Chapter 268: Lotus Clones

Chapter 268: Lotus Clones

Huis eyes went blank, and he sunk into a dreamstate. In the dream, he returned to the lotus seed. Darkness spread in all directions. Nothing existed but dirt, cool and silent. A few bugs wiggled around, living quiet lives. He laid there in silence, waiting. For what, he didnt know, but he knew he had to wait.

The earth grew warmer. Water sank into him, refreshingly cool. Abruptly, the urge to grow spread through him. He surged upward, through the earth. Hui broke the earth and spread his leaves, basking in the sun at last.

Right, I remember this. It was all quite boring could we skip ahead?

The images sped up. Hui grew into a sapling. Wind and rain battered the sapling. A strong gust of wind nearly uprooted him, but he dug his roots deeper and clung on. More and more roots, more and more branches. He grew broad and tall. Other trees blocked out the sun and funneled his rain toward their roots, but he persevered. The taller he grew, the more light and rain he got, until eventually, he towered over the forest, a massive tree that took as much sunlight and rain as he wanted. The other trees protected him, and he protected them. They stood together, a forest against the storms that thrashed them year after year.

Well, that parts new but I wasnt a tree before.

He stood alone. High above the forest. Now no trees protected him, and he faced the storm alone. Winds and rain tore at his body, scarring it. He lost limbs. Lightning struck, and an entire half of his body fell away. Still he strove upward, spreading fresh limbs, growing new leaves, stretching his trunk ever upward.

Er whats the point of this? Could it be that this is an inheritance that only plants can comprehend? Plants, and Master, probably. Ahh, this small cultivator is far too lacking!

His branches spread. His roots reached deeper. Something called to him, something deep under the earth. He reached for it, even as his body decayed, as the damage from the lightning turned to rot and his proud branches fell one after another, even as only a last few leaves grew from his body. At last, his taproot, the deepest, strongest root, reached a depth no other tree had before. Deep beneath the forest, a warm river spread, not of water, but of something else. After all his years of growing and growing, at last, his root tapped directly into it.

Dragon veins! This world has dragon veins, those massive rivers of spiritual energy deep beneath the earths surface? I take it back, its useful knowledge after all! My apologies, Senior Mu. Youve done this small cultivator a great service.

I wonder if its common knowledge? Ill have to poke around. If not if not, this small cultivator has made a great discovery for the entire world of cultivation.

The scene continued. He grew even more massive. Using the power of the dragon vein, he regenerated all the pieces hed lost and grew to even greater heights, even more massive power. The other trees stood so far below him that they appeared as grass, clustering amongst the hills and valleys of his roots. He dropped seeds, and young trees appeared around him. They pushed through the ground, thrived, then died.

Zhubi cocked his head. His tongue flickered quizzically. He hesitated just a moment, then drew back, opening his mouth wide.

Wait, wait. Only use your original venom! Your original venom, understood? Hui requested.

Zhubi hesitated another beat. His fangs extended, and a silvery droplet appeared from the tips of each one.

Right, right. That one! Hui said, stretching his neck out to give Zhubi more room to bite.

Rearing up, Zhubi struck Huis neck. His whole body contorted as he pumped venom. Exhausted, he drew back and rested on Huis body, blinking slowly.

Hui gasped. Zhubis venom felt like ice, cooling his overheated body. He shivered and took a deep breath, lowering his defenses to let the venom circulate. His growth slowed, and his huge body began to deflate. Life qi continued to pump into the air around him, but with Zhubis venom in his veins, his qi couldnt rush to flow at the same speed. Hui took a deep breath and settled his mind, no longer in pain.

Now that Im not in danger isnt this an opportunity?

He held out his hands. Rather than absorb the life qi into his passages and to his dantian, he immediately used it to bloom new lotuses and create new lotus seeds. One after another, lotuses bloomed, died, and plopped out lotus seeds. One after another, Hui buried them in the ground at his feet to rest and absorb the life qi independently of him. As he buried more lotus seeds, the burden on him grew lesser, until it took an entire hour to grow a new lotus seed.

At that, Hui sat back with a sigh, exhausted. He scratched his head and yawned. Creating new life is tiring! Who would have thought

Hui shook his head emphatically. No, no. Creating new bodies. New bodies, not new life! I did nothing perverse! Nothing at all. I am a pure, good, clean, righteous cultivator. Far be it from me to rely on anything sketchy or untoward. All cultivators create clones. Its nothing unusual. Its just because Fang Hua called it making the lotus girl pregnant that I have such an odd thought process toward creating lotus seeds. Thats all.

He breathed out, looking at all his future clones. A few sprouts poked through the earth, already stretching delicate leaves toward the sun. A smile touched Huis lips.

Ah, in the future think of all the death faking I can do with these bodies!