When the weathered, ancient wooden gates of the Li Stockade opened before him, the Four Seas Hall Master knew he had come to the right place.
It was already early winter, and the weather was rather dry. Yet as those two enormous wooden gates opened before his eyes, the Four Seas Hall Master, keenly sensitive to spiritual currents, felt a vast surge of water energy sweep toward him.
This must be the place.
He sensed it carefully. This misty spiritual energy was so pure and mellow that only a blessed grotto heaven could have nurtured it. Stepping through the gates, Xing Yan saw Emerald Li Village awash in lush greenery. The green scattered among the homes and thatched huts almost made him forget that winter had already arrived. But after only a cursory look, he realized there was something deeply suspicious about the scene. Looking around, he saw forbidding mountains in the distance and a jumble of gullies and ridges nearby-a landscape of battered mountains and dwindling waters, utterly incapable of gathering such immense spiritual energy.
Noticing this, Xing Yan could not help saying inwardly:
Fellow Daoist Water Spirit, I'm here!
Once inside the village, after crossing several gullies and ridges, Xing Yan finally gained a rough picture of Emerald Li Village's layout. These Nine Li Remnant Clans lived against the mountains, with rolling hills encircling them to the south. According to the old clan chief, those were the Jade Link Range. Among the hills and ravines winding north from that range, the Nine Li villagers had found level ground and built various round-roofed thatched houses. At a glance, the houses looked rather like boats.
After passing several tightly crowded clusters of thatched huts, Xing Yan soon came upon a large pond. The water at the foot of the mountains