Chapter 1735: The Fragrance Requiting Peach Blossom

“What’s this for?”

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The two branches looked withered and dark yellowish. It looked just like your ordinary dead branch. There was nothing special about it.

But after he caught the branch, he immediately noticed that the stench clinging to his body was slowly being absorbed into the dead branch. In fact, the dead branch was slowly becoming green and vibrant over time as if it was returning to life. Soon, green leaves grew out of its surface, and pink, delicate peach blossoms bloomed. They looked as pretty as young women.

After the peach blossoms bloomed, a thick but clear scent spread in the air. The scent smelled better than even peonies or wintersweet.

Just a short while later, the stench clinging to their bodies had been fully replaced by the scent of peach blossoms.

“Is this... the Fragrance Requiting Peach Blossom?”

The Fragrance Requiting Peach Blossom was the flower of a Fragrance Requiting Peach Tree. There was a saying called, “Requite evil with good.” In this case, it was requite stink with fragrance. Hence the name.

The Fragrance Requiting Peach Tree was a miraculous tree that only grew in smelly places. It nourished itself via absorbing stenches to bloom the prettiest and most fragrant peach blossoms. It was abn unintentional yet wonderful reflection of the idiom, “Requite evil with good.”

The most incredible thing about the tree was that even a single broken branch or yellowed leaf could return to life as long as it appeared at a smelly location.

The dead branch he was holding could only be the branch of the Fragrance Requiting Peach Tree.

“Where on earth did you find a Fragrance Requiting Peach Tree?”

Ye Qing was pleased as a matter of course. The presence of this branch would keep him from smelling like a dumpster for years to come.

Lingyu answered before Feng Qingyou, “It was right around the corner. There was a beautiful peach forest right next to this smelly forest, and the peach blossoms were beautiful and fragrant. Sister Feng and I became clean not long after we entered it.”

“Later, Miss Feng spoke with the peach blossom trees, and a beautiful woman walked out of the forest and gave us four branches. She even invited us to dine with her for a bit. We drank the cup of wine she poured for us. It was so sweet! It’s too bad there’s only one cup though.”

“You even ran into Lady Requite Fragrance? And receive her blessing too?”

Old Man Turtle said enviously, “This is not the first time I visited the Ten Thousand Wood Forest, and I’ve tried to pay her a visit many times to no avail. I can’t believe you girls ran into her on your first time here! What extraordinary luck!”

Ye Qing was quite astonished as well. A sapient Stranger was born where the Fragrance Requiting Peach Trees resided, and the people called her Lady Requite Fragrance. The Fragrance Requiting Peach Tree could only absorb and dispel stenches, but Lady Requite Fragrance was greater. Those who encountered her would be blessed with fortune, and those who received her blessing would be able to fulfill their wishes.

However, the Fragrance Requiting Peach Tree was rare, and Lady Requite Fragrance was even rarer. It was because a Fragrance Requiting Peach Tree would wither in just ten days once the location they grew from had run out of stenches. Naturally, it was impossible for such a place to give birth to a Lady Requite Fragrance. Therefore, only a place where the Fragrance Requiting Peach Trees lived indefinitely to the point they had flourished into a forest could possibly give birth to a Lady Requite Fragrance.

In summary, Lady Requite Fragrances were extremely rare, so only those of great fortune or destiny could encounter her.

Feng Qingyou smiled. “It was nothing. I just told the peach trees the reason we came, and Lady Requite Fragrance showed up of her own accord.”

“As expected of a favored one!” Old Man Turtle let out a sigh.

Tempted, Ye Qing asked, “Wanna pay the Fragrance Requiting Peach Forest a visit, elder? Maybe we could receive her blessing as well?”

However, Old Man Turtle shook his head. “One is most sincere when they do something without an ulterior motive. If we go there now, it would be because we want her blessing. Forget meeting Lady Requite Fragrance, we might even lose the two branches she gave us.”

“Oh... never mind then.”

He had no desire to run around smelling like a landfill.

“Be satisfied with what you have.” Old Man Turtle smiled. “Miss Feng and the girl already received Lady Requite Fragrance’s blessing. I’m sure our journey will end in success.”

“I shall borrow your auspicious words, elder.”

Ye Qing smiled and let go of his desire. After bowing in the direction of the Fragrance Requiting Peach Forest, they all left the Ten Thousand Wood Forest together.

The group continued east after leaving the Ten Thousand Wood Forest. Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Maybe it was because they received Lady Requite Fragrance’s blessing, but their journey for the past ten days was impossibly smooth. Forget running into dangers, they didn’t even experience a hint of bad weather. It was bright, sunny, and comfortable for ten days straight.

Be it the Three Disasters—Sea Illuminating Blood Moon, Sea Burning Rain of Fire, and Spirit Tide of Stars—or the three of the Five Forbidden Zones—Sea of Lost Bearings, the Soul Demon Island, and the Endless Eye of the Sea—they did not encounter a single one.

Why only the three forbidden zones and not the other two? That was because the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost and the Land of Endless Day could not be avoided via luck; because the two forbidden zones were blocking the path to Dong Ji. if they wished to travel to Dong Ji, then they must pass through these two locations no matter what.

“The Ghastly Abyss of the Lost is just ahead of us!”

Even from where they were, the group saw a thick, dark fog that rose all the way up to the sky. It was like a giant curtain that spanned from north to south and split the heaven and the sea into two.

“Wow! How magnificent!”

Lying on the bow, Lingyu looked at the distant fog with an expression of shock and wonder, “How did the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost come to be, Grandpa Turtle?”

Old Man Turtle shook his head. “I do not know. Some rumors say that an ancient war between the supremes cracked the sea and created it. Some say that an ancient ghoul wreaked havoc in the Eastern Sea until a passing celestial slew it with their sword, splitting the ocean in the process. The undying resentment of the ghoul later formed the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost. Some say that a Heavenly Demon from the Beyond was sealed deep within the Eastern Sea, and because the Heavenly Demon was immortal, its power broke through the seal and formed the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost.”

“And of course, some also say that a natural ultimate treasure is nurtured at the bottom of the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost, and everything we are seeing is a phenomenon conjured by this treasure.”

Lingyu’s eyes lit up. “Is it true? Is there a treasure down there?”

Old Man Turtle shook his head. “Who knows?”

Lingyu blinked. “Has no one ever ventured into its depths in search of that treasure?”

Old Man Turtle chuckled. “All humans are naturally greedy, so of course there are. Quite a lot of them, in fact.”

Lingyu said excitedly, “So? Did anyone find the treasure?”

“I do not know if anyone ever found anything.” Old Man Turtle shook his head. “What I do know is that not a single one of them ever made it back to the surface.”

“No one made it back to the surface?” Lingyu exclaimed in realization, “That must mean... they all died!”

The girl mumbled to herself, “No wonder...”

Ye Qing found the statement curious and asked, “No wonder, what?”

Lingyu replied, “It’s nothing. It’s just that the Heavenly Feather City never came to this area. Now that I think about it, it’s probably because of the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost!”