Chapter 106
The snow lotuses were pure and immaculate, their soft radiance drifting through the ancestral hall like a flowing river of moonlight.
As they circled Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao, the pair seemed less like cultivators and more like immortals descending from the heavens.
The contrast was especially striking against the miserable state of everyone else.
But Hu Ruoyan had no mood to appreciate the spectacle.
The moment she saw the snow lotuses, the composure she had maintained until now shattered.
"What did you do to them?!"
Her voice cracked through the hall like a whip.
Regret flooded her heart.
The instant she laid eyes on them, she understood. Things had already slipped beyond her control.
Somehow, these two had wiped out her clansmen and brought them here. The trouble they represented was far greater than she had anticipated.
Lou Yuqing casually raised a finger.
At once, the river of snow lotuses split into two streams.
One drifted toward her.
The other flowed toward Ling Yunxiao.
After a quick count, she discovered she had one more snow lotus than him.
Excellent.
Meanwhile, Qi Qingxiong's eyes had been fixed on the snow lotuses from the moment they appeared.
His breathing quickened.
His gaze practically turned green.
So many snow lotuses.
So many.
He wanted nothing more than to rush over and snatch every last one of them.
Then the next scene nearly shattered his understanding of reality.
Lou Yuqing flicked out several strands of spiritual energy.
The snow lotuses trembled.
As though waking from a deep slumber, they slowly brightened.
Soft white light spilled outward-and then they transformed.
Right before everyone's eyes, the snow lotuses became people.
Qi Qingxiong froze.
His mind went blank.
The world seemed to stop turning.
The snow lotuses... had turned into humans?
He blinked hard and rubbed his eyes before looking again.
The scene before him remained exactly the same.
Nothing had changed.
"Could the rumors actually be true...?" the sickly elder brother suddenly muttered.
Seeing Qi Qingxiong's bewildered expression, he forcibly suppressed his own shock and explained in a low voice, "There's a legend about a snow lotus spirit cultivating in the snowy mountains.
It's said to be gentle by nature and skilled in healing.
Whenever a destined person enters the mountains seeking medicine, it appears and cures their illness. "
Qi Qingxiong's mind buzzed.
The real Snow Lotus... wasn't a medicinal herb at all.
It was a snow lotus spirit.
From the very beginning, he had been chasing the wrong thing.
If these two hadn't appeared, he might have followed that mistaken trail all the way to the end without ever discovering the truth.
Slowly, he lifted his head and looked toward Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao.
His gaze eventually settled on Ling Yunxiao.
The two had crossed paths before.
They had even fought.
Yet in what felt like the blink of an eye, he had been defeated so completely that there was no room left for comparison.
Ling Yunxiao noticed the complicated look in the disguised Hu family disciple's eyes.
After a brief pause, he more or less pieced together what had happened and smiled faintly.
"Need me to see you off?"
"I have one last question."
Qi Qingxiong wasn't surprised that his identity had been exposed. After all, he hadn't exactly made any effort to conceal it.
"Have you found all the snow lotuses?"
Ling Yunxiao shook his head.
"No."
Qi Qingxiong's brows lifted in genuine surprise.
"Who else?"
Without a word, Ling Yunxiao shifted his gaze toward Hu Ruoyan.
The answer was self-evident.
Qi Qingxiong: "..."
Without another word, he activated his teleportation jade bracelet.
A flash of white light enveloped him.
The next moment, he disappeared.
His departure attracted no attention whatsoever.
The subtle influence of the small world quietly guided everyone's awareness elsewhere.
At the same time, nearly everyone present heard the sickly elder brother's explanation, including Hu Ruoyan.
In her original plan, her identity wasn't supposed to be exposed until much later.
Unfortunately, reality rarely followed anyone's script.
Hu Ruoyan stepped forward, positioning herself in front of the newly restored Snow Lotus clansmen.
Then she raised her eyes and looked directly at Lou Yuqing.
"What do you want in exchange for releasing my people?"
Her voice was calm.
Far too calm.
She had hunted these two repeatedly.
Under normal circumstances, captured clansmen should have been dead.
Instead, they had been returned unharmed.
It didn't make sense.
Unless they wanted something from her.
And there was only one thing she possessed that they could possibly be interested in.
Snow Lotus petals.
The petals of the Snow Lotus Royal Family possessed the power to cure any illness instantly.
Only those of royal blood carried such an ability.
Her mother had been royalty.
And so was she.
That was why the clansmen addressed her as Young Mistress.
Now, the revenge she had painstakingly planned was filled with uncertainty because of these two.
Revenge was important.
But so were her people.
If it meant bringing them back safely, she was willing to pay any price.
Each Snow Lotus petal represented a portion of her cultivation. Every petal she lost meant a loss of strength.
How many did they want?
One?
Several?
