Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 960 Heaven-Mending Lotus

Qingyue Sanren hesitated for a moment, then sat cross-legged on the lake. While refining the spiritual energy with a top-grade spirit stone, he silently released a spirit insect the size of a mung bean as a warning.

Although she was able to be rescued thanks to Xuanqing Sanren's help, she still doesn't dare to completely trust him.

If she hadn't already exhausted all her magical power, she would never have refined spiritual energy without the protection of an array.

While the other two were recovering their magical powers, Ji An cautiously observed his surroundings.

He was extremely excited at this moment. In the past, the stone tortoise would only help him when he was in danger, such as when he was attacked by a Nascent Soul level Yin spirit in the Five Elements Sect ruins.

Now, they've actually stepped in to help before the battle has even reached a critical moment, giving him another ally.

This battle gave him a clearer understanding of his own strength. He was able to hold his own against late-stage Three Flowers Realm cultivators for a while, but mid-stage Three Flowers Realm cultivators were no match for him.

The power of the Yin-Yang Divine Thunder at the Great Perfection level gave him a trump card to overcome the strong with the weak.

As one's cultivation level increases, the quality of one's internal mana will also improve, and the power of one's spells will increase accordingly.

He predicted that if his cultivation reached the mid-stage of the Three Flowers Realm, he would be able to fight against late-stage Three Flowers Realm cultivators without relying on the stone turtle.

Ji An made contact with the Five Sacred Mountains True Lords in the Calabash World through a secret method, and after refining the small world into his body, he gained this ability.

The Five Sacred Mountains True Lord flew out, looked around a few times, and cupped his hands in greeting:
"Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

He was somewhat curious, as the sovereign had never allowed him to appear before other cultivators at the Three Flowers Realm.

Ji An pointed downwards, roughly indicating the area, and said:
"Search the lake and collect all the pieces of meat that have fallen in."

The blood of a cultivator at the Three Flowers Realm is insoluble in water and will sink like lead or mercury. The same is true for their physical tissues, which are much denser than water.

Fortunately, these things are not water-soluble; otherwise, if they fell into the lake, they would be another form of 'pollution,' and fish, shrimp, and other creatures would die because they could not withstand the nourishing effects of these medicines.

"Yes, sir," the Five Sacred Mountains True Lord immediately agreed. He stepped into the lake and disappeared instantly without causing the slightest ripple.

Amidst the mist, the expression on the face of the Azure Nether Saint King shifted between light and shadow. The secret techniques of the White Bone Temple allowed him to have a greater field of vision within the mist.

He couldn't understand why a low-level cultivator could withstand a war of attrition better than him.

'Could it be that the enemy possesses a support-type spiritual treasure at the level of a pre-heavenly treasure?'

After thinking about it carefully for a moment, he felt that it was really possible, and his heart burned with excitement at the thought.

Once a cultivator reaches the Three Flowers Realm, he can also use the spiritual treasures that other cultivators can use, at most he will need to spend some effort to convert them.

However, that fervor quickly receded like the tide. If he fought head-on, he couldn't defeat the enemy directly, and all his schemes would be in vain, unless he could lure the enemy into the formation.

The Xuan Tian White Bone Array, a mobile array composed of white bone demon soldiers, is not suitable. It must be a large array built on spiritual veins and able to draw upon the power of the sun, moon, and stars.

Lost in thought, a wave of weakness washed over him. The Azure Netherworld Saint King put away the white bone demonic soldiers beside him and transformed into a cloud of black mist, speeding away.

Qingyue Sanren was the first to finish refining spiritual energy and politely said:
"Fellow Daoist, let me take over the guard duty now. You should quickly recover your mana."

She breathed a sigh of relief, and her tone became much more sincere.

Ji An waved his hand gently, "No need, I have other means to restore my magic power."

"Now that you're awake, why don't you dig up those two mature Heaven-Mending Lotuses and we'll divide them up later?"

It's best to secure your gains; only resources you have in your hands truly belong to you.

He was a little uneasy about having the other person guard him, so he sent the other person to do other things.

"OK, just a second."

About half an hour later, Miaoyou Sanren put away the top-grade spirit stones in his hand, and the three of them prepared to divide the spoils of war.

The Five Sacred Mountains True Lord had also returned by this time. The fragments of flesh and blood of the Three Flower Realm cultivators were like lights in the dark night in his eyes, and it was difficult to ignore them.

Looking at the five-colored deer antlers on the heads of the Five Sacred Mountains True Lords, Qingyue Sanren tentatively asked:

"Fellow Daoist Xuanqing, is his bloodline the Five-Colored Deer?"

The Five-Colored Deer is a very promising beast, with its five elements developing in a balanced way, and it has great potential to break through to the Three-Flower Realm.

Only those with the bloodline of the Five-Colored Deer will retain their antlers after transformation, as these are the source of their bloodline and thus remain.

Ji An nodded slightly. "Yes."

