Chapter 135

Chapter 135: World-Cleansing Azure Lotus
Jing Nan looked around and sighed: “There are so many people.”

In less than half a stick of incense, Yu Zhao’s group of six had reached the place where the pillar of light stood.

Yu Zhao swept her gaze over the area, and her heart sank. More than three hundred cultivators had already gathered here, and more were still rushing over.

The only thing that eased her heart was that there were no Nascent Soul cultivators here. She still had the strength to contend.

Just then, a fiery red figure suddenly broke into her sight. Behind that red figure were two very familiar silhouettes being dragged along the ground.

Yu Zhao raised her brows, not very surprised. She only wondered why the two of them were being dragged like dead dogs, looking so miserable.

She only glanced once before withdrawing her gaze, pretending not to know them.

Cui Jue had now lost all five senses, and his divine sense could not leave his body. He was like a cripple and naturally did not notice Yu Zhao’s fleeting glance.

Fang Cheng Lang, however, did notice. In fact, the moment he entered this area, he had precisely picked Yu Zhao out from the crowd.

When he saw that Yu Zhao really was here, a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes. But once he remembered the state he and Cui Jue were in, he was filled with regret again.

He worried that Yu Zhao might try to save them and end up putting herself in danger. He did not want Little Six to be hurt because of him again.

What he did not expect was that although Yu Zhao had clearly seen them, she acted as if she had not, treating them like unrelated strangers.

In that instant, time seemed to freeze. A sharp pain stabbed Fang Cheng Lang’s chest, and even breathing felt like torture.

His bloodshot eyes locked on Yu Zhao’s direction, and his heart screamed silently: [Little Six, look at First Senior Brother! First Senior Brother really misses you! He really does…]

“Huh? Why are you crying?” Yao Wu Ji glanced at Fang Cheng Lang in disgust: “I won’t have the energy to care about you later. If you don’t want to be prey for others, then behave yourselves. Stop sniffling, it’s an eyesore.”

Yao Wu Ji did not even need to remind him. Fang Cheng Lang had already felt many unfriendly gazes falling on him.

He forced back his grief and shielded Cui Jue behind him. No matter what, he would not let Cui Jue die before him.

At this time, almost everyone’s attention was focused on the pillar of light in the middle of the field. The pillar stood at the center of a black swamp, with a layer of pale green miasma hanging above it. Inside the light, one could faintly see a lotus-shaped object.

Some well-informed cultivators had already guessed what it was.

One person cried out: “This is a World-Cleansing Azure Lotus that is only born in filthy places!”

Another shouted: “World-Cleansing Azure Lotus? The very one where each lotus seed can become an Evil-Warding Pill?”

Someone else said excitedly: “Born in filth, yet spotless and pure! It really is a World-Cleansing Azure Lotus!”

…

In just a few breaths, the news had spread to everyone’s ears, and the crowd grew more and more excited.

An Evil-Warding Pill was a Fourth-grade Pill. One pill sold for about one hundred High-grade Spirit Stones, and one lotus seedpod had nine seeds. In other words, this one World-Cleansing Azure Lotus, with its petals and leaves, was worth about one thousand High-grade Spirit Stones.

For rogue cultivators who wandered everywhere, this was like an earth-shattering fortune.

Many people were already getting restless.

Taking advantage of a moment when the four Hundred Flowers Valley female cultivators were not paying attention, Ji Han Zhou quietly squeezed over to Yu Zhao’s side and asked in a low voice: “Senior Sister Yu, why are they still not making a move?”

The appearance of the pillar of light meant the Spirit Herb was ripe. The cultivators who had arrived earlier should have rushed to pick the World-Cleansing Azure Lotus first. Why were they just standing around the swamp watching instead, as if handing the Spirit Herb to others?

Yu Zhao was also thinking about this. Her gaze swept over the dozens of cultivators in the front row, and she quickly reached a conclusion.

Their eyes flickered and their faces were tense, showing clear fear and nervousness. They had definitely just seen something terrifying happen that made them stop in their tracks.

Just as Yu Zhao was about to share her guess with Ji Han Zhou, several figures leaped out from the crowd and shot toward the pillar of light like lightning.

Their actions stirred up many other cultivators, who joined one after another. In the blink of an eye, dozens of cultivators flew out from different directions, all aiming for the World-Cleansing Azure Lotus at the center of the swamp.

However, the moment their bodies entered the range of the miasma, something strange happened.

They suddenly seemed to lose control of their bodies and fell straight from the sky, one after another plunging into the swamp.

Then a scene that horrified everyone appeared. For the cultivators who fell into the swamp, any part of their bodies that touched the mud melted away at a speed visible to the naked eye. Some lost both legs in an instant, while others had half their faces eaten away, exposing white bone.

Miserable screams echoed over the swamp. A few breaths later, the swamp grew quiet again. The whole place was so silent that a pin drop could be heard.

After a long moment, everyone finally reacted and began to talk excitedly.

“We can’t touch the miasma, and we can’t touch the swamp. Doesn’t that block both the top and bottom paths?”

“This is too terrifying! The World-Cleansing Azure Lotus really isn’t something a common mortal like me can even imagine.”

“Does anyone know how to break that miasma? With it there, none of us can get close to the World-Cleansing Azure Lotus!”

…

They could see a mountain of Spirit Stones right in front of them but could not approach. Everyone was restless, but when they remembered that everyone was in the same situation, their hearts settled a little.

“Fellow Daoist Mo, your Hundred Flowers Valley often comes and goes through Marsh Forest. Have you ever seen miasma this powerful?” Yu Zhao asked.

Mo Ci gave a wry smile and shook her head: “Never. If the sect knew such deadly miasma existed in Marsh Forest, they would never have let us come here to collect honey.”

In other words, Mo Ci and her three companions had no way to disperse the miasma either.

Yu Zhao thought for a moment, then beckoned Ji Han Zhou over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Ji Han Zhou nodded, moved around behind her, and walked toward the swamp.

The moment he moved, all eyes turned to him.

Ji Han Zhou walked to the edge of the swamp under that pressure and tossed several different items in one go into the swamp. There were Spirit Stones, beast bones, and even a defensive artifact known for its hardness.

Without exception, the moment they touched the swamp, they were completely corroded in a very short time. None of them lasted even three breaths.

Ji Han Zhou looked back at Yu Zhao. She shook her head at him, signaling that he could come back.

Yu Zhao rubbed her chin. This was the first time she had run into such a tricky situation where she could not find any solution at all.

She decided to wait a bit longer and see if any capable person among the other cultivators could think of a way.

An hour passed. Everyone was still helpless, staring at the swamp and sighing.

Another hour passed. Someone finally could not sit still any longer.

A sharp, mean voice sounded from within the crowd: “If you ask me, since we can’t go from above, then we should just go across the swamp.”

“If you want to be dissolved so not even scraps are left, go by yourself. Don’t drag anyone else down with you!” someone retorted irritably.

The sharp voice spoke again: “I just observed it. The swamp takes five breaths to swallow one person. As long as we throw in a few people at intervals and step on them, we can hold out long enough to pick the World-Cleansing Azure Lotus and come back.”

As soon as those words came out, the place fell silent again. A strong, chilling killing intent quietly spread through the crowd.