"Forget it." Wang Xiu curled his lips. "What's it to me? It's not like I was the one who cracked the seal! With this crack, the waters of the Yellow Springs can flow endlessly. And that's not water—it's Spirit Stones and gold. Only a fool would turn their nose up at money!"
Muttering to himself, Wang Xiu put away the bottle and turned to leave, closing the stone door behind him. The vast cave fell back into silence.
…
RUMBLE...
A moment later, the stone door opened again. The youth leaped into the muddy Yellow Springs Pool and took out four large bluestones from his Storage Bag.
The Purple Cloud Saber crackled with brilliant lightning.
Mysterious formation patterns were engraved onto the four stones, vividly depicting the Four Divine Beasts.
"With my Essence Blood as sacrifice! Four Divine Beasts, stabilize the universe forever!"
The youth clenched the blade of the Purple Cloud Saber as drops of Essence Blood, each containing his fundamental mana, dripped onto the four bluestones.
Instantly, all four bluestones vibrated in unison. Faint sounds of a dragon's roar, a phoenix's cry, and a tiger's bellow emanated from within them.
The youth's face turned pale. He clasped his hands together and bellowed, "Suppress!"
In an instant, the four bluestones were drawn to the stone platform as if by a magnetic force, affixing themselves to the four sides of the Qiankun Stone Platform. Auras of azure, white, crimson, and black surged into the platform.
Seemingly replenished with new energy, the platform's glow intensified. The cracks on its surface slowly healed, and the seeping waters of the Yellow Springs were completely cut off. With the power of the Four Divine Beasts strengthening it, the seal was temporarily repaired. It wouldn't cause any more problems for a short while.
Phew...
Wang Xiu wiped sweat from his brow, his body swaying slightly. "Talk about losing my shirt just for show. This deal was a total bust."
"But," he added, "I've memorized the coordinates to this Netherworld Passage. Once I'm a little bit stronger, I'll definitely come back through this passage to the Netherworld and scoop it dry! Not even old man Yama could stop me, I swear!"
With that, he climbed out of the Yellow Springs Pool. He took out several Jade Bottles from his Storage Bag and, with a pained expression, uncorked them, pouring the Yellow Springs water back into the pool. Only when the murky water had completely submerged all five stones did Wang Xiu stopper the Jade Bottles and carefully return them to his Storage Bag.
BOOM!
Just as Wang Xiu finished, a tremendous thunderclap echoed from the void, followed by a burst of dazzling golden light.
The golden light shattered, transforming into a dense rain that fell and merged into Wang Xiu's body. It was a Merit Rain, identical to the one he had received after slaying the Tiger Demon and helping the departed souls transcend.
However, the amount of merit descending now was dozens, if not hundreds, of times greater than before. If the previous reward was a mere drizzle, this was at least a light to moderate rain.
BOOM! BOOM!
Under the blessing of this rich merit, Wang Xiu's cultivation level leaped twice, going directly from the fifth to the seventh level of Foundation Establishment.
But the reward in cultivation level was the most trivial part.
After merging with the vast Merit Rain, Wang Xiu felt his Spiritual Platform become incredibly clear. The laws of the Heavenly Dao also grew much more distinct in his eyes. He felt a burst of wisdom; even without the System's help, he could now practice spells and achieve twice the results with half the effort.
Hiss!
I never expected repairing the Netherworld Seal would bring such benefits! But thinking about it, it makes sense. The Heavenly Dao values order above all else. The mortal realm has its order, and the Netherworld has its own. Each must keep to its own path. If the Netherworld Passage were to open, it would severely disrupt the order of the mortal realm, which is something the Heavenly Dao would never want to see. I reinforced the Netherworld Passage seal, nipping the danger in the bud. The common folk might not know of my contribution, but the Heavenly Dao does, and it naturally bestows a reward.
"The Heavenly Dao is awesome!"
"The Heavenly Dao is mighty, dominant, and cool!"
"Thank you, Heavenly Dao, for the Merit Rain!"
Wang Xiu grinned from ear to ear, then couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I get a reward just for repairing the Netherworld Seal? So, if I were to smash the Four Symbols Array Stones, would my merit be deducted? Or would that generate Demonic Qi? What if I capture some terribly wicked Great Demon, have him smash the stones, and then I repair them? The Demonic Qi would cling to him, while the merit would come to me."
"Hee hee hee hee..."
"Doesn't that mean I could endlessly exploit this bug and keep farming Merit Rain?"
"Hee hee hee hee..."
CRACK!
A bolt of purple lightning struck the ground just three meters in front of Wang Xiu, making his scalp tingle.
Alright, alright! The Heavenly Dao cannot be deceived. As an upstanding citizen of the Daoist School, it's a bad idea to tempt fate by exploiting a suicidal bug like that.
After offering a few more bows to the sky and thanking the Heavenly Dao for the Merit Rain, Wang Xiu packed up and walked out of the grotto.
The youth's rambling voice echoed in the dark tunnel.
"This is so frustrating. I only collected a little over eight hundred tons of Yellow Springs water; I'm afraid it won't be enough!"
"Hmm... I almost forgot. I can always come back for more if I run out. This cave isn't going anywhere."
"Besides, the Heavenly Dao probably only cares about the Netherworld Seal. It definitely wouldn't care about little things like the Yellow Springs water or the Nourishing Soul Lotus."
"Otherwise... once the Nourishing Soul Lotus I transplanted on Spirit Turtle Peak is thriving, I'll just take all the Yellow Springs water from here. I can cover the seal with ordinary mud; it'll be the same, right?"
"No, it won't be the same!"
"Once the seal is reinforced and all the Yellow Springs water is gone, this place will just be an ordinary grotto. Who would ever know there's a Netherworld Passage under the mud? With no treasures left inside, it won't attract any greedy people. The seal will be even safer."
"Maybe... the Heavenly Dao will think I did a great job and grant me even more Merit Points!"
"Hee hee hee hee hee..."
As if having come to a revelation, the youth's footsteps in the tunnel gradually grew lighter.
…
As he exited the grotto, the Communication Jade Talisman at Wang Xiu's waist began to vibrate frantically. They were all communication requests from Ji Zidian—a dense flood of more than seventy of them.
The Concealment Array on the grotto's surface must have been blocking the signal. That's why I wasn't receiving any messages.
Wang Xiu chuckled and used the Communication Jade Talisman to send his location to Ji Zidian.
WHOOSH!
A moment later, a dazzling purple light shot out from the mountains and landed in front of Wang Xiu. Who else could it be but Ji Zidian?
"Wang Xiu... Senior Brother!"
Seeing the young man before her, Ji Zidian's eyes instantly reddened, and tears welled up.
The Wang Xiu before her looked utterly disheveled. His trousers were caked in yellow mud, and his upper body was splattered with it, making his once-transcendent Daoist robe look filthy.
But that was secondary.
Ji Zidian could keenly sense how pale his complexion was, a clear sign of depleted vitality. His hand was wrapped in bandages, through which she could vaguely see a long, bloody gash. Although his Daoist robe was intact, it was soaked through in places, revealing bloodstains scattered all over his body. They had to be fresh wounds.
It's obvious! To escape the Tiger Demon and those Malicious Ghosts, Senior Brother must have endured a brutal battle. He must have suffered a great loss of vitality... he might even be at the end of his rope. And yet, so that I wouldn't worry or feel guilty, he changed into an undamaged robe to try and hide his injuries. Senior Brother... He went through all this suffering because of me!