I Transmigrated as a Doomed Villain and Awakened a Rebate System, Then Pampered the Protagonist’s Fiancée to Heaven - Chapter 15:

Chapter 15: As If Awakening from a Dream

Only then did Bai Luoluo seem to awaken from a dream. She bit her lip, feeling that Chu Qiuran was nothing but a reckless spender, yet this was not the time to argue. With a soft shout, she quickly formed hand seals with both hands. Streams of cyan spiritual Qi shot from her fingertips, pouring into the golden vitality as she tried to resist the devouring force of the black vortex.

Under their combined effort, the golden vitality and the black vortex engaged in a fierce tug-of-war. The atmosphere in the medicine garden grew tense to the extreme.

Beads of sweat trickled down Chu Qiuran’s forehead. The power of the Dao Heart Fruit was indeed formidable, but the residual energy of the Devouring Spirit Flower was also disturbingly strange—like maggots clinging to bone, impossible to completely eliminate.

“This won’t work! Its root source is still there!” Bai Luoluo’s voice carried a trace of panic.

At that moment, a glint of determination flashed through Chu Qiuran’s eyes. He swiftly took out another item from his storage ring—a small vial of undiluted Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Stalactite Essence.

“Madman! You’re a complete madman!” Bai Luoluo almost jumped in shock when she saw it.

Chu Qiuran ignored her completely and poured the entire vial of pure Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Stalactite Essence directly into the center of the black vortex.

A sizzling sound erupted. As if boiling oil had been poured over snow, the moment the essence touched the vortex, a blinding white light exploded. The black vortex let out a shrill screech as it began to dissolve and collapse at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Moments later, the vortex disappeared entirely. Above the soil, only gentle golden spiritual light lingered, spiraling softly. Threads of vitality began to seep into the earth.

The once charred land had turned into fertile dark brown soil, exuding a refreshing fragrance and dense spiritual Qi.

“Phew… finally… it’s done.” Chu Qiuran let out a long breath. His body wavered slightly—his spiritual consumption had been tremendous.

Bai Luoluo pressed a hand to her chest, still shaken. Her gaze at Chu Qiuran grew complex. “You really are a monster. Even the core disciples of the Inner Sect might not be able to pull off something like that.”

She quickly added, “But don’t celebrate too early. What you did only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. The source of the Devouring Spirit Flower lies deeper in the garden. And with all that noise just now, you’ve probably disturbed something truly terrifying.”

Before she finished, a deep, oppressive growl echoed from the depths of the medicine garden. It was like the heavy breathing of a giant beast, filled with savagery and hunger.

Both Chu Qiuran and Bai Luoluo’s expressions changed at once.

The ground trembled slightly. The low roar continued, pressing down on their chests like a weight. Chu Qiuran felt the hair on his neck stand up, and even his spiritual Qi circulation froze for an instant.

Bai Luoluo instinctively stepped back and pressed her hand on the phoenix-shaped jade pendant at her waist. The pendant emitted a faint warmth.

“What… what is that thing?” Chu Qiuran’s throat felt dry.

“Not a ghost, but a big one!” Bai Luoluo’s breath quickened. “This abandoned garden was once used by the sect to raise experimental spirit plants and… some special demon beasts. The Devouring Spirit Flower alone is already evil enough. Anything that can coexist with it won’t be anything friendly.”

She lowered her voice. “I once overheard an elder from the Inner Sect mention that beneath this garden lies an ancient Earth-Slumbering Beast. It usually sleeps deep within the ley lines, feeding on ambient spiritual Qi and earth fiend energy. Unless something disturbs its rest or the ley lines shift, it never wakes.”

“You’re saying,” Chu Qiuran twitched the corner of his mouth helplessly, “we made too much noise with the Dao Heart Fruit and the Stalactite Essence, and woke it up?”

“Most likely!” Bai Luoluo nodded grimly. “The Earth-Slumbering Beast is highly sensitive to spiritual Qi fluctuations, especially pure vitality. What you just did was like pouring water into boiling oil—and setting off a firecracker at its bedroom door!”

As soon as she spoke, the ground began to quake. Something massive beneath them was shifting. A chilling aura spread rapidly, mixed with… excitement?

Chu Qiuran turned to look at the patch of soil he had just painstakingly “restored.” The fertile dark brown earth began to twist once again. Countless black roots wriggled out from below, intertwining and fusing rapidly.

“This isn’t good! It’s the remnants of the Devouring Spirit Flower!” Bai Luoluo exclaimed. “They’ve been fully activated by the power of the Dao Heart Fruit and Stalactite Essence! They’re… merging!”

The black roots gathered together, swelling into a half-human-high black flower bud covered in eerie patterns. Its top cracked open slightly, revealing a dark red inner wall lined with barbs. A purer, more voracious devouring intent burst forth.

“This… this is the birth of the Devouring Spirit Flower King?” Chu Qiuran felt his scalp tingle. The pressure from it was even stronger than the vortex before.

“Not a true Flower King,” Bai Luoluo corrected quickly, “more like a malformed Devouring Spirit Bud! But it already possesses part of the flower’s traits—and being stimulated by the Earth-Slumbering Beast’s aura, it’s even more violent!”

The black bud suddenly quivered, and its top split wider. A powerful suction force erupted from within. The spiritual Qi in the air—and even the spiritual Qi in their bodies—was drawn uncontrollably toward it.

“It’s sucking our spiritual Qi!” Chu Qiuran hurriedly activated his cultivation technique to resist, but the suction was so domineering it threatened to drain him dry.

“Forget the Earth-Slumbering Beast! If we don’t deal with this bud first, we’ll both become fertilizer!” Bai Luoluo shouted. Her hands moved rapidly as several cyan wind blades materialized and slashed toward the black bud.

Thuds echoed as the blades struck, leaving only faint white marks on the surface without even breaking through the outer layer.

“It’s this tough?” Chu Qiuran’s heart skipped a beat.

“The Devouring Spirit Flower is renowned for its resilience. This bud, infused with both Dao Heart Fruit and Stalactite Essence, is even more abnormal!” Bai Luoluo’s attacks were ineffective, and the suction grew stronger.

“Damn it! I’m going to be eaten by my own creation?” Chu Qiuran cursed. He had no intention of turning into flower fertilizer.

With a flick of his wrist, three golden Dao Heart Fruits appeared in his palm.

“You’re insane!” Bai Luoluo’s eyes widened. “Are you trying to feed it into becoming a real Devouring Spirit Flower King?”

“No risk, no reward!” Chu Qiuran gritted his teeth. “Feeding it directly won’t work… but what if I overfeed it?”

As he spoke, he crushed the three Dao Heart Fruits in his hand and mixed them with powdered spirit stones, ready for the next desperate move.