Mortal: My name is Ma Liang, and I also possess a magic brush.

The immortal in white robes picked up a black piece, placed it on the board, nodded silently, and was pleased with his brilliant move.

Looking up at the opposite side, he saw a person dressed in black robes with a slightly furrowed brow.

The immortal in plain robes couldn't help but chuckle. "Brother Dao, are you stunned by my brilliant move?"

The immortal in black robes snapped out of his daze, "No. I just had a sudden feeling."

"Oh? What brings you this feeling? Is there some strange change in the world?"

The immortal in black robes chuckled softly, "The world has been vast and boundless for billions of years, yet little has changed. It's nothing more than a pen that I gifted to the mortal realm a long time ago."

"Unexpectedly, by a twist of fate, I was taken to another realm by a wandering soul."

The immortal in plain robes raised an eyebrow slightly: "This is a matter from another realm. Could it be that a fellow Daoist is investigating it over there?"

The immortal in black shook his head. "It's nothing serious. It's just that the wandering soul carrying the divine brush seems to be in mortal danger, which is why the divine brush sent a wisp of its senses to me."

The immortal in plain robes immediately pressed, "So, fellow Daoist, you intend to personally travel to another realm to offer assistance?"

The immortal in black robes lightly twirled his fingers. "If I were to go to another realm myself, I would surely cause unnecessary strife. However, this soul was originally from my realm, and it was only because of my pen that it ended up in another realm. There is still a trace of karmic connection between us. I only need to provide a little assistance to settle this karmic ties."

The immortal in black robes raised his hand and a pure white jade bottle appeared out of thin air in his palm.

With a flick of his finger, the jade bottle stopper fell off, and a wisp of pure air rose from the bottle, condensing into a crystal-clear drop of celestial dew, which hung above the bottle mouth, its light shimmering.

"I send this dew to another realm, to that wandering soul."

"If he can survive this ordeal, it will be his good fortune. If he fails to do so, this karmic connection will end here."

After speaking, he drew a line in the air with his fingertip, and a ripple immediately appeared in the surrounding space.

Immediately afterwards, with a flick of the finger, the drop of celestial dew disappeared into the fluctuating space, vanishing without a trace.

After doing all this, the immortal in black robes looked at the chessboard in front of him and picked up a white piece.

"Snap"

He placed a piece, a slight smile playing on his lips, and looked at the white-robed immortal opposite him: "Brother Dao, what do you think of my move?"

The matter of offering the immortal dew was a trivial incident to the two immortals, which was quickly forgotten. The only thing they should focus on at the moment was the game of chess.

As the two were focused on the chessboard, a very faint ripple appeared in the space that had just been there, before disappearing without a sound.

……

Ma Liang was adrift in a state of chaos, feeling as if his consciousness had been broken into countless strands, only to be barely reunited at some point of nothingness.

Countless versions of myself drift in the fog, yet I can't tell which one is real, and even the most basic thinking becomes incredibly sluggish.

"Am I...dead?"

He tried to introspect with difficulty, but there was no physical sensation, no flow of meridians, only that familiar divine pen deep in his mind, quietly floating.

The divine brush was not absorbing divine consciousness; at this moment, it was as quiet as a dead object.

A self-deprecating thought crossed Ma Liang's mind.

Even the magic pen stopped moving, just like it.

The stone chamber outside was already filled with thick white mist, which drifted back and forth in wisps and strands.

Right in the center of this thickest fog, a cloud of water vapor spontaneously condensed and outlined the shape of a calligraphy brush.

The pen handle was long and slender, and the brush tip was just like the magical pen in Ma Liang's mind.

Suddenly, a glimmer of light quietly appeared at the tip of the brush, which was formed from condensed water vapor.

A crystal-clear droplet of water emerged from the void, and as soon as it appeared, it burst forth with dazzling seven-colored light.

The brush, formed from water vapor, quickly transformed into wisps of white mist after releasing the drop of celestial dew, just as ice and snow melted away, dispersing into the surrounding fog.

As soon as the fairy dew appeared, it emitted an indescribable suction force.

All the mist that filled the stone chamber seemed to have found its home, rushing madly toward that drop of celestial dew.

It is unknown how much time has passed, but the drop of celestial dew, carrying all the water mist that surged into the stone chamber, grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At first, it was just a crystal-clear water droplet the size of a fingertip, but it gradually grew to the size of a fist, then a millstone, and finally transformed into a huge water sphere that occupied half of the stone chamber.

It floated in the center of the stone chamber, its surface rippling with waves, and inside, light surged and churned, as if something was being conceived and grown within this pure vapor.

The water sphere hangs in the center of the stone chamber, its shimmering blue light remaining constant, having stood silently for countless years.

The deserted island outside the stone chamber presents a different scene of time flowing by.

Initially, only a few seabirds were attracted by the caves in the cliff face and nested there.

Before long, bird eggs were laid one after another. Nourished by the warm sun and sea breeze, the chicks hatched, their tender yellow downy feathers trembling in the wind by the cliff.

The adult birds travel back and forth between the sea and the cliffs every day to bring back fresh fish to feed their young.

As the fledglings grow their wings, they practice flying on the edge of the cliff. From initially stumbling and falling to later soaring with outstretched wings, they gradually grow into adult birds capable of withstanding wind and waves on their own.

Time passed quietly, and the first batch of adult birds all flew away from this cliff.

However, several generations later, their descendants, following the imprint in their bloodline, returned to this place to build nests and reproduce.

