Martial Peak - Chapter 2180
Chapter 2180, Profound Frost Sacred Lotus
Atop a certain mountain, with clouds swirling about in the surging winds, a grand vision filled the sky with a myriad of wondrous colours.
The Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was slowly blossoming into a flawless white flower, with traces of the Heavenly Way itself lightly dancing around it as a fragrance that refreshed and relaxed all who smelt it wafted outwards.
Yang Kai sat cross-legged not far from this spirit flower, his mind free of any distracting thoughts and his eyes closed, like a silent guardian, blocking all access to any who approached.
Three hundred kilometres away, a number of silhouettes quickly approached while looking up ahead in the direction of the mountain, the vast Heavenly Manifestation having caught their eyes some time ago, surprising them greatly and eliciting a great deal of curiosity.
However, this group of people seemed to belong to a variety of different great forces and were only travelling together by chance as they had apparently noticed this strange phenomenon at the same time.
The strength of this group was mixed, from First-Order Dao Source Realm to Third-Order Dao Source Realm.
As they flew, one man suddenly turned to the side and asked, “Brother Jing, can you tell what’s happening up ahead?”
The person he asked was Jing Li, a disciple of the Benevolent Martial Sect, and one of the people Yang Kai had met at the Flowing Time Temple. Although this person’s cultivation was also Third-Order Dao Source Realm, he had humbled himself when facing Wu Chang’s questioning, but at this moment, he seemed to have restored his previous confidence.
Hearing this question, Jing Li pondered for a moment before saying, “This Heavenly Manifestation is either related to the birth of some rare treasure or a precious spirit medicine reaching maturity… And judging from the fragrance in the air, it’s most likely the latter.”
“Oh?” The questioner’s eyes lit up as he said happily, “Brother Jing thinks so too?” He had apparently not been asking due to ignorance, but rather as a way of confirmation. “I don’t know if Brother Jing can see what type of spirit medicine is reaching maturity?”
“How should I know?” Jing Li rolled her eyes, “There are countless precious spirit medicines out there; however, anything that can cause such a big disturbance must be extraordinary.”
“Heh heh heh…” Suddenly, another man in the group let out a low laugh as he licked his lips, “Perhaps, the opportunity I’ve been waiting for has come.”
As soon as this remark came out, everyone paused.
Jing Li quickly followed up, “With the opportunity before us, the rest will be up to luck. If this opportunity is obtained by this Jing, you should not be too jealous, hahahahaha!”
He let out a long laugh, as if whatever treasure laid ahead was already in his grasp…
“Bah, you want to snatch up this opportunity too?” A spurning voice came from the crowd.
“Does Brother Zhou Huai have some kind of objection to this Jing?” Jing Li looked towards the speaker coldly as he put on a provocative expression. While Jing Li did not dare breathe loudly when facing Wu Chang, lest he incur Wu Chang’s notorious wrath, Jing Li was still a Third-Order Dao Source Realm master, so how could he not have any arrogance?
“I have no objection to anyone obtaining an opportunity except you!” Zhou Huai did not back down either. It seemed that there was some kind of grievance between these two, so they did not try to hide their bickering.
Jing Li’s expression sank, and when he was about to retort, when one of the group suddenly shouted, “Look, someone arrived before us.”
As soon as this remark came out, everyone’s heart sank as they looked forward and saw that atop the mountain there was a figure sitting cross-legged quietly next to a half-blossomed white flower that was exuding a dazzling light and a peculiar yet entrancing aura.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
Immediately, Jing Li’s group accelerated and in the blink of an eye, they arrived near the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, greed filling their faces as they stared at it.
Jing Li glanced at Yang Kai, secretly feeling that this person was somewhat familiar, like he had met him somewhere before, but upon noticing the other party’s cultivation, he couldn’t help grinning mockingly, “And I was wondering who it was… turns out it’s just a First-Order Dao Source Realm trash.”
After understanding this, he stopped paying attention to Yang Kai.
The same was true for the others.
Realizing that someone had reached this strange spirit flower first, all of them had been a little flustered, but when they saw that Yang Kai’s cultivation was so weak, they immediately relaxed.
After this group landed, their gazes crossed Yang Kai and fixed on the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus in anticipation.
Although they didn’t know what kind of spirit flower this was, since it had given rise to a Heavenly Manifestation upon its maturation, it was easy to imagine how precious it was!
“Brother Pang Hai, if this Jing recalls correctly, you’ve studied Alchemy quite extensively, yes?” Jing Li suddenly turned to look at a fat man in the crowd.
The fat man heard this and smiled lightly, “This Pang has dabbled in the Alchemic Dao, but his technique is lacking, only reaching the Origin King Grade, nothing worth mentioning!”
Although he spoke humble words, there was an extremely arrogant expression on his face, which seemed to say that this was anything but a trivial matter.
In truth, he had reason to be proud.
Alchemists were rare, and High-Grade Alchemists were even rarer. Alchemists also enjoyed a lofty status in the cultivation world, so a man like this Pang Hai, who was both a Dao Source Realm cultivator and an Origin King Grade Alchemist could be considered a rare talent.
Ordinary Alchemists focused all their efforts into Alchemy while their cultivation came second. These Alchemists would often not have enough time to cultivate while they improved their Alchemy skills, leading to most Alchemists having lower cultivation.
