The Rise of the Sect: I am the most persistent person in the world of immortal cultivation

The Ziyuan Market has been bustling with activity lately.

The arrival of Tiangong Pavilion and Yaowang Valley brought tremendous development to the entire Ziyuan Market.

And today.

Ye Yang and Gu Xuan's figures quietly disappeared at the edge of the starry sky.

A gust of wind swept stardust past their shoulders as he and Gu Xuan flew towards the Thousand Islands, the outermost part of the Purple Enclosure Starfield.

As we sped along, what lay ahead was a vast expanse of waves.

However, this is accompanied by an increase in speed.

A short while later, the terrain below suddenly changed.

No longer is it the foundation cast from star-patterned black iron and the reflection of glazed greenhouse, but rather an endless expanse of azure lake.

Thousands of emerald-like islands are scattered throughout the area, forming a vast archipelago.

Some of them are only big enough for a few people to stand on, and giant clams that breathe in the energy of the stars perch on the reefs.

Some are covered with dense purple-leaved spirit trees, and water birds with wingspans of several meters occasionally fly through the canopy, scattering stardust as their wings flap.

"According to the disciples' investigation, this place is rich in water resources, a land of a thousand islands, and the essence of a thousand lakes."

Gu Xuan unfolded a jade slip that shimmered with a watery sheen.

After the divine sense was injected, the veins at the bottom of the lake projected a pale blue light net into the void.

"If we can bring this living water into the camp, it will not only solve the water needs of the Ziyuan Star disciples, but also irrigate and nourish the spirit fields. We can even use the water vein to set up a spirit-gathering array."

Ye Yang stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze piercing through the clouds as he looked at the lake.

Beneath the ripples of water, faint golden-red bands of light flowed, a sign of the rapid condensation of water elemental energy.

He flicked his finger, and a probe formed of magical energy sank into the water.

In an instant, the entire lake was startled.

The water surface was churned up with waves several meters high, then crashed back down.

The spray from the water refracted a rainbow of colors under the sunlight.

"With its strong water veins and abundant water resources, it is indeed an excellent choice."

"However, this place is rich in spiritual energy, so there must be strange beasts dwelling here. Can you detect any unusual fluctuations?"

Gu Xuan closed his eyes and concentrated, mysterious runes emanating from his body. After a while, an octagonal compass flew out of his storage bag.

Beams of light shot out from the compass, and soon swept across the Thousand Islands region like radar.

After a moment, Gu Xuan seemed to have something to say, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Three hundred miles to the southeast, there is a group of islands shrouded in gray mist all year round. The spiritual pressure is abnormally chaotic, and... it carries a heavy aura of yin and evil."

Before he finished speaking, the distant horizon suddenly darkened.

It wasn't dark clouds obscuring the view, but rather a jet-black fog spreading at an alarming rate.

Wherever the black mist passed, the spiritual trees on the island withered instantly.

The waterbirds let out a mournful cry and plunged into the lake, turning into skeletons.

"coming."

Ye Yang spoke calmly, looking up ahead.

Only then did they realize that a ferocious figure was shrouded in the black mist.

A moment later, a deafening roar tore through the sky.

A colossal creature, thousands of feet long, burst forth from the water.

The behemoth resembled a dragon but was not; its entire body was covered in black, charcoal-like bone armor.

Dark green venom seeped from the gaps in the armor plates, and when it fell into the lake, it created plumes of poisonous smoke.

There were no dragon horns on its head, only two twisted white bone spikes, and ghostly green flames burned in its eye sockets.

The most terrifying part is its tail, which is not a dragon's tail, but a giant scythe made of thousands of white bone spikes.

With a casual wave, he smashed the three neighboring islands, leaving them covered in rubble.

"The monsters in this starry sky have absorbed endless star energy and earth energy, and even their appearance is different from that of the surface world."

Gu Xuan's pupils contracted, he put away the Bagua mirror in his hand, and then took out a bronze mirror engraved with the Bagua.

The mirror light swept across the ghost dragon, but was instantly corroded by the Yin energy on its body, creating fine cracks.

"This fiend has absorbed the icy spiritual waters of the Thousand Islands; it's not easy to deal with!"

At this moment, the ghost dragon seemed to be enraged by the aura of Ye Yang and the other person. It opened its huge mouth and spewed out a jet of black light.

However, this pillar of light was not made of rich water elemental energy, but rather pure yin and ghostly energy.

Wherever it passed, ripples spread through the space.

Upon seeing this, Ye Yang struck out with his palm, sending a dazzling galaxy crashing into the Ghost Dragon.

However, when the starry river flowed to the front of the ghost dragon, it was swallowed up by the layers of black mist around it, without even causing a ripple.

"This ghostly energy can actually assimilate magical power. Even my Void Refinement Dao Power has been significantly weakened. This is quite rare."

Ye Yang's eyes sharpened.

"You are responsible for surveying the watercourse's direction and marking the optimal diversion route. I will keep this scoundrel in check."

