Ice Crystal Snow Lotus

Before long, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong also arrived at the Treasure Appraisal Fair. The academy had recently begun placing great importance on Huo Yuhao, even granting him the privilege of choosing one treasure from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion for free each year!

Huo Yuhao used this year's privilege without hesitation to buy Wang Dong the Golden Earth Dragon King Left Arm Bone, worth nine million five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!

Wang Dong came from an extraordinary family and could easily have afforded this soul bone herself, but receiving it as a gift from Huo Yuhao meant something entirely different. Her pretty face flushed with excitement, and her gaze practically spun silken threads as she looked at him.

Even Dai Youheng seemed more agreeable when she saw him again. Her mood was so good that she could no longer be bothered to hold the earlier breakfast incident against him.

"Brother!" Seeing Dai Youheng, Huo Yuhao happily pulled Wang Dong over. "Wang Dong and I are heading back to absorb the soul bone. Do you want to come with us?"

Having benefited, he wanted to share his joy with the older brother who had always "supported" him.

Dai Youheng put on a perfectly measured, gentle smile and shook his head. "No, Susu, Luoluo, and I want to look around a little longer. You two go ahead."

Go on, go on. Hurry up and leave, Dai Youheng thought. If you don't leave, how are the "guests" Dai Huabin invited supposed to make their entrance?

He clearly remembered that in the original story, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had been attacked by assassins hired by Dai Huabin on their way back to the academy!

With his presence here, some of the forces involved in this assassination attempt might even target him. Dai Huabin probably would not go so far as to kill him; his aim was likely to recover those two soul bones and teach him a lesson he would never forget.

Dai Youheng's solution to this trap was outrageously simple: he would not leave with Huo Yuhao!

The assassins' primary target would undoubtedly be Huo Yuhao, the fellow who had made Dai Huabin kneel.

Once Huo Yuhao left, the assassins would certainly follow him first. Surely they would not stubbornly wait outside the Treasure Gathering Pavilion just because Dai Youheng had not left with him, insisting on catching both of them in one net?

What if he deliberately lingered in the Treasure Gathering Pavilion until very, very late, only leaving after Huo Yuhao had safely returned to the academy?

Thus, simply by separating from Huo Yuhao, he could use him to draw away the vast majority of the firepower. The crisis aimed at him would collapse without a fight.

Better a fellow cultivator perish than this humble cultivator. Huo Yuhao, you have the protagonist's halo. You can surely handle a little scene like this. Your big brother won't be joining you on this adventure. Dai Youheng watched Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong leave the Treasure Gathering Pavilion in high spirits, a smile on his face and not a ripple in his heart.

He turned to the Lan sisters. "Come on, let's look at the other things. I've heard the Treasure Gathering Pavilion serves good tea and pastries. We can give them a try."

He decided to stay in the Treasure Gathering Pavilion until closing time today.

Dai Youheng had originally intended to spend the rest of his time leisurely drinking tea in the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's lounge, waiting until the trouble on Huo Yuhao's side had subsided before leaving. However, plans could never keep pace with change.

Not long after Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong left with that brilliantly golden Golden Earth Dragon King soul bone, the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's staff swiftly placed a new treasure in the most prominent display position, where the Earth Dragon King soul bone had stood.

It was a lotus.

Its entire body was an exquisitely pure ice blue. Its overlapping petals looked as though they had been painstakingly carved from ten-thousand-year-old profound ice, crystalline and translucent, giving off faint white frost mist and a cool aura that soothed the mind.

It rested on a specially made cold jade pedestal, and the price on its label was also a staggering nine million five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!

It was on par with the Golden Earth Dragon King soul bone that had just sold for nine million five hundred thousand.

The moment this unusual ice lotus appeared, it drew quite a few eyes in the hall. However, its steep price and unclear effects left most people merely watching.

The Snow Empress within Dai Youheng's Sea of Consciousness, however, suddenly grew excited!

"This is... an Ice Crystal Snow Lotus!" The Snow Empress's voice carried incredulous delight.

"An Ice Crystal Snow Lotus?" Dai Youheng's interest stirred. Anything that could make the Snow Empress lose her composure like this had to be extraordinary. "Sister Snow Empress, is this an Immortal-Grade Herb?"

He thought of those immortal herbs from Tang San's era, whose effects defied the heavens.

"No, not yet." The Snow Empress quickly calmed down, though excitement still colored her voice. "This Ice Crystal Snow Lotus isn't old enough to have reached the true immortal grade. Its total energy and medicinal potency are roughly comparable to nine-grade purple ganoderma. But, Youheng, it has an extremely special effect that makes its actual value no less than that of an immortal-grade herb in certain circumstances! I imagine that effect is precisely why its price is as high as a true immortal-grade herb's."

"What effect?" Dai Youheng pressed.

"Youheng, do you remember how I successfully took human form?" the Snow Empress asked in return.

"I do. You used the power of a 100,000 Years snow lotus to seal away most of your cultivation and protect your body and soul. That was how you completed your transformation," Dai Youheng replied. Ordinary soul beasts could almost never take human form once they surpassed two hundred thousand years. The Snow Empress's method was the only way around that restriction.

"Exactly!" the Snow Empress confirmed. "This Ice Crystal Snow Lotus possesses a similar ability, and it's gentler and easier to control. After someone consumes it, both their body and soul will be protected for a short time by an indestructible shield formed from ice crystals!"

Her tone grew utterly solemn. "I told you before that I had a way to help you absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring beyond your level. My original plan was to use my power to forcibly seal most of the soul ring's energy so you could absorb it gradually. But that method was imperfect, after all. It might waste some of the soul ring's essence, and it carried a certain risk."

"But with this Ice Crystal Snow Lotus..." The Snow Empress's voice brimmed with confidence. "I can guide its power to put your body and soul into the most perfect defensive state while you absorb the soul ring! It will protect them from even the slightest backlash from the soul ring's energy! Then, without any seals, you'll be able to absorb one hundred percent of that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring's power perfectly, while in your best possible condition! The process won't be much harder than absorbing an ordinary soul ring!"

"Oh? It has such a miraculous effect!" A sharp gleam flashed in Dai Youheng's eyes. He could perfectly absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring without taking any risks, while maximizing the benefits! The Ice Crystal Snow Lotus's effects were practically tailor-made for him!

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately strode toward the central display.

Seeing this, the Lan sisters hurried after him.

Lan Luoluo spoke anxiously in a low voice. "Brother Youheng, what are you doing? That lotus costs nine million five hundred thousand! You didn't even buy that better Golden Earth Dragon King soul bone just now, and we don't know what this one does..."

Before they could finish speaking, Dai Youheng had already addressed the staff

member in charge of the display. "I'll take this Ice Crystal Snow Lotus."

As he spoke, he promptly took out a Gold Soul Coin card with the required amount, ready to make the purchase.