Reversal of the Five Elements

Wei Fengniang stood atop the peak and waited a little while. When the Black Dragon failed to pursue her, impatience stirred in her heart. Though I've sealed this place with an immortal formation and that vile dragon has no chance of escaping, if he hides at the bottom of the lake and refuses to come out, there really is nothing I can do to him.

She reckoned her cultivation was more than sufficient to deal with the Monster Dragon beneath the lake. Unfortunately, the Golden Seal Heavenly Talisman down there was a nuisance, preventing her from using any of her formidable spells. That Monster Dragon was hateful, too, resorting to trickery from the outset to gravely wound Bruninga. Had he been here, their combined strength would long since have stripped the dragon's hide, broken his bones, and finished him off!

As she considered how to deal with the Monster Dragon, she suddenly saw a black shadow rise from below. Overjoyed, she hoped he would fly out of the dense mist and enter the range of the Yellow Sand Formation.

But the Long's shadow only writhed and swam through the mist below, refusing to rise even another half zhang.

Wei Fengniang grew frantic with waiting. She restrained herself again and again, but finally could bear it no longer. She leaped into the air and shouted, "Nine Heavens Flying Snow and Ten Thousand Li Yellow Sand! Today I'll strip your hide and tear out your sinews, Animal Realm, and leave you dead without a grave!"

She hung upside down in midair, feet above her head, forming hand seals to cast her spells. Snowflakes drifted down from the sky again. First, she released the Immortal Sword in her hand, turning it into a streak of blue-yellow light over ten zhang long that swept downward. Then she formed a Diamond Divine Palm from her right hand and sent it crashing down like a meteor.

Even then, she did not stop. Forming seals with both hands, she raised a cold wind from the Xun Position and drove it down into the ice cavern with the snowflakes. As the snowflakes danced, crimson Demon Flame suddenly ignited upon them. Blossoms of Demon Fire bloomed like flowers, burning away and dispersing the mist.

The moment she cast her spells, the Black Long's shadow below sank downward. The Immortal Sword and Diamond Divine Palm pierced straight through three hundred zhang of dense mist, striking the Crouching Dragon Stone at the bottom of the lake. Once more, a thousand rays of Golden Light and ten thousand streams of crimson radiance burst forth.

Thousands of snowflakes spiraled downward bearing Demon Fire, dispersing more than half the mist and thinning it considerably.

Wei Fengniang focused her gaze below and saw a Black Long lying on the Crouching Dragon Stone, already severed into two pieces. At the break lay a Jade Casket, glittering with light that filled the cavern with a dazzling Golden Light.

The Heavenly Book! Wei Fengniang was delighted. She had coveted the Heavenly Book for a long time. Afraid that her master might come seeking vengeance at any moment, she dreamed of obtaining it. Once she mastered the immortal arts passed down by Guang Chengzi, not only Abbess Guangming, but even the entire world arrayed against her would be nothing to fear!

She was still reasonably cautious. First she recalled her Flying Sword, then merged with it and descended into the lake again.

Upon reaching the Crouching Dragon Stone, she saw that the severed Long was merely the Black Long's empty shell. Shocked, she sensed something was wrong. She recalled how formidable the Demon Dragon's two inner cores had been, yet he had not brought them out to resist her just now and had supposedly died to a single sword strike and palm blow. There seemed to be a trick at work. Still, the Jade Casket was unquestionably a divine treasure. Throwing caution to the winds, she drew it into her palm. Without even taking the time to examine it, she merged with her sword and flew upward again. She had to leave this place quickly and get back above.

The Sword Light was exceedingly fast, reaching halfway up the mountain in an instant. Suddenly, the daylight overhead darkened. A Scaleless White Dragon swam out of the ice wall beside her and blocked her return route. First, he opened his mouth and spat out a true water core. Then the surrounding ice walls collapsed with a thunderous roar, melting into water within a single breath and crashing down in thousands upon thousands of tons.

Bang! The Flying Sword collided with the true water inner core, dimming the light of both. Immediately afterward, lake water poured down and filled every side. Wei Fengniang unleashed another Diamond Divine Palm, striking fiercely upward, still intent on forcing a path out.

The enormous palm blasted forth, throwing up bubbles and towering waves as it charged ahead alongside the Sword Light, unstoppable!

