Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 480 The River Styx Rises
Han Chi Zhenren sighed inwardly. The Nine Netherworlds were not a safe place, and casualties were inevitable.

Of these vibrant lives, I wonder how many will be able to return alive.

When he entered the realm to comprehend the principle of earth generating metal, the Styx River was flooding, powerful Yin Soul Beasts were rampaging, and various invisible Yin Souls were emerging.

That year, less than one in ten cultivators who entered the Nine Netherworld survived.

Those who were able to obtain a spot to enter this place must have been promising talents from various forces who were on their way to the Golden Core stage, yet they all ended up dying and disappearing, which is truly regrettable.

If it weren't for that disaster, the number of Golden Core cultivators in the Red Rock Immortal City region would certainly be several times greater than it is today.

Unfortunately, when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out; when their bones are buried in the netherworld, all things come to an end.

Ji An had no friends he knew, so there was no need for small talk. He placed the jade slip on his forehead and probed the map with his divine sense, giving him the feeling of an AI looking at a house.

The underground passages are interconnected, and at intervals there are magic arrays that can be used to create shelters. These arrays can be activated by placing a mid-grade spirit stone inside, and they are marked with red dots on the map.

There are over a hundred such red dots on the entire map, which can be considered as independent safe zones.

Ji An admired the thoughtful design of the Immortal City, where one could hide inside if they encountered an unavoidable Yin Soul Beast.

The passage was like a maze, and it was impossible to memorize it all in a short time. Ji An quickly browsed through it, paying special attention to the location of the red defensive magic array.

Every design has an initial purpose; it cannot be meaningless. Just like an airplane's flight manual, safety clauses are written in blood and tragedy.

Time ticked by, and Ji An was still immersed in studying the knowledge about Yin spirits and Yin spirit beasts in the jade slip.

Yin spirits have form but no substance; they can create illusions to steal the life force and magical power of cultivators. In his view, they are nothing more than ghosts.

As long as one's Dao heart is firm and one can see clearly, the harm they cause to a cultivator when they appear individually is relatively small.

If a large number of ghosts appear in groups, cultivators should be on guard.

If you encounter a large group of ghosts when you are experiencing great joy or sorrow and your emotions are unstable, it will be a disaster.

However, the Nine Netherworld was recently wiped out, and it is said that even Golden Core cultivators participated, so the possibility of a large group of Yin spirits appearing is almost zero.

Yin spirit beasts are the product of yin spirits devouring each other. They can transform the illusory into the real and generally take on a beast-like form, but this is not absolute.

He was absorbing the knowledge with great interest when he heard a shout.

"The fog is beginning to dissipate; please prepare to enter in an orderly manner."

Approximately three months later, the Styx Tide will recede rapidly, and the mist will quickly engulf the entire cavern. Remember not to linger; return a few days in advance.

Just as Master Han Chi finished speaking, the mist in the cave seemed to be swallowed up by a giant beast and quickly fell into the cave.

Each member of the group summoned their magical artifact, and in an instant, various colors of light flashed.

Some summoned crimson flying swords, which emitted countless rays of light, and then leaped into the underground cave.

Other cultivators made hand seals, their robes shimmering with light, and stepped into the underground cave without the slightest hesitation.

Ji An landed behind the group and slowly released the Mixed Gold Armor Spell.

Golden light shimmered on the body's surface, and mysterious patterns crawled across the cheeks and arms before quickly receding and disappearing beneath the skin.

He then summoned the Sky Soaring Armor, his hand seals shifting as the magical artifact disintegrated in mid-air.

Plates of armor swirled around him, then covered his body, forming a layer of brass-colored armor.

Although the spirit armor has a metallic sheen, it is actually made entirely of earth-elemental spirit materials.

That wasn't all; he then summoned the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner, displaying his 'cowardice and fear of death' to the fullest extent.

It transformed into a cloud of spirit, flying around him, with yellow spiritual light swirling around him, like a set effect in a game.

Han Chi Zhenren noticed his movements, and couldn't help but grin, then smiled kindly:

"What a rich and powerful little guy."

Two top-grade spiritual artifacts were used in one go, and both of them were defensive spiritual artifacts. How insecure is that!

He remembered the other person; they were the first cultivator to slay the demonic puppet, and it was because of that person's actions that the hidden demonic cultivators were exposed to the light of day.

If you calculate it that way, the entire Red Rock Immortal City owes him a favor.

At this moment, only Ji An remained in the main hall with a spot available. He looked down into the deep passageway, took a deep breath, and jumped down.

Master Han Chi waved his hand and said:
"Seal the entrance to the cave and reopen it after three months."

