In her spiritual sea, Li Yang called out to Si Kui:
“Teacher, teacher! That lotus can’t hear us talking, right?”
Si Kui replied, “It can’t.”
Li Yang let out a sigh of relief.
“Then do we need to water it? It looks like this thing can’t die of thirst.”
Si Kui:
How could she not know what this little pear blossom (Li Yang) was thinking?
She was probably thinking that if she managed to kill off the lotus heart, she could use it to advance her cultivation.
Si Kui explained, “Since this lotus heart has developed consciousness, it is now a living being. If that consciousness disappears, then it will be nothing—completely gone.”
“Nothing at all?”
Li Yang was confused.
Si Kui elaborated, “You can’t understand Star Realm creatures with concepts from Huaxia (China). When we die, our bodies remain. But most Star Realm beings, when they die, turn into countless starlights and vanish forever.”
Li Yang finally understood:
“So that’s how it is…”
Simply put, these divine beings don’t experience life and death—only existence and disappearance.
And the consciousness is part of the lotus heart itself.
Once the consciousness is gone, the lotus heart also ceases to exist.
The two cannot exist independently.
Si Kui continued, “The lotus heart was originally sealed by the Feng Lie Clan. I brought it back with the crystal coffin, thinking it was just a lifeless object.
I’ve been trying to fuse with it all these years… I didn’t expect it to actually have consciousness…”
She paused, then added, “It’s lucky you barged into the courtyard.
Otherwise, I would’ve received a heavy heavenly punishment. Even if I survived, my cultivation would’ve dropped drastically.”
Li Yang felt a chill and couldn’t help but advise her, “Teacher, don’t be rash. Things are looking up now. Once the disciples of the noble families join the Agricultural Department, the one pulling strings behind the scenes will have to back down.
We’ll take it step by step. Eventually, we’ll drag him out into the light. No need to go head-to-head with that Ninth-Grade Supreme!”
But Si Kui replied, “I’m still your teacher. How can I just…”
“Teacher!”
Li Yang interrupted, urgently pulling out of the spiritual sea and speaking aloud, “If it weren’t for you, I’d still be an unwanted orphan!”
Si Kui froze.
Li Yang looked straight into her eyes and said, “And besides, I’m just an ordinary kid from a small town. Why would I be the personal disciple of a Half-Step Supreme?
Since I have your recognition and trust, I should bear the responsibilities that come with it!”
“…Or are you saying…” Li Yang looked at her tearfully, “…you don’t actually recognize me?”
Si Kui: “!”
She turned her face away and muttered, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Li Yang had only been pretending to cry.
Now she leaned in, hugging her teacher’s arm affectionately.
“Alright, alright, Teacher, I know you care about me. But spoiling your disciple is like harming them. If you don’t let me do anything, how will I grow? I can’t just hide behind your protection and live like a coward forever!”
Si Kui couldn’t out-argue her.
Though she still kept a straight face, the corners of her lips were already curling upward.
“You two are really sweet.”
The lotus heart formed some wobbly white mist words in mid-air.
They had clearly forgotten the lotus heart was still around.
They had been communicating through their spiritual sea, but Li Yang got so worked up she ended up speaking out loud.
Their heartfelt teacher-student exchange even moved the lotus heart.
It formed a little teardrop out of mist, looking extremely touched.
If Li Yang hadn’t already seen how “innocent” the lotus heart was, she might have thought it was being manipulative.
But now…
She believed it was genuine.
The lotus heart then formed another line of words:
“Fellow Daoist, if you can send me home, I can find a ‘lotus seed’ for your teacher.”
Li Yang: “?”
She looked at Si Kui, who was frowning slightly.
Li Yang quickly put on a smile and turned to the pure-white lotus heart.
“Aren’t you a lotus seed?”
“I’m a lotus heart.”
“Uh…” Li Yang racked her brain, trying to remember how a lotus was structured.
“Ah, so you’re not even a seed!”
By logic, the lotus heart was the bitter center inside the lotus seed.
Lotus Heart:
Si Kui said, “It’s a Star Realm creature. You can’t define it by Earthly species. What we see as a ‘lotus heart’ is just our interpretation. Most Star Realm creatures can transform into human form.”
Li Yang thought of the white-robed man she had seen in her dreams.
“Can you take human form?”
“I cannot.”
“Why not?”
“Fellow Daoist, I’m so thirsty…”
Li Yang:
She cleared her throat.
“Wait a bit.”
The small courtyard on the mountainside had been flattened.
Li Yang had no choice but to haul two buckets of water from the foot of the mountain.
She grabbed a large bucket and dumped it directly into the crystal coffin.
She had no idea how the lotus heart drank water, but since the coffin could hold water, it made sense to just fill it up.
The moment the pure water poured in, the system’s voice rang out:
【Lifespan +20 years】
【Lifespan +20 years】
【Lifespan +20 years】
It chimed dozens of times, leaving Li Yang completely dumbfounded.
