Ye Liuyun stepped forward.
Many eyes fell upon him.
The Ancient Gods attending the Hundred Flowers Gathering came from various nearby regions, and most were somewhat familiar with one another.
To them, Qi Yuan and Ye Liuyun were complete strangers.
They were curious about Ye Liuyun's attempt to awaken a flower.
At this moment, Ye Liuyun arrived before a bud waiting to bloom.
The flower was a Ningxiangcui. Its bud was emerald green, exuding an exotic fragrance.
Back when Great Venerable Qionghua attained the Dao, her favorite thing had been to keep a stalk of Ningxiangcui beside her bed.
Ye Liuyun closed his eyes and began to visualize.
Murmurs arose all around.
"He actually dares to try the Ningxiangcui? What audacity."
"Venerable Wuqian, if I remember correctly, at the last Hundred Flowers Gathering, you also attempted to awaken the Ningxiangcui and failed."
"Difficult, difficult! Trying the Ningxiangcui right off the bat—this unknown True God is truly daring."
"If he fails, he'll lose face."
After all, most True Gods began by attempting the simpler ones.
If his opening attempt ended in failure, it would be rather awkward, perhaps even embarrassing to the Water Clan of the North Sea.
Standing to the side, Qi Yuan watched with great interest. "If I went up to awaken a flower, would they question me like this too?"
Qi Qi smiled radiantly like a blooming flower. "Who would dare question Godfather?"
Qi Yuan chuckled.
Playing the spectator this time and watching Ye Liuyun get doubted was actually quite entertaining.
Whether on Blue Star in his previous life or across various worlds, scenes like this were all too common.
As long as a post wasn't comment-moderated, tossing out any controversial topic was sure to draw all sorts of replies.
Just like these chattering True Gods.
"Today, we're just here to watch the show," Qi Yuan said. "We'll be the chattering audience, doubting or being shocked."
Besides, he didn't even know this so-called Great Venerable Qionghua, so naturally he wouldn't be able to visualize a God Visualization Art of someone acquainted with her to awaken a flower.
Just then, Ye Liuyun in the crowd suddenly opened his eyes.
"The God Visualization Art is formed!" he barked softly.
Everyone's eyes fell upon him.
"Can he awaken it?"
"If the Ningxiangcui blooms... the reward would truly make one envious."
Ye Liuyun reached out and placed his hand against the petals of the Ningxiangcui.
Instantly, within the God Visualization Art, a phantom silhouette appeared.
"Who is... that?"
"A True God I've never seen before."
That phantom was dressed like an ordinary middle-aged man and looked completely unremarkable.
"This True God is named Venerable Hengyuan. Prior to the Hongtang Great War, Venerable Hengyuan found joy in flowers. In fact, he was the one who retrieved the Ningxiangcui from the Heavenly Sea to present to Great Venerable Qionghua," Ye Liuyun explained, a hint of bleak melancholy in his eyes. "Regrettably, while the falling blossoms harbored affection, the flowing water remained unfeeling."
Simply put, in Qi Yuan's understanding, it was just a melodramatic, unrequited love story.
Hearing this, the onlookers were somewhat moved. "To think there was such a tale from the past."
"Great Venerable Qionghua's beauty outshone the world. Having suitors was only natural."
The crowd buzzed with sighs of nostalgia for the bygone days.
If Ye Liuyun hadn't visualized Venerable Hengyuan, probably no one in the world would have ever known of this past event.
Above the God Visualization Art, the phantom of Venerable Hengyuan reached out his hand, touching the Ningxiangcui.
The emerald Ningxiangcui, which had been tightly shut in bud, burst open at this moment into seven petals. Its emerald-green petals blossomed fully.
A rich, exotic fragrance washed over the area, intoxicating and refreshing to the spirit.
Just then, two flashes of white light flickered and landed in Ye Liuyun's hands.
Watching those two white beams of light, the onlookers looked on with envy and jealousy.
Qi Yuan also watched with envy. "Now I finally understand how those side characters on TV feel when watching the protagonist show off. Two supreme treasures—truly makes a man envious!"
