Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 895 The Panic at Lotus Temple
Ji An felt the spiritual veins of the small world vibrating in sync with the roar of the earth unicorn, forming a wondrous resonance.

The Qilin gently lifted its leg and then suddenly slammed it down, creating a crack more than ten feet long and a foot wide in the ground.

It easily harnessed the power of earth, immediately closing the crack and completely concealing the 'scar' from before.

The Qilin raised its head and looked at its master with arrogance.

Ji An and his natal spiritual treasure were of one mind; how could he not understand its meaning? He clapped his hands and laughed:
"Very good, from now on you can fight alone!"

Facing an enemy at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, he could unleash his natal spiritual treasure to fight.

The earthen unicorn revealed a pleased expression, shaking its head smugly.

As the grade of a spiritual treasure increases, its spiritual power also becomes stronger.

Ji An stepped forward and stroked the earthen qilin's jade-like horn, asking with a beaming smile:

"Show me what other skills you have, but don't damage the spiritual plants here."

He feared that if he didn't add something, the land would suffer.

After the natal spirit treasure is upgraded, the power of earth-elemental spells will be enhanced, and it will be able to withstand more power, thus increasing the strength of the defensive field.

Previously, he found it difficult to face the combined attack of two Nascent Soul Ninth Level cultivators, but now he felt he could easily take on both of them.

The earthen qilin roared excitedly, its tail swishing proudly.

It gracefully strode forward, a layer of yellow sand flowing across its surface, followed by a sandstorm that blotted out the sun.

Ji An channeled his magical power to create an aura that resisted the wind and sand. He discovered that his vision was greatly obstructed, and the sand and dust could form an effect similar to a domain.

He asked telepathically, "What is the maximum area you can control?"

"It can currently cover about fifty acres, and this can be increased later."

Ji An nodded slightly. This ability wasn't very useful when attacking, because the enemy could escape by flying away, but it was quite good for defense.

Fifty mu is equivalent to a circle with a diameter of more than two thousand meters, which can block the enemy's line of sight.

'Take that power back, move on to the next act.'

The swirling sand and dust rapidly contracted towards the center, eventually forming a giant of yellow sand.

'Master, I can control the power of the five elements to form a 'sandman' that can burrow underground and use earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic or magic) to get close to the enemy.'

I can create two sand men, both with the strength of the early Nascent Soul stage.

Do sand people have the ability to fly?

The earthen qilin shook its head. 'No.'

Ji Anlue was somewhat disappointed, as battles at the Nascent Soul level rarely occur on the ground unless in special circumstances.

Are there any other methods?

A sly look flashed in the Earth Qilin's eyes. 'I can also release the Earth Divine Thunder to assist in the attack, its power is equivalent to the thunder magic cast by a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.'

Even against a Nascent Soul level nine cultivator, it can serve as a distraction and restraint, without affecting the formation of the Five Elements defensive domain during spellcasting.

Yellow lightning flashed in the distance, and a muffled sound echoed throughout every corner of the small world.

Ji An smiled, 'That's great.'

If you can attack without interfering with your main task, then your natal spirit treasure will play a much greater role in battle.

He summoned the Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag back into his body and used hand seals to release the Houde Yanling Mantra.

A warm, yellow aura covered the earth, and the earth element permeated the air.

After carefully sensing the rhythm of the spell's divine intent, he smiled with satisfaction; the spell's divine intent had increased by more than 20%.

Increasing the power of spells helps accumulate more spiritual energy in the spiritual field, thereby accelerating the improvement of the spiritual vein's grade.

Furthermore, the power of releasing Chaotic Five Elements Thunder and Vertical Golden Light will also be enhanced to varying degrees.

While overjoyed, Ji An was also somewhat worried. To upgrade the other Five Banners spiritual treasures, he would need seven or eight kinds of fourth-grade top-quality spiritual items.

Obtaining spiritual items at this level is quite difficult; it's all a matter of luck. His plan is to wait until he has a top-grade fourth-tier spiritual fruit before making a trade with a major sect in the Central Continent.

It was for this reason that he decided to go to Zhongzhou to help in the battle, so that he could become familiar with the True Lords of the same level and prepare for future transactions.

Relationships shouldn't be cultivated only when needed; preparing in advance is the best approach.

After the master and disciple took their seats in the cave, Ji An briefly recounted the battle in the Southern Continent, then changed the subject and said:
"The Earthly Fiend Sect has been destroyed, but the fourth-grade mid-level spiritual vein it left behind is a good thing. When the Central Continent and the Buddhist cultivators go to war, we can try to develop that place. Otherwise, it will only benefit outsiders."

Furthermore, the Shadowless Sect's spiritual veins are at least fourth-grade low-level, so we can also develop that area.

Although a spiritual vein is good, it is not safe enough without a protective array.

The conflict between Buddhist cultivators and immortal cultivators is becoming increasingly acute. Moreover, there is a Buddhist cultivator who has mastered the Divine Footwork technique who has disappeared. He is likely returning to the Central Continent to seek help, as it is not safe for him to stay in the Southern Continent.

The destruction of these two sects is like the death of a whale, which creates a whale fall and sustains an ecosystem.

