159: Chapter 159 Causal Substitution

Gu Shen was just about to communicate with the [Heaven and Earth Furnace] deep within his Sea of Consciousness to perform a dimensional leap.

From deep within the hard basalt layer of the Immortal Cave, a faint, high-frequency vibration suddenly resonated.

This vibration was distinct from the Spiritual Qi fluctuations caused by cultivators casting spells; it was more akin to the physical pressure of some plant roots breaking through rock layers.

Gu Shen calmed his blood and Qi, halted the command to activate the Great Furnace, and cast his gaze toward the murky lake bottom outside the Immortal Cave.

The solid basalt ground quietly cracked, opening an extremely fine fissure. A root, seemingly carved from green jade, drilled through the mud and sand, ignoring the high-pressure resistance of the lake bottom.

The green jade root stretched in the water, and a phantom nine-petaled green lotus slowly bloomed at its tip.

As the green halo circulated, the phantom image of the young girl The Green Lotus, draped in thin gauze, condensed into form once again. Her aura appeared slightly more unstable than it had a few days ago, but those pure green eyes still held the clarity unique to Essence Spirits.

"Ten-thousand-year Empty Green Lotus, The Green Lotus." Gu Shen's voice was steady as he revealed the newcomer's identity.

The girl's phantom gazed at Gu Shen, her Divine Thought rippling through the Immortal Cave like calm water: "The Black Flood Dragon's control over the water veins exceeded my expectations. When I was previously mobilizing the Cold Marrow in the Great Marsh's earth veins, I leaked Spiritual Qi, which it intercepted. Hence, I missed our appointment. It had intended to swallow the Karma-free vitality on you, but it did not expect to meet with rejection here."

"Since the Black Flood Dragon has retreated, the transaction between you and me can continue." The Green Lotus's Divine Thought flickered slightly.

Beneath the green lotus, the mud churned.

The skeletons of three great monsters were lifted out by the roots and landed heavily on the open ground of the Immortal Cave.

One was crimson, with thick bones faintly emitting heat, belonging to the Flame Poison Crocodile King; one was dark gold, with dense bone structure and a single horn on its head, belonging to the Golden-Horned Rhinoceros Beast; the last was slender and sleek, with remnants of lightning power seemingly lingering between the joints, belonging to the Thunder Cloud Snow Leopard.

These three Early Stage great monster skeletons, in terms of texture, far exceeded the Second Stage Sea-Splitting Profound Whale and were the top-tier Materials needed to upgrade the Cyber Iron Guard.

Subsequently, an ice-blue crystal emitting bone-chilling white mist appeared, and the temperature inside the Immortal Cave plummeted instantly, even causing a layer of frost to form on the titanium-carbon alloy walls. It was the Millennium Cold Marrow from the depths of the Great Marsh's earth veins.

"The bones and marrow you wanted are all here." The Green Lotus's gaze fell upon Gu Shen. "According to our agreement, hand over those drops of vitality that are not stained by Karma."

Gu Shen's Divine Sense swept over the skeletons and the Cold Marrow, confirming they were correct. With a slight turn of his wrist, a jade bottle flew out from his Storage Ring.

He flicked his finger.

The bottle stopper fell off, and ten crystal-clear, rounded drops of [essence white dew (Medium)] were enveloped by a layer of dark green magic power, hovering in mid-air.

This was the Origin of life, stripped of all Impurities and Heavenly Dao Karma by the [Heaven and Earth Furnace]'s Rules fire, emitting an enticing, pure aura.

A flash of undisguised longing crossed The Green Lotus's eyes. She extended her phantom finger, about to receive them.

"Wait."

Gu Shen's voice was slightly low. In the AI Crystal's deduction model, a variable that seriously defied logic suddenly popped up.

His gaze locked onto the depths of the green lotus heart. There, besides the green Qi maintaining the phantom, a fist-sized, emerald-colored gelatinous substance was also suspended. The vastness of the vitality contained within that substance was enough to cause the surrounding air to distort.

"kongqing spirit marrow." Gu Shen accurately stated the name of that substance.

The "Great Marsh Flora Records" recorded that an Empty Green Lotus could only condense one drop of spirit marrow every thousand years; that fist-sized spirit marrow was, at the very least, the accumulation of ten thousand years, and was the absolute core Origin of this plant spirit.

"You have stripped your own core Origin out of your body and brought it here—what is your intention?" Gu Shen's eyes showed vigilance.

If the other party intended to use this to set a trap, Gu Shen was ready to activate the Iron Guard at any moment.

