Within Many Treasures Heaven.
The green and yellow hues hung thick and undispersed. The oppressive heat brought misery, parched throats, and restless hearts. Though autumn had arrived, the might of the long summer still persisted over this land with savage obstinacy. Locusts chirped one after another, while diamond-shaped pupils like those of sheep lurked underground.
"The baleful affliction of hidden metal, the blight of orthodox wood."
Tiantuo seemed to grasp something. His gaze swept across this [Autumn Essence Land] before turning to Bao Zi before him.
"Baleful affliction also means ruin. When metal afflicts wood, wood suffers the impact of metal qi, creating calamity and damaging your appearance. That is why so many gnarled growths appear."
"Correct. The profundity of the five essences lies in their baleful afflictions."
Bao Zi's eyes shone brightly as he said solemnly:
"When metal afflicts wood, it produces taboo and many malformed fetuses; when fire afflicts water, it produces transformation, and hot springs induce pregnancy; when water afflicts fire, it produces truth, taking the form of spirit ghosts; when wood afflicts metal, it produces hidden metal, and gold and silver become human. The most unusual is nurturing earth, which suffers the combined afflictions of water, fire, metal, and wood, and thus stands foremost. Its manifestations include flying sand and hurtling stones, smoke and dust filling the sky, barren lands, and monsters running rampant. Only during its cycles does it reveal a trace of peaceful, fertile soil."
Tiantuo understood and merely said:
"So... you must remain in this place of nurturing earth, Senior, using its spirit-monster aspect to resist the correction imposed by the five origin wood powers within you."
"Correct. In ancient times, nurturing earth cultivators were called [Monsters of Nether Evil]. They attained the Dao through aberrations of the five elements, assuming the forms