The Lotus King and the Stone Sword

The Lotus King was a formidable Heavenly King of the Celestial Realm, a Stone-Man King who commanded the world with a gaze that pierced the ages. She manifested as a human figure, standing still as if carved from the very essence of the realm, yet her presence was invisible to even the keenest senses. The Old Goat, tumbling head over heels, scrambled to his feet and hurriedly retreated, dragging a female Ancestral God of the Nine Provinces and Xiao Chen with him, ready to flee at any moment.

"My apologies—I was rushing through the night and mistook you…" The dry, wizened old man's words made even Xiao Chen blush with shame.

This stone-woman was but an incarnation avatar, yet she sufficed to overawe all the gods within the Sun Star Palace. Had she been angered, annihilation would have followed in an instant; there were few in heaven or earth who could stop her.

But the Lotus King's incarnation remained tranquil, like a statue, motionless and silent.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

From the far end of a passage, the White Ancestral God surged forward with oppressive momentum, like a mountain or a tide of iron and steel, shaking the very passageway as he radiated murderous intent.

Yet as he drew near and saw the Lotus King standing at the corner, his killing aura receded like a tide, vanishing utterly in the blink of an eye.

"White-hair, what are you bellowing about?" The old goat stroked his goatee, squinting at the White Ancestral God. "Do you not see the Lotus King is here? Kneel and beg for forgiveness!"

Xiao Chen was stunned. This old goat was using the Lotus King's authority to intimidate the White Ancestral God—a bold and reckless move. After all, he himself had just collided with the Lotus King, yet he dared to borrow her presence so flagrantly. Xiao Chen wondered where the cowardly old fellow found such audacity.

The White Ancestral God's eyes blazed with murderous light as he glared at the Old Goat, killing intent almost congealing into visible form.

"Insolent! Do you dare show killing intent before the Lotus King? Are you tired of living?" The Old Goat put on a show of anger, bellowing, "Kneel and beg the Lotus King's forgiveness!"

The White Ancestral God wanted nothing more than to swallow him alive, but he dared not act rashly here. The Lotus King was a Celestial Realm titan; even if his own ancestor were resurrected, he might not suppress her.

"Greetings, Lotus King!" The White Ancestral God bowed deeply, his demeanor as respectful as it had been oppressive moments before.

The Lotus King's silhouette was graceful and curvaceous, unmistakably a woman of supreme beauty, though her true features were veiled by swirling mist. She merely inclined her head once, then offered no further acknowledgment.

"Withdraw. Do you need the Lotus King to dismiss you personally? Stop cluttering the place." The Old Goat waved his hand with an infuriating air of authority.

Both the White Ancestral God and Xiao Chen felt a powerful urge to beat the old man senseless. Standing before a Celestial Realm titan like the Lotus King, he dared to overstep his bounds—surely he was tempting fate.

The White Ancestral God's gaze turned icy, like venomous fangs flashing cold light at the Old Goat.

But then the Lotus King glanced at him. The light in her stone-woman's eyes shook his very soul; he staggered back several steps, his divine sense nearly fissuring. He bowed hastily and withdrew.

"Damn it all!" the White Ancestral God raged inwardly. The Lotus King hadn't punished that old scoundrel—could they actually be acquainted? Impossible. He left the place in fury.

Now Xiao Chen was thoroughly confused. What was the Old Goat's real background? Did he truly know the Stone Emperor? Otherwise, why would the Lotus King show him partiality?

At that moment, the Lotus King's lotus-step moved toward them. The Old Goat was knocked to the ground, trampled under her lotus foot as she walked past, leaving a print on his face as she continued deeper into the Sun Star Palace.

It was a long while before the Old Goat could move again, but the footprint on his face remained clear.

"I'll be damned!" He leaped up and cursed, "I'm the Stone Emperor's brother, and she dares treat me like this?! A tiger on the plains bullied by a lotus—I'll make her pay!"

"Stop your boasting; your spit is about to drown the Sun Star." Xiao Chen grabbed him, unable to bear it any longer. "Who told you to borrow influence recklessly? You're lucky you weren't killed."

But the Old Goat kept muttering, as if he truly were a supreme expert, seething with indignation.

The two revived the female Ancestral God of the Nine Provinces, but she refused to travel with them and departed alone in sorrow.

As they journeyed on, the Old Goat insisted on following the Lotus King's path, arguing that a Heaven-Defying Battle Treasure must lie ahead, for why else would a Celestial Realm titan appear here?