The Green Lotus's phantom paused slightly, and a complex emotion flashed in her pure green eyes, seeming like nostalgia, yet also like determination.

"This is also part of the transaction."

Her Divine Thought echoed within the Immortal Cave, "These ten drops of Karma-free vitality are enough to nourish my Origin. But if I carry this kongqing spirit marrow while undergoing the Humanoid Transformation Heaveny Tribulation, I will undoubtedly die. I am willing to hand it over to you as well."

The AI Crystal between Gu Shen's brows performed high-frequency calculations, and countless data streams intertwined deep within his consciousness.

"Hand over ten thousand years of accumulated core Origin?"

Gu Shen's brain analyzed it rapidly. Plant spirits had long Lifespans, but developing intelligence was extremely difficult. In this kongqing spirit marrow, what had accumulated was not just ten thousand years of vitality, but also the traces of Heavenly Dao Laws imprinted bit by bit as it absorbed Spiritual Qi in this Cultivation World.

The Heavenly Dao of the Cultivation World was like a precise ledger. How much Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi you inhaled and exhaled, and how many Law-related wonders you condensed, determined how much Karma you owed the Heavenly Dao.

The Heaveny Tribulation was the Heavenly Dao's harvest period. The heavier the Karma, the more destructive the Lightning Tribulation.

"She is performing a Karma exchange." Gu Shen's deduction reached a conclusion.

The kongqing spirit marrow was a super target locked onto by the Heavenly Dao. If The Green Lotus carried it while undergoing the Tribulation, the lightning it would attract would be of a magnitude that guaranteed death. She was treating this spirit marrow, which contained Heavenly Dao Karma, as "waste" to be thrown to Gu Shen in exchange for the pure, Karma-free essence white dew produced by the [Heaven and Earth Furnace].

By using Karma-free vitality to reshape her Foundation, she could significantly lower the Heavenly Dao's hatred value, striving for a glimmer of hope in surviving the Tribulation.

"Severing the tail to survive, the golden cicada shedding its shell." Gu Shen saw through the survival wisdom of this ten-thousand-year-old Essence Spirit.

For The Green Lotus, this was the only way to abandon her Origin in exchange for survival; but for Gu Shen, who was preparing for "Dual-World Foundation Establishment" and currently needed extreme vitality to counteract the annihilation nuclear energy of the Wasteland, this kongqing spirit marrow was the perfect Foundation Establishment Material.

Having figured this out, Gu Shen withdrew the defenses around him.

"This item is a death warrant to you, but it is of great use to me. I accept this Karma."

Gu Shen waved his hand, and the ten drops of [essence white dew (Medium)] landed steadily in the heart of the green lotus, quickly absorbed by The Green Lotus. As the pure vitality entered her body, the phantom of the girl in green became noticeably more solid.

In exchange, that kongqing spirit marrow, which carried ten thousand years of time and the heavy Karma of the Heavenly Dao, slowly floated down into Gu Shen's palm.

The moment he touched it, a vast and gentle Wood-type Origin flowed along his Meridians, and the speed at which the "Longevity Art" circulated involuntarily increased by thirty percent.

"Master, the Third Stage monster bones have been scanned. Their bone density and toughness far exceed the Sea-Splitting Profound Whale, perfectly matching the load-bearing requirements for the Cyber Iron Guard upgrade. The physical cooling effect of the Millennium Cold Marrow is sufficient to provide triple redundancy when neutralizing the reactor's overload heat." The Crab reported the resource data quickly.

Gu Shen gazed at the kongqing spirit marrow in his hand, his eyes devoid of joy or sorrow.

Subsequently, he placed the kongqing spirit marrow into a specially made Spirit-Sealing Jade Box and, along with the three Third Stage monster skeletons and the Millennium Cold Marrow, put them all into his Storage Ring.

"The transaction is complete. Good luck with your Humanoid Transformation Lightning Tribulation." Gu Shen said flatly.

The Green Lotus took a deep look at Gu Shen. Essence Spirits did not know how to say thank you; having obtained the opportunity to extend her life, her form turned back into green Qi and dissipated. The basalt ground on the floor was seamless, with no trace left of the roots that had been there.

The Immortal Cave returned to deathly silence.

"Everything is ready."

Gu Shen turned and walked toward the meditation cushion in the Immortal Cave, suppressing his aura to the lowest level.

Gu Shen sat cross-legged and settled down, his mind sinking deep into his Sea of Consciousness.

The ancient [Heaven and Earth Furnace] emitted a distant roar, and the pale white Rules fire surged from the Void Realm, instantly engulfing Gu Shen's figure completely.