Chapter 78 - Dilemma   Lin Yun plucked a petal off the Drought Golden Lotus, and his attention was completely attracted to it, “What powerful fire spiritual energy!”

It was fire spiritual energy, a more refined version of the fire elemental spiritual energy.

Lin Yun let out a breath a long time later. His eyes were glowing as he stared into the petal.

He had a feeling that this petal would bring him more benefits compared to the fire elemental spiritual energy he absorbed in the Demonic Flaming Tiger’s territory.

Should I take this opportunity to reach the Xiantian Realm? Once that thought arose in his mind, it could not be contained.

The Liu Clan had a total of three Xiantian Realm cultivators, and all of them possessed a Martial Soul. He couldn’t even fight with one of them if they brought out their Martial Soul, not to mention if all three of them came at him together.

Logically speaking, he should stabilize his foundation since he had just made a breakthrough into the Tenth Stage of the Martial Path recently. But he didn’t have a choice right now.

The Drought Golden Lotus was now left with eleven petals, and he also had the beast core from the Demonic Flaming Tiger in his interspatial pouch.

“Fuck, I’ll just go for it!” Lin Yun’s gaze became firm. He knew that only death would await him if he couldn’t reach the Xiantian Realm. So, he decided to take a risk.

Boom!

After Lin Yun made his decision, he grasped the petal tightly in his hands. He had one hand above the petal, while the other beneath it. As he closed his eyes, he circulated the Xiantian Pure Yang Art to absorb the petal’s fire spiritual energy.

Boom!

The fire spiritual energy rumbled within his body. It felt like an unceasing tide rampaging within his body. Lin Yun did not panic. He was experienced in absorbing the fire elemental spiritual energy. He was manipulating his internal energy to assimilate the fire spiritual energy.

Simultaneously, he was also trying to control the fire spiritual energy impacting his internal organs.

Time ticked by as Lin Yun’s internal energy that was glowing golden through his body was being refined. His internal energy became more condensed and looked like golden strands of silk with flames blazing on them.

Rumble!

Sounds of the energies coursing through his body could be heard. In the next second, a wisp of flame appeared on his palm and enveloped his entire body. The blazing heat from the fire had also incinerated his clothes. Lin Yun looked as if he was embraced by a golden lotus that was burning in flames.

He could sense that the fire spiritual energy traveling from the petal into his body was growing stronger. But fortunately, he had reached the second stage in the Xiantian Pure Yang Art. So, he was able to keep the fire spiritual energyfrom hurting him.

Lin Yun looked peaceful when the golden flames embraced him. There was even a rare dignified look on his face.

Crack! Crack!

He could hear cracking sounds coming from within his body. He could see fine cracks on his meridians from the surging energies coursing through his body.

“Steady! Steady!” Lin Yun had beads of sweat rolling down his face as he relied on his willpower to control his internal energy as gently as he could.

As long as he could last through a cycle of his internal energy circulating within his body, his meridians could be repaired. It might feel painful to feel his meridians being torn, but it would all be fine if he could persevere through it.

Before he noticed, a day had already passed by. Throughout this period, his internal energy was gradually fusing with the fire spiritual energy.

Swishhh!

The flames that embraced Lin Yun suddenly retracted as they gathered on his palm. The flames were sizzling as it was condensing into a seal.

When Lin Yun opened his eyes the petal sitting in his palm had disappeared.

He was dumbstruck when he lowered his gaze. He noticed that the Drought Golden Lotus’s petal was actually imprinted on the back of his hand. It was faintly discernible, and he wouldn’t be able to notice it if he wasn’t focused enough.

Based on the bizarre records, if someone in the Houtian Realm absorbs the petals of the Drought Golden Lotus perfectly, they would unleash the Sky Incineration phenomenon upon reaching the Xiantian Realm once there’s enough accumulation. Can this be related to it? Lin Yun fell into deep thoughts. He had brushed it off previously as an exaggeration when he read it from the book.

“Well, I’ll know if I try.” Lin Yun muttered. He retrieved a second petal from the Drought Golden Lotus and began absorbing it.

He was already experienced in absorbing the petal. Thus, he became proficient doing it the second time. But much to his shock, he realized that it was more challenging for him to absorb the second petal.

Oddly enough, he discovered that he was actually exhausted when he opened his eyes. He didn’t even realize when he was absorbing the first petal.

There was another petal formed on the back as his hand as he had expected. His eyes flickered with puzzlement as he could sense that something wasn’t right. However, he had no evidence to come up with a conclusion for the odd sensation that he felt.

But he was only left with one choice — to continue what he was doing.

