384: Seven Treasures Glazed Lotus!

Chapter 378: Seven Treasures Glazed lotus!

The midday sun remained scorching, and as a stick of incense burned out, the wisps of smoke vanished into nothingness under the blazing sun on the eaves.

Master Bei Feng stood beneath the mottled eaves of Ming Fo Temple, watching the Brocade Guard’s flying fish robes stir up dust as they departed, and the gleaming Embroidered Spring Blades at the waists of the Eastern Depot agents at the foot of the mountain.

The wind swept across his deep red kasaya, stained with the blood of deceased monks, picking up a few withered ginkgo leaves that rustled down onto the moss-covered stone steps.

In Master Bei Feng’s cloudy old eyes, a golden gleam suddenly flashed, and layers of ripples appeared in the depths of his pupils.

In his mind, the eight-bearer sedan chair, painted in vermilion and adorned with gold, reappeared.

With the sedan curtain half-rolled, the Eastern Depot Director, renowned throughout the world, leaned casually on a sable fur cushion, his dark python robe embroidered with exquisite gold threads.

Regarding this Eastern Depot Director who wielded immense power, Master Bei Feng, hidden beneath the ancient temple’s oil lamps, had never seen his true face.

All information about this ruthless Prefect of the Eastern Depot was learned by Master Bei Feng from his Disciples.

In any case, the name of Director Lu was always associated with terms like “wielding power over the court” and “bloody storm.”

The people of the Great Yu Empire said that his methods were ruthless, that he could turn his hand to make clouds and turn it back to make rain.

Rumor had it that the Eastern Depot Director had many allies, and a large portion of the court and Jianghu Schools were under his authority.

But after Master Bei Feng witnessed the Eastern Depot Director with his own eyes today, that languid yet domineering posture was deeply etched into his mind.

That seemingly careless yet all-knowing gaze even made him, a monk who had experienced countless changes and witnessed the world’s coldness and warmth, tremble at heart.

A figure like Director Lu, a true overlord, even if he had lived for over a hundred years in this world, witnessed dynastic changes and the rise of heroes, he had never seen such a sharp yet unfathomable person.

“Alas!”

A helpless sigh pierced through the scorching sunlight. Master Bei Feng slowly closed his eyes and pressed his palms together.

The temple bell rang out at the opportune moment, its deep resonance echoing through the valley.

“All under Heaven hustle and bustle for gain; all under Heaven throng and crowd for gain.”

“All living beings suffer. We, who have renounced the world, can only take this ancient temple as a boat and this oil lamp as an oar, doing our humble best to pray for peace for all sentient beings.”

With that, Master Bei Feng turned and stepped into Ming Fo Temple.

At the foot of the mountain, the sound of horse hooves gradually faded.

People contended for power and profit, the court was unpredictable, and iron hooves shattered the peaceful dreams of countless common people.

On the blood-soaked land, white bones piled up into a towering staircase.

How many cities were reduced to scorched earth, how many children cried tears of blood in the streets because of this?

Those butcher knives, swung wantonly in pursuit of power, had long since cut compassion and kindness into dust.

Even though Master Bei Feng was the strongest person in the world, possessing peerless martial arts, he could shatter mountains and split stones with a flick of his hand, and the Internal Energy flowing in his palm could destroy anything in its path.

But facing this surging tide of power struggles, facing this giant web of desires woven by countless people, his power seemed so insignificant.

In his youth, Master Bei Feng had once single-handedly repelled bandits, saving an entire village.

He had also, during a rampant plague, exhausted his Internal Energy to dispel the illness from the common people.

But now, standing on the edge of the Great Yu Empire’s vortex of power, he could only watch helplessly as the common people suffered.

Human power is, after all, limited. No matter who came, they could not directly confront this overwhelming trend of the world!

Dynastic changes were like the rotation of the four seasons; ambitious individuals followed one after another, like moths drawn to a flame, knowing it was a bottomless abyss, yet still mad with desire for power.

