Chapter 869: Demon God Flower

The voice was distant and chilling, devoid of any life, as if emanating from the desolate, cold, and dark depths underground. It made one's entire body uncomfortable, filled with venomous malice.

The fact that he could hear the voice meant he had survived, which was beyond the speaker's expectation.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo remained silent, listening intently. Like a malevolent spirit escaped from hell, the voice was harsh and unpleasant, like two metal plates grating against each other, sending shivers down their spines.

The voice continued, telling him to enjoy the little time he had left, asserting that it would come for him, take his life with its own hands, and offer him as a sacrifice.

It was as if an ancient ghost of a thousand years was casting a cold and sinister curse. Its words were few, but they filled one with deep-seated revulsion, and its tone was utterly venomous.

For a long time, the bamboo forest remained quiet, without a sound. Ye Fan clenched his fists, remembering how the plot by the Thirteen Holy Sons to kill him years ago had remained an unsolved mystery.

Back then, it had been the same voice, equally malicious, using Liu Yiyi as bait to lure him to his death. That was the first time he had triggered a Heavenly Tribulation to kill enemies; blood had stained the ground, and corpses had turned to ash in piles, with countless lives lost.

However, that battle had yielded no clues, and even after the incident, Ye Fan's extensive pursuit failed to uncover the culprit. It had eventually become a cold case, remaining unsolved until now.

Now, the hidden mastermind had finally reappeared. It was still the same person, still that malicious voice—one he would never forget once he heard it.

Pang Bo pondered for a long time, recalling everything from the past. He felt there were various possibilities, making it difficult to grasp the ultimate truth. He said, "Only two attempts over so many years point to one of two reasons..."

First, Ye Fan had always been cautious. In those years, he had too many powerful enemies, with many sect masters pursuing him. For years, he had concealed his true appearance with origin techniques, drifting everywhere, making him untraceable. Second, that person's cultivation might have been insufficient, only gaining enough confidence in recent years to feel capable of eliminating Ye Fan, which is why they finally acted.

"It's not necessarily a human," the big black dog mumbled. It had kept up with the times, quickly learning how to fiddle with a mobile phone, turning it over and over, clearly wanting to abscond with it.

"A cold ancient coffin, a suffocating atmosphere, a ghost in the darkness as a companion..." Li Tian stared at the image of the bronze coffin and the malevolent spirit, feeling it perfectly matched the voice they had just heard.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. We'll think it over carefully when we get back," Pang Bo said, thumping the stone table with a fist. He felt a slight unease in his heart.

"What exactly crossed the void with us back then? Besides this malevolent spirit, were there others?" Ye Fan stared at the blurry image, deep in thought.

He and Pang Bo counted carefully: there were sixteen living people and several corpses in the coffin. This must have been on their way from the ancient planet Yinghuo (Mars) to the Beidou Star Domain.

Had this malevolent spirit followed them from Earth, or had it boarded on Yinghuo? It was difficult to fathom, as the process of crossing star domains was far more complex than they had imagined. At the time, being caught in the situation, they hadn't known anything. Now, stepping back to recall it carefully, they couldn't help but break into a cold sweat; it was truly terrifying.

"Perhaps there are others. We must be careful!" Ye Fan said. Now they were in the open, while the hidden presence had been lurking for so many years, making it truly too dangerous.

They searched in the Immortal Ascension Valley. It had to be said, this was truly a wondrous place. Ancient herbs rooted in the crevices of stone cliffs, their fragrance pervasive, while many varieties of rare trees thrived. Many of them were exotic species even in ancient times, let alone the present age.

Li Heishui was exceptionally lucky; by a secluded stream, he dug up an ancient herb that was at least five hundred years old. It was called a "Minor Medicine King," exuding an auspicious aura and a rich, fragrant scent.

The big black dog set its eyes on the ancient Qilin Orchid trees. It dug up dozens of them, almost clearing the entire patch, putting them, soil and all, into its own treasure trove, with the excuse that it would plant them in the Heavenly Court later.

Of course, the spiritual bamboo forest, like white jade, was also swept clean by it, with only a small amount left behind to serve as seeds for continuation.

"This Emperor is very particular; I never exhaust all the essence of heaven and earth," the dog declared. "I always leave a ray of hope for everything to continue to multiply."

Everyone collectively scorned it.

The Immortal Ascension Valley was vast, a small world in itself. No one knew when it had been opened. Ancient ruins were mottled, some stone tables and stools had decayed, and the vegetation had propagated for countless generations.

The valley was full of blooming flowers, their fragrance pervasive. A gentle breeze blew, scattering various flower petals like rain. They shimmered like tiny crystals, their intoxicating fragrance making it seem like a fairyland.

This was a true pure land, beautiful and peaceful, making one reluctant to leave. It was an excellent place for self-cultivation, with picturesque scenery that was both serene and pleasant.

Petals of flower rain drifted everywhere, a riot of colors, sparkling and shimmering, their sweet fragrance filling the air. Ji Ziyue used Ye Fan's phone to take a group photo.

Afterwards, she stood with Ye Fan, smiling radiantly amidst the flower rain, and asked Pang Bo to take a picture. The scene was frozen in this eternal moment, and she said she would cherish it carefully, never losing it.

The starry sky was too vast; who could be sure if they would meet again? She forced a smile, then asked Ye Fan for his phone and kept it close to her.

"It smells so good! What kind of heavenly treasure has appeared?" The Black Emperor twitched its nose, looking suspicious, and rushed forward.

Everyone had to admire it; following for seven or eight li, they also smelled a subtle fragrance. It made everyone feel comfortable all over, their pores opening, as if they were about to ascend to immortality.

