Chapter 727: The First Person To Sever His Lotus
There were originally no roads in the world. Paths were formed when people walked over the same route over time. The question was: who was the first person to tread on the path? The answer was: Yu Shangrong.
Even in the red lotus domain, based on what Yu Shangrong knew, there was none who had severed their lotuses to reach the Nine-leaf stage yet. There were no such records in the history books.
Yu Shangrong, the second disciple of the Evil Sky Pavilion, the famous Sword Devil in Great Yan, was the first person to tread on this path.
He could only rely on himself without any external help. He did not believe Xia Changqiu, and hence, he had chosen this isolated and silent place.
The Primal Qi in the red lotus domain was denser. Unfortunately, there were more beasts, and he was more likely to be disturbed... However, these matters did not affect his determination to sprout a leaf. Having come this far, he had his fair of hardships, after all.
Radiant energy rings continued sliding down his avatar as eight leaves spun around it. The avatar shone with a golden light.
At this moment, flying beasts were beginning to gather. It seemed as though they had picked up the scent of some exquisite delicacy as they landed on the branches and looked down at the human.
A gust of wind blew through the forest, lifting Yu Shangrong’s long hair.
A few birds flew down, trying to get closer.
With a whistle, the Longevity Sword shot out and accurately pierced through the birds’ chests.
The birds’ carcasses dropped to the ground immediately.
Yu Shangrong was unaffected, focused on sprouting his leaf.
As the energy rings dropped with increasing speed, the birds of the forest increased in numbers, and their sizes increased as well.
Yu Shangrong placed two fingers on his leg. His Longevity Sword buzzed, as though it was warning the beasts away.
He was an Eight-and-a-half-leaf cultivator, after all. Therefore, the first half of the leaf-sprouting process went smoothly. He almost did not feel any pressure at all.
As the energy rings picked up speed, the Primal Qi and vitality energy in the surroundings began to gather as well.
The beasts grew by devouring vitality energy. Powerful humans were one of their most favorite foods. However, powerful humans were one of the foes they were most wary of as well.
Energy continued to gather.
Yu Shangrong kept an eye on the beasts around him through the corners of his eyes.
His avatar spun. Due to the lack of a golden lotus, there was, naturally, no spinning golden lotus. As it spun, the vitality energy in the surroundings seemed to be pulled in by a vortex as they swiftly gathered toward the avatar.
This was Yu Shangrong’s method of sprouting leaves.
Swoosh!
A gust of wind blew, and the forest seemed to sway with it.
...
In front of the Thousand Willow Monastery.
Wuwu and Ji Fengxing looked ahead with blank expressions on their faces.
“Did big brother leave?” Wuwu sounded reluctant to part.
“He won’t... He’s going to wait here for his Eldest Senior Brother to return. Moreover, there’s nowhere else for him to go,” Ji Fengxing said.
“What’s that?” Wuwu pointed at a huge beast in the distant horizons. It was flapping its wings as it flew toward the Thousand Willow Monastery.
“A flying beast! Notify the elders and the monastery master! Quick!”
“Oh.” Wuwu swiftly flew toward the mountain and informed Xia Changqiu and Tian Buji about this.
Xia Changqiu was not completely healed yet. Even with Wuwu healing him, he would need more time before he completely recovered. Upon hearing this news, he was shocked. “It’s not unheard of for beasts to attack human settlements, but beasts rarely appear in these parts. Why would they suddenly appear in the Thousand Willow Monastery?”
Tian Buji frowned and said, “Is somebody trying to harm us?”
Many things have happened lately. The Thousand Willow Monastery had offended Flying Star House and the Sky Martial Court. It was not impossible for them to resort to underhanded tricks.
Xia Changqiu shook his head and said, “It’s unlikely... If they wanted to harm the Thousand Willow Monastery, they could just send their men over. They don’t have to beat around the bush. Moreover, I’ve ordered for the news of our good relationship with the Ninth Temple to be spread. Although the Flying Star House is vexed, they won’t go head-to-head with Ninth Temple.”
Tian Buji nodded and found that Xia Changqiu’s words made sense. Hence, he said, “In that case, there’s only one other possibility... Someone is attempting the Nine-leaf stage in the Thousand Willow Monastery. The Nine-leaf cultivator has attracted the beasts.”
“Zhu Xuan?” Zhu Xuan was the only one who had sprouted the ninth leaf in the Thousand Willow Monastery recently.
“I don’t think so. Zhu Xuan left the Thousand Willow Monastery after sprouting his leaf and returned to the Ninth Temple. I think it’s someone else.”
Upon hearing their words, Wuwu who was standing next to them exclaimed”It’s big brother! Big brother is sprouting a leaf!”
Xia Changqiu and Tian Buji exchanged a look. Naturally, they knew who Wuwu was referring to.
“Pass down my order. Search the area within a 30-mile radius... We must find Yu Shangrong as quickly as possible.”
“Monastery Master, should we invite Elder Xu to emerge from his secluded cultivation?” Tian Buji asked.
“There’s no need for that. Elder Xu is a traditional man. It’s unlikely that he’ll be accepting of a foreign tribesman... I’ll explain the circumstances to him personally when he emerges from his cultivation.”
“Alright.” Tian Buji led hundreds of disciples and flew away from the Thousand Willow Monastery.
When they saw the huge beast in the skies, they gathered together.
Tian Buji looked at the dense forest in the distant valley and said, “Follow me.”
“Understood.”
Tian Buji led the way and flew toward the huge beasts.
...
Yu Shangrong’s leaf-sprouting process was at the crucial stage at this moment. His avatar was spinning at its highest speed.
