Xu Zimo frowned slightly. He didn’t know what the Myriad Flowers Fairy was trying to do.
The old woman, her face full of wrinkles, continued smiling. “Please follow me, honored guest.”
The crowd surrounding them dispersed, and the old woman’s frail figure trembled as she took one step after another forward. It seemed as though her aged body might collapse at any moment.
Xu Zimo followed behind her, observing the structures around them along the way.
Everywhere he looked was filled with colors and blossoms. The Flower Valley resembled a city made of flowers.
The mountain walls of the valley formed the city’s barriers.
Along the way, all the beings they encountered were Plantfolk.
Some had already taken human form, while others still retained their plant-like traits.
They sang and danced joyfully, a scene of prosperity and beauty.
The old woman led Xu Zimo to a field full of flower buds.
These buds were a deep violet, their centers filled with tendrils stretching out like whips from within.
A few unopened petals surrounded them, and under the sunlight, little beams of light seemed to form tiny dancing figures upon the surface.
“This is the Lightyear Snow Lotus,” the old woman explained, “though outsiders prefer to call it the ‘Lotus of Eternal Love.’ This flower has no special function, except that it never withers. For that reason, people often use it to symbolize undying love, and lovers often give one another this flower. Unfortunately, the Lightyear Lotus is extremely dependent on its environment, it cannot be cultivated and can only reproduce naturally. Because humans have overharvested it, the flower is now nearly extinct. Outside of Flower Valley, you’d be hard-pressed to find one at all.”
After finishing her explanation, the old woman continued walking ahead, and Xu Zimo took one last look at the Lightyear Snow Lotus before following her.
The old woman stopped again, this time before a field of fiery red blossoms, Fire Fluff Flowers, but not ordinary ones. These were Yin-Yang Fire Fluffs, the rarest kind.
“Thirty thousand years ago,” the old woman said, “a great alchemy master from the Alchemy God Tower named Wu Xuzi created a pill recipe for the Blood Demon Pill. This pill could reverse one’s bloodline and forcibly defy fate. It would make a person’s strength increase a hundredfold, though afterward, they would become a cripple. Even so, that temporary surge of power tempted countless people. In the Mortal Ascension Heaven, everyone wanted at least one of those pills as a safeguard. The Yin-Yang Fire Fluff is as difficult to propagate as the Lightyear Snow Lotus, unable to be cultivated, only capable of natural reproduction. And now, in the Mortal Ascension Heaven, it too is nearly extinct.”
The old woman led Xu Zimo through almost the entire Flower Valley.
They passed through most of the area, and at each stop, she would give a brief introduction, what kind of celestial herb it was, what effects it had, and how rare it had become.
After traversing much of the valley, Xu Zimo encountered many celestial flowers. Dry Ink Lotus, Morning Glory, Aster, Glazed Chickweed, Evening Primrose, Southern Candle…
Their names sounded similar to flowers known in the human world, yet each one was a sentient being.
They were no different from humans, flesh and blood beings with souls of their own.
When they finally stopped, they stood before a grand palace.
The old woman turned to Xu Zimo and asked with a smile, “What do you see?”
“The suffering of the Plantfolk,” Xu Zimo replied.
All life in the world could be divided into animal and plant.
But humans, demons, beasts, ghosts, and even gods, all believed themselves superior.
They refused to align themselves with the “beasts,” and thus the saying came about that there are more than three thousand races in the world.
Yet compared to animals, the Plantfolk was born weak.
Plants and trees, unless they were like the mythical divine trees or immortal herbs, rarely possessed consciousness or mobility.
Most plants found cultivation extremely difficult.
Their souls were fragile, and they could not move freely from the earth.
Only after endless ages of cultivation could a few gain enough vitality to change their fate.
But during those long years, the dangers they faced were immense, just like the Lightyear Lotus and the Yin-Yang Fire Fluff.
Their fates spoke for themselves.
“Plants are living beings too,” the old woman said softly. “Why must we be born into such weakness?
“In truth, Fairy Myriad Flowers and you are alike. You seek to break the fate of the Ancient Demon Race. She seeks to change the fate of the Plantfolk.”
“What are you trying to say?” Xu Zimo asked. “Cooperation, perhaps?”
“That you must discuss with the Lady herself,” the old woman replied, pointing toward the palace before them.
“I only wish to change your perspective, you need not be enemies.”
“You may have misunderstood my intentions,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “I came to Flower Valley for the Xuanyuan Clan. As for the Myriad Flowers Fairy, if she does not stand in my way, I have no reason to concern myself with her.”
Because of the matter concerning Heaven’s Equal Emperor, Xu Zimo had always been wary of the Myriad Flowers Fairy.
But hostility was another matter, he didn’t quite consider her an enemy yet.
After all, his dealings with Heaven's Equal Emperor had been nothing more than a transaction.
The more one understood the world, the fewer people one found worthy of trust.
“You’ll find your answers once you enter the palace,” the old woman said.
Xu Zimo took a deep breath and nodded slightly.
He took a step forward and entered the palace.
The palace itself was shaped like a blooming flower.
Its petals descended at a fifty-degree angle, radiating brilliant colors all around.
A natural fragrance filled the air.
The flower’s stem rose like a heavenly pillar, supporting the entire palace.
White mist drifted from the petals, cascading down the steps that led upward.
As Xu Zimo climbed the steps, he reached the palace entrance.
Many flower spirits stood on either side, bowing to him in respect.
Inside, the sight was breathtaking.
Flowers of every color bloomed everywhere, dazzling to the eye.
Each flower spirit was beautiful in its own way.
Some poured down the walls like crystal waterfalls.
Some formed towers and towers, sustaining their own small worlds.
Others closed tightly like exquisite ice sculptures, then bloomed suddenly, their green leaves spreading into vast oceans that flowed gently through the hall.
Amid this magnificent scenery stood a small tower.
Inside sat a woman in a long red robe.
The robe trailed across the floor for more than ten meters.
The woman in red sat gracefully within the tower, which stood atop mist-covered mountains so high that only their outlines could be seen.
“Infernal Lord, please come forward,” a cold and clear voice called out.