Chapter 278: The Method of Cultivating the Immortal Lotus

That day, Su Che was practicing on Xuan Yu Peak when he suddenly received a message from a disciple of the External Affairs Hall. A demon cultivator had requested to meet him, claiming to be there to discuss the cultivation of the Black Realm Immortal Lotus.

Su Che then remembered that at the Floating City Trade Fair, the little fox Yin Ling had promised to help him find an expert in spirit herb cultivation to teach him how to grow the Immortal Lotus.

“That day, Yin Ling said this person would come to me on his own within a year. It seems the deadline is almost up…”

“I just didn’t expect this person to be human but rather a demon cultivator.”

Before heading to the External Affairs Hall, Su Che went to Zi Xiao Peak first and asked Zi Xiao to accompany him to the main hall for the meeting.

This was a rule set by their ancestral masters: whenever meeting any external guests, there must be an Yuan Ying elder present as accompaniment.

Su Che naturally understood that the ancestral masters were worried that Yuan Ying elders from other sects might disguise themselves as lower-level cultivators to meet him and then attempt to assassinate him. Therefore, an Yuan Ying elder had to act as his bodyguard.

Since his master had just reached the early stage of Yuan Ying, he was certainly no match for those experienced Yuan Ying elders. That’s why Su Che preferred to trouble Zi Xiao for this matter.

“Cultivating the Black Realm Immortal Lotus is a good thing,” Zi Xiao mumbled indistinctly, seemingly chewing on something. “Plant several acres of it. Later, cook some lotus seeds for me to taste.”

Su Che was too lazy to respond to such nonsense.

Treating the Immortal Lotus as food was purely a joke. However, if the Black Realm Immortal Lotus could be successfully cultivated, it would mean an endless supply of treasures, with benefits that were immeasurable.

Of course, Su Che wasn’t overly optimistic. Even if he had the cultivation method, if the growth cycle was unbearably long, it would be a waste.

Flowering in ten thousand years, bearing fruit in ten thousand years… No matter how long-lived a person is, they can’t afford to wait that long!

In one of the VIP rooms in the main hall, Su Che and Zi Xiao met an ethereal silver-haired elder who seemed even more divine than most human Yuan Ying elders.

It was hard to believe that he was actually an old fox with over three thousand years of cultivation experience, though his strength was still only at the late stage of Golden Dan.

“His strength may not be high, but his cultivation is quite profound,” Zi Xiao whispered to Su Che. “That aura isn’t fake. Three thousand years haven’t been wasted on him.”

“I am Tian Yu, a junior. I thank you, senior, for traveling such a long distance to our sect,” Su Che said with respect, then asked loudly, “May I ask your name?”

“I am Yin Luo, Yin Ling’s great-grandfather,” the elder replied with a smile.

It turned out to be Yin Ling’s great-grandfather. Only then did Su Che realize why Yin Ling was so confident about this matter—she surely knew very well just how capable her great-grandfather was. The three of them sat down, and Yin Luo got straight to the point: “I must see with my own eyes the growth condition of that Immortal Lotus and its living environment to determine whether it’s possible to cultivate it.” “That’s easy,” Su Che nodded. Grandmaster Zi Xiao had already confirmed that Yin Luo was only at the later stage of the Golden Dan cultivation level. So, while inside the Tianxuan Sect’s premises, it was impossible for him to steal the Immortal Lotus. Thus, Su Che brought out the large flower pot from the Immortal Prison. Though called a large flower pot, it was actually a huge rock dug up from the ground when the Immortal Lotus was first collected. The Black Domain Immortal Lotus grew in an unknown black liquid and remained full of vitality. *Thud!* Su Che gently placed the large flower pot on the ground. Yin Luo narrowed his eyes; even with his usual serene and refined demeanor, he couldn’t hide a hint of excitement. “Black Domain Immortal Lotus!” he murmured. “In my lifetime, I’ve finally seen an Immortal-grade spiritual herb with my own eyes. This trip was truly worthwhile…” Su Che could fully understand his feelings. After all, the greatest fear among demons, monsters, and ghosts was heavenly thunder. In the Wind and Thunder Wasteland of the Barren God Valley, thunder was everywhere, falling like rain. Aside from those Barren God Rats, no other demons dared enter. Therefore, very few demon cultivators had ever seen this Immortal Lotus in person. “Two lotus seeds and one petal have already been picked, yet its vitality remains so strong…” Yin Luo nodded repeatedly and said to Su Che with a smile, “It seems that young Tian Yu also has great expertise in nurturing spiritual herbs.” Su Che smiled and told the truth: “I only have a natural talent for healing spiritual herbs. I really don’t know much about actual cultivation skills.” “A natural talent for healing spiritual herbs?” As soon as the topic of spiritual herbs came up, Yin Luo became eager and quickly asked, “Can it heal any kind of spiritual herb or any disease?” “More or less,” Su Che replied with a nod. “At least, I can heal all the spiritual herbs planted in the medicine gardens of the Tianxuan Sect’s ten main peaks, including those top-grade ones, no matter what kind of disease it is.” Su Che’s method of treatment was very simple—he infused the spiritual herbs with enough vitality, allowing their own immune and self-healing abilities to eliminate all diseases. In theory, this was also the most superior method of treatment, with no side effects or lingering risks. The same applied when treating humans.

