Chapter 510: Hell Seven-Heart Lotus

Before their shock could subside, they saw Zhang Xuan, long blade in hand, without any pause, slash at the corpse exposed in the coffin.

Swish!

The moment the corpse met the blade aura, it instantly turned to powder, scattering everywhere.

"At the ninth level of Mortal Transformation, bones are like vajra. How could it turn to powder under a blade aura?"

When one's cultivation reaches the ninth level of Mortal Transformation, not only does the soul's power increase, but the physical body also becomes flawless and invulnerable, like diamond—impervious to decay and unbreakable by axe.

Even in death, protected by the red gold coffin, it should have been impervious to blades and spears. How could it turn to powder with a single strike?

"Could it be that Teacher Zhang's blade technique is that powerful?"

"No, although Teacher Zhang's blade technique is formidable and his blade aura strong, to split the red gold coffin and reduce a ninth-level Mortal Transformation expert's body to powder in one strike... that's still impossible!"

Jin Conghai walked over with a grave expression.

Having taken a healing pill promptly after his injury, he had recovered considerably.

"Then what happened?"

"Let's watch. Teacher Zhang will surely explain."

Jin Conghai shook his head.

Everyone turned their gaze forward.

Having shattered the tomb owner's corpse with one slash, Zhang Xuan did not stop. Instead, he twisted his wrist, and several silver needles appeared in his palm, which he thrust straight downward.

"Ah... what are you doing?"

As the needles fell, everyone heard a sharp cry.

It was the same voice as before.

Now, the fellow had lost all his previous arrogance and was filled with terror, as if utterly unable to believe what was happening.

"Nothing much, just digging you out."

With a light laugh, Zhang Xuan flicked his long blade toward the ground beneath the coffin. "Whoosh!" A pitch-black lotus appeared before everyone.

This lotus, palm-sized, was eerily strange, exuding a sinister aura. Black qi coiled around it, and on each petal, a silver needle was inserted at an angle.

The needles Zhang Xuan had just thrown were meant to pierce this thing.

Beneath the bottomless tomb and the indestructible red gold coffin, such a bizarre lotus lay hidden. Even seeing it with their own eyes, everyone gasped and found it hard to believe.

Whoosh!

Though it sounds complicated, from the tomb owner's attack on Zhang Xuan to now, only a few breaths had passed. The light shield from the Dragon Scale Talisman had just dissipated.

"Could it be..."

Witnessing this, Luo Zhu, who stood aside, pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of something. His pupils contracted sharply, and his voice trembled again: "Hell Seven-Heart Lotus?"

"Hell Seven-Heart Lotus? What's that?" This time, even Pavilion Master Sai was baffled.

Though he was knowledgeable, he didn't know everything.

Such items related to Soul Shamans were not widely known.

"Legend has it that it's a treasure of Soul Shamans, used to reforge a physical body, and the resulting body possesses an innate constitution," Luo Zhu couldn't help but say.

"Innate constitution?" Pavilion Master Sai's eyes widened.

An innate special constitution, once activated, allows cultivation speed far beyond ordinary cultivators, truly astonishing.

Able to forge a physical body, and an innate one at that...

That's too terrifying!

"Yes, but... something's off," Luo Zhu said, then hesitated.

"What's wrong?"

"The Hell Seven-Heart Lotus survives by absorbing power. If I'm not mistaken, the tomb owner's corpse must have been devoured by it. Otherwise, it's impossible for a ninth-level Mortal Transformation corpse to turn to dust at the slightest touch."

Luo Zhu said.

"Mm," Pavilion Master Sai nodded.

Earlier, they had wondered how a ninth-level Mortal Transformation corpse, hard as diamond, could turn to ash upon contact with blade aura. Now it seemed that the eerie lotus growing beneath had drained all its power.

"Using a corpse to nourish the lotus—logically, this lotus should have soon become the tomb owner's new body, allowing him to roam the world. Why is it still sleeping in the tomb, even trying to possess us?"

Luo Zhu voiced his doubt.

"This..."

Pavilion Master Sai and the others were also taken aback.

Indeed, since he had the Hell Seven-Heart Lotus, a sacred object that could transform into a body, why bother possessing everyone? Why make them cultivate the Soul-Introduction Art and go through all that trouble?

Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

"I don't understand either. Teacher Zhang surely knows; otherwise, he wouldn't have directly broken the coffin and dug out this lotus," Luo Zhu said.

"Mm," everyone looked again.

Ahead.

"You... let me go!"

Once the black lotus was unearthed, a panicked voice came from within.

The tomb owner, who had just tried to kill everyone, was hiding inside.

No wonder they couldn't find the source of the voice—it was hidden in the lotus beneath the coffin. How could they have found it?

"Let you go? So you can continue to kill us?"

Zhang Xuan rolled his eyes.

"You, you... if you let me go, we can talk. I'm a Soul Shaman; I've collected many treasures. I can give them all to you, even this Hell Seven-Heart Lotus..."

The voice said urgently.

