Even Men Dong didn’t know, indicating that this flower was indeed quite rare. Zanxing tugged at his sleeve and said, “Let’s go.”
“Go?” Men Dong was surprised. “Why would we leave? Although I don’t know what kind of flower this is, its appearance is rare, surely it’s a rare and unique flower in the world, so we should pick it!”
“That’s precisely the problem,” Zanxing glanced at the shimmering golden flower. “The more colorful and beautiful something is, the more cautious we should be. With so many wild beasts and spirits on this mountain, how could such a large golden flower grow without attracting attention? Yet it remains untouched. What does that indicate?”
“What?”
“It either means it’s a trap, or the flower has some means of self-defense,” Zanxing explained. “I’ve seen things like this before, don’t risk everything for something small.”
“What kind of reasoning is that?” Men Dong stared at her incredulously. “Even mortals know the saying ‘fortune favors the bold,’ let alone us cultivators? This flower has appeared in front of you, so it’s your opportunity. If heaven has delivered something to your doorstep, but you suspect it and reject it, how can you expect to have good fortune? If you’re afraid to go, then I will!” With that, he turned around, took out a swift-wind talisman, and, like a gust of wind, immediately approached the golden flower.
Before Zanxing could even stop him, the swift-wind talisman had already taken effect. Swift-wind talismans were difficult to make, requiring several dozen spirit stones each, and Zanxing hadn’t been willing to spend the money. Now, she couldn’t bear to let Men Dong go alone to pick the flower. She cursed silently in her heart as she slowly climbed along the branches towards the golden flower.
Midway through her climb, Zanxing saw Men Dong suddenly stop moving. Squinting her eyes, she noticed another familiar figure approaching the flower from the branches of another tree—it was Tan Tianxin from the Chihua Sect.
After Nie Xinghong’s speech, the disciples of various sects had gone their separate ways. Even disciples from the same sect, once inside the secret realm, would often act alone to avoid internal conflicts over treasures. Zanxing had assumed that Tan Tianxin had already gone far ahead, but she hadn’t expected him to also discover the golden flower and seemingly attempt to seize it first.
Initially, Zanxing paid no attention, but then she remembered how Tan Tianxin had nearly beaten a disciple of the Liuli Sect to death in the gambling hall in Li’er Country. Though Yin Ying had been disguised as Rong Yu, Tan Tianxin’s hidden motives were genuine. The incident with the Bixi spirit in the cave, as well as the fact that the secret realm was set to open as usual the day after their fight with the shark demon, all pointed to the fact that he was a selfish and greedy individual.
If Men Dong tried to compete with him for this “opportunity,” Tan Tianxin might resort to violence.
Sure enough, that’s when Tan Tianxin spotted Men Dong. He was initially startled, instinctively raising the sword in his hand, but after a moment, he quickly stopped his movement and slowed his pace.
Zanxing was taken aback, but then she understood. Tan Tianxin probably also suspected something unusual about the golden flower. Seeing Men Dong here, he deliberately slowed down his approach, likely intending for Men Dong to scout ahead for him.
After all, Men Dong was still just a child. Despite his natural spiritual aperture, which made him unparalleled in identifying spiritual herbs and fruits, he was far from being able to outwit someone like Tan Tianxin, who was cunning like a fox. Initially anxious at the sight of someone coming to snatch the golden flower, Men Dong became even more impatient when he saw Tan Tianxin’s slowed movements. He couldn’t wait any longer and directly threw the ice urn into the Qiankun bag. With both hands gripping the branches, he climbed eagerly towards the flower.
Zanxing couldn’t call out to him at this moment, so she quickly used a sound transmission talisman to contact Gu Baiying and then followed Men Dong towards the flower.
Men Dong had already climbed within a few steps of the golden flower. Looking up at it, he realized it was too big to be plucked directly like the Dragon Tooth Fruits. He took out a sickle from his Qiankun bag, the same one he used to cut off thorns from certain herbs. Holding up the sickle, he was about to chop at the stem of the golden flower.
Suddenly, a sword light struck, knocking the sickle out of Men Dong’s hand. In the next moment, Tan Tianxin appeared in front of him.
Zanxing sighed inwardly. As expected, Tan Tianxin had intercepted them.
“Get lost, you brat,” Tan Tianxin looked down at Men Dong from above. His cultivation was decent, so unlike Men Dong and Zanxing, he stood steadily on the branch without needing to cling to it.
“You… you shameless!” Men Dong’s face flushed with anger. “I saw the flower first!”
“What if you saw it first?” The man sneered, his arrogance palpable. “Whoever grabs it first owns it. Keep blabbering, and I’ll kick you off with one foot.”
“Fellow Daoist Tan,” Zanxing, fearing that Men Dong would be bullied, shouted loudly as she struggled to climb towards them, “if you want to pick the flower, go ahead. But if you dare to harm my junior brother, I won’t hesitate to call all the cultivators here with a single shout. There are disciples from other sects in the secret realm. If you feel there are too few people who know about it and want to share it with more, I can help.”
Of course, Tan Tianxin didn’t want too many people to know about this flower. Upon hearing Zanxing’s words, he withdrew his hand from Men Dong and snorted, then walked straight towards the golden flower.
Zanxing waved to Men Dong, signaling him to come back quickly.
Men Dong pursed his lips, seemingly still somewhat reluctant, but ultimately helpless. He could only climb back along the branches while glancing back at the golden flower.
Tan Tianxin had already reached the side of the golden flower. He seemed quite satisfied with it, lifting his sword without hesitation and ruthlessly chopping down at the stem.
Zanxing breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t particularly disappointed that Tan Tianxin was going to pick the flower. For some reason, this vibrant flower made her feel uneasy. Perhaps from reading too many nature magazines as a child, she had developed a natural wariness towards colorful and beautiful creatures.
For instance, many years ago she had seen a type of snake whose tail resembled a worm so convincingly that it could easily deceive. The snake would dangle its tail outside, attracting birds to peck at it. When the birds approached, they became prey to the snake.
This flower was so unnaturally vibrant. Not only were the petals glowing, but even the flower stem was a brilliant pale gold. With no leaves and nestled within the dense canopy of the Dragon Tooth Tree, who knew if it was some new trap?
But even the flower stem being gold was quite rare.
The flower stem…
Suddenly, Zanxing realized something and exclaimed, “Men Dong, run!”
In the distance, a sharp sword tip struck at the flower stem. However, the seemingly soft stem was as hard as iron, bouncing the sword tip back.
Then, a thunderous roar echoed through the forest.
Mimi’s fur bristled instantly.
From within the Dragon Tooth Tree emerged a faint figure, resembling a fiery red stream of light, with the golden flower dangling behind it, swaying like a tail.
It was a fiery red tiger with colorful stripes.