Chapter 425: Fury of the Lotus: XiXi’s Ascendance

The resounding clang echoed relentlessly!

The Infernal Lotus Fire & Gold Wheel spun furiously beneath XiXi’s feet, its wild roar hoisting her body high into the hundred-zhang sky.

Behind her, the Eight-Armed Three-Faced Infernal Lotus Unyielding Divine Visage emerged—a three-headed, eight-armed deity with eyes full of fury, sorrow, and grief.

A myriad of divine auras, as graceful as silk ribbons, intertwined and enveloped XiXi’s celestial visage.

Boiling blood and surging energy swirled and channeled as gusts swept across her bangs.

Her eyes shone with unbridled excitement!

At seven, could she really slay a Martial Saint?

Admittedly, she couldn’t truly kill him with sheer strength alone—

yet XiXi had exhausted every ounce of her resolve.

The divine talisman gifted by the Sect Master’s Wife, combined with the Underworld’s mechanisms!

Divine Talisman Mechanism Art!

And the Mushroom Array!

This was her ace—a trump card in her battle against the Martial Saint!

Scorching heat evaporated the swirling snow, turning the falling flakes into glistening raindrops that, upon vaporization, formed drifting mists, as if transforming into dragons, tigers, even divine birds!

With a crack!

High in the sky, the Kuan Yin Lotus Battle Tank was hoisted by XiXi and unleashed.

Her blood and divine essence surged wildly into the tank; the crimson patterns upon it seemed to come alive, continuously weaving and expanding like the delicate lines on a lotus flower.

Every burst of fireworks filled XiXi’s heart with overwhelming excitement!

And this time, the thrill was unprecedented—accompanied by a fierce new emotion.

Anger!

She wished nothing more than to obliterate that wretched Martial Saint of the Tian Dan Divine Sect with this fiery display!

The sights and sounds from within the Dengxian Pavilion had completely shattered the worldview of a seven-year-old; human cruelty could be so horrifying!

They treated children as mere medicinal ingredients, continuously extracting blood to power the Temple Spirit, then using that might to concoct the Dengxian Pill!

Is that truly something a human can do?

XiXi had heard tales of Feilei City, back when she was obliviously exiled from it without witnessing the entire city sacrificed.

But later, many told her how lucky she was to escape from a city targeted by the Corpse God Sect’s subordinate, the Lingying Sect.

The Lingying Sect specialized in hunting children.

In Jin Guang Mansion, countless children of the Disciples were doomed because of it.

XiXi knew that back then, her Father had protected her and the family, sparing them from disaster.

Now, having witnessed such evil firsthand and feeling utterly powerless after a failed rescue, XiXi finally understood how tremendously her Father had struggled to keep the family safe!

Recalling little Xiao Lian’s hopeless face, a deep heaviness filled her heart.

She was extremely distraught!

If she was in anguish—

then let the bombardment begin!

Fire God Gatling Kuan Yin Lotus Battle Tank!

Hoisted by the Infernal Lotus Fire & Gold Wheel mid-air, it resembled a blooming lotus lifting a formidable Kuan Yin!

XiXi tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

A hush fell over heaven and earth.

When she opened her eyes again—

let the brilliant fireworks wash away the world’s sin and filth!

As long as the fireworks are vast enough, every trace of evil and corruption will be annihilated!

Boom!!!

Like a boulder plunging into a still lake, triggering a terrifying upheaval!

An explosion of dazzling golden light.

In an instant, it plummeted from the heights!

A radiant cascade of light erupted, as if billions of beams had burst forth like a scorching sun severing its bond with the heavens,

falling onto the earth below!

It seemed that at that moment, the luminous Kuan Yin—radiating with fierce brilliance—rushed at blinding speed toward Gu Chuan, whose figure was sealed by the divine talisman array granted by the Sect Master’s Wife!

Gu Chuan, a Martial Saint, now felt an icy chill in his very blood!

He had never ventured to the Divine Capital, nor witnessed XiXi’s aerial assault on Zhang Yunlong, the First Young Dragon of the Purple Mansion Divine Sect.

