Chapter 61: Lotus Seeds
The river water was much colder than expected, with a strong salty, fishy smell.
Using a combination of earth and water escape techniques, Chen Jingzhai dove directly into the water and reached the vicinity of the magic lotus.
In his brow chakra, the divine stone vibrated slightly.
The closer he got to the magic lotus, the stronger the vibration.
Although this did not cause Chen Jingzhai any harm or create much of an impact, it did, however, pique his curiosity.
His naturally endowed abilities were put to use when he got close enough to see the magic lotus with his naked eye.
[Item name: Pure White Lotus]
[Grade level: Grade 4]
[Compatibility: Housing lotus seeds within an ancient pool 10,000 years old. With the passage of time, it had fallen into the depths of the river along with the dilapidated pool as the terrain changed and was nurtured by the spiritual energy of the water.]
[Vulnerability: May be picked using warm jade or transplanted using cold jade, collecting pure spiritual energy.]
[Item name: Seven Stars Moon Pool]
[Compatibility: A pool created by ancient cultivators 10,000 years ago.]
[Grade level: Grade 6 (Incomplete)]
[Vulnerability: Lord from Grade 4 Nascent Plane may use Nascent power to acquire it according to the specific procedure.]
Chen Jingzhai was stunned to discover that aside from the magic lotus, there was a pool attached to it in the depths of which the magic lotus had taken root.
When he got near the pool, he could see a spirit pattern flickering on the pool’s surface.
“No wonder the Swamp Black Crocodile and the rest of the demonic beasts in the water did not attack first.”
“It turns out that the pool protects the magic lotus, and they are unable to approach it.”
Chen Jingzhai suddenly understood everything. At first, he thought it was because the magic lotus had not yet fully matured.
Now that he thought about it, how would those fierce and instinctual demonic beasts have that kind of patience and self-control?
Tempted by such delicacy in front of them, their natural instinct would be to devour and enjoy it rather than wait patiently.
While Chen Jingzhai was laughing at himself, he approached the magic lotus slowly.
He had not obtained the divine stone for long and had not had a chance to process the divine stone, so he had no idea of its power or might.
Even his special talent could not fathom its compatibility and vulnerability.
But all of his cultivation was because of the divine stone, which grounded his brow chakra, showcasing his divine power.
There must be a reason why the divine stone was vibrating.
Chen Jingzhai’s actions did not attract the attention of any demonic beasts or disciples.
Endowed physically since birth and further enhanced by the Presence Concealment Technique, it was particularly effective under this condition.
After all, the rest of the demonic beasts and everyone else had their eyes on the lotus seeds, and none of them paid any attention to what was happening in the water.
When he was three steps away from the pool, Chen Jingzhai stopped.
What should he do next?
At the moment, he had no jade on him, nor was he warm or cold.
But, he could try to use spiritual power to collect the magic lotus.
As for the pool… there was nothing he could do about it.
The requirements spelled out by the vulnerability were very clear, and only Nascent Zhenjun
tried it.
In reality, it would be useless for any Nascent Zhenjun to try anything without knowing the specific procedure for collection.
A vulnerability was called ‘vulnerability’ because there could always be other ways of approaching it.
That Seven Stars Moon Pool was a Grade 6 treasure, after all.
Even if it was incomplete, it was not something Chen Jingzhai was in any position to covet.
The only item available to him was the magic lotus!
Chen Jingzhai did not want to be empty-handed. He had already missed out on the lotus seed and couldn’t afford to miss the magic lotus.
With a move of his divine mind, just as he was about to put forth his spiritual power, the divine stone in his brow chakra suddenly glowed with spirit light.
An extremely bright spirit light emerged from the divine stone.
Then, the divine stone flew out of his brow chakra.
It circled smoothly around the pool once, and the dazzling light from the divine stone illuminated all the way down to the bottom of the water.
The pool and the magic lotus were wrapped up in the spirit light and disappeared instantly.
The divine stone, however, went back directly to Chen Jingzhai’s brow chakra.
All this happened so suddenly that even with Chen Jingzhai’s temperament, he was stunned for a moment.
After the pool disappeared, the silt on the bottom churned along with the river water.
The chaos in front of him, along with the unbearable stench, brought Chen Jingzhai back to reality.
He fled immediately, leaving no trace behind.
A few minutes after leaving, a demonic beast rushed toward the river.
Naturally, the result was all for naught, but it did cause a massive melee.
The river was running red with blood.
Chen Jingzhai returned to where he was before, only to find that the river valley was in total disarray.
The Sky Black Crane was fighting with the Swamp Black Crocodile as the two became entangled in battle.
That black crane held a lotus seed in its beak, yet it was not satisfied, as it coveted the lotus seed that was being chased after by the Swamp Black Crocodile.
In the vicinity of their battle, the Black Ice Dolphin, a Grade 3 demonic beast, was busy crushing a Grade 2 demonic beast in the water.
