Chapter Eighty: The Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff

After several sharp impacts, the tiny “Embroidery Needle” managed to pierce through the innermost grand array and headed straight for the outermost Xuantian Leaving Fire Array. Lei Xiang frowned; although he had confidence in the Xuantian Leaving Fire Array, seeing the embroidery needle’s ferocity left him unsure whether he could truly trap it. It was best to find a way to capture it as soon as possible. Lei Xiang rummaged through his storage pouch, searching for a suitable tool.

He searched through several storage pouches, but could only shake his head in resignation—none of his magical artifacts could guarantee the capture of the “Embroidery Needle.” After all, it was a product of the meteor shower. Meanwhile, the embroidery needle furiously struck the same spot on the array, while the Xuantian Leaving Fire Array did its utmost, spewing blue leaving fire in an attempt to envelop the needle. Yet the embroidery needle nimbly evaded, and the barrage of leaving fire merely slowed its assault, but Lei Xiang knew clearly that if things continued this way, the array would eventually be breached.

“I must think of another way!”

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the spirit beast pouch at his waist began to squirm endlessly. Lei Xiang knew that the gluttonous mouth inside was sleeping soundly—could it be acting out in its sleep?

He tossed the spirit beast pouch into the air, and a pink mist sprayed out. A diminutive, entirely pink pig leaped toward Lei Xiang. The pig’s ears flapped like fans, its tiny bean-like eyes gleamed, and its snout tilted slightly, giving it a comical appearance. Lei Xiang was puzzled—he didn’t recall having such a pig in his spirit beast pouch.

The little pink pig hopped onto Lei Xiang’s shoulder, rubbing its snout affectionately against his face.

“How adorable!” Lei Xiang couldn’t help but be charmed, despite not knowing what creature it was. He reached out to stroke its pink fur, but suddenly noticed that the pig had no tail—instead, a trident tail-needle grew where its tail should have been, with the central prong long and the two side prongs short. Lei Xiang froze, hand suspended in mid-air.

The little pink pig seemed almost sentient; it tilted its head and grinned at Lei Xiang, revealing a mouthful of uneven green teeth.

Seeing those green teeth, Lei Xiang suddenly realized—the little pink pig must be the evolved form of the gluttonous mouth. Ever since it devoured a large number of high-level vengeful ghost souls, the gluttonous mouth had fallen into a deep sleep within the pouch. Lei Xiang suspected it was about to ascend, and had consulted Zhu Chi, who confirmed it. With the need to break through spatial fissures and the many events with the Green Elves, he hadn’t had time to pay attention. Now that the evolution had occurred, it was a good thing—but why had it become a pig?

Knowing this wasn’t the time to investigate, Lei Xiang put the little pink pig back into the pouch, ignoring its restless squirming. He then transformed his spiritual power into a giant hand to seize the spiritual rod. The rod paused for a moment, but Lei Xiang’s blue hand firmly grasped it.

Suddenly, red light flashed in the blue hand, and with a “pop,” the blue energy scattered as the red spiritual rod squirmed free. The rod, now anthropomorphized, nodded at Lei Xiang as if in defiance, then darted toward the Xuantian Leaving Fire Array again.

Lei Xiang frowned—this spiritual rod was exceedingly difficult to tame. Even as he was thinking this, the spirit beast pouch trembled again. Lei Xiang quickly infused his spiritual sense, surprised to find the little pink pig’s fur bristling and its body convulsing violently. He tried to soothe it, but the pig only shook harder, as if in a fever. “Is it too excited?” Lei Xiang wondered, and released the pouch once more.

The little pink pig sprang forth, its bean-like eyes shining, body still trembling as it pounced toward the spiritual rod. The rod seemed stunned for a moment, ceased its attack on the array, and turned to battle the pig.

A lively scene unfolded—the rod and the beast fought fiercely, evenly matched. The pig’s signature devouring skill was rendered useless by the rod’s agility, while the rod’s ability to enlarge seemed ineffective against the pig. Neither could gain the upper hand.

Lei Xiang drifted over, watching with interest. Unconsciously, he began to analyze the Divine Thunder Slash technique, feeling new ideas take shape. He decided to digest this “pig-versus-rod” battle in his free time, believing it would elevate his mastery. “If only Zhu Chi could witness this battle—he’d surely gain much insight.” At the thought of Zhu Chi, Lei Xiang checked with his spiritual sense; Zhu Chi was still unconscious. Lei Xiang gritted his teeth and withdrew another storage pouch.

Opening it, a nine-inch blue disc flew out, its edge adorned with nine stone lotus flowers, three of which were in bloom. This was Lei Xiang’s greatest reliance, his deepest secret—the Blue Lotus Disc, which he only dared use after confirming Zhu Chi was asleep.

