Flower Field

Through the auspicious clouds, they entered the region of golden halls. The three did not pause. Led by Qingdan Yuanjun, they flew toward one of the golden halls and immediately vanished from sight. Not long afterward, the three appeared in another golden hall, gazing toward where they had just disappeared. There, everything remained perfectly calm; no one else was in sight. “No one is following us. The Divine Court and the Guofang Kingdom have other things on their minds right now,” Boxian Shanren said. Qin Sang nodded slightly. In fact, he had already confirmed through the Heavenly Eye Butterfly that no one was following them. After advancing to the Fifth Transformation, unless it was a Void Refining-stage demon king or a demon marquis with some special divine power, it was hard to escape the Heavenly Eye Butterfly’s notice. “Wait a little longer,” Qingdan Yuanjun said cautiously. The concealment array here was one she had set up herself. They waited another two hours. Once certain there was no danger, the three set out, quietly arriving before the Nine-Bend River of Stars and crossing it. With the golden light no longer raging, the space deep within the altar was stable. Qingdan Yuanjun led the two of them along the cloud paths, but before long they could go no farther and had to force their way through several illusory realms. “True Person, you also cultivate the path of physical force. Further ahead, there are some places where we may have to rely on you…” Before one of these illusory realms, Qingdan Yuanjun stopped and said to Qin Sang: “In some illusory realms, body cultivators cope far more easily than spell cultivators, so you can save us a great deal of effort.” “In that case, allow me to lead the way,” Qin Sang said. Auspicious Seal and Vajra Heavenly Helmet Seal appeared in succession. Qi and blood surged within Qin Sang, and his skin took on a pale golden hue. At the same time, green and red light burst from his hands as he donned a pair of fist wraps. The fist wraps were mostly composed of fine green scales, and at the knuckles each bore three bone spikes. The blood-colored bone spikes gleamed sharply, emitting a sinister radiance that seemed to sting the eye. Qingdan Yuanjun and Boxian Shanren both narrowed their pupils, secretly astonished, recognizing that this had to be a top-tier lethal weapon. Over the past ten years, Qin Sang had finally completed the fist wraps with Qi’s help. Had Master Gu judged it, the refining technique might have seemed somewhat crude, but the spirit materials were of excellent quality, and most importantly it incorporated Marquis Li’s horizontal bone spikes, painstakingly sacrificed over many years. Once completed, the fist wraps carried the might of a quasi-spirit treasure. The process of forging the fist wraps was also one in which Qin Sang synthesized everything he had learned and seen. Coupled with his study of the refining texts Master Gu had given him, his skill in the art of artifact refinement advanced by leaps and bounds. When time allowed in the future, Qin Sang would continue to sacrifice-refine the Wind-Returning Armor and the fist wraps. These two treasures would not only validate his path of artifact refinement but also bear witness to his constant progress. Qin Sang took the lead, and Qingdan Yuanjun and Boxian Shanren each produced their own treasures, following behind him, flanking him on left and right, ready for anything. Maintaining this formation, the three passed through one illusory realm after another. “Whoosh!” Above, no sky; below, no earth. A black wind that could corrode the bone and destroy the soul howled everywhere. Three figures flew through the wind with great difficulty. It was a strange spirit wind that could dissipate true essence; even protective treasures saw their power greatly diminished and could hardly ward it off. Qin Sang’s powerful body seemed unaffected, but Qingdan Yuanjun and Boxian Shanren could only resist with all their might. They traveled through the endless black wind for who knows how long before light finally appeared ahead, and the three immediately quickened their pace. “Swish!” At last they emerged from the spirit wind, and Qingdan Yuanjun and Boxian Shanren both looked relieved. Qin Sang surveyed their surroundings, his expression shifting slightly. The route was different, so the illusory realms this time were entirely unlike the last, and for the first time he recognized something familiar. At the edge of his vision, amid countless strange scenes, lay a thin streak of blue, very much like the blue sea of light he had seen before. The blue sea of light was very far away, but they could use it to gauge their direction. Qin Sang pondered for a moment, then asked Qingdan Yuanjun with some doubt, “Can we reach the Poison Domain from here?” The blue sea of light made it clear that this direction had deviated too far from where they had last appeared—too much to avoid suspicion. “This is an old road explored by my Lugou Mountain ancestors. Though it has many hardships, as long as we are careful, we should be safe,” Qingdan Yuanjun said, raising a jade finger to point to the right. “After discovering the Poison Domain, I found a shortcut, but…” Boxian Shanren sighed softly. “That shortcut passes through the place contested by the Divine Court and the Guofang Kingdom. I would rather take