Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 896 Fourth-Order Supreme-Grade Gathering Yuan Tree

Zhenyue Zhenjun, with a solemn expression, said:

"The True Lords value our intelligence highly and believe that continuing to let things go will only cause greater losses."

As we left Central Continent, a coalition of late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators had already set out to officially begin their attack on the Buddhist cultivators' grand formation.

The results of the operation in the Southern Continent were so astonishing that the True Lords initially didn't believe him. They questioned him in detail about True Lord Xuanqing, and his answer was:
'The core cultivation method chosen by Fellow Daoist Xuanqing is the Five Elements Revolving Scripture. He has chosen the path of "mutual generation of the five elements and the return of all laws to oneness", and has a very profound understanding of the power of the five elements.'

Later, he inherited the legacy of the Five Elements Sect in the ruins of the Wanhua Mountains, and should have obtained the complete cultivation method and a huge amount of resources.

His current attacks are very simple and brutal. His spell choice is Chaotic Five Elements Thunder, and his choice of spiritual treasure is a spiritual treasure that combines all five elements.

Furthermore, he also possessed one replica of each of the Five Innate Banners, all of which were of the high-grade fourth rank.

Putting aside everything else, just by looking at the number of spiritual treasures nurtured, one can understand just how powerful True Lord Xuanqing is.

All the True Lords understood the immense power of the combined Five Elements, and he presented further evidence proving that a Nascent Soul cultivator at the ninth level had perished in battle.

This greatly boosted the confidence of the True Lords. When attacking the mountain-protecting formation, what they needed most was an ally whose power was so strong it was unreasonable.

Ji An sat up straight and asked:
"How many fellow cultivators at the late Nascent Soul stage have already joined the battle?"

Zhenyue Zhenjun replied:
"Currently, there are 32 people participating in the battle: four cultivators at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, eight cultivators at the eighth level of the Nascent Soul stage, and twenty cultivators at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage."

When we return to Central Continent, my cousin and I will also join the battle. Together with you and Fellow Daoist Xuanfeng, the number of cultivators directly participating in the battle will reach thirty-six.

The Central Continent mobilized nearly 80% of its late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, determined to achieve a decisive victory in one fell swoop.

He either doesn't do anything, or when he does, it's a thunderous strike. Having experienced the bloody battles of the True Demon Tribulation, the True Lord is not lacking in decisiveness.

Ji An's expression was one of surprise and delight. He had originally thought that the joint military expedition would lead to a war of words among the sects in the Central Continent.

“Very good. Please rest for two days, fellow Daoists. Fellow Daoist Xuanfeng will arrive in the next two days.”

Two days later, True Monarch Xuanfeng arrived on time as expected, and the four of them set off immediately, flying towards the passage to the Land of Annihilation.

After more than half a month of trekking, they arrived at the forefront of the war—Luofeng Mountain.

This mountain is situated on a mid-grade fourth-order spiritual vein, more than 12,000 miles away from the protective array of the Buddhist cultivators. It is the mountain gate of a mid-level Nascent Soul sect.

After the cultivators took their seats in the Phoenix Palace, the Azure Dragon True Monarch of the Divine Wood Sect politely said:

"Hearing Zhenyue Zhenjun recount the achievements of our two fellow Daoists greatly encouraged us. Today, we are finally able to see their divine countenances."

When they met, the Nascent Soul Ninth Level cultivators intentionally or unintentionally released a few wisps of their aura, and they gained a basic understanding of each other.

Xuanfeng Zhenjun extended his right hand and waved it a few times, saying:

"Fellow Daoist, you flatter me. My role in the battle was far less than that of Fellow Daoist Xuanqing."

Only those who have witnessed the battle firsthand can truly feel its power, the relentless suppression from beginning to end, and the despair of an enemy facing an insurmountable obstacle.

His tone was full of admiration, yet the battle between people of the same realm showed a crushing defeat due to the vast difference in their realms.

Many cultivators looked at Ji An with subtle, scrutinizing eyes. They respected a Nascent Soul Ninth Level cultivator and had heard about his deeds, but they still found it hard to believe that this was true.

Ji An maintained a smile in the face of the probing gazes, remaining calm and composed. His strength would naturally become apparent in battle.

Azure Dragon True Monarch laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist Xuanfeng is too modest. Both of you are willing to fight for the Dao and are role models in the cultivation world. Now let me describe the current situation to you."

He took out two jade slips and handed them over. "Inside are maps of the areas controlled by the Buddhist sect. Each yellow area represents a temple, which are nodes of the Buddhist formation."

The place is teeming with incense smoke and appears to be shrouded in auspicious light, but in reality, people's minds have been unknowingly distorted, turning them into fanatical believers.

The area controlled by Shi Xiu is an enormous circle, with the array eye at the very center and five extreme points surrounding it, forming the first layer of defense.

Beyond this first defensive perimeter lies the second layer, which has ten nodes.

Currently, there are eighty nodes on the outermost edge of this area, and the nodes we are attacking are marked in red.

The advantage of choosing to besiege one node is to avoid being defeated one by one, but it also means that the current results are merely consuming the Buddha's array's reserve of willpower, without any substantial progress.

When more cultivators arrive, they will only besiege a few nodes and will not disperse their forces. Otherwise, it will be difficult to defend against an enemy attack.

The cultivators of Central Continent have an absolute advantage in strength, but no force can commit all its resources, so they can only choose the most rudimentary method when attacking, and are prepared for a long battle.

