Even after collecting the first Star Soul Chrysanthemum, Yasenia didn't return. She went around and collected another three of them. This would give her two chances for each of the final pills.
In her mind, she didn't have that much time, but just in case. Moreover, it only took an extra day to collect them. Now that she could sense them within their domain, they were not much more difficult to collect compared to the average 500,000-year-old spiritual herbs.
What delayed Yasenia from returning was the other plant type she encountered in the middle with a peculiar name. "So… According to the encyclopedia of that alchemist, these monsters belong to the [Star Spirit Spider Lily]."
In front of Yasenia, there was a large twitching ruby-red spider with green eyes. As she was roaming the inner forest in search of the Star Soul Chrysanthemums, this beast suddenly jumped on her, trying to bite her.
Of course, like any person would do the moment a spider jumped at their face, Yasenia struck it down and pummeled it until it was dead. Soluna chuckled. "Your face while smashing that spider was a piece of art. Did it scare you?"
Yasenia rolled her eyes. "It surprised me, not scared me. Do you know how it feels to look around, only for an ugly insectoid mouth to appear right in front of your eyes? This thing doesn't even have a shred of presence! It's like a rock at the side."
Sui Xing chuckled and pointed at the book. "According to the book, these spiders are something like seeds for the [Star Spirit Spider Lily]. Their cores are hidden below a layer of dead petal carapace, and they plant themselves on people they immobilize."
Yasenia's face twitched. "Thank you for clarifying information that was utterly not necessary to know, Sui Xing."
Sighing, the dragoness looked around and grumbled. "There are not many flowers in the inner core area either way, so this one is probably the one I will need for the last pill, right?"
The four beings who actively talked inside her Dantian nodded.
"Yes."
"Yup!"
"Most likely."
"Yasenia, you are so clever! Hehehe."
The dragoness blinked and tilted her head. "So… How do I approach a plant that's guarded by thousands of these monsters, which I can't detect even with my improved Spiritual Sense?"
"Well…" Soluna spoke adorably. "How about smashing your way in and just pummeling everything in your way? I think that among all the flowers you've found, this one is the most suitable for such methods."
Yasenia tapped her chin with her finger, thoughtful. For once, Sui Xing supported the idea. "The Star Spirit Spider Lily's monsters have better stealth and detection than you. However, their strength is lacking compared to yours. After all, you beat it up without any buffs whatsoever. So, even if a few hundred of these appear, you will be able to deal with them."
The dragoness crossed her arms and eventually nodded. "Alright, let's get this one so that we don't have to exit the central area of the garden again. Each time I come out, I feel like I end up encountering someone I don't want to."
Dramel spoke with a tilted head. "Haven't you collected quite a few Spatial Rings after those meetings and benefited?"
The dragoness, who was about to take a confident step forward, didn't even change her expression as she answered. "It's their fortune for their treasures to fall into my claws. How would I have saved them otherwise?"
Dramel admired. "Whoa… You don't even blush when saying such shameless things."
Clearing her throat, Yasenia stepped forward. "Let's go get the Star Spirit Spider Lily!"
"Don't ignore me!"
***
Far inside the Star Spirit Spider Lily domain, a group of people fought desperately against the endless barrage of spiders jumping their way. The person at the front held her large shield high, effortlessly blocking all of the attacks. Sadly, she could only protect so many people with one shield.
"Lataria, move towards the middle. Let your aunt step forward!"
"Got it!"
The blue-winged Divine nodded and jumped back, instantly changing positions with another Divine. As they fought, Lataria's expression crumpled slightly. "Who would've thought that this place had three [Star Spirit Spider Lilies] living together? The number of defenders is overwhelming!"
The shielding blonde Divine with gorgeous white wings spoke lightly. "We will eventually tire them out. Creating these spider monsters is not easy for them. Once we do, we will be able to collect all three of them."
A sigh escaped Lataria. "It would be nice if no one intervened, though."
A man's voice reached Lataria from another part of the battlefield. "Child, can you not be such a pessimistic fellow? Look at Astarea, your grandmother! She is always looking forward optimistically."
Astarea refuted lightly. "I am just speaking logically."
A distance away from the ground, Yasenia crouched on a thick branch, using her tail to steady her body. Her eyes were complicated as she looked at this group of people.
Soluna harrumphed. "How about you find a chance to kill that annoying woman? How dare she aim for your baby back then!?"
Yasenia sighed. She was also angry, but now that her hot-headedness from that moment didn't blind her feelings, she understood that doing anything to Astarea would be a very bad idea. "That woman is a leader of a powerful faction. Once I am outside, I have enough people targeting me actively. So, I don't really want to have the Divines on my tail as well."
"Aren't they going to be either way?" Dramel asked, confused. "You've stolen the treasure they wanted and now will probably steal this one as well."
Yasenia stayed silent for a second before explaining. "If… or when I manage to get proper ownership of this bead, the Divines will be a bit resentful but not too angry. On the other hand, if I have Astarea's blood on my hands, our relationship will always be one of enemies."
