Chapter 383: Seven Flower Secret Record
Hua Guzi was brought into the cave residence by Ning Zhuo and felt as if she were dreaming.
“I—I've really entered?!” She stood rooted to the spot, her face full of disbelief.
Ning Zhuo first took the main seat and called to Hua Guzi, “Daoist Friend Hua, please sit.”
Hua Guzi froze for a moment before selecting the seat closest to Ning Zhuo and sat down.
Then, she leaned to one side, trying her best to get close to Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo: ?!
At that moment, he sensed an overwhelming mix of ecstasy, infatuation, and other extreme emotions from Hua Guzi's heart.
Terrifying!
Ning Zhuo immediately felt some regret—regret that he had brought Hua Guzi in. But there was no helping it. Since it had already been done, he could only brace himself and continue.
With a cold expression, he said, “Daoist Friend Hua, to avoid entanglements in the future, I shall now accept the flower cultivation methods you mentioned.”
Hua Guzi shot up and floated in front of Ning Zhuo, her eyes shining as she hurriedly handed over a jade slip.
“Stop right there.” Ning Zhuo quickly raised a hand to prevent her from getting too close.
He activated his spiritual power and took the jade slip from Hua Guzi’s hand.
Hua Guzi was deeply disappointed that she did not get the chance to touch Ning Zhuo’s fingers.
“Enough.” Ning Zhuo looked at the extremely close Hua Guzi and had a persistent feeling that she would pounce on him at any moment.
If Hua Guzi were to harbor hostility, killing intent, or battle intent, Ning Zhuo could easily deal with her.
The problem was, Hua Guzi was showing him deep affection.
This made things very difficult for Ning Zhuo to handle.
He was only sixteen years old—figures like Hua Guzi and this kind of trouble were far too thorny for someone his age.
Ning Zhuo could only remain on high alert, speaking coldly and curtly, “I’ve taken the material. You may leave now.”
“Just leave like this?!” Hua Guzi was full of longing and extreme reluctance.
“Please leave, Daoist Friend Hua,” Ning Zhuo said in a cold voice. The smile on his face had completely disappeared.
Hua Guzi’s heart quivered violently. Being rejected in such a manner by Ning Zhuo caused a twisted thrill of humiliation to well up from the deepest part of her heart!
“Vile! Hateful! Infuriating!”
“He actually treated me like this!! Doesn’t take me seriously at all!!”
“Ning Zhuo, this guy… I—I—I…”
Hua Guzi was expelled from the cave residence by Ning Zhuo.
Her eyes turned bloodshot, veins bulging, her entire body trembling slightly.
There was anger, hatred, grievance—but also an inexplicable sense of pleasure.
Very soon, that pleasurable sensation surged forth like a flood, drowning out all the negative emotions.
She turned back to look once more at Ning Zhuo’s cave residence, let out a faint moan, face flushed red, and floated away.
“She finally left.” Ning Zhuo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his throat dry.
He sat upright in the main seat, closed his eyes to calm his spirit, and only after adjusting his breath did his emotions begin to settle.
He looked at the jade slip in his hand and felt that the flower cultivation method it contained was extraordinarily weighty!
Ning Zhuo cast his spiritual sense into the jade slip to examine it.
Night Wanderer Grass.
The leaves were dark green, with faint purple fluorescence along the edges, and the entire shape spread like a sunflower. Each leaf was covered in tiny silver veins that emitted a dim glow under the moonlight, resembling stars scattered across the leaves.
Its stem was slender and upright, smooth to the touch, and had a faint violet luster. Beneath the stem were small silver scales capable of reflecting faint light.
During certain periods, it would bloom with small violet flowers, their petals crystal clear, and at the heart of each flower was a dark blue crystal, like a fragment of the night sky.
That particular time was the Ghost Walk Festival.
During the festival, the gates of the netherworld opened around the world, and ghosts roamed the mortal realm to settle old grudges and fulfill past resentments.
Even the deities of the underworld had to quickly respond, restraining and capturing those vengeful ghosts. Among them, the Night Wanderer Spirits took the lead.
When Night Wanderer Spirits became tired from drifting, they often rested upon Night Wanderer Grass to recuperate and ease their weariness.
This was the origin of the name “Night Wanderer Grass.”
To cultivate Night Wanderer Grass, one needed a shadowy location rich in Yin Qi. As for spiritual energy, the place must be barren during the day and abundant at night—the contrast had to be extremely distinct.
As for fertilization, one must choose Night Dew, Milky Way Spirit Liquid, Night-Blooming Jasmine…
Night Wanderer Grass, Violet Smoke Orchid, Silver Butterfly Flower, Soul Essence Flower, Glorious Peach, Heartburn Flower, Toxic Flame Chrysanthemum—a total of seven exotic flowers.
The jade slip contained the cultivation methods of all seven. Each was explained in great detail, clearly structured, and highly practical.
“Soul Essence Flower?”
Ning Zhuo paused slightly. He knew of this flower.
Eleven years ago, outside Puppet Immortal City, a demon cultivator named Hua Qianhun had appeared.
He created a scheme, planting flowers in a nearby valley to form a vast sea of blossoms. This led to rumors of miraculous flowers appearing.
Many were drawn in and entered the flower sea, only to have their souls extracted and turned into flower fertilizer. In the end, a miraculous flower truly emerged—it was the Soul Essence Flower. Hua Qianhun plucked it and escaped immediately.
Ning Zhuo’s interest was piqued. He skipped the middle entries and prioritized reading about the Soul Essence Flower.