If the entrance is not sealed, the energy in the underground cave will have an outlet, making it difficult to form and evolve the Earth-Gold Spirit Domain.

"Yes, sir," the disciples of the Enforcement Hall responded in unison. Two of them stepped forward to activate the sealing array, and yellow spiritual light flickered at the cave entrance, forming the shape of a tortoise shell.

Master Han Chi nodded slightly and then said:

“Leave a group of people here to guard the place, and the rest of you will return with me.”

With the wind howling in his ears, Ji An stretched out his body into a "big" shape and fell downwards in free fall, tense and exciting.

Before long, he saw the magic runes on the "ground" shimmering with spiritual light.

The apricot-yellow flag of Wuji rippled with thousands of golden flowers, reducing his falling speed to zero almost instantly, leaving him suspended in the air.

This is also a huge underground cave, with countless stalactites hanging from the dome, and four passages visible on the innermost rock wall.

Many stalactites emitted a shimmering glow, and the rock walls were covered with unknown moss that emitted a faint pale blue light.

The entire cave was not bright; in fact, it was rather dim. But in Ji An's eyes, everything was laid out before him.

There was no one around, and everyone else was a local, who must have had a pre-planned route.

The air was somewhat humid, and he could feel the moisturizing aura of Gui water permeating it.

Ji An wasn't worried about the fact that the place was deserted. It was still early, and he planned to spend two or three days exploring the underground cavern.

He took a deep breath and felt completely refreshed. The concentration of spiritual energy here was even stronger than in the rented cave. Although it hadn't reached the third level yet, it wasn't far off.

If the goal can be achieved as soon as possible, it would be worthwhile to find a defensive magic array that is close to the exit and diligently cultivate it to increase one's magical power.

He activated his magical artifact, and golden flowers gathered beneath his feet. Then he took out a map jade slip and made several copies of it from a few blank jade slips.

The statement by the Cold Dragon Immortal that several copies could be made and preserved should not be considered unfounded.

He put the copied jade slip back into the virtual space and randomly chose a passage to move forward.

The passage wound downwards, and Ji An flew slowly while referring to the map to determine the location of the red defensive magic circle.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Ji An arrived at a defensive magic array and filled the central part of the array with two mid-grade spirit stones.

A yellow aura shone and enveloped the area. Ji An took out a futon and sat down cross-legged, leaning wearily against the rock wall.

They have been searching for days and have encountered some ghosts and ghost beasts, but they have not found the place where the Earth-Born Metal Spirit Domain originated.

The humidity in the air grew increasingly heavy, a sign that the Styx River was swollen.

He took out the jade bottle, swallowed the second Bigu Pill, and felt a sense of fullness in his hungry stomach. He sighed contentedly.

The composure he had displayed upon entering this place had vanished. The fact that he hadn't had a chance to sense the changing energy of the Five Elements for so long gave him a slightly uneasy feeling. Ji An rested for a moment, then took out the wind furnace, filled it with spirit charcoal, and lit it.

He then took out a gourd-shaped magical artifact, filled it with water from the Nulan River, poured the water into the gourd, and placed it on the stove.

The number of ghosts and ghost beasts was not as small as Wei Tianhua had described. They often appeared in unexpected places and then launched a swift attack.

At first, he was always caught off guard, but later he changed his strategy and responded with a mental roar, which finally turned the tide.

However, the mental roar consumes a lot of his soul. Even though his soul is much stronger than when he obtained this secret technique, he will still become exhausted after using it only a few times.

"This can't go on."

Ji An muttered to himself, pondering a solution.

He felt that as long as he found a few spiritual realms, he would have a great chance of comprehending the divine meaning of metal generating water. But at this moment, he was like an outstanding painter carrying a sketchbook, looking for something to copy.

All he needed to do was find the object to be copied, but the embarrassing thing was that he couldn't find the original.

The sound of boiling water woke him from his thoughts. Ji An took out a teacup and brewed Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea.

The increasing presence of wandering spirits was also a negative factor, casting a shadow over his heart.

Just yesterday, he discovered that the defensive magic array had been destroyed, which was definitely unusual.

Cultivators would never do something so self-destructive, and spirits cannot destroy a magic array.

This only means that a sufficiently intelligent Yin Soul Beast has appeared, understanding that destroying the magic array would put the cultivators in a desperate situation.

After Ji An had drunk the spiritual tea until it lost its flavor, he swallowed it along with the tea leaves.

He exhaled softly and released the golden-haired creature from the spirit beast pouch.

"Squeak!" the golden retriever cried out in fear.

