Chapter 2679 - 2655: Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan

Chapter 2679: Chapter 2655: Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan

Chapter 2655: Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan

As everyone chatted while traveling, they unknowingly arrived at the entrance of Ice Flower Valley after two days.

Before them was a valley covered in snow year-round. From afar, the entire valley was blanketed in white. The valley wasn’t as large as imagined, only about a dozen miles in radius. A faint white mist permeated the valley, adding an air of mystery. Most peculiarly, the trees at the entrance of the valley were encased in ice, shimmering with a glistening light.

"Boss, this tree isn’t a tree at all!" Ma Biaohu approached the entrance of the valley, discovering that the giant trees reaching the sky weren’t plants covered in ice and snow but were entirely made of condensed ice, with trunks and branches being fully transparent ice crystals.

Lin Feng approached and found it quite strange. This might be the oddity of the valley, and the mist above triggered his suspicions.

After contemplating for a while, he caught a thread of a clue, recalling an Ancient Book he had read once. It mentioned a poison in the air that was undetectable. Once contacted, the body would rot, and even the strongest cultivator could not withstand it. If the valley’s atmosphere was poisonous, inhaling it would form ice within the body; perhaps that’s why all the creatures around were nourished by this atmosphere and growing, making sense.

He then asked Ao Lin, "Clan Leader, do these trees grow?"

The old Clan Leader examined them seriously, reminisced for a moment, and said, "It seems they’ve grown quite a bit since I was here hundreds of years ago."

He had been here hundreds of years ago, and back then, the trees beside the valley weren’t so tall, nor as lush. If Lin Feng hadn’t pointed it out, he truly wouldn’t have noticed the difference, but now it seemed terrifying. How could these trees made of ice possibly grow? Could they be alive?

Lin Feng nodded, perhaps the issue in the valley was as he suspected. If everyone went in, it would be too dangerous. He then said to everyone, "I’ll go in alone to take a look, and you all wait outside for me."

"Boss, we’ll go with you!" Purple Thunder Transforming Sky Dragon and Nether Thunder Heaven Devouring Tiger said to Lin Feng. Although they didn’t know what it was like inside, they were worried for Lin Feng’s safety and insisted on going with him.

"No need, you all just wait for me." Lin Feng smiled faintly at everyone, then stood outside the valley, contemplating for a moment, and closed his eyes, releasing the Eternal Divine Flame.

The Eternal Divine Flame enveloped Lin Feng, with a golden flame surrounding him, forming a protective shield glowing with golden light, safeguarding him within as he proceeded into Ice Flower Valley.

Lin Feng used the Eternal Divine Flame for protection because all poisonous gases were extremely yin and cold, while the Eternal Divine Flame was extremely yang and firm, countering yin. In the face of unknown dangers, it’s better to be prepared. If the valley’s atmosphere was truly poisonous, it would dissipate upon contact with the Eternal Divine Flame.

He intended to find the source of the poison; such an eerie atmosphere couldn’t appear out of nowhere. There must be someone, somewhere, or a demon beast creating such an atmosphere.

Once inside the valley, Lin Feng truly felt the uniqueness. Not only were the trees outside made of ice, but all trees and even the ground flowers and grass inside the valley were entirely formed of condensed ice. And the ground was entirely covered in snow. In such an environment, no life could grow, making it increasingly strange to him as he walked.

He crouched down to examine them carefully, finding that some of the flowers were even changing, and he could clearly see the blooming process. Were these flowers and grasses alive?

Not far away, he saw several ice sculptures standing amidst the ice flowers, in human or demon beast shapes, but without any bodies of humans or demon beasts inside. They had completely transformed into ice sculptures, entirely transparent from inside to out, yet their eyes were wide open with expressions of extreme panic. It was likely how they appeared just before freezing to death.

The air in the valley was filled with a faint, colorless, and odorless mist. Lin Feng could sense a different presence in the air, and the mist turned into small, transparent crystals upon contacting the Eternal Divine Flame. He believed this must be the poison within the valley, but where did this poison come from?

Lin Feng continued walking and observing, walking for about two hours until he discovered a peculiar and enormous tree growing several hundred feet away. This tree wasn’t like the other trees growing in rows; it grew alone in a large open space.

This tree was much sturdier than the others, standing dozens of feet tall, and was unquestionably made of condensed ice, like a grand ice sculpture. Yet its canopy was exceptionally lush, with ice crystal leaves clattering as the wind blew through.