The jade slip detailed its appearance.
Its petals were semi-transparent, changing color with the light—ranging from crystal clear to deep violet. On each petal, what seemed like souls could be seen drifting, and when the wind blew, the ripples of soul movement were visible to the naked eye.
Its flower core was pitch-black, emitting a faint blue glow like a pair of deep eyes staring into one’s heart.
The leaves were dark green, giving off a chilling sense of dread.
Looking further at soil requirements, Ning Zhuo saw that Soul Essence Flower needed to be cultivated in soil rich with soul essence. The ideal place was an ancient battlefield.
However, Mount Huoshi had witnessed countless deaths, so the soil conditions were indeed suitable.
The fertilizer required was none other than souls—fresh ones, specifically.
The planting site also had its considerations: it must be where Yin and Yang intersect—neither too cold nor too sunny. The ideal location was deep in a valley with heavy Yin Qi but still receiving some sunlight.
There was also a sacrificial method.
The offering was to the Soul Essence Flower itself, and by performing sacrificial spells, one could feed souls to the flower to accelerate its growth.
The jade slip also listed its effects.
This flower naturally purified external souls and could enhance the depth of one's own soul without side effects.
If used to make Soul Essence Pills, the efficacy would far surpass that of consuming it raw—by at least thirty percent.
After going through the entire jade slip, Ning Zhuo found that the flower with the highest market value was the Glorious Peach. However, the most suitable for the Ning Family Branch was the Toxic Flame Chrysanthemum.
This chrysanthemum required an extremely fiery environment—best planted in an active volcano, where fire poison was abundant. The area had to be engulfed in flames year-round with volcanic fire bursting out, enabling the Toxic Flame Chrysanthemum to absorb the power of fire poison.
If the location was ideal, the soil needed no processing. But if it was slightly inferior, one would have to refine waste soil cooled from volcanic magma, mix in century-old fire poison rock fragments and ash from millennium fire vines, and follow sacrificial refinement methods to create Flame Poison Fire Sha Soil.
One could set up a Blazing Flame Poison Fire Formation to condense fire poison aura, enhancing the flower's toxicity and fire affinity.
The jade slip included detailed instructions for setting up the Blazing Flame Poison Fire Formation.
For instance, the formation core required top-grade fire-element spirit crystals that could gather flame energy.
There were also the four fire gates, each requiring a Fire Spirit Lamp burning Fire Essence to illuminate in all directions.
Additionally, the eight poison positions each needed a Fire Poison Copper-Scaled Snake to transmute the fire poison aura.
During the growth stage of the Toxic Flame Chrysanthemum, once buds emerged, one could draw talismans on the buds.
These talismans were called Toxic Smoke Talisman and Blazing Flame Talisman. If the toxicity was lacking, the Toxic Smoke Talisman would enhance it. If the fire affinity was weak, the Blazing Flame Talisman would strengthen it.
The jade slip also included detailed methods for drawing these talismans.
For example, the Toxic Smoke Talisman required mixing Scarlet Blood Ink with Fire Poison Insect Essence to make the special ink.
As for the Blazing Flame Talisman, it was best drawn under the scorching sun to absorb sunlight brilliance.
The jade slip recorded that, if conditions allowed, one could also use Flame Poison Powder as fertilizer. This pill used Toxic Flame Chrysanthemum petals as its main ingredient, supplemented with Fire Scorpion Hearts, Fire Poison Lizard Gallbladders, and Scarlet Spirit Grass, among other poisonous herbs.
It had four main effects: increasing toxicity, protecting roots, strengthening the killing aura, and enhancing flame power.
The Toxic Flame Chrysanthemum required little water, but not none. When irrigating, one had to use natural hot spring water—not cold—always maintaining high temperature.
During its growth, the flower must be periodically exposed to blazing sun to absorb intense Yang energy, balance its Yin nature, and grow strong.
…
Ning Zhuo carefully studied the jade slip, and couldn’t help but feel many emotions.
The cultivation of spiritual plants, or simply “cultivation,” was one of the many arts in the cultivation world.
To master it well, one had to possess knowledge in various fields—like alchemy, formation setup, and talisman drawing.
This showed that the many cultivation arts were not separate, but interconnected. You had me within you, and I had you within me.
It was merely that one focused on a primary path while supplementing with others—there was a clear distinction of priority.
Only the Puppet Arts had no such hierarchy. All cultivation arts, even cultivation itself, could be expressed through mechanical constructs.
Hence, Puppet Arts were difficult to learn and harder to master. But if one succeeded, the potential was immense—capable of integrating all cultivation arts into one and achieving true mastery!
Ning Zhuo only had a shallow understanding of cultivation techniques and was certainly an outsider in the field.
The secret of the Seven Flowers from Hua Guzi opened his eyes wide. He began to wonder if the countless herb cultivations of the Myriad Medicines Sect were similar.
But regarding these cultivation records, Ning Zhuo could only understand the surface, not the underlying principles.
“I’m still far too shallow.”
“The contents are right before me, but I can’t deduce the reasoning behind them.”
“Learning has no limits. I still have much to study!”
Ning Zhuo sighed and carefully stored away the Seven Flower Secret Record.
He had no intention of sending the jade slip to the Ning Family Branch via the Courier Station.
It was far too unsafe!
This kind of industrial secret was like a hen laying golden eggs—it had to be delivered personally.
Once the Toxic Flame Chrysanthemum was established, the Ning Family Branch would have a steady stream of new income.
This would benefit both the entire branch and Ning Zhuo himself.