Chapter 459: Chapter 302: River Books of the World, Glorious Feats, the Nether River Leads to the Netherworld

As the flower boat left the port for a moment, white mist surged from all directions, making it difficult to discern north from south and impossible to distinguish east from west. The surrounding scenery dissolved into an indistinct blur. Li Xian, proficient in the "Five Element Mysterious Escape," recognized this mist as the Mist Barrier.

It was the "Blurred Heaven Mist Barrier" deep within Dongran Lake, a unique feature of the lake domain, developed over time. Yan Hao utilized the Five Element Mysterious Escape to draw it in, surrounding the Water Altar as the first layer of the island’s protection.

Outsiders watch the excitement, insiders see the intricacies. Li Xian had established a foundation in the five elements, then observed the lake’s maze, but could not yet crack it. However, he could glimpse the clues of its origin. Standing on the deck, he looked toward the lake water and said, "What a masterful arrangement."

Within the lake were several distinct currents. Following each current resulted in different outcomes: some would loop back, some would encounter hidden reefs, while others would bypass the Water Altar and enter deeper into Dongran Lake.

Yan Hao, through the arrangement of islands in the water, could alter the water flow direction. All things in heaven and earth were potential traps for him. After half an hour of sailing, Li Xian had encountered over a dozen perilous maze scenarios.

[Skill Level +1]

[Skill Level +1]

...

[Minor Five Element Mysterious Escape]

[Skill Level: 67/100]

Li Xian possessed the "Observing Heaven and Earth" attribute, making his observation of heaven and earth more vivid and striking. It is said that reading ten thousand books is not as valuable as traveling ten thousand miles. Both "reading ten thousand books" and "traveling ten thousand miles" have their merits. Reading illuminates reason and logic, while traveling reveals worldly knowledge. However, neither is as rewarding as first reading ten thousand books and then traveling ten thousand miles, offering profound gains. Prior to this, Li Xian had studied "Minor Five Element Mysterious Escape" and was now observing rare five-element trapping arrangements in the world.

The richness of harvest.

Far exceeded Yan Hao’s teachings through spoken words. His advancement was unexpectedly swift, beyond Yan Hao’s expectations. As he was engrossed, the sky grew dim, an indistinct blur. The skill level of Minor Five Element Mysterious Escape had reached [70].

Li Xian suddenly returned to his senses, gazing at the waterway from which he had come. Since his last farewell with Nangong Liuli, he had missed her thoughts profoundly. He closed his eyes to sense, Rooting Hair... in the courtyard, he could faintly see the graceful silhouette of Nangong Liuli.

"A man’s ambitions lie in distant places; only by becoming stronger can I assist Sister Liuli in escaping this predicament. A brief separation, what does that count for?"

Li Xian resided on the Second Layer, his bedroom spanning across three by three yards... a reasonably spacious area. The gentle ripples of the lake rocked the boat.

He simply fell asleep.

Awaking naturally the next morning, he sat cross-legged, internally cultivating impurities. Heart impurity, lung impurity, kidney impurity... circulating them benefitted endlessly.

[Skill Level +1]

[Skill Level +1]

The Five Viscera Avoiding Dross and Gathering Yang Scripture became increasingly sophisticated. By the time he practiced until morning, Li Xian opened the boat window, observing the lake’s peculiar scene, surrounded by lingering white mist. Even with Heavy Pupils, he could not see further.

The heavens and earth seemed like invisible curtains, veiling his eyes.

Flying Dragon City was located in the southeastern region of Huaiyin Prefecture. It could be seen in the map of the Great Wu Dynasty, categorized as a tier city. Li Xian had experienced many things, ventured dangerous grounds, and survived life-threatening situations, yet had not entered a truly large city, feeling inevitable curiosity and anticipation.

Suppressing his emotions, he silently practiced Inner Cultivation.

At noon, a junior servant delivered dishes including "Oil Fish Stew," "White Jade Grapes," and "Peach Blossom Brew"... Li Xian admired the lake scenery while savoring the delicacies.

Having eaten to fullness, he went to the deck to enjoy the wind. The sails were propelled by the wind, making "whooshing" sounds, moving swiftly. Li Xian had heard Yan Hao mention that Ye Cheng, Han Zisha, An Weicheng, and other elders would successively leave the island. Jin Shichang, the emissary, was quite busy, thus the speed of the ship expedited.

Ordinary disciples on the deck were arranging formations, practicing arrays.

The Flower Cage Sect specializing in array arts was truly a correct move to enhance its strengths. The distinctive style and regulations of Flower Cage Sect were unlike ordinary sects. Most disciples came from humble origins, and their Martial Arts talents varied. Only array arts could mitigate their shortcomings.

He silently observed, deeply noting that each disciple of Flower Cage Sect was considerably weak in individual strength. Yet when forming arrays, they were exceptionally troublesome. As with the "Five Elements Flower Cover Array" currently practiced on the deck.

The array was formed by five people, each holding a cloth bag, specially designed, with a durable material, resistant to water and fire. It could be disassembled and transformed easily, twisting the cloth bag became a short baton, spreading it out became a blanket, cover... and other weapons or items.

These five people covered themselves with the cloth bags, rolling their bodies into balls, resembling five meatballs rolling in circles. If trapped in the array, the five acted with agility and versatility, truly making it a formidable challenge.

Suddenly, they reached into their cloth bags, each retrieving weapons or secret weapons like "knife," "gun," "sword," "staff," "dart," etc., paired with the array to attack, capture, or harass... endlessly adaptable and hard to predict.

Then again, they changed tactics, threw the cloth bags simultaneously. Cloth bag threads scattered into an array of iron wires, intertwining and connecting, immediately restraining opponents on the spot. The five moved according to a specific footwork, causing the threads to either strangle or bind enemies...

This array has many ingenious aspects. Observing from outside hardly reveals its essence; only inside the array can one understand its menace.

Furthermore, the five could play the "Chest Drum Thunder Sound," using the cloth bags to cover opponents, paired with Chest Drum Thunder Sound to deter or intimidate... employing countless mystical uses.

"A Martial Artist... need not fight alone. Even the strongest Martial Artist, if surrounded by an array, might encounter crises. Arrays and Martial Arts, essentially, have no fundamental difference, both derived from comprehending heaven and earth. This Five Elements Flower Cover Array contains the insights of heaven and earth’s five elements, merged with the Five Element Mysterious Escape."

Li Xian couldn’t help but ponder, "My Five Element Mysterious Escape skills have shown promise. If I were inside the array, combining the Five Element Mysterious Escape and Martial Arts understanding, could I break this array?"

He speculated while observing a strategy to break the array. Finding purely through Martial Arts, it was indeed difficult to solve. Because the five moved agilely, paired with the changing array, never confronting directly. Moreover... the array concealed the perception of "Five Element Transformation."