Chapter 94: Spirit Blossom Festival: Loyalty
"How did you know I came for revenge?"
Orion Cross looked at the man in the bamboo hat sitting in the corner, walked over, and stopped across from him.
"Because aside from enemies, no one would come looking for me..."
The man slowly stood up while gripping his sword. The bamboo hat slipped from his head, revealing a pair of sharp eyes that stared coldly at Orion Cross. "You’re strong. What grudge do we have?"
"Admit defeat, and you can leave. Otherwise, we fight first, then you admit defeat."
Orion Cross looked at the swordsman calmly and spoke.
"Ionia hasn’t held the Spirit Blossom Festival in a long time. I don’t want to ruin it... I admit defeat."
The swordsman stared at Orion Cross for a while and realized he was not joking, so he sheathed his sword and turned around. If it had been his former self, even if he had to turn the entire Spirit Blossom Festival upside down, he would have fought this person properly. But now, he had changed. His past stubbornness, refusing to bend even if he broke, was nothing but a joke. If admitting defeat could solve trouble, then please, give him more of it. As for the person carried on Orion Cross’s shoulder, who seemed to be a ninja from the Kinkou Order? What did that have to do with him?
"That decisive?"
Orion Cross looked at the swordsman turning to leave and felt somewhat surprised. He had originally been prepared to go all out and end the battle within ten minutes. He had not expected the man to actually admit defeat.
Ionian Series Mission: Within one hour, every Ionian champion defeated will randomly grant one related reward.
Already defeated: Yasuo, the Unforgiven. Reward obtained: Extreme Ghost Sword Technique: Iron-Cutting Style.
Extreme Ghost Sword Technique: Iron-Cutting Style.
Description: When swordsmanship is cultivated to its limit, it can increase allies’ critical damage by twenty-five percent.
Details: After attacking an enemy, the enemy’s weaknesses and openings are exposed.
After extracting the mission reward, Orion Cross glanced at the time one last time. There were still six minutes left. He probably would not run into anyone else.
"Where’s the money?"
Orion Cross found Natasha and Skye, only to discover that the money pouch on them was already empty.
"We bought a glowing flower just now."
Natasha signaled for Skye to take it out. Skye nodded and took a wooden box from her backpack. After opening it, a flower with pink petals and a yellow core lay quietly inside, faint specks of ghostly light drifting from it.
"I think you were treated like foreign tourists and overcharged."
Orion Cross looked at the two of them speechlessly and spoke. He was now extremely sensitive to natural energy and could clearly sense that this flower was not rare at all. In fact, even some of the passing civilians around them carried the aura of this flower.
"No way, right?"
Skye was somewhat surprised. "That old grandpa looked very kind."
"Just ask this little ninja girl and we’ll know."
Natasha pointed at Akali, who was being carried by Orion Cross.
Skye held the box in front of Akali and showed it to her.
"This is a Spirit Blossom. It is indeed very rare. Ionia hasn’t seen them bloom for more than ten years..."
Akali looked at the flower, then suddenly remembered something. She struggled to move her numb right hand and grabbed Orion Cross’s clothes. "Today is the final day of the Spirit Blossom Festival. Take me somewhere, please!"
"You’re not trying to lead us into some trap, are you?"
Natasha looked at Akali suspiciously.
"No, I just want... to see my father and my friend one more time."
Akali hurriedly explained.
"See them one more time? Don’t tell me the Spirit Blossom Festival is basically the Hungry Ghost Festival? A night parade of a hundred ghosts?"
Orion Cross was a little surprised. The name Spirit Blossom Festival sounded nice, but it was actually a ghost festival?
"Spirit Blossoms are a bridge that connects the realms of the living and the dead. Sleep! I... I can work for you for one year! Assassination, or anything else, is fine!"
Seeing that Orion Cross was unmoved, Akali immediately became anxious.
"Is it far? We don’t have much time left. We’ll soon have to return to our original world."
"It’s not far. It’s just a little hidden. We can get there quickly!"
In order to let Akali guide the way, Orion Cross could only switch from carrying her over his shoulder to carrying her on his back.
"It’s just ahead. Put me and the Spirit Blossom beside the giant stone by the river."
Akali looked at the scenery ahead, her tone somewhat urgent.
"I hope you aren’t trying any more petty tricks. Our kindness and patience are limited."
As she helped Akali down from Orion Cross’s back, Natasha leaned close to her ear and warned her quietly.
"Everything I said is true. Put your hand on that stone and you’ll know."
"The stone?"
Hearing this, Skye carefully placed her hand on it.
Buzz.
The originally dim stone flashed with a幽 green glow, then two faint green marks appeared.
"Both your parents are still alive, so the marks are green," Akali explained. "This Life-and-Death Stone can confirm whether one’s relatives are alive or dead. Then, by using a Spirit Blossom at a specific place, one can commune with the dead and meet those who have passed away. But you are not Ionian, so even if there is someone you want to see, you can’t use the Spirit Blossom."
After hearing Akali’s final sentence, Natasha, who had just been about to place her hand on the stone, silently withdrew it. Then she glanced at Orion Cross. "Do you want to try?"
Orion Cross looked at the giant stone, placed his hand on it, and then...
Nothing happened.
"How is that possible?"
Akali stared at Orion Cross in shock. "The Life-and-Death Stone’s predictions have never been wrong. Even if you jumped out of a rock, it should still react..."
"Prediction?"
Orion Cross frowned slightly and poked the giant stone with one finger. The stone instantly turned to powder and scattered across the ground.
"What did you do?!"
Akali’s eyes widened as she watched the Life-and-Death Stone crumble.
"I didn’t do anything. Maybe this stone couldn’t take it anymore and decided to end itself."
Orion Cross spread his hands, expressing his innocence. Trying to detect his past and future? That was something even the Ancient One could not do, let alone a little stone.
Akali was just about to speak when the Spirit Blossom in her arms flashed. She then closed her eyes with a peaceful expression. Her soul had already entered the place where the realms of life and death intersected. Orion Cross stood to the side and could clearly see Akali’s soul walking quickly toward her father. Of course, Skye and Natasha could not see it.
Five minutes later, Akali woke with traces of tears at the corners of her eyes and looked at Orion Cross, who was sitting nearby. "Take me with you. I promised you."
"You’ve really decided to go to another world?"
Orion Cross looked at Akali in surprise. In a certain sense, she was about to become the first true person from another world. Mystique Raven and Invisible Woman Susan were also from other universes, but those two came from parallel universes that intersected with the main world and did not differ much from it.
"I’m a lone assassin. Where can’t I go? Don’t worry. I’ll work for you, and I’ll support myself."
Akali looked at Orion Cross and said seriously, "But I hope that if possible, you can stop Shen."
"You mean exterminating half of all living beings?"
Orion Cross froze slightly, then smiled. "You seem to be overestimating the Eye of Twilight’s strength. He can’t do that. You’d be better off worrying about whether he’ll provoke someone he shouldn’t and end up losing his life instead."
What a joke. Even an existence like Thanos had to quietly collect the Infinity Stones and only dared show himself after all the major powers were basically gone. If Thanos had exposed his goal ahead of time, then aside from the Avengers, even villains like Ronan, Malekith, and Hela would probably have gathered together to find a way to take him down. With the Eye of Twilight Shen’s strength, plus his habit of never concealing his intentions, perhaps the next time Orion Cross came here, that person would no longer exist.
IF YOU WANT TO READ 60+ ADVANCED ChapterS HEAD OVER TO PATREON /AniForge058