But in that moment, Gu Chuan began to understand why XiXi had risen to lead the Young Dragons!

The relentless thrust of the Kuan Yin Lotus Battle Tank made the blazing projectile trail across the sky like a comet, slamming into the ground with brutal force!

A twisted Kuan Yin, an exploding body, a shockwave that thundered like sudden lightning from a clear sky!

Endless, dazzling heat burst forth, unleashing an apocalyptic wave!

A magnificent mushroom cloud erupted from the earth, with roaring tempests surging all around!

Just then, Gu Chuan snapped to attention, his jet-black hair whipping wildly as an overwhelming Martial Saint aura erupted; the Martial Saint Pill in his dantian pounded furiously!

“Ah—!!!”

Gu Chuan roared in anger and despair!

Terrifying flames engulfed him; the snow on the ground melted within a heartbeat!

The air around him was sucked away, replaced by a destructive force that burned, devoured, and obliterated!

“I am a Martial Saint! You dare to challenge such power?!”

Gu Chuan lifted his head, his eyes blazing as he spread his arms wide.

He never expected

that a mere seven-year-old girl—barely beyond divine vision cultivation—would not only refuse to flee from a Martial Saint’s pursuit but actually dare to retaliate. As if—she intended to kill him?

Seven years old…

to kill a Martial Saint?!

Dream on!

Furious beyond measure, Gu Chuan’s clothes instantly turned to ash as his eyes flared with burning intensity; he stood at the epicenter of the explosion, his flesh hammered by a shockwave, seared by ferocious divine energy and raging heat, as if incinerated in a blazing furnace!

Boom!!!

Gu Chuan surged forward in a frenzied dash, but the divine talisman array bound him, slowing every move.

This was the formidable work of a semi-sage divine talisman—a talisman of extraordinary nature.

Yet that seven-year-old XiXi could activate it; such power in divine perception and a solid grasp of talisman crafting was undeniable!

He yearned to break free!

For under the explosive force of the Kuan Yin Lotus Bomb, the binding effect of the divine talisman array was already weakening!

This was his chance to escape!

But then…

his eyes suddenly narrowed.

Boom!!!

Flames from the mushroom cloud spread outward as the four Kuan Yin divine eagles—which clung to the divine talismans—ravenously absorbed the fire, and then—

a sound like a celestial war drum atop snowy peaks boomed!

Shortly after, four serene yet gentle Kuan Yin statues seated on lotus thrones began to distort—twisting, contorting, and swelling!

It was as if, in an instant, they transformed into vengeful specters crawling out of hell!

Boom, boom, boom, boom—!

Four successive, thunderous explosions erupted, as if an ocean of thunderbolts had detonated simultaneously!

The dense forest floor collapsed in vast sheets, like a stirring earth-dragon, its shockwave spreading in all directions!

Four brilliant mushroom clouds rose high, guarding the four corners!

A dominating circular ripple of energy manifested in five distinct streams, unleashing an expanding orb of light that pulverized everything in its path. Though the destruction seemed slow, the explosive edge propelled wreckage and rubble!

Five explosive mushroom fireworks dotted the land like mystical formations!

XiXi the Great’s Mushroom Array had now made its debut!

Wheezing heavily, XiXi panted, her face pale to the extreme.

Standing atop the Infernal Lotus Fire & Gold Wheel, she propelled herself higher and higher,

climbing until she reached an altitude of two-thousand zhang—a safe distance from the scorching shockwave.

Though her face remained pale, inside her heart roared with untamed passion!

This was XiXi the Great’s Mushroom Array!

The heavens and earth trembled; storms and tempests shattered!

Rising steadily, XiXi watched in awe as five mushroom clouds burst forth on the earth, their shockwaves rippling like dreamy waves, sending up torrents of mud and snow.

Boiling heat surged upward, vaporizing the clouds cleanly!

To XiXi, the five mushroom clouds looked exquisitely beautiful.

Stowing away the Kuan Yin Lotus Battle Tank, and with one foot planted on the Infernal Lotus Fire & Gold Wheel, XiXi placed her hands on her hips proudly.

Such a masterpiece deserved a mug of milk!