What the heck!
How did she suddenly gain 300 years of lifespan!?
By now the crystal coffin was filled to the brim, the lotus heart submerged entirely, with no visible change.
Li Yang swallowed hard and asked the system, “Did I just drown the lotus heart?”
If she hadn’t harvested it somehow, why else would her lifespan suddenly increase like that?
Could it be that the lotus heart can’t die of thirst… but can drown?
Lotus heart, you can’t die!
You haven’t given my teacher that lotus seed yet!
Suddenly, a burst of white mist exploded.
The water in the crystal coffin completely vanished, and the large, snowy-white lotus heart disappeared too—
In its place was a palm-sized little person.
He sat amid layers of snow-white garments blooming like lotus petals, his entire being exquisitely beautiful like a jade carving.
His long, snowy hair spread out behind him like threads of silver sewn into the cloth, glimmering brilliantly.
Li Yang recognized him—he was indeed the man from her dreams, only now shrunken by dozens of times.
Si Kui, however, was unsurprised.
She explained, “He’s too weak to fully transform.”
The senior was right.
The miniature person in the crystal coffin nodded repeatedly and said, “Even in this form, I can’t hold on for too long.”
Because he had shrunk so much, his once clear and bright voice now sounded soft and sweet.
Li Yang leaned in curiously and asked, “So I wasn’t dreaming before?”
The mini Lotus Heart nodded obediently and said, “It was me calling out for your help.”
Si Kui looked at Li Yang and asked, “What’s going on?”
Li Yang explained the dreams she’d had these past few days.
After hearing her out, Si Kui nodded.
“With his rank, entering dreams isn’t difficult.”
Li Yang immediately became alert.
“Teacher, is there a method to prevent someone from entering my dreams?”
Though Lotus Heart hadn’t harmed her, just knowing a high-ranked Star Holder could casually peer into her dreams made her feel uneasy.
Si Kui explained, “There’s no need to worry too much. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, no one would easily enter someone’s dreams. The dream world is treacherous, and the dreamer is the absolute master. Even a grandmaster could be killed by someone of a lower rank in a dream.”
Li Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked at little Lotus Heart again and smiled.
“Shall we continue our talk about lotus seeds and lotus hearts?”
The palm-sized mini person nodded again and began patiently explaining, “Our clan was born from the Lotus Realm. In your human terms, our domain is a lotus flower the size of a planet. Both lotus seeds and lotus hearts are born from it—”
Before he could finish, Si Kui pulled Li Yang back, shielding her spiritual sea and ears.
Li Yang: “???”
Si Kui said, “This concerns the birth of an innate divine object. It’s far beyond your spiritual capacity and could hinder your cultivation.”
Li Yang was always obedient in such situations.
She watched the mini person speak, saw her teacher asking him a few questions, and after about five or six minutes, she could hear again.
Li Yang looked at Si Kui eagerly.
Si Kui explained simply, “His home has many lotus seeds. The difference is, a lotus heart has sentience, and a lotus seed is just a dead object.”
Li Yang understood.
She gave an example: “So it’s like a hen laying eggs. The lotus seed can’t hatch a chick, but the lotus heart can?”
Si Kui:
“A good analogy—just don’t use analogies next time.”
The mini person in the crystal coffin tilted his head and said seriously, “Fellow Daoist, I can’t hatch chicks.”
Li Yang:
“It’s just an analogy, no need to be so literal!”
Now that she understood the situation, Li Yang became more curious.
“Little Lotus Heart, words are wind. What if my teacher sends you home, and you don’t give her any lotus seeds?”
To her surprise, Lotus Heart replied, “Your teacher can’t go to the Lotus Realm.”
Li Yang: “???”
Si Kui sighed and explained, “I tried to swallow him whole before—that counts as a grudge.
If I go to the Lotus Realm, I’ll be eaten by his ‘mother,’ who’s as big as a planet.”
Li Yang paused.
“Little Lotus Heart, can you explain it to your ‘mother’?”
Si Kui added, “The ‘mother’ is just a metaphor. It’s like… can you explain things to the planet under your feet?”
Li Yang: “Oh. So the ‘mother’ means the planet itself. Yeah, no way to explain that.”
Since Si Kui couldn’t go to the Lotus Realm, Li Yang had to be the one.
This kind of matter couldn’t be entrusted to outsiders.
Innate divine objects were too rare to be measured by money.
Lotus Heart’s home actually had many lotus seeds?
Li Yang couldn’t help feeling tempted.
Si Kui said, “We can’t rush this. Li Yang’s cultivation is too low. To travel to a realm of that scale, she needs to at least reach the Grandmaster level.”
Lotus Heart said, “It’s okay. I can wait for her.”
Li Yang replied, “Teacher, then you have to wait for me too.”
Si Kui said, “You don’t understand how rare innate divine objects are. Forget reaching sixth rank—even with bad luck, we could be stuck at eighth rank for thousands of years.”