Master Bei Feng looked at the flickering candlelight in the temple, and an endless sorrow arose in his heart—when would the suffering of this world end?

Eastern Depot!

Twilight clouds surged like a boiling sea of blood, and the setting sun dyed the sky a thick, bloody red.

Under this eerie light and shadow, the vermilion gate of the Eastern Depot seemed soaked in the blood and tears of countless wronged souls, emitting a chilling dark glow.

As the Eastern Depot Director’s grand procession slowly approached the gate, several grey-clad young eunuchs, like startled birds, huddled in the shadows cast by the screen wall.

Their thin figures trembled incessantly in the bloody light, their coarse cloth garments soaked with cold sweat, clinging to their hunched backs.

The young eunuch in the very middle clutched a gold-painted, vermilion lacquer wooden box tightly.

His pale face almost merged with the afterglow of the setting sun, and his Adam’s apple constantly bobbed up and down, as if swallowing immense fear.

“Halt!”

A furious shout ripped through the stagnant air.

The Twelve Taibao of East Depot, clad in silver-white strong suits, their flying fish patterns embroidered on the edges of their fluttering sleeves, simultaneously drew their Embroidered Spring Blades three inches from their waists, their cold gleam intertwining with the setting sun to form a dazzling net of light.

Cao Er, who was leading, still had a smile that hadn’t reached his eyes, his triangular eyes fixed on the bright yellow silk peeking from the box’s seam.

That was an item only imperial decree eunuchs dared to carry out of the palace.

The other Taibaos exchanged meaningful glances, and the rustling sound of their boots crushing fallen leaves subtly hinted at unease.

Eunuchs from the palace entering the Eastern Depot always meant they carried the Emperor’s decree.

But such an abnormal action instantly tensed all twelve pairs of eyes.

In the morning, His Majesty in the imperial palace urgently summoned Eunuch Cao, the head of the Thirteen Taibao, into the palace for a reward. Now, sending someone with a decree was rather intriguing.

Cao Jin and Cao Haosheng’s expressions were solemn. They suddenly remembered their adoptive father’s indifferent attitude when Eunuch Cao left that morning.

An inexplicable chill, starting from the tailbones of the Twelve Taibao of East Depot present, shot straight up to their crowns.

Cao Er’s lips pulled into a half-smile. His smile seemed harmless, but it concealed a shocking murderous intent.

Immediately after, Cao Er slowly walked towards the trembling young eunuchs.

He deliberately lightened his steps, but his dark official boots stepping on the bluestone slabs still made the young eunuchs shiver in fear.

Each step seemed to land on the other party’s heart, and the sound of his boots crushing withered leaves was particularly grating in the silence.

“Three young Prefects…”

Cao Er’s voice was gentle, almost eerily so, even his eye corners creased with a few smile lines.

“Running all this way from the palace, is there something urgent from that one?”

As he spoke, Cao Er even considerately bent down to help the leading young eunuch up, and casually brushed the dust off his court attire.

This gentle and amiable demeanor made the Eastern Depot personnel behind him raise their eyebrows.

Who didn’t know the methods of Cao Er, one of the Thirteen Taibao of East Depot?

The more amiable he was, the stronger his murderous intent.

However, after Cao Er finished all his actions, his gaze swept over the young eunuch holding the wooden box in the middle, his pupils slightly constricted, landing on a corner of the bright yellow silk.

How could these three young eunuchs have seen such a scene?

The three of them stammered, “Is Prefect, Prefect Sir, here? Your, Your Majesty has an oral decree…”

Cao Er’s smile deepened, but the unusual glint in his eyes made the twilight chill even colder by three points.

The young eunuch in the middle suddenly straightened his hunched back, as if recalling something terrifying.

He took a deep breath, his fingernails digging deep into his palms, forcing himself to calm down.

If he messed this up, his entire clan might not be enough to be executed!

“Your Majesty’s oral decree—!”

The high-pitched voice suddenly rose, piercing the eardrums of those around the Eastern Depot gate.

