Heavenly Waters Bore Down, Heavenly Fire Destroyed the World

Li Fuchan used the Illuminating Light to scout the terrain again, then calculated the time he had agreed on with Green Snake and returned.

Inside the cave, He Liuhun and the others still slept, utterly insensible, as though sunk in a mire of delusion.

A quarter past midnight, a faint fragrance drifted through the gloom, and a woman's voice sounded softly. "You really were waiting for me."

Green Snake had arrived.

Li Fuchan rose, his expression Immovable. "Have you come to offer a token of sincerity, senior?"

Green Snake Boy covered her mouth and chuckled, seductive charm spilling from her shifting gaze. "Why call me senior? In my eyes, you're nothing more than livestock to be used and eaten. A pity your aptitude is so fine. Even among this cave full of lower beasts, you're prime stock. My blessings are too meager to enjoy you."

Looking at the seductive Green Snake before him, Li Fuchan felt a chill crawl down his spine, followed by a wave of revulsion.

In her eyes, he was merely livestock. Who in this world would sincerely befriend a beast they regarded as something to use and eat?

Green Snake Boy wasted no more words. She took two ancient books from behind her and handed them to Li Fuchan. "These are the Light-Devouring Method and the Turbidity-Linking Method."

As its name suggested, the Light-Devouring Method was presumably the art she usually employed to make the Illuminating Light devour the other two lights.

As for the Turbidity-Linking Method...

Before Li Fuchan could ask, Green Snake Boy began explaining smoothly, as though counting treasures in her own home. "All the world's methods are called 'supreme purity.' Their purpose is to cleanse a cultivator's body and soul. After all, while living in this world, unless you cultivate a great divine ability, the Three Calamities can never be washed clean. You must cultivate and cleanse them constantly."

"Ordinary cultivators have experienced little and have shallow ties to heaven and earth. Their Three Calamities are weak, so the Supreme Purity Method can easily scrub them into imbeciles during cultivation. Even if their aptitude improves enormously, they can no longer cultivate. That is why they need their elders' protection."

"For those who have attained success in cultivation, the Four Disasters are added atop the Three Calamities. Methods of avoiding disaster are certainly important, but as cultivation deepens and Dharma Power strengthens, you stir the signs of heaven. One careless move can leave you dead and your Dao extinguished. Thus, you must use turbidity-linking methods—entering the mortal world, founding a nation, establishing a family, or spreading your teachings—to strengthen your own Three Calamities against the Supreme Purity Method. Only then can you keep your body pure without destroying your mind, until you forge a divine ability."

She paused and looked at Li Fuchan. "I don't know how you cultivated the Three Lights while retaining your mind. If you cannot link your turbidity with others, those Three Lights will scrub away your Three Calamities within little more than a month, reducing you to an imbecile."

That matched the first vision of his death.

In that first death vision, scarcely had he cultivated the Three Lights when the Three Calamities scrubbed away his mind, and he went to meet the Old Flood Dragon with drool running from his mouth.

He accepted the two ancient books Green Snake handed him and examined them carefully. As far as his present knowledge allowed him to judge, neither method contained anything amiss.

Green Snake Boy's explanation had swept aside the fog surrounding cultivation and shown him something of the road ahead. She had indeed come bearing sincerity.

After putting away the two methods, Li Fuchan looked at Green Snake Boy, whose alluring gaze clung like silk. "Tell me, senior. What do you want me to do?"

"Hehe. I truly wasn't wrong about you."

Green Snake Boy chuckled and dispensed with pleasantries. "Red Snake Boy and I are wary of each other, constantly on guard. It would be inconvenient for me to act personally, so I need you to do it for me. Next, I want you to visit these places and steal the great medicinal ingredients needed for pill refinement."

As she spoke, she handed him a map.

Li Fuchan swept his gaze across it, quickly matching it to the routes he had traveled over these past days. Once he had examined the whole map, he inwardly sucked in a cold breath.

What an enormous territory!

The map depicted no fewer than seventy-two small caves and thirty-six great caves, crisscrossing and connecting in every direction through winding passages. Viewed as a whole, they formed a long body with four feet, resembling a sinuous dragon, only without its pair of horns.

In all these days, he had visited only twenty-eight small caves. Without this map, he would never have believed the place was so vast.

