Chapter 651: Man-eating Ominous Star Flower
Qing Yu became more and more unreasonable, to the disapproval of Madam Zi Yan. Li Qiye was an honored guest of the country, yet Qing Yu was humiliating him like this. This was a deliberate act challenging her. If it wasn’t for Li Qiye stopping her just a moment ago, she would have personally taken action.
Li Qiye gently sighed and put on a helpless appearance, but the shots had been fired so he let it go and said: “If you really want to bet, then I can’t do anything about it. Let’s do it and let it be up to fate.”
Qing Yu couldn’t help but sneer after seeing Li Qiye’s appearance. At this time, he felt his victory was assured, and Li Qiye was pretty much a dead man in his eyes.
“Don’t worry, fueling a Fire Source isn’t a painful death, you will be burnt into ashes in a split second.” Qing Yu coldly said with a clear gloating look.
Li Qiye said: “If this is how it has to be, then start. Just make a screaming sound.”
Qing Yu sneered while looking at Li Qiye to say: “Since you are anxiously waiting to reincarnate, I’ll send you off.”
With that, he let out a long scream with a considerable sharpness. The moment the scream came out, there was no change in the dormant Ominous Star Flower. Qing Yu then let out a loud laugh and pointed at Li Qiye to say: “Li, now it is your turn to fuel the Fire Source…”
“Ohh…” But at this second, before Qing Yu could finish, the flower suddenly rushed forward. The pistil of the flower opened its mouth like a bowl of blood and swallowed half of Qing Yu’s body in an instant.
“Noo…” Qing Yu’s wail came from inside the flower, but it was too late. The flower was like a hungry beast with a growing stomach and swallowed him entirely. In the blink of an eye, Qing Yu was nowhere to be found. The only thing that was left was the sound of chewing as the flower gorged on its hearty meal.
After it finished chewing, the flower let out a popping sound like a belch. It didn’t do anything afterward and acted just like before as if nothing had happened.
This sudden development left all the alchemists present aghast since it happened too quickly. They were sure of Qing Yu’s victory and how nothing would happen, so who would have thought that Qing Yu would be swallowed whole by the flower where not even his corpse would be left behind?
Such a scary and unexpected scene would, of course, leave all the alchemists in fear.
“Oh god…” Eventually, all the alchemists calmed down and retreated with horrified and blanched expressions as if they had just seen a ghost. Suddenly, all of them stayed far away from the Ominous Star Flower. Even Qing Yu was swallowed in one gulp by this flower, so if they were close, perhaps they would be next and get devoured by the flower without leaving behind a body.
Even Huangfu Hao was shocked by this development. Although he supported Qing Yu, he essentially didn’t care for Qing Yu’s outcome. Huangfu Hao only wanted to use him to test Li Qiye.
He didn’t expect for Li Qiye to be right — for the flower to swallow Qing Yu whole. Of course, he couldn’t care less about Qing Yu, he only wanted to learn more about Li Qiye’s abilities.
As for a Demon King like Madam Zi Yan, she stood there unperturbed. With her power, she was definitely able to save Qing Yu. However, he was courting death, so why would she do so and offend Li Qiye, causing him to be unhappy?
Li Qiye couldn’t help but laugh a bit. How could anyone in this world be more knowledgeable about spirit medicines and grasses than him? The flower was extremely sensitive to shrieks; the moment someone screamed, it would immediately attack the creature that emitted the sound! There were alchemical reasonings behind this that someone of Qing Yu’s level couldn’t understand.
“Aizz, you got the worst out of it since you didn’t listen to the wise. Like I said, it was better not to bet, but you didn’t trust me. Look what happened now, you’ve even thrown your life away, a sad death with no burial.” Li Qiye smiled and calmly said while waving his hand dismissively.
It would be strange if Li Qiye would forgive Qing Yu after his malicious actions. Only death awaited him the moment he wanted to kill Li Qiye.
At this point, the alchemists present couldn’t help but take in deep breaths while looking at the Ominous Star Flower before them, overwhelmed by a creepy sensation. At this time, flashing starlight still came from the flower in a beautiful fashion as if nothing had happened.
But now, none of the alchemists dared to approach it. They understood that its vicious nature had not changed and would still hunt its prey.
Just like Li Qiye had said, this was only an act, and the flower only wanted to absorb the sacred water for its nutritious properties.
The other alchemists were not only anxious, they were also dumbfounded. Earlier, they thought that Qing Yu had won for sure and that his logic was sound since it was based on common knowledge privy to all alchemists. They didn’t expect that the truth was far from it.
At this moment, the common sense that they were used to had been shattered by Li Qiye, leaving them in disbelief.
