Starting as a spiritual plant master, may I eventually become the master of all lands.

The stench of decaying corpses filled the entire space of the air-locking talisman, making the four of them feel unbearably suffocated.

"Not good! This Qi-locking talisman can't completely lock in the aura. Senior Brother Zhang, you go outside and keep watch. I'll do my best to activate the talisman. Ga! Fellow Daoist Meng and Junior Brother Yu, once the Great King's Corpse Flower is fully open, hurry and pick it!"

Zhuang Xiuya's face turned ugly. She patted her neck and quickly gave instructions.

With a leap, Old Zhang E was outside.

Just moments later, rustling sounds could be heard from the woods.

Strange bird calls could be heard from the sky in the distance.

Old Zhang frowned deeply; this was too fast.

Song Chuan glanced outside and sighed inwardly. The world is naturally interconnected, and there's no reason why only cultivators would know that there's a Great Corpse Flower here.

It would be strange if those carrion-eating insects and beasts didn't come running at the first sign of trouble!

Some might even have been waiting nearby all along. It's just that they are less intelligent than humans.

Just as the putrid stench reached its peak and the King Corpse Flower fully bloomed, Song Chuan and Yu Banji quickly began picking the petals.

The picking of flower petals is also extremely particular!

You must apply a light layer of magic to your hands and gently knead the base of the petals to soften them and allow them to fall off on their own. Otherwise, if you touch and pluck them directly, the flower will wither instantly.

Zhuang Xiuya looked at Song Chuan picking flowers, lost in thought.

Although I had explained the precautions for picking to him beforehand, I didn't expect that he would make no mistakes and move so skillfully.

Suddenly, she straightened up again, and a crackling sound came from outside the Qi-locking talisman.

It turned out to be a bunch of carrion worms of various shapes, frantically ramming against the protective shield of the air-locking talisman.

Then look at Old Goose Zhang, who is directing a long-handled spoon-shaped magical artifact to drive away dozens of vultures in the sky.

These vultures all exuded a faint demonic aura. Although they were not true demonic birds, they lingered in flocks and never dispersed.

Old Zhang patted his waist again, and a large white goose with red feet suddenly appeared beside him, flapping its wings to catch insects in the low air.

Song Chuan's eyes narrowed; this goose was actually a first-stage spirit beast.

Spirit beasts are monsters that have been raised and domesticated by humans.

Ordinary wild beasts only become true demonic beasts when they reach the first rank, equivalent to the Qi Refining stage of humans.

Just as he was feeling envious, a buzzing sound rang out, the sound of a group of colorful little insects flapping their wings.

These insects, resembling flies but not quite, numbered in the hundreds, and all were imbued with a trace of demonic energy.

Blowflies! These insects feed exclusively on carrion. Song Chuan recognized their origin. Fortunately, there weren't any first-tier blowflies among them.

The white goose rushed into the swarm of blowflies, spread its wings, and created several powerful gusts of wind that blew the blowflies about, many of which were even blown to their deaths.

Colorful insect corpses lay scattered on the ground.

However, besides the blowflies, many more strange swarms of insects flew in, bypassing the spirit goose and rushing toward the airlock talisman.

Zhuang Xiuya separated one hand to control the talisman, grabbed and scattered it from her waist, and a series of "quack quack" sounds came from the air as dozens of ducklings that had not yet grown up landed on the ground.

It's beige, fluffy, and incredibly cute.

"Let the little duck that I raised for cooking be released too."

Although these spirit ducks have not reached the first rank, their large numbers make them the nemesis of these insects.

"Aren't you going to release your spirit chicken?" Song Chuan asked, looking at Yu Banji.

In his mind, since geese and ducks have appeared, chickens should also be included.

"Where would you find so many spiritual creatures? Spiritual chickens are hard to come by!" Yu Banji replied, his hands still moving.

At that moment, Song Chuan felt a movement in his chest, and a pink and white "flower" suddenly emerged from his arms.

With a faint buzzing sound, the strange insect soared into the air and vanished into the night in an instant.

Yu Banji looked around suspiciously and asked, "Did you just release something?"

Song Chuan looked slightly embarrassed: "My little spirit insect is nothing to mention."

"I didn't even see what it was..." Yu Banji muttered to himself, and continued picking.

Song Chuan was on a boat on the lake to Daicheng when he discovered that this insect had followed him out.

Song Chuan originally wanted to throw it away, since it wouldn't be of much help to him at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

But on second thought, this insect is actually quite helpful in managing the medicinal herb garden, and it might come in handy when we go to the Vine Flower Valley in the future.

Furthermore, this insect was indeed peculiar, and it might even become a first-tier demonic insect in the future. So he decided to take it with him.

At that moment, Song Chuan and Yu Banji each picked a flower petal.

Song Chuan was several breaths faster than Yu Banji, and the petals were perfectly intact. He carefully handed the petals to Yu Banji.

The base of the petals picked by Yu Banji was slightly damaged.

He glanced at Song Chuan and thought to himself, "Senior Sister Zhuang was right; this person is truly skilled at picking the Great Corpse Flower."

While pondering, Yu Banji pointed at the petal, which shrank to about a foot in length. He quickly put the petal into the prepared jade box.

This is "shrinking magic," one of the most basic spells.

Just as they were about to pick the second petal, the swarm of insects outside had already become overwhelming.

Two more vultures appeared in the sky, larger in size and with whiskers-like hairs on their chins.

"A Tier 1 early-stage demonic bird, a Huwu Vulture! This is troublesome," Old Goose Zhang muttered.

This is a genuine demonic bird!

Two vultures circled in the air, not coming down, seemingly observing the situation.

But at that moment, another unexpected event occurred.

Five figures leaped from afar, landing a dozen feet away from the four in the blink of an eye.

Old Zhang looked at the five people, his face twitched, and a fierce look appeared on his face.

Song Chuan's face was grim, for he recognized two of the five people.

Those two were Li Kefeng and Mi Cheng, whom we met at the Xueye Ferry.

The other three included a black-clad man with a smile on his lips. This man was at the sixth level of Qi Refining, just like Old Goose Zhang, with a powerful aura. He was only a hair's breadth away from advancing to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

He was standing at the very front, so he must have been the leader.

The other two were both at the fourth level of Qi Refining; one was a one-eyed man wearing an eye patch, and the other was an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman.

The five people stood there quietly, observing the situation.

The middle-aged woman and the one-eyed man whispered something to each other, their behavior intimate, suggesting they were a couple.

The scene quieted down for a moment, and even the insects and birds seemed to calm down.

"I came here in search of this fellow Daoist, but I never expected to make such an unexpected discovery."

The man in black first glanced at Song Chuan, then stared intently at the Great King Corpse Flower, a flash of joy crossing his eyes.

Zhuang Xiuya and the other two looked at Song Chuan with slightly cold expressions and puzzled.

"May I ask what business this fellow Daoist has with me?"

Song Chuan said calmly, but the moment he saw Mi Cheng and Li Kefeng, he had already guessed most of the situation.

Zhuang Xiuya was right; he had indeed been targeted.

He truly hadn't expected that the little incident at the Snowfield Ferry would lead these two, along with others, to follow him.

Song Chuan couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. If he had chosen to spend a night in the wilderness of Daicheng, the consequences would have been unpredictable.

"Your matter isn't urgent. Why don't we first discuss how to distribute this Great Corpse Flower? After all, it won't wait for us. What do you say, Fellow Daoist Zhang?"

The man in black who was leading the group looked at Song Chuan, then said to Zhang Lao'e.

This person actually knew Zhang Lao'e.

This made Song Chuan tense instantly.