Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 460 Trading
Liu Ruyan controlled her flying sword to attack continuously, with crimson flames flying everywhere, like fireworks exploding.

As the attack continued, the light of the forbidden spell slowly dimmed.

About fifteen minutes later, the flying sword attacked again, the light barrier dissipated, and a hole was broken in the door behind it, from which blazing fire energy surged out.

Everyone's faces lit up with excitement; it was indeed a spirit demon inside.

Spiritual energy is a valuable resource; it's useful for cultivating spiritual artifacts and magical treasures, and all cultivators need it—it's a true hard currency.

The gate was broken open, and everyone saw the scene inside: crimson light swirling like clouds, resembling a fiery cave.

Zhang Le's eyes lit up. "It's the Crimson Dragon Hidden in the Abyss. There must be a fire vein leading straight to the earth's core, and also a water vein inside!"

A ley line node that can continuously produce spiritual energy is a money tree; regardless of the quantity, it is a stable source of income.

A subtle atmosphere arose in the group, and Pei Xiu and his wife moved a little further away from Zhang Le and his companion.

Perhaps because the sealing array was destroyed, the spiritual energy, which had solidified into a tangible form, slowly dissipated.

Yuan Hong probed with his divine sense but found no hidden danger. He called out:

"Everyone, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and collect the spiritual energy!"

They had anticipated this situation. He took out the prepared red jade bottle, stood at the door, and used hand seals to collect the spiritual energy.

Before coming here, they commissioned three large-capacity jade bottles specifically for storing spiritual energy, which can store the three elements of metal, fire, and earth respectively.

His face lit up with joy. He had encountered opportunities to collect spiritual energy before, but back then he collected it in strands, while now it was in bundles, with each bundle containing about thirty or forty strands.

Zhang Le glanced at Pei Xiu subtly and said:
"Everyone collect the spiritual energy, and then we'll distribute it according to the agreement. This time, I'll keep the harvest for you."

Yuan Hong readily agreed, saying, "This is something we've already discussed, so I have no problem with it."

Pei Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"We have no problem either."

He transmitted his voice to his Daoist partner, "Be careful and on guard. From now on, the two of us must never be separated."

Liu Ruyan nodded almost imperceptibly and smiled:
"As agreed, we'll keep the second harvest. Is that alright?"

Zhang Le responded affirmatively, "Of course, everyone must abide by the agreement."

The crowd gathered at the entrance of the main hall, chanting incantations to collect the spiritual energy into a jade bottle.

The spiritual energy was dissipating at an increasingly rapid pace, and realizing there was no time to collect it all, Yuan Hong shouted:
"Everyone, why don't we release our spiritual artifacts to devour it? It would be such a waste."

"agree."

Everyone responded enthusiastically, and crimson light swirled above their heads.

Zhang Le sighed, "Luckily, we all have fire-elemental magical artifacts. It would be a huge loss if someone didn't."

"Haha, now no one is at a disadvantage."

However, the amount of spiritual energy a magical artifact can absorb in a day is limited, so a considerable amount will inevitably be wasted.

About half an hour later, Zhang Leqing pointed to the jade bottle and said with a smile:
"Eight bottles full, four half-bottles left, this is a huge win."

Each jade bottle has a capacity of about 50,000 strands, and this time the harvest is nearly 450,000 strands. If sold, it can yield at least 130 to 140 high-grade spirit stones.

Yuan Hong shook his head and sighed, "With about 20% of the spiritual energy dissipated, we still have such a harvest. If our Spirit Tempering Technique were more powerful, oh, it breaks my heart."

Compared to the happiness of others, Pei Xiu's expression was somewhat solemn, and he said:

“Something’s not right. Didn’t Fellow Daoist Yuan say that the array is driven by spiritual energy?”

With such abundant spiritual energy here, the Three Talents Mystic Array shouldn't be able to be broken.

Yuan Hong smiled and waved his hand, "Fellow Daoist, the formation needs to draw on three kinds of spiritual energy at the same time to maintain its operation. Fire elemental energy is plentiful, does that mean the other spiritual energy is also plentiful?"

If any one of the spiritual energies is exhausted, the entire magic array cannot be maintained.

Pei Xiu scratched his head sheepishly, "Haha, my knowledge of formations is lacking, please excuse me."

His uneasy heart calmed down, and a look of anxiety and uncertainty returned to his face.

In other words, one of the other two main halls must have yielded very little.

Zhang Le put the jade bottle into the Cave Void Stone, "Let's go in and take a look; there must be other treasures inside the hall."

A fire vein capable of generating spiritual energy can inevitably generate second-tier fire-elemental spiritual objects.

He cautiously entered the main hall first, glanced around, and then burst into laughter.

