Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 671: Nowhere to be found after wearing iron shoes

Ji An carefully put away the jade box and said:
"Senior, now that the spiritual veins are depleted, this ruin will become a demonic realm, and all its past glory and trials will fade into silence. What are your plans?"

This is an 'old man,' we'll have to trick him into leaving somehow.

Judging from the other party's speech and knowledge, he is a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage, who can provide a lot of help.

Most importantly, the puppet the other party was inhabiting was not powerful and did not show any malice.

"I was born and raised here, so let me be buried with the spirit vein."

The puppet's words were filled with desolation and reluctance, as well as a sense of relief.

Ji An pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice:
"Senior, you have not seen the light of day for a long time. Now that the calamity of the true demons has broken out again, why not leave this place?"

Firstly, to see the current world of cultivation; secondly, to fight on the battlefield again.

"Another fight? Haha, haha."

The puppet burst into laughter, then stopped after a long while, its voice filled with deep-seated hatred:
"Did you know that when our sect was besieged, if a few nearby sects had been willing to come to our aid, it would have been very possible to dismantle the True Demon army?"

I understand their concerns. If they don't want to come, they don't have to. After all, rescue operations involve considerable risks.

However, the other ends of the two teleportation arrays we prepared were simultaneously destroyed in a surprise attack. According to our fellow disciples who escaped, the attackers were human cultivators. How should we settle this score?

If the teleportation array had not been destroyed, the Myriad Transformations Mountain Range would have been reduced to ruins, but the sect's legacy could still have continued.

Once the tribulation of the true demons ends, we can find another spiritual vein to make a comeback.

Ji An never expected that the sordid things hidden in the dust of history would be so nakedly exposed before his eyes, and he could fully understand the resentment.

"Do you know who did this?"

"I don't know. The one who made the move was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Only one of the disciples guarding the two teleportation arrays managed to escape."

That disciple only managed to return to the sect to deliver the news thanks to my junior brother's desperate protection, and ultimately sacrificed his life for the sect.

The puppet slowly recounted old stories, its tone concealing a deep-seated, chilling hatred.

This is what bothers him the most—being tricked and not even knowing who his enemy is.

Hundreds of thousands of years have passed, and everything has sunk to the bottom of the river of time, never to see the light of day again.

Ji An sighed inwardly and changed the subject:

"Senior, your disciple said that he would select a few outstanding disciples to inherit the Five Elements Sect's legacy, and he would begin to carry it out after leaving the ruins."

"You can help me check things out when we leave the ruins together."

Perhaps his words touched a soft spot in the other person's heart, and the puppet fell into deep thought.

After a long silence, the puppet slowly spoke:

"Don't tell anyone about my affairs. When my soul finally falls into oblivion, burn my remains and bring them to the Myriad Transformations Mountains, so that I may become one with this land I love and shed blood for, and one with all my fellow disciples who fought alongside me."

Ji An nodded solemnly, "No problem, this disciple will act as senior says."

Because of this consensus, their relationship unexpectedly became much closer.

The puppet asked with concern:

What is your chosen natal magic weapon?

"This disciple has chosen the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner. In the future, I plan to collect replicas of the Five Primordial Banners to form a set of magic weapons that can be used for both offense and defense."

Currently, besides the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag, we already possess four replica magical artifacts.

"What a pity. If the Five Elements Sect still existed and you were a disciple of the sect, you would be very suitable to refine the Five Elements Divine Mountain as your natal magic weapon."

It can both attack and defend, and it's easy to operate; to defend against enemies, you simply need to control the magic weapon and throw it out.

The puppet sighed, "The Five Elements Divine Mountain is a legacy left by that Three Flowers Realm Ancestor. It is only suitable for cultivators who choose the path of 'Five Elements Revolve, All Laws Return to One'."

Ji An asked with curiosity, "Isn't it similar to a replica of the innate spiritual treasure, the Heaven-Turning Seal?"

The True Lord Zhenyue of the Taixu Sect possessed a magical artifact called the Fantian Seal, which perfectly embodied a profound and powerful beauty when used in attack.

"Hehe, the Five Elements Divine Mountain is of course much stronger than the imitation of the spiritual treasure. That ancestor's ambition was to create a magic weapon comparable to a primordial spiritual treasure."

Your idea is also good, it has a certain degree of flexibility, and it allows you to make good use of your profound magical power.

By the way, since you have this idea, why not refine a replica of the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag? Is it because you don't have enough resources?

In the puppet's view, this disciple who had gained his approval came from a remote place and had few resources to offer. It was already quite an achievement that he was able to collect four magical treasures.

"This disciple is not only a spiritual farmer tending the land, but also an alchemist, and has some assets. The main problem is that there is no weapon refiner available to help."

