This was no longer a natural cavern, but a magnificent underground temple so vast it took your breath away.
The ceiling rose beyond sight, lost in endless darkness. Dozens of enormous stone pillars, each requiring more than ten people to encircle, stood like silent giants, supporting the dead space.
The pillars and walls were covered in murals and runes, weathered beyond recognition.
At the very center of the temple stood a huge, long-dried pool.
Its bottom was pitch-black.
At the center of that darkness, a palm-sized black lotus floated silently.
It had no stem or roots, simply hovering half a foot above the ground. Its entire body looked as if it had been carved from the purest black jade, and the edges of each petal shimmered with an eerie dark light, as if breathing.
Lu Yuan's pupils contracted sharply.
The Nine Netherworld Soul Devouring Lotus!
He had once read about it in a fragmentary Ancient Tome. It was a demonic plant that grew in places of extreme yin and fed on Divine Souls and resentment!
It was both deadly poison and a priceless treasure!
It could drain a cultivator's spiritual sea in an instant, or...restore a shattered dantian.
Lu Yuan instinctively touched his lower abdomen.
That place had once been the source of his pride as a genius. Now, it was nothing but a desolate ruin.
The blood in his veins nearly boiled!
This was a desperate plight, but also a heaven-sent opportunity!
Just as his emotions surged, a hoarse voice, as if scraping metal, rang out from not far behind him.
"You picked quite a spot."
Lu Yuan's body stiffened, but he didn't turn around.
It was Ghost Mask.
That most troublesome bastard hadn't gone after Yun Chan. He'd followed Lu Yuan here.
Damn it. The bait had been