“Why are you staring at them dumbly? Hurry up and use the flashlight in your hand!” instructed the feminine voice. She was clearly displeased with how he was losing his focus at such a critical moment.

Zu An finally snapped out of his daze. He quickly raised his flashlight and aimed it at the terracotta soldiers before him.

Under the glaring radiance of his flashlight, the vibrant colors on the terracotta soldiers began fading at a visible rate. They had been charging forward fiercely, but without a shred of hesitation, all of them turned tail to flee when confronted by the glow of the flashlight. Some of them even tripped over in a moment of anxiety.

The huge contrast between these two sets of actions made the scene appear quite ludicrous. They quickly returned back to their original position and turned their heads away, acting as if they couldn’t see or hear anything at all.

The blue light in their eyes also quickly faded. It was almost as if they had returned back to being lifeless sculptures.

“I suppose it’s the instinctive nature of all lifeforms to oppress the weak and fear the strong.” Zu An continued directing his flashlight toward the terracotta soldiers, but none of them reacted at all.

However, Rage points were still steadily flowing into his system.

You have successfully trolled the Terracotta Soldiers for 6… 6… 6… 6… 

If not for the fact that Chu Chuyan is not doing great, I’d stand here and suck all of your Rage points dry!

Seeing that the terracotta soldiers no longer posed a threat for the time being, he quickly made his way over to the lake. Only when he got closer did he realize that the green plants floating on its surface were all lotus leaves, and they had covered nearly the entire lake. The faint green light he had noticed earlier on was coming from them.

These lotus leaves were different from those he was used to seeing. Their glistening verdant exterior made it seem as though they were made of jade. Interestingly, the huge cluster of lotus leaves surrounded a single, small lotus flower that sat at the very center of the lake.

Despite the sombre environment of the cavern, a divine and beautiful lotus sat in full bloom. Its petals were slim and snowy white, resembling the beautiful fingers of a lady. At the center of its petals was a yellowish core that radiated a mysterious glow, resembling one of the stars in the sky.

Zu An was delighted. This must be the medicine that the mysterious voice was talking about. He was just about to head in and harvest it when he suddenly froze in place. He realized that the lotus had suddenly vanished from view, leaving behind only the verdant leaves.

Is there someone else around? Is that person’s cultivation rank so high that I couldn’t even see his movements?

Zu An quickly scanned his surroundings, but there was no one else to be seen other than the terracotta soldiers. At that moment, it felt as though his body had been plunged into icy water. 

I’ve come so far, only to be foiled at the last moment. Am I doomed to watch helplessly as Chu Chuyan loses her life?

“What are you doing? Isn’t the lotus still at the same spot?” Noticing Zu An’s crestfallen expression, the feminine voice spoke up once again.

Taken aback, Zu An quickly raised his head to take another look. Mysteriously enough, the lotus had reappeared at the same spot where he had last seen it.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Zu An rubbed his eyes in confusion, only to see that the lotus had disappeared once again. This time, instead of averting his gaze, he chose to stare intently at the same spot.

As he had expected, the lotus reappeared once more a few seconds later!

It seemed like the lotus possessed the mysterious ability to phase in and out of existence.

All of a sudden, he remembered what Ji Dengtu had said to him, and his expression twisted in astonishment. With a slightly bitter voice, he asked, “By any chance, is it possible that this lotus is called the ‘Evanescent Lotus?”

“Indeed, it’s called the Evanescent Lotus,” the feminine voice replied.

Zu An’s breathing immediately quickened. He had finally stumbled upon what he had been searching all this while! However, still unable to believe his luck, he asked, “I’ve heard that the Evanescent Lotus only blooms once every thousand years, and its flower only remains alive for several hours each time. How long has this flower bloomed for?”

His voice was quivering with fear, as if he was afraid that the lotus would wither at any moment.

“While the Evanescent Lotus does take a long time to bloom, it doesn’t take a thousand years. Also, this flower is somewhat special. You need not worry about it withering,” replied the feminine voice.

“It won’t wither? How can that be possible?” Zu An was stunned. That was different from what he had heard from the others.

“It is different from others of its kind, thanks to the environment that it grew up in, as well as several other factors,” the feminine voice replied. “Do you want to slowly discuss this with me, or save your companion first? I can sense her life force gradually extinguishing. In about sixty seconds, she’ll die for good.”

“Are there any other Evanescent Lotuses here?” Zu An asked hurriedly.

“Other Evanescent Lotuses? Hah, stumbling on this one is already a huge blessing, yet you’re still hoping to find more?” the feminine voice snorted. “You need not worry. This one is more than enough to save her. If she manages to repair her ki meridians, her cultivation will even be raised by an entire rank right away!”

“The Evanescent Lotus cannot repair her ki meridian?” Zu An froze. He didn’t expect that this medicine would only be able to preserve her life. For someone as proud as Chu Chuyan, there was no way she could bear living as a cripple for the rest of her life.

“This woman must have used a forbidden art far beyond her means to end up in such a state. It wouldn’t be considered a forbidden art if one didn’t have to pay a heavy price for it,” remarked the feminine voice.

Zu An’s expression clouded over. Had it been any treasure, no matter how formidable, he would have used it to save Chu Chuyan without hesitation. 

But this was Evanescent Lotus, the treasure that he had been searching desperately for all this while!

Being sealed down there had really shattered his pride and dignity, and he couldn’t bear to allow himself to remain in this state. He knew that stumbling upon this Evanescent Lotus was already a huge stroke of fortune, and if he missed this opportunity, it was unlikely that he would ever find another one in his lifetime.

