The Nine-turn Demon Flower fed on cultivators. It bloomed nine times and shed its petals nine times. When the nine petals changed from black to crimson red, it meant the demon flower had matured.
Each petal of the Nine-turn Demon Flower could allow the cultivator who consumed it to experience a lifetime of reincarnation.
Of course, this reincarnation was not about being reborn in the world again but like living through a lifetime in a dream. This way, cultivators could avoid worldly trials, temper their mighty Primordial Soul, and break through cultivation bottlenecks.
The most legendary ability of the Nine-turn Demon Flower was said to be that consuming the whole flower would protect the cultivator's soul, allowing smooth rebirth and reincarnation. Unfortunately, this was only a legend, never verified. Yet even so, it attracted many cultivators like moths to a flame.
Mo Su, however, smelled a hidden plot in all this.
"Hmph! You believe such nonsense?" he sneered.
"Senior, I didn't believe it at first either," the Golden Core demon cultivator replied, "but my friend said this Nine-turn Demon Flower was not fully matured. It might have only undergone four turns. The petals were half black and half red, so I thought I might get lucky."
"Zūnzhǔ, shall we investigate?" a low voice came from behind. It was Mo Yi.
"Go see. Maybe this is just a disguise for a blood sac," Mo Su ordered.
The Golden Core demon cultivator almost knelt down in surprise. The person before him was a Void Refinement stage Zūnzhǔ.
"Tell me the exact location," Mo Yi said without wasting words.
The Golden Core demon cultivator dared not refuse and quickly took out a jade slip from his sleeve, respectfully handing it over.
Mo Yi scanned it with his divine sense and tossed it back to the cultivator.
"Leave here if you want to live."
The words still echoed when the place before them was already empty. The Golden Core demon cultivator spun around and rushed toward the outskirts of the Chimei Mountain Range, fearing death if he delayed even a moment.
His wise choice saved his life.
Mo Su's group of ten quickly reached the site indicated on the jade slip in less than half an hour.
The area was already surrounded by cultivators and some high-level demon beasts, all seemingly waiting for the petals to mature.
The Nine-turn Demon Flower sprouted from a pitch-black mountain crevice. The black flower stalk blended almost perfectly with the mountain stone. The nine petals at the tip were slowly turning crimson red.
A sharp light flashed in Mo Su's eyes. He transmitted a message to Mo Yi:
"Did you see the Nine-turn Demon Flower completing its final turn, the petals turning crimson?"
Mo Yi's eyes darkened immediately upon hearing Mo Su's message.
"Zūnzhǔ, this thing is even using us in its scheme."
"One drop of your flesh and blood is worth all the low-level cultivators here!"
As the voice transmitted, several people appeared near the Nine-turn Demon Flower. The sudden move startled the low-level cultivators guarding the area, who immediately raised their weapons, ready to defend their prize—but the next moment, they only thought about escaping.
"Attack!" Mo Su gave the order.
The Mo squad's blades and swords surged toward the Nine-turn Demon Flower, but the flower vanished like a bubble the moment it was struck.
"Attack the mountain crevice!"
Experienced cultivators immediately shifted their attack to the mountain crevice from which the flower grew. The ground shook violently as the mountain cracked.
Nearby cultivators quickly scattered, fearing they would be caught in the destruction.
After the crevice split, a blood-red vein broke apart inside the mountain. Mo Su's divine sense swept through and found that the blood pouch had severed a vein to confuse them. Its main body had already moved underground.
"Chase!"
The group spread their overwhelming divine senses, pursuing the blood pouch escaping beneath the surface, deeper into the Chimei Mountain Range.
Jian Feng held his spirit sword and appeared at the entrance of a dark passage. Behind him followed the nine-person General Hall team. They did not rush in but regrouped and used a spirit talisman to probe the way ahead.
Since arriving, Bai Bai had been unusually excited, tumbling in Jian Feng's embrace and squeaking twice.
Jian Feng immediately understood they had found the right place. The Tracking Hall captain retracted the probing talisman and told everyone,
"Let's go in and check."
The captain led the way, holding a glazed flame pearl that illuminated the passage.
The ground was scattered with debris, and the walls bore clear signs of damage. Xiao Jiu picked up a palm-sized spirit stone and handed it to the captain.
"This is a piece of top-grade spirit stone," Xiao Jiu said.
The captain inspected it and nodded with a trace of joy, confirming Xiao Jiu's assessment.
Jian Feng ran his hand over the damaged and uneven wall, saying gravely,
"Captain, high-level spirit beasts live here. The other side must have found this top-grade spirit stone helps them improve cultivation and began mining directly from the mountain wall. This passage must have been dug by them."
No one needed Jian Feng's words to figure it out. Inside the passage, everyone proceeded cautiously, avoiding using their divine sense to probe further.
"No worries. We'll be careful and split into two teams. One stays at the entrance to support. The other will go deeper to investigate. Since we came all this way, there's no reason to leave empty-handed."
"Yes, captain."
Jian Feng spoke up,
"Captain, Bai Bai can go ahead to scout for us. We don't want to disturb the spirit beast inside. We're confident in a fight, but if we damage the vein or attract other cultivators, it'll be trouble."
The captain understood Jian Feng's concern and nodded in agreement.
Jian Feng then formally introduced Bai Bai to the team.
"This is Jian Lu Zūnshàng spirit beast."
The meaning was clear: hands off Bai Bai. She had powerful backing.
The Tracking Hall captain could only scratch his nose, careful not to show any interest in the little golden mouse.
Bai Bai stood on Jian Feng's palm, waved her tiny paws at the team, then was placed on the ground.
Jian Feng gently stroked Bai Bai's little ears and whispered,
"Be careful and prioritize your safety. If anything feels wrong, return immediately. I will come to support you."
Bai Bai nodded with a squeak, then darted away quickly, disappearing from sight.
Deep in the Chimei Mountain Range, Mo Su's high-level demon cultivators were breaking the ground along the blood pouch's escape path, trying to force it out.
Several times they nearly trapped it, but the blood pouch seemed to have eyes, quickly changing direction and fleeing. Its speed was slowing though, surrounded by powerful cultivators. Damage was inevitable.
Mo Su's poison dagger, the Cold Moon Blade, was deadly. It had already shattered much of the blood pouch's surface veins.
"Zūnzhǔ, the blood sac is about to escape Chimei Mountain Range! The other side is Chonglin Mountain Range, territory of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Do we continue the chase?"
"Pursue! Send an alert!"
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, Bai Bai raced deeper underground through the passage. Her treasure-hunting instincts told her there were even more top-grade spirit stones ahead, so she sped up.
At the passage's end, Bai Bai slowed cautiously, poked her little head forward, and when she saw what was inside, she gasped and immediately dashed out.