Chapter 66: Damn It! We've Hit a Tough One!
"We're here!"
Stepping into the ravine, it was immediately clear that the vegetation here was… different.
Unlike the outer forest, this place glowed with one single, overpowering color—emerald green.
Lush verdant plants grew thickly, intertwining across the valley.
A dense, green mist rose and churned endlessly.
This was the true Jade-Scaled Sevenfold Flower.
Each leaf resembled a seven-fingered hand—though the larger ones had nine fingers. At the heart of each massive blossom, green vapors gushed out in waves, merging with the poisonous haze outside. So this was the source of that outer miasma.
"Such a pity," Jiang Chen murmured, "not one of them has consciousness."
Through his perception, he could tell every plant here had cultivated for nearly two hundred thousand years, yet none had developed true sentience.
No doubt it was the work of those immortal herbs inside—the true masters of this place—who wouldn't allow these guardian flowers to share their sacred ground.
The Jade-Scaled Sevenfold Flowers—living headstones marking the tomb of an ancient freak.
"Tsk, tsk… poor things," he smirked. "Let's go."
Without resistance from the vegetation, Jiang Chen pushed forward, pulling Ah Yin and the Snow Empress through the seven-colored fog and into the real Eyes of Ice and Fire.
A wave of unparalleled vitality hit them instantly, making every pore on their bodies tingle open in bliss.
"The life force here rivals the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Forest!" Jiang Chen exclaimed.
Ah Yin reacted first. From her bare feet, vast waves of Blue Silver Grass burst forth, spreading rapidly across the ground, drinking greedily from the vital flow of the twin springs.
The hollow look in her eyes flickered faintly with life again as her divine consciousness began to mend.
Jiang Chen didn't stop her. Whether or not she regained her full awareness didn't matter—she was under his control anyway. If she did recover, it would only make things more interesting.
Before them lay one of the Three Great Treasuries of medicinal herbs—the valley of divine flora.
Countless immortal plants surrounded a dazzling lake that was half red and half blue. From the surface arose spirals of white mist and crimson vapor—the twin essences of Ice and Fire.
"The incarnation of nature's treasure…" Jiang Chen whispered in awe.
But then—
"Presumptuous!!!"
A deep, powerful voice thundered across the valley.
A radiant green flower bloomed suddenly in midair, its petals gleaming with vitality as it morphed into human form—a man in violet robes.
The King of Herbs—Killer Emerald Tulip!
First among the six beasts of the Eyes of Ice and Fire.
With two hundred thousand years of cultivation.
(According to legend, in Soul Land II, this realm was guarded by the "Fragrant Jade Immortal Tulip," known affectionately as Youyou.)
The tulip's expression darkened at the sight of the spreading Blue Silver Grass, draining the core's energy recklessly.
His first thought had been that Tang Sect had finally sent someone worthy—a candidate to earn the approval of the immortal herbs through their trials.
But instead, it was a thief.
Even they, the guardians, never dared absorb this land's force so brazenly. This was sacrilege—tearing up their very foundation!
"Stop at once!"
But mid-shout, the tulip faltered. His whole body stiffened.
The moment he tried to interrupt the Blue Silver Grass, he felt it—the aura of a terrifying devouring force, one that even his might couldn't touch.
Impossible!
He was the ruler here—the supreme soul beast among plants with over two hundred thousand years of power!
Every herb and plant-beast in this valley answered to him!
He was about to attack—but froze completely.
Because suddenly… he recognized it.
From the Blue Silver Grass, he sensed a sacred aura he knew intimately.
Long ago, the Tang God King had replanted the Blue Silver Emperor's remains here in order to resurrect Ah Yin, with Tang Hao as her mortal guardian.
The scent of Blue Silver had become part of the land itself.
Moreover, he still remembered—the human woman who had followed that supreme being into the God Realm…
(Though, technically, Ning Rongrong had absorbed Ah Yin's essence to evolve the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasure one.)
This aura resonated with the bloodline of the Tang Family.
And what's more, this being before him carried the essence of the Natural Core, the very lifeforce of the Douluo Plane itself—a power that no ordinary plant could rival.
The tulip trembled. "That… that's the Master of Nature?"
"What's going on here?"
He didn't even notice Jiang Chen appear beside him, smiling as he patted the tulip's shoulder.
"Alright, little Qi," Jiang Chen said softly. "Go on, call out the others for me."
The tulip's face froze again—panic rising from the depths of his soul.
A pressure—a presence far beyond anything he had felt before.
A… million-year soul beast?
No—this couldn't be mistaken. That aura was terrifyingly real.
And another? A seventy-thousand-year ice-type aura standing beside him?
Holy heavens.
I'm doomed.
Completely doomed.
"L-Lord… p-please, I beg you," the tulip stammered, face pale. "Spare this land. I'll offer you something precious in return!"
With trembling hands, he presented a single emerald-gold blossom—his core petal, refined over millennia. It could amplify spiritual power and stabilize divine consciousness—an exceedingly rare treasure.
He had immediately noticed Ah Yin's damaged awareness; it explained why she absorbed recklessly instead of balancing the land's flow. Any plant-beast with true sentience would never willingly harm this sacred ground.
"Good sense," Jiang Chen said approvingly, pocketing the gift without shame.
He didn't stop Ah Yin either—on the contrary, he deliberately urged her on.
After all, once he unearthed the Fire and Ice Dragon Kings' remains beneath the lake, this whole valley would collapse anyway.
Let her indulge now. None of this would survive.
But the surge of absorption had woken up everything.
"Humans! You have gone too far!"
From the red half of the lake, a shape burst forth—a plant like an enormous cabbage, blazing with molten heat.
Fiery Apricot Glory Dew—one of the Six Beasts of the Eyes of Ice and Fire!
Nineteen hundred centuries of cultivation!
She had once been wounded when Huo Yuhao siphoned her essence to heal Ma Xiaotao, crippling her advancement. Since then, she harbored endless hatred toward humans.
Had these been normal Tang Sect candidates, she might've tolerated them.
But now—these intruders dared plunder her domain?
Unforgivable!
Do they take me for decoration?!
A plant wreathed in fire, she was undoubtedly the strongest being within the valley.
Her flames roared, surging violently as she attacked toward Ah Yin.
"Hm?"
Jiang Chen only folded his arms, watching with amusement, making no move to interfere.
Could this creature actually threaten Ah Yin? Not a chance. This was like attacking your master's wife.
And sure enough, just as the flames were about to strike, the fiery apricot froze midair, eyes widening as recognition struck.
She instantly dropped to her knees before Ah Yin.
"Master," she cried out, trembling, "I was wrong!"
(END CHAPTER)
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