In the world, the east is where the sun rises, symbolizing vitality, brightness, and the beginning of life. Since the east is rich in forests and vegetation, it is revered in Feng Shui as the Azure Dragon.
In ancient times, the term “Azure Dragon” did not literally refer to a blue dragon.
Our ancestors revered the power of dragons, regarding them as symbols of auspiciousness. They believed themselves descendants of dragons, and under the influence of this culture, anything positive was often associated with dragons, symbolizing good fortune and blessings. The east, where the sun rises and where vegetation is lush and green, was thus metaphorically named the Azure Dragon.
Similarly, in this world, the further east one travels, the greater the changes become.
Crossing a region where water systems are extremely rich in spiritual energy, Shui Miao saw countless plants and towering trees whose age was unknown, densely packed and stretching for countless miles. The air here was entirely different from the previous area he had visited—the Giant Peak Dragon Island. The atmosphere here was fresh and clear, with high visibility. A vast amount of chaotic energy had settled into the soil. Although an ancient and weathered aura pervaded the area, it at least resembled a normal planet.
“Could it be that Pangu never existed? Was it all just a deception?”
Gazing at the lush green land before him, Shui Miao was deeply moved and suddenly had a thought: perhaps Pangu had never existed, and the myth had been fabricated by the Taoist Sage Hongjun to instill caution in future generations, preventing them from breaking celestial laws and the rules of the Three Realms.
Because in this world, the chaotic energy had been stabilized through the cycles of vegetation—not by Pangu’s efforts.
Indeed, it seemed that sunlight and vegetation were the main reasons for the settling of chaotic energy.
Certainly, much of the chaotic energy in this area had transformed into plant life.
Thinking further, Shui Miao realized that without vegetation and abundant water sources, the land would turn into desert. When the wind blew, the world would be thrown into chaos—wasn’t that exactly the case?
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Continuing eastward, gradually birds began to appear in the sky—some were abnormally large, reminiscent of the pterosaurs of the dinosaur era. Shui Miao and his group soared through the air, exuding a mighty presence. Some of these giant birds mistook them for prey and swooped down, only to be effortlessly eliminated by the divine beasts Shui Miao had summoned, like moths flying into a flame.
These creatures possessed strong spiritual energy but lacked mastery in utilizing it.
However, as they moved further east, the situation gradually changed.
Some smaller birds had actually formed Yin-Yang and Five Elements internal elixirs, capable of spitting lightning!
Shui Miao captured one and, upon inspecting it with his spiritual perception, suddenly understood.
It turned out that creatures in this world could also use some magical abilities—but only when they were young. As they grew older, they gradually lost the ability to wield magic. Upon deeper analysis, the real reason was that they consumed too much chaotic and impure spiritual energy, leading to internal disorder.
After two days of flight, Shui Miao used magical artifacts to track the spiritual traces of Zi Xian and Xuan Kong’er. He discovered that Zi Xian had been chasing after Xuan Kong’er, who had continued eastward without stopping for even a moment. This made Shui Miao suspect that Xuan Kong’er might have figured something out earlier than him, hence his urgency.
Xuan Kong’er had left abruptly without saying goodbye, clearly not considering everyone as truly close to him.
His haste must mean he had thought of something.
With his vast experience and having gained access to Shui Miao’s memories, how could he not strive to improve and enhance his strength?
Shui Miao’s thoughts drifted, considering many possibilities, yet he could still understand Xuan Kong’er.
Even if Xuan Kong’er indeed regarded him as a potential rival, it was not a big deal. At least it could serve as motivation, which was more than enough. People often need reasons to live better; constantly contemplating life and death would quickly break one’s spirit. Sometimes, deceiving oneself and finding a purpose to push forward might actually be a good thing.
Gradually, the eastern terrain became flatter, but the trees grew increasingly gigantic and terrifying.
Seeing some trees as large as mountains, the Emperor Wen Chang suddenly spoke: “Everyone, be careful. These lifeforms cannot exist here in this alien world without reason. If I’m not mistaken, tree demons should be appearing soon ahead.”