His current chamber lay in the dragon's tail, while the Old Flood Dragon's chamber occupied its heart.

Yet however he searched the map, he could find no exit. Presumably Green Snake Boy had deliberately omitted it as a precaution.

Before he could examine it further, Green Snake Boy pointed to a location roughly sixteen small caves and three great caves away from his chamber. "The Maiden of Cinnabar and Golden Duke are here. Only minor monsters guard the cave, creatures with incomplete minds. Having cultivated the three lights, you are strong enough to deal with them."

Li Fuchan nodded. "In that case, I'll set out now."

Seeing him act so decisively, Green Snake Boy instead looked surprised. "You won't ask anything else?"

Li Fuchan chuckled. "You haven't simply killed me, senior, so naturally you won't harm me while I'm only fetching the two ingredients. Wouldn't it be better to get them first, then use them as leverage to ask you my questions?"

Green Snake Boy watched Li Fuchan with interest.

As though discovering his temperament for the first time, some of the soft seductiveness faded from her features. "I await your good news," she said lightly.

After leaving, Li Fuchan did not immediately head toward the place Green Snake Boy had marked.

Instead, he followed the map recorded in his mind, roaming about and memorizing the terrain.

Only two hours later did Li Fuchan arrive at the place Green Snake Boy had marked.

Outside the cave, thirteen monsters resembling both snakes and earthworms writhed in a tangled mass, joined by foul-smelling slime. The sight sent gooseflesh erupting across Li Fuchan's body and made his scalp prickle.

He hastily released golden light to shield himself, only then dispelling the surging nausea.

These things cover the whole ground. Getting inside without disturbing them will be difficult.

As he pondered this, his gaze sharpened. He suddenly noticed another strange snake hanging from the rock overhead.

What a fine handle!

With a soft exclamation, Li Fuchan wrapped himself in the Golden Light Mantra, pushed off with his toes, and sprang upward. Grabbing the slippery snake, he swung from it and sailed lightly into the cave.

The strange snake was dragged off the rock wall and landed squarely in the tangled mass below. It had barely raised its head to look around before the other snakes engulfed it, forcibly entwining it among them.

Following Green Snake Boy's instructions, Li Fuchan walked straight into the dark chamber. The instant he stepped inside, he froze, not daring to move.

There were people inside.

An old man in white robes, silver-haired, upright and imposing.

A young girl in a green robe and verdant skirt, her bright eyes expressive.

Both stared fixedly at him.

Three breaths passed.

As though understanding something, Li Fuchan ignored their stares and walked straight over, reaching out to seize them. The moment his hands touched them, the old man and girl transformed into green and black vapor and shrank into the Jade Box on the offering table.

Through the Jade Box, he could see that the Golden Duke was a fist-sized piece of metallic stone shaped like an old man. It displayed the qualities of sinking, settling, condensing, and storing, neither drifting nor floating.

The Maiden of Cinnabar was a flowing bead of green glass, round and nimble, its luminous vapor wandering freely. It could fly and circle, naturally inclined to roam, displaying the qualities of movement, moistening, dispersal, and spirit, easily stirred and difficult to settle.

The moment he touched the Maiden of Cinnabar, Li Fuchan felt both the Illuminating Light between his brows and the Treasure Light in his chest and abdomen tremble.

What a treasure. If I could devour the Maiden of Cinnabar with the Illuminating Light, it would surely bring about a great Transformation.

Li Fuchan suppressed his greed. This was not something he could tamper with lightly.

First, he feared the Old Flood Dragon might sense it. Second, he feared Green Snake might turn on him. Most importantly, he feared the Illuminating Light would grow too powerful, washing away his calamity-turbidity and turning him into a fool.

Following the method Green Snake Boy had taught him, Li Fuchan put away the two treasures, crept back to his chamber, and waited another day.

A quarter past midnight, Green Snake Boy arrived as promised.

She first released her Illuminating Light to knock He Liuhun and the others unconscious, then turned her gaze toward Li Fuchan.

Another day had passed in waiting.

"I've come late."

"There's no need to apologize, senior."

Li Fuchan took the Jade Box from his robes. At the sight, undisguised joy appeared in Green Snake Boy's slit pupils.

"Good! Good! With the golden lord and chaste maiden, we can cut off the Old Flood Dragon's hopes of using the calamity to become a dragon."

