Chapter 60: The Lotus Rebirth Technique

"I can feel it—Murong Yu is already close to the snow lotus!"

Flame Mountain, the headquarters of the Fire God Sect. Within the grand hall atop Heavenly Fire Peak, a man with striking features and a wild yet ethereal aura suddenly addressed the person opposite him.

This man was none other than Shi Haoyan, the leader of the Fire God Sect, who styled himself as the "Fire God."

Yet, aside from members of the Fire God Sect and its devout followers, few in the martial world acknowledged the title "Fire God." Most referred to the sect leader by the place he resided, calling him the Lord of Heavenly Fire, placing him side-by-side with the Lord of the Sunset Blade, and naming him one of the Twin Lords of the Western Regions.

Facing him was a man with jade-green eyes and deep blue pupils, whose presence was as fathomless as the sea—Qian Baozhen, the grandmaster of the Four Seas Trading Consortium.

Known as the Lord of Four Seas, he had only recently arrived. Within the Four Seas Trading Consortium, he alone was qualified to speak as an equal to the Lord of Heavenly Fire.

Upon hearing the Lord of Heavenly Fire's words, Qian Baozhen was slightly taken aback.

"Oh? He managed to get so close so easily?"

"It seems the teacher's prediction was correct. That snow lotus—"

"—truly intends to take human form through a host!"

Qian Baozhen's teacher, Lu Wanshan, was the foremost strength of the current Great Jing dynasty, and counted among the strongest in the world. This time, he had come here at his teacher's behest, journeying from the central plains.

"Of course it's correct," the Lord of Heavenly Fire affirmed. Sweeping away his earlier doubts, he now appeared even more confident than Qian Baozhen. "A sixth-grade snow lotus not only possesses fully formed intelligence, it can move freely wherever there is snow and ice.

"If it wanted to escape, even grandmasters of the Void Realm might not catch it.

"The ease with which Murong Yu approached it clearly shows this was intentional.

"Aside from seeking to transform ahead of time, there could be no other motive!"

——

As a form of spiritual plant, once a spiritual herb reaches the fourth grade and can manipulate the forces of heaven and earth, it no longer needs to remain rooted in a fixed place like ordinary flora.

By virtue of its command over natural energies, spiritual herbs of the fourth grade and above can not only leave their habitats, but also reshape an area to better suit their survival—

Many paradisiacal realms cultivate spiritual plants precisely to utilize their ability to transform environments, making such realms even more idyllic.

A sixth-grade snow lotus wields this power to a far greater degree: not only can it thrive atop snowy mountains, it could even reshape its surroundings to survive in a desert.

Such overt action, however, would betray its presence. To conceal itself, the snow lotus usually modifies only snowy regions to suit its needs.

For this reason, while the legend of the snow eagle beast becoming the snow lotus was widely known—and some grandmasters had long confirmed the story—its habitat in the northern snowy mountains, where the vast snowfields never thaw, meant that even Void Realm kings would not waste time pursuing it unless certain of capturing it.

Only now, as the sixth-grade snow lotus sought to seize the opportunity to transform prematurely, had anyone found a chance!

——

"Sixty-eight years ago, King Hun Tian entered the Divine Ruins, and when he failed to emerge eight years ago—"

"—the world began to unravel!"

Thinking of the snow lotus's imminent transformation, and the recent news about the Night Emperor from Si Mingyue, Qian Baozhen sighed.

Widely acknowledged as the foremost figure after the Emperor of Jing, King Hun Tian, Lu Zhengyang, was not only the pillar of the Great Jing dynasty, but also a stabilizing force for all humanity.

With his dominance, most grandmasters remained obedient, and even powerful beasts of the mountains and seas rarely dared stir trouble.

But time spares none. Born in the 400th year of the Great Jing calendar, Lu Zhengyang was now of advanced age—were he still alive, he would be 528 years old.

Though the longest-lived grandmaster in history, the Lord of Pure Void from the Taixu Sect, survived to 626 years—

For most grandmasters, however, their lifespan peaks at four hundred or so years.

Those reaching five or six hundred are exceedingly rare.

Even as the foremost figure after the Emperor, and possessing longevity pills crafted by the Alchemy King Lu Ninghua, few believed Lu Zhengyang could live to six hundred—

After all, the arts of Taixu Sect have always been renowned for longevity, and the Lord of Pure Void shunned conflict, allowing him to reach such an age.

Lu Zhengyang, by contrast, was born with a combative spirit, and came of age in a time of peril for Great Jing, constantly battling other grandmasters to restore the dynasty.

Even after becoming the top figure in the world, he slew the Golden Wolf King.

Such exhaustive exertion of mind and vitality, even bolstered by medicinal supplements, could not grant him the longevity of the Lord of Pure Void.

Thus, sixty-eight years ago, at four hundred sixty years old, Lu Zhengyang entered the Divine Ruins and did not return; many then speculated that he might perish within.

Eight years ago, when the Divine Ruins opened again, Lu Zhengyang had still not returned, nor had anyone discovered his whereabouts—

He was presumed fallen.

After all, the Divine Ruins reopen only every fifty-two years; by then, Lu Zhengyang would have been 580 years old—

Let alone whether he could survive to that age, even if he did, longevity pills might not fully preserve his power.

Therefore, after the Divine Ruins closed eight years ago, the world was roiled by hidden currents—

Whether the growing notoriety of the Night Emperor or the premature transformation of the sixth-grade snow lotus in the Western Regions, both seemed unconnected, yet were tied to Lu Zhengyang's disappearance.

——

"The world is indeed growing chaotic, which is why we must watch over one another," said the Lord of Heavenly Fire.

After becoming a grandmaster, he had maintained ties with the Four Seas Trading Consortium—not only because of their prior aid, but also for the connections they offered.

As the greatest power in the world, even without King Hun Tian, the Great Jing dynasty behind the Four Seas Trading Consortium remained formidable.

To say nothing of this sixth-grade snow lotus's transformation—had Qian Baozhen not informed him, he might well have suffered a disastrous loss.

——

"By the way, what exactly is that Lotus Rebirth Technique?"

"To think it could transform a snow eagle beast into a snow lotus, and then into a human—"

"Such a marvel, had you not told me, Brother Qian, I would never have believed it!"

Earlier, upon learning of the sixth-grade snow lotus, the Lord of Heavenly Fire had regarded it as a precious herb for extending life.

When Qian Baozhen arrived, he had even contemplated using the snow lotus to negotiate an alliance against the Lord of the Sunset Blade.

Only after Qian Baozhen revealed its intent to use a human host for transformation did he break into a cold sweat, shaken to his core—

If the sixth-grade snow lotus succeeded in taking human form, it might instantly become a grandmaster rivaling the kings of the Void Realm; with only fifty or sixty years as a grandmaster himself, he might not even have the chance to escape!

Let alone, now armed with this knowledge, he could use Murong Yu as a pawn and snatch victory from the jaws of peril!