Wet viviparity

Chapter 963 The Art World, Conscription
The lingering effects of the grand religious ceremony had not yet completely dissipated, and the lingering sandalwood incense and eerie atmosphere blended together to create a peculiar, bitter, and acrid smell.

The demons and heretics on the outer altar have become lax, and many spirits have begun to secretly pack up their magical implements, glancing at the offerings that have not yet been taken down, plotting whether they can steal them.

Ji Ming carried a lantern that flickered on and off, wandering aimlessly around the area with the crowd. The once mysterious and forbidden place of Mud Root suddenly seemed to have become a noisy open-air marketplace. After all, these were demons and monsters, difficult to be restrained by rules, and their spirits had probably been scattered.

Just then, a sea monster from the Tide-Chasing Division strode over.

This yaksha was quite terrifying in appearance, with a head full of curly, wet, algae-green hair, a body covered with slippery, reflective scales, and a face with a bright bluish-purple color. He held a rusty three-pronged harpoon, with salty water droplets seeping from the tip.

Sea Yaksha's gaze swept over the scattered soldiers outside the outer altar with lightning speed, and he said in a deep voice, "You! You! And you guys, come here, I have something to tell you."

He tapped his finger repeatedly, precisely selecting several targets.

Those who were called out immediately turned pale and inwardly cried out in dismay.

"Come here too."

At that moment, Ji Ming was strolling leisurely with his hands behind his back, carrying a lantern, when he was suddenly spotted. He turned around, showing his foolish face—one eye wide open, one eye narrowed, and a long tongue sticking out—to Hai Yacha, and asked in feigned doubt, "Me?"

"Correct."

Sea Yaksha nodded seriously, "It is you, Huang Si'er. The temple will entrust you with an important task."

After the ritual is completed, the dangerous path deity needs to remain here to be nurtured by the mud roots for some time. No one can say for sure how long, so someone needs to stay here to watch over and protect the deity.

This grand ceremony may alarm three groups of people. One group is the disciples of the Heavenly River Altar stationed at Danmeng Lingchi, who are responsible for supervising the disciples of Yunyu Temple. Another group is the two Taiping Mountain True Men who live in seclusion in the ancient Yin Forbidden Mountain. The third group is like mad dogs, relentlessly pursuing the dragon children in the Jiaomo Palace of Yunyu Temple.

Therefore, for the sake of properness, the Dharma protectors here consist of two parts, one explicit and one implicit.

Hidden in the shadows are the fierce god Da Feng, who was born here but cannot escape the mud due to his innate deficiencies, as well as the elite old troops of the dangerous path god.

The others, who are more visible, are used as decoys and stepping stones to attract "trouble." They are similar to the group that Haiyacha has chosen. The selection criteria are also strict: they must have some skill to maintain appearances, but they cannot be too shrewd to avoid causing trouble. More importantly, these guys are all characters with no real background, and no one will care even if they die.

Soon, a special team was formed here.

The Sea Demon walked past the group, his gaze sweeping over Huang Silang, Bo Ni Gui, Fox Master San, Catfish Warrior, Xiao Yao Ke, and Jin Dao Ren, before nodding in satisfaction.

The line stretched out in a row, with Ji Ming at the head. He picked up a louse from under his collar. The weasel he was possessing had brown fur and hadn't bathed in who knows how many days. The louse was huge, and when he pinched it, it burst out with a finger's worth of blood. He should have known he was possessing that fox three.

Looking towards Fox Three, he saw that Fox Three was currently very worried. He had tried several times to bribe Sea Yaksha to avoid the job, but he was refused each time.

Even worse than Fox Three was Bo Ni Gui, who stood next to Ji Ming, holding a small yellow mud horse. This Bo Ni Gong from Hengshan had been forced to work as a laborer after his failed attempt to escape.

"Tooth tiles!"

The sea demon shouted without room for argument.

The selected individuals dawdled, each pulling out a palm-sized identification tag made of a different material.

This was a routine check by the Sea Demon before the mission. The first thing they checked was Ji Ming's ivory plaque, a rough wooden plaque with words carved on it in clumsy handwriting: "Cloud and Rain Temple, Rainfall Department, Patrol Little Demon Huang Silang. Appears foolish and clumsy, skilled in illusionary magic. Hanging in the long river, if there is no plaque, it is fake."

