CHAPTER 721: 597 ANCIENT LUNG BUBBLES

Liu He found salvation in a desperate situation, his heart fluttering with surprise and joy.

The person who came had shattered all the spells and demon heads of the Black Spiritual Pearl with a single Divine Thunder, causing them to vanish into smoke, and even left the Black Spiritual Pearl faint and unconscious.

Liu He could tell that the other was an exalted expert who cultivated both Buddhism and Daoism.

He hurriedly stood up and looked up to the heavens, only to see a Golden Light Lotus descending from the clouds, with a black-clad nun standing atop it. He promptly expressed his gratitude, "This junior, Liu He, a disciple under the tutelage of the Saint Tian Chi of South Sea Copper Palm Island, thanks the Divine Nun for saving my life. May I inquire how to address the Divine Nun, both senior and junior titles?"

The black-clad nun smiled at him: "My name is Xin Ru."

"Could it be Xin Ru Nun from Julu Island in the East Sea, Poison Dragon Reef?"

"That I am."

Having heard of the renown of Xin Ru Nun, Liu He quickly expressed his gratitude once again.

Xin Ru Nun waved her hand, "There’s no need for thanks. You have a compassionate heart, saving so many innocent lives; you surely have great merit. I was merely passing by in the sky, saw the Demon Fire scattered about, knew there was a demon causing trouble, and came down to take a look. It was but a trivial effort, not worth mentioning."

Seeing the nun’s humility and kindness, approachable and amicable manner, Liu He felt even more grateful and in awe, inviting the Divine Nun to visit Copper Palm Island.

Xin Ru Nun pointed to the Black Spiritual Pearl lying faint on the ground: "This demon has deep and sinister roots, has harmed many; it’s been many years since I’ve taken a life, so I plan to take him to the end of the Southeast Earth Axis and find a reef to suppress him underwater, to let him properly reflect on his misdeeds. Perhaps another day, I shall bother you with a visit."

Liu He, delighted, bid farewell to the Divine Nun and continued on his journey home.

Upon returning to Copper Palm Island, he recounted the entire incident. His master, Tian Chi, reprimanded him for violating the sect’s rules, desiring comfort and seeking shortcuts, and for going out to West Sea Island, which led to such a series of events. He was punished with a thousand strikes from the Flood Dragon Whip, to be carried out immediately.

Liu He went to the cave for punishment and undressed himself.

The rules of Tian Chi were strict; light offenses were met with whipping, and severe ones with beheading by Flying Sword. The disciples were often punished and had grown accustomed to the routine.

Two copper rings were embedded in the cave ceiling. Liu He flew up, grabbed them with his hands, and throughout the entire punishment had to suspend himself in the air. If he fell, not only would the count restart, but the total would also double.

The Flood Dragon Whip, made from Flood Dragon tendons, was extremely powerful and could not be resisted by any True Qi. After just over three hundred lashes, Liu He’s chest and back were a bloody mess, his blood dyeing his trousers red.

The two junior brothers carrying out the punishment did not dare to be lenient and exerted much force. After a thousand lashes, Liu He’s ribs and shoulder bones were exposed, and he was in unimaginable pain.

The junior brothers helped him down and carried him to a nearby Green Jade stair, each taking out a gourd and some pure water. They dissolved some Elixirs in it, shook it twice, first had Liu He drink a few sips, then filled their mouths with the solution and sprayed it over his wounds.

With so many whip marks on Liu He’s body, each one that was sprayed healed at a visible speed. With each spray, one healed, and when the whole bottle was used up, all wounds healed and were as smooth and flawless as before. There were only a few faint bruises left under the skin, which were also rapidly disappearing.

Liu He dressed himself and went to see Tian Chi again, kowtowing and saying, "Disciple has already received the punishment and deeply regrets the mistakes. I humbly beg master’s forgiveness."

Tian Chi sat in his seat, holding the Jade Box that Master Yuan Yang had asked Liu He to pass on: "What exactly did Master Yuan Yang tell you? Repeat it to me word for word, without missing a single one!"

Seeing his master’s serious face, Liu He did not dare to omit anything and repeated exactly what Shi Feiyang had said to him before he left. Then, anxiously, he watched Tian Chi’s expression.

"Smack!" Tian Chi slapped the table, startling all the disciples into kneeling.

