How Could It Be So Easily Abandoned

Upon hearing this, Xue Min and Meng Shixi could no longer contain themselves and burst into tears.

Inside the hall Subterranean Water and wept as if crying; outside, the eaves bells wailed in the wind.

After a long while, someone started a very low and slow sacrificial song from the depths of the hall. The melody was ancient and desolate, as if it had come from High Antiquity.

As the song began, the surrounding Subterranean Water echoed, transforming into hundreds of ripples that enveloped the entire hall in a mournful, plaintive murmur.

"The abyss of the vast sea Subterranean Water light; my late father bestowed gold, reopening our ancient territory."

The mountain spirit plays the zither, the water spirit offers wine; the sacrificial rites are performed with great clarity, may the gods come to offer their blessings;

The Erhai Lake Cang Mountain are covered in snow, and Erhai Subterranean Water gently; the Fushui River is vast and contains a hundred rivers.

The Womb Earth nurtures the land, ensuring abundant harvests; the Sacrificial Earth brings peace and prosperity to all spirits.

Spring blossoms and autumn fruits, we repay with gratitude and offer prayers; how can we safeguard the nation by upholding the constant virtue?

The Subterranean Water have dried up, and the Womb Earth is overgrown with weeds; the Sacrificial Earth have been abandoned, and the prince has departed.

His virtuous legacy remains in this ancient capital; may this sage's virtue endure for generations to come.

After an unknown amount of time, the Subterranean Water around them finally subsided. When the upper voice rose again, it was no longer filled with grief; its tone was calm and solemn:

"I have observed signs of a severe drought in the outside world. As the ruler of the Nanzhao Kingdom, how can I stand idly by and watch my people suffer in scorched earth?"

As the words fell, a gray-black water bowl slowly descended from the void and landed in front of Xue Min. The mysterious sound rose again:

"Sinking this Abyss-Bearing Guixu Bowl into Erhai Lake will ensure the water veins remain unbroken, thus averting this calamity."

As soon as they finished speaking, a gray-black water bowl appeared in front of them.

Upon hearing this, Xue Min crawled forward two steps and stretched out her hands to hold the water bowl.

The next moment, a gray-black light flowed over the water bowl, and a faint yet crystal-clear ray of water light slowly rose from the mouth of the bowl.

The shimmering water wasn't dazzling, but it carried a calming power that soothed the mind. Even though she was currently unharmed, Xue Min felt her Movement Method functioning more smoothly.

He knew about this Law Treasure; it was derived from the "Dormant Spring Heart," a metaphor for the power of Subterranean Water.

"Zhe" means to hide; "quan" means the source of water. Subterranean Water is underground water, which is hidden and does not reveal itself, and is stored without being released.

"Dormant Spring Heart" is the core supernatural Divine Ability of the Subterranean Water Sect, which can make the Subterranean Water flow to benefit the world.

Before the king attained enlightenment, he used this Divine Ability to draw underground Subterranean Water to replenish rivers and lakes, Runze hundreds of thousands of miles of barren land, thus receiving the blessing of heaven and earth and the power to Runze.

Then His voice rang out again:

"Chengyuan means inheriting the virtue of the ancient king Cangyuan and connecting with the underground Subterranean Water veins; Guixu drawing all waters into the hidden depths, concealing them without leakage and storing them without overflowing. I have sealed my Law Power into a vessel, and placing it in Erhai Lake will ensure a continuous flow of water to Runze the world."

Upon hearing this, Xue Min firmly grasped the treasure and bowed deeply:

"Xue Min obeys the decree. I will certainly live up to the King's expectations and fulfill the task of Runze."

Then, His tone suddenly changed:

"Back then, the Witch Hall came seeking the Morning Mist Drum and the Dusk Snow Flute, hoping to open the Purple-Blue Secret Realm. The old priest feigned expelling the royal family and severed ties between you and Po Li, bestowing the items upon them to extinguish the Witch Hall's ambitions. What has become of those two Spirit Treasure?"

Xue Min remained silent upon hearing this, Meng Shixi, prostrate on the ground, replied:

"Years ago, Lake God of Cibi Lake, Ao Xiao forces with Kuiwu of the Red Rock Zhao Household to seize the two treasures. My subordinates secretly helped them with a contingency plan left by the old priest, and although the two escaped with their lives, they were ultimately injured. Some time ago, the two had a brief encounter with the Abbot of Qixia Temple, and now they are hiding by the Cibi Lake using the Spirit Treasure Southern Curtain."