The walls of the main hall were covered with crimson runes, like rising flames. In the center was a deep well, about ten feet in diameter, which was undoubtedly a passage connecting to the earth's core.

At the four corners of the main hall, there were piles of spiritual objects about a foot high, resembling piles of burning spiritual charcoal. These were fire-elemental spiritual objects such as Fire Cloud Crystal and Fire Separation Crystal.

Yuan Hong grinned and said, "Even if the other two halls are empty, it's all worth it."

These are spiritual objects that surged up with the earth's veins, accumulated over countless years, and they've gotten lucky.

A hint of regret flickered in his eyes. The thought of having to give away 25% of the harvest made his heart bleed.

Pei Xiu's mind was exceptionally sharp at this moment. "If the magic array can operate normally, even if there are no evil spirits in the other halls, there will still be spiritual objects left."

He looked at his Daoist partner, and both of them could see the surprise and caution in each other.

The four of them gathered the spiritual items together, counted them, and handed them over to Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruyan felt her heart suddenly race; she had never been so wealthy before. She transmitted her voice:

"I roughly estimate that this batch of spiritual items can be exchanged for about a hundred high-grade spirit stones. It's unimaginable that such a large amount of harvest can be obtained from just one hall."

Following this logic, this exploration should yield at least four hundred high-grade spirit stones. If the two of them take two and a half, that's one hundred stones.

Furthermore, these nodes are the most valuable resources, and their allocation is the challenge.

Pei Xiu lowered his gaze and sent a telepathic message back:
"Don't let your guard down. I'm worried that there might be conflicts over the distribution of benefits."

The interests involved are too great, so we have to be cautious.

At this moment, he felt extremely fortunate to have brought his Daoist partner with him; otherwise, he would have had to gamble on the two of them keeping their promises, and even the oath of the Great Dao might not be guaranteed.

The four broke through the second hall and discovered that it was a hall storing the White Tiger Roaring Wind Evil. Unfortunately, the evil energy was not much, only a few hundred strands remained.

Fortunately, they obtained some Dragon Pattern Gold and Heavenly Profound Crimson Gold, worth about seventy or eighty high-grade spirit stones.

As the group arrived at the entrance of the last main hall, Yuan Hong sensed the tense atmosphere within the group and said with a smile:

"This is the last main hall. How many resources do you think we can harvest?"

How about we make a bet? Each of us will give the winner a high-grade spirit stone.

The stakes aren't high, anyone interested in giving it a try?

There's a tense atmosphere of mutual distrust among them right now; they need to relax a bit.

Zhang Le asked with great interest:
"What are the rules? Tell me."

"It's very simple. Nobody knows how much we'll gain from this, so the people who are participating now are making an estimate of what we'll gain."

There are essentially three possibilities: the most harvest, the least harvest, or the harvest being located between the other two halls.

"I bet on a moderate return."

As Zhang Le spoke, he took out a high-grade spirit stone and tossed it out. Yuan Hong nimbly caught the spirit stone and looked at the other two:

"Are you two interested? However, only one of you can participate."

"How can I spoil the fun for my fellow Daoists? I bet I'll reap the biggest rewards."

Pei Xiu placed a bet; if he won, he would receive three high-grade spirit stones, and if he lost, he would lose one. It was worth a try.

He could also sense the tension in the atmosphere, and this suggestion was a good opportunity for everyone to relax their tense nerves.

Yuan Hong put away the spirit stones and said:

"I had no choice but to gamble on the least possible outcome."

He stepped forward and activated his magical artifact to attack the entrance to the main hall, causing the protective barrier to appear.

"The moment to witness the truth has arrived. I will personally unveil the mystery. Be on guard!"

Zhang Le smiled, "For some reason, I have a strong feeling that I'm going to win!"

Yuan Hong scoffed and curled his lip, "I think you'll lose!"

He manipulated the magical artifact to continuously attack the light barrier. When the magical barrier shattered, the palace gates suddenly opened, releasing a large amount of black mist and a strong, malevolent aura.

The sudden turn of events was beyond their expectations. Zhang Le shouted, "Run!"

As he spoke, he took flight on a cloud.

But the black mist was moving too fast; it enveloped the group almost instantly, followed by screams.

The spread of the black mist encountered a bottleneck; it was unable to cross the golden ring on the ground.

Wherever the mist escapes, golden flames will inevitably rise, burning the black mist to ashes.

"Roar!"

A wild lion's roar came from afar, and a white shadow flew over like a flash of lightning.

The Ice Crystal Lion arrived at the edge of the magic circle in the center of the cave and barked incessantly at the black mist.

It sensed that its master was in danger, but the swirling black mist filled it with fear, and it dared not approach even a little bit.

Suddenly, a portion of the black mist transformed into venomous snakes and rushed towards the Ice Crystal Lion with incredible speed, flying seven or eight zhang away in the blink of an eye.

