Stars Illuminate the Azure Heavens

Although the Feathered Immortal Valley was only a small world opened up by a sage, the space within it was vast, far larger than the ruined space where the Peacock King lived in seclusion.

After entering the valley, Lu Chen, Yan Ruyu, and the others searched cautiously and discovered that it truly was a wondrous place. Many unusual ancient medicinal plants rooted themselves in the rocky cliffs, their fragrance overwhelming. Rare plants abounded, and many were spirit medicines already extinct in the outside world, making them exceptionally precious.

Lu Chen had good luck. On a cliff, he found an ancient medicinal plant sixty thousand years old, already approaching the eighty-thousand-year threshold of a medicine king. It could be called a Little Medicine King, and even the Peacock King coveted it.

No one had visited this immortal valley for tens of thousands of years, which explained its abundance of ancient medicinal plants. Along the way, Yan Ruyu, the Peacock King, and the others also found many ancient plants, all precious spirit medicines rarely seen in the outside world.

At last, they reached the depths of the immortal valley and arrived before a stone forest where not a blade of grass grew. After walking several more li, they discovered a rocky mountain. Rosy light radiated from its summit, where a Four-Colored Wonderful Flower grew. Four kinds of auspicious energy spread from it, shrouding the mountain in mystery and haze.

The energies of earth, fire, wind, and water revolved in alternating succession, and four-colored rosy light intertwined over the wondrous flower, brilliant and dazzling.

"The Demon God Flower!"

"There really is a Demon God Flower!"

Yan Ruyu, the Peacock King, and the several old demons were all immensely excited. They had actually lived to see the legendary supreme treasure of the Demon Race.

Only Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing unexpected had happened to this wondrous flower, so the Azure Emperor's Essence Blood was as good as his.

The Demon God Flower was a true divine medicine born of heaven and earth. Had it not been useless to the Human Race, he would never have traded it away. The crucial point was that it only benefited Demon Race Younglings. Anyone else who obtained it could only exchange it for treasures with the Demon Race.

As for why it only affected the Demon Race, that might involve the laws of heaven and earth.

Were there differences between the Human Race, the Demon Race, and the Primordial Myriad Races?

In Lu Chen's view, each had its own distinct traits.

The Human Race was born weak, but possessed innate intelligence, a powerful capacity for learning, and immense potential.

The Demon Race was born ignorant and lacking in intelligence, but most of its members possessed innate abilities and bodies naturally superior to those of the Human Race.

The Primordial Myriad Races possessed both innate intelligence and innate abilities, effectively combining the strengths of the Human Race and the Demon Race.

In theory, the Primordial Myriad Races were superior to both the Human Race and the Demon Race.

That the Demon God Flower only affected the Demon Race left him marveling at the wonders of nature's creation.

At that moment, the Four-Colored Wonderful Flower was still far from blooming. It was only a bud and would need at least another ten years or more to blossom fully.

Even so, the wondrous flower, flowing with four-colored rosy light, still tugged at everyone's hearts. They felt as though swallowing it would let them ascend to immortality amid radiant clouds.

The Peacock King was beside himself with excitement. "Any demon who receives its cleansing while young will have a chance of becoming a Demon Saint!"

"A divine flower that can refine bloodline, spiritual nature, and root bone, laying a great Dao foundation-such a thing is all but impossible to find in this world." The old demons accompanying Yan Ruyu could scarcely contain their excitement.

Even the still-young Demon Race Princess, Yan Ruyu, had extraordinary gleams in her eyes.

"Everyone, be careful. The Demon God Flower should have a powerful beast king guarding it!" Lu Chen reminded the excited group.

If he was not mistaken, a mighty-expert-level Centipede Insect King should be guarding this place. When Ye Fan and the others came here in later years, that Insect King had already been controlled by the Crocodile Ancestor's primordial spirit and used to guard his external incarnation as it absorbed the Demon God Flower's Dao power.

"Sure enough, there is a powerful Insect King beneath the rocky mountain. How could a supreme divine flower like this have no guardian?" After carefully probing the area, the Peacock King immediately sensed a powerful being lurking below.

Suddenly, terrifying killing intent spread out, surging like a tide from an ancient cave at the foot of the rocky mountain. A gray haze blotted out the sky, its foul stench piercing their noses.

"Fall back!" The Peacock King's delicate face turned solemn as he told Lu Chen, Yan Ruyu, and the others to move away.

In the next instant, the killing intent grew even more terrifying, like a hundred thousand demon swords ringing in unison, piercing the void and shattering everything as it rushed toward the Peacock King.

"Roar!"

The Peacock King unleashed a roar that shook mountains and rivers and sent the heavens trembling. Like the furious shout of a heavenly god, it scattered all the killing intent and gray poison gas.

