Chapter 80 The Blue Lotus Blooms!
The morning sunlight gently bathed the small courtyard in the northern suburbs of Qingyun City.
The Chaos Azure Lotus planted in the corner last night had already grown into a lush sprawl of vines, dominantly occupying half of the gray brick courtyard wall.
At the very tip of the vines, a fist-sized flower bud swayed gently in the morning breeze. Wisps of Primal Chaos Qi, invisible to the naked eye, slowly seeped through the gaps in the petals.
Outside the wall.
Cangqiongzi and Ancient Ancestor Yuanmo had just finished hauling a cart of mud and were resting against the base of the wall.
Suddenly, Ancient Ancestor Yuanmo's nose twitched. He snapped his head around, staring fixedly at the budding azure flower atop the wall.
"Worker Cang... look, quickly!"
Ancient Ancestor Yuanmo gasped, his voice cracking. "That's... is that the legendary Chaos Azure Lotus that nurtured the three thousand gods and demons?! Such a divine artifact that existed before the dawn of creation is actually being grown by the Revered Master as common ivy at the base of a wall?!"
The coarse flour bun in Cangqiongzi's hand fell to the ground with a thud.
His old eyes bulged as he stared intently at the mist swirling around the flower bud.
"Primal Chaos Qi! I've been stuck at the Early Stage of the True Immortal Realm for so long; if I could just take one breath of this Primal Qi, I could break through to the Golden Immortal Realm immediately!"
Cangqiongzi trembled with excitement, instinctively trying to lean closer to inhale the escaping mist.
"Woof!"
Just then, a vicious bark echoed from a crack in the wall.
The Ancient Devouring Beast, in the form of Xiao Hei Gou, bared its sharp fangs and glared at them through the crack. Its gaze seemed to say: Dare to steal the Immortal Qi from the Revered Master's courtyard, and I'll chew you up like spare ribs!
Cangqiongzi and Ancient Ancestor Yuanmo shuddered in fear. They quickly pulled back, picking up their shovels to continue mixing mud obediently, only able to greedily sniff the fragrance wafting through the air as they worked.
...
Inside the courtyard.
Lin Yuan was sitting by the stone table, leisurely sipping the morning tea Luo Xue had just brewed.
Pop—
A faint yet wondrous sound, which seemed to explode in the depths of one's Soul, rang out.
Lin Yuan looked up.
He saw the azure flower bud slowly blooming amidst a brilliant haze of azure light.
Thirty-six translucent azure lotus petals unfurled, each one shimmering with incredibly profound ancient Dao markings.
However, what surprised Lin Yuan even more was that no lotus seeds had formed in the center of the lotus pod.
After the light faded.
A tiny girl, only the size of a palm, wearing a little dress made of green lotus leaves and with bare, tender white feet, sat up from the heart of the flower, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
The little girl's skin was fair with a rosy tint, as exquisite as a porcelain doll. Her long, jet-black hair was adorned with a small azure lotus pearl flower.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she spotted Lin Yuan sitting by the stone table.
Whoosh—
The little girl turned into a streak of azure light and flew directly onto the stone table.
She trotted toward Lin Yuan's teacup on her short legs, tilted up her exquisitely carved little face, and shouted in a milky voice:
"Daddy!"
Pfft—!
The mouthful of tea Lin Yuan had just sipped sprayed out, nearly hitting the little girl's face.
"Stop, stop, stop! Hold it right there!"
Lin Yuan quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, staring dumbfoundedly at the palm-sized person. "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want! I don't even have a Dao Companion; where would I get a daughter as big as you? Don't ruin my reputation!"
The little girl pursed her lips aggrievedly, her large eyes instantly misting over, looking pitiful.
"But... but it was the warmth of Daddy's palm that awakened the true spirit of the Azure Lotus."
She reached out her tiny, tender hands to hug Lin Yuan's index finger and rubbed against it affectionately. "Azure Lotus slept in that dark box for a long, long time. It was Daddy who rubbed me out. Daddy is Daddy!"
Lin Yuan paused, then remembered that yesterday at Wanbao Pavilion, he really had rubbed that dead seed with his finger.
"These days, you can even rub an artifact spirit out of a seed?"
Lin Yuan sighed helplessly. Seeing how clingy the little thing was, he couldn't bring himself to drive her away.
"Fine. Since you're a spirit transformed from this Azure Lotus, I'll call you Xiao Lian from now on. But don't call me 'Daddy.' Call me 'Young Master,' or 'Boss' is fine too."
"Okay, Daddy!" Xiao Lian beamed, climbing up Lin Yuan's finger and onto his shoulder, where she sat down obediently.
Right at this heartwarming moment of fatherly love and filial piety.
"Revered Master, I've finished my morning lessons!"
