What exactly is the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus?
Some would say it is the Tang Sect's ultimate hidden weapon, the embodiment of exquisite craftsmanship. Others would call it a devastating killer move, something so terrifying that even Titled Douluo would struggle to survive it.
Different people had different interpretations, and most of them were not wrong—but they all overlooked its true essence.
At its core, the so-called Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, the pinnacle of Tang Sect hidden weapons, was never really about the lotus structure itself. Its true secret lay in what was packed inside: gunpowder. When ignited, the explosion would fling the surrounding metal petals outward like shrapnel, shredding everything in its radius.
In essence, it was nothing more than a specialized high-explosive fragmentation grenade wrapped in a fancy shell. The so-called "lotus" design and hidden weapon artistry were secondary at best. Even if one simply replaced the petals with steel beads or iron fragments, the lethality would not change much.
If anything, Chen Ming felt that calling it a "hidden weapon" was generous. It was more likely that the Tang Sect had simply stolen internal cultivation methods (the Mysterious Heaven Skill) and even "Lightning Arts" from some neighboring sects like Qingcheng or Mount Longhu.
After all, "Lightning Arts" originally referred to the explosive sound of gunpowder detonation. So using gunpowder to "exorcise demons" was, in a sense, perfectly reasonable…
In any case, after testing it himself, Chen Ming discovered that gunpowder in the Douluo world was absurdly amplified in power. A crude, fist-sized earth-made fragmentation grenade had an explosive force that far exceeded even the gas cylinder explosions he remembered from his previous life.
The burst shrapnel tore through stone and pierced trees with ease.
Let alone century-old Spirit Beasts—Chen Ming estimated that even thousand-year Spirit Beasts would drop dead on the spot if they took a direct hit.
Fortunately, he had been cautious and only threw the homemade grenades from a mid-slope downward position. If he had used a normal throwing distance, he himself would have been turned into a human sieve by the very weapons he created.
If only he had bothered to learn how to make stable, high-yield explosives like TNT in his past life, then with a few artillery shells, even Titled Douluo might not be able to survive a direct hit.
Carrying more than a dozen of these grenades on his body, Chen Ming felt less like an adventurer and more like a walking armory—so much so that he constantly worried he might accidentally detonate himself.
...
Upon arriving at the Star Dou Great Forest, he did not immediately enter. Instead, he spent some money to purchase a map of the outer regions from veteran traveling Spirit Masters. After preparing all his equipment, he cautiously entered the forest in full gear.
And it could only be said that the Star Dou Great Forest truly deserved its reputation as the paradise of Spirit Beasts. This was not the diminished version seen in later eras like Peerless Tang Sect, nor the even smaller remnants from Legend of the Dragon King.
Even in the outer perimeter, ten-year and hundred-year Spirit Beasts were everywhere. Venture a little deeper, and even traces of thousand-year Spirit Beasts could be found.
Chen Ming maintained a strict policy: retreat if possible, fight only if necessary, and explored the outskirts while carefully searching for dragon-type hundred-year Spirit Beasts compatible with his Martial Soul, hoping to obtain an optimal Spirit Ring.
If there were no suitable draconic beasts, high-quality earth attribute Spirit Beasts were also acceptable.
Of course, if he happened to encounter a hundred-year Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear or a similarly rare beast in the outer region, he would absorb it without hesitation—even if it was only a hundred years old.
The Douluo world suffered from severe knowledge monopolization. Even powerful figures like the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent, capable of contending with Titled Douluo, could still misjudge the age of a Spirit Beast like the Man-Faced Demon Spider.
The world's understanding of Spirit Beasts was extremely limited and closed off, to the point where someone like Yu Xiaogang could be regarded as a "Grandmaster."
Primary Spirit Master academies taught very little about Spirit Beasts, and even less about their attributes. Most Spirit Beasts were unfamiliar to Chen Ming; he could not even identify many of them, let alone understand their strengths and weaknesses.
As a result, despite his efforts to avoid unnecessary fights, clashes with Spirit Beasts were unavoidable.