“Are you finished?!

Under XiXi the Great’s Mushroom Array—are you done for?!”

“All filth and every sin will be reduced to mere ashes under XiXi the Great’s Mushroom Array! Kneel, you evildoer!”

XiXi puffed out her little belly and exhaled deeply.

At a distance of a thousand zhang from the mushroom array’s epicenter,

waves of force, like tidal surges, swept over; the fallen snow on the ground partly melted, partly whisked up by fierce winds, churning like surging tides!

Row upon row of trees bent under the assault!

Jin Taisui, Yun’e, and Zhou Peng dashed a thousand zhang away—only to hear an earth-shattering explosion behind them.

When they turned around, the three stood dumbfounded in the midst of wind and snow, barely able to maintain their footing as the icy gusts pummelled them.

The five billowing, golden mushroom clouds, rising between heaven and earth, resembled gigantic golden fungi—breathtaking in beauty yet harboring a destructive wrath capable of unmaking worlds.

“Is—this…XiXi’s doing?”

Zhou Peng gaped, even forgetting the steamed buns he had been stuffing into his mouth as he ran.

Yun’e clutched a rabbit, her cloak billowing; her eyes reflected a mix of disbelief and complexity.

That once-innocent little girl had, without warning,—

already amassed power capable of destroying worlds.

How high could her ceiling be?

And what terrible heights would she reach in the future?

Yun’e exhaled softly, then spun around, urging, “Stop gawking! Remember XiXi’s orders—run as far as you can!”

Clutching a white Feilei Chess Piece tightly, Yun’e said in a low tone.

Her long legs pounded on the snow as she dashed through the blizzard, nimble as a rabbit, disappearing in a flash.

Without a word, Jin Taisui turned and followed immediately, while Zhou Peng, still in shock, mumbled and quickly trailed behind.

In Guangling Daocheng,

from atop the city tower came one sound after another—ripping through the skies. A terrifying aura spread as some clad in armor clanged, and others exuded vibrant energy.

All eyes turned to the five resplendent, golden mushroom clouds blossoming in the distance!

“What—what’s happening?”

“It seems Gu Chuan the Semi-Saint is following his past trail!”

“Could it be that Gu Chuan has clashed with someone? Should we go to his aid?”

As soon as the words ended,

from the city tower, strong warriors of the Temple Guardian Division and the Divine Guard Army bolted off at breakneck speed.

Elsewhere,

inside the mountain gate of the Tian Dan Divine Sect,

tendrils of smoke curled into the heavens as a colossal furnace blasted upward. The furnace’s belly had a lid that swung open like that of a washing machine drum.

From inside, a plump, ruddy face emerged, its flesh almost spilling out; greasy drippings ran along the furnace’s edge, and its eyes shone with an intensely brilliant light.

“Is that where the People‐Medicine fled?”

“Gu Chuan must be chasing after them—it seems they’ve been ambushed.”

“Indeed, the aroma of that People‐Medicine is irresistible—I can hardly control myself now!”

“Unfortunately, we must first finish refining a furnace full of People Pills—800 virgins’ worth!”

A shadow inside the furnace chuckled softly.

Then, the lid closed, and the entire furnace, scorched by flames, changed from bronze to a searing, red-gold hue.

Soon after, like a meteor streaking across the sky, it dragged a long tail of light and sped away, as if space itself had shattered in an instant.

Qianyuan Divine Sect.

Disciples’ City, Elders’ Court.

The Cosmic Chessboard spiraled above the courtyard, cutting off the energy within the building.

Li Che gripped a Three Pure Ones–grade Divine Crystal, constantly absorbing its divine power. Ever since he had absorbed that Three Pure Ones–grade Celestial Weapon’s Gathering Celestial Yellow Flag, even the nearly mature Unsullied Heart Dao Fruit hadn’t progressed further.

Although the maturation was marginal, given that the Unsullied Heart Dao Fruit was already highly mature, even absorbing the divine power of a Three Pure Ones Crystal barely made a difference.

