Same-Source Treasure

Xuande carefully extended his divine sense, gently brushing it against the surface of the purified black lotus.

There was no rejection, no counterattack.

His divine sense smoothly made contact with the black lotus's main body.

He perceived it meticulously, inspecting it inch by inch.

Every petal of the lotus platform, every vein within its interior, the lotus seed pod at the core...

There was no trace of abnormal soul fluctuations, no hidden prohibition runes, not even a fragment of Rahula's lingering will.

"Could it be that Rahula's fall was so complete that even the imprint left on his supreme treasure was erased?

Or does this black lotus possess its own spirit, automatically expelling all traces of its former master?"

Xuande's heart churned with doubt and uncertainty. This smoothness was abnormally suspicious.

But that attraction of shared origin could not be faked.

After purification, this attraction had not weakened; instead, it had grown stronger and clearer.

He could even faintly sense a weak, naive emotion of "closeness" and "dependence" emanating from the black lotus?

This emotion was so faint it almost felt like an illusion, but combined with the intense attraction, it seemed genuine.

"Fortune favors the bold."

Xuande gazed at the Twelve-Petal Lotus Platform before him, which resonated with his origin yet opposed his nature, his heart locked in a fierce internal struggle.

This was Rahula's supreme treasure, the pinnacle of destruction in heaven and earth.

Once refined, it would inevitably entangle him in karma, perhaps even affecting his Dao heart of Purity and Merit.

But it was also born from a seed of the Chaos Green Lotus, sharing the same origin as himself.

If he could truly master it, he might comprehend higher mysteries of destruction and creation, merit and karma, completing his own Great Dao.

Moreover, this object was key to repairing the local Earth Vein; without dealing with it, the source of demonic energy would remain, and the Earth Vein could never be truly purified.

After hesitating repeatedly, Xuande's gaze gradually grew firm.

Since he had come here and sensed this karmic bond, and since this object was crucial to purifying the Earth Vein, there was no reason to retreat.

He confirmed once more that no other dangers lurked nearby, then cautiously, step by step, walked toward the black lotus.

His protective golden light was pushed to its maximum, his divine sense taut, ready to respond to any sudden situation at a moment's notice.

Until he stood before the black lotus, within arm's reach, still nothing abnormal occurred.

Xuande took a deep breath, extended his right hand, and slowly touched his fingertip to the lotus seed pod at the center of the black lotus.

On his fingertip, he condensed a trace of his purest origin imprint and Merit Golden Light.

The moment his fingertip touched the icy lotus seed pod—

Hum!

The black lotus trembled lightly!

It was not resistance, but rather... a quiver as if awakened from a long slumber.

Then, the intense attraction of shared origin reached its peak!

Xuande felt his Primordial Spirit resonate faintly; the phantom of the Merit Golden Lotus in his Purple Mansion involuntarily emerged, slowly rotating above his head, scattering pure radiance.

At the same time, on the pure black lotus body, a faint golden lotus phantom vaguely appeared, reflecting the phantom above Xuande's head!

Though it flickered and vanished, Xuande clearly caught it.

That was the manifestation of origin resonance!

No more hesitation!

The point of light on Xuande's fingertip, containing his Primordial Spirit imprint and aura of merit, merged into the core of the black lotus without any obstruction, like a drop of water dissolving into the sea.

A wondrous connection was instantly established. He "felt" the existence of the black lotus, like an extension of his own body.

He could perceive the vast, star-sea-like laws of destruction and energy within the black lotus—cold, silent, yet containing the terrifying might to end all things.

But now, this power no longer rejected him; instead, it accepted his imprint with a slow, submissive posture.

He did not immediately delve into deep refinement, merely imprinting his own, most preliminary ownership mark at the very core.

Even so, the moment the imprint was complete, the last trace of uncontrolled demonic energy around the black lotus dissipated entirely.

It slowly ceased its autonomous floating and obediently drifted down into Xuande's open palm.

Shrinking to the size of a palm, it lay there quietly.

Docile, unlike any supreme treasure that had once shaken the Primordial Wilderness.

Success!

The initial acknowledgment of the Twelve-Petal Destruction Black Lotus was complete!

A massive stone fell from Xuande's heart, even as an indescribably complex surge of emotion welled up within him.

