Chapter 361: Water Can Carry a Boat, But It Can Also Overturn It
Jiang Chen headed to the Rain Pavilion with a clear goal in mind. Having mastered the Gentle Water Art, his next logical step was to learn a true water control technique—either the Minor Rain Spell or its advanced counterpart, the Major Rain Spell.
The Minor Rain Spell was a low-level art, accessible to Qi Condensation cultivators. The Major Rain Spell, however, was a high-level technique restricted to those at the Foundation Establishment realm.
Though they differed by a single word, the gap in quality and Spirit Qi consumption was immense.
The Minor Rain Spell used spiritual power to condense Spirit Qi into a fine mist, covering an area of only a few dozen feet. The droplets merely moistened the surface of a Spirit Farm, offering nourishment only slightly better than a spirit spring. Worse, its effects were fleeting; once the rain stopped, the ambient Spirit Qi would quickly dissipate.
In contrast, the spirit rain from the Major Rain Spell could blanket an area hundreds of feet across. The water penetrated several feet deep into the soil, nourishing the very roots of spirit plants and accelerating their growth. The residual Spirit Qi also lingered for far longer.
But the most crucial difference was this: the Major Rain Spell was an offensive art.
To use it merely for irrigation would be a colossal waste. Its true power lay in its versatility and its massive area of effect. For many cultivators with a Water Spirit Root, this flexibility in combat was the primary reason for learning it.
When Jiang Chen arrived at the Rain Pavilion on his Shattered Moon Flowing Frost, he was surprised to find the place buzzing with activity.
“Look, more newcomers!”
“Haven’t you heard? They’re all core disciples from the Nine Curves Sect!”Jiang Chen’s ears perked up, and he listened intently. From the snippets of conversation around him, he quickly pieced together the story.
This group of cultivators, now being inducted as formal disciples of the Rain Pavilion, were indeed the surviving core members of the Nine Curves Sect. Not long ago, a disaster had struck their home. A torrent of corrupted spirit water had erupted from the earth, flooding the entire sect and claiming countless lives.
The sect’s entire leadership—the Sect Leader, his deputy, and the Grand Elder—was wiped out.
Only a handful managed to escape. Grandmaster Shui, a Nascent Soul True Lord of the Cloud Sea Sect, had taken in a portion of these refugees, granting them a new home in the Rain Pavilion.
Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. *How absurd.*
A sect that specialized in controlling water had been utterly destroyed by it. It brought to mind the old saying: water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. He could only wonder what catastrophic event had led to such a tragic outcome.
“As expected of one of the three great immortal sects,” someone whispered in awe. “Even these new disciples carry themselves with such an extraordinary air.”
“And look at the Rain Pavilion itself! It’s far grander than our old Spirit Water Pavilion.”
“Gods, even their average disciples ride a Shattered Moon Flowing Frost!”
The group from the Nine Curves Sect numbered just over twenty. About a dozen were disciples, while the rest were their surviving Elders. Among them was the former Sect Leader’s daughter, Ruo Qunshuang.
Regardless of their past status, they were now refugees in the Cloud Sea Sect, and they behaved with all the caution that entailed.
Ruo Qunshuang gently tugged on Zhao Qianyuan’s sleeve, her voice soft and frail. “Senior Brother, I’m scared.”
Zhao Qianyuan forced a comforting smile. “Don’t be afraid, Shuang’er. I promised Master I would protect you.”
Yet, the way his hands were clenched into tight fists betrayed his own deep-seated anxiety. This was the Rain Pavilion of the Cloud Sea Sect, a true behemoth. Back in the Nine Curves Sect, Zhao Qianyuan might have been peerless in talent, aptitude, and comprehension. Here, however, cultivators of his caliber were far from rare. The pressure to compete was suffocating, and whether he could distinguish himself remained an unnerving uncertainty.
Standing at the back of the crowd, Jiang Chen observed them coolly.
Zhao Qianyuan stood tall and straight, appearing to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, with sharp, well-defined features. His eyes were deep, holding a faint, watery shimmer.
Ruo Qunshuang was in her early twenties, her face delicate and her complexion as luminous as polished jade. She had a willowy grace, like a bamboo shoot casting its reflection upon the water. A moon-white dress trailed behind her, its hem embroidered with translucent frost patterns. She exuded an aura of fragility that was both beautiful and heart-wrenching.
After a moment, Jiang Chen withdrew his gaze and headed toward another section of the pavilion. He hadn’t forgotten his purpose for being here.
Approaching a staff member, he presented his token.
“Spirit Envoy Jiang,” the man greeted him respectfully. “Which water-attribute technique or spell would you like to exchange for?”
“The Major Rain Spell.”
The staff member paused. “Have you learned the Minor Rain Spell?”
“No.”
“Then I must advise you to exchange for the Minor Rain Spell first. If you haven’t mastered the basics, learning the Major Rain Spell will be exceedingly difficult.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Jiang Chen said flatly. “Just give me the Major Rain Spell.”
He was well aware that the conventional path was to master the minor spell first for a smoother transition. The problem was, contribution tokens were hard to come by. If he spent this one on the Minor Rain Spell, there was no telling how long it would take to earn another for the major one.
It was far more efficient to aim for the final goal from the start. It might be more difficult, but as long as he could grasp the fundamentals, his system could forcibly upgrade the skill to its maximum level. Besides, he had a backup plan. Mo Yu was an expert. If he truly hit a wall, he could always ask Old Mo for some pointers or even a few private lessons.
Soon, the exchange was complete. Jiang Chen left with a jade pendant containing the high-level spell, the Major Rain Spell.
As he was about to exit the pavilion, he noticed another commotion. A closer look revealed a familiar face: Shui Wuhen, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. He looked far better than before, having shed his listless demeanor, though he still lacked the sharp edge he’d possessed at his peak. He and Zhao Qianyuan seemed to know each other, and they were busy introducing their respective friends.
Jiang Chen returned home around noon.
After lunch, he took the jade pendant out to the shade of the poplar tree. Leaning against its trunk, he immersed his spiritual sense into the jade. Instantly, the vast and complex knowledge of the Major Rain Spell flooded his mind.
Only then did he truly understand the staff member’s warning. The technique was incredibly profound and intricate. It wasn’t impossible to learn, but reaching even the Novice stage would take a significant amount of time.
*It seems I’ll need to brew a water-attribute wine,* Jiang Chen mused. *That should accelerate the learning process.*
Just as he was sinking into his studies, a suffocating pressure suddenly descended upon him. His heart began to pound like a war drum on a battlefield. His Metal, Water, and Wood Spirit Roots flared to life, thrumming with a primal, instinctual alarm.
Jiang Chen shot to his feet, his eyes scanning the surroundings in disbelief. His gaze snapped toward the Rain Pavilion.
The sky above it was being consumed by a storm of impossible, three-colored clouds.
A churning foundation of slate-gray and deep blue formed the storm’s underbelly. Tendrils of argent light, sharp as razors, crackled along its edges. Within its depths, malignant blotches of ink-green pulsed like a festering poison.
The three colors bled into one another, a terrifying fusion of elemental chaos: the unyielding glint of metal drowning in a viridian sea, the rampant growth of wood erupting from the very waters that sought to consume it.