As such, most Origin King Grade Alchemists were either Origin Returning Realm cultivators or Origins.
But Pang Hai was already a Second-Order Dao Source Realm Master!
He had good attainments in both the Martial Dao and Alchemic Dao, standing amidst an elite few in both fields, so it was only natural for him to be proud of himself.
“Origin King Grade…” Jing Li was also a man who knew how to judge the value of a person, so hearing this, he exclaimed with sincere admiration, “Brother Pang Hai is truly amazing, this Jing is thoroughly impressed!”
Although the others did not speak, they all showed respectful expressions.
Pang Hai was obviously used to such scenes so with a smile on his chubby face he hypocritically waved his hand and said, “Brother Jing is too polite. In fact, if it weren’t for my pursuit of the Alchemic Dao delaying my cultivation, this Pang would have long ago broken through to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm!”
The implication he was making was that his aptitude in the Martial Dao was not worse than the others, but rather that he was distracted by Alchemy, as if without pursuing such a side-profession he would have the capital to compete with Xia Sheng, Wu Chang and the other young geniuses of the Southern Territory!
“Brother Pang Hai, since you are an Origin King Grade Alchemist, do you recognize this spirit flower?” Jing Li asked.
The others also looked at Pang Hai and waited anxiously for his answers.
Pang Hai heard this, took a moment to stare at the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, pondered for a moment after, then said, “If this Pang is not mistaken, this should be the legendary…”
He paused momentarily here to raise the tension.
Yang Kai also opened his eyes curiously, wondering what his fellow Alchemist would say.
Pang Hai boldly declared next, “Legendary Profound Frost Sacred Lotus!”
*Pu…*
In that instant, Yang Kai couldn’t stop himself from laughing, though he quickly suppressed his outburst.
Pang Hai immediately gave him a vicious look.
On the contrary, Jing Li and the others went wide-eyed and began asking in hushed voices, “Is this really the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus? The very Profound Frost Sacred Lotus that is rumoured to help one sublimate one’s Knowledge Sea and greatly enhance the power of their Divine Sense?”
Jing Li had obviously heard of the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus so his eyes couldn’t help shining brightly when he heard this unknown budding flower might just be it.
The reactions of the others were similar, and greed could practically be seen oozing from their expressions.
“Indeed!” Pang Hai nodded heavily, “This is definitely the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus!”
“I trust Brother Pang Hai!” Jing Li gulped.
“I too believe Brother Pang Hai, but from the way this boy reacted just now, it seems he has a slightly different opinion…” Zhou Huai turned to look at Yang Kai thoughtfully, “And he was the first to arrive here, so why don’t we ask him as well?”
Although he said so, he didn’t try to solicit the opinions of the others in his group and instead directly shouted at Yang Kai, “Boy, this Zhou has some questions to ask you, answer them all, otherwise… Hmph!”
He spoke with a threatening expression full of malice.
“En, go ahead,” Yang Kai nodded at him indifferently.
“How long have you been here?” Zhou Huai asked.
“About an hour,” Yang Kai replied.
“So, this Heavenly Manifestation began an hour ago?” Zhou Huai’s expression changed as he began looking around vigilantly before asking suspiciously, “Why hasn’t anyone else come here?”
Although he felt it strange, he didn’t delve too deeply into it, figuring that no one else was around to notice this Heavenly Manifestation, or that others were on their way and simply hadn’t made it here yet. Assuming so, he then asked, “When Brother Pang Hai said this was the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus, you seemed to disagree… Do you know what spirit flower this is?”
“I don’t!” Yang Kai shook his head into a rattle.
“Since you don’t know anything, why show such an expression? Laughable!” Pang Hai snorted coldly.
Yang Kai shook his head and said, “Although I don’t know what this is, I know it is not the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus!”
At this point, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became solemn as he began to utter seriously, “The Profound Frost Sacred Lotus is only born in extremely cold environments. It has seven petals, deep roots, a long stem, and releases an enchanting fragrance that is quite similar to the spirit flower here. However, the most important thing is…” His tone suddenly became low as a grin appeared on his face and he said, “When the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus blooms, no one can approach within a hundred kilometres of it as its fragrance is potent enough to affect even Emperor Realm Masters, disrupting the Soul of any who come close and plunging them into an illusion they cannot extricate themselves from. Once that happens, if one is not rescued promptly, they will forever be trapped in a prison of their own mind!”
Spreading his hands, Yang Kai shrugged, “Since none of you are affected at all at this moment, nor are any of you seeing any kind of hallucination, how could this possibly be the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus?”
After he finished his explanation, everyone who was listening was stunned while Pang Hai blushed bright red…
He didn’t actually recognize what this spirit flower was, but he also didn’t expect anyone else to know either, so he had casually said it was the Profound Frost Sacred Lotus thinking no one would contradict him, giving him an edge and the initiative.
Once he seized the initiative, he could compile a tale that would be beneficial to him, which would facilitate his next actions.
But he didn’t expect that the moment he opened his mouth, Yang Kai would expose his lie, and… this boy’s words were so thorough and full of conviction that it was clear that everyone favoured his opinion, causing Pang Hai to become angry out of shame!
“What friend says… makes sense!” Zhou Huai’s eyes lit up as he turned to look at Pang Hai, “Brother Pang Hai, what do you think?”
[Your eighteen generations of Ancestors must have all been bastards…] Pang Hai cursed in his heart.
