CHAPTER 567: CHAPTER 567: BLACK SNOW LOTUS

Having said that, Tang Kun directly took his people and left.

In the end, he was the one who made the wedding dress for others; Xiao Zhan’s grasp of human nature and the value of interests made him feel inferior.

If only he hadn’t chosen to cooperate with Xiao Zhan from the start, if only Sirram could have been calm enough to deal with Xiao Zhan first before the final battle, if only...

But there are no ifs.

Xiao Zhan analyzed everyone and utilized them.

In this scheming, Tang Kun’s loss was not undeserved.

After Tang Kun left, the scene instantly became Huang Duohuan’s alone.

Seeing Xiao Zhan’s indifferent expression, Huang Duohuan chuckled awkwardly, wisely choosing to give up.

He was not yet fifty years old and still had time to break through. The life of a Spirit Master is not even at its halfway mark, plus he had two wives and would get a third, so he did not want to die so early.

Especially such a worthless death.

With Huang Duohuan giving up, no one else contested Xiao Zhan.

It was at this moment, atop the dark Peak of Holy Mountain, that suddenly, a beam of white light blossomed—the Holy Snow Lotus bloomed.

Xiao Zhan hurried to the top of the mountain.

There, he saw a snow-white Snow Lotus slowly opening its petals, its roots entrenched at the peak, swaying in the cold wind like a little sprite dancing at the summit, a dawn of light dispersing the darkness, providing guidance of brightness.

Watching this scene, Xiao Zhan couldn’t help but be entranced.

Pure and flawless, a fairy amidst the flowers.

These words best described the Holy Snow Lotus at this moment.

As he breathed in sync with the unfolding petals, a strange fragrance wafted into his nostrils, transforming the instant it entered into a peculiar energy that permeated Xiao Zhan’s body.

Xiao Zhan felt as if he was being nourished, invisible injuries being healed.

"What a powerful Life Force, merely a whiff is enough to feel its extraordinary nature."

Xiao Zhan’s eyes sparkled with admiration at the thought.

This pure Life Force, if consumed by Xiao Zhan himself, could significantly ameliorate the damage brought by Death Erosion.

However, Xiao Zhan had promised to give it to Jiang Xian’er.

Xiao Zhan plucked the Holy Snow Lotus, facing no mishaps, smoothly successful.

After picking the Holy Snow Lotus, Xiao Zhan was ready to return, but as he turned around, he saw a figure appear before him.

Xiao Zhan tensed up; this person had appeared behind him without him noticing.

Upon closer inspection, it was Taoist Xue Lian.

Seeing he didn’t appear to have ill intentions, Xiao Zhan asked, "Does Taoist Xue Lian seek something from me?"

"May I ask, what time is it now?"

"Just midnight."

Xiao Zhan answered, glancing at the time.

He wondered why he asked such a question—the old Taoist shouldn’t be unaware of the current time.

Hearing the response, Taoist Xue Lian’s gaze shifted back to where the Snow Lotus had grown, a crevice in the rocks where plants were supposedly unable to grow, yet there it was.

Such is the power of life.

"Why not wait and see?"

"Wait for what?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"Wait for an opportunity."

"What opportunity?"

"You will know if you continue to wait."

After saying this, Taoist Xue Lian sealed his lips and said no more, silently gazing at the darkness on the horizon.

Xiao Zhan didn’t know what he was up to, but it didn’t seem like he meant any harm, so he accompanied Taoist Xue Lian to see what he was waiting for.

Soon, as time passed, an hour went by.

The cold wind at the mountain peak was unbearably piercing, and Xiao Zhan, staying there, felt cold.

"Daoist, how much longer must we wait?"

"Continue waiting, and you’ll know."

"Daoist, aren’t you cold?"

Xiao Zhan saw some ice on the Taoist priest’s eyebrows and beard.

"Not cold."

"Oh."

Xiao Zhan pulled out a house from the Dimension Space.

Then he pushed the door open and went in.

Bang.

The door closed.

Taoist Xue Lian’s eyebrows twitched: ???

Aren’t you going to invite me in when you enter the house, lad?

But since he had just spoken out, with a thin-skinned face, the priest didn’t want to go back on his own words.

After Xiao Zhan entered the house, his body warmed up. He took out a pot of steaming red tea, paired it with some piping hot delicacies, and sat down to wait.

He occasionally looked out the window.

Taoist Xue Lian’s body was sturdy as a rock!

"The Taoist priest really lives up to his name; he’s truly not afraid of the cold at all."

He took a sip of the hot tea.

Huan!

"Darling, I’m feeling sleepy. Wake me up later."

After eating and drinking his fill, Xiao Zhan grew drowsy, leisurely placing his head on Ye Youlong’s exceptionally bouncy thigh, then, embracing her slender waist, he comfortably fell asleep.

Going back to the bedroom to sleep felt disrespectful to the Taoist, so he had to sleep on the living room sofa instead.

Ye Youlong glanced at the Taoist priest outside the window, shook her head, pulled the blanket beside her over Xiao Zhan, and then took out a little silver thing.

An ear pick.

Picking Xiao Zhan’s ears was one of her favorite pastimes.

...

Xiao Zhan woke up from his sleep, six hours had passed.

The sky was slightly cool, and the sun was just right at the horizon.

He looked at the Taoist priest; the priest lived up to his name, immortal in demeanor and impervious to the cold.

He walked out of the room.

"Taoist priest, how much longer do we have to wait? Aren’t you cold? How about having some morning tea?"

The Taoist priest stiffly turned his neck to look at Xiao Zhan, resentment filled his gaze.

Damn, you’ve been asleep all night. How can you sleep so soundly?

You really decided not to call for me, huh?

"No need, the thing we’ve been waiting for has appeared," the Taoist priest said with a hint of grievance in his voice, not even calling him a patron anymore.

If today he doesn’t call you patron, tomorrow he might be calling you a corpse!

"Appeared? What is it?"

Xiao Zhan followed the Taoist priest’s gaze and suddenly saw that at the place where the Holy Snow Lotus was last night, another Holy Snow Lotus had appeared.

But this Holy Snow Lotus was different from last night’s—one was pure white, and today’s one was flawless black!

Black and white, it was unbelievable.

"Taoist priest, what is this?"

Taoist Xue Lian shook his body slightly, flicking off the snow and wind, and said, "This is also a Holy Snow Lotus. While it shares the same name, its attribute is completely opposite. It only comes into being on the first morning after the Holy Snow Lotus has been picked and completes its entire growth process within one minute. Moreover, if it’s not picked within a minute, it will wither away."

One minute?

Hearing this, Xiao Zhan whooshed in front of the Black Holy Snow Lotus.

He was just about to pick it, but as his hand was about to touch it, he suddenly stopped.

He felt a dense aura of death from it, a suffocating essence that pressed against him, making him breathless, as if he was about to die at any second.

At the same time, the joints throughout his body started to stiffen and cool, as if affected by some kind of Death Erosion.

Xiao Zhan dared not move his hand any further.

This was no auspicious flower.