Everyone exchanged glances before lowering their heads in silence.
Oppose?
If they dared to oppose, they wouldn't have come here in the first place. The current situation was unclear, so even if they were reluctant, they had no choice but to go along with it.
Moreover, Qin Chuan's strength had far exceeded their expectations. They had originally thought that this young Heaven Lord had no real backing, but now it seemed that his father was far more formidable than they had imagined.
"Since no one is objecting, it proves that you all acknowledge my son's position as Heaven Lord. Therefore, since you've come to offer congratulations, you should show the appropriate sincerity, unlike that person earlier who was simply going through the motions," Qin Chuan said.
He added, "It's not that my son covets your treasures, but as the Heaven Lord, he must have the dignity befitting his status."
Hearing this, the crowd couldn't help but twitch their lips.
This explanation was worse than no explanation at all. It was no different from the old saying, There are no three hundred taels of silver buried here.
Nevertheless, despite their dissatisfaction, they could only accept the situation.
Soon enough, the leaders of the various major powers painfully took out treasures and techniques to offer to Qin Zi.
For instance, the Northern Underworld Sky Sect's Northern Underworld Divine Turtle, the Greenleaf Heavenly Sect's One Leaf Obscures the Sky technique, and the Vast Sea God Sect's Vast Sea Black Ice Technique...
Among them, both Daoist Greenleaf and the Vast Sea Divine King's hands trembled as they handed over their gifts, as if struggling to suppress their emotions.
After a long while, everyone had finished offering their gifts, and with that, this seemingly harmonious yet tension-filled gathering came to an end.
Rumble!
Roar—
The sky was filled with turbulence as these indignant powerhouses left, some riding in grand chariots and others on massive beasts. A few couldn't suppress their frustration and revealed their true forms as giant beasts, roaring into the sky before soaring off.
Qin Chuan and Qin Zi exchanged smiles.
They knew these people were furious, but they didn't care. After all, the treasures and techniques were already in hand.
Moreover, they had made an example of one person, warning the others. At least for the near future, no one would dare cause trouble.
"You've all worked hard. Here, take some of these," Qin Zi said as he handed a portion of the gifts to the eight Divine Kings.
"Thank you, Heaven Lord."
The eight Divine Kings quickly expressed their gratitude, visibly moved.
While the treasures weren't necessarily that valuable to them—after all, they were Divine Kings—the fact that the Heaven Lord had rewarded them meant he recognized their loyalty.
This was a cause for great celebration.
Their decision to side with Qin Zi was made with the hopes of future benefits. Supporting him during his weakest moment would certainly be more rewarding than just joining him when he was already strong.
"Since the Xuanhuang Heavenly Palace is heavily damaged, focus on repairing it for now. Father and I will be going out for a while," Qin Zi instructed the eight Divine Kings.
"Yes!" the eight responded in unison.
"Father, let's return to our secluded home for now," Qin Zi said, looking at Qin Chuan.
"Alright," Qin Chuan nodded, and the two of them flew off in one direction.
With the full revival of Xuanhuang Heaven, the distance to their secluded home had increased significantly.
However, with Qin Chuan's speed as a Divine King, they reached their destination quickly.
To their surprise, the palace they had built atop the mountain had been taken over by a fearsome flower demon.
It was a massive man-eating flower.
The green vines coiled around the mountain like giant dragons, layer upon layer. At the end of each vine was an enormous pink flower bud. Although the flower seemed vibrant, once its petals opened, it revealed a terrifying gaping maw filled with rows of sharp teeth, chilling to behold.
This enormous flower bud had been resting atop Qin Chuan's palace, snoring softly as if in deep slumber.
Sensing the approach of the two, the flower demon suddenly woke up, raising its massive flower bud and roaring at them.
Roar!!!
A fierce gust of wind spewed from its gaping maw, sending half the clouds in the sky rolling and even blowing some of them backward.
The wind whipped through their clothes, sending their long hair flying. Qin Zi, in particular, had his side hair blown right into his face, leaving him looking disheveled.
"What a powerful flower demon," Qin Chuan remarked, letting out a soft sigh before releasing a trace of his Divine King aura. In a calm voice, he said, "Stand down."
Swoosh!
In the next moment, the once intimidating man-eating flower began to tremble violently. Slowly, the flower bud lowered itself to the ground.
It was like a proud swan bowing its head, its neck stretched out along the ground, utterly submissive.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Qin Chuan asked calmly.
"I... I'm Hua Qingsu, a Titan Arum flower. I recently awakened from the depths of the mountain and found this place suitable to live in, so I stayed... I didn't mean any harm! I thought no one lived here!" the man-eating flower stammered, its voice surprisingly that of a young girl.
Of course, age varies greatly between species.
Some creatures live very brief lives, while others take centuries or millennia to complete a single cycle.
Thus, while this flower demon might sound youthful, it could have lived for an unknown number of years.
"Do you have any special skills?" Qin Chuan asked.
"I... I have vines," Hua Qingsu replied timidly, sounding like a shy little girl.
Qin Chuan rolled his eyes and said, "I'm asking if you have any unique abilities. After all, you've lived here rent-free for some time, so you'll need to pay me back. If you're of no use, I'll have to eliminate you."
"No! Please don't kill me!" Hua Qingsu cried out, trembling so violently that even her leaves quivered. She used two large sunflower-like leaves to cover her flower bud, shaking as if in fear.
"Speak up! What can you do?" Qin Chuan demanded, his eyes flashing with menace.
He knew that ancient and peculiar species like this often possessed mysterious abilities, and if he could make use of them, it would be quite beneficial.
"I... I can make plants grow! I can sprout any seed and make it quickly take root and bear fruit!" Hua Qingsu answered hurriedly, her voice filled with panic.
After finishing, she cautiously uncovered her head with her leaves, sneaking a glance at Qin Chuan. "Does that... count as a special skill?" she asked weakly.
"Any plant? Even precious divine herbs?" Qin Chuan asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Y-yes. As long as there's enough energy, it's possible," Hua Qingsu responded nervously.
"How about this one?"
With a flip of his hand, Qin Chuan produced a seven-colored gourd seed, the very one Qin Zi had brought back from the Seven-Colored Gourd Mountain.
He had long wanted to grow this seed and become a grandfather.
He had tried various methods before but had been unable to make the seed sprout. Now, it seemed like there might be a solution.
"No... no problem," Hua Qingsu stammered. She extended one of her massive leaves to catch the gourd seed, then promptly tossed it into her mouth.
"What are you doing?!" Qin Zi yelled, wide-eyed. He had risked his life to bring that seed back from the Seven-Colored Gourd Mountain.
"I-I didn't eat it," Hua Qingsu said in a muffled voice. She used her leaf to dig a hole in the ground before spitting out the seed along with a thick glob of green mucus.
Plop.
The gourd seed, now covered in the green, sticky substance, fell into the pit, and Hua Qingsu quickly filled the hole with soil.
Buzz!
A few breaths later, a tender green sprout broke through the soil, rapidly growing and spreading in all directions.
"This…"
Both Qin Zi and Qin Chuan were stunned. This man-eating flower had some seriously unconventional abilities!