"Clock Pendulum, you want to give it a try?"
The Clock Pendulum replied coldly, "Try what? How dare I harm my master?"
The Blood-Thirsty Pendulum inherently despised the Gourd. Though obedient before Li Banfeng, when speaking to the Gourd, she still displayed Luo Yuni’s typical cold demeanor.
Moreover, she was bound by the rules set upon her. Under the definition of the Phonograph, the Clock Pendulum firmly believed herself to be Li Banfeng’s woman. Except for occasionally doing Li Banfeng’s makeup, she would never do anything to harm him.
The Clock Pendulum was also fully committed to rescuing Li Banfeng. Mental Cultivators had a restraining effect on Dream Cultivators, and she tried to control Li Banfeng’s thoughts to forcibly pull him out of the dream realm.
As expected, the Clock Pendulum failed. Li Banfeng’s thoughts were numerous and chaotic, completely uncontrollable.
But the Clock Pendulum did not come away empty-handed.
"There’s a song!" the Clock Pendulum remarked. "In the master’s thoughts, there is a song, sung by a woman..."
The Clock Pendulum’s voice was a bit muffled. Hearing the song from within his thoughts, she almost fell into a dream herself, barely maintaining control thanks to her innate talent as a Mental Cultivator.
Hearing what the Clock Pendulum said, the Wine Gourd didn’t dare to touch Li Banfeng’s thoughts either.
The Gourd recalled the Silk-pulling Earrings.
"Silk Thread Girl? Did you hear the song too? Have you fallen asleep? Wake up quick!"
The Clock Pendulum swiped over the Earrings, showing no mercy toward them.
The Earrings snapped awake and, hearing the Wine Gourd’s question, hurriedly responded, "There is indeed a song. I also heard it just now. I only heard a couple of lines, then I fell asleep."
The Wine Gourd muttered softly, "Winkle Flowers, there are Winkle Flowers underground."
The Tang Sword was unsheathed and after hovering for a moment said, "I’ve seen Winkle Flowers. As long as they do not break the surface, no one can hear their song. I’ve seen no unearthed Winkle Flowers nearby."
The Gourd too was baffled by the reason.
However, the Clock Pendulum seemed to have figured it out. "It’s this slutty Earrings again, making a profit off the master!"
The price of wearing the Silk-pulling Earrings was hearing sounds one ought not to hear.
Winkle Flowers were originally underground; Li Banfeng should not have been able to hear their song. But because of the Silk-pulling Earrings, he did.
The Silk-pulling Earrings explained, "I didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t want to harm the master, I was just..."
Midsentence, the Silk-pulling Earrings fell asleep again.
The Clock Pendulum said to the Gourd, "Hurry up and wake the master; we must leave this place immediately."
Awakening Li Banfeng was not difficult. Besides slashing him with a knife, the Gourd could think of other methods.
The key point was that waking him up was useless. The Silk-pulling Earrings had just woken up but had fallen asleep again in the blink of an eye. This was the Winkle Flower’s trick. Anyone who had heard her song might fall asleep again at any time and could even suffer severe injuries from the Winkle Flower due to repeatedly falling into dreams.
"We need to find a way to force the Winkle Flower out!"
The Tang Sword exclaimed, "As soon as she comes out, I’ll chop her to pieces right away!"
The Clock Pendulum responded, "Stop spouting useless crap. If she were willing to come out, would we even need you to chop her?"
As everyone racked their brains for a way to make the Winkle Flower show itself, they suddenly heard a faint voice slowly say one word:
"Blood."
He was the Judge’s Pen, refined by the Lazy Cultivator.
He spoke only this one word, too lazy to say more.
Blood.
Neither the Gourd nor the Tang Sword could figure it out. The Clock Pendulum, however, suddenly remembered.
"The blood of the Lin Li creature! The blood of Grass Cultivation! I still retain a mouthful!"
When they had slain the Lin Li creature, the Clock Pendulum had sucked its blood full. Over so much time, most of the blood had been digested, but she kept the last mouthful.
Every one of them had forgotten about this matter, but the Judge’s Pen still remembered.
Indeed, the Judge’s Pen remembered many things. He was simply too lazy to bring them up.
The Clock Pendulum leaped into the air and spat that mouthful of blood onto the wasteland.
Above the barren land, various plants began to grow wildly.
Most of these plants were seeds in the soil, sprouting rapidly under the influence of the blood of Grass Cultivation.
The Winkle Flower hidden deep in the ground, now touched by the blood of Grass Cultivation, began to grow uncontrollably.
RUSTLE, RUSTLE, RUSTLE.
A bright flower burst through the soil. Its petals were deep red, yet unopened, enveloped by a few leaves that hung like a skirt trailing to the ground, as if a singer had donned evening attire!
It really was a Winkle Flower!
"Slut, die!" shouted the Clock Pendulum angrily.
The flower roots emerged, scattering soil and blocking the Clock Pendulum. As the Winkle Flower attempted to escape, the Tang Sword flashed past, the Flower Neck was severed, and the bud fell to the ground.
PS: What would happen if Ma Wu encountered the Winkle Flower?