Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 662 Xuanwu Mountain

Ji An felt that the operation of his cultivation technique had almost come to a standstill. The spiritual energy content here was almost zero, making it a place devoid of spiritual energy.

He approached a fruit, unleashed a golden light spell, and a silver crescent flew out, precisely splitting the white fruit in two and severing the vines behind it.

He saw that the thick peel contained bright red flesh, just like animal flesh.

The vines, once severed, immediately retreated like startled snakes.

These are mutated plants that have grown in the ruins. They are the main food of the magical beasts here, but for cultivators, they are poison that will kill them.

In addition, some plants here can transform into 'carnivores' and devour magical beasts, while others feed on magical beasts.

Ji An recalled the information about the ruins and summoned the Golden-Winged Bird to scout ahead. The puppet had no life force and was a good helper in the investigation, so the possibility of him being attacked was not high.

I've memorized the map given to me by Master Feiyun. The next step is to find landmarks to determine our current location so that we can proceed with the next part of the plan.

The Earth Qilin received orders to reduce the intensity of its spiritual light; otherwise, Ji An would be a huge source of light, inevitably attracting many enemies.

Ji An then summoned the Flame Banner that flew off the ground. The magical artifact transformed into a fire phoenix that danced around him, swaying its colorful tail feathers in a flamboyant manner.

He immediately gave the order:

"Keep a low profile and keep your distance; it's dangerous here."

The fire phoenix immediately complied, shrinking its size from the size of a pigeon to the size of a sparrow, its feathers turning dark red without a trace of shimmer.

A black cat leaped out of the decaying haystack, baring its teeth and claws as it tried to pounce on its target in the sky.

It opened its mouth, revealing ferocious fangs, and its tongue was forked like a snake.

The fire phoenix spat out a fireball the size of a glass marble, which hit the black cat's mouth with the speed of a bullet leaving the barrel.

It was as if a hand grenade had been inserted, exploding with a bang and sending flesh and blood flying everywhere. Only then did the flying sword launched by the Plain Cloud Banner arrive.

The difference between the magical artifacts is still quite obvious. Logically speaking, the attack speed of the Plain Cloud Banner should exceed that of the Ground-Leaving Flame Banner.

Even if the Plain Cloud Banner is one grade lower, the difference shouldn't be this large. This magic weapon still lacks spirituality. Only if it can take human form will it truly become a part of the magic weapon combat system.

The fire phoenix let out a haughty cry, its bright eyes giving a defiant glance at its companion.

The explosion shattered the tranquility of the meadow, and dozens of black cats darted in from all directions.

Now the plain-colored cloud banners are energized, their banners waving, and the flying swords formed from silver light spread outwards like ripples on water.

The black cat leaped nimbly, but it couldn't withstand the overwhelming attack and was shredded into pieces in mid-air.

A demon barely at the Foundation Establishment stage is no match for a magical artifact. Ji An and the Fire Phoenix communicated mentally:
"Let the new partner do his job well; these minor issues aren't worth your time."

The magical artifacts are becoming increasingly spiritual, so we need to coax them a bit so they can work even harder.

In addition, fire magic causes too much noise and is not suitable for leading the charge.

The fire phoenix let out a joyful cry, landed on its master's shoulder, and proudly raised its head.

After several hours of searching, Ji An arrived at a large lake. The water was completely still and as black as ink, seemingly connected to a bottomless abyss. The sound of flowing water could be faintly heard in the distance.

At this moment, Ji An determined his location. He was located to the north of the ruins, and he could see the source of the water—Xuanwu Mountain—by ​​crossing the large lake.

The law has the ability to reverse the five elements; when people from the outside enter this place from the same area, the starting point of the ruins is different each time.

The last time you landed at a certain point, it was at Xuanwu Mountain; the next time it might be at Qinglong Mountain. But if you enter the ruins from the same area, the landing points will be not far apart.

According to the information we have, there is a group of dilapidated buildings on the mountain, which we need to investigate.

There are many water monsters in the lake, including many demonic beasts at the Golden Core level. Adopting the attitude of "better to avoid trouble," Ji An did not choose to cross the lake but instead walked around the lake shore.

The materials from these magical beasts were useless to him, otherwise he wouldn't mind crossing the lake.

Ji An's running speed gradually slowed down. He had already consumed more than half of his magical power and needed to stop to rest and recover.

Within the ruins, mana is consumed much faster than outside, which is why it's essential to purchase elixirs that quickly restore mana.

He found a flat area and conveyed his thoughts to the Flame Banner.

The fire phoenix swelled up like a pufferfish, spewing out a blazing white-purple wave of fire, like a flamethrower.

The vegetation on the ground turned to ashes in an instant, and the poisonous insects lurking on the surface of the soil were scalded to death before they could escape.

At first, thick black smoke billowed out, but as the demonic energy contained in this land was burned away, the black smoke gradually thinned and eventually disappeared completely.

Ji An summoned the Golden Fur and the Golden-feathered Eagle, saying, "You two also join the guard duty."

After saying that, he took out two more purification talismans and activated them on the beasts he controlled.

"Squeak," the golden retriever squeaked ingratiatingly, shaking its fluffy fur as it stood guard on the outer edge of the area.

