Chapter 88

Mountains and seas have no form, time waits for no one.

Qi, immersed in building the formation, never thought time would pass so quickly, feeling as if before the Candle Dragon had set the calendar, unable to sense the flow of time.

When he sensed that the Phoenix Clan's waterway had been opened to Cloud Dream Marsh, the refining of the Primordial Stellar Grand Formation had just barely reached half completion.

One after another formation foundations float up on Cloud Dream Marsh, spiritual light flickering; although called formation foundations, even the smallest piece stretches ten thousand li, like small islands in the marsh.

On these formation foundations, spiritual light like threads attaches to the surface in a wondrous pattern, faintly resonating with the stars above, causing strands of starlight to hang down and finally fall into Cloud Dream Marsh.

These starlights are like chains, passing through the clouds in the sky; even under sunlight, they can flicker faintly.

And such chains, numbering tens of thousands, hang down from above Cloud Dream Marsh, yet in the vast expanse of Cloud Dream Marsh they cannot be seen.

Even those with the Heavenly Eye divine ability find it hard to see the whole picture; they can only catch a glimpse of speckled starlight by chance, which then disappears.

These formation foundations have not yet been activated; the hanging starlight merely serves to charge them. Qi currently places them casually, not yet arranging them into a formation, letting them shift and drift as they please.

Upon seeing the Phoenix clan's emissaries, Qi had already prepared the waterways, and without extra words, simply had them present the documents.

The person the Phoenix clan sent to notify Qi was indeed the Yingchu; Yingchu found it strange, as Yuan Feng had sent him here without giving him any documents.

He had doubts and asked Qi:

"I am Yingchu; I do not know what document the great deity speaks of. My clan's elder never informed us that we need this. Please, great deity, clarify so I can have my clan prepare."

Seeing Yingchu's sincere statement, Qi was stunned; after years of discussion and preparation, having contacted so many water deities, could it be that no one told Yuan Feng that external deities using water need documents, seals, and orders?

Qi was actually at a loss for words, not knowing how to explain the purpose of the documents.

Unbeknownst to them, all the water deities assumed Yuan Feng knew, or thought someone else would inform him, so they made no preparations or notifications.

Yuan Feng himself did not know these matters; he is not an earth deity, so he does not understand these things, and indeed had no reason to ask.

Go back and tell Yuan Feng: when external deities draw water, they must prepare documents, inform heaven and earth, and wait for the water deities to affix their seals before they can mobilize the water vapor; have him hurry and prepare.

Qi said irritably, although he knew they didn't understand the situation, but after preparing for so many years, it was shocking that no one had taken the initiative to learn about these matters.

With the documents, after the seals are applied and heaven and earth are informed, it becomes clear who borrowed the water, for what purpose, so that heaven and earth understand the circumstances; if problems arise, responsibility can be clearly assigned, avoiding excessive karmic entanglement.

Seeing that there were no documents, Yingchu knew Qi would not order the release of water, so he could only return first to the Nan Fang Continent to seek Yuan Feng, inform him of this, and then make plans.

Qi had waited ten thousand years before the Phoenix clan sent someone again; this time, however, it was not Yingchu but one of the Phoenix clan chiefs, Yuan Huang.

Yuan Huang came this time having specially made a blank scroll from five kinds of phoenix feathers, worried lest another ridiculous mishap delay the Phoenix clan's scheme to draw the world's water to pour back into the undying volcano.

Fellow Daoist Qi, please forgive the Phoenix clan's prior lack of understanding, which delayed your time; as for this document matter, we truly do not know, so please help us a little.

Having said that, Yuan Huang handed the blank scroll to Qi, hoping he would help fill it in, since the round trip took too much time.

Yuan Huang worried there might be omissions, so he even prepared several extra copies, hoping the water-diversion affair would proceed smoothly without complications.

She and Yuan Feng, upon first learning of the document matter, almost laughed angrily at themselves, and hastily sought out a familiar water deity from Nan Fang to inquire about this.

Only then did they realize everyone had made such a low-level mistake, wasting ten thousand years in vain.

This time Yuan Huang's coming here is also because he worries about other mishaps; he wants to have the authority to make decisions on the spot so as not to waste time again.

Seeing this, Qi said nothing more, merely unfurled the scroll and spoke:

"God of Water of Cloud Dream Marsh, Qi, deeply feeling the hardship of the primordial era, today I mobilize two million strands of water vapor to aid the Phoenix clan in resolving the crisis of the undying volcano, solely for this purpose."