Liu He’s heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself, "Bad news. With my master’s prideful nature, could it be that Master Shi had him bring back something that would insult my master’s dignity?"

However, to his surprise, Tian Chi’s face already revealed joy, followed by him stroking his beard and laughing heartily, "Friend Shi truly is a remarkable person! He initially established his foundation in the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain, reclaiming many demons, becoming the Sect Hierarch of the Demon Kingdom, and then he introduced the mortal merchants’ practices for profit, which made the entire South Sea busy with ships coming and going, to my disdain. I never expected, never expected indeed!"

Tian Chi was usually very solemn and serious in front of his disciples.

He was an extremely face-conscious person, and every time he went out, it was quite a spectacle:

First, there were four lantern-carrying young boys leading the way, holding the Lotus Treasure Lamps;

Next came eight young boys playing music, with flutes, pipes, zithers, and other instruments, playing celestial tunes;

Then, another eight boys supporting the Lotus Throne, attending to him left and right;

Lastly, eight more boys, each holding treasures such as bows, arrows, gourds, bamboo knives, wooden swords, hooks, forks, and whips.

...

Though he was a Loose Cultivator in the Mortal World, he acted like a Heavenly God of legend, his grandeur undeniable. Many from the Orthodox Sect found him disagreeable, when he took the initiative to make contact with Yi Zhou of Xuan Turtle Island, they didn’t hold him in high regard and often found excuses to refuse meeting him, maintaining a respectful but distant relationship.

Master Tian Chi laughed openly in public, even slapping the table, an unprecedented sight.

Master Tian Chi took out a black, gleaming trapezoidal iron block from the Jade Box and asked, "Do you know what treasure this is?"

The disciples had no idea and shook their heads one after another.

Master Tian Chi said, "This treasure is called the Earth Tablet! It looks like iron, but it is actually a piece of precious jade formed by the accumulation of a vast amount of earthly energy from a million years ago. It is specifically capable of leveling fields, managing water, and suppressing the Earth’s veins! Back then, Guang Chengzi retook it for suppressing the Golden Gate Treasure Ship. Later, that ship flew from Kongtong Mountain to sink in the Yuan River, ending up in Master Shi’s hands. Now, to lend it to me is truly to save me from an urgent crisis!"

As it turns out, at the very core beneath the Earth is the Earth Core, which contains various levels such as the Earth Level, surrounded by the so-called earthly lungs. Inside these lungs, the poison fire known as Taihuo, fully named Ancient Poison Flames, was a mass of dark Yin energy from before the beginning of chaos that spun rapidly year-round.

At the beginning of chaos, these spheres of primordial energy, numbering in the hundreds of millions, were scattered throughout the universe... The Yin and Yang energies were freely intermingling, dancing across space, constantly absorbing Primordial Qi from the void.

When the heavens and earth were separated, the heavier turbidity settled downwards forming the core of the earth, while the purer elements rose up, mingling with interstellar space, and many larger bodies transformed into the Heavenly Stars.

Beneath the land of the Shushan World, there were also several spheres of this ancient primordial energy, heavy and turbid. As layers of geological strata thickened over time, these were buried within the earthly lungs, accumulating over millions of years to form bubble-like entities, akin to abscesses, which continued to grow over long periods.

There was a Magnetic Peak on Copper Palm Island that connected down to the Earth Axis, piercing through the earthly lungs, and it was also connected to these "ancient lung bubbles" below.

Every 129,600 years, a cycle of Yuan meeting brings a catastrophe, with a major disaster occurring every 12,960 years, as previously mentioned. With the North Star shifting, the Emperor of Ziwei suffers a calamity, resulting in drastic changes in heaven, earth, and humanity known as the catastrophe. The super volcano cluster underneath Copper Palm Island is expected to erupt during this Earth Tribulation. Once it begins, the mountains and seas within ten thousand miles will be shattered, and thousands of underwater volcanoes will erupt together, capable of boiling half the South Sea.

At that time, not only would all beings in the South Sea face disaster – from flying to swimming, plants to animals, all would be destroyed – but it could also trigger a super tsunami over a thousand feet high, flooding not only the islands of the South Sea but also submerging extensive coastal regions of Central Earth Continent.

