Alex left, his mind buzzing but no closer to a breakthrough. The disciples, trailing him, shared qi-infused tea, their chatter a peaceful backdrop.
"You're gonna trip into a breakthrough, Chaos Boy," Mei teased, tossing him a dumpling. Alex fumbled it, triggering a sparkle rune, and the crowd laughed. "Classic!" Fang shouted.
Alex's bottleneck at Peak Qi Condensation gnawed at him like a persistent spirit beast, but the Righteous Annihilation Sect's lively chaos kept his spirits high. After his Medicine Valley misadventure with Wei Lun's fainting pill, Alex decided to seek a "fortuitous encounter" as Shui Qing suggested. He headed to the Sect Mission Hall, a bustling pavilion of jade and iron where disciples crowded around glowing mission boards, swapping qi snacks and gossip. Mei, Fang, and Liang were there, munching spirit plums and teasing Alex.
"Still stuck, Chaos Boy?" Mei grinned, tossing him a candy. "Trip into a mission yet?" Liang muttered, "I'd pick a safe one, not whatever disaster you're planning." Fang splashed him playfully. "He'll probably flood the hall!"
Alex, dodging the candy with a shameless grin, scanned the boards. His eyes locked on a mission: retrieve a Red Umbra Flower, a rare herb blooming every hundred years in the Dark Forest behind the sect. "Perfect," he muttered, his shameless side imagining the flower breaking his bottleneck.
He signed up, only to find a partner assigned: Su Yan, a two-year senior outer disciple known for her emotionless demeanor. She stood nearby, her black robes pristine, her face blank as a stone slab. "You're Alex," she said, her voice flat. "The Chaos Boy. Don't ruin this."
Alex, unfazed, flashed a shameless grin. "Ruin? I'll make it legendary! Ready to hunt flowers?" Su Yan's eyes twitched, but she nodded, clearly aware of his tales—flooding markets, burning cliffs, fainting in Medicine Valley.
The disciples whispered, Mei smirking. "Poor Su Yan, stuck with Chaos Boy!" Liang tossed Alex a spirit plum. "Don't die!" Alex fumbled it, triggering a sparkle rune, and the crowd laughed. "Classic!" Fang shouted, splashing him.
Before leaving, Alex sought Shui Bing's permission, finding her in the Righteous Peak pavilion, her silver robes shimmering. "Senior Sister," he said, bowing low with shameless flair, "I'm taking a mission to break my bottleneck. Red Umbra Flower in the Dark Forest. Cool with that?" Shui Bing's cold eyes narrowed, her water whip hovering. "A mission? Don't cause a catastrophe." Her voice was sharp, but she tossed him a protective talisman, her warm heart peeking through. "Return alive, or I'll drown your corpse." Alex, grinning, pocketed it. "You're the best, Senior Sister!" Mei, watching, whistled. "He's got guts talking to her like that!"
Alex and Su Yan set out, trekking through the sect's misty valleys to the Dark Forest, a shadowy expanse of twisted trees and eerie qi. Su Yan was silent, her emotionless face unnerving, but Alex's shameless chatter filled the air. "So, Su Yan, ever fought a demon bull? I ran from one once, tripped, and found a Spirit Core!" Su Yan's lips twitched, her voice flat. "Focus." Alex grinned, undeterred. "You'll love my chaos by the end!" She ignored him, but the peaceful trek, with birds chirping and qi humming, felt oddly calming.
After eight hours of searching, dodging thorny vines and glowing mushrooms, they found the Red Umbra Flower—a crimson bloom pulsing with qi, surrounded by a herd of agitated Demon Bulls, their horns gleaming. Nearby, Demon Wolves lurked in the bushes, their eyes glinting. Su Yan signaled silence, her face blank but alert. Alex, whispering shamelessly, said, "Bet I can distract them with my curse!" Su Yan glared, her voice low. "Don't." They crouched, watching the bulls snort and paw the ground, the wolves waiting for an opening.
Then, Alex's bad luck struck. He shifted, snapping a twig, and the Red Umbra Flower pulsed, awakening a spirit within. A wave of hallucinogenic fragrance swept the forest, sending bulls and wolves into a frenzy. Alex's vision blurred, his mind plunging into a dream where he was the sect's strongest disciple, crowned Sect Leader by Duan Renyi. In his dream, Shui Bing melted, her icy face softening as she gazed at him with adoring eyes, saying, "Alex, you're my hero." He grinned shamelessly, flexing imaginary muscles.
Su Yan, caught in the fragrance, hallucinated herself as the sect's disciple leader, commanding armies of cultivators. The bulls and wolves thrashed, lost in their own dreams—bulls charging at invisible foes, wolves howling at phantom moons. Alex, in his dream, strutted through the sect, disciples cheering, until a chill snapped him awake.
He turned, heart pounding, to find Shui Bing standing behind him, her cold eyes piercing, a sword in her hand. "Senior Sister?!" he yelped, his shameless grin faltering. "When did you get here?"
Shui Bing's voice was icy. "My master ordered me to ensure your safety. I've been following you." Her gaze could've frozen the forest, and Alex gulped, realizing she'd seen his dream. "You… heard that?" he stammered, his face red. She ignored him, striding to Su Yan and splashing her with water qi, snapping her awake. Su Yan blinked, her emotionless face briefly happy. "I was… leader?" she muttered, then blushed.
Shui Bing turned to Alex, her voice sharp. "The Red Umbra's spirit is chaotic. Subdue it by channeling your qi into its core." Alex, still shaken, nodded, his shameless side kicking in. "Got it, Senior Sister! I'll tame this flower like I tamed your—" He stopped, her sword twitching. "I mean, I'll do it!" Focusing his Peak Qi Condensation, he channeled qi into the flower, calming its spirit and neutralizing the fragrance. The bulls and wolves, waking from their dreams, sensed Shui Bing's deadly aura and fled, tails tucked.