A lotus seed was about to be taken. If so, four lotus seeds would each find an owner.
On the other side, Jiang Youning skilfully exercised the sword escape technique.
After flying close to the ground, he seized the opportunity to kill three Grade 2 demonic beasts and snatched away a lotus seed.
Chu Jingsong took a lotus seed as well.
At that moment, he was besieged by Grade 2 demonic beasts.
Boundless power was released in his every move, which quickly tipped over the massive iron-armored rhinoceros.
Another lotus seed flew toward the lower end of the river. It was obtained by the disciple of the Divine Cloud branch, who had been hiding on the side for a long time.
The disciples from Divine Cloud Peak were easily recognizable by their robes decorated with blue and white cloud patterns.
The eighth lotus seed was easily obtained by Sun Changrong.
He used the flag to call upon the power of the formation, and it was the easiest way to obtain the lotus seeds.
However, this was also why he was exposed and besieged by demonic beasts.
The ninth lotus seed had not yet been captured.
It was ejected the farthest away and seemed to contain a cognizance all on its own.
It dodged left and right among those Grade 2 demonic beasts as if to tease them.
But, Chen Jingzhai had already discovered that it was the disciple from Dream Celestial Peak who had secretly gained control over the lotus seed.
Hongluan Sky Scripture and Dream Celestial Peak shared some origins, and Chen Jingzhai could sense the aura from the lotus seeds.
In the valley, fights were taking place everywhere.
Although Chen Jingzhai lost out on the lotus seed, he didn’t want to lose out on the demonic beasts.
More importantly, who was to say that he wouldn’t have other opportunities to obtain lotus seeds later?
When he saw the opportunity, Chen Jingzhai used the earth escape spell to approach the Black Ice Dolphin.
A sharp flaming sword vapor burst from his fingers, directly striking the abdomen of the Black Ice Dolphin.
This was an extremely sudden move, as the Black Ice Dolphin was preoccupied with crushing the Grade 2 demonic beast and did not anticipate some other cultivator would choose this moment to get involved.
This one blow alone inflicted heavy damage.
Its roundish body was thrown out, smashing into that Grade 2 demonic beast and killing it instantly.
Chen Jingzhai did not stop there. Instead, he took advantage of the situation and grabbed that floating lotus seed.
Once more, he went behind the Black Ice Dolphin and used the earth escape spell.
A trace of the flaming sword vapor was wrapped around the neck of the Black Ice Dolphin.
With the slightest tug, the Fire Raven Burning Sky sword vapor easily beheaded the Black Ice Dolphin.
Chen Jingzhai put the Black Ice Dolphin into his storage bag without emotion or expression.
[Item name: Black Ice Dolphin]
[Grade level: Grade 3]
[Compatibility: Demonic dolphin that had survived in underground rivers for thousands of years; may fight both on land and in water; ferocious and icy.]
[Vulnerability: A thin white scar marks its fatal weak point above the abdomen and below the neck. It had an icy attribute and was extremely fearful of fire. Therefore, it may be subdued with flames.]
This Black Ice Dolphin was pretty unlucky. Its weak point had been detected by Chen Jingzhai’s special talent as soon as it came into view.
This was the first time that Chen Jingzhai had successfully spotted the vulnerability of a Grade 3 demonic beast.
Naturally, he would not eschew the opportunity to hunt it down.
Never mind that this fatal flaw was a thin line; even if it were as thin as a hair or thread, Chen Jingzhai would not fail to detect it.
The two types of sword methods he had cultivated were not just for show.
The pure and unadulterated spiritual power inside his body was enough to spur the Fire Raven Burning Sky sword vapor.
An ordinary robe that was a spiritual item would not be able to resist it.
Although the Black Ice Dolphin belongs in Grade 3, the attack on its weakness in conjunction with the constraint placed on its attribute was enough to make up for the difference in grade level.
Chen Jingzhai may have found it an easy feat, but in the eyes of outsiders, it was not so at all.
Those who felt the greatest impact were the two disciples from Daoxuan Peak and the two disciples from Elixir Peak, who were watching in secret. Unfortunately, the four of them were not experts in combat, so even though they were interested in the lotus seeds, they did not dare to make a move.
Initially, their attention had been fixed on the Black Ice Dolphin.
After all, they thought this was the most likely chance for them to obtain the lotus seeds.
They did not expect Chen Jingzhai to suddenly appear out of nowhere and terminate the Black Ice Dolphin that quickly.
From Chen Jingzhai’s appearance until the beheading of the Black Ice Dolphin, it was no longer than ten minutes.
It was a Grade 3 demonic beast. However, the majestic spirit exuded from it alone was enough to make any Grade 2 demonic beast tremble.
But it perished, and the remains of the demonic beast were taken and stored inside the storage bag.
The four disciples from the clan were clearly shocked!