Chapter 289: Azure Lotus Creation Body, Star Child Severely Injured

With a dull thud, countless gilded Dao patterns emerged on Zhou Chen's body surface, signifying the formal evolution of the Azure Lotus Dao Body.

From his opportunity panel, Zhou Chen learned the name of this Physique—the Azure Lotus Primordial Body.

Striking while the iron was hot, Zhou Chen immediately thought to himself, "Use physique upgrade opportunity!"

[physique upgrade opportunity used!]

[Azure Lotus Primordial Body upgraded to Azure Lotus Creation Body!]

Boom!

Terrifying energy erupted from that drop of blood, instantly surging into Zhou Chen's body.

Zhou Chen felt his entire body's blood boiling, every cell cheering with joy.

His Physique was transforming, evolving, and stepping toward a higher level.

The Azure Lotus Dao Body was already a top-tier Physique, and now having evolved twice in a row, Zhou Chen's Physical Body strength and potential had reached an inconceivable level.

After an unknown amount of time, the energy finally subsided.

Zhou Chen opened his eyes, feeling the surging power within his body.

"Azure Lotus Creation Body… it's too terrifying!"

At this moment, Zhou Chen's Pluto Seal jumped directly from the fourth layer to the seventh layer!

Three layers in a row!

Now, with just his Physical Body strength, he could go head-to-head with a powerhouse of the Emperor Realm Seventh Layer!

Moreover, the Azure Lotus Creation Body possessed terrifying recovery capabilities; as long as he didn't die on the spot, he could basically recover.

More importantly, the Azure Lotus Creation Body had an extremely strong affinity for all energy in heaven and earth, whether it was Spiritual Qi, Devilish Qi, or other special energies, he could easily absorb and refine them.

"This improvement is massive."

At this moment, Zhou Chen's grin was so wide even an AK couldn't suppress it.

Not only did his Physique evolve, but his Realm also broke through to the Emperor Realm Fifth Layer.

Just as he was about to leave, the transmission jade talisman in his robes suddenly vibrated.

Zhou Chen took out the jade talisman and sent his Divine Sense into it.

It was an emergency message from Star Child.

"Green Lotus, return quickly! Something has happened!"

Star Child's voice was full of anxiety and pain.

Zhou Chen frowned.

For Star Child to be this panicked, it certainly wasn't a small matter.

Without hesitation, he immediately left the small island and rushed back to the Heavenly Star Holy Land at full speed.

—

Shortly after Zhou Chen left, an azure figure appeared on the island.

It was Gu Jifeng.

Following his intuition, he arrived here, only to find the cave empty, with nothing left.

"How could this be?" Gu Jifeng stood in the underground palace, looking at the empty altar, his expression grim.

He clearly sensed an important Opportunity here, so why was there nothing?

Furthermore, this feeling was exactly the same as last time at the Wei Wu Ruins.

The Opportunity had vanished; someone had beaten him to it.

"Just who is it?" Gu Jifeng gnashed his teeth.

In all his years of life, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

And twice in a row at that!

This caused a strong sense of unease to arise in his usually cautious heart.

"Could someone be targeting me?"

Gu Jifeng shook his head, dismissing the idea.

Impossible; he was always low-profile and never made enemies, so why would anyone target him?

"It must be just a coincidence."

Gu Jifeng took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

But that feeling of unease in his heart simply wouldn't go away.

He took one last look at the empty altar and turned to leave the island.

Only Zhou Chen knew how much this interception affected Gu Jifeng; although his Fate on the opportunity panel was still gold…

However, his power ceiling had plummeted directly from the Eighth Layer of True Immortal Realm to the First Layer of True Immortal Realm.

Heavenly Star Holy Land, Saint Lord Peak.

Zhou Chen pushed open the door and entered, the sight before him causing his pupils to constrict.

Star Child lay on the bed, covered in blood, his aura withered to the extreme.

His legs were twisted eerily, clearly having been snapped by brute force.

His right arm hung limp at his side, the bones shattered into several pieces.

Most terrifyingly, there was a deep palm print over Star Child's Dantian, and almost all the Meridians for spiritual power circulation were severed.

"This is…" Zhou Chen walked to the bedside.

Several Elders stood nearby, their faces ashen and their eyes filled with rage.

"Green Lotus, you've come."

Star Child struggled to open his eyes, his voice so weak it was almost inaudible.

"Who did this?"

Zhou Chen's voice was calm, but anyone familiar with him knew this was the calm before the storm.

"Cough, cough…" Star Child coughed violently, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. "Fellow Daoist, there's no need to investigate; this is my own business."

"Saint Lord!" an Elder couldn't help but speak up. "We cannot swallow this insult!"

"Shut up!" Star Child barked, aggravating his injuries and triggering another fit of violent coughing.

Looking at Star Child's state, Zhou Chen's gaze gradually turned cold.

Although his relationship with Star Child was merely transactional, the old man had indeed treated him well.

Not only had he given him the fragment of the chaos bell, but he had also gifted him the Soul-Condensing Star Crystal.

He had not even asked for any of the resources obtained within the Wild Antiquity Sacred Ground.

Now that the man had been beaten like this, the fire in Zhou Chen's heart could no longer be suppressed.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Zhou Chen asked again.

Star Child fell silent; he knew that if he didn't speak now, he would completely offend the young Prodigy before him.

"Saint Lord, just tell Green Lotus!"

Another Elder gritted his teeth and said, "Though our Heavenly Star Holy Land lacks strength compared to others, we cannot let ourselves be bullied like this!"

Star Child closed his eyes and only spoke after a long while, "The Flame Clan of the Eastern Wasteland—the Jiang Family."

"Jiang Family?"

Zhou Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

"That bitch Jiang Mengyao went back to her clan to complain and cry, saying she was humiliated by Green Lotus at the Heavenly Pride Grand Assembly, making the Jiang Family lose face."

That Elder said angrily, "An old fellow from the Jiang Family at the Emperor Realm Sixth Layer directly barged into our Heavenly Star Holy Land and attacked the Saint Lord without a word!"

"Several of us Elders tried to stop him, but we were all injured." Another Elder clutched his chest, his face pale. "That old thing's strength was too great; we were simply no match."

"He said this was just a lesson, and if our Heavenly Star Holy Land dares to retaliate, he'll exterminate our entire sect! If it weren't for the fact that Saint Feng Biao happened to be away, his life might have been in danger."

Zhou Chen fell silent after hearing this.

The Jiang Family truly lived up to its reputation as one of the two great Emperor Clans of the Eastern Wasteland, with profound foundations and experts as numerous as clouds.

An old fellow at the Emperor Realm Sixth Layer probably wasn't even considered top-tier combat power within the Jiang Family.

Even when they were hunting him before, they only dispatched someone at the Fourth Layer of Emperor Realm.

It seemed the Jiang Family still had aspects he didn't understand.

"Fellow Daoist, I've implicated you in this matter."

Star Child said weakly, "You don't need to get involved; the Jiang Family is not something you can provoke."

"Indeed, Green Lotus." An Elder sighed. "The Jiang Family is powerful; we can't afford to offend them. Let's just treat this matter as a bitter pill we have to swallow."

Zhou Chen said nothing and turned to walk out of the sleeping quarters.

"Fellow Daoist…" Star Child wanted to call out to him, but ultimately kept his mouth shut.

He knew that although Zhou Chen's strength was impressive, he would be powerless against a behemoth like the Jiang Family.