As Green Snake Boy spoke, she reached for them, but Li Fuchan leaned back, leaving her hand grasping empty air.

Green Snake Boy's gaze chilled, and anger rose on her face. "What do you want?"

Li Fuchan spoke unhurriedly. "The terrain map of Flying Earthworm Cave, where we secretly shelter. Surely you haven't forgotten, senior?"

At his words, the murderous intent around Green Snake Boy's brows gradually faded, replaced by a smile. "So that's it. I was too hasty. Please wait a moment."

With that, she turned and left. A short while later, she returned and handed Li Fuchan a complete map of the terrain. He examined it, confirming that it matched every place he had visited, before handing the Jade Box to Green Snake Boy.

After accepting the Jade Box, she could no longer suppress the joy in her eyes. The Illuminating Light between her brows almost burst forth. Forcing it down, she dipped slightly in a bow, her voice soft and cloying. "Thank you for your efforts, dear sir."

The words made Li Fuchan sick at heart. He waved a hand and asked, "Where should I go to obtain the Flying Mercury and Sunken Lead?"

"There's no hurry. Red Snake Boy will probably visit you over the next few days. Handle him carefully, and don't let him notice anything. When it's time to fetch the next treasures, I'll come find you."

Without waiting for Li Fuchan to say anything else, Green Snake Boy hurried away with the Jade Box.

Li Fuchan quietly watched her vanish into the darkness. The chamber sank once more into dark silence.

"All this talk of a Heaven-and-Earth Cataclysm. I suspect you only want me to steal treasures to perfect your cultivation."

He acknowledged that his present realm was low, his knowledge limited, and his cultivation insufficient. He could only serve as someone else's tool, but his mind was clear as a mirror.

Green Snake Boy's talk of saving the world and offering a Nascent Infant Pill to heaven was merely a smokescreen. At bottom, she wanted to use his hands to steal Pill Material and strengthen herself.

That, conversely, proved she might truly have a way to escape the Old Flood Dragon alive.

He only needed to proceed step by step and watch her actions. If she truly escaped, he could imitate her once he left the simulation.

Li Fuchan sat quietly in the darkness like that.

After an unknown length of time, panting suddenly sounded beside his ear, accompanied by low hisses and a foul stench.

"Why does my junior brother carry that vile woman's scent?"

Red Snake Boy had arrived.

Li Fuchan feigned terror and said in a trembling voice, "Senior brother... what do you mean? I don't understand."

A pair of crimson slit pupils abruptly contracted in the darkness. Red Snake Boy studied the pale-faced young man with his weak, unsteady aura. Fine scarlet scales faintly surfaced on his face, then swiftly vanished.

"That vile woman! She dared mate with a Lower Beast without permission and steal his primal yang. She deserves death! Death!"

A vicious gleam flashed in Red Snake Boy's slit pupils. Looking again at the shivering Li Fuchan, he said savagely, "What good fortune you have, junior brother. But for cultivators like us, indulging in sensual pleasures is a grave taboo. How is your cultivation progressing? If lust has made you neglect it, I won't spare you."

Li Fuchan prostrated himself in terror and stammered, "I've... I've cultivated the golden and illuminating lights."

At those words, the viciousness abruptly vanished from Red Snake Boy's face, replaced by delight. "Really?"

Li Fuchan nodded repeatedly. "I wouldn't dare deceive you, senior brother." As he spoke, he released the two lights.

Seeing them, Red Snake Boy's slit pupils lost all their vicious gleam, and his face filled with joy. He helped Li Fuchan up and said warmly, "Excellent, excellent. What fine aptitude you have, junior brother. No wonder Master praised you. Cultivation is dull and arduous. Having a beauty for company is no bad fortune, provided you don't let it hinder your cultivation. I'll return in a month."

With that, he turned and left, evidently to report the matter to the Old Flood Dragon.

Li Fuchan listened to the sound of the snake's body scraping over the ground fade into the distance, yet he continued trembling. The composure he had forcibly maintained dissolved at once. Alone, he huddled in a corner, hugging his knees, not daring to make a sound.

In the darkness, a hidden pair of crimson slit pupils slowly narrowed to threads, then finally departed.

