The night air was cold, heavy with moisture and the medicinal scent of cultivated herbs.
Zhou Mei's breathing was shallow and uneven as her legs struggled to keep her upright. Jiang Chen stood behind her, close enough that she could feel his presence like a blade pressed against her spine.
Mist from the pools drifted low along the ground, curling around her ankles like pale wandering ghosts. Blood had long since dried on her chest, dark and filthy. The sealing talisman embedded in the middle of her chest had runes that were dull and exhausted. It kept her alive, preventing her organs from failing and her blood from spilling out, but that was the extent of it. It did not heal her or ease the anguish.
Jiang Chen had obtained it while venturing to the market earlier to prepare certain items. That small errand had been the reason he arrived late to the gathering.
Right now, they stood before one of the pools. The herbal water glowed with a faint green radiance, lit from within by concentrated spirit qi. Spiritual ripples spread across the surface in rhythmic waves. Purple Ghost Flowers bloomed in dense clusters, seven petals layered perfectly, their cores flickering with faint golden flame.
This field of spirit herbs was the culmination of years of care.
Zhou Mei stared at it, her gaze trembling.
These flowers were born from her hands, from countless nights spent tending water channels, stabilizing spirit veins, and adjusting nutrient ratios alone. She had watched growth cycles rise and fall, learning when to intervene and when to wait.
A spirit farmer was not a cultivator focused on battle. They cultivated life, herbs, spiritual crops, and medicinal flora that sustained the cultivation world. Without spirit farmers, the foundation of sects would gradually weaken and collapse.
Zhou Mei knew every stage of the Purple Ghost Flower's growth by heart.
This was her pride and joy.
And now, all of it belonged to the demon standing behind her.
"Proceed," Jiang Chen said flatly.
Zhou Mei's jaw clenched. Hatred surged in her chest like boiling oil. This man had killed Yu Lan. He had severed her womanhood with his blade. And now he stood behind her, demanding the fruits of her labor as if it were only natural.
It was unbearable.
Everything she had built was being stripped away piece by piece.
Her teeth ground together until pain shot through her jaw. She wanted to scream at him, to curse him until her throat tore apart and her voice ran dry.
But she did nothing.
She was helpless.
Zhou Mei closed her eyes and inhaled shakily before stepping forward. Her feet sank into the damp earth at the edge of the pool.
'I can only endure.'
She raised both of her palms. Spiritual light bloomed around her fingers as three techniques activated in rapid succession.
The first technique stabilized the herbal water qi. Chaotic ripples smoothed instantly, and the surface of the pool became calm and reflective like a jade mirror.
The second followed immediately. Her divine sense sank deep into the pool, splitting into countless fine threads that wrapped around the roots of each Purple Ghost Flower. With painstaking care, she loosened them from the soil, separating root from earth without damaging the core.
Then came the third technique.
Golden light wrapped around the petals one by one, locking their spiritual vitality in place before harvest. Sweat beaded on her forehead within moments.
This was not easy.
Harvesting mature Purple Ghost Flowers required extreme precision. One wrong movement and the flower would rot into worthless waste. Doing this for a single plant was manageable. Managing hundreds simultaneously placed an enormous strain even on a seasoned spirit farmer.
Her breathing gradually became more uneven as the strain mounted.
Behind her, Jiang Chen watched without blinking.
Spiritual power circulated steadily through his body, flowing like an iron river through his meridians. His divine sense spread outward in a thin invisible net. Any deviation from the set plan and he would strike mercilessly.
Time passed slowly.
One flower rose gently from the water, then another. They hovered in the air, placed carefully onto jade-like trays condensed from qi. The trays arranged themselves in neat rows, glowing softly beneath the moonlight.
Zhou Mei's consciousness felt stretched thin, as if her mind were being pulled apart. Yet she did not stop.
After nearly an hour, the pool lay empty.
Three hundred and fifty Purple Ghost Flowers floated silently in the air, their combined glow illuminating the area like a constellation torn from the sky.
Zhou Mei's shoulders slumped.
It was done.
Jiang Chen stepped forward. With a flick of his sleeve, the flowers vanished into his storage pouch. The pouch bulged briefly, then settled, fully packed.
Satisfied, Jiang Chen nodded once.
"Destroy the rest."
Zhou Mei froze.
She looked toward the other six pools. Immature Purple Ghost Flowers swayed lightly. They could have been harvested in another year, another half year if conditions were perfect.
Her nails dug into her palms.
'I want to kill him!'
This thought rose venomously in her heart.
But the reality was dull and heavy.
She slowly bowed her head.
"…Yes."
Zhou Mei moved to the nearest pool and raised her hands again. The same techniques were used, but this time with deliberate harshness. She destabilized the water qi, reversing nutrient flow and severing spiritual roots at their source. The flowers darkened rapidly. Petals curled inward, shriveling before sinking lifelessly into the water.
One pool collapsed, then another.
Jiang Chen activated the information disc. Azure light rippled outward, recording everything without omission.
'Such efficient methods,' he noted silently. 'Only a spirit farmer could dismantle resources this cleanly.'
If it were him, he would have been forced to destroy each flower manually or fully tamper with the herbal water. It would be effective, but it would require significantly more effort.
When the final pool was reduced to waste, Jiang Chen put the disc away.
He retrieved a jade slip and extended it toward Zhou Mei.
"Transmit your techniques into this slip."
Zhou Mei's heart dropped the moment she heard those words.
She quickly fell to her knees, her forehead striking the earth.
"I cannot," she said fearfully. "I am bound by heavenly oaths. All my techniques come from the sect, and the sect forbids these techniques from being passed on. If I attempt it, my soul will shatter."
Jiang Chen had already expected this answer.
Still, he looked down at her and grunted coolly. "Useless. Then give me the method of controlling this formation, your understanding of formations, and your insights into spirit farming. Do not tell me those are bound by oaths as well."
Zhou Mei shook her head frantically. "No, no. Those are personal, not restricted by the sect."
"Then hurry."
She took the jade slip with her right hand and pressed it against her forehead. A faint glow formed between her hand and the slip as streams of knowledge began transferring into the jade.
As the information left her mind, despair swallowed her whole.
'This is the end.'
'After this, I have nothing left.'
'He will kill me.'
She did not believe for a moment that Jiang Chen would let her go, not after everything that had happened.
He was far too ruthless a person.
'I must do something. I do not want to die.'
Deep fear suffocated her thoughts until another image surfaced in her mind.
Yu Lan's smile.
Her warmth.
Her blood staining the floor.
Zhou Mei's ruined chest burned. Hatred surged like a flood breaking a dam. Killing intent exploded within her heart.
Her hand holding the jade slip shifted ever so slightly, obscuring her eyes from Jiang Chen's view.
Within her bloodshot pupils, bluish black light gathered like an impending storm.
This was her final gamble.
'Now or never.'
A soft sigh brushed her ear like the whisper of death.
Zhou Mei's pupils shrank. Before realization could fully form, steel flashed.
The blade passed above her shoulder in a clean arc.
Her head left her body.
The condensed energy she had prepared burst free instinctively, firing wildly into her own collapsing corpse and tearing through flesh and bone without purpose.
Her body fell heavily to the ground.
Jiang Chen caught the jade slip midair.
He glanced down at the corpse.
"It was a praiseworthy struggle," he said calmly. "But far too obvious."
He activated the information disc once more. Azure light swept over the corpse and the blood soaked ground.
After recording the merit, he put away the disc.
Without another look, Jiang Chen vanished into the night, his figure dissolving into the darkness as he headed toward his next target.