Harvesting the Golden Lotus

"Let's go."

Chen Xia said calmly, "Lead the way. We'll find the Golden Lotus and the True Blood first."

He had saved Li Tan because he wanted something from him. If Li Tan had been of no use, Chen Xia would most likely have walked away.

Such things were common in the cultivation world. He could not play the good Samaritan for free.

Treating Li Tan would cost him time, and during a treasure hunt, that was a poor bargain. But if Li Tan knew another way in, that changed things.

"Yes, Senior. Please follow me!" Li Tan's spirits soared. Enduring the difficulty of his broken leg, he pointed the way.

Fortunately, his Spirit Transformation cultivation let him travel through the water without relying on his legs.

He pointed not in the direction Elder Su and the others had gone, but toward a narrower, more hidden waterway concealed by enormous weeds and reefs.

"Senior, according to the map, the Golden Lotus and True Blood are hidden somewhere even more secluded. We need to circle around through here—"

Chen Xia nodded and moved to follow him.

One behind the other, they vanished into the dark waterway.

Li Tan's heart brimmed with relief at surviving, gratitude toward Chen Xia, and a hatred for Elder Su, Guo Chun, and the others that had sunk into his bones.

He knew how lucky he was to have met the Federation's leader, a man capable of toppling even the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Otherwise, he would already be dead.

He decided that once he had shown Chen Xia the way, he would leave this dangerous place at once and go home to recover. No treasure mattered more than his life. He dared ask for nothing else.

As they traveled through the dark, winding passages beneath the lake,