"That vile woman Huaqing has been appearing and vanishing like a Ghost lately, skulking about. She must be up to something she cannot reveal. If Master didn't still have a use for her... she should have been killed long ago, long ago. Once Master refines this Lower Beast, I'll ask his permission to slaughter that vile woman Huaqing as well."

Hua Hong left in resentment, muttering incessantly.

Another fifteen days passed like this. That night, Li Fuchan was resting with his eyes closed when a faint fragrance suddenly reached his nose.

He opened his eyes to find that slender figure already standing before him in the darkness.

Huaqing had arrived.

Today, however, none of her former seductiveness remained. Instead, she looked anxious, and her first words were, "We don't have much time."

Li Fuchan's heart tightened. "What do you mean?"

"The Old Flood Dragon has frequently entered seclusion lately, and the currents of energy around him are in disorder. Those are signs that he's about to transform into a dragon. If we don't obtain the flying mercury and sunken lead before he refines the Nascent Infant Pill, you and I will both become pill ash."

Huaqing spoke rapidly, an uneasy light flickering in her slit pupils in the darkness. "The Flying Mercury and Sunken Lead are hidden at the junction of the third great cave and seventh small cave in the dragon's head, a place called the Hidden Truth Grotto. Two monsters guard it. Both have already attained serpent form. They cannot be compared to those dim-witted minor monsters from before."

She paused, fixing her eyes on Li Fuchan, and said gravely, "If you can bring back the flying mercury and sunken lead, I can refine the pill immediately. Then we can save the world and escape, and no one will be able to control either of us again."

Li Fuchan was silent for a moment, then nodded. "All right."

Following the route Huaqing had indicated, he concealed his aura the entire way, avoiding the senses of the monsters patrolling the caves. Only after more than an hour of detours did he reach the vicinity of the Hidden Truth Grotto.

Hidden in the shadows, he looked toward its entrance and saw two figures guarding the doorway, one on either side.

The one on the left had a snake's body and a fish's head, covered in blue-black scales. It held a water-parting spike, and its bulging eyes rolled ceaselessly like those of a dead fish.

The one on the right had a serpent's form and a softshell turtle's body, with an ill-fitting black shell on its back. It wielded a broad-bladed axe, its neck extending and retracting like an old turtle's head poking out of a living coffin.

Both monsters had attained serpent form, but their grotesquely mismatched bodies were nauseating.

These two guard opposite sides and support each other like horns. There's no way to slip through one doorway without alerting the other.

At that thought, a vicious gleam flashed through Li Fuchan's gray-black eyes. If I can't evade them, I'll kill my way in.

The Illuminating Light between his brows abruptly shone, and Golden Light erupted above his head.

Golden Light gathered and solidified overhead, forming a saber roughly three feet long. Radiance flowed along its blade, its murderous aura chilling.

"Go!"

Li Fuchan gave a low shout. Swift as lightning, Golden Light slashed out.

The fish-headed Monster was peering around with its dead-fish eyes when it suddenly saw a streak of Golden Light cleaving toward its face. With a strange cry, it tried to raise its water-parting spike to block.

But the golden saber came too quickly. With a sharp crack, the water-parting spike was sheared off at its base. The blade continued without losing momentum, sweeping across the fish-headed monster's neck.

A fish head tumbled to the ground. Its eyes rolled twice more before finally freezing.

The turtle-serpent monster panicked and retracted its neck, trying to retreat into its shell.

The golden saber was faster. It wheeled back through the air, becoming a golden streak. With a squelch, it pierced a gap in the shell and burst out the other side, drawing a spray of black blood.

The turtle-serpent monster gave a miserable howl, flipped onto its back, and twitched several times before falling silent.

Only then did Li Fuchan withdraw Golden Light, his face slightly pale.

He had devised this golden saber art himself after studying the Light-Devouring Method and several Ancient Arts over the past few days. Though its power was considerable, it consumed an enormous amount of mental strength.

After this, the Golden Light Mantra had retreated into his Brow Peak and could not be used again for a short while.

Not daring to delay, he strode quickly into the Hidden Truth Grotto.

The grotto was far more spacious than the chambers outside. A stone platform stood in its center, with two treasures placed separately upon it.

The object on the left was a mass of reddish-gold liquid hovering in midair, roughly the size of a fist. It constantly contracted and expanded, like a living creature breathing.

