Chapter 87: Gathering in the Roaming Valley
Since arriving at Spirit Flower Valley, several days had passed peacefully. The spiritual qi in Spirit Flower Valley was quite dense, no less than that of Green Leaf Peak. In particular, the wood-element spiritual qi was extremely abundant. Perhaps this was why the flora in Spirit Flower Valley flourished so abundantly compared to other places. According to Wu Duo, the source of this vibrant spiritual qi was a “spirit pearl” in Star Pond to the southwest of the valley.
Apart from their regular cultivation, the group occasionally visited the town to experience the local customs. Song Yan had originally wanted to visit the Sword Forging Manor through Yan Xun’s introduction, but with the gathering approaching and Yan Xun busy beyond measure, he held his tongue.
By custom, Lu Ziye also had to assist with the valley’s affairs, bringing along the three Eastern Abyss Sect disciples. However, these were minor tasks that required little effort.
“Ahhhh—”
Lu Ziye lay down on a flower bed. Spiritual energy cradled the petals, forming a hammock-like structure, and he settled onto it with complete self-satisfaction.
“Senior Brother Lu! What are you doing? Get down from there…”
Gu Qingqing said anxiously. Over the past few days, they had grown completely familiar with Lu Ziye, and their speech had become increasingly casual.
“What’s the harm? I’m not crushing these spirit flowers.”
Lu Ziye rolled over. “This is so comfortable…”
“Birds singing, flowers fragrant, free and at ease. Much more pleasant than being in the sect.”
“Too bad your Senior Brother Lin doesn’t have this blessing…”
“Senior Brother Lu, do you know why Senior Brother Lin couldn’t come?” Song Yan asked.
Senior Brother Lin Qing had looked after him many times when they were outer disciples. Since Lu Ziye had brought it up, it was a good opportunity to ask.
“How would I know…”
“But that fellow has been riding high in the sect lately. Maybe he just didn’t want to make this long journey.”
“I think he should have come. He could have learned from the men here, gathered some rare spirit herbs and flowers, and brought them back for Senior Sister Qin Ying…”
“Hmm?”
The three stared at each other, not quite understanding what Lu Ziye meant. How had Qin Ying Senior Sister suddenly come up?
“Huh? Don’t you know?” Lu Ziye’s expression turned peculiar. “That Lin fellow—his feelings for Senior Sister Qin Ying are completely sincere…”
“What?!”
The three’s eyes went wide, as though they had seen a ghost. Lu Ziye chuckled. Exposing other people’s secrets was what he did best. “What’s so strange about it?”
“Your Senior Brother Lin was personally brought into the sect by Senior Sister Qin.”
“She is a favored daughter of heaven, a jewel of the Qin family, and she already had no shortage of suitors in the sect.”
The more Lu Ziye spoke, the more animated he became, spinning increasingly elaborate tales. He was practically about to start from the day Lin Qing was born. But thinking about it, what he said did make sense. Usually, because outer disciples cultivated diligently on their own, they had few opportunities to interact with inner sect senior brothers and sisters. Senior Sister Qin Ying’s temperament was cold as frost. In Song Yan’s eyes, she seemed utterly unapproachable, inexplicably distant. That was what gave everyone the impression that she was untouchable.
Listening to Senior Brother Lu recount these sect “secrets,” the group found themselves wanting more.
Just then, Wu Duo and Liang Feng approached from a distance. They greeted the group.
“Fellow Daoists, tomorrow is the Roaming Valley. Would you be interested in participating?”
The Roaming Valley was the event that Spirit Flower Valley had been preparing for in recent days. Held on the day before the Flower Morning Gathering, it was an event organized specifically for cultivators, held right here in Spirit Flower Valley.
“Here are this year’s Roaming Valley rewards. If you wish to participate, send a voice transmission to Liang Feng.”
A flash of spiritual light appeared in Wu Duo’s hand, and four jade slips fell into the Eastern Abyss Sect cultivators’ hands. After exchanging a bow, the two took their leave.
The group eagerly examined the jade slips in their hands. They contained a general introduction to the rules, sequence, and prizes of the Roaming Valley.
“The first-place prize is…”
“Oh!”