This was the most conservative estimate, as "shot through with holes," the earthly lungs were filled with Ancient Poison Flames, wildly darting about and connecting to each other. Located above the Earth Axis, a chain reaction here could trigger earthquakes all along the Earth Axis, with all volcanoes erupting, and the quakes affecting poles north and south. Even more fatal was the potential disturbance to the Yin Yang Magnetic True Qi within the Earth Axis; magnetic fields thrown into disarray, vanishing in some places, reversing in others, with the secondary disasters that ensued beyond calculation!

Originally, after Emei Sect established itself, they took advantage of a feud between Yi Xiu and Tian Chi, who both possessed Undying Bodies, to preemptively puncture a hole right above the core and constrain all of the Ancient Poison Flames to be expelled into space, releasing all their energy and avoiding a colossal disaster.

Having earlier secured Purple Cloud Palace, Shi Feiyang could not concern himself with this place, as Emei Sect was pressured by Blood God’s Son to seal the mountain for retreat, leaving them no capacity to manage this area.

The Ancient Poison Flames beneath the earth continued to ferment, and in recent years the surrounding seas had frequently experienced earthquakes. Once Master Tian Chi realized this, he deduced the cause and sought a solution.

But as a Loose Cultivator of an offshoot path, even if he had achieved an Undying Body capable of eternal life, he had no means to solve such a mighty disaster.

He could only do his utmost, setting up numerous Arrays to suppress it.

Yet how could he contain the energy gestated over millions of years beneath the ground? Initially, there were some effects, preventing many earthquakes and plugging several underwater volcanic vents.

In recent years, he increasingly realized his insignificance before nature as earthquakes became more frequent and even his Magnetic Peak began uncontrollably belching black smoke!

Master Tian Chi knew he couldn’t suppress it for long with his power; if it came to it, he would have no choice but to move.

He had considered asking for the help of peers worldwide, but with his reclusive nature and his years of isolation working behind closed doors, he had little contact with others. Only Yi Family from Xuan Turtle Island was considered good, but even after he had written three letters and sent disciples, they all disappeared like stones into the ocean, without any response.

By this year, he had completely lost hope and was ready to take all his belongings and disciples to relocate to either the North Sea or the West Sea to find a new site for his Dao practice.

Sitting atop the volcano, his anxiety grew. Now, having received the gift forwarded to him from Master Shi through Liu He, along with a letter that lifted his spirits greatly after reading.

In the letter, Shi Feiyang detailed the origins and application of the Earth Tablet and informed him that for now, he should use it to temporarily suppress the volcano, and when the time came, he himself would return to help resolve the issue completely.

West of Copper Palm Island, not too far away, is the sea route from Little Antarctic to Qiongzhou Sea Market in Central Earth. Master Tian Chi had heard plenty about Shi Feiyang’s legendary feats and knew that not only was he powerful in mana, but he also commanded a Demon Kingdom and was the State Preceptor of the Great Ming Dynasty, with a host of talented individuals under his command. If he was willing to help, not to mention solving the problem entirely, at least Master Tian Chi wouldn’t be so alone!

"Excellent, excellent!" Master Tian Chi, rarely showing delight, looked at Liu He with much more affection.

Liu He was originally from Chaozhou in Central Earth. At the age of three, he lost his mother and sailed far with his father, encountering a hurricane. His father tied him to a plank and cast him adrift.

He should have died, but a wave crashed him onto the back of a giant whale. With the meritorious roots of his nature, the whale carried him for tens of thousands of miles, always keeping him above water and preventing him from sinking.

Master Tian Chi picked him up and took him as his disciple, raising him from childhood with the coconut juice of the millennia-old Copper Palm Divine Wood and Spirit Pills, treating him as his own son.

Now, once again slapping the table with his hand: "When Liu He is at fault, he shall be punished; when he achieves, he shall be rewarded!" On the spot, he took out a gourd filled with Taiyin Magnetic Divine Thunder Pearls that had been refined, and awarded them to Liu He.

Liu He gratefully accepted them, kneeling in thanks.

The letter from Shi Feiyang gave Master Tian Chi the backbone he needed, and he followed the methods outlined in the letter to refine and perfect the Earth Tablet to his satisfaction.

With this treasure in place on the island, even if he did nothing, many spiritual effects would become evident.

The Magnetic Peak returned to normal, no longer emitting black smoke. Where there had once been ten earthquakes a day in the surrounding seas, there was now one every ten days. He took the treasure to inspect the sea, successfully suppressing the underwater volcanoes one by one.