Crimson Gold Lotus

Lin Chuan shifted his gaze downward, beginning to scan the surface of the magma lake. His previous fleeting glance had left him oblivious to what lay within, but as he scrutinized it now, he immediately spotted numerous crimson objects extending from the lake. They were writhing slightly, all of them hair-like tentacles belonging to the Ant Queen.

Among these crimson tentacles, there was a distinct red plant growing within the magma lake, emitting a faint crimson-gold glow. The tentacles of the Ant Queen were all writhing in the direction of that very plant—a crimson-gold lotus!

"Is... is this a Crimson Flame Lotus?" Lin Chuan frowned slightly, his eyes fixed curiously on the unique lotus.

In terms of form, this lotus resembled a Crimson Flame Lotus, yet there were differences, especially the crimson-gold radiance it emitted, which appeared exceptionally noble. It looked like a graceful young girl, standing on tiptoe and dancing lightly within the magma lake.

Lin Chuan tried to search his memories for an answer, only to find not a single scrap of information regarding medicinal herbs.

The former Lin Chuan had lived much like the child of a servant; apart from a brief initial exposure to cultivation, he had spent his time performing menial tasks alongside his mother, right up until the moment she died and his eyes were gouged out.

Ceasing his search through the former Lin Chuan's memories, he began to commit the appearance of this Crimson Flame Lotus to mind, particularly the nine golden seeds growing on its seed pod. They looked extraordinary, as Lin Chuan had never seen seeds on any other Crimson Flame Lotus before.

Hoo!

Lin Chuan exhaled, closing his eyes and retracting the Tenseigan.

Using the Tenseigan consumed a vast amount of energy; it was not merely a drain on his chakra, but a severe test for his physical body. Intuition told him that it was best to use the ocular power of these eyes sparingly, at least given his current level of cultivation.

The Byakugan in Naruto had almost no side effects, and this held true for Lin Chuan as well, but the same could not be said for his other eyes. The Tenseigan, in particular, had already placed a significant burden on his body after only a few brief uses.

The Sharingan was much the same. His Sharingan was projected and separated from the Rinne Sharingan at the center of his brow, and excessive use would also cause damage to his body. Lin Chuan even suspected that his Sharingan was like the one in the original series—use it too much, and he would go blind!

The only difference was that in Naruto, once you were blind, you stayed blind, but if he were to go blind, he could recover, thanks to the Fruit of the God Tree within his dantian!

Lin Chuan had discovered that the purple mist periodically released by the Fruit of the God Tree served to strengthen his body while also providing him with more ocular power. This energy was profound and could not be used directly; it could only act continuously upon his eyes, enhancing his ocular techniques while simultaneously repairing the damage caused by using them. This was the reason Lin Chuan had never completely abandoned the use of the Tenseigan and Sharingan.

However, given Lin Chuan's current strength, the burden caused by the Sharingan was negligible. It would likely only manifest strong side effects once his Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyo. At present, only the Tenseigan placed a heavy burden on him, so he would not use its power unless absolutely forced to.

Yet, because the visual range of the Tenseigan was far greater than that of the Byakugan, Lin Chuan had no choice but to use it in situations like the one he had just encountered.

After recovering slightly, Lin Chuan turned and headed toward the depths of the cave. He needed to rendezvous with Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi as soon as possible. Bringing them out was one thing, but Lin Chuan also wanted to get to the bottom of what that crimson-gold Crimson Flame Lotus actually was. His intuition told him that Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi must know something about that peculiar plant.

Relying on the advantage of his Byakugan, Lin Chuan bypassed everyone, successfully returning to the cave after plucking nine scattered Crimson Flame Lotuses. By this time, Bu Lianshi and Qin Lang had mostly recovered. After all, they were no ordinary cultivators; although the previous battle had been extremely dangerous, the opponents had only intended to drain their spiritual energy rather than kill them. Consequently, once Lin Chuan treated their injuries with Sage Chakra, they were no longer in any serious trouble.

As for Han Qing and his two companions, their injuries were more severe and had not fully healed, but after Lin Chuan's Healing Technique, their external wounds were no longer an issue, and the rest would have to be left to their own recovery.

Seeing Lin Chuan return, the five of them immediately roused themselves from their meditation.

"How was it? Did you find anything?" Qin Lang asked.

"Yes, let's leave this place as soon as possible!" Lin Chuan nodded, exchanging a look with Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi without speaking further.

"Are we leaving the Underground Magma Lake directly now?" Han Qing asked, looking somewhat startled. Lin Chuan's cultivation was so powerful that almost no one here was his match; could there be some hidden danger?

"There is no longer any need to stay here. Although the chaotic fighting triggered by the examinees has ceased to escalate, the Crimson Flame Lotuses have been mostly picked. Staying any longer is meaningless!" Lin Chuan explained.

"You should come with us when we leave. I will return the Spirit Core of the Spirit Beast I took from you previously. Furthermore, I have three Crimson Flame Lotuses here; with these, you will certainly pass the assessment, so there is no need to take any more risks for the remainder of the time!" Lin Chuan said with a smile.

He had already consumed all the Crimson Flame Lotuses he had picked earlier, so he had specifically gone to gather these on his way back, intending them for the purpose of passing the assessment.

Han Qing nodded and accepted the Crimson Flame Lotuses from Lin Chuan's hand. He had helped Lin Chuan earlier for the sake of a reward, so taking these items was only fair. Moreover, Lin Chuan had invited them to act together, which essentially guaranteed their safety for the time being, so he had no reason to oppose Lin Chuan's decision.

The six of them packed up briefly and left the cave, heading toward the surface along the intricate lava tunnels. With Lin Chuan's Byakugan monitoring everything in the surroundings, Bu Lianshi and Qin Lang had no concerns about encountering danger.

Han Qing, on the other hand, did not feel the same. Seeing the swaggering manner of Lin Chuan and his two companions, he broke into a cold sweat, cautiously checking for any signs of trouble and silently wondering if the three of them were being a bit too complacent.

"That is what I saw. What do you think that crimson-gold lotus is? It was actually being guarded by that Nascent Soul stage Ant Queen!" Lin Chuan recounted everything he had seen underground to Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi, focusing specifically on the crimson-gold lotus.

"If what you saw is correct, then that Crimson Flame Lotus must be a highly rare, fully evolved Human-grade herb—the Crimson Flame Golden Lotus!" Bu Lianshi said almost immediately after hearing Lin Chuan's description.