The golden runes on the ground suddenly lit up, transforming into a sea of ​​golden flames. The venomous snakes formed from the black mist vanished into thin air, less than a foot away from breaking out of the restricted area.

The ice crystal lion was startled and turned back several dozen feet away.

The black mist was moving too fast; if it weren't for the burning golden flames, it would have been hit.

The Ice Crystal Lion continued to roar, trying to contact its master through this method, since mental communication had become ineffective.

A moment later, the black mist rolled back, revealing the bodies of Yuan Hong and the others.

All of them were lying face down on the ground, with a hole the size of a coin on the back of their heads from which black liquid was flowing out.

Their exposed skin had visible blood vessels, giving it an eerie black color.

Upon seeing its master, the Ice Crystal Lion roared even more fiercely and cautiously moved forward step by step.

About half an hour later, the Ice Crystal Lion lingered outside the magic barrier, occasionally letting out a mournful roar.

The black discoloration on Zhang Le and the others' bodies completely faded, and the wounds on the back of their heads began to slowly move and heal quickly, with their hair even growing back.

The group woke up one after another. The whites of their eyes were now blood red, emitting an eerie light, like when a flashlight is shone into the eyes of a cat or dog in the dark of night.

Zhang Le blinked, the blood red in his eyes quickly fading. A sinister smile appeared on his lips as he stood up and waved to the Ice Crystal Lion.

The beast looked puzzled, raised its leg and then put it down again. It dared not approach; the black mist had frightened it.

Zhang Le's gaze darkened. He stepped out, but as he entered the area of ​​the golden runes, a large amount of black energy emanated from his body, and he let out a scream.

However, he did not stop. He gritted his teeth and rushed out of the rune-covered land, his whole body severely burned, revealing cracked, dark red skin.

Fear flashed in the Ice Crystal Lion's eyes as it turned and fled, sensing that its master was no longer the same.

However, it didn't escape far before turning back, because it had signed a blood pact with its master, and the master was now using the blood pact to control its body.

It arrived at the land of golden runes with a whimper, entered the hall filled with black mist, and then let out a miserable scream.

Yuan Hong and the others rushed out of the golden rune area, but they too were severely burned.

Moments later, their muscles began to twitch, and their burned bodies recovered rapidly, at the cost of extreme weight loss.

Liu Ruyan said charmingly:

"Master needs more flesh and blood to recover, so we need to find a way to send more cultivators, the higher their cultivation level, the better."

Her newly grown skin was even more supple and had a delicate, almost translucent texture.

Pei Xiu chuckled softly a few times and said:

"Let's go back to the Immortal City first, and then find more cultivators to explore this place."

"good idea."

Hongyan Fairy City.

Ji An sat cross-legged on the futon, pondering the divine meaning he had comprehended the day before.

He had a feeling that it wouldn't take long for him to understand the concept of metal generating water, because the general direction had already been determined, and the next step was to continuously refine his understanding.

He will combine his understanding of the principle that fire generates earth with his experience to try to summarize a theory applicable to the generation and transformation of other elements.

If a methodology can be developed, it will be of great help to him in the future. At the very least, he can more quickly comprehend all the divine meanings of the five elements' mutual generation and thus reach the realm of the five elements' continuous generation.

In that case, the Five Elements Divine Palace within the body will be in a constant state of energy cultivation, and every breath of spiritual energy will be slowly refined.

The speed at which magical power accumulates will be faster, since one is cultivating for all twelve hours of the day, including while sleeping.

Time flies, and it's noon.

Ji An stepped out of the cave and found Yuan Hong and Zhang Le standing not far away.

"How have you two been lately, fellow Daoists?"

He hadn't seen the two of them for months since he declined their invitation to explore the ruins.

Zhang Le stepped forward and said in a low voice:
"Tofu, I just came back from outside last night. I'm here today to discuss a transaction with you. It won't take long."

Ji An raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking to himself:
'They must be returning from exploring the ruins. Did they find something particularly valuable inside and are going to trade resources they don't need right now for other things?'

His thoughts instantly shifted several times, and a businesslike smile appeared on his face:

"Fellow Daoists, please come with me to my cave dwelling for a chat."

He was curious about what the two had gained, and also about who their allies were and whether they had returned together.

The three entered the cave and took their seats. Zhang Le didn't keep them in suspense and immediately took out a red jade bottle, saying:
"Fellow Daoist, please take a look and see if this item meets your standards?"

The bottle was filled with runes, from which a crimson glow emanated. Ji An immediately recognized that it contained spiritual energy.

He took the jade bottle, opened it, and raised his eyebrows slightly:
"The Crimson Dragon Lurks in the Abyss! Good luck, fellow Daoists."

(End of this chapter)