The entire street instantly fell silent, and the accompanying Eastern Depot agents immediately held their breath.

Clatter!

The Twelve Taibao, led by Cao Er, almost simultaneously knelt, making a grating sound on the bluestone slabs.

Behind them, seven thousand Eastern Depot agents fell prostrate like a tide, the clanging of weapons rising and falling.

The gilded, python-patterned official sedan chair was gently placed on the ground, its curtain unmoving, as if the person inside had already anticipated this scene.

As soon as the words fell, the young eunuch in the middle trembling gave the wooden box to his companion beside him.

As the wooden box was passed, there was a sudden dull thud as it hit the box, causing Cao Er and the others’ pupils to shrink sharply.

Immediately after, a piece of bright yellow silk, scented with Dragon Saliva, slipped from the young eunuch’s sleeve.

Under the reflection of the setting sun, the five-clawed Golden Dragon embroidered with gold threads on the silk seemed soaked in blood, with dark red liquid slowly flowing between its scales.

“Eunuch Cao, Eastern Depot’s Chief of Punishment!”

The young eunuch’s shrill voice suddenly rose, exploding in the dead silence.

“Arrogant and disrespectful to the Emperor!”

With each word he uttered, he seemed to use all his strength, “While in the imperial palace, he defiled several palace maids, terrified the imperial concubines, and even drew swords against the Imperial Guards of the Inner Palace!”

Upon hearing this, Cao Er’s boot had already ground a half-inch deep mark into the bluestone, and the breathing of the Twelve Taibao beside him instantly became as heavy as a drum.

The Eastern Depot agents kneeling behind them lowered their heads even further.

What the hell, could Eunuch Cao, the Chief of Punishment second only to the Eastern Depot Director, really commit such a treasonous act?

“Guilty of heinous crimes!”

The bright yellow silk fluttered in the wind, the Dragon pattern twisting into a ferocious shape.

“He has been apprehended and executed, his head displayed to the public!”

These words were like a heavy hammer, striking everyone’s eardrums painfully.

From afar, a series of bird calls could be heard, but they could not drown out the gasps of the Eastern Depot personnel.

The young eunuch swallowed his fear, his gaze sweeping over the gilded sedan chair.

“As for Eastern Depot Director Lu Xuan, for his ineffective supervision, he is ordered to reflect behind closed doors! His salary is suspended for three years, and his position as Brocade Guard Commander is revoked!”

When the last syllable fell, the entire street seemed frozen by an invisible chill.

Cao Er suddenly looked up, his sinister face completely shattered for the first time.

He stared fixedly at the imperial decree, his pupils constricted to the size of a needlepoint.

Clang!

The next moment, the remaining eleven Taibao straightened up in unison, their dark iron armguards clanging harshly as they moved.

Their faces were filled with disbelief, as if they had heard a fantastical tale.

What was Eunuch Cao’s death? The Eastern Depot had no shortage of lives.

But stripping the Brocade Guard’s authority… this was practically severing an arm of the Eastern Depot!

One must know that in the Great Yu Empire, the Eastern Depot held the power of life and death in the Imperial Prison, and the Brocade Guard was the Eastern Depot’s dog.

Now, in one fell swoop, the Brocade Guard was forcibly separated, which was tantamount to cutting off the Eastern Depot’s sharpest fangs.

Your Majesty, have you changed your mind?

This was clearly meant to cut off the Eastern Depot’s lifeline.

Under the setting sun, the cold wind carried fine sand past their stiff backs.

The Dragon pattern on the yellow silk became even more ferocious in the bloody twilight, as if it was looking down on this group of disgraced hawks and hounds.

“Director, Director Sir…” The young eunuch’s voice trembled out of tune: “Please… receive the decree…”

He, of course, knew how disrespectful it was for Lu Xuan, the Eastern Depot Director, not to come out of the sedan chair to receive the decree.

But the murderous atmosphere at the moment made it difficult for him to even breathe.