Or were they greedy enough to demand them all?
The chill in her eyes deepened.
Unfortunately, she had guessed completely wrong.
Lou Yuqing had released the Snow Lotus Clan because she had already received the points she wanted.
As for Snow Lotus petals capable of curing illnesses?
She had no interest in them whatsoever.
Besides, there was still plenty of juicy gossip left to uncover.
The plot couldn't end yet.
With a pleasant smile, she casually waved a hand.
"Miss Hu, you've misunderstood. We mean you no harm. In fact, if we're being honest, Miss Hu was the one who showed hostility first."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"Our search for the Snow Lotus was purely out of personal curiosity. Who would've thought we'd end up being hunted because of it? Still, since Miss Hu wishes to reconcile, we won't make things difficult for you."
Hu Ruoyan remained silent for a long moment.
Eventually, she asked, "What do you want?"
"That can wait." Lou Yuqing waved the question aside. "We can discuss that after you've settled matters with the Hu Family Head."
Naturally, she had no demands at all.
What she really wanted was a front-row seat to the coming drama.
After a brief silence, Hu Ruoyan gave a faint nod, tacitly accepting.
Seeing this, Ling Yunxiao casually flicked out a strand of spiritual energy.
The remaining snow lotuses drifted forward.
One after another, they awakened and transformed into human form.
Among them were Old Xue and Old Shang.
Old Xue froze for a moment before recognition dawned.
The next instant, his eyes turned bloodshot.
"You killed Old Ji." His voice trembled with fury as he glared at Ling Yunxiao before turning toward Lou Yuqing as well. "And you."
Lou Yuqing met his gaze without the slightest change in expression.
"He tried to kill us first." Her tone was calm and matter-of-fact. "If someone comes to kill you, are you supposed to stand there and let them?"
The strong survived.
The weak died.
That was simply how the world worked.
Fortunately, she kept the rest of those thoughts to herself.
Otherwise, Old Xue would probably explode on the spot.
She was here for the main event, not a side quest.
Blinded by hatred, Old Xue ignored every word they said.
With a furious roar, he charged forward, only to be knocked unconscious before he could even reach them. A sharp strike landed on the back of his neck, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed heavily to the floor.
Hu Ruoyan calmly lowered her hand.
"Old Shang. Watch him."
Old Shang pressed his lips together and nodded.
"Understood."
Like Old Xue, he hated Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao.
He wanted revenge for Old Ji.
But compared to them, Hu Haitian and the Baishi Sect Master ranked first on his list.
Those two had destroyed the Snow Lotus Clan.
They were the true enemies.
Everything else could wait.
As the situation slipped further out of control, panic finally surfaced on Hu Haitian's face.
"Demon Slayer!"
His voice echoed through the ancestral hall as he looked desperately at Ling Yunxiao, as though grasping for a final lifeline.
"You once helped the Hu Family eliminate demons, and I paid you exactly as promised. If you help me kill this rebellious daughter and these evil creatures, I'll reward you a hundred times over—no, a thousand times over!"
The final words came out almost as a roar.
A thousandfold reward amounted to at least tens of millions of spirit stones, nearly the entire wealth of the Hu Family.
Hu Haitian was gambling everything.
Spirit stones could always be earned again.
As long as he survived, the Hu Family could rise once more. But if he died, everything would be over.
A trace of madness flickered in his eyes.
Ling Yunxiao smiled.
"Patriarch Hu's sincerity is truly moving." His tone carried a hint of genuine admiration. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted."
For a brief moment, hope flashed across Hu Haitian's face.
Then Ling Yunxiao shook his head.
"But unfortunately, my junior sister and Miss Hu already have an arrangement."
He sighed lightly.
"So I'll have to decline."
The last trace of warmth vanished from Hu Haitian's body.
An icy chill spread through his limbs, as though he had been thrown into a frozen abyss.
His lips moved slightly, but no words came out.
Lou Yuqing glanced sideways at Ling Yunxiao.
This guy was ruthless.
For a split second, she felt as though she'd wandered into one of those cultivation novels where the protagonist casually exterminated future enemies before they could rise to power.
Maybe I should get rid of him now before he becomes a serious threat...
She gave a silent cough.
Wrong genre.
Hu Ruoyan suddenly laughed.
"Heaven's justice never fails. Retribution always comes."
Her eyes blazed with hatred as she looked down at Hu Haitian.
"When my mother begged you for mercy, did you hesitate even once? Today, I'll personally send you to meet her—and unlike her, I won't show the slightest bit of pity."
"You unfilial daughter!"
Even sprawled on the ground, Hu Haitian continued to roar.
"Patricide is punishable by death!"
A snow-white lotus flower appeared in Hu Ruoyan's hand. Just as she was about to strike, Lou Yuqing suddenly raised a hand.
"Wait."