Ji An inspected the area controlled by the Buddhist monks and asked:

"How much do we know about the enemy's Buddhist formation? What is their attack rhythm?"

Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle; otherwise, you can only learn through trial and error.

Canglong Zhenjun smiled helplessly and said, “We have never fought against Buddhist cultivators in this form before. During the last conflict between Daoism and Buddhism, our side was at its peak. Buddhist cultivators could build temples, but only one temple was allowed to exist within a radius of 500 li, which made it impossible to form a formation.”

Our current attack rhythm is mainly driven by Nascent Soul stage cultivators, supplemented by Golden Core stage cultivators, divided into two groups to launch a fierce attack on defensive nodes.

One group is responsible for the main attack, while the other group is responsible for vigilance and responding to emergencies.

The main purpose of this was to guard against the Buddhist monks organizing a large number of high-level cultivators to attack, so the guard team could not relax their vigilance, and both teams were in a state of combat readiness throughout the day.

He then took out two jade slips, used his object manipulation technique to hand them over, and said, "These are the reward rules for battle. Please take a look, and feel free to ask us if you have any questions."

Although the main issue is the conflict between Taoism and Buddhism, no one is obligated to fight without regard for the cost, so the rewards are all listed.

Even if many rewards cannot be cashed out immediately, it is still better than making empty promises.

Ji An caught the jade slip and quickly scanned its contents. It was a pre-arranged document, and he could accept it as long as there were no obviously unfair terms.

Xuanfeng Zhenjun also quickly browsed the contents of the jade slip and said:

"We are fully aware of the rules: when do we need to be deployed in combat? How often do we rotate in combat?"

Azure Dragon True Lord explained:
"With the arrival of two fellow Daoists to provide support, the two Nascent Soul Ninth Level Daoists from Taiyan Sect and Lingxu Sect will leave. In this way, when the rotation occurs three years later, we will still have four Nascent Soul Ninth Level True Monarchs present."

Fellow Daoists, you've had a long and arduous journey. How about you rest for three days before heading to the front lines?

“Yes,” Ji An and the other person responded.

“Very good. We will hold a banquet later to welcome you two from afar.”

An hour later, Ji An met the late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who had participated in the battle at the banquet. He chatted with each of them for a while and became acquainted with them.

He didn't deliberately show any intention to befriend them; their friendship would only deepen as they fought side by side for longer.

After the banquet, Ji An and the other person were led to their assigned cave dwellings by True Lord Canglong and True Lord Juque, respectively.

Juque Zhenjun is a Nascent Soul Ninth Level True Lord of the Divine Elephant Sect, a powerful body cultivator.

Ji An felt that the other party's physical toughness was even stronger than that of a True Demon of the same realm. Because he also cultivated his body, he could clearly feel how powerful the blood and qi surging within the other party's body was.

The four traveled on clouds, and after parting ways halfway, Azure Dragon True Lord said with a smile:

“Zhenyue Zhenjun once mentioned that you are proficient in planting magic. We would like to exchange experiences with you if we have the opportunity.”

As a cultivator of the Divine Tree Sect, he had a natural affinity for cultivators with spiritual farming skills.

Ji An smiled and nodded, "Definitely, I also hope to have more exchanges with your clan."

The Divine Tree Sect is the most sacred hall in the hearts of the spirit farmers. If possible, he thought that one day he would set foot in the Divine Tree Sect, and at that time he would prepare to exchange his precious spirit seeds for high-level spirit plant seeds that he did not have.

Azure Dragon True Lord led him into the cave and said gently:

“Fellow Daoist, you can rearrange the array at this spiritual vein node. I imagine you’re tired today, so let’s talk another day.”

After seeing the other party off, Ji An replaced the original magic array with the Xuanwu Armor Formation. After finishing, he carefully searched the area, summoned Yue Ling'er from the corpse-nurturing bag, gave her a few instructions, and then entered the small world.

Spring went and autumn came, and two years passed.

During the day, Ji An and Canglong Zhenjun attacked the defensive nodes centered around the temple. At night, they returned to their cave and entered the small world to cultivate. Their days were very peaceful.

Although he did not engage in battle with Shi Xiu, judging solely from the power and scale of his spells, all cultivators and enemies knew of his strength.

Each time the Chaos Five Elements Thunder unleashed its brilliance, the thunderous roar resounded throughout the sky, clearly audible for miles around.

He used only seven-tenths of his strength, yet the power and effect he displayed surpassed everyone else's.

That day, Ji An returned to his cave and entered the gourd world as usual, immediately sensing a different atmosphere.

The speed of his internal energy circulation suddenly accelerated without him actively engaging in it. The towering Gathering Yuan Tree shone with intense spiritual light, and each leaf seemed to be carved from crystal jade.

Moreover, his eyes also caught a few flower buds peeking out.

The Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag flew out of the dantian and transformed into a Qilin, letting out an excited low roar. Clouds rose beneath its feet as it flew into the dense foliage of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots.

Ji An suddenly took a step forward and arrived next to the spirit tree in the next moment.

He probed the interior of the Gathering Yuan Tree with his divine sense and felt the life force of the fourth-grade top-quality spiritual wood surging within him, and couldn't help but let out a long howl.

Two months ago, Ji An discovered that the spirit tree was showing signs of advancement, and now it has finally completed the final step.

The Gathering Essence Tree has been upgraded to the fourth-tier top-grade level, and more spiritual trees with deep foundations will reach this grade in the future.

(End of this chapter)