“Good, good, good!”
Yin Luo was overjoyed at these words and cheered repeatedly. However, Su Che and Zi Xiao didn’t understand where his joy came from.
Soon after, Yin Luo’s gaze turned back to the Black Realm Immortal Lotus. After studying it for a long time, he raised his head and asked, “May I touch that pool of black water?”
“Yes, you can,” Su Che replied. “But this black water is highly toxic. You need to be careful.”
Having grown in the Immortal Prison for so long, although Su Che and Lao He didn’t know the exact name of this black water, they knew quite a lot about its properties.
“Toxic is exactly right.”
Yin Luo smiled silently, dipped his finger into the black water, then brought the drop to his mouth to taste it.
Su Che stared in shock. Though he knew the toxicity of this water couldn’t kill a Golden Core expert, could anyone really put something so dark, filthy, and murky into their mouth? It was even unclear whether there was rat urine in it…
“Black Realm Sky Water, from the Immortal Realm,” Yin Luo said with a smile, pointing upward. “It’s what allows the birth of a divine herb like the Black Realm Immortal Lotus. Of course, in the Immortal Realm, it might just be an extremely ordinary wild plant.”
Su Che and Zi Xiao nodded in agreement. Garbage discarded from the Immortal Realm was considered miraculous treasures to mortals. We absorb spiritual energy, while they absorb immortal energy—there’s no comparison!
“Elder, can this immortal lotus be cultivated?” Su Che asked.
“Yes!” Yin Luo replied with certainty.
“How many years are needed for it to produce lotus seeds and petals?” Su Che asked further.
“Under normal circumstances, it takes thousands of years, or even longer,” Yin Luo replied.
“What if not under normal circumstances?” Su Che asked eagerly.
“I have a way to speed up its growth, or rather, shorten its growth cycle,” Yin Luo said with a smile. “If you’re willing to invest heavily in taking care of it, it can grow in twenty years.”
“Twenty years?” Su Che and Zi Xiao exclaimed in unison.
It could grow a Black Realm Immortal Lotus in just twenty years? That’s absurd! It’s unbelievable…
Su Che glanced at Zi Xiao, implying that at such a rate, entire fields could be planted in just over a hundred years. It might even be possible to use it as an ingredient for cooking!

Think about it—plant a lotus seed, and after the first “twenty years,” it grows into a mature plant, yielding nine lotus seeds. If all seeds are planted, after the second “twenty years,” there will be nine sacred lotuses, yielding 81 seeds. After the third “twenty years,” over 700 seeds can be harvested; by the fourth “twenty years,” it’s over 6,000; and further on, it exceeds 50,000…

It’s incredible… truly…

But just as this wonderful dream began, someone woke them up.

Yin Luo understood Su Che and Zi Xiao’s astonished expressions and their soaring fantasies. So, pointing at the large flower pot, he said, “I’m sorry, but I must remind you both that cultivating Black Domain Sacred Lotus requires this Black Domain Heavenly Water. With just this amount, only two sacred lotuses can be nurtured at once; any more will wither due to insufficient nutrients.”

Su Che and Zi Xiao then woke up from their dream.

Yin Luo continued, “Moreover, accelerating the growth of spiritual herbs requires huge expenses. I estimate that cultivating one sacred lotus costs between 30 million and 50 million spirit stones.”

“No matter how many spirit stones there are, that’s not a problem,” Su Che said softly.

Once successfully cultivated, selling just one lotus seed or petal could recover the investment, so that wasn’t an issue.

“I have an ancient formula that can be used to create a special spiritual liquid,” Yin Luo said slowly. “It is this spiritual liquid that can greatly speed up the growth of spiritual herbs. However, because it’s extremely expensive, even using it to cultivate top-quality spiritual herbs isn’t cost-effective. Thus, this formula has always been rather useless…”

Su Che and Zi Xiao nodded. A top-quality spiritual herb with thousands of years of growth value was worth at most over a million spirit stones—who would use a spiritual liquid worth tens of millions to cultivate it?

No one would do such a loss-making thing. Calling it useless was absolutely accurate.

But if used to cultivate sacred herbs like Black Domain Sacred Lotus, this spiritual liquid formula could be quite useful.

That’s why Su Che and Zi Xiao found Yin Luo’s words somewhat credible.

“Please forgive my boldness, senior. What conditions are needed for me to obtain this spiritual liquid formula?” Su Che asked politely.

“Before coming here, I did come up with a bunch of complicated conditions,” Yin Luo chuckled. “But after hearing that you possess the innate ability to heal spiritual herbs, I felt that perhaps you’re someone destined to be connected with them. So, there’s no need to make things difficult for you.”

“Thank you, senior.”

Su Che bowed again, realizing in his heart, “Senior Yin Luo must truly cherish the spiritual herbs of the world, which is why he values the ability to heal them so much. It is because of this sentiment that he has become a master in the cultivation of spiritual herbs, right?”
Whoosh!
Yin Luo waved his hand, and more than a dozen potted spiritual herbs appeared on the floor of the living room.
“Words alone are not enough as proof!”
Yin Luo said seriously, “These spiritual herbs are all sick. With my medical skills, I can only keep them alive temporarily; I cannot cure them completely. If you can heal them, I will copy down that spiritual liquid formula and give it to you.”