Water Virtue Transformation

Within the Cang Water Secret Realm.

Inside a thirty-zhang halo of interwoven azure and yellow light.

He Wood formed forests, Wu Earth formed mountains, and mountains and forests overlapped, stretching on like a barrier.

The forest drew strength from the earth, and the earth supported the trees' roots.

The forest grew upon the Wu Earth, with earth as its foundation, mountains as its screen, and wood as its blade. Like mountain ghosts dwelling in ravines and wood spirits hiding in forests, they concealed themselves within.

Throughout the secret realm, azure and yellow flowed and interwove, as though a primeval mountain forest had been carved out of chaos, turning the thirty-zhang expanse into a cage apart from the outside world.

Su Yao stood within it and thought to himself:

Half a month has passed, and these two have finally made some progress. But they still haven't reached the stage of merging the two into one. Still, it's barely enough.

I'd better let the two of them save some face and not discourage them too much.

A point of Li Fire appeared between his brows, and endless Li Fire swept toward the surrounding mountains and forests.

In mere moments, the trees burned down.

But the forest had Wu Earth as its foundation. The instant it burned down, it sprang back to life, again and again without end.

Su Yao changed direction, and the Clear Wind Sword appeared in his hand.

His sword moves were fierce. As he swung, three streaks of Sword Qi flew toward the mountains formed from Wu Earth.

Immediately afterward, he followed up with Southern Emperor Profound Light. Li Fire rose from between his brows and became divine birds that flew toward the forest of He Wood.

Under the double assault.

To defend itself, the Wu Earth abandoned its support of the forest.

Wood burned when it met fire, and in just a few breaths, the forest was set ablaze.

Seeing that things had taken a bad turn, Li Siyi tried to support the forest again, but the three streaks of Sword Qi clung to her relentlessly.

If she went to support it, they would pierce through the mountain.

Li Siyi bit her lip and steeled herself. Ignoring the Sword Qi, she sent Wu Earth Qi surging madly to support what little remained of the forest.

Nourished by Wu Earth Qi, the forest began to grow wildly again.

It sought to surround Su Yao.

Seeing this, Su Yao chuckled and unleashed Southern Emperor Profound Light again. Ten divine birds flew out at once, heading for the forest.

Then he swung Clear Breeze again, sending out five streaks of Sword Qi that cut down the trees in their path.

Seeing this, Su Yao swung out three more streaks of Sword Qi, then followed with the fifth-grade Law Technique Myriad Wildfire. Before anyone could cover their ears at the sound of thunder, the forest burned to ashes.

The mountains formed from Wu Earth were pierced by Sword Qi and scorched by Li Fire.

The thirty-zhang azure and yellow halo was split in two, then dispersed.

Su Yao looked at the two, their faces pale now that their Law Technique had been broken:

"Not bad. You have improved."

He paused, then looked at Li Siyi and smiled:

"But there is still room for improvement. Siyi, your experience in magical combat is far inferior to Yunhe's. If you had enough experience, I wouldn't have been able to break your Azure and Yellow Interwoven in Harmony with just those two Law Techniques and Sword Qi."

Li Siyi nodded at his words, but she was shocked:

She had not expected that she and Liu Yunhe would still lose so badly with this Law Technique after the Daozi had given them pointers last time.

Liu Yunhe smiled and said:

"You flatter us, Daozi. It was only because you passed down such a method that we were able to make any progress."

Su Yao shook his head and was about to speak when he noticed that something was wrong with their expressions.

He instantly became alert, activated Draped in Rosy Radiance, and turned to look.

The azure mist that had filled the air for a month and a half and begun to thin was rapidly gathering in the sky.

He immediately used the prism to investigate and saw countless streams of Gui Water gathering within the mist.

He immediately called to the two of them:

"Retreat to the Azure Water Hall."

With that, he flashed beneath the eaves of the Azure Water Hall.

Only then did Liu Yunhe and Li Siyi wake as if from a dream and immediately follow.

Sensing the commotion outside, Little Red and Little Orange also flew out of the hall.

