The moment the [Hundred Flowers Striving for Beauty] buff took hold, a surge of power flooded through Wang Xian's veins like liquid fire. But the moment of euphoria was short-lived.
The battlefield was already groaning with the dead.
Ghosts writhed and shrieked beyond the shattered barrier of the locust tree's aura, twisted in agony and malice—Li Gui, born of torment, clawing their way across the broken soil.
"Ding! You are blessed by Hundred Flowers. All attributes increased by 600% for 6000 seconds."
Six hundred percent.
Wang Xian's eyes widened at the insane number flashing across his interface. He quickly pulled up his stats, heart thundering.
HP: 28,800Magic Attack: 2,070Defense: 3,660Free Points Remaining: 418
His stats weren't just strong. They were monstrous—surpassing even his peak in the previous life.
But as Wang Xian scanned the others, he realized:
They were still not enough.
A single look toward the ancient locust tree confirmed his fear. Hundreds of Li Gui had gathered, and they were no longer mindless. They were focused. Intent.
And the tree was vulnerable.
They were outnumbered, and nearly outmatched.
"Everyone ready?" Wang Xian shouted, thunder already crackling in his palms.
"READY!" came the united cry—but behind it trembled breath, panic barely contained behind the bravado.
With a single command, lightning split the sky.
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The ghost didn't even have time to scream. It evaporated into ash, its scream cut short like a candle in a hurricane.
Silence. Then awe.
But awe wouldn't keep them alive.
"MOVE! ATTACK! THEY FEEL PAIN—MAKE THEM SCREAM!" Wang Xian roared.
Fireballs erupted from all directions. Su Jin's spell incinerated another specter, the others followed suit.
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But the ones that survived charged. Shrieking. Weeping. Biting.
They didn't lunge—they haunted. Slipping through defenses like smoke, and tearing at sanity as much as flesh.
Wang Xian dropped a [Nether Fireball] into the fray—five black spheres crashing into the front line, exploding like funeral bells.
Still, they came.
Ten minutes later, they were still standing.
Barely.
"Son, I'm out of mana!"
The words shattered Wang Xian's focus like icewater down his spine.
He looked around.
Faces pale. Eyes wild. Hands trembling from mana withdrawal. They were burnt out—the well dry.
"Blue check," he snapped.
"One-third."
"Twenty left!"
"Gone!"
Despair crept in on whispering feet.
"We've got fifteen more minutes to hold!" Nangong Wu's voice was hoarse with desperation.
It might as well have been an hour.
The wizards had already started defaulting to melee strikes—sticks and desperation. Their buffs meant they wouldn't go down in one hit, but it was only a matter of time before the Li Gui adapted.
Wang Xian clenched his fists, his mana bar nearly dry.
Think. Think, damn it. How did they survive in the previous life?
But nothing came. Memory betrayed him. Logic gave no answer.
And then... one by one, the team began to fall.
Su Jin went down first, her chest torn by an ethereal claw.
Xue Fangfei screamed as a black mist enveloped her, tearing her apart from the inside.
Even Nangong Wu—flawless, brilliant—was dragged down beneath a tide of hate.
Only Wang Xian and Cheng Yao remained.
"Uncle, give up." Cheng Yao's voice was thin, hollow.
"No," Wang Xian said through gritted teeth, slashing lightning through another shrieking shadow. "We are not going to fail."
"We can't win." Her voice cracked. "We don't have the mana... or the strength."
Wang Xian didn't respond. He simply raised another hand—and nothing came.
Mana: 0
All he had now were his fists.
This is how it ends. He could already see the system prompt.
[You have died. Respawning in…]
But Cheng Yao…
She was still casting.
Still glowing.
Still fighting.
"Yaoyao!" he barked. "You're out of mana, too!"
"No!" she shouted back. "I still have enough! I can still protect them—I can still protect YOU!"
Another [Spring Blossom] burst from her hands, bathing the battlefield in soft light.
+7840 HP
"Just give it up!" Wang Xian roared.
"I won't let you die!" she screamed, eyes brimming with tears.
He opened his mouth—but the scream of a Li Gui drowned him out as it lunged forward.
Its claws raked toward Cheng Yao—
—and stopped.
Frozen mid-air.
The world shimmered.
Ding! Quest Complete. The transformation is finished.
A shockwave exploded from the heart of the Shanyin Ancient Locust Tree.
All around them, Li Gui were shredded, their screams devoured by a vortex of light and ash. Their forms broke apart, reduced to nothing.
Silence fell like a guillotine.
Only the sound of heavy breathing remained.
Cheng Yao stumbled forward into Wang Xian's arms, her entire body trembling.
"I... I did it?" she whispered.
"You did," he murmured, gently holding her upright.
Then the voice of the system returned—cold and final.
Shanyin Guhuai has completed its evolution.
You have received: [Talent Rebirth Token]
You have gained the respect of the Spirit Tree.
New Path Unlocked.