Chapter 972: Creating a Path of His Own!

Ye Chen no longer felt like fishing for more opponents. The current cultivation world truly had no one left worth fishing for. Satisfied with the rewards Celestial Prince had provided, he reached out with a large hand and directly pulled everything back.

He sent the Undying Celestial Blade back into his inner world. Then his gaze swept toward Lotus Emperor's location.

Lotus Emperor was still recovering. Although it seemed like quite some time had passed while Ye Chen killed Celestial Prince, in reality, from the moment he brought out the Undying Celestial Blade to the moment he finished the kill, only a few breaths had elapsed.

Having gained quite a harvest, Ye Chen was in no hurry and waited patiently.

The onlookers, however, had already been shocked beyond words by that single blade strike from earlier.

Both sides had immortal artifacts. Yet Celestial Prince could not even withstand a single slash from the Heavenly Emperor's heir. Even his immortal tower had been split apart directly. It was simply outrageous. In the eyes of many, the Heavenly Emperor's heir was already no different from a true immortal.

Looking at the distant heavens and earth that had gradually calmed down, everyone felt a surge of complex emotions.

An existence like Celestial Prince, who had slumbered from ancient times until now, should have brought immense terror to the entire cultivation world and catastrophic disaster to countless human forces.

Yet he had only emerged for a few days before falling like this. A million years of slumber now seemed like a joke.

But no one found it funny. Instead, they felt even greater awe toward Ye Chen's overwhelming power. After all, Celestial Prince had truly not been weak. It was simply that the Heavenly Emperor's heir was too strong. Fighting two alone, killing one and heavily injuring the other—what kind of terror was this?

Even the Eight-Crowned King was probably in danger. If the Eight-Crowned King was willing to act at this moment, there might still be a chance. But if they waited until the Heavenly Emperor's heir also reached the quasi-immortal realm, or even the peak of quasi-immortal… Then the immortal path of this generation would likely have no more suspense… The Heavenly Emperor's heir would become the last one to achieve immortality in this era, and also the strongest one.

…

Just as everyone's hearts were filled with awe, Lotus Emperor finally finished recovering. Even though he had nearly been unable to resurrect after that single punch, he still stood tall and majestic, with black hair cascading down and deep eyes that carried an imposing aura even without anger. Only in the depths of his eyes was there a trace of regret. He looked at Ye Chen and did not attack again.

Celestial Prince was already dead. There was no point in him fighting any longer.

After a long silence, he sighed and cupped his hands toward Ye Chen. "Thank you, fellow Daoist, for waiting for me to recover…"

Without waiting for Ye Chen's reply, he raised his head and gazed at the vast, endless horizon, his eyes full of reluctance. "I first gained sentience back when I was still a longevity medicine, long before the Heavenly Emperor era…Even after gaining sentience, I could only hide and flee, constantly afraid of being discovered and consumed by others.

"The Heavenly Emperor saw me back then. He plucked a few lotus seeds and petals from me and let me go. Afterward, I hid inside a forbidden zone and kept pondering how I could truly possess power.

"While observing the nurturing of holy spirits in the forbidden zone, a sudden thought came to me: why couldn't I become a holy spirit? Why couldn't I nurture myself for endless years like a holy spirit and ultimately achieve transcendence?

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"Thus, I spent ten thousand years observing the process of holy spirit nurturing, visiting countless traces left by true immortals, and comprehending the natural rhythms of the Dao. I created my own holy spirit nurturing technique.

"In the end, I succeeded. I transformed into a holy spirit, absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, was baptized by the rules, and grew continuously.

"Unfortunately, I still could not achieve immortality in the end."

As the Lotus Emperor's words fell, not only did the onlookers erupt in uproar, but even Ye Chen raised his eyebrows.

Lotus Emperor was not a natural holy spirit. He had been a longevity medicine who created his own method and transformed himself into a holy spirit?

