Lotus Primordial Spirit

“A single lotus, a cosmos entire…”

A voice, ethereal and profound, descended like a divine whisper from the Nine Heavens, yet also seemed to rise from the abyssal depths of the Nine Netherworlds, sacred and solemn.

“A single lotus, a cosmos entire…” Du Chen murmured the strange words, repeating them instinctively, utterly devoid of conscious thought, the source of the voice unknown.

After repeating them countless times, Du Chen’s consciousness gradually regained clarity.

What happened to him? Where did those peculiar words come from? Du Chen wanted to raise a hand and rub his heavy, throbbing forehead, but…

Where was his hand!?

His forehead was gone too… Where was his body!?

This was no mere illusion! It was an absolute, tangible sensation. The clarity bestowed by his Lotus Internal Force prevented Du Chen from ever mistaking illusion for reality!

Could he have lost his body, becoming merely a wisp of a wandering soul!?

A chilling dread washed over Du Chen, and he let out a startled cry. Then, he abruptly opened his eyes…

“Daddy, you’re awake! Beibei was so scared!”

Hearing his precious daughter’s voice warmed Du Chen’s heart, giving him the feeling of having survived death, of crawling back from purgatory into the world of the living. He turned to see Beibei sitting beside him, her large eyes red and puffy, as if she had been crying for a long time.

After a quick glance at his intact body and a stretch of his limbs, he finally exhaled in relief.

His body was perfectly fine!? Why? That sensation earlier had been so incredibly real; he had distinctly felt his body vanish, as if only a wisp of Divine Sense floated in some mysterious, profound space!

“Young Master, you’ve finally woken up!” It was Deboning’s voice, a flicker of relief easing his normally stern face.

“How wonderful, the Young Master has finally woken up!” Grand Matriarch Lucy stood nearby. In the distance, Lily and the other Grand Matriarchs were patrolling the area.

Du Chen remembered his previous thought and rubbed his forehead. He looked up, directly ahead, through a dense canopy of leaves, revealing a magnificent starry sky with a brilliant full moon hanging at its zenith. All around him was a dense forest. Beibei, Deboning, and Grand Matriarch Lucy were by his side. Yet, he lay supine on a soft, silvery-white blanket.

“What exactly happened!?” Du Chen sat up with Deboning’s support, his mind a blank slate.

Deboning explained, “Young Master, after we left the canyon, you were in the sacred artifact praising Andy when Andy suddenly fainted. You went to check on him, but then you fainted too… It’s been half a day now!”

Du Chen nodded, then urgently asked, “Has our trail been discovered?”

“No! After you fainted, the sacred artifact lost its efficacy on its own. The young ladies and I landed in this patch of forest. Miss Lily is currently leading a patrol of the forest’s perimeter, so no one has found us! Also, Harry and another group are busy counting the items that fell out of the sacred artifact!”

“Good!” Du Chen breathed a sigh of relief. “Where’s Andy?”

“Daddy, don’t worry about the fat wolf for now, he’s fine!” Beibei clambered into Du Chen’s lap, anxiously reaching up to touch his forehead with her tiny hand. “Daddy’s sick, Beibei will cook Daddy something yummy to help him recover!”

What a filial daughter! But, her cooking…

Du Chen quickly cried out, “Daughter!” The little one instantly transformed into Alex. Only then did Du Chen sigh with a pang of dread, thinking that Beibei’s cooking… could definitely sicken even the healthiest person!

The people around him all wore expressions that affirmed Du Chen’s sentiment! Even Grand Matriarch Lucy, who doted on the little girl the most, was no exception!

Before mealtime, our chef Alex was undoubtedly the most adorable, but at other times… The cheeky little brat glanced up at Du Chen, then surprisingly narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him up and down. “Daddy, you’re different! Hmm, you’re a small master now, I suppose. Alright, from now on, you can tell outsiders you know me—the great master, Alex!”

“You impudent brat, tell me, how am I different, Daddy?” Du Chen looked left and right; neither Deboning nor the Grand Matriarch had noticed anything peculiar about him!