This was Flying Mercury, whose nature was to roam rather than remain, to move rather than rest. It possessed the powers of flight, penetration, and Transformation, readily entering cracks in metal and stone, leaving no crevice unpierced. In pill refinement, it was a supreme treasure for harmonizing yin and yang and guiding medicinal power into the meridians.

The object on the right was a fist-sized, pitch-black sinking stone. Though irregularly shaped, it rested firmly on the stone platform, Immovable.

This was Sunken Lead, whose nature was to remain rather than roam, to rest rather than move. It possessed the powers of suppression, solidification, and soul stabilization, readily calming the heart's fire and settling the mind. In pill refinement, it was essential for securing the pill's foundation and preventing medicinal properties from dispersing.

Flying Mercury sought to fly yet did not; Sunken Lead sought to sink and sank still deeper. One light and one heavy, one moving and one still, one yin and one yang: these were the two core great medicinal ingredients used in pill refinement to harmonize the cauldron and secure the pill's foundation.

Li Fuchan dared not be careless. Following the method Huaqing had taught him, he first took out a jade bottle, carefully drew the constantly struggling Flying Mercury inside, and sealed its mouth.

Flying Mercury darted wildly inside the bottle, striking it until the jade hummed. Only after quite some time did it gradually settle.

He took out another container, a dark-iron box, and exerted all his strength to lift the Sunken Lead and place it inside.

Only when the dark-iron box closed did that oppressive weight ease slightly.

He secured both treasures close to his body and let out a light breath, about to turn and leave.

Just then,

A slender crimson line abruptly opened in the darkness.

A savage, sinister aura swept in like a cold tide, instantly pinning Li Fuchan where he stood.

"Who would have thought, who would have thought..."

"That my junior brother's aptitude would be so extraordinary."

"Yet you've entangled yourself with that vile woman Huaqing."

Whoosh.

Within the spirit terrace between Li Fuchan's brows, the Illuminating Light flickered, piercing the darkness before him.

Ahead stood Hua Hong, his slit pupils vicious and his serpent body twisting. "What a beast. You've cultivated the Three Lights in less than three months. A pity you foolish thing don't understand heaven's decrees and have entangled yourself with that vile woman Huaqing. Now I can seize you and deliver you to Master."

With that, he moved, and a foul wind crashed toward him.

Li Fuchan exhaled with a thunderous roar, his ferocity surging to the heavens. "I was just about to ask you for a lesson, senior brother."

His chest and belly heaved, and Purple-Gold Treasure Light flashed into being.

Treasure Light is the nature of the Dharma, harmonizing creation, bound by neither existence nor nonexistence, encompassing the reaches of the great void and abiding within the inner apertures. It can shatter delusions that cannot be shattered and perfect fruits that cannot be perfected.

Li Fuchan's Treasure Light was naturally not so wondrous, but it was more than enough to forcibly rouse his weakened Golden Light.

First, he used Treasure Light to stimulate the weakened Golden Light, then smeared Illuminating Light across Huaqing's face.

The Golden Light of "Brow Peak" roared forth like a tiger, three-tenths shielding his vital points and seven-tenths slashing toward Hua Hong.

"You filthy beast! You're courting death!"

Transformation Hong roared through gritted teeth, the snake scales on his face quivering. His serpent tail lashed out, exploding into a skyful of red mist that forced his Golden Light back with a stab of pain. He let the remaining Golden Light slash into him, stripping away half his Red Scales in an instant, while his hands, covered in fine Red Scales, clamped firmly around Li Fuchan's neck. One squeeze would kill Li Fuchan on the spot.

But Hua Hong went no further.

Behind him, a Golden Sword hovered motionless.

A hateful voice rang from Hua Hong's throat like metal striking stone. "Huaqing, you wretched woman! Master has shown us such immense kindness. How dare you betray him!"

Huaqing smiled, her bearing soft and alluring. "Master is bent on becoming a dragon, and we, too, will become ingredients in his medicine. Since my Illuminating Light began to flourish, my spiritual awareness has grown greatly. What's wrong with wanting to stay alive?"

"You think you can kill me?"

"Why not try?"

Transformation Hong sneered, broke both of Li Fuchan's arms and legs, and flung him to the ground before turning to fight Huaqing.

He watched the two demons tear into each other.

Li Fuchan lay sprawled on the ground, Illuminating Light flickering between his brows as he committed the scene to memory.

