Coiled Dragon Leaving Water

Lily Bai looked up at the sky. As night fell, the black clouds grew heavier.

A storm was brewing.

"Maybe we’re looking at this all wrong," Lily said.

"What do you mean?" Nine Li asked.

"Maybe it’s not a man-made disaster," Lily said. "Maybe it’s a natural one! Like, tonight a huge meteor could suddenly fall and destroy everything here. Or maybe there’ll be an earthquake and the whole city will collapse—lots of deaths, total devastation. That’s probably why we can’t sense any murderous qi."

"If that’s the case, then there’s nothing we can do," Nine Li said. "You can break man-made disasters, but you can’t fight the wrath of nature."

"Then let’s keep moving," Azure Flame said.

Lily and Nine Li both basically agreed it was a natural disaster and nodded.

But Shenxiao suddenly said, "Try divining it again."

Lily glanced at him and said, "I’m like eighty percent sure it’s a natural disaster."

"If the divination says it’s a Heavenly Disaster, there’s no solution. If it’s unsolvable, we move on," Shenxiao said.

Lily didn’t say anything. She picked a cloud to sit on and took out her divination talisman tools.

The result: Great Calamity, Coiled Dragon Leaving Water.

She frowned deeply.

"Well?" Azure Flame asked her.

"I’m afraid it’s not a natural disaster. It’s still man-made," Lily said. "There is a way to break it—the Coiled Dragon Leaving Water."

"What does that mean?"

Lily shook her head. "I have no idea what it means... I’ll ask my master. He’s the best at interpreting hexagrams."

She used a secret Messenger Charm to connect with Lord Faustin.

At that moment, Lord Faustin was lounging in the cabin of his immortal ship, legs crossed, reading a scroll.

He was completely absorbed in his reading when Lily’s Messenger Charm lit up.

He glanced toward the window, set up a Spirit Barrier, and answered.

Lily asked him how to interpret the ‘Coiled Dragon Leaving Water’ hexagram.

But Lord Faustin shot back, "Why are you suddenly asking me this? Out of nowhere! Did you leave already? Where are you?"

"Yeah, I left. Passed by a small city, and there’s a cloud of misfortune hanging over it—looks like a city massacre in the making. I did a divination and got ‘Coiled Dragon Leaving Water.’ What does that mean?"

"Where are you going? Who are you with?"

"I’m with Nine Li! Right, Nine Li?"

"Yeah, yeah! I’m with big sister Lily, we’re totally safe. The other disciples are fine too, Dad, don’t worry!" Nine Li chimed in from the side.

"Who else is with you two? And what are you doing out there?" Lord Faustin pressed.

"Master, just help us interpret the hexagram first!" Lily wheedled. "Help us out and I’ll tell you everything afterward!"

"Hmm... Coiled Dragon Leaving Water..." Lord Faustin mused, flipping through his book. "Does that little city have a moat or something like that around it?"

"Yes! There’s a moat," Lily replied.

"Is the city built on a Coiled Dragon spot?"

"Huh? Master, how did you know?" Lily asked in surprise.

"Isn’t it literally Coiled Dragon Leaving Water?"

Lily: "...Oh, right..."

"Just use the Water-Mirror technique and set up a big Spirit Barrier formation."

Water-Mirror is a Sigil Sect spell for surveillance.

Like, if there’s a big lake...

They’d hide in a cabin by the lake, form a Water-Mirror from the lake water, and use it to watch everything happening on the lake.

Including things that are invisible—and things that aren’t.

The stronger your cultivation, the wider and clearer your view.

"So you mean, use the moat water to form a water barrier and wrap the whole city in it?" Lily asked.

"Exactly. Anyone trying to break in will be stopped outside the barrier—and you’ll be able to see them."

"But... the city’s huge. I’m pretty sure my cultivation isn’t strong enough to cover the whole thing," Lily admitted, knowing her own limits.