Ji An recounted his predicament and said with a wry smile:
“In today’s cultivation world, replicas of the Five Banners are not the mainstream magical artifacts.”

The puppet's tone was strange, "Such a vast Central Continent, known as the most prosperous place in this world, the region with the most concentrated and abundant spiritual veins, can't even gather enough blueprints for a replica of an innate spiritual treasure?"

In his time, imitations of innate spiritual treasures were quite popular among cultivators.

“You don’t need to worry. Our heritage contains blueprints for several innate spiritual treasures, including the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag.”

Ji An smiled silently. It was truly a case of "searching high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly."

Not only did they obtain the inherited cultivation techniques, but they also acquired a large amount of high-end inherited knowledge. This trip to the ruins has been incredibly profitable.

"Once I break through to the late stage of the Golden Core realm, I will set about finding a weapon refiner to forge a magic weapon!"

The two chatted for a while longer, and Ji An asked the question that had been bothering him:
"Senior, how have you managed to live through such a long period of time?"

Nascent Soul cultivators live for three thousand years, at which time both their bodies and souls will decay.

The puppet remained silent for a moment, then said softly:
"Before my time was up, I used a secret technique to extract the remaining life force from my physical body and inject it into my nascent soul, and then placed it in this puppet."

One part of the puppet is the core of a mid-grade fourth-order Soul Nourishing Wood. Although it can no longer strengthen the soul, it can greatly reduce the loss of the soul.

Also, I spend most of my time in a forced slumber, only waking up when the inheritance trial is activated.

For so many years, he seemed to be alive, but in reality, it was no different from being dead. When he was lucid, he would suffer from boundless loneliness.

If he hadn't had the belief that the sect's techniques would be passed down, he probably wouldn't have been able to persevere for so long.

Watching helplessly as his fellow disciples, who had miraculously survived, passed away before his very eyes, filled him with unbearable grief.

He continued, "Even so, my soul is undergoing irreversible decay and has reached its final stage. The chance of dispersing my nascent soul and leaving only a trace of true spirit to be reborn and cultivate again has also been shattered."

The spiritual veins have been corrupted by the true demons using unknown methods, making it impossible for true spirits to safely leave this desolate area.

If the legacy is not passed on, his nascent soul will decay along with his puppet body.

This land of inheritance will eventually be devoured by demonic energy, and everything the Five Elements Sect left behind in this world will vanish into thin air.

The hall was silent for a long time, and no one spoke.

Ji An exhaled, releasing some of the pent-up emotions in his heart, and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Have I not yet had the honorific title of this senior?"

"Heh, a stray dog ​​has no face to utter such things." Ji An didn't press further. "Senior, is there anything else you need to prepare? If not, let's leave."

The puppet walked to the wall, opened a hole, and took out more than a dozen urns. "Take these ashes out and scatter them in the mountains."

After leaving the trial grounds, the two were teleported to a high platform outside the Five Elements Transformation Hall. Ji An noticed that the five stone pillars that originally stood there had many faint marks on their surfaces.

The puppet stared at the plaque in the main hall with a complex expression, and after a long while, it looked away and sighed:
"Leave now, there are no more resources left inside."

The spiritual vein nodes will soon be completely corrupted, and all glory and honor will return to dust.

Black water-like clouds rose from beneath Ji An's feet, lifting him and the puppet away.

The Giant Spirit Immortal peeked out from the adjacent hall, watching the departing figure and muttering to himself:

"Where did these two guys come from? I didn't even notice anyone landing."

A female cultivator's voice came from inside the hall, "Let's leave too. There's nothing here, and our mana is being depleted too quickly."

"But we haven't found out why this strange phenomenon is happening here. I suspect there must be some treasure hidden somewhere here!"

"I am not willing to accept this," said the Giant Spirit Master. "A few days ago, the five-colored pillar of light alarmed a large number of cultivators."

This place was marked as a forbidden area. At first, everyone gathered at the foot of the mountain and dared not go up, but as more and more people came, they became bolder.

The group traveled together, only to find that there was no danger at all.

Upon reaching the summit, they discovered several pillars radiating spiritual light, but found nothing else.

Everyone tried to use their magical artifacts to attack the stone pillar in turn, but they couldn't do anything to it. They attacked the restrictions on the main hall together, but unexpectedly, the restrictions could reflect their attacks.

Later, the pillar stopped shining, and everything returned to calm. The others searched for two days without success and then left.

Ji An flew to the mountainside, where the puppet smashed the urns one by one. The ashes inside had long lost all their spiritual energy and scattered like dust.

He didn't look for the teleportation points left when these ruins were sealed off; who knows if teleportation would be safe under these circumstances?