Year after year, a huge flock of birds eventually gathered on the cliffs of the deserted island, their calls rising and falling, becoming the only source of life in this silent place.

The water sphere in the stone chamber remained suspended in place, seemingly undisturbed by the passage of time. Only occasionally, a barely perceptible glimmer of light flashed within its shimmering blue glow.

Jingzhe stretched its massive body in the large stone chamber, yawned, shook its snake head, and then turned its gaze to the stone door.

The stone gate remained as still as ever, without making a sound. It seemed somewhat disheartened and coiled up again.

In the small stone chamber next door, the water sphere that had been hovering for so long finally began to change.

At first, there were only a few shallow ripples, but in an instant, they increased dramatically and quickly covered the entire surface of the sphere.

The water sphere began to tremble, and the tremors became more and more obvious, causing even the surrounding air to ripple slightly.

As the tremors continued, the water sphere slowly shrank.

As the water sphere shrank to a critical point, it no longer maintained its round shape. Instead, it was stretched and shaped like dough being kneaded by an invisible hand, gradually revealing a human-shaped outline.

The changes intensified, and the humanoid limbs and torso became increasingly clear. The facial features gradually took shape, and even the hair was formed from the condensation of water, floating around the body in strands.

The next instant, once the entire water figure had completely solidified, it suddenly emitted a dazzling spiritual light, illuminating the dim stone chamber.

The moment the humanoid form completely solidified, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surrounding the deserted island changed drastically.

All the water elemental energy seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, and all of it converged wildly towards the deserted island.

This strange phenomenon startled the birds on the cliff, who scattered and fled in panic toward the edge of the island, as if they had sensed some overwhelming terror.

As the water elemental energy continued to condense, large swaths of dark clouds surged in from all directions, instantly obscuring the entire sky.

In the next instant, a hurricane suddenly arose, and the howling wind swept across nearly a thousand miles of sea, with huge waves on the sea surface and the violent wind almost overturning the entire deserted island.

Just as the hurricane was sweeping across the sea, numerous merchant ships were sailing back and forth on the distant ocean.

A captain rushed out of the cabin, gazing at the drastically changed sky, and roared, "A hurricane is coming! Quick! Get moving!"

The crew dared not delay and immediately followed the training procedures, frantically maneuvering the boat in an attempt to quickly move away from the hurricane's reach.

Meanwhile, many cultivators in the sky above the sea had already noticed the anomaly.

An extremely dense concentration of water elemental energy is rapidly converging in a certain direction.

A thought struck everyone: Could it be that a rare treasure is about to be born?

With this in mind, dozens of streaks of light rushed towards the hurricane without hesitation.

But in the next instant, an invisible, terrifying pressure descended from the sky. Amidst the buzzing vibrations, a torrential downpour began, with large raindrops hitting the sea surface and stirring up layers of white waves.

The pressure was so strong that all the cultivators flying in the air felt a sudden heaviness and were slammed onto the sea surface without any power to resist.

Two of them were Core Formation cultivators who, relying on their profound cultivation, withstood the pressure and continued forward.

Occasionally, when they were slammed into the water by the oppressive force, the two would simply muster their spiritual power and immediately take to the air again.

"Such a terrifying celestial phenomenon must be the birth of a great treasure!" one of them said in a deep voice, his eyes filled with fervor.

However, the changes inside the stone chamber did not stop in the slightest due to the commotion outside.

As the abundant water elemental energy continued to flow in, the light inside the stone chamber grew increasingly intense, reaching its peak brightness in a fleeting moment.

"Snap"

All the strange phenomena of heaven and earth suddenly disappeared; the hurricane, the torrential rain, and the oppressive force all returned to calm in an instant.

The strange phenomenon disappeared so abruptly that the cultivators who had been resisting the oppressive force were caught off guard. The spiritual power they had been forcibly channeling within them instantly lost its target and suddenly shot upwards a great distance.

The two Core Formation cultivators steadied themselves and stared at the dissipating strange phenomenon with expressions of astonishment and doubt.

"What's going on?" one person exclaimed in a low voice, then his eyes narrowed and he said decisively, "The treasure must have hidden itself nearby! Let's split up and search!"

The two immediately separated and began to search the area carefully.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators below also came to their senses. Although they were terrified, they could not resist the temptation of the treasure and scattered to search for it.

Only the merchant ships, seeing the strange celestial phenomena vanish inexplicably, did not stop; instead, they urged their sails on and desperately sped away from this sea area.

They didn't want to be caught in the crossfire of the cultivators' battles.

Inside the large stone chamber, Jingzhe, who was cultivating, was so startled by this strange phenomenon that she curled up even tighter.

Once the strange phenomena outside dissipated, it dared to peek out, scanned the stone chamber, and seeing nothing amiss, turned its head toward the small stone chamber.

When the light faded, a figure appeared in the center of the small stone chamber; it was Ma Liang.

He was floating naked in mid-air, his eyes closed, as if he were still asleep.

The next moment, his eyelids twitched, and then he suddenly opened them.

The moment he opened his eyes, a faint blue light flashed across them, but it disappeared completely after only a moment.

After regaining his senses, Ma Liang looked around blankly, a thought popping into his mind: What's wrong with me?

The invisible force supporting him vanished in an instant, and he fell straight down from mid-air without any warning.

"Clang!"

He fell solidly to the ground.

Just as I was about to cry out in pain, I found that the expected pain did not come.