When he began to absorb the third petal, things got tougher for him compared to the second. The fire spiritual energy that was going wild within his body was getting tougher for him to control.

But just when he was about to finish absorbing the third petal, he focused his attention on it. He observed how the flames were collected together on his palm. He could also sense that his physique and spirit were weakened when the third petal was formed on the back of his right hand. It was a distinct sensation.

“So, the petal will draw essence from my body to be imprinted on me!” Lin Yun was shocked when he came to realize that. Amidst the shock, he also felt a shiver down his spine.

If he had continued absorbing the petals, what awaited him would be his blood essence wholly exhausted. At that time, wouldn’t he become a puppet for the Drought Golden Lotus?

The unknown had always filled him with horror. And the bizarre phenomenon had made Lin Yun hesitate if he should carry on.

After all, this phenomenon wasn’t on the bizarre record. The bizarre record only had a brief introduction and nothing too detailed. If Lin Yun had a detailed explanation about the Drought Golden Lotus, he wouldn’t be so concerned by this bizarre phenomenon.

Lin Yun fell into deep thought as he looked at the three petals imprinted on the back of his hand.

The Drought Golden Lotus did not have any intelligence. So it couldn’t turn Lin Yun into a puppet. But if someone in the Houtian Realm began to absorb the flower petals without any restrain, only death would await them.

The Drought Golden Lotus was rare, but that didn’t mean that it was impossible to find. Since the beginning of time, many people have wanted their descendants to possess the Sky Incineration ability when they broke through into the Xiantian Realm.

Because of that, many people went looking for the Drought Golden Lotus. But what awaited them was disappointment. Regardless of bloodline or cultivation, it was too tough for the human body to contain the power of the Drought Golden Lotus.

There weren’t many who had succeeded since the beginning of time. Nevertheless, those who had failed would pay the price with their lives.

Since then, very few would dare to attempt it anymore. Firstly, it wasn’t easy finding a Drought Golden Lotus. Secondly, it was the intolerable pain they had to go through. Last but not least would be the blood essence. There weren’t many who could persevere through the consumption that the Drought Golden Lotus had for the body.

Since then, no one had tried looking for the Drought Golden Lotus to absorb it. Even if they had come across one, they would only absorb a few petals.

However, there was a possibility that Lin Yun could do it. He had already grasped a Xiantian cultivation technique in the Houtian Realm, not to mention that his body had also gone through the tempering of fire elemental spiritual energy.

Most importantly, he had once consumed a Seven Orifice Exquisite Pellet!

The Seven Orifice Exquisite Pellet was rare, and no one would use it during the Houtian Realm. Most of the people who used it were in the Xiantian Realm.

If Lin Yun had consumed it after reaching the Xiantian Realm, he could condense a strand of dragon aura for every orifice he opened up. Once he opened up all seven orifices, his physique would be wholly transformed. At that time, his Martial Soul would mutate from the seven strands of dragon aura.

However, Su Ziyao had used such a precious pellet on Lin Yun when he was in the Houtian Realm. It was because his aptitude was poor, and he wouldn’t have any chance of reaching the Xiantian Realm if he didn’t consume the Seven Orifice Exquisite Pellet.

Everything fell into place. With his current physique, he was unmatched among the Houtian Realm, even throughout the entire Great Qin Empire.

Even in the Southern Ancient Domain, he couldn’t find a challenging opponent for himself. This was also why he could recover from his injuries quickly after taking a hit from a Xiantian Realm cultivator.

And right now, Lin Yun had no idea that he had an opportunity lying before him. He was still overwhelmed by the fear in his heart as he linked the weakening of his physique together with the petals imprinted on the back of his hand. He fell into a dilemma.

Meanwhile, thousands of members from the Liu Clan had scoured the surrounding forest.

“Big brother, did that brat run far away on the Dragon Blooded Horse?” Liu Tian was feeling anxious. After all, they couldn’t even find Lin Yun’s shadows in the past three days.

“That’s impossible! We found tracks of the Dragon Blooded Horse, and it wasn’t together with that brat. That brat can’t run far in three days with his injuries.” Liu Teng replied with a grim face. “He must still be somewhere in this forest, we must have missed him.”

Seeing the murderous aura that shrouded Liu Teng’s face, no one dared to utter a single word. Everyone knew that the Patriarch was even angered to the point of spewing blood from his mouth, so they did not dare to stand out. After all, there was a possibility that the Patriarch might even vent his anger on them if they did.

“Stop expanding the search and narrow the scope. Spread my orders that all the trees have to be cut down! I don’t want to see any standing trees within a hundred mile radius! I’ll see how that brat continues to hide!” Liu Teng opened his eyes after pondering briefly.