A Stalk, Two Flowers, Earth Immortal Spring Lotus

"Feels awful... I really want a cigarette..."

Having escaped death, Wei Xuanfeng lay sprawled across a tree branch, casually tossing a couple of wild fruits into his mouth.

Now that he had stopped to rest, the exhaustion and injuries accumulated over many days came crashing down on him all at once.

On top of that came the backlash from using the Horse Talisman and the Strength Pill.

It could be said that he was in a state worse than death...

"No, I still can't rest..."

By his reckoning, he still had to remain in these mountains for another two days before the assessment would end.

But right now, he did not have a single rabbit ear...

At first, to make it easier to hunt down Wei Zhaoting and the others, Wei Xuanfeng had hidden the rabbit ears in the woods.

Yet when he followed the markers back to retrieve them, he could not find them no matter what...

"I've eaten the Strength Pill, used the Horse Talisman, and have no cards left up my sleeve. I can only honestly hunt rabbits now."

Wei Xuanfeng laughed at himself, then forcibly suppressed the agony wracking his body and vanished into the forest...

Meanwhile, deep within White Lotus Mountain.

A Xuanlan Wolf Demon, black from head to toe, three zhang tall and nearly ten zhang long, was howling madly.

Yet no matter how it charged and rampaged, it could only circle within a tiny space.

Five demon slayers clad in flying-fish uniforms surrounded the Xuanlan Wolf Demon.

However, the weapons in their hands were not embroidered-spring blades, but formation banners roughly one zhang long.

"Boss Wu, we've trapped the beast! Whatever you're going to do, do it now!"

The leading formation sorcerer roared.

Formation sorcerers were one branch of sorcerers.

So-called sorcerers were a separate power system pioneered by the ancient sages of humankind in their search for ways to fight demons and devils.

After evolving over countless centuries, the six paths of Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist, martial, sword, and sorcerer cultivators had each developed their own strengths, complementing one another.

On the hillside, seventy or eighty Xuanlan Wolf Demons were attacking those formation sorcerers as though their lives meant nothing. As the elites of the Xuanlan Wolf Demon clan, every one of them was at the demon general level.

But their path was firmly blocked by several hundred demon slayers.

Amid the demon slayers, Wu Santong wiped the blood from his face, delight surging in his heart.

As expected of formation sorcerers from the imperial capital—they could even trap a Xuanlan Wolf Demon at the demon king level.

That great figure up above had truly paid an enormous price to obtain this Earth Immortal Spring Lotus.

"Brothers, hold the line!" Wu Santong circulated all the inner force of his Martial Grandmaster realm and shouted, "Even if we die, we cannot let a single wolf demon break through our defenses!"

"The Demon Suppression Directorate is mighty!"

The many demon slayers answered in unison.

"Seven Killings, Embroidery, come with me!"

With a call from Wu Santong, he sprinted toward the cave behind the wolf demons.

A man and a woman followed close behind.

Seeing the three of them enter, the trapped Xuanlan Wolf Demon became even more frenzied.

Under its struggles, the few formation sorcerers positioned at the formation's core instantly went pale as death.

Those with lower cultivation had already begun bleeding from the corners of their mouths...

Wu Santong knew time was running out as well. Once inside the cave, he shifted his inner force and pushed his movement technique to its limit.

As the Wolf Emperor's bedchamber, this cave was extraordinarily vast within.

On both sides of the passage lay heaps of ghastly white bones.

"Embroidery, light it up!"

Before Wu Santong had even finished speaking, the woman behind him had already taken a longbow from her back.

She nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

After three piercing whistles, she fired the arrows blindly into the depths of the cave.

Clang, clang, clang!

With the woman's immense strength, the arrows sank directly into the cave walls.

Only the fletching remained outside, along with the luminous pearls hanging from the arrow tails.

The glow cast by the three luminous pearls faintly lit up the interior of the entire cave.

"Not enough, shoot again!" Wu Santong roared.

"Boss, one of these luminous pearls could buy half my life!"

Embroidery grumbled, but still nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring.

Another three rapid shots followed. Under the light of six luminous pearls, the inside of the cave was as bright as day.

Wu Santong narrowed his eyes. At the end of the cave was a hot spring, and five Xuanlan Wolf Demons stood around it.

They surrounded the hot spring, baring their fangs.

Based on his understanding of the wolf clan, there was an eighty-percent chance these five wolf demons were all she-wolves.

And judging by their size and aura, they were considered weak among demon generals...

That made sense. Their purpose here was nothing more than to satisfy the Wolf Emperor's lust. As tools for venting desire, there was naturally no need for them to be particularly strong.

"Seven Killings. Embroidery."

After saying that, Wu Santong ignored the five wolf demons and headed straight for the hot spring.

The mist swirling above it made it impossible to see what lay beneath the water.

But time no longer allowed him to hesitate. Without even taking off his clothes, Wu Santong plunged straight into the water.

His movement technique was too fast. The five wolf demons could only watch helplessly as he jumped in.

By the time they tried to stop him, a man and a woman had already blocked their path.