Hu Ruoyan paused.
Lou Yuqing looked genuinely puzzled.
"We're killing him already? Shouldn't we list his crimes first? Isn't that how these things usually work?"
For a moment, Hu Ruoyan fell silent.
In truth, she had considered it.
Then she had decided Hu Haitian wasn't worth the effort.
After a brief pause, she said flatly, "Very well. Hu Haitian deceived my mother, humiliated her, and ultimately murdered her. Any one of those crimes deserves death."
The moment she finished speaking, Hu Haitian burst into harsh laughter.
"Ridiculous!" His expression twisted with contempt. "That woman was a demon, not one of our kind. Different races, different hearts. Killing her was a righteous act. What crime did I commit?"
Several members of the Hu family unconsciously nodded in agreement.
Seeing that, Hu Ruoyan's smile only grew colder.
"Like father, like son. No wonder the entire Hu family deserves to be buried with you."
Her gaze swept across the hall before settling once more on Hu Haitian.
"When you first met my mother, you already knew she was a Snow Lotus spirit. Do you know why?"
Without waiting for an answer, she continued.
"Because when you were on the verge of death, it was my mother who sacrificed her cultivation and used her petals to save your life."
Shock rippled through the ancestral hall.
Even the Hu family members stared at Hu Haitian in disbelief.
For a brief moment, discomfort flashed across his face, but it vanished almost immediately.
"Nonsense! If I'd known she was a demon, I'd rather have died than accept her help!"
Hu Ruoyan looked at him as though he were something filthy.
"Now you call her a bitch. Have you forgotten how you used to address her?"
Her voice dripped with mockery.
"You called her Xue'er. So affectionate. So loving."
The entire hall fell silent.
"You used sweet words to lure her down from the snowy mountains. You promised her marriage. But from beginning to end, she was nothing more than a tool to you—a tool for cultivation."
An elder suddenly muttered under his breath, "The Patriarch's talent was mediocre. His sudden rise was always attributed to a fortunate opportunity..."
Realization dawned across his face.
"...Could that opportunity have been-"
"Elder!" Hu Haitian barked sharply.
The elder immediately fell silent.
But by then, countless suspicious gazes had already turned toward the Hu Family Head.
Hu Ruoyan paid no attention to the reactions around her.
Her eyes remained fixed on Hu Haitian.
"After she married you, she became pregnant. Not long afterward, your cultivation reached a bottleneck."
A mocking smile tugged at her lips.
"So even while her body was still weak from childbirth, you forced her to assist your cultivation again and again."
Her voice grew colder with every word.
"You watched her grow weaker day by day until she could no longer leave her bed. And when the Hu family finally rose to prominence and attracted the attention of the Baishi Sect, you chose the easiest path."
She stared at him, her blood-red eyes filled with undisguised hatred.
"You didn't protect her. You didn't stand beside her. You bowed your head, offered gifts to secure your position, and when that wasn't enough..."
Her voice suddenly sharpened. "You handed over my mother as well."
The ancestral hall fell deathly silent.
Hu Ruoyan continued as though she could no longer stop.
"You forced her back into her original form. You plucked her petals one by one, refined medicine from them, and treated her like nothing more than a test subject. Again and again, you experimented on her, trying to recreate the effects of her bloodline."
Her fingers tightened around the lotus flower in her hand.
"Do you know how she died?"
The question echoed through the hall.
No one dared answer.
Hu Ruoyan's eyes glistened faintly.
"She died in agony."
Every word seemed to have been torn from the depths of her soul.
"She spent her final days trapped in endless pain while the people she loved stood by and watched."
A terrifying killing intent swept through the ancestral hall.
Standing there, Hu Ruoyan no longer resembled the gentle eldest daughter of the Hu family.
She looked like a vengeful spirit that had crawled back from hell itself.
The grief and hatred on her face were enough to silence the entire ancestral hall.
The hatred of a daughter whose mother had been tortured and murdered was not something that could be resolved with a few words.
People could argue about the differences between humans and demons. They could talk about race, prejudice, and old grudges.
But if they placed themselves in Hu Ruoyan's position, none of them could understand Hu Haitian's actions.
That had been his wife.
The woman who had saved his life.
The woman who had never once harmed him.
Yet he had treated her as nothing more than a shortcut to power, a cultivation resource to be used until nothing remained.
Even members of the Hu family found it difficult to accept.
This was the Patriarch they had followed for years?
Nearby, the matriarch stared at Hu Haitian as though she were seeing a stranger.
A chill slowly crept through her body.
She had always known his first wife died young.
She had simply never known why.
After a long moment, her hand slipped away from Hu Ruofeng's mouth.
Freed from the restraint, Hu Ruofeng instinctively opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
Every cruel remark she had prepared for Hu Ruoyan vanished before it could leave her lips.
