To everyone’s shock, it sucked up every remaining water vein in the Heaven Origin Realm, except for those within the mountain range where Xiao Shou’s sect was located. All the others, including those in the Heavenly Void Sect and the Nanyang Region, were swallowed into the gourd.
"They’ve taken all the water! What are we supposed to do now?"
Seeing this, Xiao Shou clenched his fists in anger. He had grown up among mortals and understood how weak and vulnerable ordinary people could be. Everyone had finally survived the devastating catastrophe, only to face the prospect of dying of thirst.
Seeing how furious his Master was, Fu Young worried that Xiao Shou might hurt himself in his anger. He quickly tightened his grip on his Master’s hand.
He considered using the creative life force of the Divine Osmanthus Tree to create several new water veins and place them in areas where mortals lived once everyone had left. However, water seemed so scarce in this realm that any new water veins he created might simply be seized by others, especially if his power proved insufficient to protect them.
What should he do?
Before Fu Young could come up with a workable solution, he noticed that Xiao Shou’s expression had changed from anger to contemplation. Realizing that his Master had probably come up with an idea, he immediately said, "I’ll follow your lead, Master. Whatever you decide to do, I’ll support you."
"Mm! We’ll discuss it after they’ve all left."
Xiao Shou nodded.
By this time, the bearded man in the sky had collected all the water veins and put them away. Tushan Shanhe hovered nearby, watching coldly.
The elderly Daoist looking cultivator nodded to the two men. Then he flicked his broad sleeve, sending a delicate compass flying toward the Holy City in the Heaven Origin Realm.
As it descended, the compass grew larger and larger until, in the blink of an eye, it covered the entire sky above the city.
A red beam then shot down from the tip of the enormous compass needle, illuminating a particular location within the Holy City. After a few breaths, a seven sided, translucent crystal slowly rose from that spot. Beautiful and crystalline, it was about the size of a man’s fist.
The compass needle drew the crystal inside, carrying it back to the elderly Daoist. He reached out and took hold of it, whereupon it flashed briefly before disappearing.
Watching this scene, Yao Ming exclaimed in disbelief, "Heavens! It’s the realm stone! That old Daoist has taken the realm stone! The realm stone is the source of all life on this continent. Without the water veins, losing the realm stone means this continent will only march toward death! Oh, heavens! Master, Handsome Beauty, Yao Ming... We’ll soon be homeless!"
"Shut up, you stinky flower!" Yao Heng hurriedly flew over to Xiao Shou, whose eyes seemed to burn with flames of anger, and tried to comfort him. "Master, please don’t be angry. It’s only a realm stone. At worst, we can move somewhere else and settle down."
Xiao Shou pressed his lips together, his delicate brows furrowing in an aggrieved expression. His eyes grew slightly moist as he said, "But nowhere else is the Eternal Prosperity Mountain Range. Nowhere else is the Eternal Prosperity Sect or our home. They’ve gone too far! Taking away all the water veins wasn’t enough for them. Do they really have to destroy the entire Heaven Origin Continent as well?"
"Master, don’t be sad. I’ll snatch it back right now."
This was the first time Fu Young had ever seen Xiao Shou look as though he were on the verge of tears. He had always believed that his Master was strong and would never cry. The sight filled him with shock and fury. He was utterly enraged by the old Daoist’s actions and the way people in this realm conducted themselves. To keep his Master from bursting into tears, he immediately prepared to act.
However, at that very moment, the palace belonging to the Heavenly Void Sect, located within the sect’s mountain range, suddenly shone with dazzling light. It quickly flew into the sky, stopping not far from the several cultivators above.
The Sect Master of the Heavenly Void Sect, Tang Qicen, then emerged. With a single Minor Teleportation Technique, he appeared in front of the old Daoist. After respectfully bowing, he said, "Might you be an esteemed senior from the Celestial Artifice Palace? I am Tang Qicen, Sect Master of the Heavenly Void Sect. It is an honor to meet you, Senior."
Since these people were hovering directly above the Eternal Prosperity Mountain Range and had not used private, targeted voice transmission, but were speaking aloud instead, Xiao Shou and Fu Young could clearly hear everything with their extraordinarily powerful divine senses.
After Tang Qicen finished paying his respects, the old Daoist nodded and asked, "Are you the one who protected the surviving disciples of my Celestial Artifice Palace and brought them here, and who sent me a message just now?"
"Yes. My sect has always maintained friendly relations with the Celestial Truth Sect lineage, a branch of your esteemed sect. Unfortunately, we lacked the strength to do much during this catastrophe and managed to save only the Peak Master of Celestial Truth Sect and one of her direct disciples. I am deeply ashamed."
Tang Qicen, who had not appeared even when the bearded man, Shen Wenrui, took away all the water veins belonging to the Heavenly Void Sect, looked at the old Daoist with reddened eyes.
Nearby, Shen Wenrui’s expression turned cold, taking on a faintly livid hue. However, as an old fox who had cultivated all the way to the Tribulation Crossing Stage, he reacted immediately. Reaching into his wine gourd, he pulled out three water veins and reluctantly presented them to Tang Qicen, putting on a shameless smile as he said, "So you’re a junior of Lord Ying Xuanyan from the Celestial Artifice Palace! Come, come. I’ve already refined your sect’s water veins for you. Fellow Daoist, please take them back."