Black Lotus Covers the Sky, Seizing Spiritual Treasure

It had been over 2,000 years since Li Yi left Penglai Island. "I wonder if the Green Flood Dragon is sleeping on Penglai Island right now. This guy has gotten lazier and lazier since he started following me," Li Yi chuckled to himself.

Li Yi glanced at the collapsed small hill and, after a moment's thought, reached out his right hand downwards. "Rumble..." A massive stone tablet rose from the ground.

Narrowing his eyes, Li Yi swung his sword several times with his right hand. "Clang, clang..." A black lotus and a line of small characters appeared on the stone tablet.

It read, "I, Li Yi, known as the Sword Maniac, have today attained the Golden Immortal position. I carve this Sword Lotus here, hiding a trace of my sword intent within, awaiting those with fate."

"Hahaha..." Li Yi burst into laughter. "To think I've also become a senior today. I wonder who will comprehend this sword intent in the future," Li Yi mused with some anticipation.

He didn't know that the stone tablet would soon be submerged at the bottom of a lake due to collateral damage from a cultivator's battle. Millions of years later, as the terrain changed, a down-on-his-luck scholar obtained the stone tablet, comprehended a trace of sword intent from it, and with his three-foot-long green sword, he swept across the entire cultivation world, eventually ascending to the heavens, a story that became a beautiful legend.

After achieving the Golden Immortal position, Li Yi began to roam the Hong Huang. On one hand, he was searching for a defensive Innate Spiritual Treasure, and on the other, he wanted to befriend some Fellow Daoists to discuss Daoist principles, enrich his experiences, and absorb lessons to perfect his Sword Dao.

One day, Li Yi was traveling in the southern part of the Hong Huang when suddenly, a ray of divine light rose from a distant volcano, accompanied by waves of celestial music. "A Spiritual Treasure is emerging, and not just any ordinary Spiritual Treasure!" Li Yi dared not delay. "Poof," two pairs of gleaming black wings appeared behind him, and "Whoosh," he transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the volcano.

When Li Yi arrived at the volcano, he found that several people had already arrived. These individuals clearly showed a hint of hostility upon seeing Li Yi.

Li Yi didn't care. After all, they were all competitors, and it was likely they would draw swords against each other soon. Could he expect them to be polite now?

He found a relatively secluded spot and sat down, quietly waiting for the Spiritual Treasure to emerge.

To his surprise, days passed, and the Spiritual Treasure still hadn't appeared. The commotion, however, grew larger and larger. The divine light had already dyed the sky in various colors, and the celestial music continued to resound.

With such a massive disturbance, it was hard not to attract attention. In the past few days, over a thousand people had arrived, including dozens of Golden Immortals and even three Grand Unity Golden Immortals.

The anomalies continued to increase. Finally, a sea of fire, ten thousand miles wide, appeared above the volcano, and the entire area around the volcano grew increasingly scorching hot.

Everyone knew this had to be an extraordinary Innate Spiritual Treasure, possibly an ultimate Innate Spiritual Treasure. They didn't dare to think it could be a Primordial Innate Spiritual Treasure, as the probability was too low. One by one, the cultivators' eyes gleamed red as they waited for the Spiritual Treasure to emerge. The three Grand Unity Golden Immortals exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

"I am an elder of the Fire Worship Sacred Dynasty, Venerable Blazing Fire. This Spiritual Treasure has a connection with me. Please excuse me, everyone," said Venerable Blazing Fire, whose hair was fiery red. He glanced at the Golden Immortals around him, completely ignoring the Mystic Immortals and Heavenly Immortals.

A Grand Unity Golden Immortal, holding a spiritual treasure in the shape of a green mountain, also spoke, "This Spiritual Treasure summoned me from afar. It must have a connection with me. I ask for your cooperation, Fellow Daoists."

The Grand Unity Golden Immortal elder, carrying a great sword on his back, swung his sword. "Rumble..." Mountains collapsed. After sheathing his sword, he cast a cold, gleaming glance at everyone.

At this point, everyone understood the intentions of these three Grand Unity Golden Immortals: they intended to clear the area, leaving no chance for others to obtain the Spiritual Treasure.

A surge of anger swept through the crowd. Everyone was dissatisfied. Any Innate Spiritual Treasure could choose its own master. Although their strength was no match for Grand Unity Golden Immortals, they still had a chance. Now, these Grand Unity Golden Immortals had extinguished that sliver of hope, how could they not be enraged? However, they were intimidated by the power of the Grand Unity Golden Immortals and dared not speak out.

The crowd could only curse the Grand Unity Golden Immortals in their hearts, but they still retreated to the outer perimeter of the volcanic area as instructed. Li Yi also retreated with the crowd, his eyes gleaming.

"There is still a chance. As long as I can get the Spiritual Treasure, with my current speed, even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal can't do anything to me," Li Yi schemed in his mind.

"Boom..." The entire volcano began to shake, magma boiling, tongues of fire extending from the crater, and cracks appearing on the mountainside.

