Chapter 269: The Competition for the Immortal Lotus

Ejiue Laozu suffered a great loss, wasting 300 top-quality spirit stones for nothing. Such a cost would be extremely burdensome for any individual, even for a Yuan Ying Laozu, who would feel immense pain as if cutting into his own flesh. It’s unlikely that the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sect would reimburse him out of public funds for such a humiliating mistake; most probably, he would have to bear the loss himself…

The trade fair continued, with various treasures appearing one after another. Su Che and Yin Ling were dazzled by them—truly an eye-opening experience. Unfortunately, for a long time, nothing that could arouse Su Che’s desire to possess it at all costs appeared again.

However, while Su Che wasn’t interested in others’ items, someone else had already set their sights on him.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “I’ve heard that the Black Domain Immortal Lotus from the Wind and Thunder Desolate Land in the Wasteland God Valley was acquired by Tianxuan Sect’s disciple Tian Yu. While I admire that, I also wonder if we’ll see a few lotus seeds from this Immortal Lotus displayed at today’s trade fair?”

The speaker was ‘Chen Xu Laozu’ from the Spirit Medicine Mountain. As a top master in the alchemy field, it was only natural for him to have a keen interest in rare immortal herbs like the Black Domain Immortal Lotus.

By now, various rumors about Tian Yu, known as the ‘Number One Genius in the Cultivation World,’ had already spread. The existence of the Black Domain Immortal Lotus wasn’t exactly a secret, and most of the Yuan Ying Laozu present were aware of it.

Although the Spirit Medicine Mountain also belonged to the chaotic alliance formed by sects like Taiyi Gate and the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sect, trade was still trade. As long as someone didn’t have malicious intentions like Ejiue Laozu and could offer a treasure that would interest Su Che, it wouldn’t hurt to exchange it.

Su Che originally planned to sell four lotus seeds or a few petals in exchange for more useful treasures for himself. Holding them all would just be a waste.

So, after bowing in greeting, Su Che replied loudly, “The Black Domain Immortal Lotus is indeed in my possession. I can indeed offer a few seeds or petals for trade. However, since such immortal herbs are extremely rare, I don’t intend to sell them carelessly.”

In other words: If you can’t offer a super treasure, don’t even think of buying a single lotus seed from me.

During his last transaction with Youlan Guiji from the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sect, she had to offer a top-quality spiritual treasure to get one lotus seed. The other spirits were just bonuses, of little value.

Su Che was well aware that that transaction with Youlan Guiji involved grudges and karma, making it a special case that allowed him to reap a huge profit. In the future, the chances of exchanging a single lotus seed for a top-quality spiritual treasure would be virtually none.

But then again, with the item in one’s own hands and no rush to sell it, those who want the seeds of the Immortal Lotus must offer something that convinces them. As the saying goes, it’s not me begging others—it’s them coming to me! Elder Chen Xu of the Spirit Medicine Mountain had also heard about Su Che’s deal with Ghost Princess You Lan and knew full well that Su Che’s ambitions had grown; obtaining the seeds of the Immortal Lotus wouldn’t be easy. Now, hearing Su Che clearly express his willingness to sell the seeds or petals, over a dozen other Yuan Ying ancestors were secretly delighted. They had originally thought the Immortal Lotus had fallen into the hands of the five Yuan Ying ancestors of Tian Xuan Sect, but it turned out control still lay with Su Che. This transaction might allow them to see that precious spirit herb… For a moment, many ancestors began to carefully consider: what kind of treasure would be enough to tempt Tian Xuan Sect’s Tian Yu? The seeds of the Black Realm Immortal Lotus, when turned into pills, could extend life by a hundred years; the petals had the miraculous effect of enhancing spiritual root potential, capable of transforming a dualattribute earth spiritual root into a rare singleattribute heaven spiritual root… Both effects were incredibly tempting. Although Yuan Ying ancestors had a lifespan of a thousand years, who wasn’t afraid of death? Who didn’t want to live an extra hundred years? Moreover, at least half of the Yuan Ying ancestors present did not possess a heaven spiritual root. If they could improve their spiritual root potential through the Immortal Lotus petals, their chances of advancing to the later stages of Yuan Ying would increase, and they might even hope to progress further to the long-desired Transformation Phase, with a chance to ascend to the spiritual realm… Thus, the Black Realm Immortal Lotus in Su Che’s hands seemed to become the highlight of this transaction, instantly silencing the atmosphere as the ancestors pondered and weighed their options… Even the host of the transaction, Lord Peacock, was deeply tempted. He secretly sent a message, scolding, “Zi Xiao, that’s really unfair! You didn’t even inform me in advance, catching me off guard.” Zi Xiao replied with a smile, “You’re a demon cultivator with a long life—why would you care about just a hundred more years of mortal life? Besides, demons only value bloodline and lack spiritual roots; this Immortal Lotus is useless to you.” “I may not need it, but others might!” Lord Peacock said in a rather domineering tone. “I don’t care. You must find a way to get me a seed or a petal. If you can’t, you’re not allowed to return to the Floating City anymore.” Zi Xiao silently laughed, unconcerned at all. She knew it was just an angry remark, and such pettiness was only shown to those closest friends.