Upon closer inspection, Lin Feng distinctly felt a different presence. This tree was definitely not a simple plant. Like the Snow Domain Longevity Fruit encountered earlier, it seemed to possess a demon beast’s aura, and upon closer scrutiny, emanated a faint Cold Qi from within, similar to the mist within the valley.

He didn’t approach too closely but stopped some distance away, closing his eyes to attempt communication with the tree using Divine Sense. If this tree had evolved into a demon beast and acquired Spirit Wisdom, it would surely respond.

Suddenly, the leaves of the tree rustled rapidly, like being awakened from slumber. Lin Feng sensed something and, with a tentative attitude, asked using Divine Sense, "What kind of tree are you?"

After waiting for quite a while without a response, just as Lin Feng was about to continue asking, a stammering voice appeared in Lin Feng’s mind: "I... am... Myriad Valleys... Ice Banyan."

"How long have you been evolving into a Demon Beast?" Hearing this tree respond, Lin Feng continued asking. Being able to communicate was good, but the tone was disjointed, like a child who’s just learning to speak, which was quite interesting. This tree might have just advanced to a Demon Beast, not yet mastering its Spirit Wisdom, and its reaction was very slow, resulting in such an outcome.

"Don’t... know..." Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan slowly uttered three words. It was its first time communicating with a human since evolving from a plant to a Demon Beast, which was really difficult for it.

Hearing such a response, Lin Feng shook his head and then continued, "Since when have you been here?"

Looking at this tree, so tall and lush, it must have been here for quite some time, and evolving into a Demon Beast requires long-term cultivation.

"Don’t... know..."

Still the same answer, Lin Feng was quite speechless, it really was clueless. So he went straight to the point, wanting to know what the aura in this valley was about, and asked Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan: "Is the gas in the valley that can freeze anything your doing?"

This question might have been a bit long, and Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan found it hard to understand. After a long time, it finally replied with one word: "Yes!"

"Why?" Lin Feng asked. He guessed correctly, but why was Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan emitting so much toxic gas?

"Protection!" Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan replied. It took years of cultivation before it finally evolved into the form of a Demon Beast and gained some intelligence. If it didn’t protect itself, its territory would have been taken over by other Demon Beasts or humans long ago.

After hearing Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan’s words, Lin Feng thought for a moment, agreeing that everything in the world has a spirit, and Demon Beasts and plants all aim to protect themselves. Without strong defenses, surviving in this Southern Region would be impossible. With this in mind, he understood why the valley was full of toxic gas.

So he continued asking, "Besides me, has anyone else been here?"

He recalled seeing a few ice sculpture corpses along the way. Someone had explored this place before but was frozen to death upon entering, and he really wanted to know if anyone else had ever come to this tree.

"Human?" Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan didn’t understand. What was a human? In its concept, there were only Demon Beasts.

Shaking his head helplessly, Lin Feng found it both funny and frustrating. Then he explained, "Like me!"

Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan thought for a moment and said, "There... was... one."

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng was very surprised. Could there have been someone else who entered without being frozen? That person’s strength must be above a Divine Venerable, so he continued asking, "What did they look like?"

"Like... you!" Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan immediately replied.

Lin Feng was at a loss for words, then thought for a moment and gave up. This Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan had just awakened its Spirit Wisdom and could not engage in deeper conversation. Asking further would be futile, but he could confirm one thing: someone had indeed entered here and seen this Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan. Who could it be?

Scanning the entire valley, Lin Feng did not discover anything particularly special. The entire aura of the valley was produced by this Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan, but he never intended to harm it. After all, evolving into a Demon Beast was no easy feat, and as long as it didn’t threaten others in this Ice Flower Valley, it was fine.

As he turned to leave, he suddenly remembered the gas being very potent. If he could collect a bit of it, it might come in handy in the future. So he asked Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan, "Could you give me some of your poison?"

Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan saw that Lin Feng had spent a long time here without harming it, and knowing that it feared fire, Lin Feng, covered with the Eternal Divine Flame, had been standing at a distance. It thus regarded Lin Feng as a good person and replied, "Can... do..."

Just then, a branch of the Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan, made of ice crystals, extended down, reaching out in front of Lin Feng. The entire branch was crystal clear, shimmering brightly. Then the tip of the branch suddenly emitted a white light, condensing slowly like a droplet of water, finally forming an egg-sized droplet hanging from the tip.

"Thank you." Lin Feng found this droplet truly fascinating. Inside the Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan, it was a liquid, which turned into a gas when it was released into the air. Then he took out a small box from his space and placed the droplet inside. After expressing his gratitude to Myriad Valleys Ice Banyan, he turned and left.