Technically speaking, Tu Xiao’an had already given this lily to Luo Ziyun.
But unfortunately, Luo Ziyun had left without a backward glance and hadn’t been heard from since. Tu Xiao’an knew he had truly broken her heart.
He sighed...
Tu Xiao’an sighed dejectedly, lost in thought as he began to unconsciously mutter, "She’ll come back, she won’t... She’ll come back, she won’t..."
With every phrase, he plucked a petal from the lily. After a few rounds of this, the flower was almost bald.
’That’s enough out of you...!’
The Baihua Fairy was about to lose her mind. ’What is wrong with this guy? Is he crazy?’
’The great and mighty King of the Snake Clan, acting like some melodramatic teenager.’
Luckily, it wasn’t an ordinary flower. Its petals could regrow in an instant, though it would consume a bit of its Energy.
By now, three massive Celestial Tribulations had taken place. The skies above the Snake Palace had known no peace. At that moment, another unidentified creature appeared atop the palace. When countless pairs of eyes finally got a clear look, they all turned to stone.
Could there be a fourth Celestial Tribulation?
But what was the deal with a colossal tree standing up there?
A noble Peacock, a domineering cat, and one of their own clan’s snakes—that was one thing. But now a tree was also undergoing a tribulation atop the Snake Palace? That was going too far.
’What’s a tree doing getting in on the action?’
Charlie, for his part, felt terribly wronged. He’d been forced into this.
The Snake Race was in an uproar, full of complaints about a tree undergoing a tribulation on their palace’s peak. Another Celestial Tribulation? They were getting sick of watching. Couldn’t the heavens take a little break?
The steward, Elder Snake, was a nervous wreck. He stood before Tu Xiao’an, hesitating, looking like he would give himself an ulcer if he held back any longer.
"My King, just how many more of your Battle Companions need to undergo a tribulation?"
’I’ve never seen them line up for it before.’
Tu Xiao’an smiled smugly. "This is the last one. Once this tree is finished, we’re done."
Elder Snake no longer quite believed the new Snake King’s words. His gaze shifted to the pristine lily in Tu Xiao’an’s hand.
One glance was enough to tell this flower was no ordinary thing.
’Don’t tell me that after the tree is done, it’s this flower’s turn?’
Tu Xiao’an noticed Elder Snake’s gaze and quickly explained, "Rest assured, Elder Snake, this really is the last one. The flower in my hand attained its enlightenment many years ago. It’s already at the level of a Deep Mountain Great Demon."
A Deep Mountain Great Demon???
Elder Snake jumped in shock. It was exceedingly rare for plants to achieve sentience through cultivation—a one-in-a-million occurrence—let alone a flower.
The path of cultivation is one of defying the heavens, and for a plant to gain sentience is an even greater transgression. There is a saying: in the Three Realms, only a Nine Orifice Practitioner can cultivate the Dao and achieve immortality.
What are the Nine Orifices? There are seven in the head—two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and one mouth—and two in the lower body—the urethra and the anus. In total, three pairs of orifices and three single ones.
By this logic, only humans and animals possess the Nine Orifices; plants do not.
Thus, for a plant to gain sentience is to commit a major taboo—a complete defiance of the heavens that shatters the unwritten rules of cultivation.
Tu Xiao’an, being a novice in these matters, was unaware of this. This was also the reason the Tree Spirit was so reluctant to face its Celestial Tribulation.
For a plant, undergoing a tribulation was incredibly difficult. It was essentially a moth to a flame; survival was next to impossible.
According to the principles of the Heavenly Dao Law, it was a complete transgression for a plant, a creature without even the Nine Orifices, to attempt cultivation.
Animals were a tier below humans, and plants were a tier below animals—thoroughly inferior beings.
This showed just how incredibly rare and precious it was for a plant to cultivate sentience and survive a tribulation to become a Demon.
Looking at the lily in Tu Xiao’an’s hand, Elder Snake shuddered. "My King, could this be the famous Baihua Fairy of the Yaoling Mountain Range?"
After all, in the entire Yaoling Mountain Range, only one lily had ever cultivated to the level of a Deep Mountain Great Demon. There was no other.
At these words, the lily in Tu Xiao’an’s hand trembled, looking as if it might wilt on the spot. ’I’ve been recognized! How utterly humiliating!’
"What sharp eyes you have, Elder Snake."
"You are truly formidable, My King!"
The two great figures of the Snake Race exchanged a round of flattery. Tu Xiao’an then told Elder Snake to go and prepare for the subsequent celebration.
After Elder Snake left, Tu Xiao’an looked down at the lily in his hand, which was so wilted it couldn’t even lift its head. It had been severely burned by his Celestial Fire; without a year and a half to recover, it would be impossible for it to achieve Transformation again.
But it was his Battle Companion now, and Tu Xiao’an treated his Battle Companions extremely well.
A glittering Golden Pearl, brimming with powerful Energy, materialized in Tu Xiao’an’s other hand.
"This Golden Core from a Rank Three Demon Spirit is yours."
The Baihua Fairy was ecstatic. If she absorbed the Energy within this Golden Core, she could definitely achieve Transformation again, and her injuries would be completely healed.
’Has this Snake Demon had a change of heart? So generous! He’s even willing to give me a Demon Spirit’s Golden Core.’
To be honest, the Flower Demon was astounded. It was almost unbelievable.
In truth, back on Monkey Mountain, Tu Xiao’an had killed many Rat Demons from the Rat Race and secretly pocketed a few of their Golden Cores.
He had given one to the Azure Owl before, and now he was giving one to the Flower Demon. He still had several more left.
He even had the Golden Core of a Deep Mountain Great Demon that he hadn’t consumed himself.
