A yellow Flying Paper Crane drifted downstream.
Two people stood atop it.
One was Li Sancai.
The other was Xu Changqing.
As they flew farther and farther away, a dense expanse of forest suddenly appeared ahead.
Deep, rumbling roars sounded from within the woods from time to time.
Li Sancai pointed in that direction and introduced it. "Beyond this forest lies Beast Spirit Valley. If you need anything in the future, you can head deeper in this direction."
"Alright." Xu Changqing gave it another look.
After traveling for about the time it took an incense stick to burn.
The surrounding terrain abruptly changed, becoming rolling and undulating like a mountain range.
Huge pits appeared across the ground from time to time.
Some were shallow.
Others were bottomless.
The Metal Qi in the air gradually grew denser.
It was even tinged with the smell of rust.
Li Sancai continued, "Foundry Peak is right above our heads. Be careful when passing through; discarded artifacts occasionally fall from above. Don't let one smash into you."
Xu Changqing looked up, but could not see the so-called Foundry Peak at all. Unable to resist making a joke, he said, "Shouldn't we be wearing helmets, then?"
Li Sancai froze for a moment, not quite understanding, but he still waved a hand. "That won't be necessary. Those discarded artifacts make a noise when they fall. You can hear them from far away."
No sooner had he spoken than a whistling sound tore through the air ahead.
Then the two of them saw a blazing fireball plummet from the sky.
They were too far away to make out its exact size.
Yet they could still feel a wave of heat sweeping over from the distance.
Both of them possessed Wood Spirit Roots, so they felt extremely uncomfortable.
Normally, they should have stayed far away from something like this.
Yet Xu Changqing noticed that quite a few people were actually approaching it.
Li Sancai explained, "Those people are Earth Spirit Root disciples from the Earth Vein. They sometimes use heavy discarded artifacts to temper their bodies.
"Or they take them to the Rogue Cultivator Market outside to sell. There are Rogue Cultivators there who specialize in collecting trash from top sects like ours."
"No wonder they came running out of those pits." Xu Changqing suddenly understood.
For the next stretch of time—or rather, distance—
They were almost entirely shrouded beneath Foundry Peak.
Fireballs fell from the sky every now and then.
Some were enormous.
Some were tiny.
Yet regardless of size, they were fought over by Earth Spirit Root disciples.
Relying on the Flying Paper Crane, Xu Changqing and Li Sancai spent a long time before finally getting far away.
The road ahead seemed much more normal.
There were either open spaces.
Or grasslands.
As they continued drawing closer, Xu Changqing noticed that the streams, rivers, and marshes around them gradually increased.
At first, it was not particularly obvious; he could only spot them occasionally.
But before long, shimmering waters could be seen everywhere.
All manner of tributaries emerged one after another.
The Water Qi in the air grew increasingly dense.
After another ten-odd minutes or so.
Countless tributaries suddenly began converging.
They eventually formed an incomparably vast lake ahead.
Strangely enough, however, the water was black.
Near the center of the lake floated a strange pavilion.
It had nine stories in total.
Each floor was at least five meters high.
Ripples occasionally spread across its surface.
They could even see huge fish leaping out.
This seemed... to be a nine-story pavilion formed from water.
Li Sancai spoke. "We've arrived at Water-Control Pavilion."
Xu Changqing's Adam's apple bobbed. It took him quite some time to find his voice. "Senior Brother, could Water-Control Pavilion really be made of water?"
Li Sancai said nothing, merely nodding lightly.
As the two of them continued approaching.
More and more Flying Paper Cranes appeared.
Some were incomparably huge.
More than ten people stood atop them.
Others were tiny.
They could only hold one person sitting cross-legged.
But there were not only paper cranes. There were also many other flying tools.
Boats, skiffs, shuttles, spirit beasts.
Xu Changqing even saw a blood-red banner fluttering in the wind.
Just as the two were about to reach Water-Control Pavilion.
The lake water below suddenly began to churn for no apparent reason.
The air—or perhaps this entire stretch of space—was trembling.
This caused many flying tools to become extremely unstable, swaying incessantly.
The Water Qi in the air grew increasingly chaotic, turning downright hair-raising.
Everyone looked down, their expressions changing drastically.
A massive and ferocious snake head burst from the water, dragging with it a yellow serpent body over a hundred zhang long.
Just beneath its head was a pair of enormous fleshy wings.
The instant they spread in the air, they blotted out the sky and covered the earth.
A vast area instantly turned pitch-black.
Its terrifying aura made everyone feel as though they had fallen into an icy abyss.
Xu Changqing hurriedly shouted, "Senior Brother, what do we do?"
Li Sancai struggled to control the Flying Paper Crane, forcibly stabilizing it before answering, "Don't panic. A Black Tortoise is suppressed beneath Water-Control Pavilion, and this Soaring Serpent is its companion beast.
"Once the Black Tortoise falls asleep, the Soaring Serpent comes out to stir wind and make waves.
"But don't forget—this is Water-Control Pavilion's territory."
Sure enough, just as his words fell.
The black Water-Control Pavilion ahead suddenly shook violently.
Immediately afterward, enormous yellow spirit talismans flew out one after another.
Xu Changqing looked up and found the contents of those spirit talismans obscure and impossible to comprehend.
The writing did not look like writing, and the symbols did not look like symbols.
Yet when connected together, they radiated heart-palpitating power.
In an instant, nine massive yellow spirit talismans swept toward the Soaring Serpent that was about to stir wind and make waves.
They gave it no time or chance to resist.
They released streams of brilliant azure spiritual light, which rapidly intertwined.
In the blink of an eye, they formed a net that covered the heavens and earth, trapping the hundred-zhang-long yellow serpent.
Although the Soaring Serpent struggled without pause, causing the web of spiritual light to emit continuous sizzling sounds, it did not suffer any substantial damage.
Before long, the great serpent was forcibly pressed back into the pitch-black lake water.
The sense of crisis had come swiftly and vanished just as swiftly.
"It gets active every summer!"
"Why can't they suppress this Soaring Serpent for good?"
"I heard that either the Black Tortoise or the Soaring Serpent must be awake—they can't both sleep at the same time!"
Complaints rose from all around.
Seeing that nothing had truly happened, Xu Changqing finally let out the breath he had been holding.
Then, under Li Sancai's control, the Flying Paper Crane gradually approached the first floor of Water-Control Pavilion.
The instant Xu Changqing landed, a squelching sound came from beneath his feet.
It was not hard earth at all, but still black water.
Strangely, though, he could not sink into it. Instead, it possessed a peculiar buoyancy.
Li Sancai reminded him, "Every floor of Water-Control Pavilion has its own purpose. The first floor mainly issues missions to official Water Spirit Root disciples.
"My younger cousin's birthday banquet is on the third floor. Let's go."
Xu Changqing quickly followed, curiously surveying his surroundings as he did so.
Water-Control Pavilion was not ordinarily large. It felt as though it were silently expanding.
Upon entering the first floor, he found an interior space comparable to a public square.
There were countless Water Spirit Root disciples.
Men and women alike.
Old and young alike.
After entering, Xu Changqing experienced a very peculiar sensation.
His body seemed to be growing and developing.
He did not ask Li Sancai, because it was easy enough to understand.
The sensation of development probably had a great deal to do with his Spiritual Root.
Water nourished wood, and this place was filled with Water Spirit Root disciples.
Moreover, the Water Qi was exceptionally dense.
All these factors combined made his Wood Spirit Root especially "hungry"!
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