When Qingxi's consciousness returned, she felt weighed down, as if a towering mountain were pressing on her head, leaving her unable to move. The air carried the earthy fragrance of soil.
Where was she? She remembered that she should have died after sacrificing herself. Why was she still conscious?
She tried to move, rousing the spiritual power within her, but froze in shock.
She couldn't feel her meridians, let alone her dantian or sea of consciousness.
What was going on?
A faint trace of spiritual power seemed to brush past nearby. Qingxi's heart leapt with joy. She quickly focused and began cultivating the Chaos Art, absorbing the spiritual power around her.
She had no idea where she was, but thankfully, spiritual power was abundant here—even comparable to Square Inch Mountain.
She devoured the surrounding spiritual power in great gulps, even forming a small vortex of spiritual power above her.
She didn't know how many days and months had passed when, with a soft pop, a tiny, tender sprout emerged from the soil, swaying with two fresh green leaves.
Qingxi slowly opened her eyes. She now existed in a soul state, and looked at the thing to which her soul was bound.
"Grass? I've turned into a blade of grass?" She was dumbstruck for a moment, then her expression softened, a tender warmth rippling through her eyes. "No, it's not grass. It's a Strange Flower sapling..."
After their second Journey to the West, they had overthrown the gods and Buddhas across the heavens, and the world had returned to peace. But the Heavenly Dao had shattered and order collapsed. Humanity had dwindled to almost nothing.
She had long since become one with the Strange Flower, sacrificing herself to reshape the world.
Perhaps it was because the Flower of the Universe was so special that she had returned to life.
But where was this place?
The next moment, Qingxi's soul shrank back into the sapling. Her soul was too weak to leave her body, so all she could do was sway her two tender leaves and look around.
She was in a mountain valley, surrounded by exotic flowers and strange stones. Not far away stood a pool imbued with both ice and fire attributes. No wonder the spiritual power was so abundant.
Plants here relied on the spiritual spring and grew hundreds, even thousands of times faster. Cultivating here was twice as effective for half the effort.
She was sure she'd be able to take human form before long.
Thankfully, the Chaos Art required only spiritual power to cultivate. She didn't know where she was, but once she had a body, she would return to the Slanted Moon Three Stars Cave.
She wondered how her master was doing...
There were no years in the mountains. Qingxi sank into cultivation.
No one knew how many years passed before, on a day of endless drizzle, an old man entered the valley. He wore strange clothes, somewhat like the styles from the West. His green hair was a tangled mess, and his pair of dark green eyes seemed steeped in poison, making one shudder.
Qingxi swayed her leaves. She was now thirty centimeters tall, with nine leaves of nine different colors. A flower bud had emerged, surrounded by a rainbow-like radiance that made her stand out among all the flowers and plants.
"Hm? What kind of flower is this? I don't remember seeing it here a few years ago." The old man exclaimed in surprise and approached the Strange Flower.
He crouched down to examine the odd flower that had suddenly appeared in his garden. He had only been away for ten years, yet this new little flower already looked more extraordinary than the other immortal herbs and spirit plants nearby.
As soon as he drew close, he felt refreshed. Even the poison that flared up on rainy days had eased. The little flower bud drooped slightly, as though it lacked energy.
Dugu Bo's heart stirred. Just getting close to this flower had such a miraculous effect. If he ate it, perhaps...
A greedy glint flashed in his dark green eyes as he reached toward the Strange Flower's stem.
Qingxi had sensed his presence the moment he approached. Though she could not yet take human form, neither her spiritual strength nor the power of her soul was something the people here could match.
Her spiritual power had already turned into countless tiny needles, silently surrounding the old man. If he dared to pluck her, she would turn him into a pincushion in the next instant.
Then, an unexpected turn of events!
Dugu Bo saw only a green blur slip out of his Soul Tool. In the next moment, a slender Little Green Snake had already climbed onto the Strange Flower's leaf.
"Hiss, hiss—" Little Green Snake flicked out its tongue and bared its fangs, hissing defiantly at its master. It looked ready to bite if he took one more step.
"Hey! You little beast..." Dugu Bo cursed. Looking at the Strange Flower guarded by the nine-tier Jade, he sighed. "Forget it. You're usually half-dead, yet now you're guarding this flower so fiercely. It must be something special. I'll cultivate nearby; that should be good enough."
With that, Dugu Bo sat cross-legged.
Qingxi watched the old man cultivating with his eyes closed nearby. Only after he had been still for a long while did she withdraw her spiritual power.
For some reason, Dugu Bo felt his heart ease. The uneasy feeling that had gripped him since a moment ago suddenly vanished.
Of course, he had no idea that he had just taken a stroll around the gates of hell.
Qingxi looked at the Little Green Snake coiled on one of her leaves and gently scratched it with a swaying leaf. Little Green Snake wriggled and sent her a burst of joyful emotion.
She smiled faintly, and the flower bud opened and closed along with her. What an amusing little snake.
She slowly closed her eyes and continued cultivating.
She had now formed a dantian. Once her core became an infant and she reached the Nascent Soul stage, her soul would be able to leave the Strange Flower and cultivate a human form.
She had reached the Nascent Soul stage within ten years, much faster than in her previous life. But now that she had become the Strange Flower's true spirit, it made sense.
Time slipped by as the stars shifted in their courses. The essence of the moon trickled down through the cave overhead, absorbed bit by bit by the Strange Flower.
Dugu Bo slowly opened his eyes and looked at the Strange Flower beside him, its bud drooping in the moonlight. He sighed. "Ah, my Soul Power has increased a little. It works, but it can only suppress the poison. Do I really have to eat this Immortal Herb to cure it?"
He looked at the little snake sleeping soundly on a white leaf. The snake had been with him for years, yet today it seemed to have gained a touch of spirit.
"Ah..." Dugu Bo couldn't help sighing again.
Qingxi had woken when Dugu Bo did. She hadn't forgotten that the old man had just tried to eat her.
And he still wanted to eat her now.
Qingxi grew wary and studied the old man carefully. Only then did she realize he was deeply poisoned.
But a little poison like this was nothing before the Strange Flower. After all, the Strange Flower was the first life born in the universe, hailed as the "Flower of the Universe."
Only after the Strange Flower came the stars and rivers, and then life. It was the sovereign of all flowers, a witness to the river of time and the ancestor of every plant.
Little Green Snake slowly woke and looked at its master, who was sighing across from it.
"Let's go." Dugu Bo raised a hand and called to Little Green Snake.
Little Green Snake backed away, clinging to the Strange Flower's stem, reluctant to leave.
"What? You want to stay here?" Dugu Bo chuckled.
Little Green Snake nodded its little head as if it understood him.
"Little thing, I've fed you so many rare spirit treasures, yet I've never seen you cling to me like this. If you don't leave, believe it or not, I'll pull this flower out by the roots."
"Hiss, hiss..." Little Green Snake anxiously flicked its tongue.
"Fine, stay here for now. This Strange Flower can suppress snake venom. I'll bring my granddaughter over to cultivate in a couple of days and see how it goes. If that doesn't work, I'll just eat it."
At his words, Qingxi was so angry she gathered her spiritual power, wishing she could poke him to death.
Unbelievable. He still hadn't given up on eating her.
Before you continue