Xiao Yuer, with her hair in pigtails and the rusted executioner immortal array map iron piece tucked into her waist, came running excitedly from the backyard.
As soon as she drew near, the smile on her face froze.
Xiao Yuer's large eyes stared fixedly at the little azure spirit sitting on Lin Yuan's shoulder, playing with a strand of his hair.
An unprecedented sense of crisis instantly surged in her heart!
As Revered Master's only primary Disciple, Xiao Yuer had always been pampered in this courtyard. Although there were Sister Luo Xue, Sister Xiao Bing, and Sister Jinyue, they were all working maids and didn't threaten her position at all.
But now, this palm-sized person who appeared out of nowhere was actually sitting grandly on Revered Master's shoulder?!
"Revered Master! Who is this little green bug?!"
Xiao Yuer pointed at Xiao Lian, her face flushing red with anger.
"You're the bug! Your whole family are bugs!"
Hearing this, Xiao Lian immediately stood up like a bristling kitten. She placed her hands on her needle-thin waist and counterattacked fiercely in her milky voice, "I'm Daddy's little sweetheart! Who are you? How rude!"
"Daddy?!"
Xiao Yuer felt like she'd been struck by lightning; it felt like the sky was falling. When did Revered Master have a daughter behind her back?!
"I won't let you call my Revered Master 'Daddy'! Revered Master belongs to me alone!"
Xiao Yuer shouted, pulling out the rusted iron piece from her waist and rushing forward like a little tiger protecting its food.
"Humph! Want to fight? I, the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal, am not afraid of you!"
The palm-sized Xiao Lian didn't back down. With a wave of her tiny hand, a blade of grass as thin as silk appeared. Atop that grass, there actually swirled a hint of Ancient Azure Lotus Sword Intent, enough to cleave through Chaos!
The two lolis, one big and one small, instantly squared off in the courtyard.
"Take this! Wood-Chopping Sword Technique!" Xiao Yuer brandished the rusted iron piece, striking down fiercely with the embryonic form of ten thousand Dragon Elephant strength.
"Azure Lotus Sword Song!" Xiao Lian refused to be outdone, waving her grass blade to meet the challenge.
Clang, clang, clatter!
The rusted iron piece and the grass blade collided repeatedly in mid-air, sparks flying everywhere.
Lin Yuan sat by the stone table, resting his chin on his hand as he watched the two little girls bickering like amateurs, shaking his head helplessly.
"These two bratty kids are really energetic. Just don't break the flower pots in the yard."
In his eyes, this was just two little kids playing house and scuffling.
However.
On the construction site just across the wall.
Cangqiongzi, Ancient Ancestor Yuanmo, and tens of thousands of old monsters from Zixiao Holy Land were all kneeling in the mud, kowtowing frantically in worship!
In the vision of these mighty experts...
...that was no mere children's scuffle!
That was clearly the Executioner Array Origin Sword Intent, representing the pinnacle of slaughter, and the Chaos Azure Lotus Supreme Sword Dao, representing the pinnacle of creation, engaged in a peerless struggle spanning ages!
Every collision between the rusted iron piece and the grass blade tore countless terrifying Law rifts in the void, invisible to the naked eye!
"Terrifying! What kind of immortal Reincarnation is that girl in green?! To be able to use a single blade of grass to withstand the slaughtering Sword Intent of the Executioner Array Map?!" Cangqiongzi was so moved that tears streamed down his face. His hands gestured wildly in the air, attempting to trace the path of that Azure Lotus Sword Technique.
"A fortuitous opportunity! This is a monumental opportunity!"
Ancient Ancestor Yuanmo's eyes were also bloodshot as he stared at the two intertwining Sword Intents. "One Yin and one Yang, one slaughter and one creation! The Revered Master is intentionally letting them spar to demonstrate the Supreme Sword Dao to us laborers! Look, quickly, comprehend it!"
The tens of thousands of laborers on the site stopped mixing mud. All of them sat in place as if possessed, frantically comprehending. From time to time, the booming sounds of Breakthroughs erupted.
...
Inside the courtyard.
Xiao Yuer and Xiao Lian fought to a stalemate. Finally, both little ones were panting with exhaustion and sat down on the ground.
"Humph! I'll let you off today!" Xiao Yuer wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Blehh, you clearly just couldn't beat me!" Xiao Lian made a face at her, then whooshed back onto Lin Yuan's shoulder.
Lin Yuan looked at the two little troublemakers with amusement, stood up, and said, "Alright, stop it. Since it's a draw, get along from now on. Old Wan, go to the cloth shop in the city and buy a few feet of good silk to make some small clothes for Xiao Lian. Her lotus leaf dress is too thin."
"Yes, Young Master!" Demon Venerable Wanhua replied, stifling a laugh.