Chapter 119: The Celestial Court's Water Vein Map

The water essence bottle, smooth as jade, spiraled in his hand, radiating a faint white luster. Beyond the lake of water essence contained within, the vessel itself was a celestial artifact. By channeling divine power, one could trap any cultivator who had not yet attained immortality within it.

Luo Feng extracted a drop of water essence from the bottle—a mere droplet that held the concentrated weight of a billion converging rivers. If he were to cast this drop upon the mortal realm, it might well mold a mighty Water God. Should an ordinary Celestial Immortal happen upon it and refine it, they might perfect their water-attribute Qi, one of the five essential energies, and gain a fraction of the power of a Golden Immortal. While they would not attain the immortality of a Golden Immortal, they would certainly be capable of roaming the world with ease. After all, in the vast Primordial Universe, Daluo-level beings rarely acted; they were the chess players, and chess players cherished their dignity. In the battles upon the board, Golden Immortals were the grand dragons, Celestial Immortals were the generals, and Earth Immortals were the pawns.

With a faint smile, he flicked his finger, casting the drop into one of the halls of the Water Mansion to participate in the operation of the water-element artifacts. A massive compass—the Sainan—rotated incessantly. Surrounding it were runes and Eight Trigrams symbolizing the four directions and eight poles of the Primordial world. If there were water shortages, severe droughts, blocked water vapor, or flooding, it would sound a warning. Within the compass were scattered star charts of varying sizes, shimmering with brilliance, with countless runes and patterns drifting above them. The primary Sainan was the master instrument for managing water flow, while the assorted star charts calculated rainfall, river levels, and water currents for every location. The large charts represented stars or mountain ranges, while the smaller ones represented individual cities or regions.

The Ministry of Water consisted of one main palace, six bureaus, and twenty lesser halls. This place was the Water Origin Palace, where the Sainan governed all the star charts, much like the North Star, which remains in its place while all other stars revolve around it. This palace governed the harmony of wind and rain, the total volume of precipitation, and the lifeblood of countless trillions of living beings. This was the Heavenly Court’s Map of Water Veins.

In the Primordial Universe, there were immortals, and naturally, there were mortals. Without fire, mortals have no civilization; without water, they have no life. Watching the operation of the Water Origin Palace, a flash of insight arose in his heart.

"In the beginning, there was the Divine, and the Divine was one with the Dao."

Luo Feng, the Water Virtue Star Lord, sighed softly. A deity was not merely a title or a recipient of incense; it was, above all, a responsibility. Those without virtue were unfit to be gods. Just like the previous officials of the six bureaus of the Ministry of Water, who stole water essence for their own selfish desires, they only corrupted the Heavenly Court’s fortune and reputation.

"In the future, when appointing officials in the Heavenly Court, particularly those in key positions, we must not use Earth Immortals. The minimum requirement must be Celestial Immortal."

A thought occurred to Luo Feng. Earth Immortals were limited by their lifespan, which drove them to take risks and steal water essence to aid their cultivation. Celestial Immortals, however, would not fall unless faced with a great tribulation; free from the crisis of a limited lifespan, their conduct would be somewhat more restrained.

Poverty breeds evil, while wealth fosters a conscience. It is not necessarily that human nature is wicked, but rather that circumstances often force one's hand.

"However, I should not be the one to propose this."

Such a move would clearly offend many people, and if Luo Feng were to do it, he would certainly incur the wrath of a large faction. He needed to find a scapegoat. Luo Feng’s thoughts shifted as he considered which powerful gods in the Heavenly Court had strong backing and influence. He already had a few candidates in mind.

"Clang!"

While he was pondering, the artifacts of the Water Origin Palace finished their cycle. Luo Feng withdrew his focus, staring at the changes in the various star charts to see where the water elements under the Heavenly Court's jurisdiction were failing and where the water veins had been severed.

A cyan star chart represented a superior water vein, a place of good fortune. A blue chart indicated a normal water vein, requiring no intervention. A red chart symbolized pollution or blocked water flow. A white chart signified a lack of spiritual energy and severe depletion of water elements. A black chart symbolized a severed water vein, requiring the Heavenly Court to dispatch personnel to investigate, subdue demons, and resolve the problem.

At a glance, blue and cyan hues shimmered in harmony, but interspersed among them were specks of red and white. Looking deeper, he even saw several streaks of black. Luo Feng’s expression turned cold. This state of affairs was certainly not the doing of the disgraced former officials of the six bureaus; they lacked such capability. This situation in the Ministry of Water could only be described as a vicious cycle; the former officials had likely been powerless to reverse it and had simply given up, deciding to profit while they could. The result of their greed had turned a bad situation into a catastrophic one.

There were over three hundred thousand red star charts, ten million white ones, and as for the most severe black charts, there were one thousand, one hundred and twenty-one. With a flick of his divine sense, he took control of the Water Origin Palace to manipulate the charts, first entering a red one.

Runes assembled, forming an illusion. He saw a crystal-clear, rippling river flowing through a mountain range of exposed bedrock, emptying into a vast, tranquil lake, where it became even clearer after sedimentation. Against the backdrop of grasslands, loess, water birds, and a blue sky, it was a picturesque scene. Yet, in the middle and lower reaches, it was as if it were an entirely different river. The water rushed south, passing through vast mountain ranges and grand plains, becoming murky due to frequent flash floods and the loose soil.

Luo Feng’s expression hardened. This river had been damaged by human interference, combined with other factors, until the water quality had deteriorated and the spiritual energy had thinned. To restore it, the common folk on both banks, the mountain gods, the land spirits, and the river and water deities would all need to work in concert.

Exiting the red star chart, he checked several others, only to find similar situations. He took out a document and recorded the findings one by one.

Luo Feng cast his divine sense into a white star chart. This time, the scenery was different. It was a minor world attached to the Primordial Universe. A group of people dressed in animal skins were kneeling and praying under the leadership of an old shaman.

"Meirenhuipinchulaiba," the old shaman chanted in a tribal tongue.

Luo Feng had not connected to the laws of that world, so he could not understand the language, but because the shaman’s prayers were sincere and accompanied by pleas for rain, as the Water Virtue Star Lord, he heard two concepts resonate in his heart: "God" and "Rain."

They were praying for rain. The old shaman waved his hand, and a young, beautiful girl—or at least, a beautiful girl by tribal standards—was brought forward, bound. Luo Feng frowned, recognizing the situation. This was human sacrifice, a practice since ancient times where mortals offered sacrifices to higher beings. From fruits and dried meat to livestock and incense, they offered everything. But if these methods failed, the mortals resorted to their final option: human sacrifice, for humans were the most spiritual of offerings. Many demonic cultivators and evil gods often conducted blood sacrifices. When the Ministry of War campaigned against stars on the frontier or when the Heavenly Army attacked primitive mountain ranges and backward civilizations, they often encountered such scenes.

Luo Feng’s divine sense swept the area and found a Golden Core-level crocodile demon in the dried-up riverbed. This was the "god" the shaman was sacrificing to. He shook his head, activated the white star chart, and retrieved the spatial coordinates. After a brief calculation, a spatial passage opened.

Luo Feng initially intended to step through and enter the minor world attached to the Primordial Universe. But the moment he stepped onto the passage, he hesitated. He thought for a moment, then reached into his robes and pulled out an Earth Immortal-level puppet. Dealing with a minor world, an Earth Immortal should be able to protect itself.