The vitality energy had gathered around him, causing the flying beasts above the forest to squawk in excitement and agitation.
The flying beasts flapped their wings, causing leaves to fall.
Yu Shangrong moved two fingers.
The Longevity Sword split into two, four, and eventually split into 1,000 energy swords that shot toward the flying beasts.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The flock of flying beasts fell from the air while the other beasts dove.
The deafening squawks made Yu Shangrong frown slightly. However, his years of leaf-sprouting experience and methods of surviving dangerous situations made him exceptionally composed and determined.
Swoosh!
Yu Shangrong rose to his feet. His avatar was spinning on top of his palm while he held his sword with his other hand.
The golden swords in the skies seemed to form a cluster of energy that slashed at the diving birds.
“Quick.”
Yu Shangrong focused on sprouting his leaf.
The energy radiant rings grew thicker. He could feel his eight golden leaves were already at their peak.
The smaller birds could not do anything about Yu Shangrong’s energy swords.
Swoosh!
Yu Shangrong looked up.
A pair of wings that spanned dozens of meters covered the sky overhead.
Ordinary people would have been scared out of their wits if they had seen this. Only Yu Shangrong could still smile. “You think so highly of me. Interesting.”
He pushed two fingers down.
His Longevity Sword moved, and the trees fell.
Traceless Sword.
He pushed away from the ground with a straight back. He flew backward gracefully at top speed.
His avatar continued to sprout its leaf.
The huge beast flapped its wings, stirring up a strong wind. Pebbles flew in the air as well.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
The pebbles stirred up the wind swept through the forest.
Yu Shangrong tapped his feet again as he activated his protective energy. The energy swords formed a wall in front of him.
The huge beast sensed the surging vitality energy. Its eyes glinted as it dove with its shining red talons.
At this moment, energy seals shot past Yu Shangrong from behind.
Soon after, energy sabers, energy arrows, palm seals, and script seals danced in the air. They were all red!
“Hm?” Yu Shangrong frowned slightly. “Should I start my second plan?”
The people from the Thousand Willow Monastery were here. If they decided to seize the opportunity and worked with the beasts to kill him now, it would be difficult for him to survive.
He had considered this possibility before so he had come up with a countermeasure as well. He looked in the direction of the Thousand Willow Monastery.
Even if he were to fail in sprouting this leaf, he would not allow his pride as the Sword Devil to be trampled on.
He was about to leave when a voice rang in the air. “I’ll help you!”
Tian Buji launched a wave of energy that struck the huge beast.
Hundreds of disciples formed a wall.
Yu Shangrong flew lower and looked around him. Although Tian Buji had helped him, he was still wary. He stood with his back against a huge boulder as he absorbed the vitality energy from his surroundings at a higher speed.
Boom!
At this moment, the huge beast dove.
Hundreds of disciples were sent flying.
The eagle-like beast was unafraid of these inconsequential techniques. Tian Buji’s ultimate technique was the only one that made it pause slightly. Occasionally, several of its feathers would fall off.
“Form the Formation!” Tian Buji ordered.
The disciples quickly gathered in the air and formed a Formation.
The Daoist Formation seal covered 100 meters in the air.
The beast screeched sharply. Its talons glinted in the light as it rammed into the huge Formation.
Boom!
A deafening boom resounded as the Formation was destroyed.
The Thousand Willow Monastery disciples were sent flying back, throwing up blood.
Tian Buji grunted. His blood essence boiled in his body.
Such a powerful beast!
“Retreat!” Tian Buji had no choice but to order a retreat.
The disciples pressed on their chests as they bit back the pain and swiftly retreated all the way until they were in front of the huge boulder that Yu Shangrong was leaning against.
“What should we do?” Wuwu flew out from behind. She raised her hand and threw a huge red radiant circle out. She seemed like a fairy of the forest at this moment. As soon as the radiant circle touched the ground, it covered the hundreds of disciples. Everyone’s injuries were visibly healing.
This wide-range healing technique caused her to stagger and pant heavily.
“Elder Tian, return to the Thousand Willow Monastery!”
“No, the huge beast will follow us. Our barrier can’t stop this huge beast!”
“However, we can’t keep this up forever.”
Without a Nine-leaf cultivator leading the assault, the others would only end up as fodder.
“Stop it!” Tian Buji made up his mind. He glanced in the direction of the boulder.
At this moment, a person moved toward them with a burst of movements. “I have a plan. Should we give it a try?”
“Elder Xu Su?”
“Isn’t Elder Xu Su cultivating in seclusion behind the mountain? This is great. He came just in time.”
The middle-aged man was the Thousand Willow Monastery’s third elder, Xu Su.
Elder Xu Su carried his sword as he ran forward. He did not fly. He was charging toward the boulder as his sword buzzed in his hand. “The problem will be gone if we kill this person!”
Xu Su’s target was Yu Shangrong who was leaning against the boulder, not the huge beast in the air!
Tian Buji was shocked. “Stop it! Elder Xu, don’t do something that’s going to harm the monastery!”
“Stop him!”
Upon seeing this, the disciples were shocked as well. It was impossible to stop Xu Su at this moment.
The sword in Xu Su’s hand shone brightly with red light as it shot toward Yu Shangrong’s face.
Primal Qi caressed Yu Shangrong’s face like a cold breeze. No matter how complicated or dangerous his environment was, Yu Shangrong could always maintain his composure. It was the same at this moment.
Yu Shangrong did not dodge. Instead, a faint smile appeared on his face. He saw the radiant energy rings at the avatar’s waist travel in the other direction. He said. “I see.”
The radiant ring reversed and returned to the waist.
With that, his ninth leaf had sprouted.