The following days were met with a bit of chaos, both inside and outside of the Ninth Flower Garden.
Outside, there was great commotion among those that have returned from the garden.
"That's- isn't that Li Baojun and that thing in his hands! That's a Diving Dragonfly, that's Rank 4!"
"Do you think he killed it on his own?"
"That can't be, he came in a group of six. Seeing him by himself, they must've suffered greatly to have killed that thing."
"That must be what happened! The Diving Dragonfly is a very agile creature. It must have taken an enormous amount of effort to catch it and kill it."
"But now that he does have it, he will probably enter the ranks of an Elite Disciple."
"Yeah, still I feel like something isn't quite right about this. He is barely injured except for a few bruises and scratches."
"That's true but compared to everyone else in that group. He is the strongest one. He is at the third level of Earth Realm, Sight. Last I heard, he was getting closer to breaking through to the Perception level."
As the others looked on and whispered to one another, Li Baojun walked proudly with the Diving Dragonfly's corpse slug over his shoulder. Though this one seemed to have more wounds than before, his attempt to mask what really killed it.
With it, he entered Elder Xiang's ship and approached him.
The elder was where he had been at the beginning, casually resting at the bow of the ship.
He whistled when Li Baojun threw down the dragonfly's corpse on the floor. Elder Xiang got up from his resting spot and crouched down, examining the dead beast.
"Impressive. It must have taken a lot of effort to kill it."
"Yes, I lost everyone in order to kill this beast."
"Tell me, was it worth it? Five lives for this one bug."
Li Baojun did not seem perturbed by the elder's questions and put on a sorrowful face.
"I managed to avenge them with its death. Still, I wish I was stronger and then I would not have suffered such a calamity. "
"I see. Do you plan on returning to Heaven's Gate early?"
"If possible yes, I don't want to stay in this wretched place anymore."
"Hm, alright. One of the elders will be coming at the halfway point to pick up those who have no more business here. There's still six more days, until then, you can toss the corpse into the storage unit of the ship."
"Yes, elder!"
Li Baojun took the corpse and turned around. His mouth curled into a smile. He was in the clear. So long as he returned, the position of Elite Disciple would be his.
At the same time, Elder Xiang went back to laying on his back. His eyes looked at the wandering clouds. He seemed deep in thought, pondering a few things.
"Hmm, I wonder if she was the one that killed it", he muttered, "Oh well, I guess I'll know if she survives."
Within the Third Zone, Ming Yue and the others sat close to each other at the twenty-second island. It did not matter if it was day or night, there were constant sounds of battle. With the death of the Diving Dragonfly, many creatures that would have stayed hidden are now battling each other. That dragonfly was a leader, an insect that reigned over the Third Zone. Now that it was gone, the position was empty and someone needed to fulfill it.
Buzzing, ticking, cracking, these were just a fraction of the things they heard. It was utter chaos for the next several days. Those who were already in the Third Zone laid low, trying to wait out the battles. But there were also many who saw this as an opportunity.
To kill those that have been weakened, to take while these beasts were out in battle.
It was chaotic indeed.
"You should go and try to find some treasures without me. It will take me more than just a few days to reach my peak state again", Ming Yue felt that it was better this way.
Although she was strong enough to walk, she could barely hold her own against a Rank 1 beast. Killing the Diving Dragonfly left her half dead and this wasn't going to heal in just a day or two. She needed at least a week.
"No, we aren't going to leave you just yet. Besides, do you want us to call the Elder and pick you up?" Anqing retorted.
"That's..."
"I thought so. You aren't ready to leave yet and we're not going to leave you so easily."
Ming Yue stopped speaking. Evidently Anqing was right, she still wanted to explore the rest of the garden. She was especially tempted to seek out the final zone of the garden.
They made their way through each island slowly. Xukun stood at the front, prepared for any attacks. Everyone stuck close to each other and several days passed by before they reached the fiftieth island, the center of the zone. It was by far the largest island they've seen and it was the most riotous.
Crushed grass, broken trees, there were sounds of cracked shells and dying beasts. The entire island seemed to have been pillaged by a violent gang, devoid of any treasures.
"Damn it, why are there so many of them?!"
Xukun readied his blade as he watched over a hundred beasts battle each other. If it wasn't for the fact that he was currently the strongest of the group, he would've ran behind Anqing.
Of all the things that the garden had to have, it was bugs.
It was both fear and disgust that he had for them and this sight made his legs weak.
Fang Castor Spider, Five Eyed Worm, Stone Jawed Beetle, Scarlet Blood Moth, these were just a few of the creatures that were in the thick of battle. They were all rank 3 and judging by the carnage, there was a lot more at stake than just being the lord.
He put his hand over his mouth, almost gagging from the ripped limbs and crushed bodies.
"Let's-let's hurry up. We should leave before any of them notice us."
Xukun carefully led the way, moving around the scene. It wasn't until night came when they reached the end of the island. It was only then that everyone, especially Xukun, let out a breath of relief.
"Oh thank goodness, we managed to avoid that calamity", he said.
Ming Yue looked back at the island. By now, she had recovered eighty percent of her combat prowess. Perhaps, if she was at her peak state, she would dare to challenge the denizens of this island. That fight with the Diving Dragonfly had given her a good idea of her strength. She could probably obtain many things on the island. Unfortunately, such a thought was dismissed.
After all, the final goal was the fourth zone, an area with much more rarer items and much more danger. More importantly, there was the Violet Cassia Tree that they needed to reach.
As they walked towards the bridge, they heard a echoing screech that reached the edges of the island. Trees rustled as a wave of power passed through the island, it seems that there was finally a victor.
"Quick, let's leave before things get worse."
Everyone agreed and went off. At the same time, the island began to shake slightly as insects of all sorts escaped the island. These were the ones that chose not to join the fight, more concerned about their survival than anything. Like a wave, they rushed out of the island while something chased after them. It had no wings but it flew about, dark blue in color. It chased after the escaping insects, killing them ruthlessly.
"What the hell!? What is this?!" Xukun yelled out and looked at the others in panic.
"Let's run!" Ming Yue yelled out.
With the wave of insects behind them, they sprinted through the bridge. Getting caught would do nothing good for them.