After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 522 Flower Temple

Separated only by a door, the area within the barrier is warm as springtime!

The biting cold wind and the bone-chilling cold vanished instantly, replaced by moist, warm air and a faint floral fragrance.

The edge of the barrier forms a clear dividing line with the outside world; outside the line is raging ice and snow, while inside the line are countless blooming flowers.

The air inside the barrier was moist and warm, filled with the mixed fragrance of a hundred flowers, which contrasted sharply with the biting cold wind and the sound of ice crystals slapping against the outside.

The light was soft and bright, as if the sunlight had pierced through the eternal gloom and was only shining on this corner of the land.

The entire temple area is built according to the terrain, forming a semi-encircling structure, with a simple and solemn style, bearing the distinct mark of Baihua City.

The area is home to a variety of lush and exotic flowers and plants.

All sorts of flowers bloomed in an eerie and dazzling way amidst the surrounding ice and snow.

There's the "Frosty Orchid" with its petals made of ice crystals and emitting a delicate fragrance, and the "Ground Vine" with its vines twining around and blooming with fiery red flowers...

Within it lies a spring about ten feet in diameter, its water crystal clear, shrouded in mist, nourishing all life within the barrier.

A “sacred path” paved with white jade slabs extends straight to the highest point.

Numerous goddess trees with abundant blooms are planted on both sides of the sacred path, and many female statues stand there, each lifelike with a serene face, as if they are still silently guarding this place.

The Temple of a Hundred Flowers is located at the highest point in the center, overlooking the sacred path below.

The atmosphere in the entire area was extremely quiet and solemn, and even the sound of the wind became gentle, as if afraid of disturbing the goddess and the guardian spirits.

"So beautiful! Grandma really didn't lie to me," Qu Lan exclaimed.

Shen Xu frowned, because he couldn't find Shang Xueyi.

“Your friend is too powerful and her aura is too bloody. The temple spirit dares not let her into the temple.” At this moment, a beautiful woman in red with great charm slowly walked along the sacred path to their side.

"Bloody!" Qu Lan looked surprised, then immediately retorted, "Sister Shang is not a bad person."

"Whether she is a bad person or not, the Hundred Flowers Festival is about to be held, and the temple should not cause any trouble. Allowing you into the temple is already a violation of divine teachings."

"It's utterly absurd that a banished priestess is qualified to enter the temple and accompany the goddess," the beautiful woman scoffed.

"Divine instruction? Could you elaborate on the expulsion?" Shen Xu asked, frowning.

The beautiful woman glanced at Shen Xu with slight disgust and said coldly, "The goddess has always been on Goddess Peak, so naturally she would leave behind divine teachings."

Furthermore, those who lack manners are not worthy of entering the temple. You will simply wait here; otherwise, if you anger the goddess, I will have to go to the trouble of kicking you out.”

“Grandma is definitely not a banished divine servant; the goddess has always loved her!” Qu Lan immediately retorted loudly.

"But that's just how things are. It's already a grace that the goddess was willing to let her come back. If you still have any shame, then scatter her ashes on Goddess Peak, so that she can always be with the goddess."

"I won't allow you to insult my grandmother!" Qu Lan tightly hugged the urn wrapped in black cloth, staring intently at the woman with tears in her eyes.

Seeing that Qu Lan was losing control of her emotions, Shen Xu walked up to her and looked coldly at the woman in front of him. "May I ask, senior, which year were you selected as the Hundred Flowers Girl?"

"What's it to you!" the woman in red said coldly.

"I'm wondering just how bad the candidates were in the Hundred Flowers Awards that year that someone like you was chosen."

"you……

Every Flower Maiden was chosen by the goddess; are you questioning the goddess's choice?

"Hmph!" Shen Xu sneered.

"As far as I know, the recent selections of the Hundred Flowers seem to have run into problems. If the Hundred Flowers are truly chosen by the goddess, how could she have chosen a problematic Hundred Flowers?"

I wonder if you could explain my question?

"How could a mortal like you possibly fathom the thoughts of a goddess? It is they who have failed the goddess's expectations, not that the goddess has chosen the wrong people."

"I kindly allowed you into the temple, yet you treated the goddess with such rudeness. That's why I suspect you harbor ill intentions towards the temple." The beautiful woman glanced coldly at Shen Xu.

"No, as far as I know, the Hundred Flowers Maiden is selected from the Ten Flower Boats each year. In other words, the Hundred Flowers Maiden is chosen by the City of Hundred Flowers, not by the Goddess."

The old temple keeper served the goddess in the City of Flowers her whole life, spreading the goddess's glory in the old city with her mortal body. Her dedication was so great that even in death, the goddess wanted her to stay by her side.

And you, a mere puppet chosen by Hundred Flowers City, a faded vase whose great love cannot even be understood, dare to insult the old temple priest like this, it's utterly disgusting!

"I truly don't understand how you still have the nerve to stay in the temple. Anyone with even a modicum of faith in the goddess would probably have been so ashamed they'd committed suicide before her statue!"

"You...you..." The beautiful woman pointed at Shen Xu, her breathing suddenly becoming rapid.

"I'm going to kill you!" The beautiful woman's energy surged instantly.

"Are you going to attack the goddess's guest in the temple?"

"It seems your faith in the goddess, Daughter of a Hundred Flowers, is indeed not pure enough." Shen Xu walked straight towards the beautiful woman, facing her ferocious face, and said with a cold mockery.

“Chiling, do not be rude.” At this moment, a slightly authoritative female voice rang in their ears.

The beautiful woman named Chiling immediately loosened her clenched fist. "I will serve the goddess here for the rest of my life, without any freedom. What right do you, an outsider, have to judge my faith in the goddess?" the woman said through gritted teeth.

Shen Xu looked up at a white-clad figure on the divine path above, then smiled at Chi Ling and said, "It seems you harbor resentment towards the temple. Since you knew you couldn't be free here, why did you even participate in the selection in the first place?"

"You think I want to..."

After saying this, Chi Ling's eyes suddenly seemed to lose focus, and she muttered to herself, "I am the goddess's servant, everything I have belongs to the goddess..."

Shen Xu looked at the beautiful woman who kept repeating her prayers and couldn't help but take a deep breath. "This goddess doesn't seem to be a good person either!"

What exactly happened in her past life? Was it a disaster caused by the goddess herself, a problem with the Crimson Primordial Sect, or both?

"Chiling, you are punished by facing the wall for half a day." At this moment, the woman dressed in an elegant white robe calmly walked to their side.

The woman possessed an ethereal beauty, a solemn expression, and eyes that remained calm and serene, seemingly radiating a sacred light.

"Yes, sir." After bowing respectfully, Chi Ling turned and slowly disappeared from their sight along the sacred path.