Chapter 43: Going with the Flow

The fierce winds had vanished, and the entire landscape had changed drastically.
Looking up at the sky, there were still red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple clouds, but when looking straight ahead, the sky appeared gray and hazy.
In this foggy space, tiny spatial cracks occasionally appeared, devouring the spiritual energy in the surrounding area before disappearing quickly.
The twelve members of Cangyang Valley, under the “protection” of the Flying Ice Bees, finally arrived at the spatial crack region of the Ice Continent.
“Captain Li Zhen, this is the spatial crack region. I explored as far as here last year and couldn’t go any further,” Yang Di said first.
The other eleven members of Cangyang Valley immediately observed the situation ahead. Seeing those suddenly appearing dark spatial cracks—though small—devouring all spiritual energy within a hundred meters was truly terrifying.
Li Zhen also remained silent for a long time, constantly observing the patterns of the spatial cracks in hopes of discovering something. Yet, he was frustrated—there was no pattern to these cracks, as they were randomly formed by energy turbulence.
“Everyone, it took us a year to fly through the storm zone and the fierce wind zone, covering only 70% of the Ice Continent. Although the spatial crack region is only 30% of the distance, I believe it will take us another year. During this year, we must stay alert to the surroundings and avoid sudden spatial cracks. We’ll likely be mentally exhausted for a long time. So, let’s rest here for a while to restore our strength before continuing,” Li Zhen said after some thought.
The other eleven members sat down in silence after hearing this, clearly realizing the challenges of the coming year.
Thus, the twelve members of Cangyang Valley sat in meditation under the protection of the Flying Ice Bees.
Around the same time, the other four factions—six members from Taiyuan Gate, eleven monsters from Xianyue Cliff, seven members from Jinyang Sect, and eleven monsters from Jiugong Island—also reached the edge of the spatial crack region. Each of them had a group of Flying Ice Bees, which helped them quickly cross the fierce wind zone.
Of course, this was thanks to the secret guidance of the Instrument God, who enabled the insiders of the other four factions to find Flying Ice Bees in the underground canyon and create an army of them, allowing them to safely cross the fierce wind zone.
Undoubtedly, these four factions, like Cangyang Valley, decided to rest first before preparing to cross the spatial crack region.
……

Inside the inch-sized realm, Qu Yi stopped melting and refining materials at this moment. Instead, he sat quietly by the lake, fully focused on scanning the One-Element Dao Formation. This was because Qu Yi already knew that his soul realm was on the verge of breaking through to the later stage of exiting the body.

Suddenly, the Artifact God appeared, hands behind his back, walking slowly in small steps before coming to Qu Yi’s side.

Qu Yi immediately opened his eyes and smiled, “Artifact God, is there any good news?”

The Artifact God widened his eyes and retorted, “How did you know there was good news? Let me tell you—people from Cangyang Valley have now reached the edge of the Spatial Rift Area and are at a loss as to what to do.”

Qu Yi nodded slightly, then lowered his eyelids again, fully concentrating on scanning the formation, completely ignoring the Artifact God.

The Artifact God fluttered his eyes and said irritably, “But there is also good news.”

Hearing this, Qu Yi opened his eyes again and smiled, “Artifact God, just wiggle your little butt, and I’ll know you have something to tell me. You even try to tease me. Go on, what’s the good news?”

Upon hearing this, the Artifact God touched his own butt, finding nothing strange. He immediately realized Qu Yi was deliberately teasing him and looked displeased.

“Although the Spatial Rift Area is dangerous, it also holds opportunities. Li Heng, Liang Qu, the Silver-Faced Howling Dog, Shuo Bai, and the Blue Dragon might be able to use this area to absorb energy and elevate their soul realms,” the Artifact God replied indifferently.

Hearing this, Qu Yi became extremely curious. He could even use the Spatial Rift Area for cultivation? His face was filled with astonishment.

“Artifact God, how does one cultivate in the Spatial Rift Area?” Qu Yi asked eagerly, looking at the Artifact God hopefully.

Sure enough, having successfully drawn Qu Yi’s attention, the Artifact God’s face lit up with joy.

“Qu Yi, cultivation in the realm of cultivation is a process of understanding energy. Cultivators start by attracting the natural energy of heaven and earth, gradually understanding higher levels of energy until they reach the essence of the five elements. You already know all this, right?” the Artifact God said with a smile.

“I do. Cultivators at the Mahayana stage can absorb the essence energy of the five elements and transform their entire body into an essence body. As long as the energy of the five elements doesn’t vanish, a person’s life will endure forever,” Qu Yi replied.

