Above the Obsidian Forest, an injured phoenix flew towards the Vermillion Mountain Range. A drop of the phoenix's blood dripped down towards the forest.
The drop of blood fell through the openings between the leaves of the trees. Not a single branch blocked its descent down.
The drop of blood was descending towards a lake. However, not a trace of red will be appearing in the tranquil waters. Instead, among the waterlilies and white lotuses that can be seen on the surface of the water, there was one white lotus dyed red with blood.
The flames of the legendary phoenix have the potential to reach the greatest heights in temperature. Even the blood of the phoenix will be hotter than the flames of fire spirit overlords.
If a drop of a phoenix's blood were to come into contact with an ordinary plant, the only fate left for the plant would be disintegration unless an alchemist carefully controls the heat to refine a pill. Only a spirit plant that had grown in an area with an abundance of qi in the air will have a chance to withstand the heat of the blood.
The white lotus hit by the blood was an ordinary flower. However, it was not disintegrated. That alone would be considered a miracle. However, if that was a miracle, then what would the following events be considered?
Flowers do not have pain receptors. However, this white lotus felt tremendous pain from the heat radiating from the blood. The burning pain felt very familiar. The soul of the white lotus trembled in pain and anger.
"I cannot accept this! In this life of mine, all I did was peacefully grow, bothering no one. How could I accept burning to death once more?!?" The soul cried in anger, unwilling to accept such injustice.
In desperation, the soul's body was forced to evolve in order to sustain its life. The lotus forcefully absorbed the phoenix's blood. The white lotus noticed some particles of several different colors. Without thinking, it pulled the particles into its body, circulating the particles through its evolving body. As the particles circulated throughout the lotus' body, the burning pain was gradually replaced with a gentle warmth.
After feeling its body had finished evolving, the white lotus relaxed, processing the event that had just occurred. 'Burn to death once more?' The white lotus, ever so calmly, critiqued its previous thoughts. When had it ever experienced such heat in the lake it grew in and how could it be so angry? Suddenly, as though a dam had just broken, memories from its previous life flooded in.
Although her memories came back, Bai Lian's intense anger was not rekindled. As a white lotus, she had grew peacefully in the lake for so long. Her previous personality was already so tranquil, so the addition of her memories of her life as a white lotus only added to her gentle nature. The anger she had felt before her death felt very unreal. She was not happy thinking about her pitiful demise, but she could not bring herself to rage in fury. All she felt was sadness without a hint of anger.
Bai Lian could not help, but worry for her family. She sincerely hoped they did not recklessly take action against the crown, bringing harm to themselves. Bai Lian had already died. There was no need for them to bring themselves harm for her sake. 'That two-faced clan of mine would definitely not spare a thought for a dead waste. What good could my medical knowledge do for them now that I'm dead,' sneered Bai Lian to herself. Despite her mockery towards the Bai Clan, she hoped her family rejoined with the rest of the clan. Bai Lian always felt guilty that her parents moved their branch away from the main branch for her sake. 'What's the point in regretting now? I don't even know if I reincarnated in the same world.'
Brightening her mood, Bai Lian mused to herself, 'My final wish was to be a true villain in my next life. Who could I harm as a flower rooted in a lake?' Suddenly, Bai Lian recalled the particles she felt when she was evolving. She could still see the particles around her. Her lotus body had 11 points that served visionary purposes.
The particles came in 6 colors, red, blue, brown, cyan, white, and black. 'Could these particles be qi?' Bai Lian recalled that a normal spirit master would see only the qi of the element they could manipulate, which was predetermined upon birth. Each element had a qi of a different color. Her knowledge on matters regarding cultivation were truly lacking. Depressed over her inability to cultivate, she always tried to avoid the topic of cultivation in her previous life to prevent the frustration she would feel deep down.
'But then again, the qi usable by a cultivating plant is not limited like it is for humans.' Bai Lian soothed herself, putting her past life's dissatisfactions to the back of her mind. All plants that gain the ability to cultivate become evolving plants, capable of evolving as it grows or meets certain conditions. Cultivating plants will naturally be able to use the light and dark elements. They can gain mastery over the other elements as it spends time in an environment with an abundance of the particular element. As a white lotus, Bai Lian gained mastery over earth qi due to her roots located in the mud at the bottom of the lake. Living in the lake, naturally she would have an affinity with water qi. Her flower would often appear above the lake, allowing her to now possess an affinity with wind qi. The affinity with fire qi could only have came due to the phoenix blood.
The sudden realization hit Bai Lian that she had gained an abundance of knowledge along with her evolution. Like natural instincts, the new knowledge felt as though they were always present and were the most obvious truths of the world.