The Golden Core of a Demon Spirit was priceless, yet Tu Xiao’an handed one over so casually. It had to be said he was a bona fide nouveau riche now.
...
The Tree Spirit had only been standing atop the Snake Palace for a short while when the sky above began to shift once more. It slowly turned dark red as a massive, swirling vortex materialized.
The fourth Celestial Tribulation was coming. The Snake Species on She Mountain were numb to it by now. They were truly getting sick of watching tribulations.
In secret, they were filled with boundless admiration for their new Snake King, even imagining how blissful it would be to be chosen as one of his Battle Companions.
’Undergoing a tribulation would be a piece of cake!’
The sky rumbled. A familiar, oppressive pressure from the heavens and earth bore down, carrying with it a flurry of falling leaves.
One could imagine Tree Spirit Charlie standing up there, trembling and utterly terrified, without a shred of confidence.
It was useless to hope it would be as domineering as the previous three, who had opened their mouths to swallow lightning.
Tu Xiao’an placed the Golden Core atop the lily, letting the Flower Demon slowly absorb the powerful Energy within. He then turned his attention to the Tree Spirit’s Celestial Tribulation.
As he watched, Tu Xiao’an couldn’t help but frown. Something about this Celestial Tribulation felt off.
What materialized within the massive, dark red vortex wasn’t Tribulation Cloud Flowers, but terrifying Extraterrestrial Meteorites.
In terms of destructive power, Celestial Fire was actually more lethal than Celestial Thunder, and as a plant, Charlie was especially afraid of fire.
But Celestial Tribulations were always a mix of Celestial Thunder and Celestial Fire. Now, however, the massive vortex above continuously manifested a forest of Extraterrestrial Meteorites, yet there wasn’t a single Tribulation Cloud Flower in sight.
After several minutes, Tu Xiao’an was completely dumbfounded. The sky was filled with a uniform array of thirty-two crisscrossing Extraterrestrial Meteorites. The immense pressure of the Heaven and Earth Law made it difficult for the creatures below to even breathe.
"What’s going on?"
Thirty-two strikes of Celestial Fire, and no Celestial Thunder?
Tu Xiao’an was completely bewildered. Tree Spirit Charlie’s greatest fear was Celestial Fire. The Heaven and Earth Law was being utterly vicious, manifesting nothing but Celestial Fire. It wasn’t leaving the Tree Spirit any path to survival.
"Master, you son of a bitch!"
Atop the Snake Palace, tears streamed down Charlie’s face. Seeing the thirty-two Extraterrestrial Meteorites materialize, he was so scared he nearly wet himself.
The sense of impending death enveloped the Tree Spirit completely. Charlie could already picture himself being bombarded by the Celestial Fire, not even a single leaf left behind.
"Celestial Tribulations can work like this?" Tu Xiao’an was at a loss for words. All he could do was offer a silent prayer for his dear Charlie.
This was some seriously bad luck, comparable to his own tribulation. The Heavenly Dao Law was clearly dead set on killing its target.
Tu Xiao’an had seen his fair share of Celestial Tribulations, but they had always featured both Celestial Thunder and Celestial Fire. This time, it was only Celestial Fire. It had to be specifically targeting the Tree Spirit.
"There’s nothing strange about it. Whenever we plants undergo a tribulation, it’s always only Celestial Fire, never Celestial Thunder."
The Baihua Fairy, still absorbing the Golden Core, spoke calmly.
Tu Xiao’an was surprised. "You mean when you underwent your tribulation, there was also only Celestial Fire and no Celestial Thunder?"
"Of course. For us plants to become Demons is an act that defies the heavens and is not tolerated by them. The heavens will not allow us to successfully pass our tribulation and attain enlightenment," the Baihua Fairy said sorrowfully. "If an animal’s tribulation offers a one-in-ten chance of survival, then a plant’s offers no chance of survival at all."
Tu Xiao’an was puzzled. "If that’s the case, then how did you manage to survive your tribulation? You’re a flower."
’One Extraterrestrial Meteorite would have smashed you to bits.’
"It is precisely because I survived my tribulation that I ended up in the hands of a snake like you," the Baihua Fairy said suddenly.
"What does one have to do with the other?"
"They do. There’s a karmic link," the Baihua Fairy said resentfully. "It should have been impossible for me to succeed. It was the Gray Demon King who intervened to help me, giving me that slim chance of survival and allowing this flower to arduously complete her tribulation."
"Because of that, I owed the Gray Demon King an enormous debt. A few days ago, he ordered me to kill you. Even though I was unwilling, I had no choice but to obey."
"We plants are not naturally bloodthirsty; we prefer more refined pursuits. If it weren’t to repay my debt to the Gray Demon King, why would I try to kill a snake like you for no reason?"
The Baihua Fairy was vexed. By making that move, she had ended up losing everything.
"Oh, so that’s what happened," Tu Xiao’an said, nodding. ’So it was all fate.’
The Baihua Fairy added, "Still, I’m surprised. That annoying tree actually provoked the Heavenly Dao Law into manifesting thirty-two streams of Celestial Fire. I only had to face twenty-four."
She couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. ’That chattering, annoying tree actually has that much potential?’
"Every Battle Companion I take is a prodigy of their generation," Tu Xiao’an said with haughty pride.
"A pity. With the heavens manifesting thirty-two streams of Celestial Fire, that tree is doomed. There’s no way it can survive this tribulation," the Baihua Fairy sneered.
"That’s not a given," Tu Xiao’an said, his bewitching eyes narrowing as a sharp glint flashed within them.
"With you intervening, perhaps it still has a slim chance."
"Wrong. I’m the one who will intervene. It’ll be difficult for my dear Charlie to die under this Celestial Fire even if he wanted to."
The Baihua Fairy was speechless. "..."
’Just listen to you talk.’