However, Alex was probably not mistaken, as in the Misty Forest, this little fellow was the first, and only, one to discover Andy was a ‘paper tiger’ without even laying a hand on him.

Little Alex pouted, looking up at the starry sky. “Master, check yourself! Don’t ask me!” He painfully clutched his head. “Can’t even figure out his own body’s condition, sigh, having such a clumsy Daddy is truly embarrassing! Never mind, maybe you shouldn’t say you know me after all!” After thoroughly exasperating Du Chen, the little fellow turned and went to a large tree, gathered a handful of dry branches and fallen leaves, and then pulled out some seasonings from the pouch on his chest. He mumbled, “Daddy just woke up, shouldn’t eat anything greasy. Hmm, tonight… I’ll make Daddy some roasted potato chips!”

Du Chen was exasperated yet amused by his son. However, after standing up and stretching his body, a look of joyful surprise flashed across his face. He quickly ordered, “We’ll make camp here tonight. I have some important matters to attend to first; don’t disturb me unless there’s danger!”

With that, Du Chen hurriedly ran into a secluded patch of bushes!

Hah, Alex hadn’t been wrong; he truly was different!

The Open-Top Dui Trigram was fully activated, and the second realm of the Precious Lotus Scripture had achieved grand completion!

When the first realm reached grand completion, Du Chen acquired the Heaven-Bestowed Hydro-Body. What about the second realm?

Du Chen meticulously inspected himself. The most immediate change was the full activation of the Open-Top Dui Trigram. ‘The Seventh’ had emerged from his body and now lay obediently with its siblings on his backside! Furthermore, the first lotus petal of the third trigram – the Inner Void Li Trigram, composed of four lotuses – had also slightly opened its bud!

Du Chen quickly tallied his good deeds on the great plains. After numerous advancements, he had ample experience in determining the method for calculating good deeds.

Assuming Du Chen had not appeared this time, what would have been the consequences? Of course, Susanna would have infiltrated the mausoleum and clashed with Philip. Meanwhile, Babylon would have killed two hundred and seventy-three Daobet people, then Kerry would have called for help, and Babylon would have stormed into the mausoleum as reinforcements. The ultimate outcome would still have been Babylon’s self-detonation. In other words, with or without Du Chen, Susanna and her grave robbing crew would all have died! The Daobet people’s great vengeance would have been exacted!

Next, after Babylon’s self-detonation, if Philip hadn’t encountered Du Chen, he would have withdrawn before the Beast Emperor and the Crimson Mausoleum Guards discovered the anomaly in the mausoleum and pursued them – Philip and the Composite Aberrant Beasts were fully capable of doing so! He certainly wouldn’t have, out of fear, exposed his identity and strength by having the Composite Aberrant Beasts chase Du Chen, thereby provoking the Beast Emperor and the Crimson Mausoleum Guards – that would not have aligned with the interests of that mysterious organization!

Therefore, Du Chen’s good deed this time was judged to have saved two hundred and thirty-seven Daobet lives and to have delayed the progress of Philip’s evil experiments!

As for Du Chen subduing Andy, thereby preventing the chaotic battle above the canyon and saving the lives of many beastmen – didn’t that count as a good deed!?. The answer was, of course, no. If Du Chen hadn’t been there, Philip would never have allowed the Composite Aberrant Beasts to fly above the canyon; he would have simply fled! Thus, the conflict between the Composite Aberrant Beasts and the Crimson Mausoleum Guards in the canyon was a result of Du Chen’s desperate escape. His subduing of Andy was merely cleaning up the mess he had created – a rectification, a blunder he rectified himself! It was not a good deed!

“Damn it, subduing Andy and stopping the war doesn’t count as a good deed… Sigh!” Du Chen felt somewhat unwilling, but what could he do!? The Precious Scroll had decreed it so. If he disagreed, he could take it up with Master Grape – Du Chen vaguely felt he heard a voice!

Du Chen had no choice but to accept it, though he still harbored a question: preventing the earthquake by dismantling the Sacred Artifact Cannon didn’t seem to be counted as a good deed. However, Du Chen only had a rough understanding of the Precious Scroll’s calculation methods; the details were beyond his comprehension. So, this question had to remain in his heart.