The Bo Ni Gui, a mountain spirit from a temple other than Yun Yu Temple, also possesses a plaque. It is a smooth, warm clay plaque inscribed with: "Lan Yin Heng Shan · Mountain Spirit Earth Deity · Bo Ni Gui. Shaped like a clay sculpture, its body covered in spiritual colors, it sits on a small yellow clay horse. It holds a toad bowl filled with a hundred treasures and is skilled in transformation games. If there is no plaque, it is fake."

Fox Master's token was a slightly smooth domino with an inscription: "Cloud and Rain Temple, Cloud Driving Department, Patrol Manager Fox Master. Pointed mouth, narrow eyes, cunning nature. In charge of Yin and Yang messages. Hanging in the long river; without the token, it's fake." Sea Yaksha verified their identities one by one, and after confirming they were genuine, he gruffly ordered, "Keep the token safe, come with me. I have a good job for you; do it well, and you'll be richly rewarded!"

He said he would reward him, but there was no trace of a smile on his bruised face.

Ji Ming looked back at the inner and outer altars, which were gradually being dismantled. Once the people here had mostly left, he could begin to try.

The group traveled for dozens of miles until they reached a wasteland within the ancient city walls. Traces of some ditches could still be faintly seen there. The sea yaksha assigned them a patrol area and left after giving instructions, not worried that they might be passive in their response.

As soon as the sea demon left, Third Master Fox immediately burrowed into the ground.

The silent catfish opened its wide mouth and vomited a bellyful of dirty water, creating an inconspicuous little puddle on the ground. Then it plunged its entire body into the water and disappeared without a trace.

The other demons and humans all used their unique skills to conceal themselves and not disturb each other.

Ji Ming looked around and used his primordial spirit to observe the outside world. He confirmed that Man Shenying had left and the strong wind under the mud roots had fallen asleep. Only then did he find a crooked, withered tree nearby, lightly lift himself up with a tap of his toes.

He sat down cross-legged on it and began to move the five elements here, drawing boundaries on the ground.

Among the mysteries of cultivation, the Five Elements Escape Technique is a necessary course for cultivators to advance to the level of senior cultivators. The only threshold for this course is the strength of the primordial spirit.

If the skill in divination determines a cultivator's upper limit, then the Five Elements Escape Technique determines their lower limit. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the third stage, if their primordial spirit is inherently strong and their talent in the Five Elements Escape Technique is high enough, can easily surpass their peers with some effort.

Having reached a level of profound cultivation, Ji Ming, having mastered the Five Elements Escape Technique step by step, had reached the point of exploring the wonders of the Earthly Fiends transformations within the Five Elements.

No matter what kind of magic it is, the transformation of the Earthly Fiends is a peak that is difficult to climb. For example, Ji Ming's supernatural power, the Six Earthly Divine Gang, is still exploring the transformation of the Earthly Fiends. He doesn't know when it will end and can only work on the Eight Winds.

In terms of the transformation of the Earthly Fiends, the Five Elements Escape Method and magical supernatural powers are indeed different; there are paths to follow.

The five realms of the embryonic spirit in Daoist alchemy, including the initial "Five Elements in Order" and the middle "Five Elements in Reversal", are paths to thoroughly investigate the changes of the earthly evil.

It is said that after mastering the Five Elements Reversal Technique and understanding its power, if one can also master all five types of Reversal Escape Techniques, one can achieve a Heavenly Gang Technique—the Five Elements Great Escape.

Among the cultivators Ji Ming had seen, only Zhu Tao, the Horse-Headed Auspicious Bird, had mastered the "Fire and Gold Reversal Great Escape" technique, which involved planting a golden lotus in fire.

Ji Ming has now completed the initial stage of the Five Elements Reversal in the Five Realms of the Fetal Spirit Realm. In the middle stage, he has only just grasped the power of reversal in the Fire and Wood elements. This is only because of the assistance of the Void Yin Yao in the Li and the Six Wu Divine Gang in these two elements, which enabled him to achieve this quickly.

"Whoo~"

As Ji Ming exhaled a long breath, a cold wind began to rise around the weasel demon he was possessing.

The surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to undergo subtle yet dramatic changes. Ji Ming did not fully mobilize the five elements at that moment, but instead poured all his primordial spirit into the water element, drawing out the yin and cold aspect of the water element.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Just then, heavy footsteps came from afar, as if giants were running around.

Ji Ming seemed oblivious, continuing to manipulate the water elemental energy, drawing a cold and gloomy water realm around him.

(End of this chapter)