[Dao Fruit: Unsullied Heart (Lv6 87%)]

Within the dark confines of a Mud Pellet, the Fa Tian Xiang Di Luminous True Primate’s Divine Transformation roared and raged, ravenously devouring the divine essence of the Unsullied Heart,

transforming itself into a second-stage Divine Transformation of the Fa Tian Xiang Di Luminous True Primate that greedily absorbed the divine power.

Divine Transformation was a process of accumulation.

“Summoning the Divine does indeed rapidly enhance divine cultivation—”

“My Divine Transformations can grow stronger by devouring the Temple Spirit summoned through the art of divine summoning—but this method is rather frantic and unsustainable.”

Li Che’s eyes glinted subtly.

The Bizarre Temple existed among mortals, bestowing overflowing divine energy to every corner of the world,

ushering humanity into an era of divine cultivation, quickening the pace of their ascensions.

In the old days, martial arts developed slowly—even Martial Saints were the best of the best.

But now, bolstered by divine energy, the Divine Martial Way was born, and divine martial deities were no longer unheard of.

Summoning the Divine could even attract a Temple Spirit; however, summoning too many could not only upset human cultivation of divine energy,

but also provoke the wrath and rebellion of the horrors lurking within the Bizarre Temple.

Like when Dog Master was invited to help annihilate the Golden King Tower’s Temple Spirit—

the ensuing turquoise palm struck fear into even Dog Master, who quickly retracted his energy for fear of exposure.

So while summoning the Divine was beneficial for rapid Divine Transformation cultivation, Li Che preferred a more measured approach.

While refining the divine crystal, he also split his focus to monitor XiXi’s situation.

When he saw that XiXi had, using a divine talisman array in cooperation with Kuan Yin Lotus Bombs, arranged a Mushroom Formation as if in one seamless connection,

even Li Che couldn’t help but be astonished.

“XiXi the Great’s Mushroom Array? There’s real substance there—

using divine talismans as a trigger combined with Kuan Yin Lotus Bomb deployment, the explosive force of five Kuan Yin Lotus Bombs far exceeded that of detonating five lotus bombs simultaneously!”

“This power—roughly equivalent to the combined might of seven lotus bombs exploding at once! She has practically pushed five bombs to their absolute limit!”

Even Li Che, her father, was amazed by his daughter’s ingenious stratagem.

A Divine Talisman Mechanism Array?

This little girl—studying under Elder Fang Han Shu—has really learned something, hasn’t she?

“Surely she’s not really going to kill a Martial Saint at seven, is she?”

Li Che’s expression instantly lit up.

Based on his extensive experience battling Martial Saints, he reckoned that the explosive force of the Great Emperor’s Mushroom Array was enough to leave a Martial Saint critically injured or, with luck, directly kill him.

A single wisp of his divided focus deepened.

This was a historic moment for his daughter.

A moment a father had to witness with his own eyes.

Howling winds roared on relentlessly.

XiXi, stepping on the Infernal Lotus Fire & Gold Wheel, gasped for air as she watched the five mushroom clouds burst below and gradually crumble into dust.

Behind her, the Eight-Armed Three-Faced Infernal Lotus Divine Visage emerged; after a year of relentless cultivation, its growth had been remarkably swift.

With abundant divine crystals and the nourishing essence of Paotao, XiXi had now entered the latter stage of her Divine Visage and was preparing to condense her primordial spirit,

ready to strike at the level of Divine Essence.

Once her primordial spirit formed, XiXi would be certain to break through to the Divine Essence realm.

She set herself a modest goal—to breach the Divine Essence realm before turning eight.

Six at Divine Visage, eight at Divine Essence. It made perfect sense—Boom!

A surge of wild wind suddenly reversed its course, swirling chaotically as if the world itself were in uproar.

Slowly, the dust and debris intermingled, and the flames dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

XiXi’s five fingers spread wide; in the next moment, the Purple-Flame Serpent Spear transformed before her eyes, clutched in her tight grasp.

Her eyes narrowed, her blood surged as if in a raging torrent; with her other hand, she seized the God-Slaying Gold Brick.

Boom—!!!

Suddenly, an outrage-filled roar shattered the air.