"Dao Ancestor, be careful!"

After hearing Ye Yang's instructions, Gu Xuan dared not neglect them.

With a swift movement, it transformed into a streak of light and flew along the lake shore.

The jade slip in his hand kept flashing, recording the nodes of the water veins.

At the same time, Ye Yang stood in front of the ferocious ghost dragon.

Ye Yang pointed with one hand.

In an instant, the stars in the sky shifted, and countless sword lights poured down like waterfalls, condensing into celestial waterfalls of starlight, shooting towards the Ghost Dragon like a torrential rain.

The ghost dragon roared, its white bone tail scythe flailing wildly, shattering all the Star Swords.

But with each star sword it shattered, the dark mist on its body thinned a little, and soon, cracks in its underlying bone armor were revealed.

Clearly, despite his ferocious appearance, he was no match for Ye Yang's Heavenly Sword Finger technique.

"Roar--!"

Soon after, the ghost dragon was enraged and plunged into the lake, causing the water to boil instantly.

The next moment, the entire lake was covered by dark mist, and countless skeletal arms reached out from the water, grabbing at the cloud bridge beneath Ye Yang's feet.

Ye Yang leaped into the air, and the surrounding space rippled and formed a protective shield.

The skeletal arm made a hissing, corrosive sound when it touched the shield.

His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, locking onto the densest part of the ink mist at the bottom of the lake, and he formed a hand seal.

"go with!"

Just as Ye Yang made his move.

A huge vortex of stellar energy suddenly appeared in the sky.

A sword-like light, burning with blazing starlight, materialized out of thin air and crashed into the lake with earth-shattering force!
"Boom!"

The deafening roar shook the entire Thousand Islands region.

The lake water was smashed into a bottomless crater.

The ink mist was instantly evaporated by the high temperature, and the ghost dragon's figure was forced to fly out from the bottom of the pit.

Half of the bone armor had been burned to charcoal by the starlight, making a crackling sound!
But the will-o'-the-wisps in its eyes still flickered with a crazed light. Ignoring its injuries, it charged suddenly towards Gu Xuan, who was marking nodes by the lake!
"court death!"

Ye Yang's figure flashed, and in the next moment, he was already blocking Gu Xuan's way.

He had somehow acquired a longsword formed from star power in his hand.

The runes flowing on the sword were the manifestation of the fundamental laws of the Purple Palace Star Land.

"cut!"

The sword light flashed, but there was no earth-shattering sound; only a tiny spatial rift appeared.

The dragon's charge came to an abrupt halt, and its massive body slowly split open from the middle.

The dark green venom flowed like a waterfall, but turned to dust the moment it came into contact with the sword light.

The malevolent energy dissipated rapidly, and the ghost dragon let out a resentful roar.

Its body completely disintegrated, with only a jet-black core falling into the lake, which Ye Yang flicked into a jade bottle.

Just then, Gu Xuan also discovered the situation of Thousand Island Lake and flew over alone.

"Daozu!"

Gu Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly presented the jade slip.

"The watercourse has been identified. A canal is drawn from the 'Star Abyss Lake' in the northwest, passes through the natural rock crevice below 'Thousand Machine Island,' and can reach the west side of the Purple Wall Camp."

"The entire route is about 800 li (approximately 400 kilometers), requiring the excavation of three underground channels and the construction of two bridges."

Ye Yang took the jade slip and examined it, finding detailed engineering drawings marked on it.

They even marked where the star patterns needed to be reinforced and where natural terrain could be utilized.

He nodded: "Alright, in that case, immediately send a message to the Tiangong Pavilion and have Mo Yue bring people here. Make sure the canal foundation is poured within ten days."

"Tell the people at Medicine King Valley to prepare 'Water-Stabilizing Herbs' to prevent water leakage from the canal."

Gu Xuan accepted the order and was about to send a message when he saw Ye Yang looking thoughtfully at the island destroyed by the ghost dragon.

"This land of a thousand islands is rich in mixed spiritual energy, containing both spiritual essence and sea veins, as well as an accumulation of yin and evil."

"Once the Lingqu Canal is completed, our Flying Heaven Sect can establish a 'Water Distribution Office' here, to manage the water source on one hand, and on the other hand..."

"The disciples and their families from the Flying Heaven Sect in the ground world can also be moved here. This place can be used as a trial ground for the sect disciples to clean up the remaining Yin energy and also to familiarize themselves with the outer environment of the star land."

Gu Xuan's eyes lit up.

"Dao Ancestor, your insight is brilliant! This way, we can solve the water problem and cultivate reserve forces for the sect at the same time, killing two birds with one stone!"

After the two finished their discussion...

After some time, Mo Yue and the others received a letter from Gu Xuan, informing them that the Tiangong Pavilion's flying boat was heading towards the Thousand Islands.

The flying boat hovered above Thousand Machine Island, and Mo Yue led a hundred craftsmen and cultivators to land on the lakeside.

