Chapter 313: The Nether Flower

Looking down, Rod and Lucy were now about a hundred meters above the ground. Falling from such a height posed difficulties, mainly due to the strange gravitational pull below, which prevented Rod from utilizing his combat energy. Jumping down would mean plummeting like a stone under that pull, yielding no advantage at all. After thinking for a while, Rod focused his gaze once again on the Xuanyuan Sword. He tried to communicate with the sword’s spirit, hoping to gain its help again.

Rod was also puzzled by what had happened earlier—why did Xuanyuan have such an effect? Was it accidental or inevitable? He needed to figure this out, as it was a matter of life and death!

“Never mind. Pour all your combat energy into it; I’ll take you down!” It seemed the Xuanyuan Sword’s spirit sensed Rod’s thoughts, as its voice echoed in his mind.

“Really?” Rod was about to ask when Xuanyuan spoke first, leaving him slightly embarrassed.

“It will cost some energy, but you can compensate me by practicing harder!” Since Xuanyuan had now formally entered into a contract with Rod, it could replenish its energy from Rod, so it wasn’t too worried about this.

“Okay, then let’s get ready. We’ll go down soon!” Confirmed, Rod’s mood improved greatly as he spoke to Xuanyuan, tightening his grip on the Sacred Sword of Xuanyuan.

“Are you ready?” He then turned to Lucy.

At that moment, Lucy held a green magical staff—something Rod had never seen before. It shared the same color as the nether hellfire surrounding her. She gave him a deep look, and Rod thought to himself that this girl surely hid many secrets.

“Mm, almost. We can set off now!” Hearing Rod’s question, Lucy nodded in response.

Taking a deep breath and looking down, they realized they had no other choice but to proceed. Even though they knew the dangers below, they had no alternative but to move forward.

On another note, Rod had a vague feeling that the Nether Flower might be found here. The deathly atmosphere here was incomparable to that above—extremely dense. Moreover, due to its secluded location, the dragon clan and the Scorpion King’s clan had searched many parts of this battlefield before, but they had never been here. This meant the chances of finding the Nether Flower were highest here.

“Get on my back and hold on tight!” Taking a deep breath, Rod slowly channeled his combat energy into Xuanyuan’s sword before speaking to Lucy.
Hearing Rod’s words, Lucy’s cheeks turned slightly red. She seemed to recall the time when Rod had carried her through a desperate situation, feeling warmth in her heart. A faint, gentle smile appeared on her lips as she softly responded before stepping behind Rod and letting him carry her.
As they spent time together, Lucy felt a warm aura emanating from Rod. In such a gloomy place, it was incredibly comforting! Looking down at the focused expression on the man before her, her face was filled with happiness. At this moment, she was fearless. Even if it was hell below, what did it matter? As long as she could walk alongside her beloved man, she feared nothing—even if it meant diving into a den of dragons and tigers or the depths of hell.
Rod, however, had no idea about Lucy’s thoughts and expressions. He was completely focused on Xuanyuan. As the combat energy flowed into the sword, its ancient blade gradually began to emit a faint glow, which eventually intensified, shining like a light source in the darkness.
“Let’s go!” At Xuanyuan’s signal, Rod shouted softly and leaped forward. Immediately, they felt a powerful suction force pulling them downward, while Xuanyuan’s sword exerted a pulling force to slow them down. In this situation, they descended toward the valley like parachutists, swaying gently.
The gloomy atmosphere grew denser, with a palpable sense of death and resentment condensing into black and green mists that drifted slowly in the air. Below, eerie winds howled sharply, their piercing sounds haunting.
It took over a minute before they finally reached the bottom. The sight before them left both of them wide-eyed in disbelief, and Lucy let out a gasp.
For miles around the valley, everything was covered in white bones—purely bones! Of monsters, humans… every kind of bone. A thick stench of decay filled the entire area!
Whoosh… The winds howled wildly! On both sides were canyons, with the remaining canyon stretching east to west, forming a natural barrier. The winds from the death battlefield blew from east to west, becoming even more fierce through this passage. Their howling was truly terrifying.

After observing carefully, Rod also figured out the source of that suction force. The cold winds passing through this valley and then through a strange cave seemed to have caused some changes, resulting in the creation of that suction force. Rod wasn’t really concerned about this; he was simply stunned by the scene before him. These piles of white bones surely covered the lives of hundreds of thousands of people—a veritable mass grave. What exactly had happened here? What kind of history did this place have? Why was it so tragic and desolate? The eerie atmosphere made one feel sorrowful and distressed.

