38: Chapter 38 Treasure Hunt in the Rift Valley, Defying Fate

On the return journey after the Battle of the Cold Iron Mine, Lu Changyuan only went halfway.

The Seventh Elder and the main branch's spirit boat had departed first with half of the Ore. Young Master Lu Qingshan had also intended to withdraw along with the Sword Guards, but he was temporarily stopped by Lu Changyuan.

"I need to stay a bit longer."

Young Master Lu Qingshan glanced at him, his gaze sweeping along that pitch-black rift, his brow furrowing imperceptibly. "Is there a problem inside?"

"The Jade Slip gave a new lead." Lu Changyuan only said this much, not fully revealing his trump card. "The risk is high, but it's worth it."

Young Master Lu Qingshan fell silent for a few breaths. He did not try to persuade him, nor did he ask how worthwhile it actually was. He simply reached into his sleeve and pulled out a palm-sized black Formation Plate.

"The Seventh Elder brought it."

"It's a top-grade concealment Formation Plate. It won't last too long, but it's enough to restrain your Qi and hide your figure on the seabed. If you really want to explore down there, you are only allowed to look, not to be too greedy. If what's inside exceeds the boundaries of what you can currently handle, retreat immediately."

Lu Changyuan took the Formation Plate and bowed solemnly. "Thank you, Cousin."

"Don't die in a place like this," Young Master Lu Qingshan said indifferently. He then led the Sword Guards to retreat toward the higher crevices, quickly disappearing into the depths of the dark water.

Once all the external assistance had withdrawn, only Lu Changyuan was left in the vast trench, facing alone the rift that yawned like the giant maw of an abyss.

The further down he went, the quieter it became.

It was as if even the seawater had its sound swallowed by this place.

Lu Changyuan first pressed the top-grade concealment Formation Plate against his chest. Once his entire aura was enveloped by an extremely faint watery shadow, he slowly descended along the guiding line provided by the Jade Slip.

The interior of the rift was even more treacherous than the outside.

The stone walls on both sides were covered with sharp, backward-pointing spikes, while undercurrents swept across the bottom from time to time. With the slightest carelessness, one would be sucked directly into deep crevices leading to who knows where. Even more troublesome was that a nearly colorless cold mist drifted everywhere here; once one's Divine Sense stretched too far, it felt like plunging into a mire of icy water, instantly becoming sluggish.

Yet the line provided by the heavenly secret jade slip was astonishingly stable.

"Turn left three Zhang."

"Descend close to the wall."

"Bypass a semi-suspended stone ledge."

"Then slide through an almost invisible crevice of undercurrent."

Following it all the way, Lu Changyuan actually managed to bypass every single dead end that had seemed impassable.

After descending nearly a hundred Zhang, he finally sensed that so-called "fourth-rank great demon" for the first time.

The pressure was extremely heavy, so heavy that even the blood and Qi in his chest felt as if they were being lightly pressed by an invisible, colossal object. Moving extremely slowly, Lu Changyuan looked up through a crevice in the rocks and saw a massive shadow in the easternmost part of the deepest level of the rift.

It was not a complete shape, but rather looked like a mountain curled up in the darkness.

But this mountain could breathe.

With every rise and fall, the surrounding seawater vibrated slightly, making the nearby sharp stones and crevices look like small toys in comparison to that breathing.

Fourth-rank.

With just one glance, Lu Changyuan completely suppressed all of his aura.

If he hadn't been holding the top-grade concealment Formation Plate in his hand, and if the Jade Slip hadn't routed him directly to the side where this great demon's perception was weakest, he doubted he would have been able to even get close.

And not far from that massive shadow, a faint, pure white glimmer floated quietly at the bottom of the rift.

It was a lotus.

To be more precise, it was a lotus growing between the cracks of black, cold rock, yet so white that it seemed untainted by a speck of dust. Nine lotus leaves spread out layer upon layer, their edges shimmering with extremely fine gold threads. The seedpod in the center was nearly mature, with jade-white lotus seeds faintly glowing within.

At this moment, the heavenly secret jade slip in his Sea of Consciousness also vibrated very slightly.

[High-grade purifying spiritual plant detected.]

[nine-leaf world-purifying lotus, nearing maturity.]

After these lines of text floated up, Lu Changyuan's heart truly sank.

On one side was a sleeping fourth-rank great demon, cold baleful Qi, dark crevices, and the abyss.

On the other side was a divine medicine so pure it seemed capable of washing a person's bones clean.

Just because the Jade Slip had provided a path did not mean he could act foolishly.

Lu Changyuan did not act immediately. Instead, pressing against the stone wall, he observed inch by inch the sleeping great demon's breathing rhythm, the swinging range of its tail, and whether there were any extra Restrictions or companion venomous creatures around the nine-leaf world-purifying lotus. Only after mapping out the entire area in his mind did he finally nudge forward the last ten-odd Zhang.

The closer he got, the fainter the pure white medicinal fragrance became, yet the more it seemed to pierce into him.

It was a clear Qi that seeped directly into his Meridians and bones.

