Chapter 242: Double-Born Conjoined Lotus

Lu Yang, after much persuasion, managed to dissuade the Immortal Fairy from showing off her culinary skills by arguing, "Mortals are not worthy of enjoying an immortal's cooking."

"That's not right, Lu Yang. When it comes to delicious food, everyone is equal. Still, let's let it go this time."

"The Immortal Fairy is truly wise," Lu Yang praised without hesitation.

He felt his action had accumulated immeasurable merit and saved countless lives.

It was a pity that the cultivation world lacked the theory of ascending to immortality through merit; otherwise, Lu Yang believed he could easily achieve immortality this way.

The seven arrived at the Golden Coin Guild and took out various monster corpses from their identification jade slips. These spoils of war drew gasps of astonishment.

"Are these... all Core Formation stage monsters?!" It was still the same attendant who had previously served Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou. He immediately recognized that these monsters were all at the Core Formation stage and their bodies were intact, almost undamaged.

This was mainly due to Lu Yang's sword, which aimed for a single fatal blow, and Meng Jingzhou's fists, which used internal force to shatter the monsters' brains.

The attendant understood immediately upon recalling Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's identities.

As a disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect, it went without saying that Lu Yang possessed extraordinary combat power, synonymous with being invincible among his peers.

In fact, disciples of all Five Great Immortal Sects were considered invincible at their own cultivation level; if they couldn't defeat opponents of higher levels, they would be too embarrassed to admit they belonged to one of the Five Great Immortal Sects.

What the attendant didn't know, however, was that Lu Yang was exceptionally strong even among the Five Great Immortal Sects, having defeated the strongest Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Five Elements Sect in battle.

As for Meng Jingzhou, a direct descendant of the Meng family, they were famously troublesome in the Imperial City. Those seeking revenge against the Meng family could form a line stretching all the way to the palace. If direct descendants of the Meng family didn't have some capabilities, they would have been killed long ago.

The attendant had even heard that headquarters was considering establishing "Meng Family Personal Accident Insurance."

"Sirs, do you not want the inner cores either?" The attendant separated the inner cores. These were the most valuable parts of Core Formation stage monsters, capable of being refined into pills that increased the chance of forming a Golden Core, making them highly sought after by late Foundation Establishment cultivators.

For some cultivators on the verge of the Core Formation stage, the only thing separating them from true Core Formation was often one of these pills made from an inner core.

"They're not very useful to us. Just sell them all together," Meng Jingzhou said, waving his hand dismissively.

The attendant quickly assessed the price of the monster corpses. Approximately three intact Core Formation stage monsters could buy one targeted teleportation talisman, and this was even with the Meng family discount.

"Give me five more targeted teleportation talismans," Meng Jingzhou said, having tasted the benefits, and bought five more.

He now had nine targeted teleportation talismans, enough to deal with nine Nascent Soul stage monsters. This setup was more than enough for them to roam freely in the dense forest.

"Here are four for you," Meng Jingzhou said, handing four to Lu Yang.

"Are there any higher-grade teleportation talismans?" Meng Jingzhou asked.

"Higher-grade?"

"Ones that won't be interrupted even by attacks from Soul Transformation stage monsters."

"Please wait a moment while I check." Since targeted teleportation talismans were extremely expensive and rarely purchased, the attendant didn't know much about them.

"I apologize, but we only stock Nascent Soul grade targeted teleportation talismans here. Soul Transformation grade ones are only available at headquarters. Would you like us to arrange for them to be transferred?"

"Have your headquarters send three over," Meng Jingzhou said, always prioritizing safety.

"Certainly."

"Have there been any recent reports of natural treasures appearing in the dense forest?" Lu Yang inquired. The guild offered this service, claiming they could find any information as long as enough spirit stones were provided.

This was, of course, false advertising; at the very least, the guild didn't even know the Senior Sister's age.

The attendant gestured for them to enter a soundproof room and activated a formation to prevent external eavesdropping.

Important information could not be discussed in public.

"Someone has discovered a Twin-Petaled Lotus," the attendant stated directly.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were simultaneously startled. They had just mentioned this natural treasure last night, and now its whereabouts had been found?

"Where?"

The attendant unfolded a map and pointed to a lake: "It was discovered in a lake about 110 li south of Monster Suppression Pass. Originally, that lake was home to a late Core Formation stage Fish King, a pufferfish spirit, which contained potent venom. Few at its cultivation level could withstand it; it was undeniably a formidable tyrant."

"Furthermore, it was rumored to be allied with four other Core Formation stage monsters, forming a pact that harmed countless individuals."

"Just three days ago, someone accidentally trespassed into the Fish King's territory and expected certain death. Unexpectedly, they weren't attacked. Instead, they found the corpses of four Core Formation stage monsters by the lake, dead from poisoning. A subsequent autopsy confirmed this."

"At the same time, that person also found the Fish King's scattered remains in the lake."

"We speculate that the Fish King and these four monsters had a disagreement, likely over an uneven distribution of spoils, leading to an internal conflict. The four monsters were poisoned by the Fish King, and the Fish King itself was torn apart and killed."

"Later, people discovered the Twin-Petaled Lotus in that lake. It had been well-hidden, previously guarded by the Fish King."

"That Twin-Petaled Lotus will bloom in five days. Many have already received the news and are preparing to contend for it."

"The Twin-Petaled Lotus..." Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou both smiled, intrigued.

Neither of them had decided what kind of Golden Core to form. Lu Yang didn't want to form a Sword Core, and Meng Jingzhou didn't want to form a Bachelor Golden Core. Both needed external inspiration.

Observing a Twin-Petaled Lotus could potentially lead to insights for forming a Golden Core, and there were indeed precedents for this in the Dao Seeking Sect.

One senior disciple, while forming his Golden Core, happened to have a Twin-Petaled Lotus bloom in his room. Observing the lotus under the moonlight, he gained profound insights and formed an incredibly aggressive Yin-Yang Golden Core.

When he activated his Yin-Yang Golden Core, sarcastic remarks would automatically slip out, making him extremely effective at drawing enmity.

Lu Yang was familiar with that person; it was his Second Senior Brother, who was currently undergoing trials in the Golden Buddhist Nation.

Also, the abbot of Hanging Temple, the only Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator among the leaders of the Five Great Immortal Sects, had also referenced the Twin-Petaled Lotus during his Core Formation stage.

The Hanging Temple abbot had the image of a lotus tattooed on his Golden Core. This way, whenever he debated or lectured on scriptures in the future, effects like "speaking with lotus blossoms" and "lotuses growing with each step" would automatically appear, which were highly impressive.

This was different from magical techniques, which were external forces; his were naturally occurring, automatic effects.

This led to admiration from many powerful figures, demonstrating the potent effects of the Twin-Petaled Lotus.

"The lotus seeds are also delicious," the Immortal Fairy reminded Lu Yang, highlighting another benefit of the Twin-Petaled Lotus.

She had noticed the Twin-Petaled Lotus when she killed the Fish King, but at that time, it hadn't bloomed. Rashly collecting it would cause the lotus to lose its spiritual essence.

As an immortal chef, or rather, the only immortal chef in the world, she naturally couldn't waste such a valuable natural treasure.

"Lotus seeds can be made into lotus seed soup, symbolizing abundant offspring and blessings. When you want children in the future, you can make this for your wife."

"...Immortal Fairy, your thoughts are a bit too far ahead. I don't even have a fiancée."

"You'll have one eventually. This is an immortal's blessing!"

The Immortal Fairy was full of confidence; her blessings had never failed.

Lu Yang felt his fate was fraught with difficulties.

(End of chapter)