Bestowing Treasures Upon Jieyin, Plan of the Black Lotus

Randeng summoned the Vajra Pestle, erased the Primordial Spirit imprint belonging to him on it, and gently pushed it towards Jieyin.

"Junior Brother Jieyin, I've troubled you to diligently manage the family's affairs for nearly twenty thousand years. This Mid Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Vajra Pestle, is a gift for your self-defense."

Randeng now had the Primordial Chaos Heaven Measuring Ruler for offense and two top-grade spiritual lamps for defense, so he didn't particularly lack the Vajra Pestle.

On the contrary, Jieyin's Six Roots Pure Bamboo was more geared towards support and defense, lacking offensive capabilities. Gifting this treasure to him was also a reward for not harboring any ulterior motives after Randeng's departure.

Jieyin was overjoyed. He took the Vajra Pestle and examined it closely.

"Haha, a good treasure! Jieyin thanks Senior Brother. Junior Brother Zhunti and I are also part of the West."

Zhenyuanzi watched from the side with envy. To casually gift a Mid Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure to someone else, Fellow Daoist Randeng certainly had deep reserves.

"What about me, Senior Brother? I've also worked very hard."

Zhunti chimed in at the opportune moment, as no one ever disliked having more Innate Spiritual Treasures.

"After you undergo Form Transformation, Senior Brother will naturally not shortchange you."

Randeng sighed helplessly. Zhunti was already a handful before undergoing Form Transformation.

"Alright, Jieyin, use the Vajra Pestle to wake up this dragon. I have some ideas I want to test."

Randeng pointed at the last dragon who was begging for mercy, signaling Jieyin to use the Vajra Pestle to bring him to his senses.

Jieyin first left his Primordial Spirit imprint on the Vajra Pestle, understanding Randeng's intention.

He raised his hand and flicked it. A strand of demon-breaking power shot out from the top of the Vajra Pestle and entered the dragon's Primordial Spirit.

Another scream echoed. The dragon woke up, only to find his cultivation sealed and himself surrounded by three Daoists and a tree, all looking at him with ill intent.

Zhenyuanzi watched with a jolt, thinking they were going to use magic to heal the dragon, but it turned out to be so direct.

"I haven't asked for your name yet, dragon?" Randeng spoke, his tone as gentle as possible.

"Replying to Senior, my name is Ao Yuan," Ao Yuan replied respectfully.

"Do you want to live, Ao Yuan? If so, cooperate with me later and do not resist."

Randeng coaxed him patiently. The upcoming experiment, if Ao Yuan didn't cooperate, could accidentally cause him to explode and die.

Ao Yuan didn't know what this young Daoist intended, but his survival instinct drove him to nod.

Seeing his agreement, Randeng no longer hesitated. He drew forth the Nine-Rank World-Ending Black Lotus from his Spiritual Platform, formed a hand seal, condensed a black lotus seed from the World-Destroying Black Lotus, and slowly infused it into Ao Yuan's Primordial Spirit.

Ao Yuan's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "World-Destroying Black Lotus! You're a demon cultivator!"

"If you don't want your Primordial Spirit to explode, shut your mouth obediently and accept the lotus seed."

Randeng waved his hand, sealing his mouth, and suppressed the urge to slap him to death. He, the foremost disciple of the Xuanmen, was being slandered as a demon cultivator.

Through the lotus seed, Randeng caught a glimpse of Ao Yuan's Primordial Spirit. A phantom image of a yellow dragon coiled on its Spiritual Platform. Countless gray-white chains extended from the void, firmly locking Ao Yuan's Primordial Spirit and severing his hope of ever advancing to Grand Unity!

Karmic Power of Heaven and Earth!

During the Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation, the Dragon and Phoenix tribes fought a decisive battle, causing boundless slaughter and shattering the Great Desolation, incurring the wrath of Heaven and Earth. Endless Karmic Power descended, and countless Grand Unity and even Quasi-Saint experts of the Dragon and Phoenix tribes perished on the spot. Consequently, new members born into the two tribes afterward were imprisoned by Karmic Power chains from birth, shackling their Primordial Spirits.

From then on, it became extremely difficult for the two tribes to comprehend the laws of Heaven and Earth. Once they entered meditation, the Karmic Power chains would erode their Primordial Spirits, causing them to go mad.

The surviving Grand Unity experts were mostly those who had managed to cling to life after the Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation. There were almost no newly promoted Grand Unity experts.

As the black lotus seed took root and sprouted on Ao Yuan's Primordial Spirit, Ao Yuan felt as if he were being devoured by ten thousand ants. However, the Karmic Power chains that had imprisoned his Primordial Spirit for countless Aeons actually dimmed slightly.