It dislikes the environment here; there's always an invisible sense of oppression, and it can sense the presence of a powerful enemy.

Ji An raised an eyebrow slightly. He sensed the fear in his tamed beast and, after communicating with the golden-haired beast, realized that there was an enemy lurking in the shadows. His heart sank.

'Am I being tracked? Or is there some kind of vengeful spirit lurking here?'

If it were just a ghost, it wouldn't have elicited such a strong reaction from the golden retriever; it's now a powerful demon beast at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.

Unable to find a solution, Ji An gave up on the idea of ​​investigating further.

Since things had come to this, he decided to take a good rest first. He had only slept three times in the past two weeks, and his fatigue had accumulated to a certain extent.

If they don't get proper rest, it will inevitably affect their combat effectiveness.

He stroked the golden retriever's head, offering a symbolic reassurance for a moment.

Ji An took out a thick animal hide cushion from the void space and fell into a deep sleep.

The defensive array requires relatively little space to defend, which is sufficient to handle attacks from the Chaoyuan stage.

With the golden retriever on guard, he wasn't too worried.

He now fully understands the significance of building defensive arrays; without these places to rest, no cultivator could last three months.

The apricot-yellow flag of the Wuji clan floated in the sky, its brightness and dimming rhythmically with its owner's breathing, as if sharing the same rhythm.

The golden retriever cautiously surveyed its surroundings. Outside the defensive array area in the passage, it was relatively dark, but since it was in a bright environment, it couldn't see the dark areas in the distance.

A translucent, cheetah-like ghost beast appeared in the darkness, its forelimbs raised and crouching on the ground, its dark eyes fixed on the sleeping figure within the defensive magic circle.

A moment later, the Yin Soul Beast completely dissipated and disappeared from the spot.

Ji An was awakened by the sound of the tide. The roar of waves crashing against the rocks echoed through the passage, and moist air whistled through it.

The Styx River has risen again, its waters surging with tremendous force.

He sat up straight and stretched out a big yawn.

"I finally feel alive again. Have any enemies appeared?"

The golden retriever squeaked, seemingly communicating with its owner, as if to say, "Everything's normal."

Ji An nodded slightly and put the golden retriever into his spirit beast pouch.

He released a defensive spell, summoned the Flame Banner that had risen from the ground, and then took the spirit stone from the center of the magic array.

"Wish me luck as I embark on my new journey!"

Ji An shouted to encourage himself, and then rode on a cloud.

According to the intelligence we received, the flooding of the Styx River was no more than this, occurring only in the middle of the second month.

It's only been half a month and it's already progressing so rapidly; there are signs that things are spiraling out of control.

If he finds the region where the Earth element nurtures the Metal element sooner, he will be able to face all challenges with greater ease.

After flying for about half an hour, Ji An suddenly stopped. He sensed something was wrong, as if something was trailing behind him in the distance.

The monk's whims were remarkably accurate; he was almost certain that something was about to happen.

'A ghost or a ghost beast?'

Ji An raised an eyebrow slightly. Both of these soul beasts possessed the ability to attack with their souls, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

He was particularly interested in the immobilization talisman in the Wei family's talismanic heritage. If he had the ability to defend his soul, things would not have turned out so passively.

With caution in mind, Ji An continued his search. There were many branching paths in the passage, and with dozens of cultivators scattered among them, it was difficult to encounter each other unless they were all gathered together.

After a while, he suddenly sensed a faint flow of energy in the fork in the road ahead.

This energy is like a composite, possessing the rich nourishment of the earth element, the moistening aura of the water element, and a hidden sharpness.

"Could it be?!"

Ji An's face lit up with ecstasy, and he suddenly activated his spirit cloud to fly into the side path.

He flew along the winding passage for half an hour, and as he rounded another bend, he suddenly saw a ball of three-colored light.

They are yellow, white, and black, respectively, and their energies clash fiercely under their intertwined nature.

Ji An's pupils suddenly contracted, and he froze on the spot. Yellow represents the earth element, white is the metal element that the earth element gives birth to, so how did the black water element get involved?
It's said that earth generates metal, but there's no such thing as water generating metal, is there?
This was tantamount to a complete upheaval of his long-held values. He scratched his head and pulled at his hair, utterly bewildered and unable to comprehend it.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, repeating this several times until Ji An felt his mind calm down.

He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the subtle changes in the flow of energy, and softly chanted:

"The Five Elements are a kind of property, and the changes of Yin and Yang promote the mutual generation of the Five Elements."

Just then, a ghostly beast resembling a cheetah appeared from the void.

It growled softly, raised its claws, and swung them viciously at Ji An's neck.

(End of this chapter)