Chapter 515: 霸王莲

Chapter 512: The Overlord Lotus

“It’s enough for his subordinates to be sensible; we’ll rely on them to investigate those townships.” Cen Boqing gestured towards the Lotus Palace with his lips. “Just wait until Lord Fan finishes his task, then you’ll see how the one named Tian comes to flatter him.”

“I just hope Fan Sheng doesn’t mess up this time.”

Cen Boqing laughed heartily: “What’s there to fear? Time and advantage are on our side. Every day that passes, He Xiao becomes more passive.”

Zhongsun Mou thought for a moment and felt reassured. Analyzing the current situation, the one named He has nowhere to bite them, even if he wanted to implicate them.

Their status was the best shield.

Even the Crown Prince’s special envoy from Chiyan couldn’t touch them an inch without concrete evidence.

“That’s true.” His gaze swept over the black crystals on the table, a hint of regret in his eyes. “I should also thank him for sending me such a grand gift. It’s just a shame about that Mirror Shield.”

That magic artifact was an excellent defensive treasure, perfectly suited for someone as vulnerable as him. If Fan Sheng killed He Xiao, the Mirror Shield would become the victor’s spoils, irrelevant to Zhongsun Mou.

He Lingchuan was not an all-rounder; his rowing skills were poor. Fortunately, his partner was a soldier under Commander Lu named Jia Yu, who had been a local fisherman in Tangmi Township before joining the army. He was adept at navigating boats through rapids, so traversing the Lotus Palace was no challenge for him.

Jia Yu taught him tricks while rowing, and after several attempts, He Lingchuan gradually got the hang of it, significantly increasing their boat’s speed.

The water here was calm, so the challenge was simply the contestants’ ability to navigate.

Of course, the most crucial factor was luck.

However, He Lingchuan held a cheating tool and decided to win by skill rather than luck—

He could determine the treasure’s location based on the heat emanating from his divine bone necklace.

Assuming the treasure identified by the divine bone was the “Overlord Lotus.”

As he approached the Lotus Palace, He Lingchuan understood the saying, “Lotus leaves stretch boundlessly to the sky, an endless emerald.” It was indeed a vast forest of lotus leaves.

The lotus leaves formed one green wall after another. As their small boat sailed in, they quickly lost their bearings.

Not to mention those in the boat, even spectators high up in Chaohu Tower likely couldn’t see the specific situation within the maze.

“How did you usually find the Overlord Lotus?” He Lingchuan asked Jia Yu. “Can we ask the aquatic creatures for help?”

“No, we can’t,” Jia Yu replied. “For fairness, all aquatic creatures must withdraw after clearing the duckweed; only then will the Overlord Lotus grow. Moreover, the Lotus Token competition is open only to humans.”

“Can’t these aquatic creatures just stay hidden?” Fish and turtles are concealed in the water, aren’t they hard to spot?

“The local water spirit is a lotus demon over two hundred years old, and it closely monitors the competition area,” Jia Yu said, exerting effort to pole the boat. “In the past, sixty or seventy people tried to cheat, not believing in its power, but every single one was caught and severely punished. After that, no one dared to be so arrogant.”

He Lingchuan shrugged: “That’s good then.”

This lotus demon’s power must be immense, able to cultivate such a dense Lotus Palace on the water surface in just a few days.

The waterways within the maze were less than two zhang wide at their broadest, allowing the small boat to mostly only go forward with no room to turn around. At their narrowest, they were only five chi, requiring the boat to squeeze through.

As soon as they entered the maze, silence fell around them.

Only the sounds of other small boats paddling and human voices could be heard, emanating from unknown corners.

“To the east,” He Lingchuan suddenly said. “Yes, go forward ten zhang.”

Jia Yu asked curiously, “Do you know what the Overlord Lotus looks like?”

“Uh, no,” he replied. He only knew they weren’t at the location yet because his divine bone necklace was still quite warm.

“It’s a huge, blood-red lotus bud with golden stripes on its surface.”

“Blood-red…” He Lingchuan looked around, noticing that the area was filled with unbloomed lotus buds, soaring skyward, also known as lotus arrows. Besides the common water-red, there were light pink, light purple, pinkish-white, and pale blue ones, making for a truly colorful display.

Finding a single blood-red one among tens or even hundreds of thousands of these buds was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, unbloomed lotus arrows mostly have green sepals, so one could easily miss it with just a glance.

Jia Yu was constantly looking left and right, wishing he had more eyes.

“Typically, the Overlord Lotus rarely appears in the outermost areas or the very center of the Lotus Palace,” he murmured. “We should search more in the middle layers of the maze. Can you remember the waterways?”

“Barely,” He Lingchuan said curiously. “How do you know it rarely appears in the middle?”

“Well, in the past few decades, it’s only been found seven times in the middle.”

“Is that so?” He Lingchuan looked directly north. “Never mind that, follow me.”

“Do you have a method?”

“Yes,” He Lingchuan chuckled. “I can divine and calculate, which is certainly better than your aimless searching.”

Jia Yu brightened: “Excellent! Just tell me where to go, and I’ll row there.”

After the small boat traveled a little further, it was deeply entrenched in the maze.

The Lotus Palace’s layout was also quite cunning; the scenery at both ends of the channels often looked identical, making it easy to completely lose your bearings after just a few turns.

Especially on such a heavily overcast day, it was impossible to even use the sun for navigation.

It was quiet all around, with only two silly green frogs occasionally leaping out of the water.

The divine bone necklace suddenly grew hot, and He Lingchuan let out a soft exclamation.

Their small boat was moving slowly, and they were about to make a small turn to head back. Why was the necklace suddenly so hot?

