Chapter 15: Five Flags, But Not Innate
The Qingping Sword Pill hovered above the Cyan Lotus, absorbing the profound essence released as the lotus neared its withering, thereby enhancing itself.
The sky tore apart, the swamp dried up, and cracks radiated outward from the cyan lotus at the center.
In an instant, the lotus withered, its quintessence converging into a single point.
A lotus seed, now reduced to the size of a human fist, flew into Qin Shu’s sea of consciousness.
Five lotus leaves drifted over, enveloping him completely. They transformed into a divine light of five colors, merging into his chest and abdomen.
He opened his mouth, and the Qingping Sword Pill flew in automatically, settling within the image of the Cyan lotus above his dantian sea of qi.
As the fragment of the Abyss World was about to collapse, Qin Shu successfully communicated with the God Soul Continent, transforming into a golden beam of light for transmission out.
In the next moment, the sound of the abyss fragment shattering resembled the enraged roar of a giant beast, biting down on a massive void in the emptiness with unparalleled devouring power.
“I’m back!” Qin Shu sighed in relief; these past two days in the Infinite Abyss had been quite perilous.
If his strength were slightly weaker or the cyan lotus less potent, he would likely have met his demise in the jaws of the Hungry Eater Python.
There was still a significant gap between third and second rank abilities.
Then, a flash of gold appeared—the response from the God Soul Continent had arrived.
However, faster than that was the feedback from the Dao Seed of the Cyan Lotus.
Within his sea of consciousness, a boundless surge of fortune force erupted from the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed.
Qin Shu swiftly assumed a cross-legged position, activating his cultivation technique to absorb and refine this energy.
The vital energy coalesced around him, merging with the fortune force to form a rolling tide of true fortune essence.
In his dantian, the sea of qi expanded relentlessly.
Deep within the sea of qi, the phantom image of a white lotus root began to draw in the true fortune essence. As it filled, the apparition gradually solidified.
His cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.
Before dawn broke on the second day, the white lotus root had fully materialized. Qin Shu had successfully broken through to the mid Foundation Establishment stage and was now beginning to condense the lotus leaves.
Within his body, the second transformation of the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed produced five lotus leaves corresponding to the Five Elements. These leaves began to evolve in harmony with his internal organs.
The spleen was the first to respond. After a burst of yellow light, an apricot-yellow flag unfurled within the spleen, taking root there.
Next, a passageway opened between the lungs, allowing a plain-colored flag to take up residence.
In the kidneys, the Black Origin Flag transformed into black radiance before vanishing into their depths.
At the core of the liver, the Azure Lotus Flag emitted a greenwood divine glow, nurturing vitality.
Finally, within the heart, the Flame Banner resonated with its fiery essence.
Each organ now housed one of the five flags, which glowed with multicolored light—forming an impenetrable barrier against all magic.
Moreover, each flag could harness its respective elemental power, enabling the formation of a great array of five elements. This array could protect against enemies, entrap them, or deal fatal blows.
However, like the Qingping Sword Pill, these five flags were still in their initial stages. Though powerful, their capabilities were limited.
In addition to protection, within his acupoints, the five flags transformed the true essence of good fortune into elemental energy, nourishing his vital organs.
By the time Qin Shu had fully absorbed the benefits from the transformation of the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed, it was already bright outside.
Opening his eyes, he found a golden bamboo pole lying on the ground—a meter long and as thick as two thumbs.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed an almost invisible thread at the top of the pole, which connected to a golden hook.
Picking it up, Qin Shu immediately recognized what it was: a Ruyi Golden Rod—an unranked spirit treasure formed from the remains of an awakened being who perished in the Abyss World fragments.
In the God Soul Continent, equipment ranks were divided into five categories:
The first four tiers were magical devices, spiritual artifacts, immortal implements, and divine treasures, corresponding respectively to cultivation stages from Qi Refinement to Golden Core, Primordial Infant to Void Transformation, Earth Immortal to Heavenly Immortal, and True Immortal to Nine Heavens Profound Immortal.
The final category was spirit treasures, further divided into native and heterogeneous types.