Two supreme treasures could forge two True Gods.
How could Qi Yuan not be envious?
That was what he lacked the most right now.
His hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals were all still going hungry!
With a single move, Ye Liuyun had secured two supreme treasures.
The other True Gods seemed injected with adrenaline, frantically beginning to visualize.
Without caring whether the God Visualization Arts they formed had any connection to Great Venerable Qionghua, they went straight ahead to test whether their visualized arts could awaken the flowers.
Unfortunately, the results were dismal. After busying themselves for half an hour, only three or four flowers blossomed.
Furthermore, the ones that bloomed were all ordinary flowers, granting mediocre rewards.
Deep within the palace of the Hundred Flowers Gathering, a glamorous, mature woman dressed in resplendent attire watched this scene, disappointment gleaming in her eyes. "Each Hundred Flowers Gathering is worse than the last."
This glamorous woman was the host of the gathering and the master of the North Sea God Eye.
Great Venerable Qionghua was her master.
Over the years, she had strived to hold the Hundred Flowers Gathering, inviting guests from all directions, all for the purpose of awakening her master.
Unfortunately, the results grew worse with every passing gathering.
"Li Yao, that person you invited who has ties to the Phoenix Clan—when will she begin visualizing? If I remember correctly, Third Miss Huang had some connection to Master as well. Perhaps she could make a flower bloom."
In the past, the glamorous woman naturally wouldn't pay attention to such trifles.
Unfortunately, now that the gathering's efficacy was deteriorating, she could only pin her hopes on every possible angle.
Hearing this, Li Yao bowed her head and replied apologetically, "Palace Master, she is not an Ancient God. The Ancient God is the man beside her."
"Oh? Is that so?" The glamorous woman glanced at Qi Yuan, understanding that Li Yao was simply doing the Phoenix Clan a favor. She did not pursue the matter, feeling only utterly exhausted.
Since that was the case, she harbored no more expectations.
The Hundred Flowers Gathering continued.
As time went on, more and more Ancient Gods tried to awaken the flowers.
A few more supreme treasures appeared and fell into the hands of the Ancient Gods.
This made the participating Ancient Gods burn with desire.
Yet to the glamorous woman, it was merely a drop in the bucket.
Right at that moment, Li Yao hurried over from the distance. "Palace Master, this is bad! The Dragon Clan is here to make trouble again!"
The glamorous woman's face darkened upon hearing this. "These foolish flood dragons are truly detestable."
The North Sea Dragon Clan and the Water Clan of Qionghua Palace coexisted beneath the North Sea God Eye.
The two factions had repeatedly clashed.
Unlike the Water Clan of Qionghua Palace, which chose to remain secluded from the world and stay out of worldly affairs, the North Sea Dragon Clan often ventured outside to stir up trouble, earning themselves a rather poor reputation.
"Stop them! Don't let them come and ruin the Hundred Flowers Gathering!" Palace Master Qionghua instructed hurriedly.
However, right at that moment, an arrogant, domineering voice echoed out.
"Our Dragon Clan came here with good intentions, solely to awaken Great Venerable Qionghua. If they can attend the Hundred Flowers Gathering, why can't our Dragon Clan?"
A man clad in golden robes appeared, radiating the aura of a True God.
Beside him stood six members of the Dragon Clan, all of them First Step Sky Treading True Gods.
However, these six were at the perfection of First Step Sky Treading, with eleven divine apertures opened!
Among the gods present at the gathering, aside from a few top True Gods, none could compare to these six Dragon Clan members.
Not to mention the golden-robed man, who was in the Second Step of Sky Treading.
The appearance of the seven Dragon Clan members immediately drew everyone's gaze.
Palace Master Qionghua stepped forward at once, her expression icy. "For you all to barge into my Qionghua Palace is taking things a bit too far."
The golden-robed man looked at Palace Master Qionghua's voluptuous figure with fervent eyes. "Compared to awakening Great Venerable Qionghua, such trifles don't matter in the least."
