Chapter 282: Chapter 282: The Flower Lotus Matures

But by the time they arrived outside the cavern, Zhu Tianlan and his people were already long gone.

The Demon Beasts that had charged out had no choice but to retreat.

"Where are the humans?" the three Profound Beasts demanded coldly.

"My lords, those humans must have realized how powerful we are and suddenly retreated. We weren’t fast enough to catch them."

"Hmph. They know what’s good for them."

A glint flashed in the eyes of the three Profound Beasts.

But before they could even settle down, another thunderous roar echoed from the mouth of the cavern.

"Reporting, my lords! Those humans are back!"

"Damn it! Go and kill every last one of them!"

But by the time the Tier Five Demon Beasts rushed out, Zhu Tianlan’s human contingent had already retreated out of the cavern’s range.

All that remained were the corpses of several dozen Demon Beasts.

"My lords, the humans got away again."

"What?" The three Profound Beasts were furious.

Over the next two days, the Human Race Martial Artists, led by Zhu Tianlan, launched sporadic attacks on the Demon Beasts in the cavern. Each assault was merely a probing strike; they would kill a few, or perhaps a dozen, Demon Beasts before rapidly retreating.

"These damned humans."

The three Profound Beasts trembled with rage, itching to charge out and go on a killing spree. However, the Seven-Colored Lotus in the cavern prevented them from daring to leave its side for even a moment.

And so it went.

In just two short days, nearly two hundred Demon Beasts had died at the hands of Zhu Tianlan and his people.

Ye Xuan, who was making his own preparations in the forest outside the cavern, naturally learned of all this through the Little Purple Mink and was rather surprised.

The Demon Beasts’ strength should have far surpassed that of the Human Race, yet under the leadership of a few powerful human experts, they had actually gained a considerable advantage over the past two days.

However, even though he knew Chairman Dongfang Yanyu and the others were present, Ye Xuan still didn’t reveal himself.

His mind was completely focused on the Celestial Fire that might be in the magma cavern. His objective was entirely different from that of Zhu Tianlan and his group.

Seeing that few Demon Beasts remained outside, the three Profound Beasts grew restless.

"This can’t go on. If we let this continue, all of our subordinates will be wiped out."

It had to be said that while Profound Beasts possessed some intelligence, they were still a far cry from humans. Had Zhu Tianlan’s group been fighting other humans with this war of attrition, they would have been ambushed long ago.

Yet these three Profound Beasts only realized this when nearly all the low-tier Demon Beasts outside the cavern had been killed.

However, even though they understood their predicament, they couldn’t bear the thought of abandoning the Seven-Colored Lotus to set up an ambush for Zhu Tianlan’s group.

But if things continued this way, they would likely give the human Martial Artists an opportunity to storm the cavern.

After some discussion, the three Profound Beasts dispatched three of their subordinate Tier Five Demon Beasts to stand guard at the entrance.

Tier Five Demon Beasts already possessed a certain level of reasoning. Though they were extremely reluctant to leave the Seven-Colored Lotus in the middle of the Magma Lake, they had no choice but to obey their Profound Beast leaders’ commands and guard the entrance.

「In the mountain forest.」

A scout returned to the human encampment.

"Chairman Zhu Tianlan, the Profound Beasts inside seem to have raised their guard. They’ve sent three Tier Five Demon Beasts to the entrance, along with more than a dozen Tier Four Demon Beasts."

’Three Tier Five Demon Beasts?’

The experts from the Thirteen Nations Alliance all frowned.

They had only been able to conduct swift guerrilla attacks because the Demon Beasts guarding the entrance weren’t very strong, the most powerful among them being merely at Tier Four.

But now, with the sudden appearance of three Tier Five Demon Beasts, the situation had immediately become much more complicated.

By now, there were quite a few human experts gathered. There were five at the chairman level, all of whom were Tier Five Martial Sects.

In addition, there were nearly twenty vice-chairmen and elders, all of them masters at the Tier Four Celestial Martial Artist level.

It wouldn’t be too difficult for so many masters to deal with three Tier Five Demon Beasts. The problem was, if they couldn’t kill the beasts quickly, they would be in grave danger once the other Demon Beasts inside the cavern arrived as reinforcements.

Zhu Tianlan frowned. After pondering for a long while, he finally said, "In that case, let’s halt our attacks for the time being."

"Are we just going to give up on the treasure inside?"

Many of the Martial Artists immediately grew restless.

"Did I say we’re giving up?" Zhu Tianlan said solemnly. "The Demon Beasts inside are on full alert now. If we strike now, we have a chance of killing those three Tier Five Demon Beasts, but our group will very likely suffer casualties once the other beasts from inside the cavern arrive. I’m sure none of you want to see that happen, right?"

"My plan is to strike when the treasure inside finally emerges. The Profound Beasts will be too preoccupied to worry about the perimeter, giving us a much better chance to fight our way in with fewer casualties."

Zuo Yi Alliance shook his head. "Chairman Zhu Tianlan, your idea is a good one, but won’t it be too late if we wait for the treasure to emerge? By the time we fight our way in, the treasure might have already been claimed."

