167 - Appearance of the Tri-Coloured Lotus

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Red eyes glowed in the distance as the metallic beast awoke from its slumber. Qin Yun felt a chill run down his spine and his body tense. His eyes were glued to the deadly creature, watching like a hawk as it slowly unfurled from its curled-up position.

The beast opened its mouth, imitating a yawn, displaying rows of serrated teeth. They were large and sharp, but more than that, they glowed white, almost sizzling the air around them. Its mouth seemed like an inferno, ready to reduce Qin Yun to ashes.

Qin Yun's eyes narrowed, and instinctively reached for his blade until he realized it wasn't by his side. The black blade could be found in the depths of his storage, where it usually slumbered but had now become inaccessible. Qin Yun would have to face the beast unarmed.

Both stared at each other. While Qin Yun's body became rigid, the beast was nonchalant, almost disinterested in this invader. Its gaze left his body briefly as it landed on the massive door to Qin Yun's left.

The beast’s eyes, if only for a moment, showed an uncanny longing, which couldn’t help but take Qin Yun aback. It felt much too human that he even doubted this to be part of its programming. This beast was a weapon, and Alterians weren’t known to create weapons driven by emotions, even more so for those that might actively hinder its performance.

Spite and derision, I can understand, but longing? What could possibly be behind those doors that require this creature's constant watch?

Qin Yun had an inkling, but he didn't dare to speculate without verifying this for himself.

He wavered slightly as he glanced toward the chamber's entrance, estimating his chances of fleeing, only to resign himself. He came to the grim conclusion that without his storage and with his current means, he had no hope of ever outrunning this wolf-like beast, for it was made for this very purpose. He could only fight to the death.

Without ever looking his way, the beast pounced in his direction. Its large claws dug into the metallic floor, leaving large indents. The edge of those indents glowed incandescent. Blackened smoke could also be seen smouldering over the surface, almost as if the ground had been burned to a crisp, the metal vaporized by intense heat, much hotter than the sun's surface but much more concentrated.

Augmented Laser Claws?! Just my luck to be faced with one of the newer models...

Qin Yun felt a knot form in his stomach as he leapt to the side, avoiding the beast's open maw snapping on him. Had he not reacted as fast as he did, he would have been severed in two with no hope of survival. The beast was merciless, even resorting to trickery, which couldn't help but darken Qin Yun's expression further.

This creature's programming was much more advanced than anything he had ever encountered. It felt almost sentient, but it couldn't be, for self-aware mechanical entities were prohibited under Alterian law. They had once made this mistake and paid dearly for it. They swore, never again, yet here it was. Qin Yun couldn't deny it.

“Who could be stupid enough to restore that function?" Qin Yun lamented through gritted teeth as he dodged the beast's swipe, pushing against the wall and rolling away.

As he rose to his feet, Qin Yun couldn't conceal the look of abject fear he displayed. Knowing that the one who put this guardian here could break one such taboo, there was nothing stopping them from breaking others.

Qin Yun didn’t have much time to think as he dodged blow after blow. Fortunately, he was intimately familiar with what this weapon was capable of, allowing him some leeway to experiment.

First, he tried to strike the beast with his fist, targeting its limbs to reduce its agility, but he was stopped by some sort of force field extending just millimetres above its body. For the most part, the force field was silent and invisible, only showing its existence when Qin Yun's fist came into contact

with it.

Even while enhanced with all the qi he could muster, the force of his blows was merely redirected into countless waves propagating over that field. Some reached the ground through the beast's feet, losing themselves in the sturdy expanse and leaving nothing, not even a mark.

The rest danced upon the field, like waves upon an ocean, losing energy as they collided through destructive interference until nothing remained of them but the creature within entirely unscathed.

Qin Yun wasn’t surprised, for he had expected this. He knew he had no hopes of breaching that force field with his current cultivation, but he had to try, for something was on his mind.

This force field wasn't native to this creature. It was but an augment used in defensive encounters, for its energy requirements were much too significant to be used in the fields. Its slender body, despite being over three meters tall and five meters long, simply didn't have the space for the reactor needed to power this defensive measure.

Qin Yun closely observed the shifts of those waves of kinetic energy upon the creature's body as he kept his distance. Fortunately, while their respective speeds were quite comparable, Qin Yun's battle experience gave him the edge to remain slightly ahead of it. Yet, it was slowly bridging the gap, quickly analyzing his attack pattern.

The wave pattern Qin Yun observed led him to only a single conclusion. The energy requirements were externally supplied, just as the barrier surrounding the manor was, and they seemed to come from the same source, located beyond the massive metal gate at the back of the chamber.