The golden eagle took flight and circled in the air.

Ji An took out a black jade bottle, swallowed a drop of the stone milk, and his Five Elements Divine Palace emitted light. The cultivation technique, which had been stagnant, immediately resumed operation. The stone milk was quickly refined, and he frowned slightly, only increasing his mana by 10%.

He scratched his head. "We should buy older pieces of stalactite."

Normally, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator would have enough to consume four-thousand-year-old stone milk, but he was not a normal cultivator, and his internal mana was much more abundant than that of other cultivators of the same level.

Therefore, the prepared steatite must be used sparingly.

He took out a futon and sat down cross-legged, holding a high-grade spirit stone in each hand, and began to circulate the Five Elements Wheel Sutra.

There is no spiritual energy in the air; one can only absorb the spiritual energy from pills or spirit stones.

His spirit stone reserves were plentiful, so he wasn't worried about the recovery of his magic power.

The two, Chang Le Zhenren and another person, entered the ruins and each took out a purification talisman to activate it.

"Senior brother, we haven't made many preparations, and we don't have much time left. We need to find our target as soon as possible."

Before they began tracking the target, they had no idea where it was headed and lacked sufficient resources.

Master Xuanji nodded slightly and said:
"We're just looking for someone, and we'll catch up with them soon."

If there isn't a suitable opportunity, we'll find a teleportation point. You can leave the ruins to buy resources, and I'll continue tracking.

The predecessors who sealed off this area back then set up a magic array that could allow cultivators to teleport away from the ruins, taking into account the possibility of cultivators entering the ruins.

He took out a white jade plate, activated a secret technique to check the activity inside, and said helplessly:

"The target did not remove the puppet I marked, so we cannot locate it for the time being. Let's try searching this area to see if we can find any traces left by the target."

Xuan Yang Zhenren took out a magical treasure to protect himself. It was a bright yellow pagoda, an earth-elemental natal magical treasure.

Most cultivators of the Golden Puppet Sect refine defensive natal magic weapons, while relying on the puppets they accumulate for attacks.

It's quite normal for a Golden Core cultivator to own dozens of puppets. Depending on their wealth, a poor cultivator might own one or two Tier 3 puppets, while a wealthy one might own more than a dozen Tier 3 puppets.

Take Xuanji Shenren as an example. His strongest puppet is a third-tier top-grade puppet beast, made of Vajra Bodhi wood. He specially crafted it at a great cost in order to deal with the True Demon Tribulation.

He then took out several miniature flying puppets, each the size of a sparrow. They looked small because the Size Control Technique had shrunk their size; their largest forms were the size of swans.

At his command, the puppets scattered and searched for clues, and found something in about 15 minutes.

The two rushed over and found fragments of the monster's corpse scattered among the nearby vegetation, with obvious signs of burning.

Master Xuanji laughed, "Everything is going smoothly. Perhaps we can complete the mission before our resources run out."

The mountains are towering and the rocks are rugged, but their former glory is no longer visible. Occasionally, one can see broken walls and ruins, telling the story of the relentless passage of time.

Ji An flew upwards along the black stream, occasionally encountering blind monsters that attacked him, all of which were turned into countless slices under the attack of the Plain Cloud Banner.

If a Golden Core level magical beast appears, the Flame Banner and the Plain Cloud Banner will immediately unite and skillfully execute a "two against one" maneuver.

"I mow down enemies wherever I go; I love the feeling of crushing them."

Ji An chuckled softly, "We haven't encountered any decent enemies along the way."

However, he remained vigilant, as each time this ruin was opened, there was a significant casualty rate.

Before long, Ji An felt that half of his magical power had been depleted, so he had to search for a place to stay again.

So this is what happens when there is no spiritual energy in the world for cultivators.

He once thought that there was nothing to fear in the Land of Severed Spirits, but now it seems he was very wrong. This kind of place can actually affect the rate at which a cultivator's mana is consumed.

Ji An couldn't help but ponder, why hadn't this happened in the Misty Mountain region? The demonic mist there had already enveloped the land.

He came to a guess that it might be because the spiritual energy in the Wulan Mountain area had not yet been completely assimilated and dissipated by the demonic energy.

This area has been sealed off for many years, with no communication with the outside world, and the spiritual veins have been severed, so no new spiritual energy is being generated.

A moment later, Ji An found a place to stand, next to a broken boulder.

Huge claw marks remain on this boulder, and the characters '玄武' (Xuanwu) can be faintly discerned from the large characters on it.

Fire Phoenix once again took charge of grilling the food, driving away any potential poisonous insects.

Ji An gestured to show the size of the paw print and couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

The widest part of the claw mark was a foot long. The claws alone were so huge that one could only imagine how enormous the enemy must have been. It must have been left by a true demon at the Nascent Soul level.

Ji An ordered the magical artifacts and puppets to be on guard, while he took out a high-grade spirit stone and held it in his hand.

Given the rapid loss of his magical power, he had already stored several of his tamed beasts in his spirit beast pouch.

He didn't know how long he would have to stay here. Although he had prepared a lot of purification talismans, he didn't want to waste them. There were still a few months left, so he had to start saving money now.

(End of this chapter)