Escape

The enormous snow-white flood dragon bared its fangs and brandished its claws, displaying its power and fear. The figure before it seemed as tiny as a speck of dust.

She wore a blue robe, her long black hair falling down her back. Alone, she stood in the great beast's path.

In that moment, everyone was awestruck. Even Jun Heng etched the sight firmly into his memory. He thought that perhaps he would never forget it for the rest of his life.

"What are you all standing there for? Run!" The snow-white sword in Sang Ying's hand had already begun to shatter inch by inch. She had not expected the Ice Flood Dragon to fly into a sudden rage; even the Ice Soul Sword could not hold out for long.

Her parents had prepared this sword for her, yet she had never imagined it would be destroyed today.

Sang Ying grieved for a brief moment, but when she opened her eyes again, they were filled with resolve.

Sang Ying's warning finally brought everyone to their senses. Some shielded their injured fellow disciples and hurriedly retreated, while others rushed forward to help Sang Ying fight the enemy.

Jun Heng was among the latter, but he kept his guard up and quietly watched Su Fuyun. He saw her leave with the others without a care, showing no intention of staying to help.

Jun Heng ground his teeth in anger, bitterly regretting that he had believed her nonsense and come to wade into these muddy waters.

"Catch! Scatter the powder inside, and make sure the Ice Flood Dragon smells it. This can put it to sleep!" While the others came forward to help, Sang Ying pulled a pouch from her Storage Bag and tossed it to Jun Heng.

That was why she had bought it.

According to the Compendium of Spirit Plants and Spirit Beasts, a plant called the Spirit-Bewitching Flower grew near the Ice Flood Dragon's territory. If dried and ground into powder, it could be used to knock the dragon unconscious. For those lacking the strength to fight it, this was the only way to take the Ice Lotus from the Ice Flood Dragon and escape safely.

Although Sang Ying was a cultivator, she had an Ice Spirit Root, so drying the flowers and grinding them into powder had taken some time. She had not expected that in that short span, the others would stir up such enormous trouble.

Several of them joined forces to erect a protective barrier with their spiritual power. The Ice Flood Dragon's tail and head slammed into it again and again, its scales striking the barrier so hard they nearly sent sparks flying.

They were only Foundation Establishment cultivators. How much spiritual power could they have? Seeing that everyone was about to reach their limit, Jun Heng gritted his teeth. "Hold on a little longer!"

Sang Ying quickly understood what he intended. When he looked over, she nodded at him. Once he withdrew, she immediately increased the flow of Spiritual Qi and took his place.

Living up to his Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation, Jun Heng braved the Ice Flood Dragon's crushing pressure and narrowly dodged one of its attacks. Seizing the right moment, he threw the pouch into its mouth, followed by a fireball. The instant the dragon closed its jaws, the fireball blew the pouch apart.

The green powder inside scattered at once, and the Ice Flood Dragon swallowed every bit of it.

At the sight, hope rose in everyone's hearts, and they poured Spiritual Qi into the barrier with even greater effort.

No one knew how long they held out before the Ice Flood Dragon's attacks slowly weakened. Only when its body went completely limp and fell heavily into the freezing pool did they let out a great sigh of relief.

They paid no heed to the bone-deep chill of the pool water splashing over them, thinking only of leaving and finding somewhere safe as quickly as possible.

They dared not delay and set off at once.

Their luck held. After traveling swiftly for a long time, they finally found a fairly well-hidden cave. They cleared away the spirit beasts in the surrounding area and settled there to rest for the time being.

Now that everyone had settled down safely, it was only natural to discuss what to do with the Ice Lotus.

Many people had been injured in the accident. If they had not brought enough medicine for their wounds, the cultivators struck by the Ice Flood Dragon's tail would probably have died in the secret realm on the spot.

So many had been hurt for a single Ice Lotus. Naturally, they were unwilling to come away without the slightest benefit.

The first to speak was the same cultivator who had reproached Su Fuyun earlier. He was also from the Flowing Light Sword Sect, but he was a young disciple who had only recently entered the inner sect. Like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, he had dared to accuse Immortal Venerable Yanchen's disciple so boldly.

"Fellow Daoist Su, you were the one who took the Ice Lotus, weren't you? Fellow Daoist Jun clearly told you to stop. Why didn't you listen? You insisted on picking it and got so many of us hurt!" A female cultivator was leaning against him, one of those who had been injured.

The two were probably more than ordinary acquaintances, which was why the male cultivator was so angry and kept going after Su Fuyun.

By now, Su Fuyun had been found in the crowd. Her eyes were red and brimming with tears; she looked less like a cultivator than a sheltered mortal young lady.

"I've wronged everyone. I was so nervous then. It was my first time leaving the sect, and I'd been given such an important task. All I could think about was picking the Ice Lotus. When Brother Jun Heng told us to retreat, the Ice Flood Dragon frightened me so badly that I couldn't think of much else. By the time I came to my senses, I had the Ice Lotus in my hand." Su Fuyun wiped away her tears, her voice full of genuine feeling.

People instinctively pitied the weak, and Su Fuyun had always presented a good image before everyone. After she cried like that, most of them believed her.

After all, she was just a young girl leaving her sect for the first time. Encountering such a formidable seventh-tier spirit beast on her first outing, she was bound to be frightened.

For a while, the crowd's resentment toward her lessened. A few of the injured even spoke up to comfort her.

The male cultivator who had questioned her was so angry that his face turned ashen.

"In that case, where's the Ice Lotus? Take it out so we can divide it among us!" Seeing everyone let the matter go so lightly, the male cultivator brought up the Ice Lotus instead.

From the look of him, he was determined to teach Su Fuyun a lesson.

Su Fuyun naturally dared not tamper with the Ice Lotus. She promptly took it out of her Storage Bag. She had stored it in a jade box made especially for holding spiritual objects, and as soon as she brought it out, cold spread through the entire cave.

"There's only one Ice Lotus. How are we going to divide it?" someone asked.

There were twenty-seven people in the cave, but the Ice Lotus had only sixteen petals. Even if each person received one, they would still be eleven petals short.

The group debated noisily in the cave. No one was willing to accept the method of division Su Fuyun had proposed earlier.

Su Fuyun showed no reluctance at all. She simply held the Ice Lotus and stayed quietly to one side without speaking.

In the end, Jun Heng spoke up. "Coming across the Ice Lotus this time was a stroke of luck for us. But there's only one. Why don't we give one petal to each person? We'll choose the eighteen who contributed the most, and the one who contributed the most of all can have the flower's core. What do you think?"

They considered it for a moment and decided that the arrangement was acceptable. After all, eighteen people would receive a share, and the remaining ten were in the minority. Even if they wanted to object, there was nothing they could do.

After some discussion, everyone decided to give the flower's core to Jun Heng.

Jun Heng had not wanted it at first. In his view, Sang Ying had contributed the most. But Sang Ying said that if he had not thrown the powder into the Ice Flood Dragon's mouth, they would not have escaped alive.

Only then did Jun Heng agree.

After the eighteen had been chosen, just as they were about to divide the Ice Lotus, the cave suddenly began to shake.

Along with the falling rocks and violent tremors came the Ice Flood Dragon's screech.

It had come after them!