248: Chapter 248 River of the Dead

The introduction emphasizes a warning: do not enter the Yellow Springs River, a Tier 2 entity, without Zifu cultivation, or you will be reduced to nothingness in an instant.

To refine Yellow Springs Water, one must travel to the side of the Yellow Springs River and harvest its Tier 2 imagery.

By combining this with 36 drops of Water of Nascent Nether Yang and 36 drops of Water of Nascent Nether Yin, and refining it with the imagery for seven days, one can obtain a single drop of Tier 1 Low-Grade Yellow Springs Water.

This type of pure Yellow Springs Water is somewhat helpful for Dao Foundation cultivators practicing the Yin Spirit.

It has a powerful effect on purging impurities and contaminated Daoist knowledge.

If the soul body is damaged, it is an even more precious medicine for healing in this regard.

The most dangerous part of this is harvesting the Tier 2 imagery of the Yellow Springs River.

Standing on the bank, if one is not careful, the Yellow Springs River might fluctuate, knocking you into the river, from which you can never return.

Therefore, until now, only Tier 1 Transcendent Life can attempt to refine it; as for other automated formations, they cannot yet reach this level.

Councillor Simu narrowed his eyes, contemplating his own assets, divine abilities, and spells.

As a [Daoist Who Summons Gods and Communicates with Heaven] who started with talismans, besides his life-bound [Lunar Yin Spirit Talisman], which could be cast instantly like a minor divine ability with low consumption and perfect control, his type of transcendent profession also had a massive bonus in drawing and using talismans, relying on the Dharma altar built from spiritual runes.

The bright moon imagery on the [Lunar Yin Spirit Talisman] was extremely compatible with the Netherworld, increasing its power by several fractions, which was enough for him to handle general dangers.

Finally, he saw Yi Xiu lost in thought nearby and slowly spoke.

"With my means as a Daoist, I can command the divine generals enshrined in my Dharma altar to protect me. If the Yellow Springs River fluctuates, I can also take us away in advance. The danger of this mission should be controllable."

Hearing this, Yi Xiu also ended his contemplation and stated his own countermeasures.

"My [Mahayana Wisdom Heart Treasury Master] focuses most on honing the mind. I have premonitions well before a crisis appears, which is enough to interrupt the process of harvesting imagery. We can undertake this dangerous area mission."

As two beings who had already reached the transcendent level, their own cultivation was not weak, and they would not do things beyond their capabilities. After some analysis, they gained some confidence in going to the side of the Yellow Springs River to harvest imagery.

Subsequently, they purchased a batch of Water of Nascent Yang and Water of Nascent Moon from a nearby shop. These dews, which could be used as materials for refining Tier 1 spiritual items, were naturally not ordinary goods and were ranked among the top quality at the Qi Refining level.

Therefore, purchasing enough to refine 10 drops of Yellow Springs Water cost them 300 Merit points; the cost was not small.

One must know that in the Merit Division system, exchanging for a piece of Tier 1 Low-Grade Dharma artifact or spiritual plant only requires 1000 Merit points; this alone consumed 1/3 of the value of a spiritual plant. The initial investment required was not small.

After buying the materials, the two headed to the imagery harvesting node designated by the Merit Division.

According to the clerk, that location had been set up with several formations, making the Yellow Springs River more stable and rarely prone to riots, so harvesting imagery there would be much safer.

Driving their own Tier 1 Dharma artifacts, the two Transcendent Life turned into streaks of light and flew towards the foot of the mountain.

Although Mount Luofeng was merely a mountain range naturally evolved in the Netherworld, without any special elevation, its height alone was tens of thousands of meters, and its coverage area was not much smaller than the area of Blue Star.

The two followed the transportation channel of Mount Luofeng, leading toward the middle layer of clouds, leaving behind the energy clouds that had gathered due to the dense Yin energy.

A yellow river, merely tens of miles wide, appeared at the foot of the mountain.

The entire river channel was winding. Every hundred meters along the edge of the river, dark green willow and locust trees—Yin-attribute spiritual plants over a hundred meters tall—were planted, guarding the black Yin stone embankments on both sides, while the Yellow Springs Water surged forward in the river channel toward the endless world in the distance.

As they flew closer, all kinds of beasts, human souls, and spiritual imagery appeared above the river; they were either lifeless and filled with monstrous resentment or growing exuberantly, seemingly about to evolve into strange life forms.

Such vitality and death intertwined here; this was the special imagery of the Yellow Springs River: "Life and Death of Souls".

They stopped on the land on the periphery of the Yellow Springs River, not daring to linger above the river channel.

Councillor Simu looked at this magnificent and vast river with some emotion.

"We have served in the Netherworld for so many years, and we have only seen the Yellow Springs River from afar a few times; I never expected it to be so majestic."

Then, sensing it up close, he discovered countless soul fragments gathering and flowing down with the current in the Yellow Springs River, and he frowned slightly.

"It seems that even if we can foresee the turbulence of the Yellow Springs River in advance and take evasive action, these soul fragments are not easy to deal with."

Councillor Yixiu's steady voice rang out slowly.

"I once read an introduction to the Yellow Springs River in the Heavenly Palace classics. When this river was born, it was intended to gather soul fragments that sank into the ground from the world of the living. Through the suppression and collection of the Yellow Springs River, they are finally gathered into the Reincarnation Lake to be baptized by the Laws of Reincarnation, nourishing the entire Netherworld."

"Daoist Brother, we are currently still downstream of this first spring eye, so it is not considered magnificent. At the place where the Nine Springs gather, the Reincarnation Lake, lies the true heaven and earth phenomenon. It possesses the miraculous power to swallow all spirits of the world and reincarnate infinite lives."

Councillor Simu was originally interested in the old monk telling the history and origins of the Yellow Springs River, but he noticed that the scene, which had originally been filled with soaring imagery, had dimmed for some reason.

It turned out that there was a cultivator below who had finished harvesting a complete piece of imagery, causing the Yellow Springs River to be somewhat depleted, and had retreated to a more distant hill to refine the Yellow Springs Water.

"Old monk, stop talking nonsense; let us harvest quickly. Although this place is relatively safe, if there are many people, waiting for the Yellow Springs River to recover its imagery will take quite a long time."

"Only by finishing the refining as soon as possible can we explore the path ahead."

After Councillor Simu finished speaking, he stopped paying attention to Yi Xiu and went straight down to the side of the river embankment, but he did not immediately use the exclusive technique provided by the Merit Division to harvest the imagery of the Yellow Springs River.

Instead, he set up his Dharma altar, mobilized his divine generals and soldiers to protect himself, and temporarily drew a [Lunar Yin Spirit Talisman] on Tier 1 Mid-Grade talisman paper to enshrine on the Dharma altar as a life-saving insurance.

Only then did he slowly sit down cross-legged, holding a cyan jade bottle in his hand, which contained 72 drops of dew of Nether Yang and Nether Moon. Coordinating his own spiritual power and incantations according to a specific method, he harvested the "Life and Death" imagery from the Yellow Springs River; as for the "Souls" and "Spirits", they were not something that could be harvested by a Tier 1 technique.

The technique given by the Merit Division was naturally not for harvesting Tier 2 imagery; such a technique could not be driven even if given to a Dao Foundation cultivator.

The great rank system of the entire cultivation world is extremely strict; it is almost impossible to drive a Tier 2 technique with a Tier 1 body.

One must know that just within the three levels of Tier 1, between the elementary and the consummate stages, the difference in mana strength and power is a thousandfold, not to mention the difference in Daoist practice; fighting across ranks has basically become an impossible thing.