If so, his only hope would be to one day reach Master rank and dispel the seal using his own power. Now that he was finally a cultivator, he knew just how difficult it was to raise his cultivation rank. At the very least, he felt that it would take him fifty years to reach Master rank.

By then, he would have already turned into an old man! What was the use of unlocking ‘little Zu An’ with one foot already in the grave?

Not only that, there was no guarantee that he would ever reach Master rank. After all, cultivation was not just all about hard work. There was still a chance that he might never regain his functions as a man.

Most importantly of all, the Evanescent Lotus couldn’t repair Chu Chuyan’s ki meridians. Even if he saved her, she would have to live her life as a cripple. She might be thankful to him at first, but how long would her gratitude last?

If she were to meet a man that was far more outstanding than him in the future, what would become of him?

He wouldn’t be able to say a thing at all, for he wouldn’t even be able to fulfill his basic duties as a husband. Women had physical needs that had to be satisfied as well. Having read about all kinds of adultery cases in his previous life, he couldn’t neglect the possibility of Chu Chuyan leaving him for another man.

He would be doing a noble deed now by saving her, but could he really confidently say that he wouldn’t regret it when she scorned him for his impotence and ended up getting together with another man?

He lowered his gaze to look at Chu Chuyan’s feeble form, then he clenched his fists tightly. He gently put her down before hurriedly leaping across the lake to pluck the Evanescent Lotus out.

… 

In the cavern where Zu An had left them, Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying were currently encircled by an army of zombie swordsmen.

These zombie swordsmen were incensed by Zu An’s mocking earlier on, but the blinding light he had shone on them earlier was so terrifying that they instinctively dared not exact vengeance on him. Therefore, they could only vent their rage on the two remaining victims in front of them. In their view, these humans had entered this cavern together, which made them all comrades.

The ones to suffer the aftermath of Zu An’s taunts were, needless to say, Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying. For some reason, the zombie axemen, spearmen, and swordsmen suddenly seemed to be stronger than before.

The two of them were already approaching their limits, which left them in a very dangerous position.

While Shi Kun was cursing Zu An furiously in his mind, Qiao Xueying said, “Young master, we shouldn’t remain here any longer. Let’s return to the surface.”

Shi Kun fell silent. To be honest, he felt indignant to retreat just like that. He had lost so many of his lackeys and used his most treasured trump card, and yet he was still unable to acquire Chu Chuyan for himself.

However, he also understood that it was meaningless for them to remain here. They couldn’t even deal with the zombie soldiers arrayed in front of them, let alone venture any further into the depths of this place.

Unlike Zu An, they didn’t have a tool that could repel the zombies.

Goddamnit, why does Zu An have so many weird artifacts on him?

You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for 345 Rage points!

“All right, let’s head out now and camp outside the tomb. They can’t possibly stay in there their whole lives!” Shi Kun said with frustration.

He had already made up his mind to snatch Chu Chuyan from Zu An and take away all of his treasures. Why choose when he could have it all?

The two of them slowly retreated while fending off the zombie soldiers. Just as they were about to reach the first passageway, they were crushed by a sudden, terrifying pressure.

Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying’s faces warped in horror. Without any hesitation, they tried to channel all of the ki they had to dash away. However, for some reason, their ki simply refused to be summoned or controlled. They found themselves frozen on the spot, unable to move at all.

A black fog swirled in the center of the room, and a black-armored general riding on a steed slowly appeared amidst the black fog. All of the zombie swordsmen, spearmen, axemen, and archers immediately halted their attacks and bowed down to pay respects to it.

Qiao Xueying felt her heart beating rapidly. 

This black-armored general’s aura is even more terrifying than that of the Devouring Kun the young master summoned earlier. On top of that, the fact that the zombie soldiers are bowing down to it shows that it has the ability to command lower-level soldiers. There’s no way we stand a chance against it!

The black-armored general glanced at the duo, and astonishingly, it spoke. “Hah! These two weaklings terrified the lot of you to such an extent?” 

Its voice was hoarse and grating, conjuring up images of the vilest demons in the innermost depths of hell.

The zombie soldiers quickly tried to explain the situation, producing bizarre noises and gesturing. It appeared that they lacked the intelligence necessary for true speech.

However, the black-armored general listened to their grunts and muttered to itself, “There are still two more of them, and one of them is holding onto an artifact that releases terrifying light…”

It swept the surroundings and noticed the body of Shi Kun’s lackey pinned on the wall. With a wave of its hand, the corpse flew into its grasp. “He might be dead, but we shouldn’t waste his flesh and blood.”

As it said those words, the corpse began to dry up at a terrifying rate. In just a few seconds, all that remained was a small ball-like object that seemed to be a pulpy mass of leftover flesh and bone.

“The taste of fresh blood is ever so alluring.” The black-armored general tossed the ‘ball’ aside with a moan of pleasure, as if it hadn’t felt so exhilarated in a long time.

Shi Kun swallowed fearfully. 

This is too terrifying! That fellow actually feeds on human flesh and blood! Am I going to die in this damned place? Had I known earlier, I wouldn’t have used Devouring Kun in a fit of recklessness earlier on. Now I don’t stand a chance against this monster.

As these thoughts arose, he began cursing the culprit who had led him into this situation.

You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for 777 Rage points!

The black-armored general finally turned his gaze upon the two humans, and said, “So, which of you should I dine on first?”