nucmednet Chapter 236 Bamboo Elder Views Lotus, Three Sects Gather
Chapter 236 Bamboo Elder Views Lotus, Three Sects Gather
Fine snow was falling softly from the mountaintop.
Light blue ice lotuses bloom in the ice pool.
Although it is a lotus, what is unusual is that its flower is several feet wide, a truly extraordinary bloom.
Above the icy pool, covered in ice, only the leaves of the ice lotus break through the ice, swaying gently in the cold wind.
Although this place is important, there are no guards, because the fierce coldness emanating from the ice lotus is enough to deter anyone who tries to take it, let alone succeed.
At this moment, a weathered old man slowly walked over.
His clothes were worn and patched, and he held a jade bamboo cane in his hand. The bamboo cane had a warm and lustrous color and seemed to have a spiritual light flowing through it.
The old bamboo sage gazed intently at the ice lotus, paused for a moment, and then walked forward again.
However, when he felt that bone-chilling cold, his expression stiffened, and he stopped walking for a long time, not daring to take the next step no matter what.
"Enough, enough." He was wary of the ice lotus's chilling aura and chose to leave.
The fine snowflakes fell, but they couldn't land on his clothes, as if they were repelled by an invisible force.
Back indoors, apart from the chrysanthemum vein, the plum, orchid, and bamboo veins rarely gather together.
Madam Lan's medical skills are superb, and she deserves much credit for this.
It was under her careful care that Merlin's injuries improved significantly. However, the mental trauma caused by the backlash from the Heavenly Secret was far beyond human control and was a permanent deficit that could not be cured.
Therefore, although Elder Merlin was still among the younger generation of the four lineage leaders, the passing of his lifespan and the trauma to his spirit made him appear older than anyone else.
Right now, he has only one wish: to find a disciple who can inherit his mantle and ensure that the Merlin lineage is not lost while he is still able to support himself.
Madam Lan placed the incense chips into the incense burner, then gently closed the lid with elegant and skillful movements.
As the fire in the stove smoldered, wisps of incense rose gently, their delicate fragrance cleverly masking the lingering medicinal smell on Old Man Meilin.
As the head of the Lan family, Madam Lan was graceful and elegant. She looked like a gentle woman in her thirties, wearing a dark green dress with a calm color that complemented her temperament.
A soft fox fur coat was casually draped over his shoulders, providing warmth and showcasing his noble status as the head of a lineage.
Although medicine is her specialty, it has significant limitations.
Even she was helpless against the severe injuries suffered by Elder Merlin due to the backlash from the Heavenly Secrets. She could only try her best to alleviate his pain, but could not completely cure him.
After all, she was a cultivator, and her primary task was to break through to a higher realm. Medicine, mechanical skills, and other arts were only considered as auxiliary skills, which she would learn casually, but could not be her main focus or study in depth.
Seeing that Old Man Zhu had returned so quickly, Madam Lan chuckled lightly, her tone laced with sarcasm: "Since you dared to set your sights on the Ice Lotus, why don't you actually give it a try?"
For a thousand years, the Ice Lotus has been both a guardian and a taboo in the Misty Mountain.
Except after the once-every-hundred-years lightning tribulation, when it falls into a brief period of weakness, people dare to approach it, carefully picking up some fallen lotus leaves, lotus seeds, lotus petals, and the broken pieces of thousand-year-old ice in the ice pool. Otherwise, who doesn't keep their distance from it?
Although the Ice Lotus appears translucent and beautiful, exhaling cold air to protect the Mist Mountain, in essence, it is a demonic flower that devours people without spitting out the bones. The Bai family is the most qualified to speak on this point.
Upon hearing this, the old bamboo craftsman's expression became complicated.
He sighed, offering neither rebuttal nor explanation. Leaning on his jade bamboo cane, he slowly walked to the side, sat down, and a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
Time waits for no one; he is getting old and feels that his potential has been exhausted.
The fifth level of the Innate Realm seemed like an insurmountable chasm, blocking his path of cultivation.
His youngest apprentice, however, was slightly more talented and had already reached the threshold of the Innate Realm at the young age of twenty-five.
But breaking through the innate level is no easy feat. It requires inspiration, destiny, and that elusive, fleeting opportunity.
The ice lotus atop the mountain peak is undoubtedly the best choice.
Zhu Weng had originally planned that the upcoming Fog Mountain Tea Party, where heroes from all walks of life would gather, would be the perfect opportunity to win over allies and plan important matters together.
He planned to take the lead himself and find several like-minded and highly skilled individuals as his assistants. Even if it meant paying the price of serious injury, he was determined to fight for a precious lotus seed from the ice lotus.
Whether swallowed raw or refined into pills by the alchemy masters in the Jade Cauldron Pavilion, the lotus seeds are an excellent choice.
However, when Zhu Weng sensed the pressure emanating from the ice lotus by the ice pool, it was as deep and heavy as an abyss, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
This pressure was countless times more terrifying than the threat he had felt when he killed mutated beasts in the past.
His intuition told him that if he dared to approach the Ice Lotus, no matter how swift his movements or how strong his physique, he would only become a skeleton beneath the ice pool, forever slumbering on this cold mountain peak.
This fear, this sense of powerlessness, filled the old bamboo craftsman's heart with bitterness.
The room was silent, each of the three lost in their own thoughts, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere.
Madam Lan gently picked up the teacup on the table, her fingertips lightly stroking the warm porcelain surface, but her eyes inadvertently glanced at Old Man Meilin, and she pondered to herself.
This year, the Meilin lineage has declined, and even if the tea party is reorganized, it will no longer be related to Meilin.
Old Master Zhu is now quite old and has lost his ambition, focusing only on nurturing the next generation. As a result, his threat to the orchid lineage is much less than before.
The only thing worth being wary of is the suddenly emerging Chrysanthemum Vein.
After a moment's thought, Madam Lan gently put down her teacup, the crisp sound standing out clearly in the quiet room.
She looked up at the two of them and slowly said, "Have you two heard that the Grand Preceptor of the Great Xia Dynasty might be attending this year's Misty Mountain Tea Gathering?"