He said calmly:

"Now that the Longchuan Heaven, it's time to open it. However, those little insects dare to interfere; kill them if they should. Even if the Witch Hall intervenes from behind, ignore them. Take this opportunity to bring Qixia Temple in; we can share the spoils with them and use this to build a closer relationship."

Upon hearing this, Meng Shixi nodded first, and then asked:

"The things within the Purple-Blue Secret Realm are now under the control of Nanzhao and the Dragon Palace of the South Sea. The Witch Hall will definitely get involved as well. Now, with the introduction of Qixia Temple, it seems the Dragon Palace and the Witch Hall will clash..."

He said:

"It's alright. The Dragon Palace of the South Sea has people, the Witch Hall has intelligence from inside, and our Nanzhao has the key. The purpose of bringing in Qixia Temple is to win him over. When the Proclaiming Earth takes place in the future, we will try our best to preserve the people of Nanzhao. A few worldly possessions are insignificant."

Then He asked:

"How is the Wu Nuo bloodline?"

Meng Shixi replied:

"Two years ago, the twenty-year period set by Qixia had passed, Lake God of Cibi Lake had secretly gathered several people to begin practicing Witch Talisman."

He sneered, his laughter tinged with a desolate mockery:

"Wu Nuo once had a Fu Water dragon as a mount. After Wu Nuo's death, the dragon poured its life's cultivation into the secret realm, imprisoning him there until now. The Dragon Palace of the South Sea set its sights on this, painstakingly cultivating Fu Water dragons and sending them here. Now it's finally his turn. How laughable! There's always a reason why someone is pitiful. He wanted to use Wu Nuo's bloodline as proof to open the secret realm, but little did he know that he himself was one of the keys."

As soon as he finished speaking, ripples appeared on the Subterranean Water in the hall, as if in response to him.

The laughter subsided, and His tone returned to its previous calm:

"The situation has come to this point, we cannot stand idly by and wait for our demise. With Abyss-Bearing Guixu Bowl, the drought can be temporarily alleviated; as for the plague..." Then, another ray of light descended, Meng Shixi held a crystal-clear flower bud in her hand, "This is the Hundred Spirits Flower of the Flourishing Wood Dao, a gift from the First King, the Earthly Sovereign, Shi Di Dao Lord. It contains some of the Earthly Sovereign 'Earth Suitability power to eliminate Dispel Calamity and cure diseases. Use it to deal with the plague. As for the other strange phenomena, wait until they manifest, then come to the cave to find me. Also, the True Person of the Red Rock Zhao Household the Heavenly Chaos can be killed, but their lineage cannot be severed. That is something the Mysterious Gate has been planning since the Sealing of Gods."

The two men accepted the order and kowtowed.

His voice suddenly lowered, as if he were talking to himself, or perhaps speaking to the entire hall:

"They want me to relinquish the name of the country. But this name was passed down from our ancestors, certified by the Three Sovereigns, and bestowed upon us by three generations. Only the Taizu emperor retained it. How can I easily relinquish it?"

Before the words were finished, the oppressive aura of the Subterranean Water that had filled the entire hall suddenly dissipated.

When the two came to their senses, they were already outside the cave, above the God-Worshipping Pagoda.

Xue Min held the heavy Abyss-Bearing Guixu Bowl in her hands, while Meng Shixi held the Hundred Spirits Flower in her palm. She carefully sensed it and realized that this seemingly fragile flower, as delicate as glass, was actually a Law Treasure.

At this moment, the night breeze brushed the eaves of the God-Worshipping Pagoda, and the waves of Erhai Lake in the distance continued to lap against the stone shore. The lingering echo of the words "How can we leave so easily?" still resonated in their ears.

Meng Shixi then looked at Xue Min and sobbed softly:

"I implore the Mountain God to intervene; I am far inferior to him, and never realized the situation had deteriorated to this point..."

Upon hearing this, Xue Min first sighed softly, then offered words of comfort:

Why must we distinguish ourselves so clearly?

Upon hearing this, Meng Shixi smiled faintly, but her smile was tinged with tears.

In the night breeze, laughter and tears blended together into the vast moonlight.

At the same time, a folk song drifted from the brightly lit Nanzhao Royal City:

"Snow on Erhai Lake Cang Mountain, moon over Erhai Lake, the moon shines on the royal city as it was years ago. The Subterranean Water their veins, who knows when they will reach the human world. Mother spins hemp, father tills the land, incense burns green before the ancestral hall. Do not say that the spring breeze cannot reach, for this place is still the same old land..."