Chapter 190: Chapter 190: Cyan Lotus Sword Master

"What a find! An absolutely incredible find!"

Su Yu gazed at the cyan lotus, his heart pounding with excitement.

This was a legendary medicinal treasure from the Ancient Era! Though eroded by time, with only three tattered petals remaining on its withered form, the fact that it had survived to this day in a cavern devoid of Spiritual Qi was a testament to its incredible life force!

Su Yu cautiously approached the edge of the pool and leaned closer to the cyan lotus.

He gently parted the broken, crystal-clear petals, which shimmered like jade. Peering inside, he saw three shriveled lotus seeds nestled deep within the flower’s heart. They were a dark cyan color, and though their surfaces were wrinkled, they still emitted a refreshing, soul-soothing fragrance.

’I wonder if they still have any medicinal properties?’

Unable to contain his curiosity, Su Yu picked up one of the shriveled lotus seeds and popped it directly into his mouth.

CRUNCH.

The lotus seed was extremely hard, but the moment he bit through it, an unparalleled sweetness and vitality erupted!

Unlike the wild, searing pain of consuming the Vermilion Fruit or the Crocodile Dragon’s Heart Blood—a pain that felt like rivers burning and seas boiling—this lotus seed transformed into a gentle, mellow stream, like the nectar of the gods, and flowed down his throat.

Everywhere it passed, his meridians felt as if they were being bathed in a spring breeze, and his organs were greatly nourished.

Immediately after, the ink-wash characters in his vision began to flash wildly:

[Breakthrough Point Progress +10%]

[Breakthrough Point Progress +10%]

[Breakthrough Point Progress +8%]

...

’So powerful!’

Su Yu’s pupils contracted sharply, his eyes flashing with intense, ecstatic joy.

The progress bar had shot up, finally stopping at 53%!

’A single shriveled lotus seed actually added nearly 30% to my Breakthrough Point progress?’

Su Yu sucked in a sharp breath. The effect was comparable to dozens of pounds of top-grade Exotic Beast meat!

’If this cyan lotus were in its prime, producing plump, perfect seeds of creation, just how terrifying would their energy be?’

Su Yu’s gaze fell hotly on the two remaining lotus seeds. ’Two more. After eating them, I can accumulate even more Breakthrough Points!’

’And this cyan lotus itself is an incredible treasure. I wonder if I can transplant it!’

Before, Su Yu wouldn’t have even considered it, but now, with Yang Zhen’s Wood Spirit Qi, there might actually be a chance!

’First, I’ll check out the other things.’

Suppressing the urge to harvest it immediately, Su Yu turned his attention to the white jade stone table.

On a cattail cushion in front of the table sat a skeleton, cross-legged.

The skeleton was draped in a long-faded cyan Daoist robe. Judging by the delicate frame, the master of this grotto-heaven must have been a woman.

Su Yu stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Senior, please forgive my intrusion."

Then, he reached out to examine the remains. However, the instant his fingertip touched the cyan robe, the garment and the skeleton, both eroded by countless years, disintegrated as if weathered by the wind. With a soft CRUMBLE, they turned into a pile of grayish-white dust that settled on the cushion.

’Time is a blade that cuts down even the most talented. Even a great power from the Ancient Era cannot withstand its ravages,’ Su Yu mused to himself.

As the skeleton turned to dust, it left behind two items that had not been eroded by time.

One was a simple, unadorned ring of a dark silver material, neither gold nor wood. The inside was faintly engraved with dense, microscopic formation patterns.

The other was a suet-white Jade Pendant. The jade was warm and flawless, exquisitely carved with a lifelike, seven-petaled cyan lotus that seemed to shimmer with an inner light.

’This ring and Jade Pendant resisted the erosion of time. They must be good stuff!’ Su Yu’s heart skipped a beat as he carefully picked them up.

He examined them closely but found nothing out of the ordinary.

’Why do they look like an ordinary ring and Jade Pendant?’

’That’s impossible. They must be treasures; I just can’t see how!’ An idea began to form in Su Yu’s mind. ’In the Ancient Era, things like rings and jade pendants were very likely Storage Magical Artifacts that contained their own pocket dimensions.’

’I’ll check the ancient records when I get back and see if I can find a way to open them!’

He tucked the ring and Jade Pendant securely away and continued to scan his surroundings.

On the stone table sat an exquisite suet-white jade porcelain bottle, its stopper tightly sealed.

Filled with anticipation, Su Yu uncorked the bottle, only to pour out a small pinch of black ash. The spiritual pills inside had clearly failed to withstand the passage of time, losing all their medicinal properties.

’What a pity.’

Su Yu shook his head, his gaze finally settling on the flat stone wall at the front of the chamber.

Hanging there was a scroll painting, woven from some unknown material, that looked as pristine as the day it was made.

The painting depicted a ten-thousand-zhang-high cliff with a churning sea of clouds. A peerless woman with a tall, slender figure, dressed in robes as white as snow, stood proudly amidst the clouds. With one hand, she held a Three-foot Cyan Blade, its sword qi like a rainbow piercing the sun, pinning a mountain-sized, slant-eyed white tiger with wings on its back to the cliff face!

Although the white tiger was slain, the peerless, ferocious aura emanating from the painting was still terrifying. The woman’s sword intent was so sharp it was as if a mere glance could prick one’s eyes.

In a blank space on the scroll, a line of wild, cursive script was written with flamboyant flourish:

"Cyan Lotus Sword Master, slays the Winged Gengjin White Tiger at the peak of Kunlun Mountain!"

The calligraphy, like iron strokes and silver hooks, exuded a world-shaking heroism that would put any man to shame.

’The Cyan Lotus Sword Master... She really was a great power of the Ancient Era!’

