Chapter 602 - 479: Earth-Born Gold (Part 2)
However, the most important thing right now is to comprehend the mutual generation of the Five Elements; everything else must take a back seat.
He turned his head, and the Earth-Departing Flame Banner quickly shrank and merged into his body, hiding its功与名功与名 deep within.
The Wuji Xinghuang Banner was fully activated, protecting the entire passage and rejecting any outside interference.
Two slight sounds came from behind, as if two pebbles were dropped outside on a tranquil night.
Ji An slightly frowned, turned around, and his eyebrows raised sharply.
"A few more Yin Soul Beasts as affectionate as this wouldn’t be so bad!"
On the ground lay a fingernail-sized pale blue glowing crystal stone and a three-inch long beast horn, surrounded by a black aura.
Although he had never seen them, he understood that the crystal stone was a Soul Crystal, but the purpose of the beast horn was unknown.
But anything that could be preserved was good; otherwise, it would have turned to ashes.
This was the first time he had not moved in vain, and a smile bloomed at the corner of Ji An’s mouth; it was a good omen.
He used the Object Control Technique to grasp the two spiritual objects in his hand.
The Soul Crystal felt icy to touch, as if holding an extremely cold ice block; despite his physical constitution, he couldn’t help but shiver, but the sensation in his Sea of Consciousness was very comfortable, and his injured Spirit Soul seemed to feel better.
"Good!"
Ji An tightly held the Soul Crystal in his hand, played with the black beast horn for a while, and discovered he couldn’t identify its nature or use.
He placed the beast horn into the Void Realm Space and endured the cold brought by the Soul Crystal; after his Spirit Soul’s wounds fully healed, he put it away.
Ji An once again lowered the power output of the Soul Nourishing Pendant’s magic array; although this method could quickly heal the Spirit Soul, it caused significant wear.
All adverse conditions had vanished. Ji An took a deep breath, then walked to the place where the Spiritual Power conflict was most intense, to feel the changes up close.
Perhaps because obtaining the Soul Crystal brought him joy, he found his thoughts to be lively and sharp.
The Earth Element’s Yin and Yang divide into Wu Earth and Ji Earth, but whether Wu Earth or Ji Earth, they share common characteristics.
The Earth Element, affected by fire, becomes parched earth, known as Wu Earth, which can form solid dikes, sustaining life on earth; influenced by the Water Element, it becomes Ji Earth, nourishing all things, and able to accommodate all spiritual creatures under the Nine Netherworld, becoming the final resting place for all spiritual creatures.
If the Path of Gold can see Geng Metal and Xin Metal completely separate, the Path of Earth will not, due to the common weightiness of both Wu and Ji Earth.
Ji An carefully perceived the Gold Attributes nurtured within, discovering its intense sword of slaughter aura, which quickly subsided.
He nodded slightly; on the surface, this was Ji Earth nurturing Geng Metal.
This phenomenon could be understood as Yin Generating Yang, Yin Earth nurturing Yang Metal, fitting the transformations of Yin and Yang.
However, what on earth was the Kan Water Essence Qi radiating out? Direct perception indicated there was no transformation of Gold Generating Water.
Could it possibly be the Water Element aura emanating from the Nether River?
That’s possible, because he heard the intermittent sound of tides in the passage.
But Earth and Water are mutually antagonistic; these two elements shouldn’t entangle, and yet here they were so intimately intertwined.
Ji An scratched his head, feeling a headache; if it weren’t for this black spirit light, the scene he saw would be relatively easy to explain, but now he was in serious self-doubt.
He tugged at his hair, sighed lightly, then took a deep breath, exhaling the anxiety arising in his heart.
The current situation was like doing math problems in a previous life; the reason it felt difficult was because he didn’t know how.
Ji An focused his mind, calming his emotions, and once his mind returned to tranquility, he emitted his Divine Sense to continue quietly sensing the changes within the Spiritual Mechanism.
He noticed the black glow gradually shrinking. Approximately half an hour passed, and the Water Element Spirit Light completely disappeared.
Moments later, the phenomenon of pregnancy and transformation within the Spiritual Mechanism also dissipated.
Ji An’s face was solemn; he felt an epiphany. Without the appearance of Water Element Spirit Light, everything he comprehended could still make sense.
The Yin Earth aura was intense, with Yang Ascending and Yin Descending, so energy became more restrained, and then Yin Extremity Yang Birth, nurturing Yang Metal within Yin Earth.
