The Heroine Must Die

If she consumed it now and got stuck at Great Perfection without fully refining its energy, that would be a waste. And she refused to waste something this precious.

“I’ll eat it after Spirit Severing,” she decided. “Not a drop goes to waste.”

For now, she would use the ice crystals, the Refining Cloud Pill, and the Snow Ghost Pill.

As she sorted the bottles and jade boxes, she couldn’t help but feel stunned.

Her master had prepared an enormous amount of resources. This wasn’t something gathered overnight. He must have been collecting these for years.

Especially the ice crystals and the Snow Ghost Pills—those were tailored for cultivators with an Immortal Ice Root.

Drake didn’t have one. And before her, he’d never had a disciple with one.

…No. He had.

The thought struck her. Devourer.

No one knew what Devourer had done. Whatever it was, it had angered Drake enough to extinguish his soul lamp.

Once the soul lamp went out, everyone assumed he had died.

“What are you doing?” Edmund snapped. “Didn’t you say you were going into seclusion? Why are you still sitting there?”

The table was covered in pills and spiritual liquids. Lauren blinked, dragged back from her thoughts. “There’s no rush. I’m organizing. Efficient cultivation requires planning.”

“Heh.”

Edmund slipped back into his inner space, grabbed a beast core, tossed it into his mouth, and lay down beneath the Ruomu tree.

He needed to absorb as much power as possible.

The crack in Sky-Covering Valley had widened again. Core Formation cultivators could probably pass through now. His divine soul could exit more easily too.

Those above were surely getting anxious. He needed his full divine soul back—and soon.

.....

With the aid of pills and ice crystals, Lauren plunged into cultivation.

Six months later, she reached Great Perfection of Nascent Soul. Then she began the push toward Spirit Severing.

During that time, Briar had somehow acquired a disturbing amount of “flesh” and buried it around the spiritual plants as fertilizer.

The surrounding herbs grew wildly—so wildly that they began encroaching on Lauren’s medicinal fields.

“Briar!” Lauren shouted from within her inner space. “Extend to the left! Stop crowding my damn herb field!”

Briar froze. Looking down, it realized its vines had indeed spread too aggressively. “…Sorry. I’ll be careful.”

For all its terrifying power, the flower spirit was oddly obedient.

Last time, it had taken Lauren three full years to reach Nascent Soul.

That breakthrough required expanding meridians and stabilizing her Nascent Soul—meticulous, exhausting work.

Spirit Severing was different. As long as spiritual energy was abundant, the process would be faster.

She borrowed the Ice Cave from Drake. Before beginning, she warned Edmund sternly not to touch the spiritual herbs outside the cave.

After setting up a powerful Spirit Gathering Array, she sat down. And began.

.......

On Starfell Summit, Drake looked up at the sky.

Through layers of clouds, his gaze pierced something invisible to ordinary eyes.

This time—

He would not shield his little disciple.

It was time. They were going to declare war on 'Heaven' itself.

......

Edmund stepped onto Starfell Summit in human form. His figure was tall and imposing—But not fully solid.

Light shimmered faintly through him. Translucent. Unstable.

“You can take human form now?” Drake said calmly. “Congratulations.”

Edmund’s lips twitched. “I’m heading to the South Sea,” he said. “She’s in your hands.”

“Go,” Drake replied. “I’ll take care of her.”

Edmund nodded once. Then his figure dissolved into a streak of light and vanished. His bones were sealed in Sky-Covering Valley. His flesh and blood remained in the South Sea.

........

Briar turned out to be an excellent little nanny.

It supervised Wayne’s cultivation seriously—almost obsessively. If Wayne tried to slack off, Briar would stand there with its arms crossed, staring at him until he picked up his sword again.

When they weren’t cultivating, they gathered eggs together and hauled them down the mountain to sell.

Once a month, Briar would take Wayne to collect his allowance. Afterward, they’d head straight to the market and buy meat like two seasoned veterans of domestic life.

Recently, they had discovered a new way to earn spirit stones— Taking on quests.

At first, they accepted a couple of gathering missions. The pay was so low it was almost insulting.

After that, they tried something “dangerous.”

Dangerous for ordinary cultivators, maybe. For Briar? It was a warm-up.

After completing several riskier missions, they earned a tidy pile of spirit stones.

Briar found human cultivator life fascinating. Watching the spirit stones in its storage bag increase bit by bit gave it an intoxicating sense of achievement.

So this is what earning money feels like.

Now Gerald was fully aware that this small creature was the “maid” Mr. Drake had assigned to look after Wayne.

It was definitely not human. But what exactly it was—he had no idea.

Looking at Briar in its little floral dress, face soft and fair, Gerald’s heart itched unbearably.

Whatever it was— It was definitely a treasure. And he really, really wanted it.

He wouldn’t make it a maid. Hell, he’d be willing to be its maid if it agreed to be raised by him.

“Briar, Briar, come here.”

While Wayne chatted with the children at the orphanage, Gerald secretly beckoned to Briar.

His smile was suspiciously eager.

Briar shivered. That expression reminded it of Xavi. A chill ran down its spine. It shook its head firmly. “No.”

Gerald produced a transparent glass-like sphere from nowhere and chuckled.

“Come here. I’ll let you play with this. It’s a real treasure. Take a look.”

Briar hesitated. The sphere looked valuable.

Now that it understood the basics of buying and selling in human society, it had developed a keen sense for expensive objects.

Slowly, it walked over and poked the transparent sphere. “What is this?”

Gerald beamed and pinched its soft cheek.

Briar’s expression darkened immediately. Were all middle-aged human men this annoying?

“Tell me,” Gerald said, eyes gleaming, “what kind of treasure are you?”

“I’m a little red flower.”

Gerald’s eyes widened. “A flower spirit? I’ve seen plenty of demonic beasts take human form, but this is the first time I’ve seen a spirit plant. What flower are you?”

He was already calculating in his head which mountain he could dig one up from and plant it, then wait for it to transform.

“They call me…” Briar tilted its head. “Dream of Beauty.”

Its true name was Dream of Rebirth. Once someone fell into its dream, their flesh and blood would nourish it.

But Briar didn’t see it that way. Before it consumed someone, it gave them a beautiful dream.

They dreamed of what they desired most. They died smiling. No pain.

Their bodies became its nourishment. Their souls remained in a beautiful dream forever. How could it be called Dream of Rebirth?

It was obviously Dream of Beauty.

Gerald stroked his beard thoughtfully. Dream of Beauty?

He had never heard of such a plant. He’d need to check the records in the sect library.

“What’s so fun about this ball?” Briar asked.

Gerald’s eyes sparkled. “This? Put your hand on it. Slow your breathing. Focus on it. Soon, you’ll see what you desire most reflected inside.”

Briar blinked. Wasn’t that just like its innate ability? Except far inferior.

“Come on,” Gerald urged. “Try it.”

Briar shook its head. It didn’t like fake things.

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