Chapter 2: Luck (Part 1)

Bao Chengyong said, “I didn’t stop you. I just have something to say!” Feng Xilong, furious, wanted to hit him and snapped, “Speak up if you have something to say! Get it over with!” He was extremely annoyed.
Everyone turned to look at Bao Chengyong. Guo Shieru smiled secretly. Bao Chengyong’s intention was clear—he wanted to disrupt Feng Xilong’s focus so he couldn’t peacefully obtain the Gu Mo Lotus. If Feng failed, it would be Bao Chengyong’s chance.
Bao Chengyong spoke calmly, “The demon liquid is down there, and there isn’t much of it. How should we divide it?”
Feng Xilong replied, “Divide it however you want! We’ll discuss it after I get the Gu Mo Lotus.”
Bao Chengyong said indifferently, “The Gu Mo Lotus… you might not even succeed in obtaining it.”
Feng Xilong suddenly calmed down. He wasn’t an ordinary person; he had already figured it out. cursing under his breath, he smiled and said, “How can we know unless we try? There’s only so much demon liquid. It’s not enough for all six of us to refine the altar… barely enough for five. So… whoever succeeds in getting the Gu Mo Lotus should let the others have the chance to refine the altar.” He spoke generously.
Realizing this guy had come to his senses and couldn’t be provoked any further, Bao Chengyong stepped back and said, “Alright, Feng Xilong, you first, I second…”
Everyone watched Feng Xilong. If he succeeded in obtaining the Gu Mo Lotus, the others would have come for nothing.
Feng Xilong said confidently, “Watch me!” He soared above the Gu Mo Lotus, paused briefly, then descended, landing right on the central platform of the lotus.
Suddenly, the Gu Mo Lotus emitted intense light, with countless colorful beams shooting out and hitting Feng Xilong as he fell. With a scream, he was flung away. In just one second, Feng Xilong failed completely, with no chance of obtaining the Gu Mo Lotus.
Bao Chengyong laughed heartily and said, “Feng Xilong, you failed!”
Feng Xilong rolled in the air for about ten rounds before controlling his body. Though unharmed, he was extremely frustrated. Cursing, he stepped aside and sneered, “Bao Chengyong, you might not succeed either!”
Bao Chengyong observed carefully for a while and said, “It seems that as long as one lands in the center of the Gu Mo Lotus, they can subdue it?”
Yan Ruodai, being last, had never hoped to get the Gu Mo Lotus from the start. But seeing Feng Xilong fail so quickly, she felt a glimmer of hope and said, “Bao Chengyong, hurry up!”
Feng Xilong also urged, “Bao Chengyong, don’t dawdle! Hurry up! Everyone is waiting. If you fail, they’ll still have a chance!”

Bao Chengyong smirked and said, “Don’t provoke me. Let me take a good look. I don’t want to get blown away before even landing, just like you!”
Feng Xilong shook his head in frustration. He hadn’t expected Gu Molian to attack. Although it didn’t hurt him, the force was truly terrifying. At that moment, he had no resistance at all.
After waiting for a while, even Ling Zhenren grew impatient and urged, “Bao Chengyong, hurry up! Everyone is waiting.”
Bao Chengyong knew he couldn’t delay any longer. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Watch how I subdue you!” He flew into the air and summoned his altar. The black sword flew out of the altar and aimed straight at the center of Gu Molian.
Feng Xilong shouted, “Hey! Do you want to destroy Gu Molian?”
Bao Chengyong replied, “Idiot, how would I destroy Gu Molian? I’m just using it to protect myself. I won’t get blown away like someone else!” With that, he began to descend slowly, getting closer to Gu Molian, carefully observing its reactions. There was only one chance, and he didn’t want to lose it needlessly.
When Bao Chengyong was still seven or eight meters away from Gu Molian, it suddenly emitted a blinding light, and an unparalleled force rushed toward him.
Bao Chengyong was shocked. Just as he tried to use the altar to suppress it, he suddenly found his soul as if trapped. In an instant, he was also flung away. His angry curse could be heard: “Damn it…”
Feng Xilong burst into laughter: “Haha, hahaha!”
Ling Zhenren was in third place. Although he wasn’t as gleeful as Feng Xilong, he couldn’t hide his joy either. He said, “Let me give it a try.”
Bao Chengyong grumblingly retracted the black sword from his altar and said, “Damn it! Using force to suppress it is useless! Sigh, what bad luck.”
At this point, everyone understood that Gu Molian was an extremely rare treasure and wouldn’t be so easily obtained. If forced to take it, even a slight damage would cause Gu Molian to lose its vitality, greatly reducing its value. That’s why professionals were hesitant to take it by force.
Ling Zhenren didn’t delay. He flew directly above Gu Molian and descended slowly, his body glowing with talismanic light. Soon, he reached the point where Gu Molian would repel him. Everyone watched anxiously.
Even though Ling Zhenren was a super expert with a fourth-level altar, he was still forcefully pushed away by Gu Molian. The force was irresistible because it targeted his soul, causing it to lose its vitality in an instant before another force pushed him away.

