Shen Luo was enveloped in light, his aura surging wildly. Layers of crimson-gold flames shrouded his body, while a golden ring of fire hovered behind his head. He looked as solemn and majestic as a Buddha or Heavenly Emperor.
The aura around him had astonishingly reached the Peak Heavenly Venerable realm, seemingly only a single step away from the supreme realm of the Grand Heavenly Venerable.
Yet Shen Luo's expression was deeply troubled at that moment, his brows twisted tightly together.
The colors of the black and white round pebbles in his hand had both become exceedingly faint, yet the Primordial Qi contained within them was still equivalent to the combined total of the Minghong Battle Saber and War God Whip—enough to make the twelfth lotus bloom.
But after the bud of the twelfth lotus had fully formed, it seemed as though it had frozen. No matter how its roots absorbed Primordial Qi for nourishment, it showed no signs of blooming.
Shen Luo put away the black and white pebbles and carefully examined the final lotus bud. Golden patterns had already appeared beneath its leaves, yet a faint aura of law seeped out from within the bud.
"What is this...?"
Puzzled, Shen Luo immediately tried to activate the Chaotic Black Lotus with his Magic Power. The other lotus flowers all responded, but the unopened bud alone flashed with light. A tiny patch of cloud-like mist emerged from it, wrapping around the bud and imprisoning it within.
"Could this be a Primordial Restriction?" The thought abruptly surfaced in Shen Luo's mind.
He had once heard Fire Spirit Child mention that before certain Primordial Divine Objects reached maturity, they faced calamities and trials much like cultivators did. This Primordial Restriction was the greatest trial, akin to a Heavenly Tribulation.
A Primordial Restriction