"Congratulations in advance, fellow Daoist. When he breaks through to the Three Flowers Realm one day, you will have another powerful helper."

"Haha, let me lend you some good words."

Ji An pointed to the collected scraps of meat and asked:

"Fellow Daoist Qingyue, I have a question. After an enemy at the Three Flowers Realm is killed, where does the small world that was originally refined go?"

He once thought that killing an enemy at the Three Flowers Realm level would grant him a small world, but he got nothing, which puzzled him greatly.

"Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but the small world before refinement actually existed. However, at the moment of successful refinement, it underwent a transformation from reality to illusion in a certain sense, and it achieved a symbiotic relationship with the cultivator."

While the cultivator is alive, the small world truly exists; however, upon the cultivator's death, the small world they refined loses its foundation and disappears like a bursting bubble.

Qingyue Sanren understood why the other party asked that question and continued to explain:
"As for everything in the small world, it too vanished without a trace."

Only when a cultivator breaks through to the Cave Heaven Realm will their small world transform from illusion back into reality, and at the same time, the inner world of the Cave Heaven cultivator will also become a real thing.

When a high-level cultivator at the Cave Heaven Realm perishes, everything within the small world and its inner world will appear in reality.

This information isn't particularly secretive, but cultivators with shallow foundations are unaware of it.

She was very curious. She didn't know about Xuanqing Sanren, who was able to fight against someone in the late stage of the Three Flowers Realm. So what was the reason that he had become so powerful?
Ji An suddenly realized and laughed:
"I see. Thank you for clearing up my doubts, fellow Daoist. Everyone, how should these flesh and blood fragments be distributed?"

Miao You Sanren spoke up, “The enemies all died at your hands, fellow Daoist. We didn’t contribute anything; we are your spoils of war, at your disposal.”

He turned to look at the female cultivator, "Fellow Daoist Qingyue, what do you think?"

“What you say is very true. These are all Fellow Daoist Xuanqing’s private spoils of war and do not need to be distributed.”

Ji An did not refuse, "In that case, I will accept it."

He collected the flesh and blood into a three-foot square metal box, and then put it into the Void Stone.

Miao You Sanren directly presented lotus roots, lotus leaves, and lotus pods, saying:

"According to our original plan, these things were to be divided equally among the five people. Now that Zhongding Sanren and Guangtong Sanren are dead, their share should be taken over by you, fellow Daoist."

If Ji An hadn't been there, he couldn't imagine how miserable his fate would have been. He was glad he had invited Ji An to come along.

Qingyue Sanren nodded in agreement, "I agree. We were able to escape this time entirely thanks to Fellow Daoist Xuanqing's bravery."

Her role in the battle was much smaller, and the two opponents were friends. Since she couldn't change any decisions, she might as well just agree. Being able to retain the initially agreed-upon gains was already quite satisfactory.

Ji An pondered for a moment and said:
"Both of you contributed significantly to the final battle, and I feel uneasy taking so much. How about this: each of you, in addition to taking what we agreed upon, will take one lotus leaf."

One should not be too greedy. If it weren't for Miaoyou Sanren's recommendation, he would never have found such a good opportunity.

The other two declined at first, but eventually accepted with great delight.

After dividing the spoils, Ji An was stumped and asked:
"What should we do next? The fifth-grade superior Heaven-Mending Lotus is not mature yet, but we can't stay here any longer."

The Misty Mountains are the territory of the White Bone Temple of the Demonic Sect. Although the Holy Lord Cangming cannot do anything to the three of them, he can go back to get reinforcements.

This place is not safe to stay in. We must leave as soon as possible, or things may change.

If one lingers here out of greed, one is likely to be surrounded and killed by the demonic cultivators.

Miao You Sanren sighed heavily. He coveted the mature, high-grade fifth-tier Heaven-Mending Lotus, but he also understood that staying here would lead to utter destruction.

"Let's dig out the Heaven-Mending Lotus and distribute it."

The medicinal effects of lotus that is not fully mature will be much weaker, but at least it can still belong to them.

Qingyue Sanren frowned and said:

"I think it would be better to inform the city lord of Yunshi City. Perhaps we can gain his favor. Even if we don't get any real benefits, we can at least gain his goodwill."

She had some connection with the city lord, which is why she boldly proposed to strengthen their relationship.

Miaoyou Sanren shook his head repeatedly, "Giving us information will earn us very little favor, unless we lead the way, but that would be very risky."

Putting aside everything else, how are we supposed to explain ourselves if the demonic cultivators return and take away the Heaven-Mending Lotus?
Another point is that this is, after all, the territory of demonic cultivators. If several demonic cultivators at the late stage of the Three Flowers Realm were to launch an ambush, what would the city lord think of us?

If you are misunderstood, you're likely to suffer the consequences.

After careful consideration, Qingyue Sanren had no choice but to nod and say:
"Fellow Daoist's considerations are indeed thorough."