Boom!

Baleful energy surged, and gray poisonous mist shot skyward once more. Two feelers as thick as water vats stretched out from within it, waving like the arms of a fiend and striking terror into the soul. An enormous creature slowly flew out from beneath the rocky mountain.

Killing intent filled the sky. Poisonous mist surged and billowed, engulfing the entire area. Many plants withered instantly, turning into drifting ash that scattered on the wind.

"What is that thing?" The old demons swiftly retreated, avoiding the poisonous miasma along with Lu Chen and Yan Ruyu.

Rumble...

The ground shook, and the rocky mountain seemed on the verge of collapse. Yet the Demon God Flower remained entirely unharmed, brilliant and crystalline, swaying with four-colored rosy light amid the gray poisonous mist.

The enormous creature rose into the sky and emerged from the gray mist, finally revealing its form. Its entire body gleamed with an ominous black sheen, and its hundred legs swept through the air, terrifying to behold.

"A Centipede Insect King several hundred zhang long! How many years must such a terrifying being have cultivated?" The old demons felt their scalps prickle.

The Centipede Insect King's hundred legs swept across the sky, actually producing a rustling sound. It sent a chill through Lu Chen's heart. Had the Peacock King not accompanied them today, they would likely have been in grave trouble.

The poisonous mist this centipede exhaled alone could kill mighty experts and sect-master-level powerhouses.

"Die!"

A voice rang out through divine sense. From its cavernous maw, the giant centipede spat a vast spray of venom, which transformed into chains of order and shot toward the Peacock King to pierce him through.

"Hmph!" Facing the terrifying Centipede Insect King, the Peacock King showed no fear. He swept his hand, and the heavens instantly went dark.

The sky had been clear and bright, yet with a turn of his hand, he brought down night. Such power shocked Lu Chen. This was his first time witnessing a mighty expert in action-and this was a Demon King who had already roamed unchallenged across the Southern Region eight hundred years ago.

Stars hung high in the pitch-black sky, their silver radiance flickering ceaselessly. This was one of the most terrifying manifestations of antiquity.

Stars Illuminate the Azure Heavens!

At the Peacock King's level, he no longer needed to unleash his manifestation through his sea of bitterness. He could summon it with a casual wave, and its power was immense.

Boom!

All of heaven and earth seemed to tremble. Deep within the night sky, countless stars shone, rapidly expanding as they bore down fiercely upon the Centipede Insect King.

Rumble...

Heaven crumbled and earth split, and the void shattered. Every star weighed as much as a divine mountain, shining with boundless radiance that illuminated the heavens. They were like blazing suns, all crashing down to suppress their foe.

This is a mighty expert-divine power capable of destroying heaven and earth! Lu Chen was horrified as he felt the terror of every star and the incomparable, overwhelming pressure they exerted.

"Roar!"

The Centipede Insect King guarding the Demon God Flower raised its head and roared. Its enormous body, several hundred zhang long, crackled loudly, and its thousand-plus segments trembled beneath the terrifying pressure.

Crack!

Its armor, gleaming with an ominous black sheen, began to shatter. Green blood fell from the sky like streams, corroding enormous pits into the ground. Such was the potency of the Centipede Insect King's poison: anyone below the mighty-expert level would die at its slightest touch.

The Peacock King swept both hands. Among the stars filling the sky, one expanded violently, falling like a real planet and smashing into the Insect King's body.

Bang!

"Hiss..."

The void collapsed. The Centipede Insect King let out its final wail and shattered completely in the sky, its soul and demonic body both annihilated.

In the next moment, the stars faded in and out, the night dispersed, and light returned to the land.

The Peacock King waved his hand, sending a great wind sweeping through. All the gray poisonous mist vanished like smoke, revealing the rocky mountain and the four-colored divine flower once more.

Then he reached out, and an immense palm appeared, blotting out the sky and sun. It seized the entire enormous rocky mountain. A flash of azure light passed, and the Peacock King put away both the mountain and the Demon God Flower.

"Congratulations, Senior. You will surely be able to nurture an outstanding junior in the future," Lu Chen said, walking forward with a smile.

"Without you bringing us here, young friend, how could we have obtained the Demon Race's supreme treasure? I will remember this kindness!" the Peacock King said with a nod.

They remained in the Feathered Immortal Valley for several days, finding many more rare ancient medicinal plants before leaving this small world deep in the wilderness.

As promised, the Demon Race Princess, Yan Ruyu, gave Lu Chen what he needed: nine drops of the Azure Emperor's Essence Blood.

As for how the Demon God Flower would be used afterward, that was no concern of his. Presumably, Yan Ruyu, the Peacock King, and the Azure Flood Dragon King had already discussed it.