Within this Desolate Ancient Ruins, there was no great sun in the sky above, only turbulent vortexes that filled the entire firmament, slowly rotating like colossal wheels of time and space. The endless desert stretched out like a boundless sea, as gusts of strong wind swept across, whipping up a sky full of flying sand.
The dozen or so beams of light that had shot skyward earlier had now dwindled to only a few. Each beam of light concealed a Desolate Ancient Ruins below; if a beam of light vanished, it meant the ruins beneath it had disappeared.
Or perhaps it should be said that these abruptly appearing Desolate Ancient Ruins were not disappearing, but rather merging together.
Others might not know, but Floating Life Imperial Lord was clearer than anyone. Not only were these abruptly appearing Desolate Ancient Ruins merging together, even the many ruins that had emerged within the Primordial Black Hole were all fusing with one another.
It was just that, being inside the ruins, one could neither see nor sense it.
At this moment.
He stood suspended in mid-air, gazing fixedly at the Seven-Colored Lotus opposite.
The sacred and pure Seven-Colored Lotus was still blooming, though its radiance was no longer intense. Qingqing remained seated cross-legged upon the lotus, eyes closed, unaffected by the outside world.
Every time the Seven-Colored Lotus bloomed, it seemed to contain infinite transformations. With each transformation, Qingqing transformed along with it. Gradually, the Seven-Colored Lotus no longer looked like a Seven-Colored Lotus, and Qingqing no longer resembled Qingqing. The two seemed to have fused into one, indistinguishable from each other.
Floating Life Imperial Lord simply watched, doing nothing, saying nothing.
To the side.
Old Master Kaishan, Immortal Centrifugal, and the other members of the Everlasting Pavilion were gathered together, waiting and worrying.
The appearance of Floating Life Imperial Lord had helped them overcome their crisis, not only preserving the Seven-Colored Lotus and Qingqing but also frightening off all those who coveted the lotus.
This filled the people of the Everlasting Pavilion with immense relief and joy. Yet, amidst their relief and joy, they also worried about Qingqing's safety, unsure of her current condition.
None present knew exactly what kind of treasure the Seven-Colored Lotus was, but one thing they all could see: a lotus so sacred and pure was certainly extraordinary. In other words, the existence of the Seven-Colored Lotus likely surpassed imagination.
It was precisely because of this that they feared for Qingqing's safety.
They all knew that the more powerful a treasure was, the more difficult it was to fuse with and control. Once fusion failed, one might become a sacrifice to the treasure, with utter annihilation not being out of the question.
"Cough!
Cough!"
The sound of coughing reached them. Everyone looked over and only then noticed that Empress Water Mirror had regained consciousness.
It must be said that Floating Life Imperial Lord was truly formidable. Earlier, Empress Water Mirror had been severely injured by the Three-Eyed Demon Lord, and her own spiritual power had been exhausted. Later, Floating Life Imperial Lord had merely casually set up an array, and in not much time at all, although Empress Water Mirror's injuries had not yet healed, her complexion looked much better, at least not as weak and frail as before.
"Master," Floating Life Imperial Lord approached and said, "You should focus on recuperating."
Empress Water Mirror's injuries were not light; what she needed most now was to recuperate peacefully. Even with Floating Life Imperial Lord's intervention, she would require a very, very long time to recover.
Floating Life Imperial Lord's divine powers were vast indeed, but he was, after all, not an omnipotent god. No matter how great his abilities, he could not restore his master to her original state in a short time.
"Your master is worried...
Worried about Qingqing's safety."
Supported by Immortal Centrifugal, Empress Water Mirror slowly stood up. Gazing at Qingqing, who was indistinguishable from the Seven-Colored Lotus suspended in mid-air, she asked softly, "Disciple, Qingqing...
How is she now?"
"There is no serious issue."
Empress Water Mirror was about to say something else, but Floating Life Imperial Lord interrupted her, saying, "Master, if you trust me, please enter your disciple's Cloud Secret Realm for now to recuperate. Rest assured, with me here, Qingqing will be perfectly fine."
"This...
Very well!"
"Centrifugal, all elders, you should all enter as well. The Primordial Black Hole is about to undergo a drastic change."
Immortal Centrifugal, Old Master Kaishan, and the others nodded in agreement. They knew full well that with their cultivation levels, they would not only be unable to help within the Primordial Black Hole but might even become burdens. At this point, they could only follow Floating Life Imperial Lord's arrangements.
"Disciple, you...
You must be careful."
"Do not worry."
With that, Floating Life Imperial Lord waved his hand. A flash of radiance later, Empress Water Mirror, Immortal Centrifugal, Old Master Kaishan, and all other members of the Everlasting Pavilion vanished completely, as if they had never been there.
Afterward.
Floating Life Imperial Lord approached the side of the Seven-Colored Lotus. As he slightly raised his hand, his palm bloomed with intertwining black and white radiance. This intertwining radiance was like the sun and moon, like Yin and Yang rotating, like light and darkness intersecting, Yin containing Yang, Yang containing Yin, exceptionally wondrous and profoundly mysterious.
He gave a gentle wave. The intertwining black and white radiance slowly enveloped the Seven-Colored Lotus, then swiftly formed a profoundly mysterious and wondrous Taiji diagram.
He raised his hand and drew a circle in the void. Abruptly, the Taiji Primordial Chaos vanished, and the Seven-Colored Lotus, including Qingqing, disappeared without a trace.
"Marvelous!
Truly marvelous!"
A voice of admiration sounded from mid-air, and in response, a figure appeared.
It was a youth.
The youth looked about fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in a robe of jade-green. His flawlessly handsome face wore a faint smile as he gazed at Floating Life Imperial Lord, clapping his hands and saying, "Brother Floating Life, the loftiness of your methods and the greatness of your divine powers leave me utterly impressed!"
Floating Life Imperial Lord showed no surprise at the youth's appearance. He knew this youth—it was the Peacock Great Emperor, a mysterious, elusive, and exceedingly low-key existence, also one whose depths even his divine sense could not probe.
"Peacock Great Emperor, please do not flatter me."
Floating Life Imperial Lord stood suspended in mid-air, dressed in white robes, handsome and transcendent, appearing particularly refined. Opposite him, although the Peacock Great Emperor was a youth, he possessed a naturally noble bearing, like a dragon or phoenix among humans, as if he inherently possessed a very noble aura.
"Flatter?
Brother Floating Life is always so humble."
The Peacock Great Emperor shook his head slightly, smiling faintly.
He was not flattering Floating Life Imperial Lord but genuinely admired the technique Floating Life Imperial Lord had just displayed from the bottom of his heart.
That Seven-Colored Lotus was sacred and pure, yet it also contained infinite transformations. Most importantly, it was currently fusing with Qingqing.
Under such circumstances, once affected by external influences, it would not only taint the sacred and pure aura of the Seven-Colored Lotus but also disrupt its transformations. At that point, Qingqing would be annihilated, and even the sacred and pure Seven-Colored Lotus might be destroyed, with consequences too dreadful to contemplate.
This was precisely the fundamental reason why Empress Water Mirror had fought desperately to protect the Seven-Colored Lotus—because she dared not touch it, fearing she might affect it and harm Qingqing.
However.
The Peacock Great Emperor had seen clearly just now. When Floating Life Imperial Lord acted, using the Taiji diagram to envelop the Seven-Colored Lotus, he not only did not taint its sacred purity but also did not affect any of its transformations in the slightest, simply taking the lotus away.
Such a method could not be described as anything less than masterful, so masterful that even the Peacock Great Emperor sighed in admiration.