I walked towards the inner area of the Hundred Snakes Valley. The inner region of the Hundred Snakes Valley was covered by giant trees making it hard to spot any ambushers. The lack of any sound when they slither combined with the environment, made the valley an ideal place for several snakes to live.

Of course, It may be hard for others to find an ambush laid by the snakes but I had a unique talent in that field.

[Insight]

I used insight, constantly scanning the environment and avoiding any encounters with monsters. The valley contained monsters equivalent to the sixth level of Qi condensation so I was extra careful.

My destination was the waterfall near the center region of the valley. I used the Shadowless Movement Art making my footsteps light and fast as I moved so quickly that my shadow started to blur.

...

*Burble* *Burble*

Using insight, not only my vision but all of my other senses are sharpened to the extreme. So, even from a far distance, I was able to hear the sound of the waterfall.

Just as I said, Insight truly was a cheat~

...

I hurried to the waterfall. Sometimes I would see some venomous snakes but I could avoid them with my superb detection abilities.

After a while, I reached the waterfall. Due to the waterfall, a lake formed in the middle. So, occasionally, some snakes would crawl to quench their thirst. This lake was a sort of buffer zone for the monsters living in this valley. All the monsters would seize their hunting and peacefully use this resource quietly.

So, I executed my special technique, [The Roly-Poly]. I rolled from one bush to another, avoiding every snake that slithered away.

Finally, I reached the center. I know that there was a hidden cave inside the waterfall where the Crystal Lotus was blooming. But there was an obstruction on the path.

The overlord of this area, a mature Red Python. A monster is equivalent to the sixth stage of Qi condensation. A monster that dumped all its evolution points into size. A behemoth 10 feet long, but due to this, it also lost a strong weapon of the snakes. Poison. It was a non-poisonous snake.

But with its large size, other snakes may as well give up fighting against it.

While the boss monster was drinking water, I slowed my breathing and hid in a roadside bush.

Then after some minutes, Red Python finally left.

...

Looking at the left, Clear.

Looking at the right, Clear.

Front, Clear.

[Shadowless Movement Art]

Using the movement technique, I dived headfirst into the waterfall.

...

*Splash*

"Arghh." Feeling the wet clothes sticking to my skin, I felt a bit uncomfortable but at least now, I was inside the cave.

Just as I had expected, the cave was dark, and the faint glow of my eyes was not that useful either.

So, I tapped my bag of holding, and out came a stick. The stick did not have any knots and was about a foot in length and a couple of inches in diameter. It was a soft type of wood ideal for starting a fire.

Looking at the stick in my hand, I felt quite good due to my foresight as it took me a while to find one...

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I spoke an incantation, "Flame."

Invoking an incantation such as this was quite hard to do at first, but with [Insight] boosting my ability to comprehend the process, I now had a decent understanding of how to perform it properly.

With this incantation, a small flame appeared on the stick, making it perfect as a light source.

There were some light-emitting stones for situations like this but who made me broke...

Anyway, with the budget-conscious light source, I could see the cave clearly. It was damp and looked like a normal cave.

So, I walked inside the cave leaving darkness behind my path.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Eventually, I reached an inner lake. In the middle of the lake was my target. A mesmerizing and beautiful lotus that lacked the normal pink coloration, instead growing to become a clear beacon of light. It was so bright that it shone.

Looking at the lake, I knew I had to swim again.

*Rustle*

I took off my clothes and hung them near the fire so that they can dry out.

I swam to the middle of the lake feeling grateful for the swimming lessons I had taken.

While the water was cold, I kept my Qi circulating preventing the cold from seeping inside and stealing my body heat. Soon, I reached the center of the lake with the luminous lotus in front of me.

Crystal Lotus, a treasure of heaven and earth, rarely seen in the cultivation realm due to the long time it takes to bloom. It takes several decades for it to grow from a seed to a fully blooming lotus, and the one in front of me was already fully matured signified by its bright glow.

Since it's a material of heaven and earth, it contains a huge amount of spiritual energy and can help the mortal body cleanse its impurities and helps to make its Qi pure.

Of course, its main function is to strengthen the mortal body, laying foundations to be able to absorb other various spiritual materials and pills. So, it's a treasure for body cultivators and will result in a bloodbath each time it appears, but well, this time, I got away with only an icy water bath.

I started the harvest by carefully picking the leaves of the lotus and placing them inside my bag of holding. A spiritual material such as this will not have any useless parts, the leaves contained a lot of spiritual energy as well and can act as a life-saving medicine.

There were a total of six leaves in the lotus that I now had inside my bag of holding, each capable of saving my life in the event of a fatal injury.

The varied functions that the materials served were also the main reason why I seized this opportunity first. It provided the gains that I could benefit from right away while also laying the foundation for my future growth as a cultivator. My focus should not just be limited to the present but also the future. If not for the multiple benefits, there would be plenty of opportunities from the game with the same or even greater effect, than that of the Crystal Lotus. But with all the bonuses provided by the Crystal Lotus, it surpasses any heaven and treasures in the early stage.

So it was a relief for the current weak me to be able to acquire the lotus, as it made it a great deal more likely that I would be able to grow from a squishy near-mortal to a more viable cultivator. Since both the protagonist are present in the sect, the plot is just going to thicken.

Competition, secret realms, and schemes are going to be commonplace and with these leaves, I could at least guarantee my survival. Moreover, if it is just kept in the mouth without chewing then it would enhance one's concentration and improve the effectiveness of their meditation.

With the Leaves of Healing stashed in the bag of holding, I turned my attention to the shiny lotus. With all the effects this single heaven and earth have, it definitely deserves a 'The' in its title.

According to the books I have read, you just stuff the lotus in your mouth and consume it and meditate. So, I just did that. I picked up the lotus and stuffed it in my mouth.

I chewed the lotus finding it to be unexpectedly sweet, I swallowed it.

I felt a huge amount of spiritual energy flowing through my body. My cultivation rose... a great circle of 3rd stage... early stage of 4th stage... and finally, it stabilized at the small circle of the 4th stage. In a single step, I crossed an entire stage, and my foundation will soon be strongly enhanced by natural heaven and earth material.

There was a cool feeling in my body, as the main effect of the Crystal Lotus's main effect of laying the foundation for the body began. The cool Qi of the lotus was absorbed greedily by all of my cells, creating a sense of fullness that I could not have put words to before. It was as if spiritually and physically, all of my needs were filled. I finally understood, why the protagonist of those novels exaggerate when they ingest any heaven and earth material, it was almost euphoric.

If this was not crack, then I don't know what is.

And at last, the final effect of the Crystal Lotus, the cleansing of the mortal body. I expected the great pain to hit me any moment now.

...

..

.

Nothing...I feel nothing. Did I just eat a fake lotus?

Where are the impurities flushed out?

When the protagonist eats these kinds of things, doesn't a huge amount of stinky black impurities leave their bodies? Why isn't it happening to me?

Wait.

Wait. WAIT.

I know the Lotus is real and has that effect as written in several medicinal records. So, if there is no problem with lotus, then only one truth prevails.

If I wore glasses it would have shone due to my realization.

The problem is within the body I have possessed. There are no impurities in this body. Something that should be present in every mortal body.

"Ha.." It was certainly beyond my expectation for there to be no impurities in this body. But remembering the origin of this body, that game, I just shuddered.

...

..

.

"Why did I transmigrate into this body?"