“Er, Bai Xue, would it be too much to ask for you to be in your yang form?” Hui muttered.

“Huh? Why?” she asked.

“Just in case,” Hui said. Better to have bonus fire if this doesn’t work out.

She glanced at him, then shrugged. Black shimmered over her, flipping her clothes and hair from white to black. Voice deeper, he replied, “If you insist.”

All around them, the lotus’ roots trembled. The barriers around the Bai clan cultivator shuddered, then took on a milky, translucent coat. A scream rang out from deep in their ranks, then another.

Hui whipped around toward the nearest barrier, startled.

Death qi flickered over the roots. Where it met the cultivators, their bodies shriveled, qi draining into the lotus.

Hui stared. That burst of qi while I was breaking into the next realm, the second, larger one—did it come from the lotus? Then—it’s not that the cultivators Bai Fenfeng sacrificed to the lotus drowned, but that the lotus ate their qi, then cultivated their bones for death qi!

That lotus… how horrifying! Spirit plants are no joke!

As for the smaller burst when the death qi was suffocating me, before I figured out how to fight back… He put his hand in his robes. The jade bird fell apart in his hand, broken in two. Only a faint hint of qi remained, not enough for it to so much as buzz anymore.

Thank you, Master. Though… I hope that’s how you use the jade, because it’s done, now! There’s no more qi in it!

“Lotus! Obey my orders!” Bai Fenfeng screamed.

A lotus root twitched and jabbed at her. Death qi glinted down its length. It pierced effortlessly through Bai Fenfeng’s barrier and angled for her gut.

Bai Fenfeng raised her sword and parried. Dust drifting in the air flew toward her. She gestured, raising a shield of ice between her and the dust. It impacted the shield, painting the ice purple with dust, then swirled around it. The lotus root stabbed at her ankle at the same time. With a frustrated shout, Bai Fenfeng sliced its tip off, but the moment’s distraction was enough. A cloud of lotus dust wrapped around her, clinging tightly to her body. She screamed once more, enraged and frustrated. The dust thickened. Her scream cut off, and Bai Fenfeng vanished in the swirl of dust.

Lotus roots bound the ball of dust from all sides, completely wrapping up Bai Fenfeng. From inside, Bai Fenfeng struggled, shifting and twitching the lotus roots. Slowly, she fell still.

“Betrayed by the very lotus she raised? Serves her right. One betrayer ought to be betrayed by another,” Bai Xue said, satisfied.

Lotus petals spread wide, the lotus almost bloomed. The barrier around the lotus strained. A horrible keening sounded from it, like a thousand screaming souls. Hui narrowed his eyes and calmed his breath, waiting.

The barrier burst. Lotus dust shot toward them.

Hui threw his talismans. Two sets flew at the expanding lotus dust. Guided by his qi, the outer five spread out and surrounded the dust in a flash. The barrier talismans Bai Luoren had taught him activated at once. Where the walls of the barriers met another barrier wall, they gave way, merging into one giant barrier. Larger than the original lotus-pill barrier, Hui’s barrier caught all the lotus dust before it could expand.

Inside, five more talismans fluttered down, barely visible through the thick lotus-pill dust. Hui thrust his hand forward. The talismans glowed, bursting to life. Now! See my improved third-realm fire talismans! True tigers, no tabby cats here!

Five incredibly lifelike, six-foot-tall, orange tabby faces shaped of flame leaped from the talismans and charged toward the lotus dust.

“Aww! So cute!” Li Xiang cooed.

“Adorable,” Bai Xue agreed.

“Shut up,” Hui grumbled, embarrassed.

The second the flames met the dust, fire rushed through the entire space. The dust exploded with an ear-shattering BOOM! as flames devoured the dust faster than the eye could see.

Hui grinned smugly. My talismans aren’t enough to put a dent in the dust? Ha, take my original-world’s knowledge! When a fine powder like the lotus dust meets a spark, a dust explosion can occur. With this much dust, and more than a little spark, a dust explosion is almost guaranteed. And once that happens, even if my talismans couldn’t burn the whole volume of dust on their own, the explosion will multiply their effects and destroy the dust!

Hui’s combined barrier struggled to contain the explosion. Horizontal gold lines shuddered over the surface. The barrier trembled, light rippling terribly. Once more, it shook, then blinked out.

Bai Xue held his fan out flat in front of him. A wall of flame rose in front of them.

A blast of hot air and ash rushed past them, but no dust. Tentatively, Bai Xue lowered his fan, and the wall of flame fell as well.

The lotus wilted before their eyes. Ashen petals dropped from the sky. The lotus pod dried and dipped, heavy-headed. Unlike an ordinary lotus pod, this one only had one single hole, as wide across as the massive lotus’s pod.

“Watch out. It could still be dangerous,” Bai Xue warned them.

Li Xiang nodded. She stepped forward, sword ready.

Hui peeked around the girls’ shoulders. I’ve done what I can. My qi is exhausted, and my sword skills are nonexistent, compared to a dedicated sword cultivator and a fourth-stage cultivator’s martial arts. From here on out, I clutch the golden thighs—ahem. I have faith in my friends!

A pill appeared at the lip of the lotus pod, big and shiny. It hung there, dangling on the lip of the lotus.

“Just a pill?” Hui asked. He sighed with relief.

“Careful. I sense hostile intent from that pill,” Li Xiang replied.

Worried, Hui backed away. I don’t have enough qi for any more talismans. I hope playing dead is enough to get out of whatever’s coming!

To the right, a heavy, slithering sound caught Hui’s attention. He and Zhubi both whipped around. The ball of lotus roots that had held Bai Fenfeng dried, dying with the rest of the lotus. As the drying contracted the lotus roots, they slithered against one another, then fell apart.

The inside of the ball laid empty.

Wait, where’s Bai Fenfeng? Did it completely absorb her?

The pill rolled forward another half-inch and plummeted from the lip of the lotus. It struck the ground and shattered, black surface little more than a thin shell. Scraps of hard, black shell scattered over the floor.

A green form curled up inside the pill. Bai Xue brandished his fan, fire glimmering at the far end of the paper span. Li Xiang circulated her qi, and silvery sword intent sprang from her body once again.

Slowly, the green form unfolded. Long lotus root tendrils became pure white hair. Pale green skin covered a delicate face, dainty hands, and a plentiful figure, revealed along her deep neckline. Black petals formed robes, shimmering with purple highlights. Eyes closed, the lotus girl raised a sword and stepped forward. Bare white toes faded into green feet and padded silently over the earth. Though her footsteps made no sound, they left a moist imprint behind her, as if her skin leaked dew with each step.

Hui stared. She looks younger, but… “Is that…?”

“Bai Fenfeng?” Bai Xue growled.

“Mother?” Jingwen asked, almost at the same time. She stepped forward from where she’d been cowering behind a nearby lotus root.

Hui glanced at her, startled. You’re still here?

Li Xiang grinned. The silver aura shifted from her body to the sword. “Finally, justice can be served!”