Noticing the commotion, Chen Chuan glanced outside. After scanning the area for a moment, he suddenly raised his head and immediately saw something immense writhing faintly up in the sky.
Perhaps because it was too massive, or perhaps due to the veil of night, he could not clearly see what the thing was. He could only sense that it seemed to be trying to force its way in, while the perimeter ward holding it back was like a thin membrane that it might breach at any moment.
As he watched, the thing paused for an instant and seemed to turn what served as its "eye" toward him. Instantly, signs of blurring appeared upon his Second Self.
Chen Chuan gazed back at the entity without the slightest fear.
It had to be the ripening of the lotus seeds that had triggered these anomalies. Even so, with the surroundings shaking as if an earthquake were underway, one could not help but wonder whether this ritual could truly hold out against the encroachment of such things.
At this point, all he could do was place his trust in You Zhinan's arrangement.
Still, whatever came, he would meet it. If the esoteric ritual truly could not hold and the situation became hazardous, he would rather give up those lotus seeds. After all, preserving his life was paramount; there would always be opportunities to obtain similar items in the future. To be overly greedy might instead cost him his very life.
He saw the balance of trade-offs with absolute clarity.
Since whether the perimeter could repel the outer intrusion was out of his control, he chose not to worry about it. Pulling back his gaze, he stepped aside and calmly proceeded with his regular nightly cultivation.
Chaoming had also been feeling anxious, but seeing how composed Chen Chuan was, it too settled down. It did not go to sleep, however, but kept its guard up, watching the surroundings and pacing back and forth near the vibrating stones, ready to sound an alarm with a cry the moment anything went amiss.
Once Chen Chuan entered his cultivation, he quickly immersed himself in it. In any case, what he was practicing right now was the Grand Radiant Light Forms, an esoteric art specifically capable of resisting intrusions from the opposite side; if any unexpected turn occurred, he would have ample time to react immediately.
This time he had consumed a large amount of nutrients in advance. However, to ensure his combat strength remained steady, just as before, whenever he expended a portion, he went to the side to take in a little more before continuing.
Time slipped away amid these continuous repetitions, and before he realized it, the grating noises in the surrounding air had faded away completely.
Feeling a sudden stirring in his heart, he glanced outward and saw that the sky had shifted from black to white. Daylight spilled down, seemingly even brighter than usual.
He reflected for a moment, then turned his head to see that the exotic fragrance radiating from the stone lotus had also vanished at some unknown point. As he walked over, the serrated leaves suddenly began to stir, and the surrounding root system twitched, as though attempting to crawl out of the earth.
He paid it no heed. Even setting aside the fact that the esoteric ritual remained in effect, even without it, this thing stood no chance of kicking up any trouble before him.
In truth, last night had been its sole opportunity to escape—either by borrowing the night power of the Confluence to complete a mutative transformation, or by simply being carried off by some entity.
Since it had failed, all it could do now was obediently await his harvesting.
He stepped before the seedpod and cast his gaze down, seeing that all seven lotus seeds had turned from their original grayish-white into a jade green.
According to the compendium, this was the sign of maturity; the information provided there had proven quite reliable.
He reached out to take them. Yet at the barest touch, the entire seedpod abruptly disintegrated into powder. The lotus seeds tumbled down. Were they to hit the soil, they would instantly sprout roots and shoots, losing most of their nutritional value.
Yet before they could reach the ground, they floated back up one by one, rising slowly and drifting toward where he stood.
Chen Chuan reached out, caught one of them, and popped it straight into his mouth.
The instant he bit into it, a delicate, subtly sweet fragrance spread through his mouth. As he swallowed, it felt as though he had ingested a wisp of crisp, cool qi. Once this breath reached his abdomen, it immediately circulated throughout his entire body. A moment later, his eyes grew noticeably brighter, all his senses and mental clarity became sharp and refreshed, and a feeling akin to rebirth washed over him.
His mutated tissue did not react immediately, but he could tangibly feel a gentle, warm current lingering there; some subtle change was undoubtedly taking place.
The effects of the lotus seeds would unfold gradually over the coming days; the longer the passage of time, the greater the gains. Ordinary three-node or five-node lotus seeds might take several months to a year, and he estimated this batch might take even longer—though the effects would naturally be correspondingly stronger.
Aside from direct consumption, these lotus seeds could also be paired with high-energy nutrients and mutated tissues that normally could not be eaten raw to aid absorption. Their utility was immense, so he had no intention of eating them all in one breath, choosing instead to reserve the remaining six for later use.
He retrieved a container he had prepared beforehand, placed the remaining six inside, sealed it securely, patted it with satisfaction, and carefully stowed it away in his suitcase.