The Blue Lotus Disc emitted a gentle hum as it rotated clockwise, expanding in size. When it reached the size of a millstone, it automatically flew forward without Lei Xiang’s intervention, hovering above the gluttonous pig and the spiritual rod. Lei Xiang murmured in surprise—this attempt to capture the rod had yielded surprise after surprise. First, the gluttonous mouth had evolved into a pig, and the pig clearly showed interest in the rod, underscoring the rod’s uniqueness. Then the meteor shower artifact, the Blue Lotus Disc, actively sought out the rod. But what happened next was even more astonishing.

The Blue Lotus Disc pressed downward without hesitation, and the spiritual rod did not even attempt to dodge. Lei Xiang hastily recited a spell to recall the pig—otherwise it would surely have been flattened. As soon as the pig was withdrawn, the rod suddenly turned sideways, floating horizontally, while the Blue Lotus Disc pressed down. The rod seemed oblivious.

There was no sound at all.

The Blue Lotus Disc and the spiritual rod “adhered” together, perfectly joined, and the rod beneath the disc became exceedingly docile, showing no resistance whatsoever. Lei Xiang was amazed—could it really be captured so easily? Yet what followed proved troublesome.

Though the rod was obedient, it refused to leave the Blue Lotus Disc. No matter what Lei Xiang tried, he couldn’t separate them. He could only laugh bitterly—what use was capturing it, if he couldn’t wield it, and it even interfered with the disc’s functions? When Huang Qingyang had captured it, this hadn’t happened. Now, even if Lei Xiang pushed his “Inharmonious Azure-Gold” technique to the limit and used his mid-stage Foundation Establishment strength to exert massive force, he couldn’t separate the rod and the disc.

The Blue Lotus Disc also became uncontrollable, as if unwilling to part from the rod.

Lei Xiang pondered for a long time, finding no better solution. He could only use the Xuantian Leaving Fire Array, supplemented with the capture secrets taught by Huang Qingyang, to slowly refine the spiritual rod.

Seven days passed. With the continuous tempering of the leaving fire and the treasure-refining methods of the Divine Treasure Mirror, Lei Xiang finally gained control over the spiritual rod. Excited, he impatiently recited a spell, and the rod shuddered as if resisting his command. But in less than ten breaths, it reluctantly detached from the Blue Lotus Disc and flew into Lei Xiang’s hand.

Simultaneously, Lei Xiang recited another spell, and the Blue Lotus Disc, clearly disgruntled, floated over and plunged sulkily into the storage pouch, refusing to emerge no matter how Lei Xiang called it. In the days that followed, the Blue Lotus Disc remained hidden, losing its replication function—a story for another time. For now, Lei Xiang stowed the disc away and turned his attention to the embroidery needle-like spiritual rod.

It seemed unremarkable, save for its red glow—it was really nothing more than an embroidery needle. Lei Xiang muttered an incantation, and with a “swish,” the rod elongated to a length of fifteen feet. Grasping it, he waved it about, filling the air with blood-red shadows, their spiritual pressure rushing at him. Lei Xiang was delighted, and now noticed three tiny characters on the tip of the rod:

Nine Treasures Lotus

What did this mean? Lei Xiang pondered for a long while, finally concluding that the rod’s name must be Nine Treasures Lotus, for nothing else fit. Satisfied, he nodded and swung the Nine Treasures Lotus Rod at the blossoming iron tree. With hardly any effort, the tree broke with a “crack,” and with repeated blows, Lei Xiang smashed it into dozens of fragments. He tossed them into a storage pouch for future use in forging the Immortal Arrow, then casually dismantled the protective array and headed northeast, thoroughly content.

A low, hoarse cough echoed ahead, nearly startling Lei Xiang from the sky, but he laughed and called out, “Senior Huang, I have at last fulfilled my mission, and have come to rescue you with the Nine Treasures Lotus Rod!”

A certain ancient tree ahead trembled, and another scene appeared—a massive array, with a skeleton slumped at its center. The skeleton spoke: “Good child, I did not misjudge you. You’ve finally captured the rod for me, and learned the Inharmonious Azure-Gold technique in such a short time—truly a genius. But don’t forget your promise: avenge me and kill Queen Qing and her ilk.”

Lei Xiang bowed respectfully. “The four elders of the Green Elves are dead. I vow to kill Queen Qing. Now, please, humble yourself and let your soul be married into my sea of consciousness. I want you to witness Queen Qing’s demise with your own eyes.”

The skeleton’s skull rattled, Huang Qingyang’s voice trembling with excitement, while Shaoqing sighed, “Let it be. My body and soul are bound by ten-thousand-year iron essence, sealed by this grand array beneath me. It’s not something you can break. My remaining lifespan is only two or three years. To see you succeed in capturing the rod is satisfaction enough. Just remember to kill Queen Qing for me, and I’ll be eternally grateful.”

Lei Xiang grinned with his small tiger tooth. “How can you give up without trying?” Without waiting for Huang Qingyang’s objection, he turned his palm, and a blood-red embroidery needle appeared in his hand.