Chapter 146: The Pagoda Blossom

“Are you finished?”

Ning Xiu looked at the man in black. His left hand curled slightly, and the dagger lying on the ground, shimmering with a ghostly radiance, seemed to be drawn by an invisible force. It flew straight into his hand.

“Wait! You can’t kill me!”

The dagger continued to grow larger in the man’s pupils.

The chill at his throat made him truly understand the terror of death. The corners of his eyes twitched violently as he hurriedly shouted, “Heed me! You cannot kill me!”

He had never imagined that, in the Death Desert, anyone would still dare to act so recklessly after hearing the name of the Moon Wheel Divine Hall—or dare to direct such naked killing intent at one of its people.

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him. He stared fixedly at Ning Xiu and cried out, “You—you’re one of the Loulan remnants!”

A flash of blade-light passed.

The instant the black dagger slit his throat, it drained every drop of blood from his body.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, the man in black lost all the moisture in his body. He withered into a hideous, terrifying corpse and collapsed onto the ground.

Smack!

The great hall fell into a silence that was almost frightening.

Ning Xiu turned and looked at the others, his gaze sweeping across every face before finally coming to rest on Wang Danfeng, who was dressed entirely in red.

When the man in black had uttered the words “Loulan remnants” before his death, Ning Xiu had clearly noticed a subtle change in Wang Danfeng’s expression.

Though she had concealed it very well.

“Can you tell me what ‘Loulan remnants’ means?” Ning Xiu stared fixedly at Wang Danfeng and spoke slowly.

“What is this young hero talking about? This humble woman truly does not understand.”

A charming smile bloomed across Wang Danfeng’s face.

As she spoke, she began walking toward Ning Xiu.

Her figure was graceful and alluring. Every step resembled the bewitching dance of a heavenly demon, while her soft, sultry voice was intoxicating to the ear.

“Young hero, you have overwhelmed all challengers. Even the Moon Wheel Divine Hall has bowed before you. This humble woman is filled with admiration. Treasures of heaven and earth have always belonged to the capable; this Twin-Life Flower should be yours.”

As she spoke, an extremely faint, exotic fragrance drifted through the breeze and entered Ning Xiu’s nose and mouth.

Ning Xiu looked up at Wang Danfeng. Suddenly, her face appeared exceptionally familiar, and he felt as though everything she said was right.

An unnatural flush spread across his face.

A bewitching art?

He frowned, and his figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.

In the next instant, he appeared directly before Wang Danfeng. Raising his right arm, he struck her across the face with all his strength.

Wang Danfeng had never imagined that her bewitching art would fail. As the palm rapidly enlarged in her pupils, her beautiful face went white with terror.

Smack!

The slap rang through the hall.

Ning Xiu knocked Wang Danfeng to the ground with a single blow. Five clear finger marks remained on her cheek, and a thread of crimson blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. It was easy to imagine how vicious that slap had been.

When had Wang Danfeng ever suffered such humiliation? Furious, she was just about to strike back when an iron-clad hand seized her slender neck. The dreadful killing intent made every hair on her body stand on end.

Looking into those cold, indifferent eyes, she felt that if she dared move even slightly, Ning Xiu would crush her throat without hesitation.

Since Ning Xiu had been able to kill an envoy of the Moon Wheel Hall, there could be no doubt about his strength.

Wang Danfeng was no fool. Under normal circumstances, she would naturally have been unwilling to provoke him. But she had clearly revealed a flaw just now, and she knew that he was not someone who could easily be deceived.

Besides, she had great confidence in her bewitching art. Striking first had therefore seemed like her best option.

“Now, can you tell me what the Loulan remnants are?”

Ning Xiu looked at Wang Danfeng’s face, which had grown red from lack of air. With a casual flick of his hand, he threw her aside as though she were a piece of refuse.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Wang Danfeng coughed violently several times before looking up at Ning Xiu, her face filled with fear.

“The Loulan remnants he mentioned must refer to the descendants of those who survived the great calamity that befell the ancient kingdom of Loulan.”

This did not surprise Ning Xiu. He had expected as much.

“You are one of the Loulan survivors.”

Ning Xiu spoke in a statement, not a question.

Wang Danfeng bit her lip tightly and said nothing.

But Ning Xiu already had his answer.

As he looked at Wang Danfeng, it was almost as though he could see the shadow of an ancient cultivation method.

Even if Wang Danfeng knew nothing, someone among the Loulan survivors surely did.

After sealing several vital points on her body, he seized her by the collar and began walking toward the black altar.

“Since you are one of the Loulan survivors, can you tell me what this black altar is, and what is going on with this Twin-Life Flower?”

Wang Danfeng still refused to speak.

Silence was not defiance. It was merely an excuse born of fear.

On the surface, she appeared unyielding, as though prepared to die rather than submit. In the depths of her heart, however, she was already terrified beyond measure.

The sight of the man in black being reduced to a dried corpse remained vivid in her mind.

“If you still refuse to speak, I’ll throw you onto the altar,” Ning Xiu said coldly.

Since the Loulan survivors existed, it was impossible that they did not know where the ruins were. Over the course of centuries, they should have returned to their former kingdom more than once.

Then why had this Twin-Life Flower remained here unharmed until today, when he had finally arrived?

When something was abnormal, there had to be a reason.

There were, of course, many possible explanations. Perhaps the flower had only truly matured and bloomed today.

But Ning Xiu would never believe in a coincidence so absurd that it defied all logic.

What was even more suspicious was that Wang Danfeng was trying to convince him with precisely such a ridiculous explanation.

Ning Xiu looked at her, the corners of his lips lifting slightly as the mockery in his expression deepened.

Holding Wang Danfeng as one might hold a chick, he climbed the steps toward the altar, one step at a time. He stopped before the black-and-white Twin-Life Flower.

Ning Xiu reached out with his left hand, seized Wang Danfeng’s arm, and moved it toward the flower.

As she watched her right hand draw closer and closer to the Twin-Life Flower, the terror in Wang Danfeng’s eyes grew increasingly intense. In the end, she began struggling desperately, almost frantically.

There really was something wrong!

Ning Xiu gave an inward cold snort. No wonder those Loulan survivors had been so confident. The entire kingdom of Loulan contained nothing but a few pieces of worthless scrap metal.

The only thing that could be called a treasure of heaven and earth—the Twin-Life Flower—was, as it now appeared, nothing more than a complete trap.

“I—I’ll talk!” Wang Danfeng shouted.

Ning Xiu stopped, but he did not release her. He turned to look at her, clearly waiting for her explanation. If he was dissatisfied with what she said, he would continue without the slightest hesitation.

“The Twin-Life Flower has no roots. It needs to inhabit a living person before it can truly bloom. The day the flower blossoms is the day its host dies!” Wang Danfeng cried out hurriedly.

The Twin-Life Flower was also known as the Other Shore Flower.

In ancient Loulan, it had another name: the Pagoda Flower.