Chapter Ninety-Five: First Arrival at the Valley of Carnivorous Flowers

Shhh... Two streaks of golden light sped swiftly, slicing through groves of trees, rapidly approaching the valley of man-eating flowers, a sea of nearly pure white blossoms. At the entrance of the valley, Jiang Yan descended from the golden light, pausing at the mouth of the valley, his gaze fixed intently upon the scene within.

The valley of man-eating flowers lay in a low basin, its floor much lower than that of Black Bear Valley. Standing at the entrance, one could take in the entire scene at a glance. All around, vast swathes of dazzling white overwhelmed the eye, as if one were adrift on a white ocean. The flowers were arranged in neat, orderly rows, stretching from the mouth of the valley all the way to the far horizon where earth and sky met. Here and there, towering green trees punctuated the landscape, their height far surpassing the surrounding vegetation, offering a hint of green amidst the endless white.

On the ground, rocks shimmered with red light, the glow dancing back and forth across the valley floor. In the spaces between the white blossoms, one could occasionally glimpse spirit herbs wrapped in a faint, translucent aura. Yet, the distance was too great to discern their exact nature.

From the entrance, nine winding and narrow paths snaked into the valley, twisting and turning, vanishing amidst the layers of white flowers. The valley was vast; standing at its mouth, it was impossible to see its end. At the center was a region of tall green trees, rising above the surrounding sea of white. Though the distance made the view indistinct, the runic map indicated this was the location of the Azure Hookwood and the Gate of Demon Hunting.

“Senior brother, shall we go in?” Tang Wan landed beside Jiang Yan, surveying the valley for some time before speaking.

Jiang Yan had long swept his spiritual sense across the runic map, ensuring he had memorized all the paths and the distribution of plants within the valley. Only then did he put away the map and respond, “Very well, Wan’er. Let us enter. Once inside, you must stay close behind me. Even if you spot rare spirit herbs, you must not pick them on your own. Only with my permission may you gather them.”

When his spiritual sense had passed over the map earlier, Jiang Yan found that within just ten meters of the entrance, dozens of spirit herbs were scattered about: two stalks of Three-Leaf Grass, one Dragonclaw Locust, five weights of Western Wind Drop. These herbs were all essential for crafting Foundation-Building Pills. But, unfortunately, behind each of these herbs lurked two or three man-eating flowers, making Jiang Yan feel like a dog facing a porcupine, unable to make a move.

Man-eating flowers, though immobile, were mid-grade first-tier demons, a rank above the Spotted Leopard. Jiang Yan worried that among so many man-eating flowers, if even one mutated and became high-grade first-tier, with his ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivation, he would stand no chance.

Tang Wan peered into the valley, puzzled, and asked, “Why is that, Senior Brother?”

Jiang Yan strode into the valley, pointing to a tall white blossom behind a stalk of Three-Leaf Grass at the entrance. “That is a man-eating flower, a kind of demon. Its strength rivals that of a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining. If either of us is caught by it, I fear neither would survive.”

Tang Wan stepped forward, coming to Jiang Yan’s side, and looked in the direction he indicated. She saw, near a mound of earth just inside the entrance, a vibrant stalk of Three-Leaf Grass, which, by her judgment, was nearly ripe.

Behind that soon-to-be-mature herb stood a giant white blossom, as tall as a person, its entire form suffused with a pale white hue. Its thick leaves surrounded the flower, giving it a hazy, alluring beauty that made one instinctively want to draw closer.

“How beautiful,” Tang Wan exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the blossom.

Jiang Yan quickly reached out and pulled back the leaning Tang Wan. “Careful, Wan’er, those flowers are not as harmless as they appear.”

“But that Three-Leaf Grass is an important ingredient for Foundation-Building Pills...” Tang Wan said regretfully, looking at the herb just before the giant white flower.

...

“Where is the Three-Leaf Grass?” A somewhat grating male voice suddenly came from the entrance.

Jiang Yan looked up and saw a disciple of the Golden Flame Sect in yellow robes striding in from outside. Behind him, four more disciples followed, and trailing them was a familiar figure—Lu Tiannan, the somewhat disheveled leader of Tianshan Sect.

The leading disciple’s face showed urgency as he looked at Jiang Yan. “Masked boy, where is the Three-Leaf Grass?”

All participants in the demon hunt covered their faces, so Jiang Yan and Tang Wan had also masked themselves with green cloth strips. Seeing the yellow-robed disciple approach swiftly, Jiang Yan felt a flicker of unease. These Golden Flame disciples had escaped the pursuit of the second-tier demon, the Flesh-Brown Bear King, and arrived here so quickly, now crossing paths with him. The situation was precarious.

Jiang Yan pointed to the Three-Leaf Grass before the giant white blossom. “There. The Three-Leaf Grass is right there,” he said inwardly, noting that the man-eating flower was also there.

Upon seeing the herb, the yellow-robed disciple’s face lit with joy. There were so many stalks here; combined with what he had gathered outside, he nearly had enough ingredients to craft several Bone-Easy Pills. If luck favored him, he might even obtain three Foundation-Building Pills at once—an opportunity for great advancement.

He glanced back at his companions, who were drawing closer. Anxiety flickered in his heart. If these fellows saw the herbs, they would surely want a share. All of them were at the peak of Qi Refining, but the sect’s resources were limited. They, too, faced the dilemma of having no Foundation-Building Pills, urgently seeking enough herbs to invite a high-grade alchemist to craft pills.

He hurried forward, quickly squatting beside the Three-Leaf Grass. Wrapping his hand in a faint golden glow, he drove his palm into the earth, digging to unearth as many stalks as possible before his companions arrived.

“Brother Liu, where are you?” The Liu-named disciple, squatting and digging behind the mound, was hidden from view, prompting his companions to call out in haste.

“You two youths, have you seen one of our sect’s disciples?” Three Golden Flame disciples pointed at Jiang Yan and Tang Wan, questioning them.

A sharp sound sliced the air beside Jiang Yan just as he was about to reply...