Had the target moved further away?

The Overlord Lotus should remain in place once it grows. Could the divine bone necklace be pointing to something else?

No, please don’t mess with him; three black crystals were still staked at Chaohu Tower!

He Lingchuan instantly felt a splitting headache.

But he had no other choice but to tell Jia Yu to turn around again and head due north.

The envoy often told the boat to turn and circle, so Jia Yu was used to it; he just obeyed without questioning.

Fortunately, the divine bone necklace didn’t pull any more tricks and gave a very clear direction.

The further He Lingchuan advanced, the cooler it became.

“Keep your eyes peeled,” he reminded Jia Yu. “It should be nearby now.”

Jia Yu indeed looked left and right, afraid of missing anything.

At this point, less than three quarters of an hour had passed since the start of the competition. He Lingchuan and Jia Yu had reached the northeast corner of the entire maze. The small boats they encountered became fewer and fewer, and now only the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs accompanied them.

Just as Jia Yu had said, everyone disliked the edge areas, believing the chance of finding the Overlord Lotus there was too small.

But the divine bone necklace led them precisely to this spot.

“There!” Jia Yu suddenly pointed, so excited he almost jumped.

Having competed for six years, always just participating without success, he had never found the Overlord Lotus in the maze before.

“Shhh!” He Lingchuan put a finger to his lips, telling him to calm down. “Row over there, quickly.”

Among the layers of lotus walls were hundreds of lotus arrows of various sizes. One of them was blood-red, with two faint, thin golden stripes on its surface. Because it hadn’t bloomed yet, these markings were particularly inconspicuous.

It was remarkable that Jia Yu could spot it.

He Lingchuan’s heart also inconveniently skipped two beats. This item was worth fifty thousand taels of silver.

The mirror chuckled twice: “Have you already decided that if someone else finds it first, you’ll just snatch the lotus?”

If this kid didn’t get it, the loss would be a hundred thousand taels!

How could his meager fortune withstand such an additional blow?

“No,” He Lingchuan whispered. “Even if I lose, Zhongsun Mou won’t take my money.”

He smiled with such certainty and cunning that the mirror actually shivered, as if transported back to a time when He Lingchuan used to scheme against it.

The small boat advanced rapidly. Jia Yu, without waiting for it to stop, plunged into the water, a knife held in his mouth.

The essence of snatching the lotus token was speed.

As he went for the Overlord Lotus, He Lingchuan also held his breath in anticipation.

With two ‘plop’ sounds, the lotus leaves suddenly swayed left and right, startling both of them.

It was a black-headed duck, bursting out from the lotus wall, quacking angrily at them twice, then quickly splashing across the water and flying away.

“Damn bird!” Jia Yu cursed. Under normal circumstances, he would have roasted that duck.

Just then, a few ripples suddenly appeared on the water surface about a zhang behind He Lingchuan.

A short reed silently emerged from the water—such things were common in the vicinity—aimed at He Lingchuan, and fiercely shot out a blowdart!

Only then did a shadow burst from the water, heading directly for He Lingchuan.

While the reed pole seemed superficial, the blowdart was not. Midway through its flight, its speed suddenly doubled, and the single dart split into three, forming a 'pin' shape, aiming for He Lingchuan's back of the head, heart, and tailbone.

The arrowheads were made of tempered steel, imbued with a faint white light that had a "guard-breaking" effect. Combined with the protection of elemental energy, penetrating protective true qi was no problem.

If struck, he would be at least half-crippled, if not dead.

The person who burst from the water was extremely fast. Although they struck later, they had already caught up to within three chi behind the arrows, raising their axe like a crescent moon.

This strike had been building for over three quarters of an hour, until the attacker's spirit and energy were complete. The moment it was unleashed, it was truly like lightning descending, and He Lingchuan could not avoid its full power, whether by dodging or blocking.

The sheer force of the *gang* wind from the axe blade was so powerful that it even cut the air with a sound like tearing silk. The violent blast of air pushed towards He Lingchuan; facing it felt no less than having a tornado sweep directly across one's face.

Not only could he not open his eyes, but his very body was pressed down firmly.

Given this person’s status, they would not strike unless assured of success, and then it would be a decisive blow.

As soon as the blowdart was released, He Lingchuan, as if having eyes in the back of his head, plunged forward in a “fierce tiger landing” posture.

He had waited so long, and the opponent had finally made their move.

The small boat couldn’t withstand his force. The bow sank into the water, and the stern, of course, lifted high, perfectly blocking the three blowdarts.

With three "ding" sounds, the blowdarts pierced through the wood and struck the lotus wall ahead.

The immense force was clear to see.

The person behind had almost caught up to the blowdarts, meaning the raised stern also blocked their path, effectively hitting them in the face!

With a loud crack, the stern split into several pieces, and wood splinters flew everywhere.

The axe’s residual power did not diminish; the lotus wall seven chi ahead was mowed down by the raging axe wind, and the tall stems rustled as they fell into the water.

Fortunately, Jia Yu had just emerged from the water and hadn’t yet climbed onto the lotus wall, otherwise, he would also have been cut in two.

He recoiled in fear, hearing He Lingchuan’s voice in his ear: “Pluck the lotus, quick!”

With the lotus wall cut down, the Overlord Lotus’s stem was also half-broken and swayed precariously from the axe wind, truly threatening to snap in the next second.

Jia Yu had been a soldier for many years, and obeying orders was almost ingrained instinct. Hearing the command, he immediately embraced the Overlord Lotus. In his view, the attacker also wanted this lotus. If he could just snatch it first, the outcome would be decided.