This was a stone forest where no grass grew. After walking for more than a li, a stone mountain appeared. Its peak radiated light, where a four-colored flower grew. Four kinds of qi permeated and cascaded down, making the mountain appear hazy.

Earth, fire, wind, and water light spun together, making the area mysterious. These four types of light interwove on the flower, making it brilliant and harmoniously radiant.

The big black dog cried out in surprise, "A Demonic God Flower!"

The four types of light permeated the air as that extraordinary flower was about to bloom. Its fragrance grew even stronger, captivating one's mind, making them feel as if they wanted to ascend to immortality with it, greatly desiring to swallow it whole.

The Black Emperor was incredibly excited, exclaiming, "If I could borrow another hundred thousand years from the heavens, let me return to before I was born and encounter this flower!"

This was a Demonic God Flower, imbued with the power of the Heaven and Earth Dao. It possessed extremely powerful spiritual essence and was a sacred object in the eyes of demons, for which they could go mad.

For adult great demons, it was of little use. However, its marvelous utility lay in its ability to nurture young demon spirits, refining their bloodline, spiritual essence, and innate potential, completely transforming them.

The so-called Demonic God Flower, as its name suggested, indicated its immense power. It was a supreme flower capable of nurturing demon gods. Although there was some exaggeration, it was indeed rarely found in the world.

The big black dog's eyes turned red. It snatched a jar of divine spring water from Ye Fan and drank it wildly, looking up at the sky, exclaiming, "I want to be young! I want to be reborn! I want to transform into a young spirit!"

Li Heishui quickly snatched the jade jar from its large paws, not letting it waste the divine spring water, and asked, "Does it really have such a great effect?"

"Of course! In this Emperor's opinion, this is second only to the Dao-Merging Flower," the dog replied. "Eating it will greatly strengthen one's divinity in the future, bring one closer to the Dao, and significantly boost one's potential."

The big black dog stood on its hind legs, gesticulating wildly, saliva flying everywhere. It wished it could instantly reincarnate, arrive at this very moment, and swallow the Demonic God Flower whole.

"To become a Great Sage of the demon race, to achieve enlightenment, this is undoubtedly a great innate aid," the dog continued. "I dare say, if you sell this flower to the demon race, they would break their heads fighting for it, offering their most top-tier treasures in exchange."

"There's nothing to regret," Pang Bo said. "The Dao of heaven and earth can be cultivated; as long as you are willing to cultivate diligently, it's the same without the Demonic God Flower."

"You say that so easily," the big black dog grumbled. "If this Emperor had eaten such a flower when I was a young spirit, I might have achieved enlightenment long ago."

The big black dog was unwilling.

"I finally understand why the Lightning Phoenix risked its life to enter this valley," Li Tian said. "It turned out it wanted to get the Demonic God Flower for its offspring, which is why it met with such disaster."

They all sighed. Undoubtedly, that phoenix was already a Dao-Slaying King. It had long known the terror of this place, but still risked opening a path to fly in; all of it was for its own child.

Clearly, it had failed; its body perished and its Dao dissipated. It only managed to fly back to the golden egg before finally transforming into the Dao.

"How pitiful," Ji Ziyue murmured. She took out the demon saint egg and held it in her palm; immediately, ripples and light flowed from it, and Dao traces flickered.

The big black dog, shameless as ever, said, "I feel regret... This Emperor is actually still very young; perhaps the Demonic God Flower can still be useful to me."

"Something's not right," the monkey said. "There's another life aura on the mountain peak. There's some creature up there!"

"You're right. Could some powerful demon spirit have gotten there first?" Ye Fan nodded, looking towards the stone mountain.

With a whoosh, they moved.

They all shot up into the sky, flying into the air. They looked down at the mountain peak, towards the Demonic God Flower, from which tiny golden lights emanated, forming faint ripples.

"A golden egg!"

"Heavens, could it be another divine egg of the Lightning Phoenix? It looks very similar."

Everyone exclaimed in surprise, their expressions showing astonishment.

On the stone mountain, the Demonic God Flower grew with four leaves, bearing a four-colored bud about to bloom. It swayed with wisps of radiance, each wisp incredibly mysterious and naturally in harmony with the Dao.

At its root was an egg, only about the size of a fist. Ripples shimmered and spread outwards from it, emitting a mysterious aura, clearly not an ordinary egg.

"A divine phoenix egg, there really is another one!" Li Tian exclaimed, quite satisfied. "It seems the Dao-Slaying Lightning Phoenix succeeded in making a choice and left a child here."

"I feel there's some difference; it doesn't seem quite the same," the monkey said. "And the Dao wave aura it emits doesn't seem to be from the same origin, not from the same lineage."

The golden divine egg in Ji Ziyue's hand moved gently, emitting a softer auspicious light. At this point, everyone could see that the two eggs were not quite the same.

"It's angry, naturally clashing with that other egg," Ji Ziyue whispered, lovingly stroking the phoenix divine egg in her hand. "The little one is pitiful, and also very cute; it seems to want to rush up there."

"The golden egg on the mountain peak is extraordinary; it doesn't seem to be inferior to the phoenix egg in the slightest," the Black Emperor said. As a demon, it naturally perceived more.

On the mountain peak, that egg was also moving. Golden ripples flowed from it beneath the Demonic God Flower, absorbing the essence from all directions, quietly waiting for the Demonic God Flower to bloom.

"Another divine egg that can become a demon saint, how exciting!" Li Tian exclaimed. "This time we truly have great fortune, obtaining two eggs. If nurtured, they could sweep across the world in the future."

"Kill it. This egg must not be allowed to remain in the world," Ye Fan suddenly said, his expression solemn. His memories were unlocked; he clenched his fists, sensing a familiar aura, and thought of his deceased old friends.