Having flown for about half an hour and slain no less than a hundred Great Demons, Ye Chen and the six disciples of the Moon Concealing Sect finally caught sight of the nearest location where Spiritual Light flickered, signaling an area of yet-to-be-claimed treasures.
In a valley filled with flowers of various colors that wafted a strange, refreshing fragrance, which carried to them on the breeze, Ye Chen and the five female disciples of the Moon Concealing Sect breathed in the scent and all felt invigorated and refreshed.
At that moment, a fierce battle was raging in the valley. Eight Tomb Explorers were fighting against a group of Great Demons.
All eight Tomb Explorers were at the late stage of the Spirit Sea realm, and the Great Demons they were facing were enormous Fire Butterflies!
Each of these Fire Butterflies was several meters in size, and each one's aura was shockingly powerful—each had reached the level of a high-ranking Great Demon.
When attacking, with just a flap of their wings, these Fire Butterflies would cast a swath of flames towards the Tomb Explorers. With around thirty to forty Fire Butterflies swarming in for the attack, flames filled the sky, and the eight Tomb Explorers were evidently at a disadvantage.
What was remarkable was that although the fire from these butterflies could scorch the earth and crack it open, when the flames fell upon the flowers in the valley, the blooms remained undamaged and as beautifully vibrant as ever.
Seeing this, it was clear that the flowers in this valley were no ordinary flora!
"Could it be that the treasures of this place are these flowers?" asked Liumei, one of the female disciples from the Moon Concealing Sect, standing beside Ye Chen.
Ye Chen nodded, "It's likely that the most precious things in this valley are the flowers, especially that blue one!"
Following Ye Chen's gaze, one could see at the very center of the hundreds of flowers in the valley, one in particular that was most unique. All the other flowers had multiple blossoms of either white or red, while this one in the center had only a single, large blue flower.
This large blue flower looked akin to a cluster of smoldering blue flames, grander and more majestic than all the other flowers.
The moment Ye Chen's consciousness touched the blue flower, he felt such intense heat that he instantly withdrew his consciousness.
Just as Ye Chen and the five female disciples of the Moon Concealing Sect flew over the valley and were observing the situation within, the eight Tomb Explorers who were battling with the Fire Butterflies spotted them and shouted, "Fellow Daoists, please assist us!"
"These Fire Butterflies are too difficult to handle—if fellow Daoists help us dispatch them, we are willing to share the 'Earth Fragrance Flowers' with you!"
Seeing the Tomb Explorers at a disadvantage and calling for help, Ye Chen would naturally not stand by idly.
Ye Chen ordered the five female disciples of the Moon Concealing Sect.
The moment his command was issued, Ye Chen flashed down to the fray. With a light flick of his finger, a Fire Butterfly that was viciously spewing flames towards him was instantly bisected.
Seeing Ye Chen make his move, the five female disciples of the Moon Concealing Sect also dove down and began battling the thirty to forty Fire Butterflies.
The prior eight who were struggling against the Fire Butterflies breathed a sigh of relief with the reinforcements' arrival.
After they had just jointly slain three Fire Butterflies and turned back, they were shocked to their core.
Because, to their astonishment, the previously ferocious swarm of Fire Butterflies had been wiped out in just a moment!
The ground was littered with the carcasses of Fire Butterflies!
Most of these slain Fire Butterflies had been split in half by the same type of sword wounds, clearly the work of the same person.
These eight had been struggling against the Fire Butterflies for quite some time and knew how formidable they were. They could not have imagined that the six people who came to aid them could dispatch the Fire Butterflies so swiftly.
"You are…the five Daoist friends from the Moon Concealing Sect!"
"Ye Chen, Daoist brother Ye Chen, you've come as well!"
The eight looked at the newcomers and recognized Ye Chen and his party immediately.
Upon entering the Fourth Sea Island, Ye Chen made a name for himself by defeating the Half-Step Demon King Level Wang Luocheng, so there was no one on the island who did not know him.
And the five beautiful girls from the Moon Concealing Sect, with their striking looks, had also made an unforgettable impression on others.
Ye Chen and his group landed beside the eight and asked, "Weren't a lot of beasts rushing into the treasure land? Why are there only these Fire Butterflies here?"
One of the eight pointed at the flowers in the valley and explained, "These flowers, known as 'Earth Fragrance Flowers,' are peculiar blooms. They are harmless to humans and can even help humans concentrate better during cultivation.
But to Great Demons, these flowers are a natural foe—nearly all Great Demons lose much of their fighting strength when they smell the fragrance of the 'Earth Fragrance Flowers'!"
"That's why Great Demons won't enter places where 'Earth Fragrance Flowers' are present."
"After the black pillars of light erupted from this island, the Great Demons became extremely violent and rampaged everywhere. We could not withstand the onslaught of countless Great Demons.
If it wasn't for two Daoist friends from Peach Blossom Valley who discovered these 'Earth Fragrance Flowers' in the treasure land, allowing us to hide in this valley, we would likely have died at the hands of the Great Demons!"
"However, although the Earth Fragrance Flowers affect most Great Demons, where the Earth Fragrance Flowers grow, there are always guardian creatures like the Fire Butterflies. We may have escaped the pursuit of Great Demons, but then we fell into the siege of these Fire Butterflies."
"Without the help of several fellow Daoists, we would have probably died in this valley, if not outside it."