Mighty, relentless energy, like a sweeping blade, surged forth, cleaving the tide in half!

“Huh, huh, huh…”

Thick, heavy breaths rumbled like distant thunder.

Amid countless flashes of fire, the earth became a ruined wasteland; five giant, deep craters formed in the collapse at the center.

The stench of charred flesh was overpowering and acrid.

A completely blackened figure, its flesh blurred by burning, resembled cracked porcelain.

Gu Chuan’s body wavered, his mouth spewing blood.

A proud Martial Saint reduced to this state by a seven-year-old—no matter if she used mechanisms, it was simply unbearable!

Gu Chuan’s heart pounded in the aftermath—

Five mushroom clouds erupted, their destructive force and contained divine energy nearly turning him to ash.

Had he not detonated the People Pill and used his Martial Saint aura to offset the onslaught of divine power,

coupled with his unhesitating ingestion of the Tian Dan Divine Sect’s forbidden medicine,

his flesh and might would have disintegrated completely—

He would have been dead, a laughingstock for all: a Martial Saint slain by a seven-year-old!

“You wretched brat!!!”

“You deserve death!”

Gu Chuan howled as his hair had long since been burned away, and after swallowing the forbidden medicine, his body twisted grotesquely, his flesh bulging in deformations, no trace of his human form remaining!

He resembled a hideous monster!

Gu Chuan felt the forbidden medicine’s power rapidly fading; he had to subdue XiXi swiftly, or else—

once the effect ended, he would fall into an irredeemable weakness.

Then—

he would die!

Falling to his knees, the smoke and explosive mushroom cloud scattered in a burst, the surrounding air shattered by surging energy!

Gu Chuan was violently propelled upward, enveloped in a swirling, ferocious, blood-soaked aura.

Two extra arms seemed to sprout from his back, making four in total, flailing wildly, muscles bulging monstrously.

The air exploded around him!

Soaring a thousand zhang above, Gu Chuan nearly broke the sound barrier as he was flung upward in a desperate bid.

His crimson, contorting blood roiled like boiling magma, as if stimulated by an unfathomable force; each vein throbbed with life.

This was the curse of the forbidden medicine from the Tian Dan Divine Sect: as his blood became quasi-sentient, it began to erode his flesh, vying for dominance over his body.

In this struggle between his blood’s will and his own, his spirit slowly waned.

Yet the power he gained was undeniable!

Every Martial Saint of the Tian Dan Divine Sect was issued such forbidden medicine by the sect.

Unless their opponent was so formidable that they couldn’t ingest it in time, once taken, it meant a fight to the death.

Gu Changqing had died so suddenly in the past, ambushed and unable even to take his forbidden medicine—

XiXi’s expression shifted subtly as she watched Gu Chuan appear before her.

Sweat appeared in fine droplets on her forehead,

the intense, seething, frenzied energy emanating from him making her feel immense pressure.

Martial Saint…so hard to kill!

Even after XiXi the Great’s Mushroom Array bombarded him, he still wouldn’t die!

If it had been Zhang Yuanlong from the Young Dragon Championship back then—even if he had fully surrendered himself to the Temple Spirit, he would have been finished!

Gu Chuan’s twisted, deranged will appeared on his face.

He roared, and his deformed three-meter-tall monstrous body, cloaked in inky darkness with veins of crimson bulging,

extended its claw-like fingers toward XiXi’s neck.

Intent on capturing her!

Yet, with a spin of the Infernal Lotus Fire & Gold Wheel under her feet, XiXi dashed away, sparks scattering as she retreated into the distance.

The air collapsed as torrents of force burst in,

and Gu Chuan’s boiling blood ignited like a wild, frenzied flame.

“Die!”

Gu Chuan lunged once more toward XiXi.

But XiXi brandished the Xiangong Fire God Gatling, activating it instantly.

Six-Metal Tube Mechanisms began spinning at breathtaking speed, unleashing terrifying golden bolts that pounded into Gu Chuan’s body.

XiXi’s wide, spirited eyes flickered with determination—

Should she retreat?

As long as she held the Feilei Chess Piece, it could whisk her away.

But—

retreat? No!