After a furious charge, she finally reached the end. Her heart eased. She thought that once she reached the summit and had the Ten Thousand Li Yellow Sand Formation at her disposal, she would be invincible, and slaying the Monster Dragon would be a mere trifle.

She drove her sword forward, piercing the curtain of water into a space free of water. Suddenly, she saw that what lay ahead was not blue sky and white clouds, but the Crouching Dragon Stone!

Wei Fengniang was aghast. Every hair on her body seemed to stand on end as a chill rose from the depths of her heart and spread through her entire body in an instant.

She had clearly been charging upward. The interior of Dinghu Peak was a straight shaft without any branching passages. The exit ahead should have been the summit, yet now it had become the bottom of the lake!

She had cultivated immortality since childhood and also learned the Spells of the demonic sects. Having roamed the world for many years, she was well versed in its wonders. She immediately realized that her opponent had used Reversal of the Five Elements, a method of distorting space.

Above had been turned into below. She had flown upward with all her strength, only to arrive at the bottom of the lake!

This was a relatively advanced Spell. Though quite a few people beneath heaven knew it, it was certainly not some commonplace trick that every stray cat and dog could perform.

Wei Fengniang had practiced it too, but mastery of Numerology was a prerequisite for Reversal of the Five Elements. Her proficiency was shallow, allowing her only to make small alterations to space within a limited area. She could not use a thousand-zhang mountain as a foundation and freely reverse above and below like this.

A Monster Dragon with only a rudimentary understanding of human ways could never have mastered such a spell!

Wei Fengniang knew how formidable this Spell was. Once trapped within it, a person would find escape extremely difficult unless someone came to their rescue from outside, or unless they too were proficient in the Spell and their attainments surpassed those of its caster. Yet anyone with such ability would never have been trapped in the first place.

Not daring to linger at the bottom of the lake, Wei Fengniang merged with her sword again and charged fiercely outward. As she rapidly ascended, she unleashed a barrage of Diamond Divine Palms and shot Yellow Cloud Nails and Demon Fire forward, desperately hoping to break her opponent's Seal and escape with her life.

Her Sword Light swiftly traversed the thousand-zhang distance. As expected, she returned to the bottom of the lake once again. All her attacks struck the Crouching Dragon Stone, sending Golden Light shooting wildly outward and crimson radiance surging in chaos.

Fear arose in Wei Fengniang's heart. She wanted to say something but did not know what to say. Suddenly, she remembered that she had already obtained the Heavenly Book. She reasoned that the Monster Dragon could never have cultivated such an ability; it must be a Formation left by the Yellow Emperor at work. The Heavenly Book had also been left by the Yellow Emperor, so it was bound to contain a way out.

She reassured herself: That Monster Dragon's magical power is limited. Though he can trap me here for a while, he cannot harm a hair on my head. Once I comprehend the Heavenly Book, I can break the seal and escape. Even if I cannot, Bruninga will come to rescue me given enough time. Attacking from within and without, we can still break the formation.

Having given herself that dose of reassurance, she brought out the Jade Casket and tried to open its lid with a spell.

She did not know, however, that Shi Feiyang had already placed a curse upon the Jade Casket.

The Lesser Book of Heaven contained many vicious Spells. To survive this calamity, Shi Feiyang had selected and mastered several of them, including this Ten Thousand Poisons Corrupting Immortals Great Method.

This Spell began by gathering eight kinds of Poison Stones, grinding them into powder, and spreading it inside a cauldron. Eight kinds of poisonous herb were then laid on top and sprinkled with fresh blood. Heart fire was used to ignite them, first refining them into a deadly poisonous demonic fire. Next, eight kinds of poisonous insect were added and made to absorb all the poisonous fire into their bellies, then forced to devour and fight one another, as in cultivating gu, until a single victor emerged.

This was repeated eight times to produce eight Poison Kings, which were fed flesh and blood for eight days. On a yin day at a yin hour, half a basin of fresh blood was prepared, the poisonous insects were placed in it, and a spell was cast to set them burning... When everything had finally burned away, eight blossoms of demonic fire remained.

This was the most simplified version. The complete version required human blood and human souls to cultivate, while the lavish version required the slaughter of a full ten thousand people. Once mastered, a wave of the hand could extinguish every living thing within a thousand li!