Chapter 1138: Enlightened Spirit Lotus
After a brief moment of rest and recuperation, the rest of the group gathered in front of the Soul Summoning Altar.
The white mist moved back as if it were a living thing. It condensed into a wall as a last ditch effort to protect the altar.
"Let's do it."
After Yue Zhiyu gave the order, everyone launched their attacks towards the wall of white mist, and cracks quickly formed all over it.
The protection from the white mist did not last long. The wall shattered after a few moments, and the altar stood right in front of their eyes.
The mottled stone platform was pale white and in the center of the altar was a white soul-calling flag that fluttered in the wind. Countless strange whispers suddenly flooded out of it as it attempted to invade their minds.
Some of the students' faces turned ugly immediately. It was clear from the look in their eyes that they were struggling to fight against its influence.
This soul-calling flag was clearly an insidious artifact. It was trying to corrupt and take over their minds.
"Still trying to pull tricks on us?!" Yue Zhiyu's cute face changed immediately. She possessed a ninth-grade light resonance, so the corruption had no effect on her. Quickly responding to the situation, she waved her scepter, and sacred flames shot out of the jewel on its tip. The soul-calling flag was set aflame immediately.
Numerous cries came from the flag. The soul-calling flag was very weak on its own, so it was defenseless without the protection of the Greater Evil Spirits. In just a short while, the flames of purification burned it to ashes.
When the soul-calling flag disappeared, Li Luo and group immediately noticed the surrounding world space changing. It gradually twisted and warped, and the streets and buildings began to disappear.
It felt like an ink painting was being washed away.
Nonetheless, Li Luo and the group did not mind this. They knew that the surroundings had been created by the All-Being Ghostly Skin Dominion. Now that they had destroyed the formation, the All-Being Ghostly Skin Dominion was gone from this area and the original Fifth Minor Earthly Branch Realm was returning.
The ground below Li Luo's feet had completely disappeared. He was now standing on the surface of a vast lake. The water was crystal clear and numerous fish were swimming about. It was a scene full of vitality and life that was the complete opposite of the streets filled with strange twisted Others that were the harbingers of death.
Li Luo's eyes moved across the lake and landed on the spot where the altar was located. There were ten lotus leaves quietly floating on the water.
The lotus leaves was jade green in color and dozens of feet wide. Golden threads of light flowed on them with a mysterious charm that calmed people down.
"Are those... Enlightened Spirit Lotuses?"
When the crowd saw the gilded lotus leaves, they exclaimed in surprise.
Li Luo's heart wavered a little. Since his arrival to the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent more than a year ago, he had come across many things that were hardly seen back in the Xia Kingdom. The Enlightened Spirit Lotus was something that he had only ever read about before.
It was a kind of treasure that could assist with one's cultivation. If one sat on it while cultivating, it would help calm one's soul. At the same time, it could decrease the challenges faced during cultivation. If it was used during one's breakthrough, it would increase the success rate significantly.
If the Golden Dragon Bank put an Enlightened Spirit Lotus up for sale, it would easily be worth millions of gold. In fact, its value was comparable to that of some violet-eye treasured artifacts.
Everyone was delighted. The resources in the Fifth Minor Earthly Branch Realm were truly bountiful. It was no wonder the All-Beings Devil King had his eyes set on this place. After all, what they had seen in front of them was just the tip of the iceberg.
Nonetheless, Li Luo felt a little disappointed with this. There was no doubt that the Enlightened Spirit Lotus was a valuable treasure. However, it was not the thing that he wanted right now. What he really needed was a treasure that contained extremely pure and condensed amounts of energy. This would allow him to reach the breakthrough that he had been looking for.
"Let's divide up the Enlightened Spirit Lotuses."
Yue Zhiyu took a quick look at the others. "Whoever made the biggest contribution in the earlier fight will get to choose first. What do you all think?"
There were some distinctions amongst the Enlightened Spirit Lotuses depending on their age. The older they were, the higher their quality and effects. Therefore, it was advantageous to be able to choose first.
It was fair to allocate them depending on their contributions in the earlier fight. Hence, no one disagreed.
Seeing this, Yue Zhiyu continued, "In that case, we will start with me, Wang Kong, and..."
Her eyes scanned the crowd and paused on Li Luo. "Li Luo. The three of us will pick first, is that alright?"
When Meng Zhou, Zheng Yunfeng, and the other Greater Heavenly Resonance students heard Li Luo's name, they hesitated for a moment. However, they did not say anything in the end. Although Li Luo was only at the Heavenly Pearl Tier, his poison arrows were monstrously strong. Besides, if he had not helped them break the stalemate, they would probably still be stuck in a tough fight right now.
Li Luo was also a little surprised with Yue Zhiyu's proposal. He knew that she was not on good terms with Jiang Qing'e, so it was natural that she would dislike him. Thus, he had not expected her to act so fairly.
When Yue Zhiyu saw that none of them had any objections, she raised her hand directly. Resonant power surged up, and an Enlightened Spirit Lotus in the center flew over to her. It was one of the oldest in the bunch.
Wang Kong laughed as he stretched out his hands too. Under everyone's gazes, he took another one of the oldest Enlightened Spirit Lotuses.
Seeing this, Li Luo was about to collect one of the older Enlightened Spirit Lotus. However, a slender hand suddenly pressed on his shoulder. He turned around in surprise and saw Li Hongyou by his side.
"Senior Hongyou, what's the matter?" Li Luo asked.
Li Hongyou took a look at the Enlightened Spirit Lotus. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course." Li Luo smiled.
"Choose the one at the side." Li Hongyou pointed to the outer region, where there was a dry-looking Enlightened Spirit Lotus. Everyone was stunned by her words. Their faces were perplexed. Not only was that Enlightened Spirit Lotus young in terms of age, it looked really desiccated, as if it was about to wither and die.
Yue Zhiyu took a careful look at the Enlightened Spirit Lotus suggested by Li Hongyou. She could not see anything special about it. "Li Hongyou, are you planning to let Li Luo give up on the best Enlightened Spirit Lotus so you can have it for yourself?"
She was really direct with her words.
Li Hongyou's cute face froze a little when she heard this. However, just as she was about to speak up, Li Luo extended his hands and plucked out that specific Enlightened Spirit Lotus with his resonant power.
Yue Zhiyu smirked coldly. "What a caring and doting Young Master from the Dragon's Fang Lineage. He would rather lose the Enlightened Spirit Lotus than break a girl's heart."
Li Luo smiled back. "I simply trust in Senior Hongyou's judgment."
Yue Zhiyu glared coldly at Li Luo. Was he implying that she had poor judgment?
"Pass it to me."
Li Hongyou held out her hands towards Li Luo. He gently placed the dry Enlightened Spirit Lotus onto her hands.
As everyone watched with curiousity, Li Hongyou bit the tips of her own fingers. Fresh blood dripped out and landed on the Enlightened Spirit Lotus. All of a sudden, the blood boiled vigorously and spread across the surface of the Lotus leaf.
Soon after, numerous dewdrops could be spotted under the lotus leaf. This dew gathered towards the center of the lotus leaf and gradually became a little pool.
Then something surprising happened. Faint signs of violet light began to materialize in the pool at the center of the lotus leaf. After some time, it transformed into a golden-violet fish that was around the size of one's palm.
The little fish slowly swam in the pool, giving off a sense that it possessed sentience.
Everyone stared at the fish in disbelief, especially Yue Zhiyu. She was dumbfounded for a moment before she stuttered, "Is that a... Spirit Lotus Essence?"