"Boom..." An armor-shaped red light flew out from a crack. As soon as the red light appeared, it tried to fly away.

"Venerable Blazing Fire, how dare you!" The Grand Unity Golden Immortal holding the green mountain saw Venerable Blazing Fire rapidly approaching the Spiritual Treasure and became furious. Without a word, he threw the green mountain, which transformed into a giant peak shrouded in green light, pressing down on Venerable Blazing Fire.

The elder carrying the great sword also panicked. A sky-piercing sword energy shot towards Venerable Blazing Fire.

Venerable Blazing Fire was enraged. The Spiritual Treasure was almost within his grasp; this was a rare defensive spiritual treasure in the Hong Huang! Seeing the giant peak and the sky-piercing sword energy attacking him, he had no choice but to temporarily abandon the Spiritual Treasure and dodge the attacks first.

"Bang bang..."

"Rumble..."

"Boom boom..."

Everyone watched the three Grand Unity Golden Immortals fighting in the sky for the Spiritual Treasure. Three brilliant clusters of light continuously collided, their figures completely obscured. All sorts of ultimate moves were unleashed one after another. The clouds in the sky were torn to shreds, the volcano below trembled and collapsed, and scorching magma flowed out along the cracks.

"Old Blazing Fire, die!" The Grand Unity Golden Immortal holding the green mountain continuously cast hand seals, as fast as illusions. Misty green light rippled across the green mountain. The green mountain flickered, and a hundred thousand giant mountains appeared in the sky, all pressing down on Venerable Blazing Fire.

The sight terrified the onlookers below, making them tremble. This was the power of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. Some cultivators who remembered their earlier thoughts of objecting and retreating felt a surge of relief, glad they hadn't stepped forward, or they would have been utterly annihilated.

"Hmph, you underestimate me too much," Venerable Blazing Fire said, transforming into a fiery serpent tens of thousands of feet long. He opened his mouth and spewed out a vast expanse of flames that spread towards the green mountain...

The two fought fiercely.

"Not good!"

"Not good!"

Venerable Blazing Fire and the Grand Unity Golden Immortal holding the green mountain cried out in unison. Seeing the sword-wielding elder approaching the Spiritual Treasure, they immediately nodded at each other and attacked the sword-wielding elder together.

Thus, the three fought endlessly in the sky. Whoever got close to the Spiritual Treasure was jointly attacked by the other two. They fought for three days and three nights, each heavily injured and in a strange state, unable to obtain the Spiritual Treasure.

Dozens of tall mountains below had long been leveled by the residual energy, and deep trenches, hundreds of meters deep, appeared on the ground. Directly below, a massive lake had been carved out by the combat aftermath.

"Do you think if the two Grand Unity Golden Immortals who didn't get the Spiritual Treasure will vent their anger on us after the fight?" a somewhat reckless-looking Mystic Immortal cautiously asked.

Everyone was stunned. After a moment of silence, most of them transformed into streaks of light and fled. They didn't dare to gamble on such a matter, as it could cost them their lives.

Only a small portion, unwilling to give up and believing they had trump cards to ensure their safety, remained.

Li Yi, of course, would not leave. He had finally encountered a defensive Innate Spiritual Treasure and didn't want to give up just like that.

The three continued to fight for another two days and two nights. All three were exhausted, and their attacks were no longer as fierce as before. They glared at each other. Now, it wasn't just about the Spiritual Treasure; if they backed down this time, they would inevitably be considered inferior, and unknowingly, the three became somewhat lax in their vigilance towards the Spiritual Treasure.

Just as the three were glaring at each other, "Poof," a strange vine appeared next to the Spiritual Treasure and coiled around it, snatching it away.

The three Grand Unity Golden Immortals were furious. They saw the Spiritual Treasure in the hands of a smiling Golden Immortal. This was unacceptable! They had fought to the death, only for a Golden Immortal to sneak in and take advantage. If other Grand Unity Golden Immortals found out, wouldn't they be laughed to death?

Just as they were about to attack and destroy this presumptuous Golden Immortal, they suddenly noticed that the sky was filled with black lotuses, covering the heavens and the earth.

Moreover, each of these black lotuses was formed from countless sharp, black sword energies. The three Grand Unity Golden Immortals immediately cast defensive restrictions.

These sword energy black lotuses caused immense trouble for the three Grand Unity Golden Immortals. By the time they finally managed to break free, they discovered Li Yi had flown away, flapping two pairs of wings. Their speed was such that even the Grand Unity Golden Immortals couldn't catch up.

The three Grand Unity Golden Immortals exchanged glances, their faces ashen. They all looked down at the few remaining individuals who hadn't fled.

"Senior, spare us! It has nothing to do with us!" the remaining few cried out in terror, fleeing madly while begging for their lives.

Unfortunately, their fate was sealed. The enraged Grand Unity Golden Immortals didn't listen to their explanations at all. They attacked in unison, turning them into ashes.