the host's negative emotions (terror, worry, grief, despair...)

"This flower takes your blood as its catalyst and your thoughts as its form.

The deeper your worries, the more vigorously it grows.

I'll give you this Worry Flower. It grew from your blood, after all."

With that, he brushed the dirt from his hands and plunged back into the medicinal field he had bought without a backward glance.

He left?

Just like that?!

He grew this bizarre Worry Flower and then gave it to me?!

Su Ling'er stood rooted to the spot.

The wind swept through the valley, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, but she couldn't smell a thing. Her mind was filled with huge question marks.

She looked down at the little vine topped with her own sorrowful expression.

It swayed in the wind, its two thin branches drooping helplessly. The face outlined in inky black at its tip was filled with the same bewilderment and helplessness she felt.

Looking at it was like looking at herself.

Small, pitiful, weak, and helpless.

And yet the flower carried a strange sense of destiny.

Was this some kind of shackle?

Countless thoughts churned in her mind.

Awakened by my blood, taking shape from my thoughts...

Was this flower my substitute?

Or would we share the same fate, like the Spirit Contract Insect the Sect Master had given me before leaving?

If it were damaged, would my soul be injured too, just like with the Spirit Contract Insect?

Or would it be even worse?

If some careless disciple walked by and snapped off one of its vines, would one of my arms break too?

If someone took a dislike to it and stomped on it, would my head go "bang" and explode?!

The Spirit Contract Insect her Sect Master had given her only caused her soul to shudder when it died.

But what would happen to me if this thing was injured or killed?

At least explain it clearly!

Why did you just run off?!

She wanted nothing more than to throw the thing off a ten-thousand-foot cliff.

But she didn't dare.

It was already bound to her by her essence blood.

Throwing it away might be the same as throwing away her own life.

And it fed on worries...

Did that mean the more frightened, miserable, and despairing I was, the better it would grow?

This really was the way of the Demonic Sect!

But what am I supposed to do with you?

Su Ling'er stared at the little frowning thing, close to tears.

You little monster, can you do anything besides bring me bad luck?

Do I water you?

What should I use for fertilizer?

Ground grain, or... the flesh and blood of another senior disciple?

She couldn't help shivering.

"Junior Sister, don't worry about it. Just put it away."

Lin Qingfeng's voice came from beside her. He had just cast an appraisal spell at the flower too.

"Once you've raised it, it should be quite useful."

"Just water it like normal, I guess. I don't know much about this stuff either. Maybe try looking a little more gloomy; it might grow faster that way?"

That cryptic Shen Nong hadn't explained anything clearly.

Well, at least it shouldn't kill Junior Sister.

Su Ling'er carefully cradled the flowerpot and stiffly set off after Senior Disciple Brother.

She took every step cautiously, afraid something might happen to the little tyrant in her arms—and then her head would go "bang" and explode too.

Just then, a disciple approached them, his face bright with the joy of a good harvest. He carefully held a handful of black soil that looked warm and fine.

It seemed to be exactly the same as the soil in Su Ling'er's flowerpot.

"Junior Sister, see that handful of black soil?"

Lin Qingfeng pointed it out.

"It's the same kind as the soil in your pot. It's called Human Origin Soil, and it's currently the highest-grade spiritual soil in our sect.

"Shen Nong gave you such precious spiritual soil, along with that valuable Worry Flower. Other people have to spend spirit stones just to get their hands on some black soil.

"So don't let his strange manner fool you. He's actually a good person. You'll get used to him. Maybe he'll give you more good things in the future."

But Su Ling'er had heard only the words "Human Origin Soil."

They seized her entire attention in an instant.

An image unfolded in her mind, beyond her control:

A mire of flesh and blood. The blood, flesh, bones, and even souls of countless cultivators were crushed by some evil force.

Then someone stirred and mixed them together, turning them into the most basic nutrients. They were ground again and again with the finest soil until, at last...

They were refined into this fine, black earth!

They used cultivators' flesh, blood, and souls as fertilizer to nourish spirit plants?!

Nausea surged up her throat. She almost threw the flowerpot from her hands, but forced herself to hold on.

From what she knew of this demonic sect, they were absolutely capable of doing something like that!

Here, they actually used cultivators as fertilizer?!

Lin Qingfeng felt they had seen just about enough of the place, so he changed the subject and looked at Su Ling'er.

"Junior Sister, have you ever considered... what if there were a way to leave all those tedious chores to 'someone else'?"

"Someone else"?!

Newly captured prisoners?

Or low-ranking disciples with even worse aptitude?!

Lin Qingfeng didn't give her much time to guess. He turned and pointed toward the depths of Hundred Herbs Valley, where faint roars could be heard.

"Come on, Junior Sister. Let me show you something else from our Gui Xi Sect... Pal... Ahem, no, I mean the Spirit Beast Garden."