Before anyone could react, the azure flames enveloping Xu Taiping and Tie Hancang abruptly transformed into a strange phantom image of black wood and an azure lotus, over a thousand zhang tall.
It was called strange for a reason.
Within the phantom image, the azure lotus grew entwined with the black tree like a vine.
It was not only Qu Chao Ci and the others, who were seeing this phantom image for the first time.
Even Xu Taiping, seeing this sight once again, was utterly shaken.
With a horrified expression, he murmured inwardly:
"Lotus Eye, is this your true form?"
The Lotus Eye's voice soon rang out in Xu Taiping's mind:
"It counts as half of my true form."
He immediately added:
"Though it is only a companion, draining Tie Hancang's divine marrow should still pose little difficulty."
Xu Taiping asked in some surprise:
"Divine marrow? What is that?"
The Lotus Eye answered:
"Divine marrow is a kind of divine sense power possessed only by cultivators in the Dao Integration Origin Opening Realm. Put simply, it is a strand of the primordial spirit's source power, nourished by divine essence and condensed within the primordial spirit."
"The most distinctive thing about this divine sense power is that it does not dissipate after being used, but returns to the primordial spirit."
"And this should also be why these Dao Integration Origin Opening Realm cultivators possess such powerful divine soul power."
"However, the amount of divine marrow power that any cultivator can condense in their lifetime is limited."
"For every strand consumed, one fewer remains."
Amid his surprise, understanding dawned on Xu Taiping's face as he said:
"So when he used divine marrow power earlier, he wanted to make me unable to digest this sacrificial power, so that I would suffer a backlash