The ability to create such a path on his own was truly astonishing. If this were spread, it would be no less shocking than creating an entire new race. His vision and ambition were terrifying.

The onlookers felt the same, even frightened. If this technique were passed on, wouldn't every plant spirit and grass sprite be able to become a holy spirit? It was simply outrageous.

Lotus Emperor paid no attention to the reactions around him. He simply looked up at the sky, resonating with heaven and earth, and declared loudly, "Today, I, Lotus Emperor, shall return the holy spirit nurturing method to the heavens and spread it across all realms… I only hope that all beings with sentience can obtain the power to protect themselves and control their own destiny…"

In an instant, countless lotus petals rose into the air. At a glance, there were at least tens of millions of them. They then flew toward every corner of the cultivation world.

A petal also drifted down in front of Ye Chen. After a moment of thought, he reached out and stored it away. It might prove useful someday.

The many powerful experts present did the same. There were quite a few beings in the cultivation world that possessed sentience but could not cultivate—weapon spirits, for example. If this method were granted to them, could they also nurture holy spirits? Holy spirits had extremely long lifespans. If they could be controlled, they could protect entire families for generations.

As everyone looked at Lotus Emperor, they could not help but feel even greater admiration. This person truly possessed a grand and majestic spirit. A longevity medicine who had transformed into a holy spirit, yet he did not hesitate to share the unique technique he had created.

It was a pity he had encountered the Heavenly Emperor. And it was also a pity that he had encountered this era where only one person could achieve immortality. Otherwise, he would surely have entered the immortal realm and grown into a terrifying existence.

…

Amid the countless azure lotuses, Lotus Emperor turned back to look at Ye Chen and revealed a smile. "Fellow Daoist, make your move!"

Ye Chen shook his head. "Just leave behind the seed of the Chaos Azure Lotus, and I can spare your life!"

Ye Chen was not a bloodthirsty person. Lotus Emperor was indeed different from the other enemies he had encountered before, and he was willing to let him go.

However, Lotus Emperor simply smiled. "I am the Chaos Azure Lotus… Only if I fall will a new lotus seed be born… There is no need for that, fellow Daoist. I have nurtured myself for a million years. After emerging, I was able to meet an unparalleled existence like you and exchange blows with you. I have no regrets…

"My only regret is that I spent my entire existence hiding and later nurturing myself in secret realms. I never got to properly see this world. But just now, when the azure lotuses flew across the sky, the entire cultivation world appeared before my eyes. I have no more regrets.

"Fellow Daoist, please make your move!"

With those final words, Lotus Emperor slowly closed his eyes, calmly accepting death.

A trace of emotion flickered across Ye Chen's face. He still nodded, then threw a punch.

When the fist force dissipated, the Lotus Emperor's figure completely vanished. All that remained in this place was a mass of origin, an azure lotus that had already transformed into a weapon, and a deep azure lotus seed brimming with vibrant life force.

A final sentence also echoed beside Ye Chen's ear: "Back then, in order to emerge earlier, I sent people to search for the Seven-colored Nirvana Jade, hoping to obtain its origin. Although I did not succeed, it still had some effect. When it is born, I hope you can apologize to it on my behalf."

Looking at these remnants, Ye Chen could not help feeling a touch of melancholy.

Lotus Emperor's life had actually only lasted these two or three days. It could be described as both extremely long and extremely short. Yet it had been brilliantly radiant. With his astonishing talent, he had even created an entirely new path. It was truly admirable.

Ye Chen waved his large hand and collected all the origin Lotus Emperor had left behind. He then began thinking about the matter of bestowing gifts afterward.

The Chaos Azure Lotus seed definitely needed to be delivered. Otherwise, if he planted it himself, even with the accelerated time flow in his inner world, it would still take a very long time.

Besides that, the Lotus Emperor had given him the Awakening Spirit Technique for holy spirits. Perhaps he could also activate the Seven-colored Nirvana Jade inside his inner world—the one he had polished clean—and bestow the gifts then.