Su Yao looked up, feeling that it was probably time to go to Nanzhao.

At that moment, Li Siyi asked:

"Daozi... this..."

Su Yao was just about to speak when the token the True Lord had given him suddenly trembled inside his Storage Bag.

He hurriedly took it out. Rosy light surged over the token, and a dozen or so characters appeared:

"Gui rises as rain, rain falls to become subterranean. The subterranean flows through the earth's veins, traversing ten thousand li."

Su Yao understood at once. Subterranean Water was good at slipping away, and much of the water in Nanzhao was carried there by Subterranean Water, giving rise to its many great lakes.

So he said to Liu Yunhe:

"Go and bring the Shengyu egg."

He paused, then cautioned:

"On this journey to Nanzhao, be sure to take care."

Liu Yunhe nodded, went into the hall, and brought out the egg.

Su Yao added:

"And remember to keep this egg with you."

Liu Yunhe nodded, while Su Yao thought to himself:

If only we had brought a demon bag that could hold Demon Beasts. This egg still has life in it, so it can't be placed in a Storage Bag.

The three people, two birds, and one egg watched as the mist gathered in the sky and then fell as azure rain.

The rain continued for three days and three nights.

Using the prism, Su Yao discovered that all the pools, ponds, and springs throughout the Cang Water Secret Realm had long since turned into azure rain along with the azure mist. But after falling, the water did not replenish them. Instead, it all seeped underground and became Subterranean Water.

At this time, a beam of azure light appeared on the mountain behind the Azure Water Hall, reaching from earth to heaven, and gray-black began to appear within it.

Su Yao looked at the two people and two birds:

"Let's go."

With that, he flew toward the mountain behind the hall. The two people and two birds hurried after him.

When they reached the place on the mountain where they had gathered the Heaven-Tilting Profound Dew Marrow, the azure pool that had once rippled with blue-green waves was gone.

In its place stood the azure beam of light that reached from earth to heaven.

But now, the lower part of the beam was constantly changing, turning the gray-black color of Subterranean Water.

Sensing the profound presence of the Subterranean Water within it, Su Yao could not help marveling: the Cang Water Secret Realm was truly wondrous.

There were currently twenty-eight secret realms on Qixia Mountain, and those that could compare with this one could be counted on one hand. It truly did not seem to have been built by the Cang Water Sect.

Suppressing the stray thoughts in his mind, he turned to look behind him:

"Let's go."

Without waiting for the two people and two birds to react, he leaped into the beam.

Seeing this, Little Red and Little Orange were the first to follow.

Li Siyi looked at Liu Yunhe, her gaze resolute:

"Take the Shengyu and go first. I'll bring up the rear."

Liu Yunhe nodded, used his Law Power to lift the Shengyu egg, and flew down toward the beam.

Once Liu Yunhe had entered the beam, Li Siyi leaped in as well.

After Li Siyi entered, the group floated within the beam.

Just then, a mystical voice that seemed to span heaven and earth rang out, wondrous beyond words. It was True Lord Xicheng:

"Gui rises as rain, rain falls to become subterranean.

The subterranean flows through the earth's veins, traversing ten thousand li.

The Cang Water Secret Realm opens a road to Nanzhao.

I now send you on your way; once gone, do not linger."

Within the beam, Su Yao and the others bowed in thanks. The mystical voice rang out again:

"On this journey to Nanzhao, quietly await the proper time, tend to observation and profound cultivation, and conduct the affairs of immortals. Do not become involved in the disputes of the mortal world. Unless you have no other choice, there is no need to act."

Su Yao was taken aback. Then he nodded, his expression solemn, and cupped his hands:

"This disciple will remember the True Lord's teachings. I will quietly await the proper time, stay clear of the mortal world, and never act unless I have no other choice."

As his voice fell, the mystical voice rang out once more:

"Decree!"

The instant the word fell, the azure beam turned gray-black and began to spin rapidly.

In the next instant, Su Yao felt heaven and earth whirl around him. Even he could not resist it.

He felt only that his body had turned to water, drifting with the current.