"Moreover…" Yasenia looked at the blue-haired and winged Divine and sighed. "Lataria and I have become somewhat close. That man, Ao Jiuyao, is not an irreconcilable enemy, either. To survive after I leave this Secret Realm, I must wander and dance between the interested groups that are not my enemies, only my opponents."
Dramel was silent before speaking shyly. "I don't understand…"
Yasenia chuckled, using her soul to caress Dramel gently. "Don't worry, leave the thinking part to me. You just focus on playing your beautiful melodies."
Sui Xing asked. "So… What are you going to do? Give up?"
"No. I will steal these flowers as well." Yasenia smiled faintly. "Unlike the other ones, the [Star Spirit Spider Lily] doesn't really have personal fighting power. In a way, they are similar to the Star Soul Chrysanthemum."
Sui Xing hummed. Yasenia didn't answer anymore and planned out her moves. 'I can't approach and dig them up. The second I get close, I will be targeted by all those spiders. That will reveal my position to the others, making them guarded of my presence.' She knew that if she failed to get them during her first try, it would be too difficult to get them.
'Think… How do I do it…?'
Rubbing her chin, an idea flashed in her mind.
Meanwhile, down below, the Divines, Dragon, and a few other allies fought fiercely against the waves of giant scarlet spiders. While some struggled, they were sure of their victory. After all, Astarea's ability to protect and heal, coupled with the brutal offensive of Ao Jiuyao, was more than enough to cover their defense and offense.
As the fighting continued, a person sensitive to soul-related matters frowned and glanced around. "Be careful; I can sense some sort of spiritual attack gathering around us."
Astarea, Lataria, and Ao Jiuyao became puzzled. Ao Jiuyao asked aloud. "Astarea, does the Star Spirit Spider Lily have soul attacks?"
"Not that I know of."
"Little Lataria?"
"It shouldn't have any!"
Hearing the two negatives, everyone understood that the matter was not simple. Ao Jiuyao asked aloud. "Any alchemist who is knowledgeable of spiritual herbs. Which spiritual herb within the 1,000,000-year-old lifespan has an ability to affect the soul?"
Everyone fell silent during the fight, using spiritual senses to communicate and reserving vocal communication for those with knowledge.
Eventually, someone spoke. It was a young-looking man who was struggling. "From what I know, there are just too many to narrow it down. However, if I were to guess, and following the trend of the flowers we've been finding, there is a high chance for it to be the [Star Soul Chrysanthemum]."
Hiding in the shadows, Yasenia couldn't help but look over. 'Wow. He hit the nail on the head in his first swing. Quite a skilled person.'
Sadly, even if they knew, they couldn't do anything about it.
Astarea asked, bashing the heads of three spiders before moving to save another person with her shield. "What are its characteristics? Why would it appear here?"
That man frowned. "I am unsure. It is almost impossible to grow these two flowers close to each other because they are fiercely protective. Not to mention, while the [Star Soul Chrysanthemum] is powerful, its soul attacks have terrible compatibility against the Star Spirit Spider Lily. So, they both keep a distance from each other if possible."
Lataria frowned and asked aloud. "What if… we gathered all of the Star Spirit Spider Lily's monsters here, so the Chrysanthemum thought it had a chance and spread here?"
The man found it plausible. "That's more than possible." Then, he continued and explained a few peculiarities of the flower.
Yasenia waited for around twenty minutes and saw them reorganize and send people to search for the Chrysanthemum. 'Hehe. You want to find it? Good luck with that.'
As time passed, the Soul Pollen of the flower permeated the surroundings. Those with weaker minds began faltering, mistakes occurring increasingly more often in their actions.
This placed people at risk, thereby increasing the pressure those at the top had to bear.
When the one-hour mark hit, Yasenia could see Astarea, Ao Jiuyao, and everyone of similar levels moving around frantically, their eyes almost unable to focus on the surroundings.
'Alright, this is my chance. They won't take that much longer to find the Chrysanthemum since I placed it relatively close.'
As Yasenia circled their fighting zone and looked straight at the Star Spirit Spider Lilies, her gaze hardened. 'This time, I can't be greedy. Focus on what you need to do, Yasenia.'
Calming her breath, Yasenia's aura was enveloped in her spiritual sense as she harmonized with her surroundings. Then, with a light kick, she silently shot forward.
Her body movement was ghostly, with no presence whatsoever. It wasn't until she was right in front of the lilies that they reacted.
Screech!
The red flower made a piercing sound, and all the spiders turned their heads and rushed back madly.
However, it was too late.
Yasenia's sword flashed, already having studied the roots through the encyclopedia. After cutting everything down, she stomped the ground to bounce two of the three 2-meter-tall flowers off the ground. 'Gather.'
With suction power, two of the three flowers disappeared into her spatial ring.
"YOU DARE!?"
Ao Jiuyao, as a Dragon, was naturally extremely annoyed when someone stole his treasure right in front of his nose. Yasenia wanted to get the third one, but she swallowed her greed and turned around.
"Stop him!"
"Don't let him leave!"
However, how could they catch up? Yasenia activated her [Celestial Intent Domain] and escaped their perception.