In truth, Du Chen didn’t know, nor did Susanna, the grave robber who believed her intelligence to be flawless, that if the canyon had truly experienced an earthquake… Heh heh, the Auerbach Mausoleum would have been completely destroyed, and the ‘lifeline’ of this place would also have been affected. This would have crossed a certain bottom line of rules, which would absolutely not be permitted by those rules! Therefore, an earthquake simply wouldn’t have happened! At the very least, Philip would have used the Composite Aberrant Beasts to protect the ‘lifeline’!

He continued to examine his body. Then Du Chen exclaimed in surprise, “Heavens, Master Grape, you’re not playing with me, are you!?”

With a thought, Du Chen wanted to summon his Lotus Internal Force to inspect his body, but as soon as the thought arose, two streams of Lotus Internal Force stirred within him simultaneously. One came from his backside, intimately familiar to him. But the other, whose origin was unknown, seemed to have inexplicably appeared in Du Chen’s body. Moreover, it was ethereal yet vast and majestic. Without even needing to test it, Du Chen could sense from the aura of the two forces…

They were on completely different levels! The newly appeared power was absolutely superior!

If that were all, Du Chen would have been ecstatic, but as that second, ethereal stream of Lotus Internal Force circulated, Du Chen seemed to instantly revert to his state before regaining consciousness – unable to feel his body, only a wisp of Divine Sense…

His vision darkened, and Du Chen felt as if he were in the depths of the universe, surrounded by abyssal darkness, yet with specks of golden light. And at the center of this ‘cosmos,’ a resplendent golden lotus bud quietly radiated its brilliance, but… it was a bud!

“Master Grape, even if you can make me immortal or grant me eternal life, I, your disciple, still resent you!” Du Chen wanted to cry but had no tears. In his previous life, within the Clandestine Circles, he had read many Xianxia and mythical texts. Coupled with a flash of insight in his mind, he understood. This was either a Daoist Primordial Spirit, a Buddhist sarira, or some novel creation by Master Grape, who possessed both Buddhist and Daoist divine abilities. Regardless, he had certainly entered the threshold of becoming a Buddha or a Patriarch!

And the long-standing 'old monk chanting' sound in his mind emanated from this lotus bud. Du Chen could now understand parts of it, specifically the words he had been muttering: “A single lotus, a cosmos entire…”

But… why was it a bud!?

Good heavens, he still had twenty-nine unopened lotus buds on his backside, and now there was another one?! Could this be the Ninth Trigram of the Precious Lotus Scripture – the Lotus Primordial Spirit!?

How strange, how did he even know the concept of a Ninth Trigram!? Du Chen felt as if he heard someone speak again; this was the second time! However, the sound of the old monk chanting was constantly in his head, so he didn’t pay it much mind. Instead, he fumed inwardly, thinking that if this truly was the Ninth Trigram, then, based on his previous analysis of meritorious good deeds, it would require an incredibly massive good deed, saving a billion lives, to make it bloom… an invincible abnormality!

A billion! A world war in his previous life hadn't even claimed that many lives, had it!?

Du Chen suddenly thought of Fifth Brother, and how he had to learn from Fifth Brother’s pig-headed stubbornness – an indifference to consequences that brought numbness… Sigh!

However, this Lotus Primordial Spirit was not entirely useless. After all, even in its bud form, it could still provide Primordial Spirit Power for Du Chen to use.

After observing the Lotus Primordial Spirit for a while and mastering the manipulation of Primordial Spirit Power, Du Chen returned to the real world. Habitually, he arranged all his sacred artifacts before him, one by one: the First, the Second… ignoring Fifth Brother, and finally his gaze fell upon the Seventh.

“Hmm! It truly is becoming more and more deformed!”

Du Chen couldn’t help but sigh. That ‘Seventh’ bore no resemblance to a lotus at all; it was a perfectly round, small metal disc, one side crystal clear, the other brilliantly polished, somewhat like a portable cosmetic mirror used by noble maidens.

“What is this?” Du Chen infused Lotus Internal Force into the ‘Seventh.’ But the ‘Seventh’ showed no reaction. Du Chen then poured his newly acquired Primordial Spirit Power into it, but it still didn’t react.