Lin Lan's face flushed with excitement as she exclaimed, "Great! If we can take over this spiritual vein, we'll be a super sect spanning two continents!"

If the sect can accomplish the feat of occupying three fourth-tier spiritual veins under her leadership, then she will surely leave a brilliant mark on the sect's history.

Ji An smiled and shook his head, "Don't be too greedy. We can't swallow the two fourth-order spiritual veins of the Southern Continent. The resources needed to build the mountain-protecting formation alone are alarming."

I think the best approach is to form an alliance with the Golden Core cultivators of the Southern Continent and cooperate in developing that area. It would be even better if we could build a massive immortal city there.

Although the sect has developed rapidly, its overall strength is insufficient to seize territory across tens of thousands of miles. More importantly, the Yin-Yang spiritual veins that the sect currently occupies have a more promising future than the spiritual veins of the Southern Continent.

Lin Lan frowned slightly, and said with some reluctance:

"With the destruction of the Earthly Fiend Sect and the Shadowless Sect, there are no more forces at the Nascent Soul level in the Southern Continent."

We could easily send a True Lord to oversee it, and at least monopolize one of the spiritual veins!

Not counting the Five Sacred Mountains True Monarch and Yue Ling'er, the sect now has three Nascent Soul True Monarchs. In her mind, sending two True Monarchs out would be enough to occupy two fourth-order spiritual veins.

Ji An shook his head and analyzed:

"Don't just focus on what you gain, also look at what you discover."

If a sect occupies territory in other continents, it may seem to be larger, but over time it is very likely to split up. This is why major sects do not establish strongholds that are far apart.

The forces that branch out will gradually drift away from the sect, and may very well become independent in the future, unless it can be guaranteed that each generation of disciples in the Western Continent will produce a powerful cultivator who can overwhelm other branches.

Rise and fall are governed by the laws of nature, and this will not change according to the individual will of a cultivator. It is difficult for the main lineage of a sect to guarantee the suppression of other branches.

Lin Lan pondered for a moment, nodded in agreement, and sighed:
"Disciple understands. The best choice is to treat the spiritual veins of the Southern Continent as a tool that can continuously supply the sect with resources."

She was simply blinded by the enormous profits; after thinking it over, she realized where the risks lay.

In the rear hall of Lotus Temple, the air felt heavy, as if it had turned to lead.

The temple houses the Reincarnation Lamp, a type of lamp similar to the Soul Lamp of a cultivator. The color and intensity of the flame indicate the condition of the monks.

Before leaving the Western Continent, the monk kings would leave behind a wisp of their divine soul with a special aura in the temple.

Upon arriving in the Eastern Continent, each of these monk kings would leave behind a wisp of their aura to ignite the Reincarnation Lamp. If the monk was in good condition, the flame would be golden, with a stable and clear light.

If the candle is injured, the light will appear to flicker depending on the extent of the injury, but the color will not change.

If they unfortunately pass away, the souls of the Sangharajas will use the traces they left behind as a guide to cross the ocean and return to the Western Continent for reincarnation.

At this time, the flame of the Reincarnation Lamp will turn a dim yellow color, and the lamp will burn as small as a bean.

The Venerable Master Jingci pursed his lips, staring at the vast expanse of dim candlelight, at a loss for what to do.

Apart from a few who remained at the temple, the other monks who followed the Sea Monk King in his campaign against the Southern Continent all perished.

In his view, such a thing was completely impossible. Even if the Sangharajas were in danger, couldn't they at least run away?!
But the facts are clear: there's no way to escape.

Upon learning that the Reincarnation Lamp was malfunctioning, he rushed over and witnessed the candlelight gradually change, from a bright and stable gold to a dim and flickering yellow, like a candle in the wind.

Even though the monk Wang persisted to the very end, he still could not escape the fate of passing away.

Monk Yuanjue said in a trembling voice:

"In the end what happened?"

He seemed to be asking a question, or perhaps talking to himself.

The Venerable Master Jingci calmed himself and slowly said:
“The Pure Moon Monk King attained the power of divine travel, and he and the Sea-like Monk King went to the Southern Continent together.”

Now his cycle of reincarnation seems to be working perfectly; we can wait for news from him.

Normally, unless he is trapped in some kind of self-contained formation, the Pure Moon Monk King will be fine.

After a moment of silence, he said:
"This is a matter of great importance. We must temporarily keep the news from reaching the lower-ranking disciples."

The news that more than twenty monks died on the same day was too sensational and absolutely could not be spread, otherwise it would surely cause panic.

Monk Yuanjue nodded, "As you command."

Let alone the lower-level disciples, he is now terrified and extremely panicked.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and as the sun set, the Golden Spirit Sect once again welcomed guests at the True Monarch level.

Zhenyue Zhenjun and his wife arrived together; for safety's sake, they always acted together whenever they left the sect.

After the host and guests were seated in the Wuji Hall, Ji An smiled and said:

"I thought it would take some time to get your reply, but I didn't expect to get the news today. Fellow Daoist Xuanfeng hasn't arrived yet."

If you calculate it carefully, it was still three days before the two people left, which was two months ago.

This shows that they rushed back to Zhongzhou without stopping, and that Zhongzhou reacted quickly and made a decision immediately, which was very efficient.

(End of this chapter)