"As for casualties, the Floating Light Secret Realm is inherently dangerous. I’m sure everyone here came prepared for that. Besides, when has fighting for treasure ever been without casualties? In my view, we must enter the cavern as soon as possible to have any hope of competing with the Profound Beasts for it."

Zuo Yi Alliance urged the crowd.

’In his opinion, the deaths of a few Martial Artists would be perfectly normal. For the sake of the treasure, so what if the human Martial Artists here suffered heavy casualties?’

’The most important thing was to maximize his own chances of obtaining the treasure.’

"I think what Chairman Zuo Yi Alliance says makes a lot of sense."

Chairman Xuu Xin Hua of the Fire Crow Kingdom was the first to agree.

"Hmph," Dongfang Yanyu snorted. "I, for one, think Chairman Zhu Tianlan’s plan is the only viable one. We still don’t even know what the treasure in this cavern is. Everyone who entered the Floating Light Secret Realm is a genius Soul Refiner from our Thirteen Nations Alliance—our future. If we suffer heavy casualties for a single piece of treasure, the loss will far outweigh any potential gain."

"Chairman Dongfang Yanyu, aren’t you being a bit alarmist? Judging by the sheer number and quality of the Profound Beasts and Demon Beasts gathered here, the treasure in this cavern must be extraordinary. The reason our Thirteen Nations Alliance has failed to rise on the continent is precisely our lack of resources. Now that such a rare opportunity is before us, are we just going to cower like turtles in our shells? As long as we get the treasure, what do a few casualties matter?"

"’A few casualties.’ Easy for you to say. The ones dying will be the ordinary Martial Artists here, while you’ll be among those who get a piece of the treasure, won’t you? In other words, even if an ordinary Martial Artist obtained the treasure, it would still end up in your hands, wouldn’t it?"

"Dongfang Yanyu, what are you implying?" Zuo Yi Alliance’s expression darkened.

"What am I implying? Surely the great Chairman of the Zuo Yi Alliance knows exactly what I mean," Dongfang Yanyu said with a derisive smile.

"I, Zuo Yi Alliance, am an honorable man! How could I be the kind of person you describe? We are all gathered here to compete fairly. When the time comes, getting the treasure will be a matter of individual skill. Even if a disciple from my own Dongsheng Kingdom were to obtain it, would I stoop so low as to snatch it from them?"

"Is that so?" Dongfang Yanyu smiled faintly and fell silent.

Many of the Martial Artists present had initially been very interested in Zuo Yi Alliance’s proposal. But after hearing Dongfang Yanyu’s words, a chill ran down their spines, and cold sweat beaded on their backs.

They had all been blinded by the allure of the treasure, single-mindedly focused on obtaining it.

’They hadn’t stopped to think. With all the chairmen and experts from the major kingdoms present, with their level of strength, could any of them really be the one to get the treasure in the end?’

’They might risk their lives, fight to the death, or even perish, only to have been doing someone else’s dirty work all along.’

"I agree with Chairman Zhu Tianlan’s decision."

"Chairman Dongfang Yanyu is right. We should wait for the treasure to emerge and then attack during the ensuing chaos."

One after another, the Martial Artists expressed their opinions.

"Damn it." Seeing so many people supporting Dongfang Yanyu and Zhu Tianlan, Zuo Yi Alliance and his faction shot a resentful glare at Dongfang Yanyu before reluctantly agreeing to the decision.

Luan Hong, who had been observing Zhu Tianlan’s group, saw this unfold and smiled coldly.

’So these guys aren’t complete idiots after all. In that case, we’ll wait too. From the looks of it, the Spirit Medicine should mature within the next day or two.’

Luan Hong, who had long since made his preparations, smiled confidently.

Deep underground, Ye Xuan was also busily and nervously making preparations.

Suddenly, his expression changed, becoming extremely grave.

He looked down, his gaze seeming to pierce deep into the earth.

’This faint fluctuation... The Seven-Colored Lotus is about to mature.’

Without a second thought, Ye Xuan shot down the tunnel he had already dug, racing toward the depths.

At that very moment, in the cavern deep within the mountain...

RUMBLE!

An infinite, iridescent light suddenly erupted forth.

The entire mountain peak trembled faintly.

"The treasure is emerging!"

The eyes of Zhu Tianlan and the others, who had been waiting for this, all lit up.

"On my command—charge!"

The human Martial Artists had waited a long time for this moment. Over a hundred human experts swarmed like locusts, charging viciously toward the three Tier Five Demon Beasts at the cavern’s mouth.

Another Tier Five Martial Sect had arrived during their wait, so now a full six Martial Sects attacked in unison, leading the charge against the dozens of Demon Beasts at the entrance.

Despite being guarded by three Tier Five Demon Beasts, the entrance quickly fell. The human experts attacking them were double their number.

「Inside the subterranean cavern.」

The three Profound Beasts had also just received news of the human attack.

But right now, they couldn’t be bothered with that.

BOOM!

The once-calm Magma Lake was now churning violently. The red, protective barrier around the Seven-Colored Lotus in its center was gradually fading, revealing a lotus with seven dazzling buds to all the Profound Beasts.