Chapter Fourteen: Black and White Lotus Seeds

?Chapter Fourteen: Black and White Lotus Seeds

Bi Fan had no idea that many powerful cultivators had arrived outside. Under the Two-Colored Strange Lotus's control, he was simply moving deeper, step by step.

He didn't know where the end was, so all he could do was leave it to fate. Fortunately, the Two-Colored Strange Lotus didn't seem to mean him any harm.

Still, he was very optimistic, and instead found himself full of curiosity about the source of the Killing Intent.

With nothing else to do, Bi Fan kept an eye on the Two-Colored Strange Lotus. He had no idea how much time had passed when he suddenly noticed that two of the holes in the lotus pod held a white and a black lotus seed, each no bigger than a grain of rice.

Could it really be producing lotus seeds? I wonder if they're edible. Bi Fan thought to himself.

The lotus seeds had clearly been produced after absorbing a great deal of Killing Intent and spiritual energy, and they were still growing.

The Two-Colored Strange Lotus was absorbing Killing Intent and spiritual energy faster and faster, but Bi Fan's progress was gradually slowing.

The Killing Intent and spiritual energy had formed a storm. As it swept through, even dead leaves danced in the air.

Sometimes dead leaves struck Bi Fan's face, stinging faintly.

Bi Fan was overjoyed that he could still feel pain. It meant his body still belonged to him.

"Look! There really is someone up ahead, and he's still alive!"

An exclamation came from behind him. Bi Fan heard it clearly.

Oh no, someone's caught up. I can't move right now. What if they attack me?

Bi Fan was startled and felt uneasy.

If he could control his body, he wouldn't be afraid at all.

Several powerful cultivators slowly caught up from behind. They were still more than two hundred meters away from Bi Fan when they spotted his figure.

By this point, only thirteen of the several hundred powerful cultivators were still holding on. Most had already been forced out, and quite a few had suffered Qi Deviation.

All thirteen were outstanding Mortal Transformation Realm cultivators. They weren't far apart, and before long, every one of them had seen Bi Fan.

"That kid's standing there without moving. What's going on?"

"He hasn't moved in a long time. Could he be dead? Still, getting that far is impressive. I heard he's a junior in the Valiance Realm. Is that true?"

"The Valiance Realm? Impossible. Those people outside must have gotten it wrong, or he's pretending to be weak while hiding his true strength. We're already powerful cultivators in the Mortal Transformation Realm, and even we can't get that far." One of them snorted.

Indeed, every one of them was an expert. But after entering the Killing Intent zone and reaching this position, they could barely move another step.

The person ahead of them had gone another two hundred meters farther. How could he possibly be a junior in the Valiance Realm?

Just moments ago, several Mortal Transformation Realm cultivators had suffered Qi Deviation and died. None of the thirteen believed someone in the Valiance Realm could have made it this far.

"The pressure up ahead keeps getting stronger. I'm afraid none of us can get much farther," one of them sighed.

"That's right. The Killing Intent is too strong. I reckon only Spiritual Power Realm experts can investigate its source."

"Why don't we retreat and have the higher-ups from our sect come investigate? Even if there's anything to gain, it won't be ours anyway."

All thirteen were beginning to think of retreating. None of them wanted to die.

"Damn! Look! He's still alive—he just moved a step!" one of them cried out.

The other twelve turned their eyes toward Bi Fan in unison. They happened to see him come to a stop, and were so shocked that they stood gaping, unable to speak.

After a long while, one of them asked in surprise, "Could that person be a Spiritual Power Realm expert?"

"That's certainly possible. Otherwise, he couldn't have made it so far."

"Why would a Spiritual Power Realm expert come to the outskirts of the Demon Domain?"

No one had an answer.

"Whatever the case, I'm going out to report this to the higher-ups in my sect. I'm leaving first. What about you?"

"Since you're leaving, we might as well all retreat. That person can barely take another step. He'll probably withdraw soon. The source of the Killing Intent is still a long way from here. He can't possibly reach it."

They all began to retreat. By the time they left the Killing Intent zone, they were drenched from head to toe.

"Finally, we're out. If we'd stayed any longer, we'd have been done for," one of them said with a huge sigh of relief.

"Everyone, what was it like in there?" Quite a few people gathered around to ask about the situation.

But the last thirteen powerful cultivators to come out kept their mouths shut. They hadn't learned anything at all.

The thirteen powerful cultivators hurried away, apparently intending to leave the outskirts of the Demon Domain.

Quite a few clever people left as well. They had already figured it out: since they couldn't get any deeper into the central area, staying here would only waste their time.

In a short while, fewer than a hundred human cultivators remained around the Killing Intent zone. They were disciples left behind by various sects to observe the situation there.

Bi Fan had been worried about the powerful cultivators behind him. He hadn't expected them to leave on their own, and it left him puzzled.

Bi Fan had no time to think about it, because he was already struggling to withstand the erosion of the Killing Intent.

Even with the Two-Colored Strange Lotus protecting him, waves of Killing Intent continued to slam into his soul, causing him tremendous pain.

"Grandpa Sacred Lotus, please spare me. I don't want to die yet." All Bi Fan could do was plead in his heart.

But the Two-Colored Strange Lotus clearly hadn't absorbed enough Killing Intent and spiritual energy yet. It showed no intention of leaving.

Bi Fan had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure the boundless pain: the torment of his soul, the anguish of his heart, the crushing of his spirit. It was all nearly enough to drive him mad.

Going mad would have been a relief. At least then he wouldn't have to suffer.

But Bi Fan's mind remained crystal clear, and every bit of pain was just as vivid.

He wanted to roar and vent his frustration, but he couldn't make a sound.