Palace Master Qionghua frowned tightly. "Jin Jiao, what exactly did you come to the Hundred Flowers Gathering for?"
"To awaken Great Venerable Qionghua, naturally," Jin Jiao said casually.
Rather than calling it an attempt to awaken her, it was more like he had come over to sightsee and find some amusement.
"All present here are guests of the Hundred Flowers Gathering. Jin Jiao, you'd best watch yourself!" Palace Master Qionghua warned, her voice cold and severe.
When Great Venerable Qionghua had been awake, Qionghua Palace was superior to the North Sea Dragon Clan.
However, Great Venerable Qionghua had remained asleep, and now the North Sea Dragon Clan held the upper hand over Qionghua Palace.
Facing Jin Jiao, Palace Master Qionghua felt powerless, able only to offer verbal rebukes.
"Don't worry. I came to the Hundred Flowers Gathering to obtain supreme treasures as well. Why would I ruin it?" Jin Jiao sauntered into the gathering at his leisure.
Looking at the various flower buds before him, he smiled playfully. "If all these buds were to bloom, the spectacle would surely be amusing."
The six True Gods accompanying him couldn't help but add, "A pity there are still so many flowers. There's no way they'll all bloom during this gathering."
"Each gathering is worse than the last. I'm afraid that even after ten more gatherings, the flowers here won't completely bloom."
These Dragon Clan members made no attempt to mince their words.
Hearing this, Palace Master Qionghua felt displeased, yet had to admit that what the North Sea Dragon Clan said was true.
Ordinarily speaking, the probability of awakening Great Venerable Qionghua was exceedingly low.
Even so, Palace Master Qionghua still went out of her way to distribute the treasures born from the North Sea God Eye just to awaken her master.
At this point, Jin Jiao turned to Palace Master Qionghua. "Palace Master, since you cannot awaken Great Venerable Qionghua, why not accept our North Sea Dragon Clan's proposal? Marry me as my wife, and we will lend you our North Sea Dragon Clan's God-Awakening Guide. Perhaps that might awaken Great Venerable Qionghua!"
"Speak no more of this matter!" Palace Master Qionghua's expression turned exceedingly ugly.
How could she not know what the North Sea Dragon Clan was scheming?
The God-Awakening Guide could indeed awaken Great Venerable Qionghua.
However, the one awakened would not be Great Venerable Qionghua, but rather a Great Venerable of the Dragon Clan!
The Great Venerable of the North Sea Dragon Clan had fallen long ago, slain by a single sword strike from Third Miss Huang.
Now, the North Sea Dragon Clan had no Great Venerable.
Consequently, they set their sights on Qionghua Palace, intending to pull off a bait-and-switch scheme to usurp the body.
How could Palace Master Qionghua tolerate that?
Jin Jiao did not get angry. Instead, he said, "The Northern Lands are not peaceful these days. Without a Great Venerable presiding over the North Sea God Eye, three Evil God Great Venerables joining forces would be enough to shatter the formations here. The Water Clan beneath the North Sea God Eye needs a Great Venerable."
Palace Master Qionghua remained silent.
Jin Jiao was telling the truth. Yet how could she possibly allow her master's body to be occupied by an old dragon?
After exchanging a few sharp words, their conversation ceased.
Just then, Jin Jiao seemed to notice something. His gaze fell upon Qi Qi, then shifted over to Qi Yuan.
The six other Dragon Clan members also eyed Qi Qi with considerable hostility.
Beside them, Ye Liuyun's face darkened upon seeing this. He sent a voice transmission: "Brother Qi, do not clash with them. If trouble starts, let us leave together at once."
He was also of the Dragon Clan, but of a faction in conflict with the North Sea Dragon Clan; currently, he could only reside within an ancient well.
Jin Jiao looked at Qi Yuan with a trace of surprise in his eyes. Leading the six True Gods forward, he said, "Brother, you truly look like a dragon and phoenix among men, extraordinarily remarkable."
Qi Yuan seemed not to hear Jin Jiao's words at all, turning instead toward Zhao Zun beside him. "What's wrong with you?"