Ji An landed, found an excuse to hide in a cave, sealed it with an array plate, and entered the gourd world.

Upon seeing him return, a look of disappointment flashed in Xuanji Zhenren's eyes, before he was struck by a spirit-sealing spell.

It took Ji An two days to find a weak point in the magical barrier of the ruins, break through the barrier, and leave.

The puppet looked up at the sky, and seeing the vast blue expanse, its heart felt much more open, and its mood improved somewhat.

Half a month later, in the Phoenix Dance Mountains.

The aroma of tea filled the living room of a mansion near the mountaintop. Master Feiyun raised his teacup, his eyebrows arching in a lively dance.

"I thought you wouldn't be out for a few more months."

She roughly understood the other party's motive for entering the ruins; the chances of finding anything by searching an area that had been searched by countless people were very low.

The fact that the other party left the ruins so quickly was beyond her expectations. Could it be that they had already gotten what they wanted?
Ji An took a small sip, his expression grave.

"The situation in the ruins has changed dramatically. The spiritual veins there have completely dried up, and staying inside consumes mana very quickly."

The ruins teemed with monsters, and battles raged constantly. My stone milk, which I used to quickly restore my mana, was almost depleted, so I had to leave.

Another point is that the magical restrictions on the few remaining halls in the ruins have all failed, leaving them in ruins and not worth exploring further.

Master Feiyun frowned in thought and said:

"Perhaps the resurgence of the True Demon Tribulation caused changes to the ruins that we were unaware of, thus affecting the ruins."

Recently, several sealed demon caves have experienced leaks of demonic energy, suggesting that the great calamity may not be far off.

"Fellow Daoist, when do you plan to return to Cloud Sea Immortal City?"

"I'll be back tomorrow."

"So soon? Why not stay a few more days? I could introduce you to the alchemist. Going back a few days later won't affect your shop's business."

"It is precisely because of the shop that I want to sell Crimson Flame Pavilion and then leave Cloud Sea Immortal City."

Because of what happened to Master Xuanji, he felt it was no longer safe to stay in Yunhai Immortal City.

I'll go back and take care of things, give Jinrong Zhenren a few words of advice, and then leave.

Ji An believed that Master Xuanji had targeted him because he had twice commissioned top-tier level three puppets, and that this was likely a personal act.

He would secretly return to the Immortal City to inquire about the Golden Puppet Pavilion and prepare a further response.

Master Feiyun was in high spirits and asked with a smile:
"After you leave Cloud Sea Immortal City, where do you intend to go?"

"Haha, that's hard to say. We should visit some of the Nascent Soul factions in the north to broaden our horizons, however..."

Ji An changed the subject and continued:

"The agreement with you remains in effect, but the frequency of refining pills will decrease, although the quantity refined will not change significantly within a certain period of time."

To break through to the late stage of the Golden Core realm, he needs a large number of Purple Cloud Jade Mushroom Pills, and he still has a significant shortage of them, so he needs to maintain cooperation with the other party.

A yellow spiritual cloud streaked across the sky. Ji An and the puppet stood side by side. The senior had spent too long in the dark and sunless ruins and deserved to see more of the blue sky, white clouds, sunrise, sunset, moon and stars.

When I went to the ruins of the Five Elements Sect, I was eager, but now I feel calm and composed.

Ji An felt that the wind blowing past her ears was so gentle, and the birdsong she heard was so clear and melodious.

He would be in a better mood if the Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag and the Lidi Flame Flag were undamaged.

Suddenly, he heard a roaring sound in the wind.

After listening intently, he turned and sped away in the direction the sound came from.

The puppet looked at him with a puzzled expression, but did not say anything.

Two quarters of an hour later, when Ji An flew over a high mountain, he saw the sky filled with crimson, and fire tribulation clouds were brewing in the distance. Someone was undergoing tribulation, which should be a family force.

"Senior, I have some things to take care of, and I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you."

"I've been out for so long, I should take a nap."

Ji An stored the puppet inside the Void Stone, where it would not affect the puppet's survival.

He immediately landed, found a cave, and threw the brown bear out, saying, "I'll borrow your cave for now!"

The brown bear didn't dare to breathe and ran away with its tail between its legs.

Ji An extended his divine sense to search the cave, then took out the Earth Thousand-Turning Array Plate to seal the place, and then took out the gourd stone to enter it.

He approached the prisoners under guard and said, "Fellow Daoist Xuanji, it's time to set off."

Master Xuanji remained silent for a moment, then said firmly, "I am not afraid."

After saying this, he closed his eyes and offered his neck for execution.

　There was a minor bug in the previous chapter: if you talked to the puppet for three days, the prisoners in the gourd world might escape. I've changed the time and patched it; it won't affect reading.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)