Chapter 2417: Fire Born in the Wind!

"Essence?" He Lingchuan felt his heart stir as Immortal Mingke said, "How novel."

After attaining the Dao, one could say all things possess spirit.

Demons and humans cultivate the soul; while those originally unconscious grasses, trees, and stones mostly cultivate the po, some gradually generate soul, such as the Wood Immortal True Lord of Beijia, but some do not.

"I originally thought signing a soul contract was as stable as signing a stone heart—could the Earth Mother possibly discard the consciousness she cultivated over millions of years?" Liu Yisheng shook his head. "Who would have known, this is truly Guan Biao's trap!"

"How so?"

"After Guan Biao 'died,' the Earth Mother also rested for three years, then suddenly turned traitor. No matter how I activated the contract's backlash against her, she remained unharmed, laughing madly as she tore apart Longfeng Valley bit by bit!"

Immortal Mingke frowned: "Is there a loophole in the contract?"

"I won't repeat the same mistake." Liu Yisheng recited the new contract's terms; everyone heard it—simple and thorough, even He Lingchuan felt there were indeed no loopholes to exploit.

Liu Yisheng is also a great immortal, and as the one who personally tore up the Earth Mother's previous contract, he certainly wouldn't fail at such a small matter.

"Then where do you think the problem lies?" Zhu Xiuer asked directly, "You've pondered here for thousands of years—surely you have a conclusion by now?"

"I do, but I cannot guarantee accuracy." Liu Yisheng said slowly, "I indeed made a contract with the Earth Mother, and it did take effect. But the one who pursued and devoured Longfeng Valley at that time might have been Guan Biao. Thus, the contract's backlash could not reach him."

He Lingchuan trembled slightly: "Retribution?"

"Yes."

Ling Jinbao was still frowning in thought when Zhu Xiuer already snapped angrily: "Vicious, truly vicious!"

Immortal Mingke then wondered: "How did he manage it?"

Liu Yisheng shook his head: "I have no answer to this question. I hope you get the chance to tell me."

Ling Jinbao pondered: "So is our focus still on the stone heart?"

"Yes and no." He Lingchuan mused, "Guan Biao's method of controlling the Earth Mother is the key. As long as we break it, he cannot use the Earth Mother for evil, and this Yujing City need not be feared."

Immortal Mingke said to Liu Yisheng: "We need Guan Biao's portrait to know what he looks like."

"What's difficult about that?" Liu Yisheng used his finger as a brush, drawing in midair, each stroke emitting a wisp of smoke.

His painting skill is astonishing—just a few dozen strokes outline a complete portrait, both form and spirit captured.

"This is Guan Biao."

The "Guan Biao" drawn by his brush has thick brows and large eyes, a heroic visage—onlookers find it hard to associate him with his myriad vicious methods.

The four have excellent memories; after two glances, they etched this face into their minds.

Immortal Mingke then asked: "Have you heard of the Wind Dew Golden Lotus?"

Liu Yisheng was about to reply when Li Yun on the ground suddenly shouted:

"Wind, wind, wind—it's all wind! Fire born in the wind, he overcomes us!"

As soon as he spoke, everyone stared in shock.

"The Longfeng Valley encampment was burned to ashes by Guan Biao in one fire." Liu Yisheng pointed to the blazing encampment behind him, "After Li Yun went mad, he kept saying Guan Biao's name contains wind and fire, wind aids fire, we strengthened him, so he is Longfeng Valley's nemesis and demonic obstacle."

Ling Jinbao crouched, tilting his head to ask him: "What does that mean?"

Li Yun ignored him, muttering indistinctly to himself for a long while.

Liu Yisheng also shook his head: "Before, someone sneaked in here and also asked about the Wind Dew Golden Lotus, saying it came from Duzhi Mountain. But by then Li Yun was already mad and couldn't answer."

Longfeng Valley is vast, with many disciples and countless rare treasures. If one or two items are randomly picked from the sect, how would he know?

Immortal Mingke immediately asked: "Who was that person?"

"He said his surname was Bao." Liu Yisheng said indifferently, "Anyway, he died later, and the Earth Mother held up his head for me to see."

Ling Jinbao simply shouted at Li Yun: "Wind Dew Golden Lotus! Wind Dew Golden Lotus! Wind Dew Golden Lotus!"

Each time he called that name, Li Yun's eyes stared blankly once, then suddenly clapped his hands over his ears and threw his head to the ground:

"I don't have it, it's not me!"

Ling Jinbao's eyes darted, and following his words he asked: "Not you, then who?"

"It's Guan Biao! The Wind Dew Golden Lotus refuses to mature, so Guan Biao himself came to find me, saying only the blood essence refined from a giant spirit beast's entire body could mature it! What Vermilion Phoenix, what dragon clan, what Sea King Whale, what shield-skin fish—ah ah ah ah! Otherwise..."

Li Yun began rolling on the ground: "Don't blame me, don't blame me—it was his own suggestion!"

Shield-skin fish? The four exchanged glances—was it the shield-skin fish from the Coral Sea Secret Realm they passed through?

Zhu Xiuer asked Li Yun: "If not, then what?"

Li Yun only shouted: "Don't hit me, don't hit me—I didn't kill anyone!"

Ling Jinbao's eyes shifted, he pressed the hilt of his golden sword, gathered his qi, and shouted: "Sit upright and answer, or you'll suffer!"

Sure enough, as he pressed the sword hilt, the rolling Li Yun on the ground instantly sat upright, in a proper dog-sitting posture.

"If one cannot obtain the giant beast's blood essence, what then?"

Even in ancient times, the blood essence of those aforementioned giants was not easy to obtain. Dragons and phoenixes need not be mentioned; the Sea King Whale and shield-skin fish dwell in the deep sea, with extreme difficulty. Moreover, the medicinal instructions say "refined from the whole body," not just carving out a small piece of flesh to get by.

"If unobtainable, unobtainable... then one can only find the person who planted it personally and irrigate it with their heart's blood!"

Heart's blood?

Liu Yisheng exclaimed: "I actually didn't know this."

Immortal Mingke said to He Lingchuan: "Some rare flowers and grasses have extremely harsh maturation conditions, even bizarre ones."

"So?" He Lingchuan pressed Li Yun, "Whose heart's blood was used to irrigate it?"

"His mother's!"

Everyone gasped: "Guan Biao's mother? Did it mature?"

"Matured, matured! Used, used!"

Zhu Xiuer hurriedly asked: "Used on whom?"

But Li Yun became dazed again, muttering incoherently, no one could understand. Ling Jinbao again threatened him with the golden sword whip, to no avail.

He had completely immersed himself in his own world.

He Lingchuan pressed his temples.

Li Yun's words at least revealed two truths. First, Shangguan Biao's mother was the cultivator of Wind Dew Golden Lotus.

Indeed, his family was a lineage of medicine merchants.

Second, although Li Yun kept insisting "it wasn't me," he accepted Shangguan Biao's proposal, which likely directly or indirectly led to Shangguan Biao's mother's death.

For an ordinary person to have their heart's blood taken away, survival is extremely difficult.

"Put that way, Shangguan Biao and Li Yun have a grudge over killing their mothers." Ling Jinbao looked at him and shook his head, "No wonder Shangguan Biao tied him up here to suffer endless torment."