“Heh, you’ve got a temper just like Fifth Brother!”

Du Chen wasn’t worried. Based on the Sixth’s experience, the Seventh would reveal its function sooner or later; it was just a matter of time! He picked up the First, infusing it with his new Primordial Spirit Power, dreaming of unearthing some new functions – recently, Du Chen had vaguely felt that Lotus Sacred Artifacts weren’t that simple. Flying, storage, smashing people – these functions were far too ordinary for Xianxia artifacts; even a common cultivator could likely refine similar treasures.

What kind of person was Master Grape? His items absolutely couldn’t be so simple!

But Du Chen was disappointed. After he infused Primordial Spirit Power into ‘The First,’ ‘The First’ showed no reaction. From this perspective, Primordial Spirit Power seemed even less effective than physical Lotus Internal Force!

Du Chen frowned, lost in bitter contemplation. Suddenly, a strange rustling sound came from the bushes where he was hidden!

His heart leaped in surprise, and Du Chen immediately hurled ‘The Fourth’ – the invisible Lotus Shield – towards the source of the sound!

Soon, the source of the sound appeared: a wolf-shaped Aberrant Beast, rushing towards Du Chen like the wind. Its slightly bared fangs still bore a trace of blood!

Its fur was as white as snow, its body long and lean, powerfully muscled beneath the coat. With every stride, its sturdy, imposing frame moved with a fluidity like flowing water, giving it an ineffable beauty. Yet, as its four claws dug into the earth, their metallic sharp edges mercilessly carved four shocking gouges in the ground, conjuring images of a bloody, brutal battlefield and slaughter!

The wolf ran incredibly fast, reaching Du Chen in the blink of an eye.

In their direct gaze, Du Chen was astonished to find that in the proud, untamed eyes of the wolf, gold and silver intertwined. At first glance, it was dazzling, captivating the soul. What a majestic, unrestrained, and handsome wolf!

Closer now, staring at Du Chen, a strange light flickered in the wolf’s eyes, and it suddenly leaped high, pouncing towards Du Chen!

*Thump!*

But this seemingly impressive and powerful handsome wolf failed to perceive the existence of the Lotus Shield and crashed headfirst into it.

“Bloody hell, that hurt me to death!”

The handsome wolf hung limply on the invisible shield, slowly sliding down, and landed on the ground with a *thud*. “Master, I’m Andy!”

“You’re Andy?” Du Chen was taken aback, retracting the Lotus Shield. The voice was indeed his, but wasn’t Andy already…

At that moment, Harry scurried over, fawning. “Powerful and wealthy Master, none of your treasures are missing. Harry has recovered them all for you!” In his hand, he clutched a gold-plated Brick. Remember? In Saint John City, Shieb Harry had specially crafted this ‘souvenir’ because he missed Andy.

Now, the ‘souvenir’ landed on Andy’s head. Harry glared fiercely, “Damn it, who told you to disturb Master!? You are too audacious! Your dinner is canceled today!”

Andy whined, “Lord Harry, please don’t starve Andy anymore. Andy heard Master woke up, so I just wanted to ask when Master’s promised ranch will materialize…”

Pfft! Harry interrupted him with a Brick!

“You are too rude! Master’s rewards will naturally be fulfilled! Are you doubting our benevolent Master!? Your late-night snack is also canceled today!”

“No, please, Andy knows he was wrong, please forgive me, Lord Harry.”

Du Chen was utterly astonished. No matter what, he simply couldn’t connect the overbearing Peerless Fiend from the Auerbach Grand Canyon earlier that day with this drooling, fawning Snow Wolf who acted like a lapdog!

The quick-witted Harry hastily explained, “Master, according to Miss Belmonde, Andy’s body contains two souls: one of the Golden Behemoth and one of Andy! Currently, these two souls are vying for control of the body, but Andy is a tiny bit stronger…”

“Body! I asked why his body turned into this!” Du Chen curiously grabbed Andy by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up.