The Artifact God nodded and immediately said, “During the Yuan Ying stage, one is inside the body, using the Yuan Ying to comprehend the energy absorbed into the body. In the Outward Journey stage, the Yuan Shen emerges and directly uses the Yuan Ying to sense the energy of heaven and earth. During the Divided Spirit stage, the Yuan Shen wanders through the void to sense energy. In the Reunification stage, the Yuan Shen and the physical body merge into one, allowing the entire body to integrate into the energy of heaven and earth, enabling the most direct sensing of energy. Haven’t I told you all this?”
“I have. I remember it all,” Qu Yi nodded.
“Now, within the spatial rift area, there are violent energy turbulences. If there’s a way for those five to capture those primordial energies amidst these turbulences, their spiritual realms can naturally be elevated,” the Artifact God said with a smile.
After hearing this, Qu Yi asked in surprise, “How can one capture those Five Elements primordial energies in such violent energy turbulences?”
The Artifact God smiled mysteriously and fell silent.
Anxiously, seeing the Artifact God’s calm demeanor, Qu Yi was furious and wanted to fly over, grab him, and bite him.
“Artifact God, stop teasing me. Just tell me! I really want to know how to capture and sense energy even in such chaotic conditions,” Qu Yi said, almost in tears, looking at the Artifact God pitifully.
“Haha!” The Artifact God smiled triumphantly before saying, “The energies of the Five Elements each have their own characteristics, so naturally, they will follow their own unique paths within the turbulences… Well, forget it. This is too profound for someone like you who’s only at the mid-Outward Journey stage to understand. Let me give you an analogy: If I throw a stone into a flood, if you want to find that stone, you must enter the flood and follow its flow to locate it.”
Hearing this, Qu Yi felt somewhat confused, realizing his spiritual realm was indeed too low to grasp it. So, he simply asked, “Artifact God, then what method do you propose for those five to track the paths of energy in these turbulences and understand it?”
“Go with the flow!” the Artifact God laughed and explained, “This cultivation method involves them pouring their entire being into the energy turbulences and following their flow. Only in this way can they discover the energies they need amidst the chaotic flow and comprehend their properties, thereby elevating their spiritual realms.”

After hearing this, Qu Yi became puzzled again. “But Li Heng practices earth-based cultivation techniques, Liang Qu practices gold-based techniques, the Silver-Faced Howling Dog practices earth-based techniques, Shuo Bai practices gold-based techniques, and the Blue Dragon practices water-based techniques. Each of them needs to comprehend different types of energy. With just one type of technique, how can you help them find the energy they need amidst this chaotic energy flow?”
The Artifact God’s eyes lit up with joy as he laughed heartily. “Haha, Qu Yi, you’ve truly become smarter now—thinking of this. Let me tell you then: by following the flow, once the five of them start cultivating, they can draw in the energy from the surrounding space that matches their own elemental attributes. Thus, once Li Heng enters the spatial rift area, by using this technique, he can draw in earth energy from the chaotic energy flow, capture higher-level earth energy, and comprehend it, thereby elevating his soul realm. The same applies to the other four.”
Qu Yi finally understood. By cultivating the technique of following the flow, those who practiced earth-based techniques could draw in earth energy from the chaotic flow, those who practiced gold-based techniques could draw in gold energy, and those who practiced water-based techniques could draw in water energy.
“Artifact God, you’re truly powerful,” Qu Yi praised sincerely.
“Hehe, these are just trivial techniques—nothing worth mentioning,” the Artifact God said proudly, swaying slightly.
Hearing this, Qu Yi’s eyes showed a hint of disdain—this Artifact God was boasting again.
…
Three days later, the twelve people from Cangyang Valley finally opened their eyes, all in excellent mental condition.
Of course, during these three days, Li Heng had received the technique “Following the Flow” secretly taught by the Artifact God and quickly mastered it.
“Everyone, from now on, we’re going to cross the spatial rift area. Be careful. In this area, our spiritual awareness will be restricted, and we can only rely on our own strength to get through. No one else can arrive in time to rescue us,” Li Zhen said calmly.
This was indeed the case. Spatial rifts appeared unpredictably, suddenly, and with immense power. Even if others wanted to help, they wouldn’t be able to make it in time.
“Understood,” the other eleven replied calmly.
Li Zhen glanced at everyone and shouted loudly, “Let’s go!”
In an instant, Li Zhen entered the grayish spatial rift area and flew swiftly ahead. The other eleven naturally followed immediately and entered the spatial rift area as well.
As for those Flying Ice Bees, they were left at the edge of the Gale Zone, waiting for the people from Cangyang Valley to return from the South Pole so they could use them to cross the Gale Zone again.

The twelve people in Cangyang Valley were all fully focused, flying apart while carefully monitoring their surroundings. They could all deeply sense the energy turbulence, as they were all at the stage of merging their bodies, with their bodies integrated directly into the energy flow, making them part of it and thus able to fully experience the intensity of the energy. Everyone was filled with terror! Only Li Heng, though appearing to be concentrating, was actually overjoyed. At this moment, Li Heng was already practicing “Following the Current,” and the energy in his entire body had merged with the energy turbulence. The Earth energy within the turbulence surrounded his body, allowing him to extract, observe, and comprehend it.