Chapter 122: The Wish-Fulfilling Golden Lotus

Suddenly, both Yan Chixia and She Meier were plunged into a state of suffocation.

Just then, with a sharp "swish," the "Sun-Child" prayer beads hanging around Yan Chixia’s neck erupted with a brilliant golden light. The radiance pierced through the ink-dragon's stomach wall and body, leaving a gaping, transparent hole. The ink-dragon, overcome with excruciating pain, began to roll wildly while letting out deafening, continuous roars.

As the ink-dragon's body was breached, its stomach cavity suddenly expanded, granting Yan Chixia and She Meier room to move once more. Both let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Ah!" She Meier exclaimed in wonder. "That’s wonderful! Yan Chixia, your 'Sun-Child' prayer beads truly are your guardian spirit! I..." Before she could finish her sentence, a golden point of light suddenly took advantage of the opening—it flew in swiftly through the hole in the ink-dragon’s body and hovered before them. "Oh? The 'Wish-Granting Golden Lotus'?" She Meier cried out in delighted surprise. "Yan Chixia, my master is using her magical artifact, the 'Wish-Granting Golden Lotus,' to rescue us!"

"Is that so?" Yan Chixia stared at the golden spark, bewildered. "She Meier, you say this is your master's artifact? But why does it look like a firefly to me?"

"What? A firefly? Tee-hee..." She Meier laughed, looking quite pleased with herself. "Yan Chixia, you just wait and see! You’re about to have your eyes opened..."

Before she could finish, the golden spark suddenly went "pop" and transformed into a lotus bud waiting to bloom. Every petal was made of pure gold, and as it emitted a dazzling radiance, it began to grow rapidly while unfolding its petals.

Yan Chixia was left wide-eyed with amazement:

"The 'Wish-Granting Golden Lotus'—it truly is a magical treasure! She Meier, your master is absolutely incredible! The artifacts she crafts are beyond imagination and simply breathtaking!"

"That goes without saying!" She Meier boasted. "Yan Chixia, get ready. We can step inside the 'Wish-Granting Golden Lotus' and leave this place in a moment."

As she spoke, the lotus reached full bloom. It had been hovering in mid-air, but once opened, it drifted down gently to rest at their feet.

She Meier stepped onto a petal with joy, walked to the center of the lotus, and smiled at Yan Chixia:

"Yan Chixia, come stand with me..."

Yan Chixia agreed, leaping onto the lotus to stand before her, his excitement palpable:

"She Meier, how does your master craft such a 'Wish-Granting Golden Lotus'? This is too magical! When will I ever be able to forge such an extraordinary, super-powered artifact?"

Before Yan Chixia could finish, the eight golden petals of the lotus closed together. It wrapped the two of them in a seamless embrace before shrinking back into a tiny golden spark. With a "swish," it shot through the hole in the ink-dragon's body, emerged outside, and flew straight toward the Nine Heavens Fairy.

The moment the lotus had entered the ink-dragon, its immense power had forced the beast to lose all ability to resist; it had lain motionless in the seawater like a sick creature. Now that the lotus had departed, the ink-dragon regained its strength, let out a hiss, and swam madly toward the depths of the ocean, its massive body thrashing.

Seeing the lotus flying toward her, the Nine Heavens Fairy ignored the ink-dragon. As the artifact reached her, she let out a sigh of relief, reached out to catch it, and began to ascend toward the surface of the sea.

Seeing this, Daoist Qingxu knew that Yan Chixia and She Meier had been rescued. He, too, breathed a sigh of relief and followed the Nine Heavens Fairy toward the surface.

Moments later, they broke through the water and, using the "Wind-Riding Technique," landed in the high sky.

The Nine Heavens Fairy held up the lotus, chanted a silent incantation, and the "Wish-Granting Golden Lotus" drifted away to a spot a dozen paces ahead, where it hovered in the air and began to bloom once again.

Daoist Qingxu stood by the fairy's side, watching intently. The lotus transformed back into a bud and began to expand rapidly as it unfolded.

"Ah!" Daoist Qingxu exclaimed. "What a magnificent artifact! The Nine Heavens Fairy’s skill in forging tools is truly supernatural and peak perfection..."

Before he could finish, the lotus was fully open, revealing Yan Chixia and She Meier standing unharmed in its center. Daoist Qingxu was both surprised and delighted:

"Danzi, She Meier, are you two alright?"

Yan Chixia and She Meier rubbed their eyes as if waking from a dream. Seeing the Daoist and the Fairy before them, they were overjoyed.

"Master, we are perfectly fine!" Yan Chixia replied with renewed spirit, then turned to bow deeply to the Nine Heavens Fairy. "Fairy, my deepest thanks for your intervention!"

"Hehe..." The Nine Heavens Fairy smiled warmly. "Yan Chixia, think nothing of it."

"Master, I'm so glad to see you!" She Meier cried out. "Back in that ink-dragon's stomach, it nearly did me in..."

As she spoke, she lunged toward the Nine Heavens Fairy, forgetting they were high in the sky. As soon as she left the lotus, her feet found only air, and she began to plummet straight down.

"Ah! Master, save me..." She Meier shrieked in terror.

Before the sound had faded, the Nine Heavens Fairy gestured with her hand. She Meier stopped falling; her graceful figure drifted upward, her robes fluttering as she arrived before the Fairy. She grabbed the Fairy’s hand, still shaken.

"You frightened me!"

The Nine Heavens Fairy gazed at She Meier’s flushed, peach-blossom cheeks with pure delight, longing to kiss her, but she feigned annoyance instead:

"Meier, you crazy girl, why have you become so clumsy?"

"Hehe," Daoist Qingxu said, smoothing things over. "It is hardly a surprise, given she just escaped danger and her spirit has yet to settle."

"Exactly!" She Meier pouted playfully. "Master, I barely escaped with my life, and instead of a kind word, you scold me!"

"A kind word for what? You crazy girl, aren't you perfectly fine?" The Nine Heavens Fairy looked her up and down, her eyes filled with boundless affection. "However, Meier, I am truly curious to know what you and Yan Chixia encountered inside the ink-dragon."

At this, She Meier recounted their harrowing experience from the moment they were swallowed.

The Nine Heavens Fairy nodded gently after hearing the tale:

"I see. No wonder I could not penetrate the beast's body when I sent out my 'divine sense' earlier; it seems its body possessed an exceptionally powerful cultivation blessing."

"Indeed," Daoist Qingxu added. "Judging solely by the regenerative ability of its stomach wall, its cultivation must be at least level five!"

"Yes," the Nine Heavens Fairy said, her expression solemn. "It seems that in the vast East Sea, there are even more dangerous monsters besides the ink-dragon and the sea-soul beast... We must be extremely cautious on this journey to the Mysterious Island!"