Chapter 642 - 649: Hand Over the Priceless Treasure

KRAKOOM—

The Divine Thunder crashed down, striking every heart like a hammer.

Many of the flower demons began to cry. They all sensed something was terribly wrong, terrified their Clan Leader would perish.

From the crater, there was still no response. The Flower Clan Leader’s aura had grown so faint it was nearly undetectable.

Everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats. They didn’t dare to blink.

Finally, the Divine Thunder dissipated, revealing the Flower Clan Leader in the crater.

But at this moment, his consciousness was beginning to fade.

"I’m begging you, please stop!"

"Our Clan Leader can’t take any more! Please..."

The flower demons were utterly terrified, falling to their knees before Song Wanning in tears.

One after another, they kowtowed, pleading with her to stop.

They couldn’t interfere with their Clan Leader’s decision, but they couldn’t just stand by and watch him die.

"Please, save our Clan Leader..."

The flower demons were choked with sobs, kowtowing to Song Wanning one after the other.

It was their most primal way of begging her for help.

Song Wanning’s back went rigid. For a moment, her fingertips felt searingly hot.

She released her Spiritual Power, holding them in place to stop them from kowtowing further.

But she could do nothing about the despair in their eyes.

A heavy weight settled in Song Wanning’s chest, and in a daze, she recalled her own clansmen from the Song Family.

’Whether in my past life or after my rebirth, they also protected me in their own small ways.’

’Not everyone is so heartless and cruel.’

Just then, the spirits of the surrounding grass and wood also grew restless.

Song Wanning looked up. For an instant, she seemed to see countless struggling, despairing faces once more.

Only this time, they weren’t begging for her help, but pleading for her to stop.

They were afraid, too.

They were afraid of bringing harm to the Flower Clan Leader.

They would rather give up the chance to break their curse, rather remain trapped in their physical forms for the rest of their existence and slowly wither away.

All they wanted was for the Flower Clan Leader to live.

In that moment, Song Wanning witnessed a mutual sacrifice, a mutual redemption of souls.

She was once again profoundly shaken.

And yet...

The Flower Clan Leader was unwilling to give up.

Song Wanning still chose to respect the Flower Clan Leader’s decision.

"I’m sorry, everyone. I must respect the Clan Leader’s choice."

She sighed and, in the end, chose to call down the thunder.

KRAKOOM—

The Nine Heavens Divine Thunder crashed down once more.

In that instant, the flower demons were overcome with despair.

The Flower Clan Leader was already on the verge of losing consciousness. If this bolt of Divine Thunder struck, his death was certain!

"No—"

The flower demons screamed, their hearts filled with nothing but despair.

But the Divine Thunder fell nonetheless.

However, just as the Divine Thunder was about to strike, the spirits of grass and wood suddenly erupted with desperate power.

Their Spiritual Bodies began to struggle free.

The sight of their Spiritual Bodies being torn was grotesque and twisted.

But even so, nothing could stop their efforts.

The very instant the Divine Thunder fell, all the Spiritual Bodies broke free. They formed a net, shielding the Flower Clan Leader below.

They were all perfectly aware of the damage Divine Thunder would inflict on a Spiritual Body.

The moment the Divine Thunder struck, their lives would end.

But despite this, they chose to protect the Flower Clan Leader without a moment’s hesitation.

This was their way of repaying the Flower Clan Leader for his years of kindness.

BOOM—

The Divine Thunder finally came down, crashing into the great net formed by the Spiritual Bodies.

In that same instant, a ring of white light erupted from the net, expanding in all directions.

The ring of light carried astonishing power from the massive impact, forcing everyone to duck for cover.

Outside the Flower Clan’s territory, the many Demon Cultivators who were assailing the ward were also shocked, and they hastily dropped to the ground to protect themselves.

To their delight, however, the ring of light shattered the Flower Clan’s ward.

A thick demonic aura instantly billowed out.

The Demon Cultivators were overjoyed, their eyes flashing with elation.

"The ward is broken!!!"

The Demon Cultivators charged into the Flower Clan’s territory.

They had all long since locked onto their target: the epicenter of the Divine Thunder.

Li Qingya was also very surprised and quickly rushed deeper into the Flower Clan’s domain.

Having been there once before, she was familiar with the paths and quickly outpaced the other Demon Cultivators.

Soon, she spotted Song Wanning hovering in mid-air.

The vast swathe of flower demons still kneeling on the ground.

And the crater, crackling with endless lightning.

The entire scene reeked of strangeness.

Her expression hardened, and her gaze fell on Song Wanning, full of suspicion.

But Song Wanning simply looked down at her coldly. "Grand Martial Aunt, is this our first formal meeting, and you won’t even show your true face?"

A mocking smile touched her lips. She tightened her grip on her Longsword, her icy gaze fixed on Li Qingya.

As for the Demon Cultivators who had followed, she paid them no mind whatsoever.

Her identity exposed, Li Qingya instinctively stiffened for a moment.

But she didn’t seem particularly surprised and quickly revealed her true face.

"Junior Niece, I’ve heard so much about you!"

The two stared intently into each other’s eyes as an invisible killing intent began to rage around them.

But some of the Demon Cultivators, blind to the tense atmosphere, shouted, "Hand over the treasure, now! Or don’t blame us for getting rough!"

They turned on the flower demons, trying to force them to hand over the treasure.

The flower demons, who had been terrified, now scrambled to their feet.

"What treasure? There’s nothing like that here!"

"All of you, leave now, or we won’t hold back either!!!"

They suppressed their own helplessness and fear, standing their ground firmly to protect the crater behind them.

’That’s our Clan Leader’s last hope. We absolutely cannot let these people ruin it!’

"Heh heh heh—"

The Demon Cultivators had, of course, noticed the crater. A flicker of greed crossed their eyes, but it was overshadowed by apprehension.

’Who would dare touch that lightning?’

’That’s just asking to die, isn’t it?’

’But the supreme treasure is most likely inside that crater.’

Just as the Demon Cultivators were growing restless, Li Qingya suddenly spoke up. "Song Wanning, I suppose you’ve already snatched the supreme treasure?"

"Is that why those flower demons were on their knees, begging you to return it?"

She was spouting utter nonsense, with no evidence to back it up.

But she knew that when faced with the temptation of a supreme treasure, these Demon Cultivators wouldn’t let even the slightest possibility slip by.

Sure enough, the Demon Cultivators who had been targeting the flower demons immediately shifted their focus to Song Wanning.

"Hand over the supreme treasure!!!"

Song Wanning had previously concealed her Cultivation to maintain a low profile, and she had forgotten to restore it.

So in their eyes, she was merely an Out-of-body Stage Cultivator. For someone like her to dare snatch a supreme treasure was simply absurd.

Li Qingya knew better, of course, but she deliberately said nothing, waiting for them to act as cannon fodder.

"You’re demanding the treasure from me?"

Song Wanning laughed.

’Ever since my Cultivation has advanced, it seems very few people have dared to speak to me this way.’

’But this feeling... it’s really irritating.’

The smile on her lips vanished in an instant. A flash of killing intent crossed her eyes as her Longsword slashed out.