The Withered Chrysanthemum
As the intertwined black and white light surged and faded, an overwhelming pressure lifted, and Ye Qifeng's consciousness snapped back to his body.
"The chrysanthemum withers, scattered petals wound the ground, flowers fall, and hearts break."
A delicate, yet chilling shout, thick with murderous intent, pierced the air, jolting Ye Qifeng's mind fully awake.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing to fill his vision was an enormous, breathtaking chrysanthemum.
"What a massive chrysanthemum!" Ye Qifeng exclaimed internally, momentarily disoriented, yet a strange curiosity mingled with his confusion. The content of that delicate shout... it sounded oddly familiar.
In the next instant, the monstrous chrysanthemum began its transformation. Its petals, stamens—every structure—instantly disintegrated and separated, hovering in the air before uniformly sharpening into lethal blades.
Ye Qifeng's eyes widened into perfect circles, his dark pupils dilating with utter disbelief at the sudden, unnatural change. As he focused his gaze beneath the floating arsenal, he saw the source: a graceful, enchanting figure.
A wave of shock jolted through him. Was that…?
If it was who he suspected, it certainly explained the bizarre floral transformation, but the visual confirmation was still needed.
Though Ye Qifeng's mind raced, only a fleeting moment had passed in reality.
Under the control of the enchanting figure, the blades all turned as one, pointing directly toward a sinister blood-red mist that completely enveloped a figure five meters away.
"Go!"
The enchanting figure's right hand formed an elegant orchid-finger gesture, pointing diagonally at the blood-red foe, and simultaneously issuing an angry roar.
In a devastating instant, the floating blades shot out like a metallic storm.
The blood-red figure, facing the swift, traceless assault, had no time to react, let alone resist. The blades penetrated the body without the slightest obstruction.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft—!"
A sickening series of sounds echoed, as if cloth were being torn, followed by the sudden, crimson bloom of blood flowers. A single, mournful scream ended abruptly as the blood-red figure fell heavily to the ground.
Under Ye Qifeng's stunned gaze, the enchanting figure drifted lightly to a spot near the fallen opponent, maintaining a safe distance. A sharp, palpable aura of pressure and surging magical power emanated constantly, a testament to unyielding vigilance.
At this moment, Ye Qifeng finally got a clear look at the figure's appearance. He had golden-yellow hair and was clad in battle armor of the same hue. His skin was as delicate as a newborn's, and his features were as alluring as a woman's.
Yes, alluring. Were it not for the distinct Adam's apple on his neck, no one would ever suspect he was a man.
Once he confirmed the opponent was a lifeless corpse, the figure finally lowered his Spirit Power pressure. He recalled the airborne blades, which re-gathered into a chrysanthemum that slowly shrank, settling gently into his palm before he flipped his hand and made it vanish.
"Heh heh—"
The enchanting figure let out a soft laugh, bringing his orchid-finger to his delicate lips, his face alight with mockery.
"If she hadn't been nearby, I would have merely completed the mission as swiftly as possible. A mere Soul Saint-level evil soul master like you isn't even worthy of my Ninth Soul Skill. However… to have experienced the might of Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's Ninth Soul Skill can be considered your honor."
Having spoken, Chrysanthemum Douluo turned to leave, dismissing the corpse. Collecting the remains of an enemy—especially an evil soul master whom the entire continent sought to eradicate—was beneath him. It was a courtesy that he hadn't ground the body to dust.
Yet, the foot Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan was about to step out suddenly retracted.
He noticed a pair of dark, intent eyes fixed upon him.
Just two or three meters in front of him.
The eyes were dark, bright, clear, and pure, belonging to a beautifully sculpted, naked baby boy. At this moment, the infant's eyes were wide and his mouth was agape, looking exceptionally adorable.
He watched the baby, and the baby watched him back. For a moment, the two—one large and one small—stared at each other in utter silence.
"Hmm? There's still a survivor?" Yue Guan was the first to speak, his mouth twitching slightly with awkwardness. The orchid-finger gesture vanished. "Oh dear, I was careless!"
To a Titled Douluo like him, a distance of two or three meters was practically arm's reach—a dangerously close proximity. He had somehow overlooked it during his initial Spirit Power scan.
"You scared me. Thankfully, it's just a baby; no threat. Otherwise, it would have been a major oversight. I must take this as a warning—in future battles, I must be careful and thoroughly investigate," Yue Guan thought to himself, lightly patting his chest and taking a delicate breath.
"My f—! It really is you! The effeminate Chrysanthemum Pass, known as the flamboyant slut!" Ye Qifeng's eyes widened further, and he blurted out instinctively.
But he immediately realized his impropriety and slammed his mouth shut.
"Yi ya yi ya yi ya ya ya ya…"
Ye Qifeng's passionate words reached Yue Guan's ears as nothing more than the incoherent babbling of an infant. Yue Guan, naturally, did not understand.
However, Ye Qifeng was now truly unsettled. He was horrified to realize he had been transformed into a baby. He tried to stand, but he couldn't even roll over. He raised his hands to look, and they were indeed a pair of fair, smooth baby hands.
"My f—!" Ye Qifeng involuntarily let out a heartfelt exclamation.
Yue Guan didn't understand the sound, interpreting it as another "yi ya yi ya." But the sound brought him back from his own thoughts.
"Boy, you're lucky to be alive after falling into the hands of an evil soul master." Clearly, Yue Guan had mistaken Ye Qifeng for a sacrificial offering kidnapped by the wicked evil soul master for some kind of blood ritual.
At the same time, a distant scene flashed through his mind: the brilliant, intertwined black and white light that had stretched to the heavens, briefly dyeing the sky in two distinct halves. He presumed it was the result of a dark blood sacrifice ritual performed by the evil soul master. Those damned evil soul masters are always performing strange and nonsensical rituals, he thought, already quite used to it.
Yet, that bright light had also helped the Spirit Hall. One of the missions for the Spirit Hall enforcement team was to eradicate the evil soul masters lurking in this region. Their intel only indicated a hidden stronghold, not a specific location. These evil soul masters were cunning, forcing the team to search these mountains for over half a month without success. It wasn't until the appearance of that black and white light that they were able to pinpoint the location.
Yue Guan shook his head, dispelling the image. He walked over to Ye Qifeng.
Under Ye Qifeng's bewildered gaze, he pulled a long strip of silk scarf from his person and spread it on the ground. Yue Guan picked up the baby with both hands, gently placed him on the scarf, then carefully wrapped him up, not forgetting to tie a delicate bow at the top.
Then, Yue Guan picked up Ye Qifeng and cradled him in his arms.
"It's time to report back!"
As his voice fell, Yue Guan activated his Spirit Power, forming a shield to protect Ye Qifeng. Immediately, he floated up, identified a direction, and rapidly flew away.