Rootless Water

The Netherworld Underworld was where all beings underwent Reincarnation. Countless wronged souls gathered here, and those who had died unjustly were as numerous as ox hairs. Zhou Jun pondered inwardly: in such a grim and eerie place, how could any other Innate Spiritual Soil exist? This place was saturated with Death Energy, Resentful Energy, and Sha Qi. Even the most spiritually endowed earth would likely find it difficult to withstand the corrosion of such negative auras.

Presumably, that Innate Spiritual Soil could only ultimately be stained pitch-black, becoming the peculiar color of this underworld. The ghostly aura here was so dense that it was truly hard to associate it with the ethereal sight of immortal qi drifting through the air. Perhaps the reason spiritual qi had been severed in later ages, and the Heavenly Court and underworld destroyed, was that ghosts had all gone to cultivate immortal qi, leaving Resentful Energy and Sha Qi unable to be absorbed and transformed. In the end, this triggered a Kalpa of Calamity that swept across heaven and earth, severing spiritual qi and blocking the immortal Dao.

As Zhou Jun thought, he stepped into this patch of Netherworld Soil. He knew that he was drawing ever closer to the core region. After all, he had personally witnessed the Chaos Green Lotus absorb the corpses, blood, and Resentful Energy of gods and demons, thereby evolving this stretch of Netherworld Soil.

Those god-and-demon corpses were like slumbering colossal beasts, quietly buried deep within the Netherworld Soil, as though they had merely fallen into temporary sleep and could awaken at any moment. Upon arriving here, Zhou Jun's heart filled with awe and fear. His steps became extraordinarily light, as if every step might land upon the place where a Chaos God or Demon was suppressed. One careless move could unleash a catastrophic consequence and plunge him into an abyss from which there was no return.

After all, Zhou Jun had no confidence at all that he could escape the fate of being suppressed or possessed. These Chaos Gods and Demons were born grasping a Great Dao, as though they held the secrets of the universe itself. Though this differed from the realm of the Great Luo Dao Fruit Zhou Jun pursued, in essence, they were simply different paths leading toward the same goal.

Within this boundless universe, there were three thousand Great Daos, which also meant there were Three Thousand Gods and Demons. Among them, bizarre Great Daos were as numerous as the stars, dazzling the eye. Who could know whether the remnants of their souls lurked among these suppressed gods and demons? Even Chaos Gods and Demons such as Hongjun and Yang Mei, whether strong or weak, possessed their own unique means of surviving. Zhou Jun truly found it hard to believe that the other gods and demons had died so easily!

Although Zhou Jun currently appeared somewhat unrestrained and careless about trifles, deep within his heart, his fear of death was like a shadow he could never shake off, always clinging tightly to him.

This fear of death did not stem from cowardice or timidity, but was the instinctive reaction shared by all living beings. Just as people naturally yearned for light in darkness, even if someone did not fear death itself, if there was a way to avoid it, why would they deliberately provoke it?

After all, once death descended, nurturing a new life anew would require an incomparably long span of time. Worse still, if these Chaos Gods and Demons truly could use the connection between Zhou Jun and Di Kun to wipe them out in one stroke, would that not mean every path of retreat had been cut off?

Therefore, though Zhou Jun might appear outwardly wild and uninhibited, when facing the grave matter of death, the fear and caution in his heart were absolutely real.

To hear the Dao in the morning and die in the evening would be acceptable—only because one already knew one had no chance, and was thus willing to give up one's life in pursuit of the Dao. But what if one had a chance to attain the Dao? Who would be willing to die?

Throughout this process, Zhou Jun displayed his wit and decisiveness. He needed not only to deal with the situation before him, but also to consider problems that might arise in the future. Thus, he carefully set up a Creation Grand Array and a Purification Grand Array around himself.

The Creation Grand Array was a miraculous formation capable of creating all things. It could gather the surrounding spiritual qi and, through specific laws and powers, transform it into all manner of useful substances and energies. The Purification Grand Array, meanwhile, was a formation designed specifically to clear away evil auras and negative energy. It could filter the impurities and harmful substances from Sha Qi, leaving behind only pure Innate Spiritual Energy.

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Yet the Netherworld Underworld had not yet emerged into the world, and there was simply nowhere to contain such vast Sha Qi. Even though Zhou Jun possessed the ability to sort out ley lines, he could not transform all the Sha Qi into Innate Spiritual Energy. It was like the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains in the north, which were filled with the grudges of gods and demons. It was not that the earth was unwilling to digest those grudges, but that their power was simply too immense to be absorbed and transformed by the land.

It was precisely because of this that those grudges of gods and demons ran rampant across the earth, giving birth to the savage Ferocious Beast race. After all, these grudges came from three thousand beings on the same level as the Heavenly Dao; their power was self-evident. The shattering of the Chaos Green Lotus may likewise have been because it could not bear the Resentful Energy of the Three Thousand Gods and Demons, eventually breaking beneath the unbearable burden.

Zhou Jun stood where he was, his eyes lightly closed as he quietly sensed the environment around him. His breathing grew long and slow, as though he had merged into the land itself.

After a while, he slowly opened his eyes and began carefully examining everything around him. His gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, overlooking not a single detail.

Suddenly, as though he had thought of something interesting, the corners of his lips lifted slightly. He took out a Green Lotus Hoe from his waist and lightly swung it, digging out a space within the Netherworld Soil.

Though this space was not large, Zhou Jun carefully refined it until it became exceedingly exquisite. He even integrated into it certain laws and formations he had comprehended concerning space, gestation, and creation. He also used the surrounding Netherworld Soil to refine an array plate and array pieces, inscribing within them the formations he had comprehended from the Eighteen Leyline Pearls.

After completing all this, Zhou Jun nodded in satisfaction. He placed the array plate at the very center of the space and set the array pieces at its nodes, making the space more stable. Then he gently activated the formation, allowing it to absorb the surrounding Sha Qi on its own.

As time passed, the formation gradually began operating, continuously absorbing Sha Qi. Throughout the process, Zhou Jun waited patiently at the side.

Finally, once the formation had absorbed enough Sha Qi, Zhou Jun witnessed a delightful sight—at the center of the space, a stream of clear spring water slowly began to flow forth.

This spring water had no source, as though it had been born from nothingness itself, and was therefore called Rootless Water. During this process, the space also absorbed some of the transformed spiritual qi, giving it an instinct for self-evolution.

Zhou Jun curiously stepped forward and dipped a finger into the Rootless Water, feeling its coolness and purity. He discovered that this Rootless Water could not only condense the divine soul, but also wash away a person's memories.

"Isn't this the legendary River of Oblivion Water?" Zhou Jun mused inwardly. "Legend says that River of Oblivion Water evolved by absorbing the origin of the Blood Sea, while Bioluo Huangquan was also transformed from the Blood Sea. Now that I have established Rootless Water here, when the underworld emerges into the world, perhaps it will no longer need the Blood Sea's origin to aid its evolution?"

At this thought, excitement surged within Zhou Jun's heart. He felt that he had seemingly uncovered a heaven-shaking secret. If this speculation was correct, then the Rootless Water he had established would have a tremendous impact on his plans for the Primordial Wilderness.