Chapter 45: Golden Lotus of Buddha's Seal

"Clang!"

"Congratulations to the host! The cultivation technique, *Supreme Lotus Sword*, has been credited to your account!"

Jiang Xuan opened his sleepy eyes, feeling the pain throughout his body completely vanish.

Turning his head, Xiao Lan was leaning against him, fast asleep.

"Big Brother, you're awake."

Glutton stepped over, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"How long have I been asleep?"

Jiang Xuan sat up straight, inadvertently waking Xiao Lan in the process.

Looking around, the Empress and the others were neatly lined up, sleeping on a single wooden bed.

They were currently by the stream, far from the desolate wasteland that had been completely leveled during the previous battle.

"Three days, Big Brother. And that fellow has been waiting for two days."

"That fellow... What the hell!"

Following the direction Glutton pointed, Jiang Xuan was shocked to see a man sitting on a branch not far away!

How could he have slept so soundly? He hadn't even noticed an outsider's presence!

Springing to his feet, Jiang Xuan gathered his full attention, his gaze locked onto the stranger.

"Who is he?"

"He's from the Overlord Sect, but he's not here for revenge."

"He wants to recruit us into the Overlord Sect so we can destroy the Hundred Beasts Sect together."

"We couldn't make the decision, so we told him to wait until you woke up."

Glutton's words stunned Jiang Xuan for a few seconds, but he quickly calmed down.

Sect rivalries were commonplace, especially in this beastly world where the law of the jungle reigned supreme.

As Jiang Xuan was pondering, the man seemed to sense that he had awakened. Turning his head, the man flew straight toward them, his body following his line of sight.

"Indeed, it is the Golden Crow bloodline."

Landing in front of Jiang Xuan, the man inhaled deeply, sensing Jiang Xuan's aura with a look of utter intoxication.

"I killed your sect's Returning Swallow. Why didn't you attack us?"

Without a doubt, Jiang Xuan's overwhelming feeling at the moment was lingering fear.

During the battle against the bear demon and the hound demon, it might have seemed like he escaped uninjured, but the massive expenditure of spiritual energy had nearly hollowed out his body.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have fallen into such a deep sleep lasting three full days and nights.

What made Jiang Xuan's spine chill even more was that this guy was a Tier 6 Grand Demon!

If he had decided to kick them while they were down, Jiang Xuan and his companions would have met only one end: death!

"You are strong, and our Overlord Sect appreciates the strong."

"As long as you join the Overlord Sect, the death of that Returning Swallow is water under the bridge. The Overlord Sect will no longer pursue the matter."

"Pardon me, but I decline."

Almost without a second thought, Jiang Xuan gave his answer.

The man before him—dressed in black robes, with an ambiguous gender yet a robust physique and an overbearing aura—was momentarily stunned!

Then, he burst into roaring laughter.

Instantly, the atmosphere became tense and hostile.

Fierce flames ignited around Jiang Xuan, yet they failed to push the man back even a single step!

However, the man did not attack either, merely summoning his spiritual energy to resist the raging fire.

"I will convey your answer to the Sect Master."

"But the next time we meet, only one of us will leave alive."

With that, the man turned around, wind gathering beneath his feet, and stepped into the empty air, soaring away.

A final sentence drifted down from the sky: "Remember, my name is Qin Zhenchuan!"

As the man moved further away, the Extreme Yang flames that had been fluttering the green robes slowly dissipated.

Jiang Xuan's tense nerves finally relaxed, his eyes fixed on the direction where the man had disappeared.

"Big Brother, walking the martial world without backing is a bit risky, isn't it? Joining the Overlord Sect sounds like a pretty good choice, right?"

Xiao Lan stepped forward, winding her arm around Jiang Xuan's in a bewitching manner, leaning against his shoulder like a dependent little bird.

Glutton's face also wore a trace of confusion, his thoughts identical to Xiao Lan's.

"Backing? Don't you understand the principle that relying on others is never as good as relying on oneself?"

"Joining the Overlord Sect means losing all freedom. What fun would that be?"

Jiang Xuan sneered.

Joining a sect might seem like a decent option with shared resources, but having to take orders from others would severely hinder his cultivation speed.

Who knew, he might even end up working like an ox and a horse for the Overlord Sect!

Having survived the 9-to-5 corporate grind in his past life, Jiang Xuan was determined that in this lifetime, even if he had to sleep on the floor, he would be his own boss!

"But right now, the Hundred Beasts Sect only sent two beasts and we were almost wiped out. If we add the Overlord Sect to the mix, then we..."

"Yeah, Big Brother, you've got to think of something. I don't want to end up like that rat demon, who came to the Heng Domain for so many years and is still this weak."

Jiang Xuan understood Xiao Lan and Glutton's concerns.

With survival at stake, careful consideration was indeed necessary.

"You two go chop some wood further away first. Let's build a house before anything else."

"Sleeping on the ground and in the tree branches all day is no way to live."

"Understood, Big Brother!"

After a moment of thought, Jiang Xuan had his answer.

The most urgent task, however, was to build a small villa first.

Since they could now transform into human forms, his subordinates needed a mobile home.

Xiao Lan and Glutton quickly split up and disappeared from Jiang Xuan's line of sight.

"The Supreme Lotus Sword. Finally, a cultivation technique of my own."

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Jiang Xuan waved his hand, conjuring a golden book within his spiritual consciousness.

On the cover of the book, a golden lotus flickered faintly amidst a golden radiance!

Immediately afterward, Jiang Xuan clearly perceived that within his sea of consciousness, above an overflowing ancient well, that very golden lotus was suspended above the water's surface.

"Planting a golden lotus in the sea of bitterness? Good grief!"

Jiang Xuan instantly realized what was happening.

This object was undeniably the Buddhist Seal Golden Lotus!

Pondering this golden lotus, it possessed one hundred and eight petals, nine emerald leaves, twenty-four blossoming petals, and seven lotus seeds condensed at its heart!

Following that, the golden lotus projected an illusory image upward, like a brand hanging high above the ancient well!

On this branded golden lotus, not a single petal had bloomed, nor was a single lotus seed condensed!

Shock continually reverberated through Jiang Xuan's mind. Once everything settled down, he finally opened the first page of the *Supreme Lotus Sword*.

"Supreme Lotus Sword Heart Technique: Buddhist Seal Golden Lotus!"

"Nourished by primordial spiritual energy, it induces the blossoming of twenty-four petals and the condensation of seven lotus seeds."

"When the twenty-four petals bloom and the seven lotus seeds condense, one may enter the Abyss of the Nine Nether, plunder three thousand falling waters, traverse the Blood Sea of the Underworld, bear the power of creation, and achieve the merit of reincarnation!"

"Thus, surpassing the spirits of heaven and earth! Enlightening all eternity!"

"Awesome, awesome, utterly awesome!"

Jiang Xuan was shocked beyond measure, his jaw dropping to the ground!

Though he still didn't fully understand what was going on, just reading the description made him blurt out an oath!

"System! You had something this good and you kept it hidden until now?!"

"If you had given it to me earlier, what would I have to fear from the Hundred Beasts Sect, the Overlord Sect, or any other sect?!"

At this moment, Jiang Xuan was cursing inwardly, blaming the system.

If he had possessed this technique earlier, his current strength would have multiplied manifold!

Maybe Hothead and Orange wouldn't have died...

"Host, this technique can indeed be called invincible. But with the host's current state, comprehending Buddhist nature is too slow. Giving it to you too early would have merely placed fetters upon you, hindering your path of proving the Dao."