The other person is right; there are too many uncertainties, and she has absolutely no control over other people's behavior.

Ji An said regretfully:

"Let's excavate and distribute the Heaven-Mending Lotus. By the way, does Fellow Daoist Qingyue know how far the White Bone Temple is from here?"

If they were far enough away from the White Bone Temple's gate, they might have time to search the Gold-Eating Beast's territory and perhaps find something unexpected.

"I don't know the exact location of the White Bone Temple's mountain gate, but based on calculations, I can figure out several possible locations. The closest one would take me two days of continuous flying to reach."

A smile appeared on Ji An's lips. "Now that we've allocated the Heaven-Mending Lotus, let's search the Gold-Eating Beast's lair."

Qingyue Sanren hurriedly waved his hand, "It's best not to. Many of the Gold-Eating Beast's lairs have maze formations. We need to get back quickly from the demonic cultivators."

Miao You Sanren echoed, "Safety is paramount."

If it weren't for the demonic cultivators, he would have been willing to wait here. Now that he had obtained a fifth-grade low-level Heaven-Mending Lotus, it was better to leave as soon as possible.

Ji An did not insist on his own opinion, and unearthed a fifth-grade superior Heaven-Mending Lotus. After the three of them divided the spoils, they left in a hurry.

Seven days later, Ji An and the other two saw the outline of Yunshi City and became happy.

They flew back day and night without stopping, and finally made it back.

A moment later they entered the city, and Qingyue Sanren solemnly cupped his hands in greeting:

"It is my good fortune to have met you two fellow Daoists during this mission. I wonder where you are staying? I will host a banquet for you in a few days. I hope you will do me the honor of attending."

Despite the setbacks and dangers, the results of this operation were still satisfactory.

“Haha, I’ll definitely go,” said Miaoyou Sanren, revealing the location of the cave.

After talking for a while, the three parted ways.

Ji An inquired, "Does Fellow Daoist know how to refine a formation that activates the laws of the Heaven-Mending Lotus?"

Miaoyou Sanren patted his chest proudly and said:

"Of course it will. Although the Heaven-Mending Lotus is a fifth-order spiritual plant, a fourth-order top-grade magic array can activate the Heaven-Mending Lotus's power of law."

"I have enough materials to craft two sets of formations, and I can give one to you, fellow Daoist."

The activation of the laws contained in the spiritual plants by the fourth-order top-grade magic array is relatively slow, but improving the grade of the spiritual veins of the small world requires slow and meticulous work.

"Alright, fellow Daoist, let's do the math and proceed with the transaction as normal."

Ji An returned to his cave and summoned the Five Sacred Mountains True Lords and the Azure Deer, instructing them:

"You all guard the cave well, and inform me immediately if anything happens."

The cave dwelling is in Marble City, so its safety is guaranteed. He did this just in case.

"Yes, Your Majesty, please rest assured."

Ji An entered the gourd world and instructed A Yun to prepare a table of spiritual food. After eating and drinking to his heart's content, he fell into a deep sleep.

These days, the tension in his heart has been constant, and his nascent soul rarely feels tired.

Two days and two nights passed, and Ji An woke up from his sleep feeling energetic and full of strength.

He took out his spoils from the trip, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his face.

Lotus leaves can stimulate the power of laws to nourish the small world, lotus seeds can be used to refine the Heaven-Mending Pill, and lotus roots can be eaten directly, with effects comparable to fifth-grade pills.

He had six sections of low-grade fifth-level lotus root and three sections of nearly mature high-grade fifth-level lotus root. Although the medicinal effects were greatly reduced due to the early harvest, the quality of the high-grade fifth-level lotus root was still undeniable.

Ji An took a section of low-grade lotus root, used a hand seal to release the Minor Cloud Rain Technique to clean it, and then began to chew it directly.

The lotus root is slightly sweet, with a fragrance similar to apples. The wonderful aroma spreads in the mouth, and the lips and teeth feel a refreshing coolness.

As the lotus root was swallowed, a warm current rose from the abdomen, a rich blend of the five elements' spiritual energy mixed with a small amount of yin and yang energy.

Ji An was overjoyed, as he had not expected that the lotus root would contain both yin and yang energies.

He quickly swallowed the remaining lotus root, then sat cross-legged with his palms facing upwards, activating the Yin-Yang Cave True Technique to begin refining the lotus root.

This technique perfectly suited his cultivation, and the refining speed was extremely fast.

The vein patterns on the surface of the Five Elements Divine Palace shimmered with light as they refined the spiritual energy of the five elements. The Yin-Yang Dao Seed directly devoured the Yin and Yang energies and then condensed them into a purer Yin-Yang energy.

It took Ji An a full eight hours to finally refine the lotus root completely, and his cultivation level increased by 60% more than he had during his many years of wandering in the starry sky.

"Haha, the Heaven-Mending Lotus truly lives up to its name."

(End of this chapter)