"That beast sure knows how to enjoy himself. Looking at these she-wolves, I'm starting to find them rather pretty."

The man named Seven Killings joked as he spoke, but his fists showed no mercy whatsoever.

Normally, hunting a demon-general-level beast required at least three martial artists of the Martial Master realm working together.

But Seven Killings, as Wu Santong's capable deputy, naturally could not be judged by ordinary standards.

His iron fists howled through the air. Every strike and every move made the she-wolves hesitate and retreat.

"If you like them, you can marry them and take them home!"

Embroidery moved with nimble footwork. Even while facing the joint assault of two she-wolves, she remained completely at ease, occasionally loosing an arrow to support Seven Killings.

"After marrying a tigress like you, I can't even look at other women, much less a pack of she-wolves!"

While laughing and talking, Seven Killings smashed one she-wolf's chest cavity apart with a single punch.

The she-wolf slammed into the wall like a torn sack. By the time she fell to the ground, she had already stopped breathing.

"Fuck your mother's leg! When did I ever say I was marrying you?!"

Embroidery lived up to her name, with delicate and lovely features.

Only her mouth...

Was rough.

But her skills were genuinely formidable.

Of the five she-wolves, two had already been nailed dead to the cave wall by her.

"Huh? If you weren't going to marry me, why did you let me into your bedding last night?"

Seven Killings crushed the necks of two she-wolves, one in each hand, as he looked toward Embroidery.

Embroidery's skin was slightly dark, but at that instant, a flush still spread across her face.

"Fuck you, can't you keep your voice down?!" She glanced toward the hot spring. Only when she saw that Wu Santong had not emerged did she let out a breath. "I was afraid I'd die on this mission. Before dying, I wanted to know what a man tasted like. Got a problem with that?"

"So it wasn't that I slept with you—it was you who fucking slept with me..."

Just as Seven Killings was about to say something else, a burst of bubbles churned to the surface.

A human head emerged from the water.

"If a married couple wants to quarrel, get into bed and do it later. Focus up, all of you!"

The one who emerged was naturally Wu Santong.

He was covered in blood, and a root was clutched in his hand.

Clearly, he had gone through a fierce battle beneath the water as well.

"Boss."

Seven Killings and Embroidery forgot their argument and hurried to his side.

"Don't worry. I paid a bit of a price, but I won't die." Wu Santong shook the root in his hand. "Seven Killings, pull it out for me!"

"Leave it to me!"

Seven Killings grinned, took the root, and immediately gathered all his strength to yank it outward.

Embroidery, meanwhile, pulled out a medicinal pill and stuffed it into Wu Santong's mouth.

"AAARGH!!!"

With Seven Killings's furious roar, the root was dragged bit by bit out of the water.

Bang!

A streak of light burst out of the water.

Embroidery reacted with lightning speed. With a flick of her slender hand, two copper coins shot forth.

The instant the coins brushed past the streak of light, she sharply reeled in the fishing line tied to them.

Wu Santong raised a hand and caught it.

The moment the three of them saw the streak clearly, their breathing quickened.

Snow-white petals, blood-red stamens.

It carried a faint, delicate fragrance.

That streak of light was none other than the Earth Immortal Spring Lotus!!

But what shocked them most was that there were actually two Earth Immortal Spring Lotuses growing from that single stem!

One stem, twin blossoms!

They had paid such a price and gone through so much trouble.

That great figure wanted only one Earth Immortal Spring Lotus, yet now there were two...

Did that not mean...

For a moment, all three pairs of eyes burned with desire.

"Boss..." Seven Killings was the most impatient of them all and immediately spoke up.

"Though the Earth Immortal Spring Lotus is highly poisonous, in the hands of an alchemist, it can be refined into countless sixth-turn pills." Wu Santong suppressed his excitement as he spoke. "Handing over one of these treasures will be more than enough to show our loyalty. As for the other one... it will stay in Kang City..."

"Boss is wise!" Seven Killings roared.

With this Earth Immortal Spring Lotus, Kang City could produce at least ten more Martial Sect realm experts!

He and Embroidery were both peak Martial Master realm cultivators, as well as Wu Santong's trusted direct subordinates.

Their names would definitely be on the list for advancement!

"Boss, how do you plan to deal with the other Earth Immortal Spring Lotus?" Embroidery was the first to calm down after her wild delight. "If those above learn that we hid it away..."

"Simple!" Wu Santong smiled calmly. "You and Seven Killings will fake your deaths. Later, take advantage of the chaos to leave White Lotus Mountain with the group. Then take one Earth Immortal Spring Lotus and hide in Chen Family Village. Once Lord Yang leaves, you can come back."

"Boss, you really are the best!" Embroidery's eyes lit up.

"Boss, you trust the two of us too much, don't you?" Seven Killings said. "What if we run off? Wouldn't you be taking a huge loss?"

"We've known each other for over thirty years. If you two want to run, at least let me drink your wedding wine first!"

Wu Santong laughed.

At those words, Seven Killings grinned foolishly, while Embroidery blushed shyly...