The entire scene inside the alchemy garden was now silent besides the howl of the gentle breeze. Many alchemists here couldn’t help but glance at Li Qiye.
Even if these alchemists were annoyed with Li Qiye earlier, at this moment, they were aware that Li Qiye was someone who was actually capable. Otherwise, the Giant Bamboo Country wouldn’t have chosen him so easily. Those who sneered at him earlier shuddered and felt fortunate to not have been the one who tested the waters. Otherwise, they would have taken Qing Yu’s place and end up being devoured by the flower.
The only person who was calm, perhaps, was Madam Zi Yan since she saw Li Qiye’s peerless alchemy skill with her own eyes. Qing Yu couldn’t compare to Li Qiye, so his end was within expectations.
“One can only say that with such low alchemy standards, being eaten by the Ominous Star Flower is no surprise.” Li Qiye smiled and looked at the seemingly calm flower while leisurely saying: “It seems that the flower won’t need to eat for some time now.”
“You tricked him!” At this time, a cold voice came from Huangfu Hao: “You already knew this would be the result, so you urged him to his death!”
Li Qiye turned around to look at him with one eye and nonchalantly said: “So what? I only killed one person, what is there to be alarmed about? Those who provoke me should come to understand that they are being suicidal.”
Li Qiye’s domineering reply caused many alchemists to shudder, especially those who sneered at him earlier. They subconsciously took several steps back to create some distance between themselves and Li Qiye. They didn’t want to die a miserable death like Qing Yu.
“You are too cruel…” Huangfu Hao’s expression sank as he coldly said: “Someone who kills their peers like this will not be tolerated by the world!”
Huangfu Hao’s rhetoric carried an air of righteousness. He simply wanted to use this chance to propel his own agenda.
At this time, Li Qiye was too lazy to look at him again. He looked around the garden and slowly spoke: “Don’t pretend to be a defender of justice in front of me. While my mood is still good, instantly scram back to your Huangfu Clan with your tail tucked between your legs before I paint this paradise with blood. If you truly provoke me, then you won’t be the only one dead, your entire Huangfu Clan will disappear from this world!”
Everyone gasped after hearing this declaration. It was truly too bold and caused the alchemists here to glance at each other. They didn’t expect for Li Qiye to dare say such a thing to Huangfu Hao.
Huangfu Hao wasn’t only the fifth alchemy prodigy, he was also a brilliant cultivator. He had reached Heavenly King, allowing him to look down upon the younger generation.
Moreover, he was also the First Young Noble of the Huangfu Clan, thus his prestige rang far across the Alchemy Realm.
But right now, Li Qiye didn’t care for Huangfu Hao and opened his mouth to declare his murderous intent. Moreover, he even announced his intention of eradicating the Huangfu Clan to the roots — such a claim was far too arrogant.
A few alchemists here felt that Li Qiye didn’t know the immensity of the heaven and earth and could even be described as ignorant. Of course, some alchemists also gloated with cold smiles. Li Qiye provoking Huangfu Hao in such a suicidal manner was a good thing for them.
Even Madam Zi Yan, standing by his side, had to smile helplessly. She herself thought that Li Qiye’s words were too outrageous.
Killing Huangfu Hao was not difficult, but wanting to destroy the entire Huangfu Clan was far more challenging. Even their Giant Bamboo Country couldn’t do so.
Huangfu Hao’s expression quickly turned extremely ugly upon hearing this. He was the heaven’s proud son of the Alchemy Realm, a prodigy respected by everyone no matter where he went! Their Huangfu Clan was a top ranked great power that had an alliance with the Alchemy Kingdom. Not too many existences dared to touch their clan in the Alchemy Realm!
“Well…” Huangfu Hao was enraged and replied with a cold smile: “Naive fool, I want to see what you can do! Today, I will personally skin you and pull out your tendons!”
Having said that, he took a step forward. Earlier, he wanted to find an excuse to teach Li Qiye a lesson, but he didn’t expect Li Qiye to be so bold and choose to meet the blade’s edge head on. This was actually perfect for Huangfu Hao.
With a sneer, he raised his foot and instantly stepped over towards Li Qiye’s direction. As a Heavenly King, his stomp carried an untouchable momentum like a gigantic mountain crashing down. He wielded an attitude as if Li Qiye was an insignificant ant in his eyes that couldn’t reach the apex. One foot alone was enough to crush Li Qiye to death.
However, Li Qiye didn’t even bat an eye. He slightly stomped on the ground with his foot and shouted: “Scram!”
The moment his words came out, a series of rumbles appeared. It was as if there was a dragon underground. One could hear a crash, and suddenly, the muddy soil seemed to turn into a dragon that soared into the sky. In an instant, a shadow snapped forward like a long whip.