Lu Changyuan stopped three feet from the lotus. First, he used his spiritual energy to gently probe the roots, and after confirming that no other living being had left a clear spiritual imprint on them, he reached back and took out a cold jade box he had prepared beforehand.

He did not touch the seedpod.

Nor did he harvest only the lotus seeds.

Instead, following the root network marked out by the Jade Slip, he dug up the entire nine-leaf world-purifying lotus, roots, soil, and all, in one swift motion.

The moment the medicinal roots left the rock, the massive shadow in the depths of the rift suddenly shuddered slightly.

Lu Changyuan's scalp nearly exploded with tension at that very moment.

He did not dare to look back at all. Sealing the cold jade box shut, he turned and fled wildly along the escape route provided by the Jade Slip. The top-grade concealment Formation Plate was pushed to its absolute limit, smoothing away even the slightest ripple of water stirred up by the hem of his robe.

Behind him, the seawater truly began to churn.

It was a vibration instinctively produced by a terrifying existence in a half-awake state. Countless shattered stones and undercurrents in the rift surged simultaneously, and several strange fish hiding in the crevices were instantly pulverized into bloody mist. Lu Changyuan felt as if an eye behind him was half-open, slowly sweeping toward him from a vast distance.

But that eye, in the end, did not open completely.

By the time he dashed out of the rift according to the route and made his way back to the edge of the upper trench, his back was entirely drenched in sweat.

Only when he was truly dozens of miles away from that deep valley did he dare to stop and catch his breath.

The nine-leaf world-purifying lotus lay quietly inside the cold jade box, its pure white halo faintly flowing through the walls of the box, as if to remind him that this journey was not an illusion.

Lu Changyuan looked down at it for a moment, a fierce glint finally rising in his eyes.

"With something like this, not consuming it would be the real foolishness."

Half a day later, he had silently returned to Blue Moon Island.

Without any fanfare or alerting anyone in advance, Lu Changyuan only had Shi Jian personally guard the outside of the secret chamber. He then sealed the stone door and took out the nine-leaf world-purifying lotus.

Inside the seedpod, there were nine jade-white lotus seeds in total.

He was in no hurry to consume them all, choosing instead to pick up the most mature one and place it in his mouth.

The lotus seed melted almost the instant it entered his mouth.

There was no violent surge of medicinal power as he had imagined. Instead, it was like a stream of extremely clear and pure water, first sliding down his throat and into his abdomen. But in the next instant, that clear water suddenly exploded, turning into countless indescribably fine streams of light that swept inch by inch along his Meridians, bones, acupoints, and Dantian.

Pain.

The true essence throughout Lu Changyuan's body almost instinctively surged in reverse, only to be gently smoothed out upon meeting that medicinal power. His Foundation, which was already quite stable at the Early Foundation Establishment stage, actually still appeared coarse before this pure white stream of medicine. The hidden injuries, Impurities, and slight instabilities accumulated from continuous fierce battles, pill consumption, and realm breakthroughs since the reclamation were thoroughly cleansed by this single lotus seed.

He felt as if his entire being was being recast from the inside out.

His Dantian's spiritual sea expanded first.

His Meridians widened next.

His bone, blood, and Divine Sense also rose in tandem.

This feeling was completely different from when he had taken the foundation establishment pill and forced his way through the Foundation Establishment barrier back then. That time was about breaking through a barrier, crossing a threshold; this time, it felt more as if someone had swept clean a section of the entire path behind that threshold for him in advance.

Before long, an extremely soft yet crisp vibration suddenly echoed from within the secret chamber.

It was as if an invisible thin shell had finally been steadily pierced through from the inside by his true essence.

The moment Lu Changyuan opened his eyes, the sharp light in them was almost like lightning.

Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

And it was not a forced breakthrough.

It was a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage achieved after his true essence, bones and muscles, Spiritual Root, and Divine Sense had all been cleansed and elevated together.

He slowly exhaled a breath, and the originally somewhat stagnant Spiritual Qi in the secret chamber seemed to be swept clean by this breath.

Lu Changyuan looked down at his palm.

The spiritual light at his fingertips gathered and dispersed, so condensed it was almost unrecognizable from before.

The invisible barrier that had existed due to his concubine-born origin, relatively weak Foundation, and reliance on sheer resources to force his way up seemed to have been completely shattered after this single world-purifying lotus seed.

Outside the stone door, Shi Jian had been guarding with his blade in hand when he suddenly heard a low hum from within the secret chamber. In the next instant, the entire stone door trembled slightly under the pressure of the aura that suddenly burst outward from inside.

His expression changed, and before he could react, the stone door flew open with a bang.

Lu Changyuan stepped out, the aura around him more than twice as sharp as before his seclusion.

With just one look, Shi Jian instinctively lowered his head, his voice tight. "Master..."

Lu Changyuan did not beat around the bush at all, throwing down a single sentence:

"Sound the General-Gathering Drum."

"Get Lu Hu, Leng Feng, and everyone at or above the rank of Centurion to drag themselves to the main hall immediately."