In terms of cultivation, he had fully mastered the Three Lights and truly stood at False Outer Scenery. Apart from Huaqing, Hua Hong was far beneath him in cultivation, but his body was formidable, and his fighting techniques surpassed Li Fuchan's by far.

Just now, for instance, if he had dared to send all his Golden Light slashing out, Hua Hong would never have dared take it head-on. That extra moment of hesitation had allowed Hua Hong to overpower him.

By comparison, Hua Hong was far fiercer than he was.

At this moment, however, Li Fuchan gradually lost the inclination to dwell on such things.

His gaze settled on Huaqing. Transformation Hong had already inflicted repeated grievous wounds on her, and the Illuminating Light between her brows had dimmed.

This jolted Li Fuchan into realizing that he seemed to have forgotten two extremely important things.

Huaqing had kept insisting that she wanted to offer up the "Nascent Infant Pill," first stealing the golden lord and chaste maiden, then the flying mercury and sinking lead. But the final yellow sprout could only be revealed by the Three Lights.

In other words, her talk of him being a savior was a lie. In the end, the scroll would unfurl and the dagger would show.

That did not matter. Even though he had forgotten this, he had never believed Huaqing's words and had always kept his guard up around her.

A flash of inspiration struck Li Fuchan.

It was that Illuminating Light!

When they first met, Huaqing had told him to examine her with Golden Light, only to respond with Illuminating Light that nearly blinded him.

That had not merely been an attempt to muddy his perceptions. Huaqing had been using her own spiritual awareness to suppress Li Fuchan's, making him unconsciously overlook certain details.

That wretched woman.

Li Fuchan gritted his teeth.

Now that Huaqing's Illuminating Light had dimmed and she could no longer suppress him, the last matter of overwhelming importance surfaced in his mind.

Illuminating Light was Spiritual Nature, hidden within the soul and resting within the spirit's seat. It could illuminate realms that could not be illuminated and clarify principles that could not be clarified.

Thus, it could conceal the body and restrain one's presence, hide one's traces, seek fortune and avoid disaster, and discern benefit and harm.

Since the Old Flood Dragon dared let people cultivate this method,

that proved that this supposed concealment through Illuminating Light did not work in its eyes. Otherwise, if all the mortals it used to refine pills in the cave cultivated Illuminating Light, could they not all conceal themselves and escape?

In other words, the moment he first stepped out of his chamber using Illuminating Light to conceal himself, he had already been exposed beneath the Old Flood Dragon's gaze.

"Roar—"

A low roar suddenly sounded overhead.

It rolled heavily in every direction, shaking the stone walls until they trembled.

Huaqing and Hua Hong shuddered as though struck by lightning. They immediately stopped fighting and prostrated themselves, trembling so violently they dared not even lift their heads.

Li Fuchan's heart tightened. With great effort, he raised his head and looked up.

He saw a ghastly green glow.

As large as a millstone, it hung eerily in the air, a narrow, pitch-black slit standing vertically within it, its cold gaze pinning him in place.

That was only one of its eyes.

The low roar sounded again, rolling back and forth between the surrounding mountain walls like muffled thunder.

The entire cavern shook violently. The gloom along its walls seemed to ebb like a tide, and the first shaft of light abruptly pierced the dense darkness and poured inside.

It had thrust through the sky.

Rock split apart, the vaulted ceiling tore open, and daylight cascaded down together with dust and smoke.

Li Fuchan stared blankly, but not at that colossal creature.

Above the Old Flood Dragon's body, the stone walls opened to reveal a scene of darkened heaven and earth.

Before his eyes, the celestial river poured backward. From the shattered vault overhead, endless turbid torrents crashed down as though the sky itself were collapsing, slamming into the earth with the force of ten thousand thunderbolts.

Scorching, shapeless fire abruptly surged from underground and collided with the water, exploding into a skyful of boiling white steam that shot toward the heavens.

Water and fire seethed together, light and darkness twisted around each other, and nothing remained between heaven and earth but a roaring chaos.

The sun shone bright in heaven, the sun shone bright in heaven.

Li Fuchan lay sprawled on the ground, his ears filled with the thunder of water and fire and that deep bestial roar. Only one thought remained in his mind:

Huaqing hadn't lied to me. There really was a Heaven-and-Earth Cataclysm?!