He had truly obtained this supreme treasure.

He lowered his head to gaze at the small, exquisite black lotus platform in his palm, which could rotate slightly at his will.

The aura of destruction it emitted formed a strange balance and contrast with the Merit Golden Light on his body.

Reining in his turbulent thoughts, Xuande turned his gaze to the God-Slaying Spear on the other side.

If the Black Lotus gave him a sense of kinship and acceptance, then the God-Slaying Spear offered him a completely different, razor-sharp sensation of being "watched."

Even without an owner driving it, this killing treasure still exuded an aura that made even a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal's heart tremble.

"Transformed from the root of the Chaos Green Lotus..."

Xuande recalled the legend of this spear.

The Chaos Green Lotus, which nurtured Pangu, could not withstand the pressure of opening the heavens and shattered. Its stem fell into the Primordial Wilderness, absorbed the Sha Qi of creation, and transformed into this God-Slaying Spear.

The five unripe lotus seeds became, respectively, the Twelve-Petal World-Purifying White Lotus, the Twelve-Petal Destruction Black Lotus, the Twelve-Petal Merit Golden Lotus, the Twelve-Petal Karmic Fire Red Lotus, and the Twelve-Petal Samsara Purple Lotus.

The single ripe seed transformed into the Twenty-Four Petal Creation Green Lotus.

The other parts also formed many famous Innate Spiritual Treasures of the Primordial Wilderness.

From the root, he himself was of the same lineage—all part of the Chaos Green Lotus.

He followed the same method, first shining Merit Golden Light onto the God-Slaying Spear.

The demonic Qi coiled around the dark red shaft reacted violently, rapidly purified.

Compared to the Black Lotus, the demonic Qi on the God-Slaying Spear was more external.

It was mainly the aura left by Rahula's use, not its intrinsic nature.

The God-Slaying Spear's essence was extreme "slaughter" and "annihilation."

It was not entirely synonymous with "demon."

The purification process went smoothly as well, triggering no restrictions.

After purification, the God-Slaying Spear's dark red shaft seemed washed of dust, appearing more ancient and profound.

That killing aura became purer and more condensed, losing much of its brutality and gaining a somber majesty.

Xuande probed again with his divine sense, finding no residual marks or traps from Rahula.

He pondered briefly, then similarly split off a wisp of his Primordial Spirit imprint, mixed with the aura of merit, and pointed it toward the God-Slaying Spear's shaft.

Just as the imprint was about to touch the shaft, the God-Slaying Spear suddenly emitted an extremely faint hum on its own!

The spear tip flashed with cold light!

Xuande paused, on full alert.

But the hum quickly subsided, and the shaft trembled slightly, as if... responding?

Then, Xuande also felt that faint attraction.

Though not as strong as the Black Lotus's kinship from the same grade, it carried an acknowledgment and acceptance from a "thing of the same origin."

After all, his true form was the Merit Golden Lotus, a "child" of the Chaos Green Lotus.

And this spear was the "root" of the Chaos Green Lotus—this connection was real.

The imprint landed smoothly, merging into the shaft.

A connection, icy, murderous, yet incredibly smooth, was established.

Xuande felt as if he had grasped a sleeping ferocious dragon.

He could sense the terrifying power within it, enough to slay immortals and gods, but this power had now initially acknowledged him.

With a thought, the God-Slaying Spear shrank to a foot in length and flew into his other hand.

With the Destruction Black Lotus in one hand and the God-Slaying Spear in the other, Xuande stood in the empty underground cavern, his emotions tangled and hard to articulate.

A single underground exploration had yielded two core treasures of the Devil Ancestor, Rahula!

This luck was simply heaven-defying.

But he also knew these two treasures carried immense karma.

Especially since they had only just been initially acknowledged, far from refined.

How to use them in the future, how to balance their conflict with his own path of merit—these were major issues requiring careful thought.

But now was not the time to dwell on them. With the two treasures acknowledged, their outward emission of demonic Qi naturally ceased.

Xuande could sense that the pure demonic Qi that had filled the cavern was rapidly dissipating.

And the demonic Qi seeping through the rock cracks into the deeper Earth Veins had become water without a source.

He believed it would not be long before the Earth Veins slowly purified it on their own.