Having dealt with the seeds, he returned to the Pivot Pillar, removed the red stone, and weighed it in his hand. It felt no different than before, its weight unchanged, as if it had suffered no depletion whatsoever. This differed somewhat from what he had expected.
This only further confirmed his earlier deductions. Thus, he stowed the stone away as well. Considering the matter, the Pivot Pillar was undeniably useful too, so he might as well bring it along. It hardly weighed anything to him anyway, and perhaps he could use it to set up an esoteric ritual for defense further along the trail. He had already memorized the orientation and spacing of the stones and could reconstruct an identical setup if necessary.
In fact, had Guardian You's colossal warhammer not been so unwieldy, he would have liked to take that along too. For now, he could only leave it behind and check back on his return.
Once everything was packed, he cast a final glance over the clearing, called out to Chaoming, and set out once more.
This was not yet the deepest part of the dense forest; it was merely that the yaogui had blocked further entry. He believed the truly high-nutritional-value treasures lay deeper inside.
After traveling in the chosen direction for a whole morning, the view suddenly opened up before him. He had actually arrived in the vicinity of a pristine lake.
Evidently, this served as a water source for the local wildlife. Not far off, several hound-like beasts with elongated snouts, sharp fangs, and spotted coats were tearing into the carcass of an enormous creature. Judging from the blood that still held its warmth and the largely intact state of the body, they had only recently finished their hunt.
He glanced over and noticed that the prey appeared to be a single-horned river bull. His interest piqued, he ignored the predators and walked straight toward them.
As he drew near, the ferocious beasts stiffened at once, stopping their feeding and staring blankly at him.
Stepping up to the kill, Chen Chuan confirmed his assessment. The single horn of this kind of bull was composed of a special mutated tissue said to be useful in compounding medications that enhanced the mind. The pharmaceutical sponsors listed in the compendium had highlighted it specifically in hopes of trading with or purchasing such items from martial artists.
Even without that purpose, the horn's flawless, aesthetic form made it a collector's piece prized by high society to flaunt their status.
He had not planned to deliberately search for such things, but since he had chanced upon nature's bounty, he gladly stepped forward, harvested the horn, and walked away.
While he did so, the beasts merely watched him silently from a distance. Only after he left and a good while had passed did they tentatively begin moving again, returning to their meal.
Chen Chuan walked along the lakeshore, occasionally spotting fresh bones. However, bizarre critters crawled all over them, rapidly deteriorating the remains; in no time at all, not a trace would be left.
Along the way, he managed to gather a few items here and there as an extra harvest, but his primary focus remained on the lake itself.
The lake was far too tranquil. None of the creatures that came to drink drank directly from its waters; instead, they dug small mud pits along the banks and waited for water to seep in before lapping it up.
Thus, he was certain that something big lurked beneath the surface.
Recalling the compendium's entries, most aquatic findings were rare treasures. Things found within the rivers, lakes, and oceans of the Confluence were generally highly sought after, with some being extraordinary indeed.
Moreover, he remembered that the lost treasure You Zhinan had mentioned supposedly lay in a lake. It was surely no coincidence that You had come in this direction, only to be sidetracked by the stone lotus. Still, this lake was fairly close to the clearing; perhaps You Zhinan had explored it long ago.
Regardless, now that he had arrived here, he had to probe the waters.
He placed his suitcase in a clean spot and had Chaoming guard it. Because Chen Chuan's spiritual power clung to the bird, most creatures would steer well clear upon sensing it, leaving little cause for concern.
While he could not rule out reckless, short-tempered beasts lacking such sense, creatures of that sort usually staked out definite territories, and his inspection had confirmed that none were nearby.
This time he took along the Xuejun Saber. While it was not yet sufficient to turn the tide against a yaogui, it was more than enough to handle Confluence creatures whose life tier ranked below his own, and it made harvesting ingredients and mutated tissues far more convenient.
Then, step by step, he walked into the lake. Before long, the water closed over his head, fully submerging him.
Under the surface, because his biological field clung around him to repel the liquid, his inner layer remained completely dry. If he were to swim, that surrounding invisible force would grant him extraordinary speed.
Light gleamed in his eyes. The pitch-black lakebed was laid bare in meticulous detail before his sight. After a few sweeping glances, his figure vanished from where he stood with a whoosh.
A vacuum pocket detonated beneath the water in an instant, dragging a ripping wake behind it. Accompanying the violent shift in water pressure, a deep, powerful rumble rolled through the depths.
The commotion seemed to disturb something at the bottom of the lake. Beneath the dark waters, dense clusters of eyes snapped open, and for a moment, the entire area flickered with an eerie luminescence.
Chapter 889