Before them, in the clear sky, countless red flowers were blooming.
The flowers were like waves of heat in the summer, flushed and conspicuous.
Amidst the ice and snow, seeing such a fiery red brought a touch of warmth even on a cold day.
"So beautiful."
Shirley Yang couldn't help but exclaim, looking at the sea of flowers before them.
Red flowers filled the entire valley.
After all, a small mountain had a diameter of at least several hundred meters.
And these flowers left no gaps.
"Whoosh."
As Zhang Tian and the others entered, a faint breeze stirred around them.
In the center of the flower sea, Zhang Tian discovered a structure.
"Boss, that looks like an altar."
Fatty pointed at the building in the distance.
Zhang Tian was not surprised at all by the appearance of an altar in this place.
It had been mentioned before that the ethnic groups here had a tradition of sacrifice.
Little Brother's mother was once a sacrificial victim.
If it weren't for that sacrifice, Zhang Qilin might not have existed later.
Now, this altar looked somewhat dilapidated.
It seemed no one had visited for a long time, and some flower buds had even grown on the altar itself.
"Boss, what do you think these flowers are for?"
Fatty no longer believed in the harmlessness of flowers.
Now, seeing the flowers made him feel as if he were looking at something dangerous, and he was very cautious.
Zhang Tian looked at the red flowers before him.
These flowers were undoubtedly the Canghai flowers.
The petals of the flowers were red with some patterns, and they were as large as Zhang Tian's palm.
The petals were spread open, much like peonies in the setting sun.
Beneath the petals were green stems, resembling rows of small sunflowers.
"The mist from before, if I'm not mistaken, was caused by these things."
"These flowers likely have hallucinogenic properties."
Zhang Tian said.
He clearly remembered what happened last night.
If he wasn't mistaken, these Canghai flowers were far more than just simple flora.
"How about I burn this place down, Boss?"
Fatty looked at the sea of Canghai flowers and couldn't help but suggest.
Zhang Tian shook his head.
"Although these flowers are dangerous, they have immense research value."
As Zhang Tian spoke, he was eager to know how these Canghai flowers preserved a person's soul.
And why were some souls controlled while Baima's was not?
Zhang Tian wanted to figure out all of it.
Only by understanding these things could Zhang Tian possibly discover the deeper uses of the Canghai flowers.
"So what do we do now? We can't burn it, Old Hu, can you find the location?"
Fatty pouted and turned his gaze to Hu Bayi.
Hu Bayi held his compass and shook his head slightly.
Hu Bayi could find his way, but he had no idea about finding souls.
At this moment, Zhang Qilin stood at the forefront of the group.
He gazed at the red sea of flowers without making any move.
He seemed to be lost in thought, or perhaps just spacing out.
"By the way, Second Brother, do you know the location?"
Fatty looked at Zhang Qilin.
Since Zhang Qilin had been here before, Fatty instinctively assumed he might still know some clues.
Zhang Qilin slowly shook his head.
He didn't know either, as he had never been here before.
He hadn't even entered through the stone gate back then.
"I suspect that altar is the most likely place."
Wu Tianzhen pointed at the altar.
Zhang Tian nodded. Generally, people would assume that an altar was the key to excavation.
However, Zhang Tian felt something was amiss.
Logically, an altar was used for sacrifices.
Baima had escaped the sacrifice, and it was unlikely she would be sacrificed after her death.
Therefore, Zhang Tian suspected the probability of finding something at the altar was not very high.
"Then let's go take a look there."
Seeing Zhang Tian nod, Fatty eagerly said.
"Don't rush, Fatty, look, it's getting dark."
Zhang Tian pointed at the setting sun.
Since they had spent a considerable amount of time in the cave, it was already late afternoon when they entered.
If night fell, Zhang Tian was curious to see how these Canghai flowers secreted that mist.
And what their source was.
"Oh my, it's almost dark, Little Master Zhang, shouldn't we hurry to that altar?"
Wang Banyue looked at Zhang Tian and asked.
"If we're going, I think it's best to set some explosives around the perimeter."
Shirley Yang also chimed in.
Zhang Tian waved his hand, not suggesting they enter immediately.
"It would be too dangerous to go in now. I suggest we wait until nightfall."
Zhang Tian said, and the others looked confused.
"Boss, wouldn't it be even more dangerous at night this way?"
Fatty looked at Zhang Tian, puzzled.
Zhang Tian shook his head slightly.
"No, it will only be dangerous once we go in. The location won't be that easy to find."
"If we go in, we might spend until late at night searching for the spot, which could lead to us being ambushed. We are relatively safer here."
Zhang Tian explained.
If the location at the altar were so easy to find, there would be no point in this place existing.
Some tomb-robbing gangs or local teams would have already plundered it empty.
Therefore, it was highly unlikely to be that simple.
Hearing Zhang Tian's explanation, everyone nodded in understanding.
Fatty even gave a thumbs up.
"As expected of the boss, your thinking is thorough. Then let's go to that cave now."
"We'll just sleep until morning."
Fatty said, intending to go for another nap.
"Brother Kaiyuan, last night we fought all night, and you slept like a log."
Wang Banyue said helplessly from the side.
Fatty looked utterly bewildered.
What was going on?
They had fought? A whole group of them?
"Boss, you guys fought? With so many people, how could you all be together?"
Fatty asked, and Zhang Tian instantly understood.
He realized that he used to never understand things so quickly.
What was happening now? The moment Fatty spoke, he immediately understood.
"Family, who understands!"
Zhang Tian rolled his eyes at Fatty and then said.
"These flowers release a dense mist, and we might face those things again tonight."
"Therefore, there's little chance of resting tonight."
After Zhang Tian finished speaking, Fatty rubbed his cheek.
"I thought it was something else. So that's what it is. These Canghai flowers are truly strange, they even spray mist. I wonder what use they are if brought back."
Fatty murmured, his gaze falling on the flower buds before him.
In Fatty's eyes, the Canghai flowers before him began to sway.
Immediately, streams of strange white smoke gushed from the center of the Canghai flowers.
"Uh, Boss, that should be the mist, right?"
Fatty pointed at the Canghai flowers before him.
When Zhang Tian saw the Canghai flowers beginning to secrete white mist, his heart skipped a beat. Had their arrival accelerated the flowers' process?!