Cultivating the Water Spirit Art

Lying in bed, Ye Fan was truly a little bored. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

"Why not sneak off to Sunset City for a look? If I travel hidden in my Inner World, I should be pretty fast, right?" No sooner said than done, Ye Fan quietly got up and locked the door tight. He opened his Inner World, hid inside, and shrank its entrance until it could pass through the crack beneath the door.

The rice-grain-sized black hole formed by the world's entrance carried Ye Fan swiftly toward Sunset City. At first, Ye Fan couldn't control its flight very well, but he gradually grew proficient. The black hole streaked through the night sky like a trail of light, while Ye Fan checked his direction through the opening.

Before long, in roughly the time it took to eat a meal, Ye Fan saw the outline of Sunset City. A row of guards stood atop the walls, and the city was brightly lit. A torch burned every few zhang, while patrolling soldiers marched back and forth without pause.

"So fast!" This was his first time flying the Inner World proficiently, and it was actually this fast. Traveling on foot usually took half a day to reach Sunset City, but how long had it been? Probably only enough time to eat a meal, yet he was already here!!!

Ye Fan marveled inwardly. Was this the difference between an immortal cultivator and a mortal?

Ye Fan didn't dwell on it long and gathered his thoughts. He carefully surveyed Sunset City beneath him.

This was the city lord's residence. It still looked imposing from above!

This was the Ever-Normal Granary. It was perfectly square, had very few open flames, and was a long way away.

This should be the city defense camp...

Hidden in his Inner World, Ye Fan carefully examined every corner of Sunset City. As expected of the place where the city lord lived, it was huge.

"Huh? Everywhere else is brightly lit, so why is the commander's residence pitch-black?" Ye Fan spotted the commander's residence through the opening. Why wasn't there a single person here? Even the patrols, at the very least, had been greatly reduced.

Controlling his Inner World, he gently floated over. Ye Fan didn't show himself, merely peering out through the opening.

"There really isn't anyone here? Could the fighting at Wuling City be so urgent that the commander was sent there too?"

"Mhm, that must be it!"

"Why don't I..."

Just as Ye Fan was about to head to Wuling City to see what was going on, he suddenly remembered: where was Wuling City???

Forget it, forget it. I'll think about it tomorrow morning! First, I should ask around and find out which direction Wuling City is in.

"How about going back to the mountains for a look now?" Mhm, he would go right away. He was fairly proficient at controlling his Inner World now, and his control was relatively precise. It was worth a try!

As Ye Fan was on his way back, passing over the city lord's residence, he had just reached his hand out... when Grand Commander Bai Yu suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the roof.

"There seemed to be a flash of extraordinary energy fluctuations." Commander Bai's figure flashed, and he appeared above the city lord's residence, his presence restrained as he blended into the night. Most importantly, Commander Bai was actually walking on air. He was unmistakably a Nascent Soul powerhouse!

"Hm? The presence vanished, cut off all of a sudden! Could the Wu Kingdom be about to break the agreement governing the mortal world and send immortal cultivators? Or was some mighty figure merely passing through Sunset City?"

Meanwhile, Ye Fan, hiding in his Inner World, was drenched in cold sweat. My heavens, I only wanted to pick up a fragment of glazed roof tile to study, and even that was enough to get me discovered. Luckily, my spiritual sense is exceptional now, and my senses are keen. Otherwise, I really would have been discovered.

If Ye Fan hadn't reached out his hand, Commander Bai would never have noticed. After all, detecting a space blended into the void required far greater mental perception, and very few people in the human world could manage it.

With the entrance to his Inner World tightly shut, Ye Fan paced back and forth on the Primordial Star. "I was careless, so careless~ I hope that powerhouse outside the entrance leaves soon. How am I supposed to control my Inner World and get home if I can't see outside?"

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Fan sat bored on a branch of the Tree of Life, his whole body reclining, his arms crossed behind his head as a pillow and his legs dangling and swinging back and forth. "Surely that powerhouse has left by now?"

Ye Fan was just about to open his Inner World above his head to look outside when he suddenly stopped. "I'd better wait a bit longer! It's probably still early before dawn. As long as I'm not late getting home, it's fine."

And so Ye Fan obediently lay there again, swinging his legs in boredom.

Commander Bai had long since returned. Thinking that perhaps a mighty figure had merely been passing through, he released his true dragon presence to warn the other party that a Qian Kingdom powerhouse was stationed here and that they should think carefully before attacking. After all, only the royal families of the various kingdoms possessed True Dragon Power.

After waiting who knew how long, the bored Ye Fan finally couldn't stand it anymore. He quietly opened a rice-grain-sized hole and put his eye to it to look outside. "Looks like he's already gone!" Ye Fan didn't dare linger. He checked his direction and flew off at once.

"Phew, that was close!" Still shaken, Ye Fan let out a long breath. "I'll have to be more careful from now on. If I run into a supreme powerhouse someday, I probably won't be lucky enough to escape like I did today."

After this, Ye Fan no longer had any desire to visit the Endless Mountains. He controlled his Inner World back to Hundred Stars New Village, carefully passed through the crack beneath the door, and returned to his room.

Ye Fan flashed into the room and pressed his ear against the wall. "I probably didn't wake my parents!" Only then did he tiptoe back to his bed.

Bored out of his mind, and after what had just happened, Ye Fan wasn't in the mood to sleep. He might as well study the Water Spirit Art!!!

Heaven gives rise to countless things; the goodness of water leads the way...

Ye Fan roughly skimmed the information in his mind. It turned out to be a supplementary cultivation method that applied a layer of Spiritual Qi to water. There was no visible change on the surface, but it became abundant in water spirit and could benefit all things.

But how do I cast it? The Water Spirit Art must have circulated through my body thousands of times already. But how exactly am I supposed to use it?

Ye Fan went over the cultivation method again, constantly gesturing with his hands. Again and again...

"Hm? There seems to be a force gathering on my palm?" Again...

Ye Fan sat on the bed, holding his breath and concentrating as he repeatedly waved his right hand forward... until a palm strike sent out a fluctuation of energy.

"Hm? Did it work?"

Ye Fan hurried over to check. "It should have hit this spot, right? But nothing's changed." Unconvinced, Ye Fan scratched at it with his hand. The earthen layer was still just an earthen layer! Could I have cast it wrong just now? That shouldn't be the case~

Just as Ye Fan was racking his brains, a patch of green quietly began to grow over the earthen layer covered by the Water Spirit Art. Its growth, visible to the naked eye, stunned Ye Fan as he squatted on the ground examining it!

"This is..." A layer of moss had spread over the wall and floor. It didn't cover a large area, just the place he had struck with his palm.

"So this is the Water Spirit Art. It can speed up growth. It would be perfect for farming!"

If the mighty figure who created this art heard Ye Fan's words, he would probably cough up blood in anger. He had exhausted a lifetime's fortune on this art, only for Ye Fan to use it for farming!

Ye Fan hurriedly cleared away the moss. If his parents discovered tomorrow that moss had grown in their new house, it would be hard to explain!

I'll go practice this art in my Inner World! Ye Fan flashed into his Inner World and waved his hand to cast it again and again...

"Commander Zha, in three more days, our army will reach Qixia Mountain."

"Three days? I hope we can make it in time..."