The nature of Earth is weighty, supportive, and nourishing, where the combustion of Fire generates Metal; the energy ascends to the extreme before transforming into a converging state.
To give an inappropriate example, he considered the Water Element as possessing the flowing liquid nature, while the Wood and Fire Elements were the gaseous state that evaporates upward, and Earth and Gold Elements were the solid state that gathers together.
Impelled by the transformation of Yin and Yang, the energy nature changes and flows, thus all things gain vitality.
But with the addition of Water Element Spirit Light, things became very complicated. He didn’t know the role this variable played, and didn’t have any clues at all.
Ji An shook his head vigorously, feeling as if his head was as big as a bucket.
This "math problem" currently exceeded his abilities; he had a solution outline but couldn’t confirm whether the answer derived from his reasoning was correct.
Next, he needed to find the Spirit Realm again to verify his hypothesis.
...
Ji An traveled low while riding the Earth Cloud; the Earth Element aura here was abundant, so performing the Earth Escape Technique was also possible.
However, Yin Souls might be hiding within the earth, and encountering a formidable adversary would be very disadvantageous to him, so he continued to choose cloud travel as his method of escape.
Up ahead was a bend. Ji An flew cautiously past, discovering an area of Ji Earth nurturing Geng Metal just ahead.
His eyes squinted, a cold smile appeared on his face, and the Dharma Seal in his hand changed, releasing a Bursting Fireball.
This scene was quite fake; there was a facade but no substance, with no Five Elements Qi Mechanism change within it—it was certain that a Yin Soul lingered nearby, creating a corresponding illusion with an insight into his thoughts.
The head-sized Fireball, its surface spewing white flames, flew toward the Spirit Realm. This Foundation Establishment Technique, in his hands, could unleash powerful destructive force.
The Fireball passed through the Spirit Realm, as if through a layer of illusion, finally crashing into the rock wall with a loud boom.
Flames scattered like blossoming fireworks.
The Spirit Realm vanished like a shattered soap bubble, revealing it was all an illusion.
As the illusion disappeared, Ji An surprisingly found a dozen or so hideous Yin Souls congregating in strange postures.
There was a sheep with half a head, a toad with three legs, and a long creature with a human head and snake body.
The more Yin Souls gathered, the stronger the illusion they could create; this was the first time Ji An had discovered so many Yin Souls gathered together.
Without hesitation, he changed the Dharma Seal in his hand, and Magical Power surged from his Dantian, rushing into the Heart Fire Mansion along the Immortal Vein.
The next moment, a crimson Fire Dragon, burning with white flames, appeared in the passage.
Its head was ferocious, and the dragon horns similarly wreathed in white flames, the long dragon body covered in scales, resembling real dragon scales.
The fierce dragon roar sounded, as the Fire Dragon collided with the Yin Souls, sending a blaze of flames everywhere. The Yin Souls screamed and then turned into clouds of ash, dissipating into nothingness.
If the enemies didn’t reach a certain level, they wouldn’t pose any threat to Ji An; his efficiency in killing was comparable to the top-level Sword Cultivators.
However, his defense power was far superior to Sword Cultivators of the same realm.
He thought if he were to spar with Li Haoran again, the opponent might feel despair—a Sword Cultivator, Unbreakable? That was because they hadn’t met him!
As long as his layers of armor were thick enough, he dared to play with the whiskers of a Golden Core Cultivator.
This was just a minor episode; Ji An continued flying on the cloud.
Two days later, he finally encountered another Spirit Realm beginning to evolve Earth-Born Gold.
This time, there was only yellow and white light; the glow of Ji Earth quickly shrank, while the white spirit light rapidly grew.
It lasted only for a quarter hour before all anomalies vanished, and the Spirit Realm disappeared without a trace.
Ji An felt like thunder clapped in his mind, dispelling all his confusion.
His initial understanding wasn’t wrong; Water Element wasn’t a necessity for Earth-Born Gold; the existence of Water Element just provided energy to Ji Earth!
It was only due to constant replenishment that the last evolution of the Five Elements Mutual Generation lasted so long.
"Water Element misled me!"
Ji An laughed heartily, his laughter filled with immense joy.
As his belief grew firm, the yellow flame layer of the Primordial Life Fire in his Dantian expanded greatly, the distinct boundary between it and the white rock layer became blurred.
The Spleen Earth Mansion blossomed with spirit light; the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture was once more in operation, Spiritual Qi inhaled through the nose and mouth, swiftly circulating within the Immortal Vein.