It’s not a small amount of energy either, Qin Yun frowned. A small Alterian cold fusion reactor would not be enough to power these for so long. If we also consider that most of that energy is transferred wirelessly, the efficiency of that power source is incredibly low. Its output must be enormous, comparable to a dragon vein... An artificial dragon vein... here? Could that be possible?

The thought alone almost drove Qin Yun to a frenzy. Nothing could adequately describe the scale of what a dragon vein could achieve. It was a node where many earth veins congregated, where the flow of many rivers joined into one.

For the cultivators, the mere notion of constructing one's sect upon such a power source was enough to deem that place a Holy Land. They were some of the most coveted locations in the world, giving rise to endless bloodshed as they constantly fought over them.

The only dragon vein Qin Yun was aware of within the Western Outer Region was the Frontier, and maybe the headquarters of the Immortal Beasts Alliance. Not even his wife's sect was that lucky despite being one of the four great ones. Jin City itself was merely located near the flow of one earth vein, not directly under it, and its barrier could already withstand much outside aggression, making for one prosperous city.

If dragon veins could be artificially created, it could launch the world into a frenzy. Bloodshed would rise aplenty as everyone rushed to acquire this technology for themselves. It would also attract the immortals at the core of the continent. Some would even dare to brave the corruption of this world if they could get their hands on it. Fortunately, this place had long been buried by the sands of time, wholly forgotten as this world fell. Even for Qin Yun, reaching here was a miracle... or was it?

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was meant to be here. Everything he knew and felt pointed to this conclusion. But first, he needed to deal with its guardian before exploring further.

Qin Yun tried to summon his earthen qi. As he couldn't strike down this beast with his fist alone, he sought to use the structure of this chamber itself.

It was made of a metal, not unlike the beast's own body. He knew that if nothing else, this sturdy metal could probably pierce through the force field or at least make an opening he could exploit. Unfortunately, the metal itself seemed to reject his command.

Is my mastery over my own earth spiritual root insufficient to use the ground here, or is something else impeding me?

Qin Yun gravitated toward the latter. Metal and earth were closely related, for metal was a byproduct of the world. Nothing should have stopped him from moulding it just as he had done the dust outside. However, it rejected his call. Worse still, his qi couldn't penetrate the material as if it spurned its touch.

Qin Yun was at a dead end, for none of his current means could effectively deal with this creature.

If only I had retrieved my blade, maybe then...

He shook his head, for there was no point thinking about things he didn't have. He briefly considered fleeing again, if only to return when prepared, but also discarded that option. He knew that turning his back on that creature would only be deadly. That window of opportunity had closed long ago.

Qin Yun's deep brown, two-leafed lotus was slowly rotating above his head, closely following his erratic movements as he dodged the mechanical beast. With no hope of dealing substantial damage through his earth qi, Qin Yun made a sudden change.

His lotus shifted to a dark grey as all traces of brown quickly faded, except in the central bulb's core. The leaves were utterly grey, while the veins running their whole length were almost black. There was also no trace of the gold that usually followed along the grey, keeping it in check. Through desperate times, Qin Yun had chosen desperate measures.

Qin Yun’s rosy skin colour faded to almost monochrome. Only the dim golden characters strewn upon his flesh remained, yet could barely fight back against the tides of grey that threatened to overcome him. Qin Yun's body, which was only recently freed from corruption's hold, was now again under its threat, yet this change happened for just a moment, just long enough for Qin Yun's fist to collide against the creature's force field.

However, what Qin Yun wished would occur didn't happen. In fact, all that took place was what Qin Yun feared it would. His fist, full of corruption, struck the barrier, yet none of its corrosive nature pierced through. Instead, the grey particles within his flesh sublimated into the air, creating a dark fog before bursting with colourless flames, as did his body, now bathed with the rebound of what he had chosen to do.

Fortunately, he had been conservative in his endeavour. He had used only a tiny fraction of his strength to test the waters. As such, the flames lingered for a fraction of a second, barely damaging him as they cleansed the infection once again. It was a small mercy, but his current situation remained dire, for none of his current weapons could contend against this beast made of metal, none but one... maybe.

The grey lotus soon faded, replaced with a striking gold. Arcs of lightning danced upon its surface, cleansing the grey that took hold of his flesh alongside the colourless flame, returning the faded colours.

Qin Yun winced in pain, for he could barely control this onslaught of energy as lightning arced upon his skin, flooding his system as massive amounts of energy rushed from the crystal heart, almost as if the floodgate had been opened. While it was but a fraction of the true might of the tribulation that befell him, this wasn’t the type of destruction Qin Yun could ignore.

Still, he currently had no choice. Tapping into this energy was his last chance to contend against the beast. Despite the negative consequences that would follow for his cultivation, the rewards waiting behind that gate would more than makeup for it.

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