Snow-white wolf fur, gold-and-silver-laced eyes, a muscular physique… Undoubtedly, Andy was much, much more handsome, enough to charm countless female Snow Wolves!? Yet, Andy now looked like an ordinary Snow Wolf with very common strength. His only distinguishing feature was that his appearance perfectly matched the human definition of ‘handsome’ – no, he was the very embodiment of ‘handsome’!

But what about his formidable aura? What about the strength that allowed him to dominate the Auerbach Grand Canyon and contend with the Crimson Mausoleum Guards and the Beast Emperor!?

“Andy, quickly explain to our powerful and benevolent Master!” Harry commanded sternly, once again hefting the specially made gold Brick from Saint John City, crafted in memory of Andy!

Andy also forced a fawning smile. “Wealthy and powerful Master, it’s like this… uh, Andy doesn’t quite understand it himself. The clever and adorable young lady told Andy…”

It turned out that after the Composite Aberrant Beast formed, the souls of the Golden Behemoth and Andy shared one body. Although Andy’s soul was slightly stronger, it was only by a tiny margin. Therefore, the two souls had to negotiate to allocate control of the body. When they agreed, the Composite Aberrant Beast could naturally unleash formidable power. But when their opinions diverged… the actions of the Composite Aberrant Beast above the canyon – kneeling and then threatening Du Chen – were a product of this very situation!

Andy’s current situation was that he, relying on his slightly stronger soul power, had taken control of the body. However, the Golden Behemoth was no pushover; after all, it was the true owner of this body and its strength was not weak. So, while the Golden Behemoth lost in the soul world, it retaliated physically. It concentrated all its soul power, using the Composite Aberrant Beast’s shape-shifting ability, to forcibly transform the mighty body into an ordinary Snow Wolf. Then, it guarded the ‘lifeline’ of the body’s transformation, refusing to contend with Andy. This was because if it persisted in the struggle, the Golden Behemoth would surely lose, and losing meant being devoured. But if it didn’t contend, it could survive instead…

In Du Chen’s words, it was like, “I, the Golden Behemoth, can’t beat you, but I won’t leave the good stuff for you either! You’re Andy, right? Fine, I’ll give you control of the body, but I’ve hidden the good body. You can just use this broken one!”

Du Chen couldn’t help but frown after hearing this. “Then is there any possibility for Andy to recover the combat power of the Composite Aberrant Beast?”

Harry chuckled. “Yes, Young Lady said that as long as Andy eats the Golden Behemoth, he can! Hmm, eating it slowly, he’ll eventually devour it completely! But how long it will take, Miss Beibei couldn’t say…”

Du Chen was quite disappointed, but then he reconsidered: perhaps this was for the best. Andy had only recently joined him. Although he had been abused by Brockman for a long time in the canyon, seeing Du Chen, his kind master, had made him exceptionally agitated and he had knelt in homage on the spot. But frankly, if Andy were to unleash his full power, the trump cards Du Chen possessed might not necessarily be able to restrain him!

Even Beibei’s Deed of Ownership might not work, because while Andy’s Spiritual Power was slightly inferior to Beibei’s, it was enough to resist a Deed that required a significant disparity in spiritual power.

Now, with Andy’s strength at its lowest ebb, it was a prime opportunity for Du Chen to strengthen their bond and gain Andy’s genuine loyalty!

In truth, Du Chen’s calculations were a bit superfluous, or rather, he hadn’t truly understood Andy. The Snow Wolf’s thought process was: no matter how strong I am, don’t I still have to move around for hunting and finding food? That’s so tiring! It’s much better to freeload off a rich master, have food brought to my mouth, and enjoy leisure every day. That’s comfort, that’s the great dream!

*Master, if you want to kick me out… Humph, humph, I’ll have a chat with the Golden Behemoth, borrow its body, and then I’ll show you!*

“Heh! Looks like Harry’s nose isn’t the only useful thing about him!” Du Chen watched the Shieb, one hand holding a Brick, the other dried meat, coercing and enticing the now docile Andy away, and couldn’t help but smile.

Arriving at the neatly arranged pile of treasures, Du Chen put away all the items, leaving only three small boxes. He already knew one was the Art of Artifact Annihilation, but what were the other two?