Speaking of which, the Tomb Explorer wiped the sweat off his brow and took a deep breath.
Ye Chen nodded in understanding, finally realizing why only these Fire Butterflies remained.
"These flowers are 'Earth Fragrance Flowers', but what about that blue flower in the very middle? Why does it seem different from the others?" Ye Chen pointed at the peculiar blue flower he had noticed earlier and curiously asked the people around him.
"That flower is the 'King of Earth Fragrance Flowers'. Earth Fragrance Flowers are common, but the King of Earth Fragrance Flowers is extremely rare.
We never expected to encounter one here!" one of the short and plump young Tomb Explorers said, "Earth Fragrance Flowers can restrain many Great Demons, and if the King of Earth Fragrance Flowers is refined into a pill, it can even restrain Demon Kings at the Rotating Pill level!"
"Perhaps this 'King of Earth Fragrance Flowers' is the true treasure of this relic site!"
The King of Earth Fragrance Flowers? Capable of restraining Demon Kings at the Rotating Pill level?!
These words from the plump youth took Ye Chen aback.
If true, this blue flower was indeed a treasure!
Not to mention, during battle, if it could slightly weaken the combat power of a being at the Demon King level, it might very well change the outcome of the fight.
Seeing Ye Chen eying the "King of Earth Fragrance Flowers," the eight Tomb Explorers exchanged glances before the plump youth said with a smile, "If the fellow cultivators from the Moon Concealing Sect don't mind, we'd like to offer this 'King of Earth Fragrance Flowers' to Brother Ye Chen."
These eight had noticed that within Ye Chen's group of six, the five Moon Concealing Sect female disciples implicitly regarded Ye Chen as their leader. Furthermore, when they first entered the Fourth Sea Island, Ye Chen had disabled Wang Luocheng, who was at the Half-Step Rotating Pill level, thus it was clear that Ye Chen had contributed the most in killing off the Fire Butterflies.
All eight were late-stage Spirit Sea cultivators. On this Fourth Sea Island plagued with Great Demons, they were naturally willing to curry favor with Ye Chen. After all, Ye Chen's strength surpassed many at the Half-Step Rotating Pill level and was far beyond theirs.
Hearing the words of the eight, the five Moon Concealing Sect female disciples smiled gently, "This 'King of Earth Fragrance Flowers' is a miraculous item aimed at the Demon King level. Even with this flower in hand, we would not dare to face a Demon King. It seems this flower is destined for Ye Chen, as his current strength is such that he could even fight a Demon King if encountered!"
"Yes, giving it to Ye Chen, we certainly agree!"
Hearing what the Moon Concealing Sect female disciples said, the eight were even more astonished.
Ye Chen could fight a Demon King?
Amid their surprise, Ye Chen smiled and said, "I am indeed interested in this 'King of Earth Fragrance Flowers'. Since that's the case, I will gladly accept it. I'll take this 'King of Earth Fragrance Flowers', and you fellow cultivators can distribute the rest."
"Let's secure these flowers and together with our six, continue to explore other domains."
"It seems there are many great items on the island now!"
Ye Chen's gaze lingered on the blue "King of Earth Fragrance Flowers" and then shifted beyond the valley.
Earlier, the "Fire Elemental Spirit Stone" he acquired had greatly enhanced his strength. Now, with this "King of Earth Fragrance Flowers," Ye Chen had a means to confront Demon Kings, and he was eager to see what other magical treasures were to be found on the island.
"Fellow Ye Chen, would you be willing to take us with you?"
Hearing Ye Chen's words, the eight late-stage Spirit Sea strongmen were overjoyed. To follow Ye Chen, a youth more formidable than many at the Half-Step Rotating Pill level, on this Great Demon-infested Fourth Sea Island, meant much greater safety for them!
"Quick, let's gather these flowers and then go with Brother Ye Chen to other places."
The few among the eight who were familiar with the Earth Fragrance Flowers began to collect the flowers in the valley.
A short while later, fourteen figures soared up from the valley and flew towards the next location.
One day later, in the western part of the Fourth Sea Island where it meets the center, at a large mountain cliff, three cave entrances were gushing out Spiritual Light.
At that moment, outside these caves, the corpses of seventy to eighty Great Demons were scattered across the ground, among which there were unmistakably the bodies of nine Great Demons at the Half-Step Demon King level!
Not far from these bodies stood fifteen people. These fifteen were the five female disciples from the Moon Concealing Sect, plus the eight from the flower valley, and two more late-stage Spirit Sea disciples who had joined them.
Right then, all fifteen were expressing their amazement.
"Brother Ye Chen is truly incredible!"
"In just one day, he led us across the Fourth Sea Island with such ease, completely unafraid of any Great Demon!"
"At this secret spot, nine Half-Step Demon King level Great Demons and more than seventy high-level Great Demons were nearly all slain by him. His current strength is such that he doesn't have to fear the countless Great Demons rampaging across the island!"
"Having him lead us this time has saved our lives!"
Amid their exclamations, the Spiritual Light at the three cave entrances abruptly vanished, followed by a figure holding eighteen beads flying out of one of the caves.
This figure emerging with treasures was none other than Ye Chen!
"Brother Ye Chen!" Seeing Ye Chen fly out, all fifteen approached to greet him.
Ye Chen said to them with a smile, "Let's go to the next domain. We'll distribute these treasures along the way!"