268: Exchange of tokens, natal sword embryo

The reward bestowed by the Heavenly Dao broke through the clouds and landed steadily in front of Qin Wushang.

He raised his hand to catch it; in his palm lay a platinum-colored dao lotus, shimmering brilliantly.

Its petals were layered like carved glazed glass, infused with an ancient and distant Dao charm. Its sacred aura was overwhelming, causing the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to converge toward it.

“It really is the world-cleansing dao lotus!”

Ye Hongfu cried out in surprise, her beautiful eyes filled with shock.

“This lotus can help a Cultivator comprehend the Dao. It can increase Cultivate speed and also temper one's Dao Comprehension Ability!”

“Furthermore, it is a defensive supreme treasure!”

Before she could finish, she added another sentence.

“Junior Brother, this is a growth-type supreme treasure!”

“If you refine it, its rank will climb in sync with your cultivation progress. In the future, when you reach the peak, it will be a Dao-protecting supreme treasure invincible among those of the same rank!”

Such an Opportunity would be enough to make all the Prodigies in the entire Upper Realm fight for it frantically.

But Qin Wushang only lightly pinched a petal with his fingertips, his expression so calm it was almost indifferent.

“Senior Sister, this thing is useless to me.”

His companion Primordial Dao Diagram had long since evolved the Origin of ten thousand Daos, and its Dao comprehension effect was even more terrifying.

Moreover, the Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo's innate Divine Ability, Chaos Seed Dao Lotus, could forge an invincible lotus platform using Chaos Qi to block most attacks.

There was no need to waste effort refining a supreme treasure that provided little benefit to him.

Qin Wushang looked up and handed the world-cleansing dao lotus to Ye Hongfu, smiling calmly, “Senior Sister, I haven't given you anything good yet. This is for you.”

Ye Hongfu, however, suddenly took half a step back and waved her hands repeatedly, a faint blush creeping onto her jade-like cheeks.

“No! It's too precious, I can't accept it!”

She looked at the shimmering dao lotus, her voice dropping lower, very stubborn.

“Although your Chaos Dao Lotus is strong, it may not necessarily be able to block killings at the Dao level.”

“This world-cleansing dao lotus can provide immunity to Dao attacks for a short time. The further you go, the more useful it will become...”

As she spoke, she lowered her gaze, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly, her beautiful eyes darting around.

She liked him!

Precisely because of this affection, she couldn't comfortably accept such a heavy gift.

She had no treasure of equal value to give in return, and she didn't want this pure affection to be tainted by even a hint of material exchange.

True love is never about constant taking.

Those who take others' gifts for granted are merely gold-diggers wearing the guise of affection.

“Take it!”

Qin Wushang grabbed Ye Hongfu's slightly cool, jade-like hand and pressed the shimmering world-cleansing dao lotus into her palm.

“This is our Token of love.”

Ye Hongfu's fingertips trembled as the sacred Dao charm on the petals seeped into her skin, making her heart race.

She hurriedly tried to withdraw her hand, saying seriously, “But... this is too precious...”

Qin Wushang looked up, a trace of feigned disappointment appearing in his dark eyes as his finger lightly brushed past the corner of her reddened eyes.

“What? Is it that Senior Sister doesn't like me and refuses to even accept my Token of love?”

“No!”

Ye Hongfu shook her head urgently, her jade cheeks as crimson as the sunset.

“It's just that I... I don't have anything of equal value to give back to you...”

“Silly girl.”

Qin Wushang chuckled, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, his tone gentle.

“How can feelings be measured by value?”

“If you like it, it's worth more than a thousand pieces of gold.”

“If you don't like it, it's just an ordinary lotus flower.”

How could he not know what Ye Hongfu was thinking?

“Besides, while this thing is a supreme treasure that others can only dream of, to me, it's really nothing much.”

Seeing Ye Hongfu still hesitate, Qin Wushang made a move as if to throw the dao lotus behind him, saying indifferently, “If you don't take it, I'll just throw it away to avoid it being an eyesore.”

“Don't!”

Ye Hongfu cried out and quickly clenched the dao lotus in her palm, fearing he would really discard it.

She bit her lip, her jade finger flicking lightly, and a brilliant sword light flew out from between her brows, turning into an inch-long small light sword that floated before Qin Wushang.

A faint crimson Dao light flowed over the blade, and a tiny silver bell was tied to the hilt, making a soft, pleasant sound as it swayed.

“This is...”

Qin Wushang raised an eyebrow. As his fingertips touched the light sword, he felt a warm Divine Power originating from the same source as Ye Hongfu's aura.

“This is my Natal Sword Embryo.”

Ye Hongfu lowered her gaze, her voice tinged with bashfulness.

“You gave me a Token of love, so I'm giving this to you.”

“It is the most important thing for a Sword Cultivator and has accompanied my cultivation until now... You must protect it well; don't lose it.”

The smile in Qin Wushang's eyes deepened as he took the small light sword into his Sea of Consciousness.

He nourished it with his own Dao charm and said loudly, “Rest assured, as long as I am here, it will reach the peak alongside me.”

...Over the next few days, Qin Wushang and Ye Hongfu walked side by side through the vast ruins of the Myriad Worlds Returning to Ruin.

Atop the broken walls and debris, shattered remains of ancient Saint Weapons could be seen everywhere.

Some sword blades still retained the pressure of the Saint Dao, while others were engraved with blurred ancient runes.

Even fragments were enough to make outside Cultivators fight to the death.

But Qin Wushang only glanced at them and lost interest.

Those supreme treasures, priceless in the eyes of others, were nothing more than scrap metal to him.

He really didn't have the habit of collecting junk!

Occasionally, he would open his Dual Pupils, Chaos light swirling within them as he easily saw through the layers of ancient Restrictions beneath the ruins, revealing Legacy Secret Realms that had been sealed for ages.

Those Legacies were considered excellent even across the Five Domains and Two Heavens, with thresholds high enough to discourage most Prodigies.

They showed great favor toward Qin Wushang's Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo, as if eager to offer up their entire foundations.

But he merely sneered and turned to leave!

In his words: “The System is already an invincible path; why endure the hardships of cultivation?”

A few more days passed, and the two reached the ruins of a dilapidated Small World.

Beneath the mottled world walls, an Eight-Leaf Sword Grass was actually growing. Its eight sword-shaped leaves were sharp and imposing, breathing out extremely sharp Sword Qi.

Ye Hongfu was overjoyed at the sight and immediately sat cross-legged to refine the grass with her own sword Dao Origin.

The moment the Sword Qi entered her body, the divine light around her surged, and her cultivation rose steadily. In just a few days, she had faintly touched the threshold of a Quasi-Saint.