"What is this? I can feel my cultivation bottleneck faintly loosening. I can sense laws again?"

Ao Yuan's face, a mixture of pain and excitement, looked incredibly strange.

Randeng nodded. It seemed his guess was correct. Luohu had told him the method to cultivate the World-Destroying Black Lotus was to absorb malevolent energy and Karmic Power through immense slaughter, otherwise, it would continuously erode one's Primordial Spirit, which was indeed a Demonic Dao practice.

If the Dao Ancestor hadn't intervened to seal the World-Destroying Black Lotus, he truly didn't know what he would have done facing the constant erosion of his own Primordial Spirit.

However, just as Randeng was burning Ao Yuan's Primordial Spirit with Netherworld Ghost Fire, he noticed the Karmic Power chains entwined around it. He began to ponder if he could split off lotus seeds to absorb Karmic Power from other beings and then reclaim the grown low-grade World-Destroying Black Lotus.

This method, though slow, was safe. Conversely, races with profound Karmic Power like the Dragon race would have to seek him out. His World-Destroying Black Lotus could also use this opportunity to grow to the twelfth rank and reach its peak.

"Senior, can this method be used on other dragons? If so, my Dragon race has hope for revival!"

Ao Yuan, ignoring the pain, knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Randeng.

A loyal dragon, indeed. Randeng snorted coldly, interrupting him. "Don't even think about it. This method consumes a lot of mental energy, and I cannot mass-produce seeds."

Ao Yuan's eyes dimmed slightly, then suddenly brightened.

"Senior, are you going to let me go next, so I can deliver a message to the Dragon race?"

Ao Yuan seemed to have grasped a glimmer of hope and pleaded loudly.

"A clever one, indeed."

Randeng praised him, then flicked his sleeve and sent him flying, stating coldly, "But I don't need you to deliver a message, and I may not even need you."

Ao Yuan tumbled a few times but didn't get angry.

"Senior, you need me. I am the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon Clan. The one you defeated initially was my guard leader. If they return, they will be treated as spies of the Demonic Dao. After all, the Demon Ancestor nearly caused my Dragon race to be annihilated. Only by returning will they have a chance to be believed."

"Hahaha, good. I underestimated you. Fine, I will let you go. You are a smart person, and you know what to say."

Randeng was a little surprised to be outmaneuvered by this Dragon Palace's Third Prince, but it didn't matter; the message would reach the Dragon Clan's higher-ups.

He opened the Great Array and gestured for Ao Yuan to leave. To his surprise, Ao Yuan remained standing there and spoke again, "Senior, I have one more request. After my clan and you reach an agreement, could you please engrave the lotus seed for my Dao companion first? If I become the King of the West Sea afterward, I promise to never oppose the West."

Randeng was somewhat astonished. Ao Yuan had been solely focused on his clan just moments ago, so why was he now considering his Dao companion? However, it made no difference to him who received the engraving first, so he said, "All acceptable. I will only engrave the seed, regardless of who receives it. But why this sudden request?"

"To be frank, Senior, my Dao companion is close to giving birth. With that Karmic Power shackles, our newborns have almost no chance of survival. I fear both mother and child might perish, which is why I implore you, Senior."

Ao Yuan's sincerity was absolute, yet tears streamed down his face. He couldn't tell if they were from pain or worry for his wife and child.

Randeng did not reply. With his back to Ao Yuan, he waved a hand, signaling him to leave.

With a resonant dragon's roar, Ao Yuan transformed into his dragon form and flew towards the West Sea.

Zhenyuanzi let out a sigh, breaking the silence first. "I never expected to find a being within the Dragon Clan who cares so deeply for his kin and is also full of loyalty and righteousness."

"Indeed. This dragon might very well lead the Dragon Clan to revival in the future."

Jieyin also sighed in admiration.

"Under the Great Tribulation, all are but dust. We shall see what the future holds."

Jieyin and Zhenyuanzi were unaware of the future Major Trends, but he knew. He and Taishang had already reached Grand Unity, and before long, most of the Innate Divine Saints of this era would enter the Grand Unity realm. The lectures at Purple霄 Palace would begin, and that would be when the Witch-Demon War would erupt.

This was why Randeng wanted to establish contact with the Dragon Clan early. In his past life, the West was still very barren during the Witch-Demon War, and no one had designs on it. Now, its early revival was both a good and a bad thing.

With the West present, would the Witches and Demons still only target each other? Might they attack the West together?

Therefore, the West needed an ally—one strong enough to withstand at least one of the other two factions, and yet within Randeng's control.

The Dragon Clan was the best choice.

They possessed sufficient foundations, yet also had a fatal flaw in Karmic Power, making them the perfect ally.