The Loulan Blessed Land had sent quite a number of experts, a total of twenty to thirty. Although there were no Mandate Emperors like Zhuge Yun who could awe the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, there was one presence who was exceptionally formidable—even Empress Water Mirror of the Eternal Life Pavilion regarded him with three parts wariness.
This person was the Lord of Lingyin of Loulan Blessed Land, known as Lord Lingyin.
It was widely known that the title 'Lord' was an honorific bestowed by the Nine Heavens Immortal Court. Typically, only venerable seniors of high virtue and great contribution to the Nine Heavens Immortal Court were granted the esteemed title of 'Lord'.
The two words 'Lao Ye' (Lord) were also an honorific. Throughout history, only overlords of a region were respectfully addressed as 'Lao Ye'. And Lord Lingyin was the ruler of a celestial domain in the Great Desolate, a Domain Sovereign.
Lord Lingyin was an old Mystic Immortal. Exactly how old, no one knew. His cultivation and strength were unfathomably deep, especially since he possessed an extremely formidable Great Dao Primordial Treasure called the Nine Absolute Mountains and Seas Seal. It was said to seize the heavens' creation, its divine abilities ever-changing and its power boundless. In the Primordial Era, it had once severely wounded a Mandate Emperor. One could imagine how terrifying it must be.
Although Lord Lingyin possessed no Mandate and carried no powerful creation on his person, relying solely on the cultivation he had painstakingly built step by step through mental effort, coupled with that heaven-seizing Great Dao Primordial Treasure, even Eastern Peak Emperor Zhuge Yun dared not act recklessly in his presence.
If this were the Myriad Heavens and Worlds of the Great Desolate, facing the current situation, Immortal Lixin wouldn't be so terribly frightened.
After all, with Empress Water Mirror here, even if the people from Violet Mist Immortal Realm and Loulan Blessed Land wanted to seize the treasure by force, they would have to weigh the consequences. Moreover, in the Myriad Heavens and Worlds of the Great Desolate, a single message talisman from them could notify the Eternal Life Pavilion.
The problem was, this was not the Myriad Heavens and Worlds of the Great Desolate, but the mysterious and unknown Primordial Black Hole.
Here, calling to heaven brought no answer, crying to earth brought no relief. Forget about sending out a message talisman; even sending out thousands, tens of thousands would be useless.
Talk of righteousness?
What righteousness was there to speak of when it came to snatching treasures?
Since ancient times, it had always been about strength. Whoever could seize it, it was theirs.
Don't be fooled by the fact that both the Eternal Life Pavilion and Loulan were among the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands; their relationship wasn't particularly good. It couldn't be said to be bad, just that they weren't in the same camp.
The leading figure of Violet Mist Immortal Realm, Eastern Peak Emperor, served under the Great Sun Radiance Emperor. Loulan also followed the lead of the Great Sun Radiance Emperor. The leading figure of the Eternal Life Pavilion was Fusheng Dijun, and Fusheng Dijun did not serve under the Great Sun Radiance Emperor. Not only did he not, Fusheng Dijun had once offended the Great Sun Radiance Emperor, because the Great Sun Radiance Emperor had repeatedly tried to recruit him, only to be refused every time.
In Immortal Lixin's mind, if today they were only facing Eastern Peak Emperor and the others from Violet Mist Immortal Realm, their Eternal Life Pavilion, under Empress Water Mirror's leadership, might still be able to cope. But if they added the experts from Loulan Blessed Land like Lord Lingyin, then things wouldn't be so certain.
What gave Immortal Lixin even more of a headache was that now they weren't just facing Violet Mist Immortal Realm and Loulan Blessed Land. Besides them, there was another group eyeing them covetously.
To be precise, not a group of people.
There were demons and ghosts.
The demon was Blood Toad Monster King, under the command of Black Mountain Old Monster. The ghost was Green Tusk Ghost King, under the command of Green Lantern Ghost Emperor.
Both Blood Toad Monster King and Green Tusk Ghost King were famous and formidable figures in the Great Desolate, each more powerful than the last, each more bloodthirsty and violent than the last. In the demonic path, the ghostly path, even in the Nine Netherworlds, they were significant presences.
Moreover, the beings beside Blood Toad Monster King and Green Tusk Ghost King were all old demons and ancient ghosts of unfathomable depth.
It wasn't just Immortal Lixin who was deeply worried; even Empress Water Mirror, a Mandate Empress herself, had no confidence in her heart facing these experts.
She clearly understood that if these people made a move to seize the treasure, her group would definitely be unable to withstand it.
What's more, the radiance released by that seven-colored lotus now filled the sky, and at any moment it could attract others. Things would only get worse then. Forget about protecting the seven-colored lotus; whether they could even survive would be an unknown.
What to do?
Empress Water Mirror also didn't know what to do.
If possible, she truly wished Qingqing hadn't obtained this creation of the seven-colored lotus. That way, at least there wouldn't be life-threatening danger. Now, although she had obtained the seven-colored lotus, whether she could fuse with it and refine it was one thing; whether she could survive the covetous eyes of these tigers and wolves was another matter entirely.
The only thing Empress Water Mirror felt fortunate about now was that, thankfully, Bodhisattva Shuiyue was also here.
Her relationship with Bodhisattva Shuiyue was deep and complex—there was a Great Dao connection, a shared sect connection, a bloodline connection, even a familial connection.
Although their friendship was ordinary, and they rarely met, even on the few occasions they did meet, they never spoke heartfelt words. They were like the most familiar strangers. However, Empress Water Mirror knew that as long as she asked, Bodhisattva Shuiyue would definitely not stand idly by.
She glanced at Bodhisattva Shuiyue in the distance. Before she could even speak, Bodhisattva Shuiyue's voice already came through.
"With me here, rest assured."
Empress Water Mirror was deeply moved. Biting her lip, she nodded heavily and transmitted her response: "Thank you!"
Bodhisattva Shuiyue's promise to help gave Empress Water Mirror a bit more confidence.
Bodhisattva Shuiyue's cultivation and strength were no weaker than her own, and she also had the Five Monsters of Heishan by her side.
Others might not know, but Empress Water Mirror knew very clearly: the Five Monsters of Heishan were taught personally by the Great Dao Ancestor, Old Mother Heishan. Although their temperaments were a bit eccentric, their strength was absolutely terrifying. They had once thrown the Western Heaven Buddhist Realm into chaos. If the Five Monsters of Heishan joined forces, probably no one present would be a match.
"It's still too early to say thank you. Moreover, your situation is very dire. The longer you delay, the more dangerous it becomes. While not many people have arrived yet, I advise you to make plans early."
Bodhisattva Shuiyue's voice came again. Empress Water Mirror responded, "It happened so suddenly, I had no preparation at all."
"Does the little girl from your Eternal Life Pavilion have no consciousness at all right now?"
"None!"
Empress Water Mirror replied, "I've been trying continuously, but Qingqing hasn't responded at all. What state she's in now, I have no idea either."
They didn't know what that seven-colored lotus was either. Empress Water Mirror had sent her divine sense to probe it more than once, but unfortunately, it was useless. She couldn't detect its presence at all. It wasn't that she couldn't detect it completely, but it was very fuzzy, vague and indistinct. It felt like the moon's reflection in water—no matter how you tried to scoop it up, you couldn't grasp it.
She asked, "Can you detect this seven-colored lotus?"
Bodhisattva Shuiyue shook her head, then nodded. "Although I can detect it, it's very fuzzy."
"You too?"
Empress Water Mirror asked in surprise, "What exactly is this seven-colored lotus? Why is it like this?"
"I don't know either."