Chapter 102: Golden Light And Emerald Green
At night, Xilutiya carefully stepped up the cliff step by step, then bent down and touched the blooming Blood Strange Flower.
【Blood Strange Flower】（Second Order·Blood Law）: A mutated special flower. To make it bloom, it must be irrigated with blood possessing Blood Law Nature. Its flower petals can be refined into special potions and can also be used to make high-order Blood Wine. It is said that this kind of strange flower originated from the Blood Dynasty of the Eighth Epoch and was cultivated by the nobles of the dynasty at that time.
Merely breathing in the faint sweet fragrance from the tip of her nose, Xilutiya felt her blood surging. Her originally third-stage Breathing Technique once again showed signs of loosening for advancement.
She slightly steadied her breathing, carefully parted the soil under the Blood Strange Flower, and then slowly dug out its root system.
Ten minutes later, she carefully placed this Blood Strange Flower into the Glass Jar of her portable lantern, while the Fire Cloud Orchid originally inside had been completely consumed in the previous battle.
This lantern can not only be used to perform the Flower Blooming Technique but also effectively protect the flowers and grass plants inside. The Glass within it is specially made, even stronger than ordinary steel.
After packing up, Xilutiya closed the lid, locked it securely, hung it at her waist, then carefully jumped down the mountain slope again and slowly walked back to the forest.
By now Iona had woken up. After recovering with excellent healing potion and having slept for a while, her condition had improved greatly, and the wounds on her body had also scabbed over.
The recovery power of Blazing Sun Nature was truly astonishing, Xilutiya thought to herself.
The campfire by the trees burned quietly, emitting slight crackling sounds. Wisps of light smoke rose, adding a touch of warmth to the damp mountain forest.
Iona’s face was illuminated by the orange-red firelight. She looked at the approaching Xilutiya and noticed the lantern at the maiden’s waist, inside which a demonic blood flower was blooming.
She had already obtained it… Iona’s heart sank bit by bit, and her originally bright eyes slowly lowered.
After a long time, she reluctantly raised her head and forced a stiff smile at the maiden before her.
“Tiya… congratulations.” Her voice had never been so dry, even somewhat painful.
Seeing Iona in such a vulnerable state, Xilutiya shook her head slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
Iona must want this spot very much, but there is only one.
Going to the Secluded Forest to study is currently her easiest way to access profound extraordinary knowledge. Although she could also learn many things from Madam Fran, Madam Fran had said that what she could teach was limited to the gardener field and was not comprehensive.
If she lost the opportunity to go there, whether she could obtain learning opportunities through other channels was unknown.
She sympathized with Iona very much, but sympathy was not a reason to yield, because that would not only be disrespectful to herself but also contemptuous toward others.
At this moment, Iona’s heart was struggling. Her fingers dug into her flesh, trying to keep herself clear-headed and rational, but thinking about how she could no longer leave this remote mountain area in the future and could only desperately and hopelessly chase after the geniuses of the Royal Capital, an intangible despair began to gnaw at her heart.
She was very afraid.
Afraid that one day she would be assimilated by those mediocre noblewomen of Jiaoshi City and become an ordinary noblewoman who only knew how to play and indulge in vulgar life.
Her youth, her pursuit, were all in the prosperous Royal Capital White Cliff City, in the glorious family gates. She could not degenerate and give up like this.
This fear of a mediocre future caused her reason to gradually falter, and her fingers trembled slightly.
Finally, as if making a huge determination, Iona slowly raised her struggling eyes and looked at the black-haired maiden before her.
“Tiya, can you give me the flower?”
Failure must be acknowledged. With Iona’s proud personality in the past, since she hadn’t obtained the Blood Strange Flower and missed the opportunity, she would probably admit it generously, but today was different from usual; she could not let go of all this.
Whether for the family or out of fear and disgust toward a mediocre life, she could not calmly accept this outcome.
After speaking, Iona felt some regret, thinking that this was too shameless, but she had no intention of giving up.
“I mean, I hope we can have another match.” As she spoke, Iona slowly drew the sword at her waist.