And so they advanced, pausing and searching, covering half a day's distance. Along the way, they encountered several corpses of fallen experts, their divine sense long extinguished, leaving only physical shells.

Seeing Xiao Chen collecting those Ancestral God bodies, the Old Goat shook his head. "Xiao the Flayer—you don't even spare their flesh, do you? Really, you're too unprincipled…"

Xiao Chen ignored him. Ancestral God bodies were rare in the lower realms, even if a Holy Sacrifice no longer greatly benefited him, they could still be used for others.

When they entered a great hall, the Old Goat stared at a stone statue enshrined on a high altar. "That looks familiar… I think I've seen this king's statue in the Sun Star Palace before."

"You've seen it?"

"I haven't, but the Stone Emperor has—and since I'm his brother, naturally I know it." He circled the statue, then declared, "We're very close to the Heaven-Defying Battle Treasure. There might be some other treasure here too."

Suddenly the old goat's eyes narrowed, shooting out two sharp beams. "This stone statue is itself a treasure. Move it!"

"Do we have to be so thorough? Even stealing their statues?"

"You collect corpses; why care about a statue? I'll do the moving." The Old Goat personally heaved the ancient, weathered stone statue.

As it lifted, thunder roared and bolts of lightning struck down, charring the old goat black, his hair standing on end.

"Damn it! All this for moving a piece of rotten stone? I must deserve this thunder!"

Xiao Chen laughed heartily. "Serves you right!"

Then a surge of chaotic energy burst forth, filling the hall with a hazy, mysterious aura.

"I knew there was something strange!" The Old Goat rejoiced.

Before them appeared a mysterious space, rolling with chaotic mist. In the center floated a quiet, unmoving chaos pavilion.

"Let's go!"

The two dashed in. The scene was similar to the earlier encounter with the decaying wooden arrow—this place was certainly sealed with a powerful spiritual treasure.

Chaotic thunder contained killing potential; it struck relentlessly as they entered, enough to gravely wound an Ancestral God's physical body, let alone suppress their divine power and perception here. "Raise it!" The Old Goat shouted, lifting the king's stone statue to shield them. All the chaotic thunder-light surged into the statue, which drew the lightning like a magnet.

Xiao Chen marveled at the Old Goat's keen eye—the statue was indeed a powerful treasure.

Just then, a beam of light shot in, reaching the chaos pavilion before them.

But he was sent flying back, a brilliant sword-qi piercing through his chest, drawing a spray of blood.

"Serves him right!" the Old Goat said. "Trying to scoop our harvest halfway—well deserved."

In the pavilion, a stone sword floated silently, ancient and unadorned, with no energy fluctuations. Xiao Chen's eyes lit up; this was a powerful stone-armament, one that even the Lotus King and the Stone Corpse would covet.

The Old Goat exclaimed in surprise, "A stone sword?! Even in the Celestial Realm, such an evolved, complete weapon that has undergone a stone-man king's full cycle of transformation is a precious battle-armament that Celestial Realm titans would desire. But alas, it's been broken; it was once a true treasure, now damaged." He shook his head regretfully. "Still, it's a treasure. At least that means the Lotus King and the old corpse won't get so greedy as to kill us for it."

The broken sword had been crudely glued back together. A beam of sword-light swept out—the ancient stone sword's radiance, golden as a sun, slashing in all directions! But as it neared the statue, all the sword-light vanished.

In a flash, the Old Goat charged into the pavilion, snatched the stone sword, and jumped back through the pavilion's formation.

Once again, the old fellow's keen insight proved him right—the king's statue was the key to claiming the treasure.

The earlier would-be thief glared at them with murderous eyes before turning to flee.

But Xiao Chen released the Primordial Demon City, trapping the man instantly. "He can't get away. He'll surely bring others back." The Old Goat rushed over, swinging the stone sword to cut the man down, then grinding his divine sense to dust.

As they exited the chaotic space, however, they found the hall crowded with seven or eight figures—all blocking the exit, all staring at the stone sword.

"Did I not tell you all? Following those two down will not disappoint." The White Ancestral God emerged, his expression dark. "You truly are an unrelenting spirit." Xiao Chen growled.

"What are you waiting for? Act together, sacrifice them both, then settle the sword's ownership." The White Ancestral God laughed cruelly, his eyes icy cold on Xiao Chen and the Old Goat.

In an instant, the seven or eight experts released their killing intent.

"Since you're all so concerned about this sword, here you go." The Old Goat, without a moment's hesitation, broke the stone sword into several pieces and tossed them out like trash.