For the first time, she found herself unable to say a single word.
A cold laugh escaped Hu Ruoyan.
"Do you know how I learned all of this?"
Her crimson eyes swept across the hall.
"The inherited memories of spirit races are truly useful."
The smile on her face vanished.
"You killed my mother and slaughtered my people. Today, every debt will be repaid."
The gathered factions immediately felt their hearts sink.
By now, the situation was obvious.
If nothing changed, everyone present might die here.
Many of them had never even heard of Xue Lian before today.
One cultivator finally stepped forward. "Fellow Daoist Hu, this matter has nothing to do with us. We neither harmed your mother nor participated in the destruction of the Snow Lotus Clan. Please show mercy and allow us to leave."
The plea was quickly echoed by others.
Unfortunately, Hu Ruoyan remained unmoved.
"I already gave you that chance." Her gaze swept across the crowd. "When the time came to choose, you stood with the Baishi Sect."
A trace of mockery entered her voice.
"You chose your side. That makes you my enemies."
The Snow Lotus Clan immediately erupted in agreement.
"Young Mistress is right!"
"Anyone who stands in our way deserves death!"
"Blood debts must be repaid with blood!"
The neutral factions instantly turned furious looks toward the Baishi Sect Master.
If he hadn't dragged everyone into the conflict earlier, they would never have become targets in the first place.
Meanwhile, Xie Wenheng quietly retreated several steps.
Almost instinctively, he moved closer to the Baishi Sect Master.
Then a thought suddenly struck him.
The snow lotus imprisoned within his father's cave... could that have been one of the experimental subjects Hu Ruoyan mentioned?
And if that was true, why had his father insisted on arranging a marriage between him and Hu Ruoyan?
A chill ran down his spine.
For the first time, he began to wonder whether there had been another motive hidden behind that proposal all along.
At last, Hu Ruoyan raised her hand.
"My people, go. Avenge your grievances and settle your debts."
The Snow Lotus Clan had been waiting for that order.
The moment it fell, they surged forward like wolves released from their chains. Lotus blossoms streaked through the air as screams erupted throughout the ancestral hall and lives fell one after another.
Watching the chaos unfold, Lou Yuqing let out a long sigh before turning away.
Under different circumstances, she might have struggled with the decision.
But not today.
That was one of the reasons she had released the Snow Lotus Clan in the first place.
Hatred only meant something when it was finally allowed to reach its destination.
Footsteps approached from behind.
Without turning around, she asked, "You don't want the points anymore?"
If Ling Yunxiao subdued Hu Ruoyan, his score would surpass hers.
She had given up because she didn't want to fight Hu Ruoyan.
Why was he giving up?
"It's not important."
Ling Yunxiao casually erected a soundproof barrier, instantly cutting off the screams and chaos behind them before falling into step beside her.
A smile lingered on his face.
Brighter than ever.
Lou Yuqing glanced at him.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, she froze.
His smile was genuinely beautiful.
So she simply said what she was thinking.
"Your smile is really beautiful."
Ling Yunxiao's mind went blank.
The world seemed to disappear.
Only those words remained, echoing over and over in his head.
A flush immediately spread across his face.
Within moments, even the tips of his ears had turned red.
Lou Yuqing watched in fascination as the color deepened.
Then, almost unconsciously, she reached out and touched his cheek.
The heat startled her.
Her eyes widened. "Have you been poisoned?"
No normal person's temperature should be this high.
Ling Yunxiao: "..."
Looking at the completely oblivious girl in front of him, he could only smile helplessly.
"It's fine. It'll pass soon."
The exchange eased the heaviness that had lingered in Lou Yuqing's heart.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"To be honest, I'm a little disappointed."
Ling Yunxiao paused.
"If something happened to you," she continued honestly, "I'd become the undisputed number one."
Ling Yunxiao instantly regretted interrupting the moment.
After a long silence, he could only say, "You were already number one."
Lou Yuqing's smile deepened.
It was like countless flowers blooming all at once.
Ling Yunxiao stared at her, unable to look away.
Before either of them could say anything else, a flash of white light swallowed them both.
The trial world vanished.
A booming voice echoed across the square.
"The Snow Lotus Search Trial has concluded!"
"First Place: Lou Yuqing of the Wendao Sect!"
"Second Place: Ling Yunxiao of the Wendao Sect!"
"Third Place: Qi Qingxiong of the Yunxiao Sect!"
"The three of you have qualified for the Arena Competition!"
Lingzhu Zhenren's rough voice reverberated throughout the square.
Countless gazes immediately turned toward the three participants.
This trial world had ended unusually quickly.
The allotted seven days hadn't even passed.
Yet the Wendao Sect had already secured two of the three qualifying spots.
In a single moment, Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao became the center of everyone's attention.
Qi Qingxiong: "..."
So he really was just background decoration.