“Little girl—you really want to kill me? I—”

Gu Chuan’s hoarse, maddened voice thundered,

as if sensing XiXi’s intent to trigger her mysterious teleportation technique to flee.

Gu Chuan’s maddening, swirling blood surged outward, desperate to block XiXi.

Not only did he sense the rapid approach of a formidable furnace from the Tian Dan Divine Sect’s mountain gate,

but also—

he detected the aura of the Ancestral Patriarch!

The Ancestral Patriarch had arrived!

As long as he detained this little girl, it would be as if he were offering her up to the Ancestral Patriarch.

Having taken the forbidden medicine, Gu Chuan was grievously wounded—so much so that if he couldn’t deliver this exquisite People Medicine to the Ancestral Patriarch, his losses would be incalculable.

Thus, he was determined to keep her within his grasp!

“Weren’t you supposed to be a hero? Weren’t you meant to save the girls in the Dengxian Pavilion? Those girls—simply People Medicine! I personally oversee the extraction of their vital essence to feed the Temple Spirit,

and after drawing out every drop of blood, their bodies are reduced to mush to nurture my demonic beasts!”

“They suffer terribly—starved of blood, skeletal and feeble, their only movement those quivering eyes I crush into oblivion. It’s simply delightful!”

Gu Chuan’s raspy voice dripped with a sickening madness.

At his words, XiXi’s eyes widened.

She remembered little Xiao Lian, the girl she almost saved in the Dengxian Pavilion, and the pleading faces of those imprisoned girls begging for rescue.—

Those tearful, desperate faces imprinted themselves on her young heart!

But…XiXi knew she couldn’t save them all!

Her eyes welled up with tears!

“XiXi— I can’t save them!”

“I’ll kill him!”

Gritting her teeth, XiXi slowly released her grip on the meat-chubby hand holding the Feilei Chess Piece.

‘He’s so despicable—I must kill him!’

In the next instant,

a black lotus emblem began to emerge on her forehead’s Mud Pellet Palace,

and one of her eyes instantly deepened to an inky black.

“Sister—XiXi wants to kill him with her own hands!”

XiXi’s cherubic cheeks trembled uncontrollably,

and her small belly quivered imperceptibly.

Boom!!!

!

A black flame lotus suddenly bloomed behind XiXi.

Scorching darkness burned silently!

With a burst, the Purple-Flame Serpent Spear transformed; its purple flame turned to black in an instant, the entire spear darkening.

Even the flames atop the Infernal Lotus Fire & Gold Wheel turned jet black.

In that moment, all her fury became a serene void.

Could this be the mysterious, formidable power of her elder sister?

Sister—so righteous!

Without a word, she lent XiXi her strength!

XiXi felt emboldened!

At that moment—

the little Ha XiXi briefly retreated,

and then XiXi the Great made her imposing entrance!

Wielding the now-black Purple-Flame Serpent Spear, she swept through the sky, slicing a lingering half-moon arc with cold indifference as she glared at the twisted, mutated form of Gu Chuan,

who resembled nothing more than a lump of dead meat.

Gu Chuan’s contorted, forbidden-medicine–corrupted face slowly fixed into a bitter smile.

“Where’s the Ancestral Patriarch?!”

“Ancestral Patriarch, come forth!”

The furnace, as if containing an inner blaze, glowed a fierce red.

Like a meteor, the furnace raced through the sky,

then halted abruptly, suspended in mid-air.

Atop the furnace, its door swung open,

revealing a greasy, portly face wedged inside.

Two eyes rolled about erratically.

The expression of pure greed slowly subsided, replaced by a look of baffled uncertainty as it fixed on what lay ahead.

Finally, its gaze locked on a spot:

Somewhere—

at an indiscernible moment, a dense black fog churned, its swirling, crisscrossing lines resembling a chessboard that materialized silently.

And upon that chessboard, amidst the rolling mists, emerged a city as dark as ink.

Over that city’s gate tower,

a figure in a black robe adorned with golden lotus tattoos sat upright, back turned defiantly.

“Kids’ squabbles—are we old folks really meant to meddle?”

“You want to die?”