Native spirit treasures were formed when the spiritual souls of awakened beings at least at the rank of Great Luo Golden Immortal achieved complete perfection. These were then subdivided by quality into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, supreme-grade, and finally, the most exceptional—transcendent treasures.
Heterogeneous spirit treasures, on the other hand, were crafted from materials found in heaven and earth, mimicking their native counterparts. They too were divided into lower, mid, high, supreme, and ultimate grades.
Compared to their native equivalents, heterogeneous spirit treasures of the same grade often matched in power but fell far short in mystical subtlety—a difference as vast as that between the heavens and the earth.
The Ruyi Golden Rod, while classified as a spirit treasure, was neither a native nor a heterogeneous one. Instead, it was an unfinished prototype—perhaps not even that.
If pressed for a rank, it might be considered third-tier, equivalent to a third-rank magical artifact. However, its capabilities surpassed those of ordinary artifacts.
Beyond its use against enemies, this rod possessed a unique ability: at a certain cost, its thread could be infinitely extended, and the golden hook could tear through the void itself. With it, one could fish for creatures throughout the myriad realms, provided they ranked third-tier or lower.
Qin Shu stared at it with a perplexed expression. “A fishing tool for gods? But I don’t think I’ll need it. I’ll keep it for now and try to sell it later. The Money God Shopping Mall should be interested.”
With some additional materials, this unfinished spirit treasure could likely be refined into a top-grade spiritual artifact, fetching a hefty price.
However, time was not on his side just yet.
Today was the day he was supposed to report to school.
He glanced at the time: September 1st, 6:30 AM.
Outside his room, his family had just woken up.
Qin Hao might still be asleep.
But Mom Wang Yurou would have prepared breakfast by now.
Opening the door, the aroma of spirit rice wafted in—today was congee day.
Seeing Qin Shu descend the stairs, Wang Yurou sighed with relief. “No injuries this time, I hope?”
Qin Shu shook his head. “None.”
“That’s good. Go wash your hands for breakfast.” Wang Yurou felt completely reassured seeing her son return unscathed from his second trip to the Infinite Abyss.
After breakfast, Qin Shu bid farewell to his family and headed alone to Yangzhou War God Academy’s Branch 179 for registration.
This branch, catering to those in their thirties, wasn’t within Yangzhou City but outside it.
The higher the number in a branch’s name, the farther it was from Yangzhou City.
Branch 179 lay over ten thousand kilometers away from Yangzhou City.
Traveling there solo wouldn’t be safe.
So, he needed to go to the bus station and take a dedicated shuttle.
And once there, he’d be away for half a year.
The bus station was located in Yangzhou’s southwest corner, Bi Can District.
Upon arriving by flying car and stepping out, he found himself facing a sea of people.
“Branch 123, over here!”
“Branch 161, come this way!”
“Anyone for Branch 95?”
The environment was nothing short of cacophonic.
Qin Shu, ever vigilant, scanned his surroundings with hawk-like precision. His gaze eventually settled on an unassuming corner where he spotted a designated area for Branch 179.
With millions of awakened beings distributed across two hundred branches, each branch was expected to accommodate roughly ten thousand individuals.
Today’s inn was undoubtedly themed around this group of newly awakened college students.
As Qin Shu approached a display board, a middle-aged man sporting long hair inquired, “Branch 179?”
Qin Shu nodded affirmatively, “That’s right.”
“Excellent. Please register.” The man continued, “Name? Which high school? What spiritual soul did you awaken?”
“Qin Shu, Sixth High School, Cyan Lotus Core spiritual soul.”
“Release your true qi so I can assess it.”
Qin Shu extended his hand, circulating true essence within his meridians and diluting it into Fortune True Qi.
“Wood attribute true qi,” the man observed. “Very well.” He then instructed, “See that cyan jade vessel over there? Head towards it.”
Following the man’s gesture, Qin Shu looked in the indicated direction.
Indeed, there stood a vessel, its entire body resembling emerald, green to the point of inducing unease.
He couldn’t shake off a growing sense of foreboding.
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