The experts scrambled, each grabbing a fragment, including the White Ancestral God, who seized the sword tip. A moment of calm, then an explosion of divine light as some attacked their neighbors to gain more.

Even the White Ancestral God was forced to defend himself, manifesting three Soul-Slaying Broken Spears and killing the one who ambushed him.

"First eliminate him, or he'll threaten us all!" The nearby experts, sensing his danger, turned on him together.

"Now!" Xiao Chen and the Old Goat seized the chance to retreat, hiding nearby to await an opening.

A low roar echoed as the disheveled monster appeared, charging into the hall. There came sounds of wind and thunder, screams, and the nauseating crunch of bone being gnawed—the monster was devouring them alive!

Finally, the hall fell silent. The monster had apparently killed all the experts.

Xiao Chen and the Old Goat exchanged glances, a chill running down their spines. This monster was too terrifying.

Then a powerful force blasted the monster away from the hall's entrance. The only survivor, the White Ancestral God, stumbled out, covered in blood, one arm missing with bone exposed. He looked utterly wretched, fleeing in panic.

But the monster, having reassembled the stone sword, hurled it like a spear, piercing the White Ancestral God and pinning him to the ground in a spray of blood.

"A lost soul!" The Old Goat suddenly realized something, staring at the monster.

Blood surged as the White Ancestral God tore himself free, turning into a beam of light and fleeing. The monster retrieved the sword and re-entered the hall without giving chase.

"Follow him!" Xiao Chen saw an opportunity. Tracking the blood trail, he nocked an arrow and fired.

A divine rainbow accompanied by flames shot forward, exploding with a thunderous roar as the White Ancestral God was struck. The arrow carried him dozens of zhang before he fell, engulfed in fire.

But the flames scattered, and the arrow shattered, blasting the White Ancestral God into pieces.

"He's not dead!" The Old Goat's expression turned grim.

Just then, the shattered flesh reassembled, and the three Soul-Slaying Broken Spears merged into one, solid and real, hurtling toward them.

The Decayed Wooden Arrow hadn't been able to kill him!

"Kid, you're done for this time, and I can't save you—I can barely protect myself!" The Old Goat fled immediately, vanishing ahead.

The merged Soul-Slaying Spear, surpassing the limits of speed, caught up to Xiao Chen in an instant.

"You're dead!" The White Ancestral God's voice was cold, emotionless, yet the killing intent came from the marrow of his bones. He had merged with the spear and was now closing in.

Seeing the Old Goat disappear and himself cornered, Xiao Chen unrolled the ancient scroll without hesitation. It fluttered, mist swirling, and the majestic mountains and rivers within seemed like a real world, while the five towering figures appeared ready to step out of the scroll! The Soul-Slaying Spear was sucked in without a sound.

"That is…" The White Ancestral God's face changed in shock. Seeing those five majestic figures, he felt a tremor of terror. He remembered old paintings from his childhood—these were the figures of ancient times, the most fearsome enemies of his sect. He turned and fled without any will to fight.

But the ancient scroll spread, covering him despite his desperate cries. His divine power and perception were suppressed here, while the scroll, forged by five Stone-Man Kings, was not—it swallowed him whole.

"Soul sever!" With a great cry, the White Ancestral God sent half his remnant body flying, letting his physical shell and half his soul be taken by the scroll, while a remnant soul escaped as a beam of light.

Xiao Chen would not let him get away. He drew the Decayed Wooden Arrow again and fired.

A divine rainbow lit the passage, flames raging. This time, the White Ancestral God was doomed—struck, shattered, and with a final, unwilling cry, reduced to ashes.

Not long after, the Old Goat wandered back, wailing, "Kid, I've come to collect your corpse! You died so miserably… Eh? How are you still alive?"

Xiao Chen: "…"

"How did you deal with White-hair?" The Old Goat circled him, then grinned slyly. "Heh, I didn't misjudge you, boy. Lend me that scroll of yours for a couple of days sometime."

"What… did you see?" Xiao Chen immediately readied the scroll.

"Don't be rash. I mean no harm, or I wouldn't have come back to help you kill him." The Old Goat waved his hands hastily.

"Who are you really?"

"The Stone Emperor's… brother."

Dong! A bell tolled from deep within the Sun Star Palace.

"Not good. Someone has entered the deepest part of the star palace, reaching the central area where the Heaven-Defying Battle Treasure is hidden!" The Old Goat's face changed.

"Heh—Lishi Beast, you've come too!" The Stone Corpse's voice shook the Sun Star Palace.

"A Heaven-Defying Treasure belongs to the virtuous. How could a man of great virtue like myself not come?"