Chapter 249: Twin Stem Lotus
Chapter 249: Twin Stem Lotus
Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii
Lu Yang had to do a lot of convincing, finally using the argument "mortals aren't worthy of enjoying the fairy's culinary skills" to dissuade the Everlasting Fairy from showing off her cooking.
"Lu Yang, your thinking is incorrect. In front of delicious food, everyone is equal. But let's leave it at that for now."
"Fairy, you are very wise," Lu Yang praised generously.
He felt that his action had saved countless lives, a deed of immense virtue.
If the cultivation world had a theory of achieving immortality through virtuous deeds, Lu Yang believed he could become immortal just from this.
The seven of them arrived at the Land of Gold Commerce, taking out various demon beast corpses from their identity jade tokens. These were their spoils of war, drawing exclamations of surprise.
"These... these are all Golden Core Stage demon beasts?!" The attendant who had previously received Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou recognized at a glance that these were Golden Core Stage beasts, and their bodies were almost intact.
This was mainly due to Lu Yang's use of the sword, aiming for one-hit kills, and Meng Jingzhou using his fists to crush the beasts' brains with internal force.
The attendant understood when he thought of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's identities.
A disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect, known for their unparalleled combat strength among their peers.
In fact, disciples of the Five Great Immortal Sects were all known for being invincible at the same level. If they couldn't fight above their level, they would be embarrassed to say they were from the Five Great Immortal Sects.
What the attendant didn't know was that Lu Yang was exceptionally skilled even among the Five Great Immortal Sects, having defeated the strongest Foundation Building Stage disciple of the Five Elements Sect in battle.
A direct descendant of the Meng family, known in the capital for their ability to stir up trouble. A queue of people seeking revenge against the Meng family could stretch from the Meng household to the palace. Without considerable skills, a direct descendant of the Meng family would have been killed long ago.
The attendant had also heard that the headquarters was considering setting up an "accidental death insurance" policy for the Meng family members.
"Don't you want the inner cores?" The attendant picked out the inner cores, the most valuable part of a Golden Core Stage demon beast, used to make pills that could increase the success rate of forming a Golden Core, highly sought after by late Foundation Building Stage cultivators.
Some half-step Golden Core Stage cultivators were just one pill made from an inner core away from truly becoming Golden Core Stage.
"No use to us, just sell it all," Meng Jingzhou waved dismissively.
The attendant quickly assessed the value of these demon beast corpses, determining that the price of three complete mid-Golden Core Stage demon beasts could buy one directional teleportation talisman, even with a discount for the Meng family.
"Get five more directional teleportation talismans," Meng Jingzhou, having tasted the benefits, bought five more.
Now he had nine directional teleportation talismans, enough to deal with nine Nascent Soul Stage demon beasts, a configuration that allowed them to move freely in the forest.
"Here are four for you," Meng Jingzhou gave Lu Yang four talismans.
"Do you have higher-level teleportation talismans?" Meng Jingzhou asked.
"Higher-level ones?"
"Ones that wouldn't be interrupted by a Spirit Transformation Stage beast's attack."
"One moment, let me check." Due to the high price of directional teleportation talismans, few people bought them, so the attendant wasn't very knowledgeable about them.
"Sorry, we only stock Nascent Soul level directional teleportation talismans here. The Spirit Transformation level ones are only available at our headquarters. Should we order some for you?"
"Have three sent over from your headquarters," Meng Jingzhou, always prioritizing safety, said.
"Alright."
"Has there been any news of heavenly materials or earthly treasures appearing in the forest recently?" Lu Yang inquired. The commerce guild offered this service, claiming that they could find any information you wanted as long as you paid enough spirit stones.
Of course, this is false advertising. At the very least, the commerce guild didn't know Eldest Senior Sister's age.
The attendant gestured for the two to enter a soundproof room and activated the formation to prevent external eavesdropping.
This was important information and couldn't be disclosed publicly.
"Someone has discovered the Twin Stem Lotus," the attendant said directly.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were both stunned. They had just mentioned this heavenly material last night, and now it had surfaced?
"Where?"
The attendant spread out a map and pointed to a lake: "It was found in a lake a hundred and ten miles south of the Demon Subjugation Pass. Originally, that lake was dominated by a late Golden Core Stage fish king, a poisonous pufferfish demon. Few at the same level could withstand its poison. It was the undisputed overlord of the area."
"Furthermore, it was rumored to have formed an alliance with four other Golden Core Stage demon beasts, causing much harm."
"Three days ago, someone accidentally entered the fish king's territory, expecting to die, but was not attacked. Instead, they found the corpses of the four Golden Core Stage demon beasts, dead from poisoning. Later autopsies confirmed this."
"That person also found the fish king's body in the lake, torn to pieces."
"We speculate that the fish king had a falling out with the four demon beasts, leading to a fight over the spoils. The fish king poisoned the four beasts, but was also beaten to death."
"Later, people discovered the Twin Stem Lotus in the lake, previously well-hidden by the fish king."
"The Twin Stem Lotus will bloom in five days. Many have already received the news and are preparing to seize it."
"Twin Stem Lotus..." Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou both showed intrigued smiles.
Neither had decided what kind of Golden Core to form. Lu Yang didn't want to form a sword core, and Meng Jingzhou didn't want to form a Single Golden Core. They both needed external items for inspiration.
Observing the Twin Stem Lotus could provide Golden Core insights. There was a precedent for this in the Dao Seeking Sect.
A senior brother, during his core formation, happened to have a Twin Stem Lotus blooming in his room. Under the moonlight, he observed the lotus, gained insight, and formed a highly aggressive Yin-Yang Golden Core.
Using the Yin-Yang Golden Core, sarcastic remarks would effortlessly come out, excelling in provoking others. (TL Note: The words for Yin-Yang is 阴阳. The phrase 阴阳怪气,containing the words "yin yang" in them, refers to being sarcastic)
Lu Yang was familiar with him, as he was their second senior brother currently training in the Golden Buddha Kingdom.
There was also the abbot of the Hanging Temple, the only Tribulation Crossing Stage among the heads of the Five Great Immortal Sects. He also referred to the Twin Stem Lotus when forming his Golden Core.
The abbot had a lotus pattern on his Golden Core. As a result, when debating or lecturing, special effects like lotuses coming from his mouth and blossoming with each step would appear, which was highly impressive.
This was different from spells, which relied on external forces. His effects were natural and automatic.
This drew the admiration of many great cultivators, showing the powerful effect of the Twin Stem Lotus.
"The lotus seeds are also delicious," the Everlasting Fairy reminded Lu Yang of another benefit of the Twin Stem Lotus.
She had noticed the Twin Stem Lotus when she killed the fish king, but since it hadn't bloomed yet, harvesting it rashly would have ruined its spiritual essence.
As an immortal chef, or rather the world's only immortal chef, she couldn't waste such a treasure.
"The lotus seeds can be made into a sweet soup, symbolizing fertility and blessing. If you want children in the future, you can make this for your wife."
"...Fairy, you're thinking too far ahead. I don't even have a fiancée."
"You will eventually. This is a blessing from an immortal!"
The Everlasting Fairy was confident. Her blessings had never failed.
Lu Yang felt that his fate was fraught with challenges.
(End of the chapter)