Regardless of whether Xilutiya agreed or not, she would engage in battle. This statement was merely a final polite greeting.
“Iona…” Seeing the longing and persistence in the other’s eyes, Xilutiya knew that nothing she said would help.
It seemed a match was necessary for the other to be convinced, but Xilutiya suspected that even if Iona lost, she wouldn’t give up. What should she do then?
However, there was clearly no time for such thinking, because Iona had already moved into action.
She launched the first attack. Her figure leaped up like a hornet, the sharp sword edge sweeping through the branches and leaves in the forest like a bee sting, thrusting toward the black-haired figure not far away.
Golden sword light flashed and vanished on the sword spine. Even if Xilutiya blocked the sword blade, the golden needle-like sword light still pierced past her ear, bringing up severed strands of hair.
Danger!
Alarms blared in Xilutiya’s heart. Facing Iona’s second attack, her figure swiftly twisted and dodged the direction of the sword light.
Brilliant golden needles instantly passed through the dim forest, piercing the withered trees behind the maiden.
Dry branches slowly fell, crushing the adjacent trees.
Facing Iona’s Golden Needle Thorn Blade, Xilutiya had to muster twelve parts of her spirit and respond with full effort.
The golden sword blade clashed with the firefly-green longsword in the forest, occasionally bursting into shattered sparks. The two once again locked their sword blades together.
“Zzz—”
The sword blades scraped past each other, producing intense sparking tremors.
Feeling the powerful force transmitted from the sword body, Xilutiya took a deep breath, circulated her internal Breathing Technique, accelerated the blood flow and circulation, and the intangible Blood Law Nature manifested and boiled in her blood, allowing her to block the other’s fierce attacks one after another.
On the other side, golden light flowed in Iona’s scarlet eyes. The power of Blazing Sun Nature merged into her blood, like a branding iron imprinting traces in her body—initially just fiery pain, followed by intense burning sensation.
She had to defeat Xilutiya within a few minutes, or the side effects of Blazing Sun would burn her up.
“Clang—”
Golden arcs and firefly-green jade sword crossed in the forest, colliding into shattered sparks.
Facing Iona’s increasingly suppressive force, Xilutiya activated the Blue Water Shell Pearl hidden in her sleeve. Invisible cold air exploded, instantly freezing the incoming golden longsword, and the wrist holding the sword also stiffened and slowed.
Taking advantage of this hard-won gap, Xilutiya dodged the sword blade thrusting before her eyes, while rotating the Tree Jade Spirit Sword. Under the fierce force, she struck the Black Steel Dagger from Iona’s hand, sending it flying.
Facing this sudden mishap, a chill flashed in Iona’s eyes. She quickly leaped up, her figure dancing like a bee in the air, evading the maiden’s pursuit and dashing toward the fallen dagger.
Seizing this rare opportunity, Xilutiya closely followed. Although her Sword Technique leaned toward defense and lacked Iona’s powerful suppression and attack power, with her excellent talent and observation, she could always catch the subtle flaws in Iona’s Sword Technique, leaving some wounds.
Unable to suppress Xilutiya, Iona felt immense pressure. She took a deep breath, and the brilliant Blazing Sun Nature seemed about to overflow from her body, manifesting faint pattern traces on her skin.
This was the effect of 【Radiant Breathing Technique】 pushed to the extreme. Unfortunately, her talent and time were limited, and she hadn’t elevated this ability to a level without side effects. She could only go all out to defeat her opponent before collapsing.
“Tiya, you can’t beat me.” Iona believed that as 【Blazing Sun】, she would inevitably surpass the 【Emerald Honey】 who was not skilled in combat.
Her eyes shone brightly. Two Black Steel longswords slowly plated with gold. When she swung them, they left slender light trails in the night sky, with sparks scattering from them. These sparks touched fallen leaves and trees, scorching wisps of smoke and holes.
In the pitch-dark forest, the brilliant golden blade and firefly-green jade sword clashed repeatedly, evenly matched for the moment.