Against solitary beasts, Chen Ming would not hesitate to fire his gun. In this world, where gunpowder's destructive power was massively amplified, even his crude earth-made firearm could punch lethal holes through hundred-year beasts like bears or tigers.
Against groups of Spirit Beasts, he simply used grenades. Any creature caught in a fragmentation explosion was reduced to scattered, unrecognizable remains.
However, although he had successfully hunted some hundred-year Spirit Beasts with his firearm, he lacked proper storage space. After careful consideration, he could only cut off a few usable pieces of meat for provisions and leave the rest of the carcasses behind.
As for Spirit Bones…
Chen Ming had indeed been searching for them every single time, but as always, nothing ever dropped. It was as if such things simply didn't exist for him.
After staying in the Star Dou Great Forest for nearly half a month and burning through half of his stockpile of "military supplies," he still hadn't found a suitable Spirit Beast. In the end, he decided to retreat for now, restock his equipment, and come back to continue the search.
However, just as he was gradually making his way out of the forest, something unexpected happened.
While drawing water by a stream, Chen Ming casually noticed a faint trace of draconic aura among a set of footprints near the riverbank. The prints were vaguely lizard-like, but far heavier and more powerful in structure. From his perspective, the probability that this was an earth-dragon-type Spirit Beast was extremely high.
Excitement immediately surged through him. Activating his AI-like analytical thinking, Chen Ming began tracking the beast along the trail of footprints and environmental clues. After several hours of pursuit, he finally located it inside a cave within a valley.
It was a massive reptilian creature—resembling an oversized lizard, yet far more robust. Its head was shaped somewhat like a horse's, with a longer, more flexible neck. On top of its head were two spiraling horns reminiscent of a ram's, and its entire body was covered in dull yellowish-brown scales that carried faint earth-attributed soul power fluctuations.
Chen Ming could immediately sense it: this was a hundred-year Spirit Beast, and judging from its structure and especially its head, it was very likely a draconic sub-species with dragon bloodline.
As for its exact age or precise classification… even after extended "AI-mode" analysis, Chen Ming still couldn't determine it.
However, in the Douluo world, powerful Spirit Beasts were not always aesthetically impressive—but those that looked majestic or imposing were rarely weak. This one, currently dozing inside the cave, wasn't particularly divine in appearance, but it definitely carried a certain oppressive presence. Its overall structure, especially the head, vaguely hinted at the silhouette of a true dragon.
In the end, Chen Ming decided not to waste any more time worrying about whether it was a few hundred years old or whether it was perfectly suitable. The conclusion was simple: kill it first.
Choosing the right angle and timing, he threw a crude fragmentation grenade directly into the cave where the earth-dragon Spirit Beast was resting.
A thunderous explosion followed. The entire cave collapsed inward, burying the creature on the spot.
Chen Ming spent some time digging through the rubble beside the collapsed cave before finally uncovering the beast's shattered head and the slowly rising Spirit Ring.
It was a bright yellow Spirit Ring. Based on Chen Ming's observations of academy teachers and the vague descriptions in books, this color indicated roughly four to five hundred years of cultivation.
To be honest, this was a somewhat awkward range. It was slightly above the typical limit for a first Spirit Ring, but also a bit too low to comfortably qualify as a second Spirit Ring.
Staring at it, Chen Ming carefully considered his options before finally making his decision.
"Though it's a bit risky… it should still be absorbable."
His spar with Tang San in Holy Soul Village and his training with Xiao Wu hadn't been in vain. At the very least, they gave Chen Ming a rough grasp of their physical strength and Spirit Power.
By raw physical condition alone, even without a Spirit Ring, Chen Ming's body was already slightly stronger than Tang San's right after he obtained his first one.
After all, Tang San in this life had grown up malnourished, often barely surviving on wild vegetables and thin porridge. Even with internal energy, it couldn't fully compensate for his lack of nutrition.
Meanwhile, Chen Ming at least had a relatively stable self-sustained diet in the mountains—growing mushrooms, raising chickens, and eating eggs. Combined with proper physical training, his body was naturally stronger.
With that physical foundation, plus the assistance of his Basic Internal Art Version 1.0.1, Chen Ming judged that absorbing this Spirit Ring should not be a problem.