Chapter Nine What Is the Violet Spirit Flower?

After the auction ended, darkness gradually fell...

On the streets of Maple Leaf City, a carriage moved slowly along. It came to a halt before a grand residence—where else but the Lu family estate?

Lu Tianhong was in a somber mood. Though there had been some fine items among the later auction lots, none could compare to the Profound Ascension Pill. That pill offered a fifty percent chance of creating another Profound Lord for the family—a being whose innate qi had transformed into profound energy. Only upon reaching the Profound Lord’s realm could one truly grasp the terror and power it held. The Lu family already boasted a single Profound Lord, Lu Tianhong’s father. Even though he was only at the first tier of the Profound Lord realm, Tianhong, himself at the eighth tier of the Innate stage, was utterly powerless before him. Such was the gulf between Innate and Profound Lord.

In the end, the pill was bought by the Li family for the staggering sum of two million gold coins. Such an amount could cripple a family’s finances, but the chance to cultivate a Profound Lord made it all worthwhile.

Though he had not obtained the Profound Ascension Pill, Lu Tianhong had managed to acquire the Spirit-Nourishing Pearl, which brought a faint smile to his face. Every time he saw Meng Wan’er furrow her brow in pain, his own heart ached more than hers.

“Master, Young Master Han left a letter for you,” said one of the guards, Lu Bang, as they arrived at the Lu family gates.

Lu Bang thought Young Master Han was making things unnecessarily complicated. By Han’s own words, he would be back soon enough—why not just leave a verbal message? But Han insisted, saying his father would understand once he read the letter.

“A letter from Han’er?” Lu Tianhong took the letter, glancing at Meng Wan’er and Uncle Fu at his side.

He broke the seal. Several lines of bold, vigorous script met his eyes—not a calligrapher’s hand, perhaps, but strong nonetheless.

It recounted that Lie Rugao had come to seek Lu Han’s help: her father, Lie Xiong, had fallen into a coma from poisoning, and all the healers the family had summoned were at a loss. Han had intended to tell his father but found him away at the auction. There was a mission posted in the task hall: to gather Purple Spirit Flowers from the outskirts of the Cold Abyss Forest, said to cure strange poisons. Lu Han had gone to collect them on his own.

“Purple Spirit Flower? I’ve never heard of it. Wan’er, Uncle Fu, have you?” Lu Tianhong was surprised. He was no stranger to herbs, as the Lu family was in the business of medicinal plants, but this flower was unfamiliar.

Meng Wan’er and the others all shook their heads.

“With Han’er’s pace, he should return soon enough. We’ll ask him about it then,” Tianhong said, letting the matter rest. Once Han brought back the flower, all would be clear.

Though he thought it a bit reckless for Lu Han, newly advanced to the sixth tier of the Postnatal stage, to undertake a family mission alone, the outskirts of the Cold Abyss Forest posed little danger to one of his cultivation. There was no cause for alarm.

“No wonder we haven’t seen Brother Lie lately—he’s been unconscious from poison,” Tianhong murmured, letter in hand, as he sat in his study.

The Lu and Lie families had always been on good terms. Lie Xiong would often bring his daughter to play at the Lu estate, and in private, he and Tianhong called each other brother.

“Uncle Fu, Han’er still hasn’t returned?” Tianhong called out to the study door. It had been three hours since his return; Han should have been back by now.

“Not yet, Master,” Uncle Fu replied, worry coloring his voice. He had watched Han grow up, treating him as his own grandson.

Tianhong pondered the day’s events. Something felt amiss, though he could not place it.

“Uncle Fu, go and invite Elder Ying from the task hall—I have questions for him,” Tianhong said with a sigh, rubbing his temples, weary from the auction.

Uncle Fu had just left when a woman entered.

“Wan’er, didn’t I tell you? You’re tired, too. Go rest early—I’ll wait here for Han’er,” Tianhong admonished, his tone gentle with concern.

“Tianhong, how can I sleep with Han’er still missing? You don’t think something’s happened to him, do you?” Meng Wan’er asked anxiously. While the forest’s outskirts were not dangerous, this was Han’s first family mission—usually, a senior or experienced cousin would accompany a first-timer.

A woman’s intuition is rarely wrong, but neither she nor the others could know that Lu Han had already been pushed into an abyss, his survival hanging by a thread.

Before long, Uncle Fu returned with a man in his seventies. Though his hair was white, his eyes were sharp as a hawk’s—a man of no ordinary bearing. This was Lu Hongying, head of the Lu family’s task hall, and Tianhong’s uncle. He had held the office for over thirty years, succeeding his elder brother, the previous head.

“Uncle Ying, did Han’er take on a mission today? He mentioned gathering Purple Spirit Flowers from the Cold Abyss Forest’s outskirts. By now, he should have returned. I wanted to ask if there’s been a mistake at the task hall,” Tianhong said directly, handing him the letter.

“Han’er? He hasn’t been to the task hall today. And we have no such mission to the Cold Abyss Forest right now. What is this Purple Spirit Flower? I’ve never heard of it,” Hongying replied, utterly baffled. He personally approved all missions—nothing like this had been issued.

“What?” Tianhong exclaimed, leaping from his chair.

No such mission had been issued? No one knew what the Purple Spirit Flower was?

Then how did Han know about it? And why did he claim it was a family mission? Where did he learn of it?

Han had rushed to the forest that afternoon, saying only that he was undertaking a family mission to gather the flower—but never where he’d heard of it.

“Uncle Fu, bring five Lu family guards and come with me to the Cold Abyss Forest to find Han’er,” Tianhong ordered, taking the Xuan Gold Saber from the weapon rack—a blade only the family head was permitted to bear.

The Lu family maintained only ten guards, each at the ninth tier of the Postnatal stage, a step away from the Innate realm. These guards were both a symbol of honor and of strength for the Lu family. Among their peers, they were unmatched, each under twenty-five years old. Any family member who reached the ninth tier before twenty-five could challenge for a place among them; to win was to claim the position, so their prowess was beyond doubt.

“Tianhong, let me come as well. I fear for Han’er,” Meng Wan’er pleaded, preparing to join them.

“Wan’er, stay here and wait. I will bring Han’er back,” Tianhong reassured her.

“Don’t worry too much, niece. There’s no danger in the forest’s outskirts. Han’er will be fine. You just have the kitchen prepare something to eat—he’ll be hungry when he returns,” Hongying added.

“I’ll go now,” Meng Wan’er replied.

“Tianhong, there’s something strange about this,” Hongying said quietly once Meng Wan’er had left. With a lifetime’s experience, he saw the problem at a glance.

“I know, Uncle. I just hope it’s not what I fear,” Tianhong murmured, then left the study.

Whoosh, whoosh...

Seven shadows slipped beyond the city gate into the darkness, swift as the wind—their destination, the Cold Abyss Forest.

They were Lu Tianhong, Uncle Fu, and five Lu family guards.

Despite his age, Uncle Fu moved with impressive speed, perhaps even outpacing the guards.

“Han’er, please let nothing happen to you!”

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