the trouble to avoid it.” Hearing this, Qin Sang thought: So the upheaval of the golden light had indeed not yet ended. Qingdan Yuanjun studied the path carefully, her expression relaxing slightly. “Nothing has changed ahead. True Person can rest for a while; we can handle the next two illusory realms ourselves.” As she spoke, they moved in front of Qin Sang. They rotated positions in this way, passing through one illusory realm after another. The deeper they went into the altar, the more dangerous the illusory realms became, forcing them to slow down, stopping and starting. Finally, a green lake appeared before them. “Is this lake the Poison Domain you spoke of, Dao Friend?” Qin Sang walked to the shore, gazing at the lake water, his eyes gleaming strangely. The lake was broad, yet compared with the other illusory realms, it seemed small—sandwiched between two illusory realms stretching for hundreds of miles, it felt cramped, like an abrupt skylight. The lake surface was a perfectly regular circle, yet it was tilted at a steep slope, with their position at the lowest point—as if they faced a mirror set at an angle. The green water brought no sense of life. The lake was extremely deep, its water a near-black dark green that gave a sense of grave danger. “It’s actually a decent passage. Crossing the Poison Lake should take us deep inside…” Qin Sang observed the surroundings, thinking to himself: Qingdan Yuanjun gazed at the Poison Lake and explained, “This is the place. According to our sect’s records, this lake water was once clear and normal, without a trace of poison. That it suddenly turned toxic is not unusual in the altar; this place is constantly changing. If that golden light erupted a few more times, the Jushan Diocesan Altar might be unrecognizable already…” As she spoke, a bloody crimson radiance appeared between Qingdan Yuanjun’s brows, and she fired off a talisman of extreme complexity. Qingdan Yuanjun had clearly mastered this talisman thoroughly; as soon as it appeared, red light blazed. Instantly, the talisman transformed into a crimson court dress that flew toward Qingdan Yuanjun. The dress was exquisitely styled, painted in bold colors with two unknown divine birds, like spirit beasts attending on either side. Worn by Qingdan Yuanjun, it lent her an added air of nobility. Boxian Shanren took out a piece of jade and held it in his mouth. To Qin Sang he said, “Do not underestimate the poison water on the surface, True Person. Be careful—passing through the poison water, the danger will actually be less. The interior of the Poison Lake is very strange and hard to put into words; I will explain as we go.” Qin Sang nodded. Seven-colored light appeared on his body, forming light armor that merged with the pale gold of his skin, making him even more radiant. Neither Boxian Shanren nor Qingdan Yuanjun could tell what divine power or treasure Qin Sang was using, and they were secretly astonished, but they knew it was his secret and did not press him. They stepped into the Poison Lake. Qin Sang heard the splash of water and felt turbulent currents flowing past him. However, through the Poison Bead, he sensed that the seemingly strange water was not violently toxic and could not be absorbed by the bead. Just as he wondered, ripples suddenly arose in the water ahead. There was no whirlpool, yet the ripples appeared out of nowhere within the lake and surged toward him. “Careful.” As Boxian Shanren warned him, the first ripple touched Qin Sang. “Splash!” A stream of water slapped against him, the force fairly gentle and not driving him back. The moment the ripple touched him, his vision was suddenly filled with rich green, and then he felt something strange. He raised his arms and discovered that in an instant, his body was covered with green spots, dense and numerous. As the waves continued to surge, the spots grew larger and swelled, bursting like bubbles. “Pop, pop, pop…” The popping sounds continued as one green poison plant after another burst forth, tiny and thin, spreading across Qin Sang’s body in a thick carpet, like water plants growing after long immersion. Soon, the water plants sprouted flower buds. One after another, green poison flowers bloomed, and Qin Sang became a flower field. “The poison water itself is not toxic. There must be some unknown array or prohibition that uses the water to bring forth these poison flowers. The flowers are not real—very strange…” Qingdan Yuanjun and Boxian Shanren were used to it; ignoring the poison flowers on their bodies, they kept walking. As they walked, small green flowers drifted from their bodies, leaving a flower-strewn path behind them—a lovely sight. Neither mentioned what might happen if the poison flowers bloomed within the body, and Qin Sang did not wish to try. His Poison-Warding Armor kept the flowers outside his body as he followed closely behind. The poison flowers grew faster than they fell away. As they pressed on, the three were wrapped layer upon layer in poison flowers, like three light flower balls floating in the water. “We should be through the poison water shortly. How do you feel, True Person?” Qingdan Yuanjun asked with concern. “I’m fine,” Qin Sang said calmly. The poison flowers were far from pushing his Poison-Warding Armor to its limit; if he couldn’t even get past the outer poison water, he might as well turn back. Soon, the flower ball at the front began to wither and fall away quickly, revealing Qingdan Yuanjun’s figure. Boxian Shanren and Qin Sang then appeared as well. Endless green mist greeted their eyes. The mist drifted like clouds through the void. There was no wind here, and the mist moved without any pattern. Qin Sang looked up and saw the poison water forming a green dome overhead. The surrounding mist looked thin, yet it could block divine sense. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly could see farther than they could, but even it could not make out the end; it seemed endless. The space within the Poison Lake far exceeded imagination. “The mist is the same color as the outer poison water. We haven’t yet found the mist itself to be threatening—the danger lies elsewhere. True Person, remember not to spread your divine sense too far…” Qingdan Yuanjun explained via voice transmission even as she confirmed the direction and flew forward. They passed through the mist as if riding clouds. The danger Qingdan Yuanjun spoke of never appeared; everything looked peaceful. Relying on the Heavenly Eye Butterfly’s power, Qin Sang carefully observed the surroundings and found nothing special. Compared with other illusory realms created by divine powers, this one was very calm. Not long afterward. Suddenly, a clump of mist appeared in the Heavenly Eye Butterfly’s field of vision. This poison mist was very dense, drifting among the mist and slowly approaching them. Soon after the Heavenly Eye Butterfly noticed the mist, the others sensed it too. Qingdan Yuanjun’s expression turned solemn. She immediately stepped aside to make way for the mist, hovering motionless, and warned gravely, “Do not leak any aura!” Qin Sang did as he was told, standing behind Qingdan Yuanjun and watching the direction from which the mist came. He was curious what lay inside the mist—enough to make the two True Persons treat it like a grave foe even before it drew near. As the mist drew closer, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly finally saw what lay within the mist. Strangely, there was a bubble inside the mist, with poison mist gathering around it in a clump. The bubble was transparent, and inside it was a piece of land! To be precise, it was a flower field. The field was filled with spirit flowers—a swaying sea of blossoms in every shade of purple and red, breathtakingly vivid. Anyone who saw the flower sea, even through the bubble, felt refreshed and delighted, as if they could smell a refreshing fragrance. The spirit flowers in the field belonged to no kind they knew; they seemed conjured from nothing. The mist drifted past them. The flower field remained beautiful as before. Qin Sang glanced at Qingdan Yuanjun, puzzled, only to hear her transmit: “Follow!” They followed the mist, flying slowly deeper into the fog. After following for a while, a change finally appeared in the flower field. Qingdan Yuanjun said softly, “They’re here.” Her voice carried a hint of fear. The spirit flowers in the field suddenly swayed faster, the whole sea of flowers as if gone mad. All the spirit flowers’ stamens sprayed filaments outward, which intertwined above, while pollen-like smoke spread. Instantly, flower cocoons floated above the field. The next moment, the cocoons split open one after another. Seeing what was inside, Qin Sang’s eyes flashed with surprise: they were human-shaped flower spirits. There were both male and female flower spirits, all of exquisite beauty. All the flower spirits moved in unison, hugging their knees as they gazed at the sky. Then, rising from the clefts of their cocoons, they stepped on the filaments toward the ground. Gorgeous spirit flowers and elegant flower spirits—yet the scene gave off an eerie feeling. Their eyes were empty and profound, their faces blank, as if under invisible control. They reached the ground, paired off, and began to dance in the flower field. There was no music, and their gazes toward their partners remained empty. Watching their graceful dance, the three felt a chill run down their spines. “The first time I came in, I sent out a strand of divine sense to see what else was in the flower field and whether the flower spirits were real. But the instant my aura leaked, every flower spirit stopped and turned to look at me in unison…” Qingdan Yuanjun recounted her experience; even now, thinking back made her shudder. The moment she was gazed upon, she sensed danger. Fortunately, she had not gone too deep that time and fled the Poison Lake at once; the flower spirits did not pursue. The flower spirits danced for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, then returned to their cocoons. The cocoons closed, drew in their stamens, and the flower spirits seemed to fall into a peaceful sleep. Everything happened soundlessly. They followed quietly behind the mist and encountered another clump—another flower field, differing only in size. Then Qingdan Yuanjun gave up following and changed direction. They flew on for a while, and finally a different scene appeared in the mist ahead: an ancient palace. “The object I seek is within the palace,” Qingdan Yuanjun said, exhaling lightly. According to their agreement, she produced a jade slip and handed it to Qin Sang. “It contains half of a cultivation art. Once you obtain the treasure, I will give you the other half.”