Deadly energy and resentment could be seen everywhere around them. Clearly, it was these undead causing trouble. Taking a deep breath, Rod turned to look at Lucy, who had buried her head in his arms. “Don’t be afraid. It’s okay now!”

He smiled bitterly inwardly, understanding Lucy’s feelings at that moment. Not to mention her, even he had felt uneasy the first time he saw this scene—almost jumping in shock. How much more so for a young girl?

The flames of the Nether Hell were particularly prominent in this valley filled with howling winds. The flames kept drifting, seemingly absorbing the surrounding dead energy and darkness. Rod also felt a chill—this dead energy and resentment were too powerful, so powerful that he found it hard to adapt.

“Nether Flowers!” Suddenly, Rod shouted at Lucy. Indeed, wasn’t this the best place for Nether Flowers to grow? If there was a place on the battlefield of death where Nether Flowers were most likely to grow, it would definitely be here. If they couldn’t find them here, there was no hope elsewhere!

With this thought, Rod felt a glimmer of expectation. He looked around—only piles of white bones and decaying weapons and armor. It seemed that the battle between gods and demons had been quite fierce.

“Alright, it’s okay now. Come, let’s see if we can find Nether Flowers!” Rod said with a smile, looking at Lucy, who had calmed down in his arms.

“Mm! Will Brother Rod look down on Lucy for being so timid?” she replied softly, then, as if suddenly remembering something, she asked Rod worriedly.

“How could that be? Stop worrying. Let’s go!” Rod said, patting the girl’s head.

Then he led Lucy forward carefully. In this gloomy place, full of the unknown, anything could happen. Danger was everywhere, forcing the two of them to be cautious.

As the two walked deeper, more and more white bones appeared ahead, piled up in mountains everywhere—a terrifying sight. It was impossible to know how much blood had been shed here. Could this be the place where corpses were disposed of during the ancient wars between gods and demons? Perhaps that was the only explanation.

At dawn, a deathly atmosphere surrounded them, with cold winds blowing. The white bones gave off a chilling vibe. To add to this, they had to walk among the bones in strong winds, stepping on them with each step, hearing the crackling sound as they sank in.

Lucy was already on Rod’s back. Rod knew it was impossible for her to move forward on her own under such circumstances.

After climbing over a pile of bones, the two arrived in a valley wide enough to hold a hole—again, filled with bones! But there was a different atmosphere here; the deathly presence wasn’t as strong. Just as they were puzzled, Lucy’s excited voice came from behind them.

“Nether Flowers! Brother Rod, it’s the Nether Flowers! See? There are several! Hurry, let’s go over there!”

Hearing Lucy’s words, Rod quickly looked up. Sure enough, a few purple-black flowers stood not far away, emitting a faint, enchanting fragrance. There was no sign of deathly energy around them.

“Let’s go take a look!” Rod said to Lucy, trying to suppress his excitement.

Carrying Lucy, he rushed over to the purple-black flowers. Rod’s face twitched, and his whole body trembled slightly.

Yes, weren’t these the Nether Flowers? Their purple-black color indicated that they had reached maturity.

Nether Flowers grew in the darkest, most deathly places, surviving on deathly energy, resentment, and murderous intent. They were extremely rare, almost priceless, and only appeared once in a hundred years.

These flowers had strict requirements for their growing environment—only in places like mass graves might one or two be found! They were incredibly precious, and their growth process was astonishing. It took ten years for them to bloom, with the buds taking three years to open each time, lasting for a year before withering away, including their roots. Thus, it took fourteen years for a single Nether Flower to emerge—making them extremely hard to find.

Looking at the flowers before them, to ensure nothing went wrong, Rod set Lucy down. The two began to study the Nether Flower to confirm it was genuine, while also preparing the materials needed to harvest it. “Each Nether Flower is the size of a fist, with thirteen petals in a peculiar distribution of purple and black. Its stem is a black, sturdy structure as hard as bone! Each flower emits a faint, enchanting fragrance—extremely alluring! Meanwhile, the bud at its center resembles teeth in a mouth, constantly sucking in anything it touches, capable of cutting through anything!” Lucy murmured as she studied it, and finally excitement flashed in her eyes: “That’s right, it’s the Nether Flower! Big brother, it’s definitely this one!”