Chapter 108: Gloom and Despair

Seven days after the flood, the torrential rain finally ceased. Three days later, the sky cleared, and the lingering clouds dispersed.

"The flood has receded..."

Hidden in various places, countless people wept with joy as they watched the waters slowly retreat. However, for most, a sense of numbness prevailed. The flood had indeed receded, but it had taken with it their homes and the lives of their loved ones.

"Damn this heaven..."
"Damn this Qingyuan River..."

With the crisis passed, the tension that had held them taut finally snapped. Countless people began to curse the heavens and the river. Under the weight of such a natural disaster, what could human effort achieve? They could only vent their anger and sorrow in this way.

The flood had retreated, but it left behind a landscape of wailing and destitution. For a time, the resentment toward heaven and earth reached a peak; the very air seemed saturated with bitterness, gathering into invisible clouds of gloom that shrouded the entire Qingyuan Prefecture. Under such circumstances, the sunlight that had finally broken through seemed to lose its golden hue, turning a sickly, pale white, appearing utterly powerless.

At the Taiping Sect, as the floodwaters continued to recede, Muyu Island, which had been submerged, once again emerged under the light of day. Having endured the ravages of the flood, the island had lost its former splendor and appeared desolate, yet it possessed an intangible, indescribable spiritual charm.

In the small courtyard, Jiang Chen’s figure appeared once more.

Previously, after confirming that the Fish-Dragon Pearl had already been taken, he had briefly comforted the peach wood and left the island. At that time, Muyu Island was submerged; while he could use his formidable physique and true energy to move underwater for short periods, he could not survive there for long.

*Rustle, rustle.* Sensing Jiang Chen’s approach, the young peach wood spirit shook its branches and leaves.

"Tao Yao, when all else has withered, you alone thrive—that is a bit too conspicuous."

Placing his palm against the peach wood’s trunk, Jiang Chen attempted to communicate with its nascent consciousness. "Tao Yao" was the name he had given it. The peach wood had shown no particular reaction, its consciousness far too simple and embryonic. Jiang Chen took this silence as tacit consent, and thus the name was officially established.

*Hum.* As their spirits touched, Tao Yao’s consciousness shifted violently, as if it had grasped Jiang Chen’s meaning. In the next instant, through the cycle of withering and flourishing, all the spiritual charm within its body converged into a single peach twig. The other branches and leaves withered and shed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen’s expression shifted, but it was too late to intervene.

Moments later, the peach twig snapped off naturally. With the final trace of green vanishing, the peach wood returned to the withered state it had been in before the flood, as if nothing had ever happened. Now, it was devoid of all spiritual charm and demonic aura; no matter how one looked at it, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary piece of dead wood.

"You really are..."

After carefully sensing Tao Yao’s state, Jiang Chen found himself at a loss for words. Tao Yao’s withering was not merely an appearance; it was absolute. It had reversed its own cycle of life and death, sinking into a state of complete dormancy. It had lost all its cultivation, retaining only the most basic abilities—such as its spiritualized roots, which remained buried deep in the earth, silently inhaling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

As if sensing Jiang Chen’s emotions, Tao Yao’s dormant consciousness flickered with a faint ripple, only to fade back into stillness.

Watching the tree, Jiang Chen finally let out a helpless sigh. "Very well. Children need plenty of sleep. Rest well."

Unsure if Tao Yao could still perceive the changes in the outside world, Jiang Chen offered a few words of comfort. Having done this and confirmed that Tao Yao had completely settled into its slumber, he finally turned his attention to the peach twig it had sprouted. It had retracted its spiritual light and now looked like an ordinary branch, the thickness of a thumb, with a small fork at the tip adorned with a few green leaves.

"Sealing spirit, absorbing spirit, transforming spirit... This twig has retained some of Tao Yao’s abilities. It is like a low-grade magical artifact refined through a unique method."

Jiang Chen’s eyes flickered as he assessed the twig’s capabilities. Tao Yao practiced the art of "Wither and Flourish," granting it extraordinary control over spiritual energy, much like a living spiritual vein. Consequently, its derived abilities were related to this: the Sealing Art, primarily used to lock away spiritual energy and prevent it from leaking; the Absorption Art, used to draw spiritual energy from the environment; and the Transformation Art, which could release stored energy in the form of rain to nourish the land.

Theoretically, with enough spiritual rain, the nature of the soil could be altered, turning it into fertile spiritual land. The rain could also, to an extent, accelerate the growth of spiritual plants, a side effect of the "Wither and Flourish" energy, which contained a subtle, ethereal vitality.

"It is a decent artifact. Though its grade is not high, its utility is excellent."

With a thought, Jiang Chen activated the twig. In the next instant, Tao Yao’s roots deep underground pulsed, and an entrance to the depths appeared before him. Through the twig, Jiang Chen could partially manipulate Tao Yao’s main body, though it was mentally taxing and limited to simple operations.

Seeing the entrance, Jiang Chen did not hesitate to enter. This passage was one he had specifically tasked Tao Yao with carving out earlier.

"The state of the spiritual cavern remains stable. Even in its withered state, these roots are capable of maintaining it."

Walking deep underground and seeing that the cavern was intact, the greatest of Jiang Chen’s worries finally dissipated. A short while later, he rode the wind to the western slope, the site where the Taiping Sect had previously cultivated its spiritual fields.

"The power of a natural disaster is truly terrifying; it can reshape the landscape with such ease."

Looking at the desolate mess of the western slope, Jiang Chen pulled the peach twig from his sleeve.

"Transform spirit."

As his true energy flowed, he activated the Transformation Art. In an instant, spiritual mist gathered and transformed into a fine drizzle, shrouding half of the western slope. Nourished by the spiritual rain, the ruined soil immediately regained a faint trace of spiritual charm.

After all, this was land the Taiping Sect had cultivated into spiritual fields using secret techniques. Although ruined by the flood, the foundation remained, and it responded immediately to the nourishment of the rain.

Observing these changes, Jiang Chen nodded. As long as there was sufficient spiritual energy to expend, the range of the Transformation Art was quite broad, potentially covering an area with a radius of one mile.

After nourishing the entire western slope, Jiang Chen ceased his actions. The spiritual light of the peach twig had dimmed; when the spiritual cavern had first emerged and the torrent of energy erupted, Tao Yao had not only refined a portion for itself but had also sealed some within its body—yet this reserve was finite.

"A good treasure, indeed, but the price of its creation was high."

Holding the twig and looking at the renewed western slope, Jiang Chen thought of the dormant Tao Yao and shook his head.

"Tao Yao has fallen into silence; who knows when it will awaken? Its essence is akin to a spiritual vein. Perhaps saturating it with enough spiritual energy could accelerate its recovery, but where is one to find such energy?"

Contemplating the possibilities, Jiang Chen fell into deep thought.