Jiang Chen was curious, but he kept his impulses in check. He desperately wanted to burst through the rock wall and get a good look at that abyss, but reason told him that if he strode out there so brazenly, unless he had the kind of power Old Master Ye possessed—the power to keep every Spirit Beast in check—
Otherwise, stepping out like that would mean being torn to shreds by those Spirit Beasts.
It was tedious, but all he could do was wait patiently. Those hundred-plus Spirit Beasts had clearly been at it for far more than a day or two.
Occasionally a few of them would exchange words, but for the most part, each one was on its own. Clearly the Spirit Beast world was nothing like the human world—in their ranks, forming alliances and cliques was rare.
"Damn it, I got here first! I've been waiting over twenty days already—how much longer before it shows up?" one of the Spirit Beasts grumbled impatiently.
"What good is getting here early? This Ice Fire Demon Lotus supposedly produces at most seven seedpods. With this many of us, there's bound to be a bloodbath."
"So let there be a fight. Who's afraid of who?"
"The first to die will be those mid Spirit Grade ones. I'm a high-rank Spirit Beast—my combat power easily ranks in the top ten. This time, I'm getting my hands on an Ice Fire Lotus Seedpod no matter what."
"Yeah, well, it all depends on where the seedpod shows up. Bad position, and how are you going to grab it?"
"Bad position? Whoever snatches it, I'll snatch it right back from them."
"Save it. Everyone's thinking the same thing. In the end, only the strongest Spirit Beast walks away laughing."
Fortunately, Jiang Chen knew the Beast Language and could understand what the Spirit Beasts were saying to each other. That said, such exchanges were few and far between.
But from these fragmented conversations, Jiang Chen had gleaned some useful information.
"Ice Fire Demon Lotus?"
Those four words were anything but foreign to Jiang Chen. And precisely because he recognized them, he was even more startled. This Labyrinth world actually had an Ice Fire Demon Lotus?
The Ice Fire Demon Lotus was a truly extraordinary existence.
After its spiritual awareness awakened, it would be at least Saint Grade—that was just the starting point. Most Ice Fire Demon Lotuses in their mature state could reach Earth Grade, or even Heaven Grade.
In his previous life, across the Myriad Heavens Planes, Jiang Chen had even heard that the Ice Fire Demon Lotus could evolve to God Grade!
From what Jiang Chen knew of the Labyrinth world, the strongest Spirit Beasts here should top out at Saint Grade at most. If the Spirit Beasts couldn't exceed Saint Grade, then an entity like the Ice Fire Demon Lotus, of such a high grade, simply shouldn't exist in a place like this. The gap between those grades was enormous.
"Could it be that there's some other secret in this Labyrinth world?" Jiang Chen speculated, his mind already racing with calculations.
Jiang Chen was no stranger to the Ice Fire Demon Lotus from his previous life. He knew that once its spiritual awareness awakened, it gained the ability to transform its shape.
Moreover, the most precious part of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus wasn't actually the Ice Fire Lotus Seedpod.
The Ice Fire Lotus Seedpod was the fruit of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus, but it was by no means the most valuable thing about it.
The most precious part was its Life Spirit—the Flame Heart Ice Marrow.
That was the Life Spirit of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus.
As long as this Life Spirit remained unextinguished, even if the Ice Fire Demon Lotus itself was destroyed, it suffered no real loss. After a period of time, it could be reborn.
The Flame Heart Ice Marrow was typically hidden deep within the earth's core, concealed with the utmost secrecy. The Ice Fire Demon Lotus guarded its Flame Heart Ice Marrow with the greatest vigilance.
Because the Flame Heart Ice Marrow was like an infant—completely devoid of offensive ability, and extremely fragile. If discovered by an enemy and attacked, it had no defensive power whatsoever.
But the Ice Fire Demon Lotus itself was terrifyingly powerful in combat.
The Ice Fire Lotus formed from the fusion of ice and fire—the dreadful profound truth it embodied, the devastating killing force it produced—ranked it among the top ten of all plant-type spirit entities.
Consider this: across the countless planes of the Myriad Heavens, the Ice Fire Demon Lotus's offensive power was called top ten. That was no idle boast.
"I wonder what level this particular Ice Fire Demon Lotus has evolved to? If it's merely Spirit Grade, then with all these Spirit Beasts eyeing it—even though the Ice Fire Demon Lotus has formidable offensive power—it won't be able to handle them. But if it's Saint Grade... never mind the sheer number of these Spirit Beasts, they might all end up regretting it..."
Jiang Chen mused.
Though he knew that obtaining an Ice Fire Lotus Seedpod would smooth his path toward the Spirit Realm and accelerate his progress, the seedpod was ultimately a one-time-use spiritual fruit. Once consumed and absorbed, it was gone.
It could help a Spirit Realm martial artist break through a bottleneck, but once used, its effect was spent.
Still, no matter how valuable it was, the Ice Fire Lotus Seedpod wasn't worth the risk for Jiang Chen. Snatching one in front of so many Spirit Beasts—setting aside whether he could even succeed, or dodge the Ice Fire Demon Lotus's attacks—those Spirit Beasts alone wouldn't tolerate a human stealing food from their mouths.
"The Ice Fire Lotus Seedpod may be good, but it's not worth me risking my life over." Jiang Chen's appetite and ambition were far greater than those of any Spirit Beast here.
"So many Spirit Beasts camped out here—the Ice Fire Demon Lotus must have diverted all its energy to dealing with them. There might actually be an opening!"
Jiang Chen had his advantages. His understanding of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus surpassed anything these Spirit Beasts could match.
These Spirit Beasts had come for the Ice Fire Demon Lotus's Ice Fire Lotus Seedpods. But Jiang Chen's target was the plant's very Life Spirit—the Flame Heart Ice Marrow!
If he could refine the Flame Heart Ice Marrow and merge it into his Spirit Sea, he would essentially inherit the Ice Fire Demon Lotus's abilities. Such an opportunity was beyond compare—no number of Ice Fire Lotus Seedpods could match it.
The Ice Fire Lotus Seedpod was merely the fruit of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus.