Chapter 81: Five Lotus Seeds

The Xuansha Eel perished, yet the Five Elements Formation remained unbroken.

A Cyan Lotus emerged before Qin Shu, drifting into the lake.

In that instant, the once-black waters, swirling with miasma, were purified by the lotus’s presence.

The lake became clear and transparent, its depth rendering it an azure hue, almost indigo in shade.

The Cyan Lotus’s leaf now spanned a hundred meters across, floating on the lake surface like an immense plaza.

The lotus blossom itself was scarcely smaller than its leaf.

Once again, the tremors began.

As the Cyan Lotus grew, the Abyssal Realm started to quiver.

Aware that the world was about to ascend in rank, Qin Shu issued a command to prepare for any eventuality. “Xiao Yan, ensure that no sixth-rank Abyssal creatures approach within a hundred-mile radius. You guard the east, I’ll handle the west.”

“Yes, Master,” Xiao Yan acknowledged, taking flight with a flap of his wings. He headed east, devouring any creature of lower rank that crossed his path. Those equal in rank he incinerated with Green Flame. No signs of higher-ranked creatures had yet appeared.

In the west, Qin Shu rode the winds, wielding the Qingping Sword, a transformed version of the Qingping Sword Pill. It pierced through the skulls of abyssal monsters one after another.

Even fourth-rank creatures could not withstand the razor-sharp Qingping Sword Pill, which cut through them as effortlessly as silk.

From afar, threads of lightning arced across the void, hurtling toward the Five Elements Formation.

The formation, an intricate dance of the Five Elements, absorbed the lightning’s power. It transformed this energy into the essence of the Five Elements, channeling it into the Cyan Lotus.

Within the lotus, the pistil had taken shape. At its core, five distinct cavities formed, each nurturing an embryonic lotus seed in hues of scarlet, golden, white, purple, and jet black.

As time whispered by, these five seeds swelled with life.

A whimsical thought seized Qin Shu: What if I were to direct the Earthbirth Pearl towards the heavens or the depths of the earth? What mysteries might I uncover?

His hands, momentarily freed from the task of guiding the Qingping Sword Pill through the abyssal creature’s skull, itched to explore this curiosity.

A luminous, milk-white glow erupted from the Earthbirth Pearl, splitting into two beams—one piercing the celestial vault above, the other delving into the subterranean depths below.

If the Abyss World possesses a will, it must be a living entity, right? Qin Shu pondered, his mind alight with anticipation as he awaited the world’s response.

Of course, there was none.

If this world could truly conceive, its offspring would be akin to the very children of the Heavenly Dao. Such a birth would spell my own doom.

“Roar!”

In the distance, a mighty cry reverberated across the wasteland as a colossal figure—a veritable mountain of flesh thirty meters in height—surged towards him.

Witnessing this, Qin Shu, with steely resolve, chose to meet the behemoth head-on.

It was a sheep-shaped creature with nine tails, four ears at the back of its head, and eyes covering its body. Four pairs of eyes were on its back, one at each joint of its limbs, and one near the tip of each tail.

The Nine-Tailed Many-Eyed Taotie, a desolate beast with a hint of the Taotie bloodline.

Seeing Qin Shu flying towards it, the nine tails swished, and nine beams of light shot from its eyes, resembling nine sharp black swords.

Qin Shu immediately summoned the Karma Cauldron. Opening its lid revealed a powerful suction that drew in the nine beams of black light. After two tremors, the true flames of destiny ignited, quickly refining the energy.

“Boy from the God Soul Continent, what happened ahead that caused the world will to force us to destroy that thing?” the Nine-Tailed Many-Eyed Taotie spoke.

Qin Shu, realizing it was likely a newly transformed desolate beast, said, “It’s best you don’t know. You can either retreat or prepare for battle.”

“Hahaha, laughable. You, a mere Golden Core, dare to defy me? Since you won’t answer, then you shall die.”

The Nine-Tailed Many-Eyed Taotie opened its mouth. What was originally a small opening suddenly became enormous, as if the creature’s body had split apart, forcing itself wide open.

The Nine-Tailed Many-Eyed Taotie’s formidable gravitational force locked onto Qin Shu.

Qin Shu’s form faltered as he was gradually pulled towards the beast.

The Karma Cauldron emitted a bright azure light, instantly stabilizing his body. However, the Nine-Tailed Many-Eyed Taotie continued to devour everything else around them.

“This thing beside you is quite a treasure,” the Taotie remarked. “My divine ability can’t do a thing to you.”

With these words, it gathered energy and leaped, transforming into a black glow as it prepared to engage Qin Shu in close combat. Its nine tails elongated like whips, snapping towards him.

The whips moved with such speed that they broke the sound barrier, slicing through the air silently.

Qin Shu’s expression turned solemn. His right hand formed a sword-like gesture, summoning the Qingping Sword Pill. With his hand as the hilt and sword energy as the blade, he transformed it into a giant sword. The Cyan Lotus Sword Intent shattered the air before him, blocking left and right.

The force behind each of the Nine-Tailed Taotie’s attacks was immense. Despite deflecting every strike, Qin Shu struggled to absorb the sheer power while hanging in the air, forced to weave a passive dance. His right arm tingled with numbness from the shock.

To the east, Xiao Yan also faced off against his opponent: a sixth-rank abyssal creature, the Xuanwu squid—a marine beast now forced onto land.

A sea creature’s battle prowess is halved when stranded ashore.

Xiao Yan’s encounter came later, but he resolved his battle significantly faster than Qin Shu.

While Qin Shu was still entangled with the Nine-Tailed Many-Eyed Taotie, Xiao Yan had already secured his victory.

“You brat, with merely a Golden Core cultivation, you’ve repeatedly blocked my attacks. But this is as far as you’ll go.”

After prolonged failure against Qin Shu, the Nine-Tailed Many-Eyed Taotie absolutely exploded. All the eyes across its body opened, emitting beams of light that enveloped the sky and earth, forming a black dome dozens of miles wide, trapping Qin Shu within.

Its true form charged forth, front hooves bearing down with an irresistible force that locked onto Qin Shu.

This strike could not be dodged.

So it would not be dodged.

The Karma Cauldron was more than sturdy. Qin Shu seized one of its legs, swung it high, and hurled it forward. The cauldron, catching the wind, grew exponentially, transforming into a giant hundreds of feet tall.

Boom.

Hooves met cauldron, sending waves of immense power radiating from their point of impact.

The violent fluctuations made Qin Shu’s face quiver.

“It’s my turn now.”

Qin Shu raised his hand, moonlight coalescing into a Lunar Blade. Seizing the moment as the Nine-Tailed Many-Eyed Taotie retreated, he slashed down with force.

The silvery-white Moon Gold Wheel pierced through its body.

Moments later, the Qingping Sword Pill followed.

In an instant, silver and teal rays of light blossomed from the Nine-Tailed Many-Eyed Taotie’s body, accompanied by another thunderous explosion.

The dozens-of-meters-tall creature disintegrated, and the black light shield enveloping it also scattered.

After this strike, Qin Shu’s inner true essence was nearly depleted. He had no choice but to retract the Karma Cauldron, transform into light, and retreat into the Five Elements Formation. Perched atop the Cyan Lotus, he swiftly replenished his energy, awaiting the arrival of the next sixth-rank Abyssal creature.

He realized that his collection of precious treasures was still somewhat lacking, and his cultivated abilities hadn’t yet reached great depths.

Through this battle, he discovered that he had grown somewhat too reliant on the magical artifacts at his disposal.

Although they were all manifestations of his own power, they inevitably had their shortcomings, which needed to be addressed.

His body functioned like a pump, drawing in fortune force and rapidly restoring his Karma True Yuan. Once replenished, he emerged from the formation once more.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan would also periodically enter to replenish his strength.

Master and familiar, guarding the east and west directions, they continued to fight in this manner, enduring the relentless onslaught.

Time trickled away like sand through an hourglass. Within the Five Elements Formation, the Cyan Lotus’s seedpod began to mature.

The violet lotus seeds were the first to detach, hurtling towards Qin Shu and circling around him. Sensing the seeds’ desires, Qin Shu channeled Houtu’s Six Paths Samsara into the violet lotus seeds.

The seeds transformed, giving birth to ethereal Violet Lotus Wheels of Reincarnation. As the violet light descended, its cyclical power stripped away most of the Abyssal Realm’s strength, swiftly channeling it into the Five Elements Formation for absorption by the Cyan Lotus.

The Cyan Lotus swayed, shedding red lotus seeds. Karmic flames ignited around these seeds, forming a fiery red lotus. Amplified by the Five Elements Formation, the flames erupted, incinerating abyssal monsters of all ranks with their touch of karmic fire.

Next, the seeds of the Destruction Black Lotus, Purity White Lotus, and Merit Gold Lotus also detached.

Except for the Merit Gold Lotus, each seed unleashed immense power upon falling, driving back wave after wave of monsters.

By this time, the Cyan Lotus, having borne all five seeds, began its true transformation.