"Give it to me? I don't even want it..."

Zhang Xuan snorted. "Besides, treasures? If I'm not mistaken, you've exchanged all your treasures for spirit stones to feed this lotus, haven't you?"

"How do you know?"

A terrified voice came from the lotus.

"How do I know? The ground around the lotus is covered with powder from crushed spirit stones. I can recognize that."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

The lotus hadn't been buried directly in the earth; it was surrounded by spirit stones whose spiritual energy had been drained, turning them to powder. From a distance, it looked like ordinary soil.

He had used spirit-gathering arrays to cultivate, extracting spirit stones and producing piles of such waste, so he recognized it at a glance.

Moreover, this waste was completely different from the low-grade spirit stones he used; it was pale in color, likely from medium-grade stones.

The amount of medium-grade spirit stones needed to produce so much waste was probably no less than ten thousand... Even for a six-star Soul Shaman, that might be his entire fortune.

Seeing this, how could he be swayed?

"You, you..."

The lotus trembled incessantly, as if seeing a ghost.

In the struggle against this fellow, he seemed never to have won.

The other party appeared omniscient, knowing all his experiences clearly.

"All of you, come over."

Ignoring the trembling tomb owner inside the lotus, Zhang Xuan waved his hand and called out.

Everyone then filed through the passage and came to his side.

"Teacher Zhang... what exactly is going on?"

Zhao Feiwu couldn't help but ask.

Everyone else was also bewildered, completely at a loss.

Things had changed too quickly. One moment, the tomb owner was arrogantly controlling everyone's fate; the next, he was dug out from underground...

Too bizarre to comprehend.

"What's going on? How about you explain..."

Zhang Xuan patted the black lotus before him.

Swish!

The lotus shook twice, and the voice that had been speaking fell silent, as if struck dumb.

It seemed that being found out and beaten by a first-level Mortal Transformation cultivator had left him too depressed to speak.

"You think staying silent will work?"

Seeing the fellow's uncooperativeness, Zhang Xuan raised a finger, and a silver needle appeared at his fingertip, aimed straight at the lotus.

"Ah..."

Then a scream and a voice of surrender came from within the lotus: "You... I'll talk, I'll talk..."

The voice sounded much weaker, clearly the needle had struck a vital point, possibly affecting even his strength.

"Then get on with it."

Pulling out the silver needle, Zhang Xuan infused it with true qi again, making it gleam with cold light, as if he would stab it back in if the fellow didn't speak.

"Yes..."

Seeing the threat, the lotus trembled and quickly began: "I was a six-star Soul Shaman, with cultivation at the peak of the ninth level of Mortal Transformation. Unfortunately, I couldn't take that final step. Though my soul is immortal, my physical body reached the end of its lifespan."

The Mortal Transformation realm doubles one's lifespan, but that's only about two hundred years. Even with the most extraordinary talent, three hundred is the limit.

Without further breakthrough, the body will eventually die.

There's no helping it.

Though a Soul Shaman can continue to possess others, in terms of compatibility, one's own body is always the most suitable.

"Just then, I discovered this... Hell Seven-Heart Lotus."

The voice continued: "This thing is a treasure for us Soul Shamans. Once refined, it can become a physical body, and an innate one at that. With such an advantage, I might be able to break through that final barrier and reach a higher realm. So I began to arrange my affairs, spent my entire fortune to build this tomb, all to refine this thing in peace."

"Mm," everyone nodded.

Earlier, they had wondered why a Soul Shaman, who could possess corpses and wouldn't die, would go to the trouble of building a tomb and hiding it under the pool.

Now it seemed it was to avoid detection, with the simple goal of refining this lotus.

This item was extremely rare; if other Soul Shamans found out, it would be disastrous.

So he faked his death.

Although a Soul Shaman's soul can be immortal, they still undergo the Five Declines and can die. By building a tomb and burying himself, other Soul Shamans would think he was dead, never suspecting he had obtained a Hell Seven-Heart Lotus.

"Since you wanted to refine it, why haven't you succeeded yet?" Zhang Xuan looked at him.

Soul Shamans had been wiped out tens of thousands of years ago; this tomb must be even older. With such a long time, he should have refined it long ago. Why hadn't he succeeded?

If he had succeeded, he would have formed a body long ago, not still be trapped inside, unable to leave.

"I..."

Hearing the question, the lotus hesitated, then said: "After the tomb was built and I faked my death, I began to refine this thing. I thought with my strength and experience, it would be easy, and I would soon revive. But... I never dreamed... I failed!"

"Failed?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled. "Since you faked your death, you must have known how to refine this lotus. How could you fail?"

This fellow had prepared for so long, exchanged all his treasures for spirit stones, buried them underground, even hired a Heavenly Artisan to design the tomb and a six-star Artifact Refiner to forge the coffin. How could he fail?

"Because... because..."

The tomb owner's voice trembled, as if recalling something terrifying.

"This... is not a Hell Seven-Heart Lotus, but... a Nine-Heart Lotus!"