Master Ling was not annoyed either and smiled, saying, “An impressive Ancient Ink Lotus.”
Shi Yanxilong said, “I’ll go!”
By now, everyone had fully realized that capturing the Ancient Ink Lotus relied not on strength but on luck. So Shi Yanxilong immediately flew down.
Bao Chengyong chuckled and said, “Next!” He was overjoyed to see Shi Yanxilong get pushed away.
Soon after, Juehu Miluo and Yan Ruodai also failed—no one could reach the center of the Ancient Ink Lotus.
Juehu Miluo had thought he would succeed; he had already descended to just five meters from the center before being forcefully pushed away. Seeing that everyone had failed, Bao Chengyong said happily, “Haha, I’ll try again!” Without hesitation, he descended once more.
Boom!
This time, the Ancient Ink Lotus was extremely fierce, launching an attack right away. Bao Chengyong was sent flying without any resistance, sustaining some damage. He was furious and started screaming.
Feng Xilong sneered and said, “You tried once more, so you lose the chance to refine the altar!”
Bao Chengyong shouted, “Nonsense!”
Feng Xilong said, “Let everyone speak.”
Shi Yanxilong said, “I agree.”
Master Ling also said, “Mm, in favor.”
Juehu Miluo nodded without saying anything. With one person ruled out, the others each got a chance to refine the altar, so he nodded in agreement. Yan Ruodai sighed and said, “I agree.”
Bao Chengyong ended up losing more than he gained. Since everyone agreed, he couldn’t object and roared in anger, “This… it’s fucking unfair!”
Feng Xilong said, “It’s fair. You used up your chance.”
Bao Chengyong was seething with rage. He spotted Guo Shier and the others, pointed at Guo Shier, and said, “You go try! If fairness matters, they should have a chance too!”
Everyone was stunned; no one had thought of Guo Shier and the others because their strength was too weak for them to even be considered.
Guo Shier was also taken aback. He pointed at his own nose and asked, “Me?”
Bao Chengyong nodded. “Yes, you! If fairness is important, then you should have a chance too. Go try!”
Guo Shier asked, “Uncle, may I try?”
Juehu Miluo didn’t dare make a hasty decision either. He said, “I agree. Does anyone object?”
Feng Xilong said, “Then let’s give it a try. I doubt it’s possible… The Great Sage probably has no chance at all.”
Master Ling said, “Then let’s try. It’ll keep Bao Chengyong from feeling upset.”

Guo Shier didn’t hesitate as he flew above the Ancient Ink Lotus. He knew that no amount of defense would help—even Ling Zhenren, the strongest person here, couldn’t withstand the power of the Ancient Ink Lotus. His own strength was utterly insignificant, so he simply descended directly.

The Ancient Ink Lotus suddenly emitted intense light. Feng Xilong sneered, “Useless just like before!”

Everyone thought Guo Shier had been blown away, but a few seconds later, they realized something was wrong. The Ancient Ink Lotus grew brighter and brighter, its rays piercing through souls. To their shock, Guo Shier was sitting right in its center. Bao Chengyong let out a strange cry, “Wow, damn it… How is that possible?”

Feng Xilong was also stunned. Pointing at the Ancient Ink Lotus, he said, “He… he actually… entered it… Damn it, how is that possible…?”

Juehu Miluo watched blankly before suddenly smiling and saying, “Interesting, haha, really interesting… Hahaha!” Overjoyed, he added, “I get it! The kid doesn’t have an altar! That’s why he can gain the Ancient Ink Lotus’s recognition! Haha!”

Ling Zhenren said, “It has nothing to do with the altar. There must be another reason.”

Bao Chengyong pounded his chest and slapped himself hard. As long as the Ancient Ink Lotus remained, he still had a sliver of a chance. But once it was taken by someone else, he would have no chance at all.

Guo Shier fell into the center of the Ancient Ink Lotus, himself puzzled. As he descended, he felt his soul being confined. Yet within his soul, he possessed 167 soul scriptures formed into runes. The moment his soul was confined, those 167 runes suddenly fluctuated violently. By then, he had already reached the center of the Ancient Ink Lotus.

The Ancient Ink Lotus seemed to come to life, with waves of invisible fluctuations gradually matching those of his soul, slowly merging together.

Guo Shier suddenly realized that it was the fluctuations of the soul scriptures that had led to his success. Without hesitation, he began to recite the scriptures silently.

As the soul’s fluctuations increased, the demonic liquid beneath the Ancient Ink Lotus slowly merged into it. Guo Shier felt refreshed and invigorated. What surprised him the most was that he was advancing rapidly—from a junior Great Sage to an intermediate one. And that wasn’t all; two days later, he had risen to an advanced Great Sage.

Everyone patiently waited for two days. Suddenly, Bao Chengyong let out a strange, loud laugh: “Wow… Haha, hahaha, hahaha!”

Ling Zhenren frowned slightly. Feng Xilong shouted, “Bao Chengyong, what’s wrong with you?”

Bao Chengyong pointed at the area beneath the Ancient Ink Lotus, beaming with joy, “Look at that demonic liquid… It’s gone! Haha! Hahaha!”

Everyone’s gaze turned downward toward Gu Mo Lian. Sure enough, the magical liquid below had completely disappeared. Bao Chengyong had been unanimously rejected for the chance to refine the altar, so when he saw the magical liquid vanish, he was overjoyed, thinking, “If I can’t get it, neither can you.” His mood instantly improved greatly.