Anything found with the Art of Artifact Annihilation must surely be a treasure of the same caliber, right?!

Du Chen suppressed his questions about the Art of Artifact Annihilation and casually picked up a box…

Meanwhile, somewhere on the great plains.

Beneath the canopy of a million stars, the yellow-green grasslands stretched empty. This location was about forty to fifty li from the Auerbach Grand Canyon. The canyon had already been sealed off by order of the Beast Emperor, and from here, one could vaguely see the flickering lights of torches, though they were too far to make out clearly.

In the tranquil night, a patch of turf about the size of a bowl suddenly lifted slightly, revealing a crack. Within it, a pair of eyes merged perfectly with the darkness.

“The Benefactor was right; it truly is safe here!”

With muffled sounds of earth breaking, the Daobet people Du Chen had saved crawled to the surface. However, this was only the first batch, just seven or eight individuals. Their leader, Johnson, wiped sweat from his forehead and spoke with a heavy heart, “Tell everyone else to come up. Sigh, don’t cry. My heart aches just as yours does, for I too have lost my mother, my wife, and my three-year-old son! But I need you to dry your tears immediately and, as the Benefactor instructed, go to Heaven’s Ocean Pass!”

Someone hesitated. “Brother Johnson, I… I want to go home and see…”

“Home? Our home is long gone!”

“Sigh, Brother, do we really have to go to Heaven’s Ocean Pass? It’s not that I don’t trust the Benefactor, but our roots, the roots of the Daobet people, have always been on the great plains!”

Johnson shook his head, gazing distantly towards the canyon. “Our roots are on the great plains, but the great plains can no longer accommodate us!” He lowered his head somberly. “We helped those despicable grave robbers breach the mausoleum of the Supreme Father God… Based on that alone, we have only one path on the great plains: death. Moreover, do we have the face to remain on the plains blessed by the Supreme Father God!? Besides… Susanna!”

Johnson was greatly alarmed. A red figure swept low across the sky not far away. She flew very low, but incredibly fast. If not for the Daobet people’s lives underground, which had cultivated their exceptionally keen light sensitivity, Susanna’s presence would have been almost impossible to detect!

“She’s not dead, we’ll kill…” A Daobet person’s mouth was covered by Johnson. Johnson unwillingly whispered, “Get back underground, all of you! Are you trying to die!? We must preserve our lives to exact our revenge!” With that, using his robust physique – the strongest among the Daobet people – he pushed his compatriots back underground. But a trace of doubt lingered in his heart…

The Benefactor failed to kill Susanna!?

Susanna’s foxy face was devoid of expression, as if she were in a daze. With her strength, she should have been able to detect the Daobet people, yet she flew past without so much as a glance, accelerating away.

The Daobet people descended underground, but Susanna above was like an imbecile, flying and muttering a single sentence, “The curse, heh heh, the Beast Emperor’s Seal truly has a curse…”

“Haha!” Like a madwoman, disregarding her identity and whereabouts, she abruptly raised her voice, roaring with laughter across the starry great plains. “Ha, Father, do you see this from the heavens? ‘He who covets the Beast Emperor’s Seal shall possess the great plains!’ Daughter did this for those words, for your glory, for the throne that rightfully belonged to you! But… ‘He who covets the Beast Emperor’s Seal shall perish within six months!’ Uncle Babylon is dead, Kerry is dead, all my elite subordinates are dead… The enraged Rebadon will surely trace the bodies back to me. Now, he might be leading the Golden Behemoth Battle Array to slaughter the army you left for me, the army that conspired to obtain the Beast Emperor’s Seal!”

“He who covets the Beast Emperor’s Seal shall perish within six months!” Susanna repeated, her words now a broken, lone phrase.

In the dense forest, Du Chen opened a box and took out a strange object from inside. It was about the size of a meteor hammer’s head, entirely golden, with a roaring lion sculpture on its upper part and a square platform below. It looked somewhat like an imperial seal.

“What is this? A seal? But why are there no texts or patterns for imprinting on the bottom?” Du Chen fiddled with it for a while, finding it useless for now, and casually tossed it into his Precious Lotus Scripture.