At that moment, Zhao Zun was staring at the seven newcomers. For some reason, an intense battle intent surged within his heart.
He had felt a faint trace of this earlier when looking at Ye Liuyun, but now that battle intent was several times stronger—his eyes were practically glowing red.
"Subordinate... is feeling a bit hungry," Zhao Zun muttered, swallowing hard.
Seeing this, Jin Jiao felt displeased.
However, seeing six True Gods guarding Qi Yuan—even though their cultivation appeared rather weak—he wasn't eager to offend him recklessly.
He said placidly, "Brother, this maidservant of yours carries the bloodline of the Phoenix Clan. My North Sea Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan have always been... hostile. Could you do my North Sea Dragon Clan a favor, and give me, Jin Jiao, some face? Would you be willing to transfer this woman to me? Of course, I, Jin Jiao, am not one to take advantage of others for nothing. Among the eighteen concubines I've recently taken into my manor, you may pick any three to take with you."
Jin Jiao's words sounded exceedingly generous.
Among certain second-generation divine scions, trading maidservants and concubines was a common occurrence, not treated as a big deal at all.
Seeing Qi Yuan's arrogant posture, Jin Jiao took him for a spoiled young master just like himself.
Qi Yuan's eyebrow twitched as he looked at Jin Jiao. "What kind of status do you think you have to ask me for face?"
These words caught Jin Jiao completely off guard, choking him mid-breath.
It also startled the other True Gods present.
Jin Jiao could be considered to have lowered his stance.
Yet Qi Yuan didn't give him an ounce of face.
Could this Qi Yuan truly be the son of a Great Venerable?
Jin Jiao stared at Qi Yuan, his expression darkening while deep wariness stirred in his heart. "If Your Excellency is unwilling to give me face, there is no need to humiliate my North Sea Dragon Clan like this, is there?"
"You offered to trade your concubines for my goddaughter—you've already offended me. Why should I give you face?" Qi Yuan said. "You're not even as good as a punk on a modded scooter—utter trash."
"You..." Jin Jiao flared with rage. He had no idea what a "punk on a modded scooter" meant, but he knew for certain the man was insulting him.
Still, the other party's background was unclear, and he wasn't the sort of hotheaded young master to act recklessly.
He decided to avoid clashing head-on for now, and only take action after ascertaining the man's identity.
"I, Jin Jiao, will remember what happened today!" Jin Jiao flicked his sleeves, turning to leave.
Seeing this, the other True Gods found it entertaining.
Some also felt Qi Yuan was far too reckless.
After all, this was the North Sea God Eye, the North Sea Dragon Clan's home turf. If they were determined to keep Qi Yuan here, even if he had a Great Venerable backing him, his backer might not be able to seek vengeance in time.
The other True Gods secretly thought that this spoiled young master Qi Yuan was too accustomed to looking down on everyone, foolishly resting his own life on his enemy's degree of restraint.
Fortunately, Jin Jiao chose to endure it, so the matter seemed settled for now.
Yet at this moment, Qi Yuan looked toward Jin Jiao. "You think you can just leave after offending me? Do you really not see me as a gamer?"
Worrying about consequences in reality was one thing.
In a game, naturally one went full Musou mode and steamrolled straight through.
He would take no grievances lying down.
"You seven little loaches can leave, but your divine spiritual power stays behind!"
Qi Yuan spoke, his voice brimming with menace.
The moment those words were uttered, everyone present was stunned.
How dared Qi Yuan!
To dare provoke Jin Jiao at a time like this!
One had to understand that the experts Jin Jiao brought completely overwhelmed Qi Yuan's six True Gods.
The six True Gods beside Qi Yuan possessed strong auras, but they were clearly only at the early stage of the First Step of Sky Treading, having condensed very few divine apertures.
"How dare you?" Jin Jiao glared at Qi Yuan, fury erupting within his heart.
"Because I happen to be your exact counter," Qi Yuan said, amusement dancing in his eyes.
Chapter 191