Endure it! Bi Fan had already learned to turn a hundred trials into gold. He could endure a few more.

But the pain was simply too intense. Bi Fan truly wanted to pass out. Fainting would have been the happiest thing in the world.

The Two-Colored Strange Lotus continued to control Bi Fan and move him forward.

Eventually, it wasn't only his soul that suffered. Even his body was struck by the force.

Perhaps it had absorbed too much Killing Intent and spiritual energy. Some of it had remained inside Bi Fan's body, rampaging through him and tearing open quite a few of his meridians.

Bi Fan was suffering on two fronts, and he truly felt he couldn't take much more.

Suddenly, the cultivation art he had learned from the Golden Silk Jade Book began running on its own. It started refining the Killing Intent and spiritual energy, tempering his body.

Bi Fan was so shocked that he forgot his pain and carefully examined how the cultivation art was operating.

The cultivation art in the Golden Silk Jade Book was truly impressive. It gathered the Killing Intent and spiritual energy that had entered his body into a mass, then repeatedly drove it into his body, actually helping Bi Fan temper himself.

Bi Fan could clearly feel his physical strength increasing. The sensation was so exhilarating that he even forgot his pain.

By then, Bi Fan was in no hurry to leave. As long as he could improve his strength, he was willing to endure any amount of suffering.

So what if he was drenched from head to toe? So what if his head felt like it was about to explode?

As long as he wouldn't die, he might as well cultivate to his heart's content.

Unfortunately, the Qingyang Longevity Art was too low-level to run on its own. Otherwise, Bi Fan would have tried cultivating his inner breath here.

But he couldn't control his body, much less practice a cultivation art.

The Two-Colored Strange Lotus was absorbing Killing Intent and spiritual energy faster and faster. The lotus seeds were gradually growing larger, and the lotus pod was growing too.

It was all happening slowly. Time passed, and Bi Fan had no idea how long he had been in there.

Suddenly, a tiger's roar startled Bi Fan, and he quickly stopped looking within himself.

A huge black tiger appeared before him, not far away. Its eyes were blood-red, and it looked as if it had gone mad.

When the black tiger saw Bi Fan, it roared a few times and charged straight at him.

The black tiger's aura was powerful, even a little stronger than that of the Evil Fire Snake Lion.

Bi Fan used all his strength to try to move aside and dodge, but his body wouldn't obey him.

It's over! Bi Fan closed his eyes. He had already done everything he could.

Just as the black tiger's gaping jaws neared Bi Fan's head, it suddenly stopped, its body suspended in midair as it struggled nonstop.

Bi Fan opened his eyes and saw that the black tiger had been trapped by a net made of Black Silk. It couldn't move at all.

In the blink of an eye, the black tiger let out a cry of agony as its body began to disappear.

When Bi Fan saw the heap of white bones, he felt sick.

Before long, even the bones disappeared. The Black Silk net split into strands and returned to Bi Fan's body.

Bi Fan was numb with shock. The Black Silk seemed to be growing more and more powerful, and he vaguely guessed it had something to do with the Two-Colored Strange Lotus inside him.

But then he felt a little delighted. This proved that a power inside him was protecting him, always appearing at critical moments.

Bi Fan quickly looked within himself, wanting to see what was going on.

The Two-Colored Strange Lotus was still absorbing Killing Intent and spiritual energy as before. Nothing seemed to have changed.

He had no idea how much time had passed when Bi Fan felt his physical strength had soared to six Yunshi, bringing it level with his inner breath cultivation.

"Wonderful! From now on, I can at least fight Great Strength Realm experts on equal footing." Bi Fan was overjoyed.

That wasn't all. Bi Fan discovered that the first two lotus seeds had become round and plump, almost indistinguishable from mature seeds.

In two more holes, a tiny white speck and a tiny black speck had appeared. More lotus seeds were being produced.

One surprise after another made Bi Fan forget the pain. If he could control himself, he would have shouted aloud.

Bi Fan had already gone very deep. He felt as if the whirlwind formed by the Killing Intent and spiritual energy was about to sweep him away.

The wind struck his face like knives.

The Two-Colored Strange Lotus was a bottomless pit. No one knew how much Killing Intent and spiritual energy it had absorbed—enough to stuff countless Spiritual Power Realm experts until they burst—yet the changes to the Two-Colored Strange Lotus were truly slight.

Aside from an extra lotus pod and two lotus seeds, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it.

Absorb away! Go ahead and absorb! ... Just don't burst from having too much. Bi Fan had stopped caring.

The piercing pain hadn't let up for even a moment, and he was starting to grow immune to it.

Bi Fan was no longer very interested in the source of the Killing Intent. Things were already this painful out here. Who knew how terrible it would be at the source?

He reckoned that the moment he got close, the whirlwind formed by the Killing Intent and spiritual energy would tear him to shreds. Getting any benefits was just a pipe dream.

All Bi Fan wanted now was for the Two-Colored Strange Lotus to absorb enough Killing Intent and spiritual energy to reach saturation, then leave quickly. His strength had improved quite a bit, and he was already satisfied.

The human heart was an elephant trying to swallow a snake. Too much greed would bring down a bolt of heavenly lightning.

The moment those thoughts crossed his mind, he heard human voices again. More powerful cultivators had arrived, and leaving would probably be difficult now.

The newcomers were probably quite powerful. No one would dare venture so deep unless they were exceptionally strong. The previous people had been Mortal Transformation Realm cultivators. The powerful cultivators they brought in couldn't possibly be any weaker.

"Two-Colored Strange Lotus, this is all your greed's fault. You've done me in!" Bi Fan was extremely frustrated.