Even Lu Ziye sat upright on his flower-petal hammock. “A top-grade magical artifact?”
“The Condensed Spirit Flower Vase…”
It could automatically gather the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. The spiritual qi would condense within the vase, and at regular intervals, it would produce three Flower Spirits. One could assist in attack, one could aid in defense. The third could transform into Hundred Flower Honey Dew. Drinking it could increase cultivation speed, especially for cultivators who practiced wood-element techniques, with considerable benefit.
The group immediately burst into excited discussion, all expressing their desire to give it a try. But Song Yan was not focused on the first-place prize. Instead, he stared at the third-place reward, lost in thought.
The ancient sword “Lianli.”
The description of the sword was but a few brief lines.
“Legend says this is the flying sword forged by the ancient cultivator who died for love, before he perished.”
“Though it is only a lower-grade magical artifact…”
“It symbolizes unwavering love and holds extraordinary significance.”
“…”
—
The next day.
The southwest of Spirit Flower Valley was bustling with a large crowd, quite lively.
Butterfly-Clapping Spring.
In this cool and shaded place, many mortals had come to watch the Gathering in the Roaming Valley. The thousand-year-old spirit peach tree in Spirit Flower Valley, which had withered for decades, had inexplicably shown signs of recovery about half a year ago. Now it had fully returned to its former glory. The Sun-Shooting Sect, the Yan family, and Spirit Flower Valley joined forces to use this as a catalyst to restart the prayer ceremony, inviting cultivators far and wide to participate in the gathering. Thus, this Flower Morning Festival was unprecedented in scale.
Song Yan had completely underestimated the number of cultivators participating in this “Roaming Valley.” Excluding the Yan family and Spirit Flower Valley, who could not participate because they were organizing the event, nearly a hundred cultivators had joined.
“Truly clever. If the rewards had been announced earlier, Spirit Flower Valley would surely have been surrounded by rogue cultivators from the Chu Kingdom trying their luck!”
Lu Ziye stroked his chin. “I suppose we came at the right time.”
The two from the Sun-Shooting Sect were nearby. Since Senior Cong Yuzhen had already reached Foundation Establishment, she did not participate. Sheng Yun stood among the crowd with Cheng Yu, who was attentively removing fallen petals from her hair. Though Sheng Yun looked embarrassed, she did not pull away out of politeness.
“Junior Sister Yun, if I, your Senior Brother, can win the first-place prize, the Condensed Spirit Flower Vase—would you like me to give it to you?”
Sheng Yun frowned slightly. “The Eastern Abyss Sect fellow Daoists are quite capable. Senior Brother, you should not make such bold claims.”
“I would never lose to mere outer disciples…”
Cheng Yu chuckled lightly. “Except for that Senior Brother Lu, the rest are nothing to fear.”
“…”
This Roaming Valley was formally called the Blooming Flower Assembly.
“The rules are very simple. Throughout the vast expanse of Spirit Flower Valley, the people of North Watch Mountain have already hidden a variety of rare spirit flower and herb seeds.”
“In the first stage, participating cultivators must find spirit plant seeds within half a shichen and bring them back to Butterfly-Clapping Spring.”
“There are exactly one hundred spirit plant seeds in total.”
“If multiple cultivators discover a seed at the same time, they may compete for it based on strength, but they must not take lives.”
For participating cultivators, naturally, the more seeds they found the better. Because the more seeds one gathered, the fewer other cultivators would have any. Those who found none would be unable to participate in the subsequent Blooming Flower Assembly.
In the second stage, cultivators would choose one or more spirit plant seeds and use spiritual energy to stimulate their growth, causing them to flower or bear fruit. Ultimately, the victors would be judged by the number of flowers, their rarity, and their spiritual qi density.
The so-called “Roaming Valley” actually encompassed more than just this single contest. However, only this particular event had winners and losers and distributed prizes. What such a large gathering of cultivators was truly after went without saying. Perhaps among them were genuine flower lovers, but they were ultimately the minority.
After the stewards of Spirit Flower Valley finished explaining the rules, they pressed their palms together, and a brilliant flash of spiritual light erupted.
The Flower-Seeking Hunt officially began!