As Qi spoke, golden divine patterns flashed on the blank scroll, hovering in the air.

Qi lightly touched the scroll with his Water-controlling Subduing Gods Staff, and the originally flashing divine patterns became solid.

The scroll drifted to Yuan Huang's side; seeing Yuan Huang make no move, Qi reminded him:

Still not applying the seal?

Yuan Huang, not knowing how to apply the seal, simply flicked a drop of divine blood from his fingertip onto the scroll.

After Yuan Huang's divine blood fell on the scroll, it began to blaze with red light, burning and turning into a wisp of green smoke that drifted toward the heavens.

Seeing this, Yuan Huang felt anxious but dared not act, only able to let it burn.

Qi, too, was doing this for the first time and did not know what was happening, but as the scroll burned to ashes, he seemed to hear the heaven-and-earth's great resonance in his heart, and thus knew the matter was accomplished.

Only then did Qi say to Yuan Huang:

"Heaven and earth already know of this; please follow me to mobilize the water."

The worry that had been weighing on Yuan Huang's heart finally eased, and he thanked Qi:

Many thanks, fellow Daoist.

"It's nothing; although I know we need to submit documents to heaven and earth, this is also my first time doing such a thing, with no mistake, just don't delay the fellow Daoist."

Qi replied casually, then led Yuan Huang toward the water eye of Cloud Dream Marsh.

The water eye of Cloud Dream Marsh is not violent like the Four Seas; it is like a pool of clear spring, forever tranquil and limpid.

Seeing the water eye so small, not violent like the East Sea either, Yuan Huang could not help but ask doubtfully:

"Fellow Daoist Qi, does this single pool of clear spring truly contain two million strands of water vapor?"

Yuan Huang had also seen the South Sea's sea eye, which was like a whirlpool, its water vapor extremely violent and immensely huge, completely unlike Cloud Dream Marsh.

Qi smiled and explained:

"Fellow Daoist, you may not know that water vapor varies across the world; although it is all water vapor, due to environmental differences it naturally changes."

"Do not judge by its small size; the water within far exceeds that of rivers, only it shares Cloud Dream Marsh's nature, favoring clarity and purity."

"This single pool of clear spring can contain over three million strands of water vapor, most of which come from the convergence of various rivers; thus, as it appears now, according to the past, at most there would be just this little pool."

Yuan Huang expressed astonishment, gazing at this tiny point, clean and tranquil, yet actually surpassing river water, hard to believe.

Qi then said:

"Fellow Daoist, if you reach out and touch it, you will know the abundance of Cloud Dream Marsh's water vapor, not inferior to the Four Seas."

Yuan Huang was somewhat curious; she also wanted to try a bit, to see just how mighty the water eye of Cloud Dream Marsh, famed as the Primordial Era's premier water region, truly is.

Her jade hand, encircled by divine light, extended into it, only to find she could not move; the water vapor had solidified, each strand bearing the weight of ten million streams, making it hard to stir.

Qi lightly touched the water surface with his Water-controlling Subduing Gods Staff, and Yuan Huang immediately felt much lighter, able to pull her hand out of the water eye.

Yuan Huang couldn't help but exclaim:

"Cloud Dream Marsh, the Primordial's foremost water region, lives up to its reputation; such a blessed land and cave heaven is rare in the world."

Qi Manyi smiled, he let Yuan Huang touch the water eye, also harboring a hint of showing off; although he felt a bit childish, as long as he was satisfied with himself.

"Yuan Huang fellow Daoist, shall we go adjust the water?"

Qi Manyi had not forgotten the true purpose of this trip, and spoke up to remind.

"Good."

The two arrived at the waterway opened up by the Phoenix Clan; Yuan Huang raised his hand and struck, breaking the barrier between it and the Cloud Dream Marsh water region, and immediately the tide poured down.

The surging water sound rose, growing fiercer; the lake surface above the Cloud Dream Marsh water eye churned with waves, as if a silver mirror were being pulled, flowing into the river channel.

The drop between them formed a waterfall, carrying immense water force, striking the riverbed and scouring out a bottomless pool.

Qi Manyi and Yuan Huang, seeing this, knew the matter was settled; they clasped hands in salute, turned into flowing light, and each flew away.

(End of chapter)