He was dressed in work clothes forged from black iron, with seven different carving knives hanging at his waist.

He bowed to Ye Yang with his hands clasped in greeting.

"Dao Ancestor, the Heavenly Craft Pavilion has brought three hundred star-patterned puppets, as well as three Star-Melting Furnaces, which can guarantee a daily excavation of thirty feet."

Ye Yang nodded.

Dozens of huge lotus leaves suddenly floated on the lake. The disciples of Medicine King Valley glided over on the lotus leaves, and the leading woman in green stepped forward with a jade box in her hands.

"Reporting to the Dao Ancestor, the Solid Water Spirit Grass has been refined into 'Condensed Fat Spirit Glue,' which becomes firm when it comes into contact with water and can withstand the impact of earth pulses."

Before he finished speaking, Mo Yue had already waved the command flag.

Thirty humanoid puppets leaped into the lake, their hands ejecting spiral-shaped drills, star-like patterns flowing across their surfaces, creating strings of bubbles as they drilled into the lakebed.

The Star-Melting Furnace was suspended in mid-air, with pale purple flames shooting out from its opening.

The rocks are melted into a glassy liquid, which flows along a pre-designed channel route and solidifies into smooth channel walls upon contact with water.

But three days later.

When the canal water was first introduced into the Qianji Island section, an unexpected change occurred.

A muffled roar suddenly came from the bottom of the lake, a hundred feet from the canal mouth. A dark, bluish-black current surged upwards, corroding the gelatinous resin and creating honeycomb-like holes.

As he flew over, he saw that the three-zhang-long black iron beam had been corroded with honeycomb-like holes.

The gelatinous substance on the canal wall looked as if it had been splashed with strong acid, and it was turning into pus and dripping down.

"Master! Junior Brother Li and the others..."

A craftsman pointed to the bottom of the canal, where seven unconscious monks lay, their faces ashen and their blood foam oozing from their mouths and noses with an eerie glow.

Mo Yue reached out and touched the canal water, and felt a stinging pain as soon as his fingertips touched the surface.

He abruptly pulled his hand back, only to find that his fingertips were covered with a thin layer of grayish-black frost, which was spreading upwards along the veins.

"Quickly apply star anise to the wound!"

He gritted his teeth and channeled his spiritual energy to force back the poison.

"This is no ordinary malevolent energy; an evil force is hidden in the water!"

Mo Yue's pupils contracted sharply, and he threw out a bronze compass, the needle spinning wildly and pointing to the ground.

"It's the confluence of the Yin Meridian and the Spirit Marrow Sea Meridian! The water veins here are mixed with the aura of corpse demons!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Yang condensed his Dao power at his fingertips and probed into the water, where he indeed touched a viscous, ink-like cold current.

The corpse-like aura seeped into the canal wall along with the water flow, gnawing at the runes on the black iron support.

He immediately took out the Ghost Dragon Core that he had obtained from the Ghost Dragon not long ago, crushed it with star power, and incorporated it into the spirit glue.

"Use evil to counter evil. Mix this core powder into the glue to prevent the corpse evil from corroding."

The craftsmen quickly followed their instructions, and the newly poured canal walls gleamed with a dark golden luster. Wherever the corpse demon touched them, white smoke immediately rose.

Gu Xuan happened to fly over at that moment, and several more red lights appeared on the jade slip in his hand.

"Dao Ancestor, there are seventy-two ancient battlefield ruins hidden beneath the Thousand Islands, and it is from these that the Corpse Fiends are born."

Ye Yang looked toward the Ziyuan Camp at the end of the Lingqu Canal, where a misty spiritual aura was already rising.

The newly planted Linggu seedlings grew wildly under the dew, and within half a day they sprouted three-inch green shoots.

He suddenly laughed.

"Since it's an ancient battlefield, there must be treasures left behind. Have your disciples keep an eye out for scattered weapons and armor while they clear away the corpses along the canal; they might find something unexpected."

Seven days later.

When the last section of the underground canal was completed, the living water of the Thousand Islands rushed in.

The Lingqu Canal winds through the islands like a golden ribbon.

Along the way, withered purple-leaved spirit trees sprouted new branches, and giant clams opened their shells and spat out lustrous pearls.

Mo Yue stood by the canal, watching the puppets install the last star-patterned gate, and suddenly pointed to the lake.

"Dao Ancestor, please look!"

Where the canal water and the lake water meet, a small island formed from spiritual essence is slowly rising.

Nine spiritual herbs grew on the island, and the dewdrops rolling on the leaves turned into tiny spiritual stones when they fell to the ground.

Ye Yang looked towards the direction of Ziyuan Market, where the camp had been successfully built with the help of Tiangong Pavilion.

The first irrigation canal brought water, and the entire camp became vibrant with life.

He scattered the remaining embers of the Ghost Dragon Core into the Spirit Canal.

"Order the Flying Heaven Sect to begin the relocation of mortals three days from now." (End of Chapter)