Su Yu stared at the painting and took a deep breath. ’This kind of peerless style, slaying an ancient vicious beast... these are the true methods of a great power who can move heaven and earth!’

At this moment, inspired by the painting, his heart surged with boundless ambition. ’One day, I too will possess such power and roam the heavens and earth as I please!’

After checking the grotto-heaven one last time and finding nothing else, Su Yu gathered everything up.

The scroll, the cushion, even the luminous pearls embedded in the walls—Su Yu pried them all out, making sure to leave nothing behind.

Finally, Su Yu returned to the pool’s edge. He carefully dug out the cyan lotus, taking the spiritual mud from the bottom with it, wrapped it in oilcloth, and held it protectively against his chest.

’A full harvest! Time to go!’

He slipped into the water and swam rapidly back toward the outside world through the hidden passage.

...

「Half a day later, at the Su Mansion in Black Stone City.」

The travel-worn Su Yu had just stepped through the mansion gates when a graceful figure darted toward him like a swallow returning to its nest.

"Brother Su, you’re back! Are you hurt?"

Today, Yang Zhen wore a form-fitting, moon-white dress. She wore no makeup, but it couldn’t hide the increasingly dewy, delicate beauty and voluptuous figure she had developed since awakening her Spirit Body.

"I’m fine."

Su Yu smiled and wrapped an arm around her slender, willowy waist. He leaned in close to her translucent ear and whispered, "Not only am I fine, but your Brother Su also found a wonderful treasure on this trip, and it needs your Wood Spirit Qi."

Hearing the words "Wood Spirit Qi" and feeling the strong, masculine scent coming from Su Yu, Yang Zhen’s ears instantly turned beet-red. Her voice became soft and shy. "Mm... then let’s go to the Inner Courtyard..."

The two hurried to the side of the Yin-Yang Lotus Pool in the rear courtyard.

With a solemn expression, Su Yu opened the waterproof oilcloth bundle and took out the cyan lotus, still caked in spiritual mud.

The moment the cyan lotus appeared, a heart-refreshing fragrance filled the air. Yang Zhen couldn’t help but cover her lips, exclaiming, "Such dense life force! Brother Su, I can feel its vitality. It’s far greater than any treasure I’ve ever seen before!"

It wasn’t just her. Even the koi in the Yin-Yang Lotus Pool seemed to feel a fatal attraction. They swarmed to the edge, gathering around the cyan lotus like stars around the moon, frantically gulping at the water.

"This is very likely a rare treasure left over from the Ancient Era. I found it in an underwater grotto."

Su Yu carefully placed the cyan lotus, spiritual mud and all, into the taiji formation eye of the lotus pool. He turned to Yang Zhen and said, "Zhen’Er, its source is damaged, and it’s on the verge of withering. Try using your Wood Spirit Qi to see if you can make it take root again."

"I’ll try!"

Yang Zhen immediately lifted the hem of her dress and crouched down by the pool. The simple movement dramatically accentuated the stunning curve of her full, rounded hips and her slender waist. However, Su Yu’s mind was entirely focused on the cyan lotus at that moment, leaving him no time to appreciate such a beautiful sight.

Yang Zhen’s expression turned solemn as she circulated the Qi and Blood in her body.

She extended a slender, jade-like finger. A wisp of cyan energy gathered at its tip, which she gently touched to the withered, yellowed core of the cyan lotus.

A stream of utterly pure life force instantly flowed into the cyan lotus.

In the next moment, the cyan lotus erupted in a soft, verdant glow. Its three previously limp and drooping petals, as if receiving sweet rain after a long drought, instantly unfurled, their surfaces shimmering with a gentle green light.

Even more surprisingly, from the small, dead section of its rhizome at the bottom, two new, tender, jade-white rootlets sprouted under the catalysis of the Wood Spirit Qi!

The new rootlets, as if alive, immediately dug deep into the spiritual mud at the bottom of the Yin-Yang Lotus Pool and began to greedily absorb water.

"It’s working! Zhen’Er, give it a bit more!"

Yang Zhen nodded at once. Biting her lip, she poured all the Wood Spirit Qi she had accumulated over the past few days into the lotus without reservation.

As the last of her Spiritual Qi was depleted, the cyan lotus grew a third rootlet, its life force now completely stabilized.

"Huuu..."

Yang Zhen’s body went limp. Her face was pale, and she was drenched in fragrant sweat.

Su Yu quickly caught her, pulling her into his arms and letting her rest against his broad chest.

"You’ve worked hard, Zhen’Er."

Cradling the warm, soft, fragrant body in his arms, Su Yu looked at the ancient cyan lotus in the pool, now brimming with new life, his eyes gleaming with irrepressible ambition and ecstasy.

"It’s all thanks to you that this rare treasure survived the transplant! From now on, any Wood Spirit Qi I don’t use for my own Martial Arts practice will be used to cultivate it!"

Su Yu’s gaze fell upon the cyan lotus again. The rare treasure was now concealing its own brilliance, looking no different from the ordinary lotus flowers in the pool.

But this was very likely the Nine Revolutions Cyan Lotus, a legendary treasure from the Ancient Era!

’As long as it continues to survive and produce seeds... a single shriveled seed provided 30% of my Breakthrough Point progress. What about a fresh, perfect one?’

’And just now, when the cyan lotus was revived, its rhizome seemed to start changing color. Perhaps there will be other unexpected surprises later on.’

’Like harvesting a section of lotus root!’ 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The more Su Yu thought about it, the more excited he became. From this day forward, he might possess a powerful medicinal treasure that could continuously produce Breakthrough Points and Qi and Blood!

This would be an immense help to his future Martial Arts path!