181: Substituting a plum for a peach, cleverly obtaining Coptis chinensis from fertile soil.

"No!"

Before Ao Qing could finish, the Quasi-Saint Old Ancestor waved his hand to interrupt, saying, "If it were that simple, I would have already annihilated those fellows around us."

"For coveting the things of my Dragon Clan, they have long since found their path to death!"

"But I did not act. Aside from putting trash to use, the main reason is that the situation of this yellow lotus is special; it can only continue to grow in this area, and only here can it be maintained to continuously produce lotus seeds."

As soon as these words were spoken, Ao Qing and Ao Yu were dumbfounded.

They looked at each other, not quite understanding the specifics for a moment.

"Good news~"

On the contrary, Li Yun, who was hiding nearby, felt a surge of joy in his heart.

As long as that Dragon Clan Quasi-Saint didn't take the twelfth-grade thick earth yellow lotus away, his chance remained, and he could find an opportunity to get his hands on it.

At this thought, while Li Yun was joyful, he listened even more intently to the specific circumstances.

"Old Ancestor, why is this?" Ao Yu asked.

"Because of the dragon blood crystals!"

Giving Ao Yu a sharp look, a trace of helplessness flashed in the Quasi-Saint Old Ancestor's eyes as he said, "Do you really think dragon blood crystals are born of heaven and earth?"

"That was after the Dragon Clan fell in the Ancient Era; their remains were moved here, and finally, through the power of a special grand array, the dragon blood crystals were brought into existence."

"Unsurprisingly, this yellow lotus was also able to be born by borrowing the power of the dragon blood crystals, reaching such a level and having the possibility of sustainable growth."

"If it were moved away, without the nourishment of enough dragon blood crystals, how long do you think it could last before withering?"

"Alright, this matter is settled. From now on, you two will guard this place; you must watch over the twelfth-grade thick earth yellow lotus well. I must return to continue guarding Dragon Valley and the things within."

After saying this, the Quasi-Saint Old Ancestor waved his hand, directly constructing a barrier and Restriction in the area around the twelfth-grade thick earth yellow lotus, then turned into a streak of light and vanished from the spot.

"This..."

Watching the Old Ancestor depart, Ao Yu and Ao Qing looked at each other, not knowing what to do for a moment.

If they followed the Old Ancestor's instructions, wouldn't they have to guard this place next? Wouldn't they have to protect the twelfth-grade thick earth yellow lotus closely?

"A good opportunity~"

On the other hand, Li Yun's eyes lit up; his gaze was fervent, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled.

That Quasi-Saint level expert had left; wasn't this his opportunity? A mere Restriction could not stop him.

At this thought, Li Yun glanced at Ao Qing and Ao Yu, who were still there, and immediately lay in wait in a nearby area, waiting patiently.

He didn't think these two fellows would guard this place with total focus. As Dragon Clan Princes, how could they do such guard duty?

"Guards!"

Unsurprisingly, after a brief silence, Ao Qing and Ao Yu shouted simultaneously.

Before long, two small squads arrived at the scene, bowing and saying, "Greetings, Your Highnesses!"

"Mhm~"

Nodding, Ao Qing spoke slowly, "You two squads will guard this place around the clock to ensure the safety and stability of the yellow lotus within!"

"If anyone dares to approach this place to covet the yellow lotus, send a signal immediately, understood?"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Hearing this, the members of the two squads did not dare to be negligent and responded in succession.

Immediately after, they quickly dispersed, surrounding and protecting the area where the yellow lotus was located.

Seeing this, Ao Qing and Ao Yu nodded in satisfaction.

After exchanging a look, Ao Yu said, "Big brother, since it wasn't easy to come here, shall we have a drink together?"

"Sure!"

Nodding, Ao Qing did not refuse.

Then, the two of them no longer lingered and walked toward Ao Yu's residence nearby.

Once the two left, the area suddenly became quiet, with only the guards standing there and Li Yun watching like a tiger eyeing its prey.

"Very good, this makes my subsequent actions even more convenient."

Taking in the whole scene, Li Yun knew his chance had come.

However, he did not act rashly. After all, neither the Quasi-Saint nor Ao Qing and Ao Yu had been gone for very long.

If he acted too eagerly now, it would likely attract their attention, or he might even be detected before he could succeed.

With this thought, Li Yun continued to lie in wait patiently.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was late at night.

The moonlight was thick, and the focus of the guards protecting the yellow lotus area gradually wavered.

Taking this scene in, Li Yun, hiding nearby, felt his spirits lift and thought to himself, "The chance has come."

Purple Gold Divine Pupils activated.

Li Yun's gaze swept around, quickly finding a gap in the guards. Simultaneously, through the power of his Purple Gold Divine Pupils, he also found a tiny flaw in the barrier and Restriction left by the Quasi-Saint expert.

Without any hesitation, Li Yun flapped his wings and flew out. After avoiding the guards' line of sight, he slipped directly into the barrier through the crack.

In just a few minutes, Li Yun successfully sneaked in and reached the location of the twelfth-grade thick earth yellow lotus.

"It's done!"

Landing steadily on the twelfth grade yellow lotus, Li Yun let out a heavy sigh of relief, while a hint of playfulness emerged in his eyes.

This treasure was so precious; the Dragon Clan wanted it, and so did he. But at this stage, he couldn't let the Dragon Clan know he had taken it, so he had to use the method of substituting the peach with the plum.

Thinking of this, Li Yun went directly to the lotus pedestal of the twelfth grade yellow lotus.

As far as he could see, there were five yellowish-brown lotus seeds growing inside, their aura identical to the yellow lotus. With a bit of careful maneuvering, he could replace it silently.

At this thought, Li Yun collected one of the lotus seeds into his middle dantian space and immediately mobilized the Law of Life to begin ripening it.

Before long, the yellow lotus seed broke open and grew into a third-grade yellow lotus, but because of Li Yun, its potential was exhausted, and it could no longer continue to increase its grade.

Li Yun didn't mind; what was the loss of one lotus seed to obtain the twelfth-grade thick earth yellow lotus? Besides, there were quite a few seeds.

Then, Li Yun directly used Transformation Techniques to manipulate it, transforming it into the appearance of a twelfth grade yellow lotus within a short time.

Having done all this, Li Yun's Divine Sense withdrew from the middle dantian space. He looked at the people outside, keeping his eyes and ears open as he waited.

An hour later, Li Yun seized the moment when the guards turned away from the yellow lotus and, without hesitation, transferred the twelfth-grade thick earth yellow lotus into his middle dantian space while releasing the disguised yellow lotus to replace it.

Thus, the substitution was complete, and the surrounding guards noticed nothing.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Li Yun did not leave immediately. Instead, he began to burrow downward along the collapsed crack.

Now that the twelfth-grade thick earth yellow lotus was in hand, he could have left, but he also wanted to get some dragon blood crystals to take back for study.

This area was caused by the collapse of a previous mine, which meant that the number of dragon blood crystals within would not be small, fully capable of meeting his needs!