Therefore, this young eunuch, who brought the imperial decree, could only bow even lower, almost folding in half.

Cao Er snatched the imperial decree, the strong wind created by his silver-white sleeve startling the young eunuch with a shiver.

He took three steps at once to reach the sedan chair, and when he knelt on one knee, his knee cracked the bluestone slab: “Adoptive Father! The imperial decree has arrived!”

A casual response came from inside the sedan chair: “Mm.”

This understated attitude was like a great pardon for the three young eunuchs.

They fumbled, stuffing the wooden box containing the head to Cao Jin, and then scrambled away from the Eastern Depot, this den of demons.

The leading young eunuch even tripped on the steps, not bothering to pick up his fallen hat as he continued to run wildly—as if evil spirits were chasing him.

In the Eastern Depot’s quiet room, Lu Xuan’s fingertips gently caressed the Seven Treasures Glazed lotus, as the Old Monk had personally told him.

The seven-colored glow flowing on the lotus petals illuminated the entire secret room, making it appear dreamlike.

Each petal seemed to contain fragments of stars, flickering on and off with his breathing.

Wafts of clear fragrance diffused, actually condensing into tangible spiritual mist in the invisible air.

Lu Xuan took a deep breath, and immediately felt the Great Grandmaster’s Extreme Cold Internal Energy in his Meridians boiling.

The drop of unsolidified seven-colored jade dew in the lotus heart refracted mesmerizing light under the illumination.

Such a Heavenly Spiritual Object, it was likely that not a second one could be found in the entire world.

“This Old Monk actually hid such a good thing…”

Lu Xuan’s fingertip suddenly condensed a thread of cold light, lightly tracing the surface of the lotus stem.

In an instant, the entire lotus bloomed with dazzling brilliance, and the secret room was like a seven-colored blazing sun rising!

Lu Xuan gazed at the shimmering Seven Treasures Glazed lotus in his hand, a hint of greed flashing in his eyes.

These pedantic bald donkeys, guarding such a Heavenly Spiritual Object for hundreds of years, only knew to use it as some kind of temple treasure?

They possessed a treasure capable of creating a peerless powerhouse above the Great Grandmaster Realm, yet they insisted on practicing “slow and steady cultivation.”

Generation after generation of Ming Fo Temple abbots guarded the treasure mountain, only daring to occasionally take a petal to give to their most outstanding Buddhist Disciples.

No wonder every generation of Ming Fo Temple abbots for hundreds of years had been the strongest experts in the world.

The System interface suddenly popped up automatically!

Host: Red Dust Immortal Lu Xuan (Fourth Life)

Realm: Great Grandmaster (Beginner)

Cultivation Technique: Extreme Cold Palm 8/9

Points: 100

Heavenly Origin Power detected. Please immediately devour and extract it, Host.

Lu Xuan’s five fingers suddenly clenched, and the Gale Force of Extreme Cold in his palm erupted like surging waves.

The biting cold spread with destructive force, encompassing the basin-sized Seven Treasures Glazed lotus.

Under the pressure of this terrifying power, the surface instantly became covered with spiderweb-like ice patterns.

Immediately after, accompanied by a deafening crisp sound, the Seven Treasures Glazed lotus exploded with a bang.

Tens of thousands of fragments turned into crystalline dust, rapidly swirling in the Gale Force of Extreme Cold vortex.

As the cold Qi surged, Lu Xuan’s fingertips trembled slightly, controlling the scattered fragments to re-condense.

Brilliant seven-colored light burst forth from the Chaos, and those fragments containing the spiritual power of the Glazed lotus slowly aggregated under the refinement of the Gale Force of Extreme Cold.

When the Gale Force of Extreme Cold dissipated, a seven-colored pill the size of a Dragon’s eye slowly rotated in Lu Xuan’s palm.

Seeing this, Lu Xuan opened his mouth and swallowed the pill. In an instant, seven-colored light erupted from all the pores on his body.