“Senior Emperor Wen Chang, are you saying that this area ahead has been occupied by aliens, hence the growth of these massive trees?” In Shui Miao’s mind, trees were the least likely plants to resist humans. Even if trees gave birth to elves, and those elves cultivated into tree immortals, they should be very friendly, as they were usually very simple-minded.
On Shui Miao’s conceptual planet, there were plant spirit immortals who had cultivated for many years, with the strongest among them reaching the realm of Immortal Lord.
“Something like that. Don’t forget, this is an alien world.”
The Emperor Wen Chang remained cautious and did not dare to be careless.
Immediately, he ordered the Azure Dragon to scout ahead as a precaution.
After flying for another half hour, the area ahead had originally seemed clear, but now a misty region appeared in the distance.
“Danger!”
Shui Miao alertly stopped and, with spiritual perception, discovered that the mist ahead was a special magical shield that his spiritual sense could not penetrate.
Everyone halted and braced themselves, faintly hearing low, deep growls approaching.
“We must act now—it’s possible that Xuan Kong’er and Zi Xian are trapped inside,” Shui Miao listened carefully for a moment before immediately summoning the Disc of Good and Evil, preparing to attack.
“We cannot recklessly attack without knowing the situation. Let me try to probe first,” the Emperor Wen Chang quickly advised.
At the Emperor’s command, the Azure Dragon flew toward the mist. Just as it was about to unleash lightning, countless black tree demons, roughly human-sized and capable of flight, suddenly darted out from the mist. They immediately surrounded the Azure Dragon, rooting tendrils into its body to absorb its spiritual energy, rapidly growing larger.
The Azure Dragon struggled fiercely, shaking off many of the black tree demons before quickly retreating.
Together, they eliminated the tree demons clinging to the Azure Dragon.
“What kind of thing is this? How disgusting!”
Seeing the black tree demons, resembling parasites with roots deeply embedded into the Azure Dragon’s body, Saint Mother Shui Tianyi grimaced in disgust.
The Virtuous Lord Tianyi frowned, “Don’t underestimate these tree demons. Rooted in the soil, they can continuously draw upon the earth’s essence to fight. As long as their roots remain, their lives persist. Therefore, to kill a tree demon, one must target its roots.”
Emperor Wen Chang also appeared troubled. “The most effective method for dealing with tree demons is fire—it follows the principle of mutual克制 in the Five Elements. However, this particular tree demon can control water-element mist as a magical shield, which indicates it is unafraid of fire…”
“Then what should we do?”
Saint Mother Shui Tianyi suddenly found herself at a loss.
“There must be something it fears. If all else fails, I’ll use my spirit-devouring power against it. But first, let’s test its strength,” Shui Miao, facing danger, did not retreat but instead decided to attack first, distracting the enemy while seeking a solution amidst the assault. This could also potentially rescue Xuan Kong’er and Zi Xian if they were trapped inside.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
The Disc of Good and Evil activated, shooting beams of intensely bright red light directly toward the misty shield…
“Peng!”
When the white light struck the black tree demons, it actually triggered an explosion!
“Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng!”
Then, as the light hit the misty shield, a series of explosions followed one after another, like firecrackers going off.
Countless black tree demons flew out from the mist, rushing toward the beams of light. Upon contact, they immediately self-destructed!
It was a suicidal charge!
The black tree demons were ferocious, fearless, and numerous, swarming forward like a tidal wave.
“Hong! Hong! Hong!”
Suddenly, the earth trembled, countless trees swayed violently, and the rustling of leaves merged into a single, unsettling sound.
Everyone looked ahead, and from the roots of every giant tree, thick black mist began to rise!
This black mist was Yin-Slaughtering energy!
In other words, the ancient tree demon could also use corruptive energy to attack opponents, rendering Shui Miao’s idea of using spirit-devouring power useless.
“Shui Miao, what do we do now?”
Saint Mother Shui Tianyi was visibly anxious, realizing suddenly that her puppet clones were of no use at all.
Emperor Wen Chang shook his head. He had long known that the aliens in this world were not easy to deal with. Now, aside from fleeing, there seemed to be no other way out.
But Shui Miao remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the black mist rising from the ground… as if he had been stunned, frozen in place!
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