At that moment, someone among the Yuan Ying ancestors took the lead in proposing terms for exchange: “Young disciple Tian Yu, since I see you specialize in fire elements, how about I exchange a lower-grade spiritual treasure of fire elements for a petal of the Immortal Lotus?” The speaker was none other than Sword Master Feng Shuo of the Hunyuan Sword Sect. From his smiling and kind expression, Su Che immediately realized that Sword Master Feng Shuo didn’t really want the petal of the Immortal Lotus, as he already possessed the highest-grade spiritual root. His true intention was merely to set a high standard—raising the terms to the level of spiritual treasures right from the start—so that the other ancestors wouldn’t dare to offer worthless trinkets and waste time. Su Che bowed in gratitude with his eyes and said, “Thank you for your suggestion, Uncle Feng Shuo. I’ll keep it in mind, but I’d like to take some time to consider it first.” “Good, indeed, there’s no need to rush,” Sword Master Feng Shuo nodded with a smile. This indirectly warned several of the Yuan Ying ancestors: if Tian Yu wasn’t even interested in lower-grade spiritual treasures, they shouldn’t bring out their own worthless items and embarrass themselves. With Sword Master Feng Shuo’s lead, several other Yuan Ying ancestors also offered their prices—each proposing a lower-grade spiritual treasure along with some genius earth treasures or ancient rare items. Yet Su Che remained uninterested, merely smiling and nodding in thanks one by one. Everyone knew that Su Che’s thanks meant a polite refusal. He really didn’t care much about lower-grade spiritual treasures—his own Sumi Divine Seal and Star Emperor Compass were both upper-grade spiritual treasures, and the Bronze Treasure Gourd was an extremely rare one. Moreover, these three were special treasures he could already control at this stage. Besides, if he wanted lower-grade spiritual treasures, the Tianxuan Sect’s treasure vault was entirely open to him for him to choose from freely—why waste Immortal Lotus resources in exchange? Of course, there was no need! Seeing Su Che’s high standards, the atmosphere in the room immediately cooled down. However, the ancestors present couldn’t blame Su Che, as it wasn’t he who proposed selling the Immortal Lotus—it was Elder Chen Xu of the Spirit Medicine Mountain who asked about it, and Su Che only reluctantly indicated the possibility of a trade. Moreover, Su Che had warned everyone in advance that he wouldn’t make hasty deals if he couldn’t find something good… After a while, Elder Chen Xu of the Spirit Medicine Mountain finally presented the terms he had planned ahead—tap! tap! Two bottles were placed on the lotus platform. Pointing at an extremely delicate light golden metal bottle, he said, “This is the ninth-grade Yin Fire ‘Soul Devouring Fiery Flame’.”

He then pointed at another smaller blue and white porcelain vase and said, “This is my top treasure, the ‘Heavenly Infant Pill’.” Finally, he smiled at Su Che and said, “How about exchanging these two for one lotus seed from your disciple Tianyu?”
“Such a cunning man!” Zi Xiao raised an eyebrow and muttered under his breath.
The other Yuan Ying ancestors also shook their heads, all expressing their admiration: Grandmaster Chen Xu was indeed extremely scheming.
As a top master in the field of alchemy, he surely possessed spiritual flames of various levels. It wasn’t surprising that he could bring out a ninth-grade Yin flame.
However, Grandmaster Chen Xu clearly knew that Zi Xiao’s purpose in holding this trade fair was to obtain any ninth-grade Yin flame. Yet he remained silent, calculating the value of the lotus seed in Su Che’s hands, until the critical moment when he finally revealed his trump card—the ninth-grade Yin flame.
This was just one aspect of his skill in scheming. The second aspect: the Heavenly Infant Pill he offered was indeed the treasure that protected Lingyao Mountain, capable of increasing the success rate of embryo formation by 10%. Although it was only 10%, it was still an extremely rare and valuable treasure. In fact, throughout the entire cultivation world, there were only three treasures that could increase the embryo formation rate by 10%, and the Heavenly Infant Pill was one of them.
Grandmaster Chen Xu had long coveted the Black Domain Lotus. Half a year ago, upon hearing that the lotus had fallen into Su Che’s hands, he tried every means to gather detailed information about Su Che, including the fact that Venerable Xuanji and Su Che had a very deep master-disciple relationship.
Now, Venerable Xuanji was at the crucial stage of embryo formation. If he could obtain a Heavenly Infant Pill, it would be of immeasurable help to him.
A 10% increase might seem insignificant to outsiders, but to those undergoing embryo formation, it was truly priceless. On Lingyao Mountain, at all times, cultivators in the late stage of the Golden Dan realm from all over the world gathered outside the mountain gate, trying every possible way to obtain a Heavenly Infant Pill without success.
Therefore, Grandmaster Chen Xu believed that Su Che would surely be unable to refuse his offer. If Su Che were truly a kind and filial person, he wouldn’t be able to refuse.
Grandmaster Chen Xu’s prediction was correct—Su Che was tempted, in fact, extremely tempted!
If it could help his master’s embryo formation, Su Che would be willing to exchange not just one lotus seed, but two or three as well. In fact, Grandmaster Chen Xu had underestimated Su Che’s filial piety and the deep bond between master and disciple, which was almost like that between father and son.
“It can be exchanged!”
Even Zi Xiao silently conveyed a message to Su Che, confirming that this deal was fair and could be agreed upon.

The other Nascent Soul Ancestors also fully understood the significance of the “Heavenly Infant Pill.” They all believed that if this deal were struck, neither side would suffer a loss, making it a fair exchange. The Ancestors present had all reached the peak stage of the Golden Pill phase and had personally experienced the longing, struggle, and effort of that time… At that stage, the value of a single Heavenly Infant Pill was certainly far greater than a hundred years of lifespan represented by a fairy lotus seed.