My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

Looking around, the surrounding mountains and fields were all withered and yellow, and the birds chirped weakly. Ruan Chayan and Luo Hanying walked up the thin, muddy stream and saw the stone tablet erected by the government.

The stone tablet is inscribed with an introduction to the spring. Next to it, a stone temple about half a person's height is dedicated to the local deity. The surrounding area is covered with withered branches and fallen leaves. Half of the side wall of the stone temple has collapsed, and even the bronze incense burner has spots of rust. It can be seen that no one has set foot here for a long time.

"Over the years, they have even given up praying to gods and Buddhas."

Luo Hanying used her spirit sword to clear away the weeds and withered leaves, then reached out and wiped the face of the statue. "It looks like a pretty older sister. I wonder what this god is in charge of."

Ruan Chayan glanced at it and said nonchalantly, "It should be for managing water, right? Otherwise, it wouldn't be built near the spring."

The spring of Changshui is only the size of a bowl. The water flowing out of the spring has a dark red color and meanders intermittently along the nearly dry riverbed. It is hard to imagine that such a spring can become so powerful after falling from the mountains.

But that was all in the past.

Ruan Chayan took out a teacup, scooped up some water, and hesitated whether to drink some and try it. Just by looking at it, she couldn't see anything wrong with it, except that the color of the water was strange and it didn't seem to have any strange smell.

Luo Hanying wasn't so particular. She scooped up a handful of water, sniffed it lightly, observed it with her divine sense, and finally tasted it. Then she spat it out twice, covered her mouth, and said, "Oh my god! The taste is so weird!"

It smells a bit earthy, and there's also a strange, rotten odor! Is it because the water is too shallow and there are dead leaves buried at the bottom?

Ruan Chayan flicked Luo Hanying on the forehead, both angry and anxious: "The situation is unclear, why are you putting everything in your mouth? What if there are parasites in the water?"

Luo Hanying touched her forehead and pouted, saying, "I was just tasting it. I can see you're also interested in drinking it. Don't just criticize me; you should also be mindful of your own taste."

Ruan Chayan sighed and shook her head, using her spirit sword to dig at the spring, trying to see if something was buried underneath, which was why the water was such a strange color.

Luo Hanying then tidied up the area, cleaning it up to see if the spring's flow would increase and the water would become clearer.

Luo Hanying's divine sense circled around again and again, trying to find something: ["The system told us to heal the Five Elements Spirit, but we've already come to the spring. If the Five Elements Spirit doesn't appear on its own, then even if we have the greatest abilities, we can't save it."]

Ruan Chayan diligently dug into the surrounding soil: [“I think the spring is the essence of the Five Elements, right? Or rather, the Changshui River is the essence of the Five Elements, right? The quest mentions ‘Changshui River Five Elements Essence,’ it has the prefix ‘Changshui River.’”]

"I remember there was a way to move a spring from one place to another."

You said if we fixed a spring from another place here, wouldn't Changshui have water? Then the Five Elements Essence would have water, wouldn't things get better?

Luo Hanying said excitedly, "I told those mortals that I would do my best to restore the flow of the Changshui River. I feel that's a good way to both satisfy them and resolve this issue."

Ruan Chayan hesitated before speaking: "It probably won't work, right? If you dig a spring from another place, wouldn't that ruin the feng shui of that place? This kind of method of moving mountains and filling seas doesn't seem suitable for use in the Central Plains."

I wanted to tell you that back then. The rules of the Shiren Sect mention that if we go to the Central Han Divine Continent, we are forbidden from revealing our identities. Although I don't know the specific reason, there must be a reason for this rule.

Luo Hanying quickly figured it out: "They're probably afraid we'll affect the fate of mortals, right?"

I remember Shen Weixia and Yun Zhonghe chatting and saying that we cultivators shouldn't get too involved in mortal affairs, lest we carelessly cause a cataclysmic change in the Central Plains because of our own selfish desires.

Ruan Chayan stared in surprise: "Then why are you getting involved in the affairs of the Western Qing Kingdom and the Northern Mu Kingdom?!"

You even gave alms to those homeless people on the road!

Wouldn't that disrupt their destiny? Wouldn't that affect your future cultivation?

Luo Hanying awkwardly defended herself: "I think you can think of it this way too. They met me, and I met them; that's our destiny. I'm meant to help them, and they're meant to be helped by me. What do you think of this line of thinking?"

"I can't comment on this. If you ask me, you should stay away from them to avoid getting into trouble."

You know the saying, "A little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment."

It's a good thing you're a cultivator. If you were an ordinary person, and you were openly handing out meat soup by the roadside, what if those starving refugees attacked you and ate you alive?

If they feel you have the ability to help them but don't, they'll definitely take advantage of you while simultaneously criticizing you.

Ruan Chayan disagreed with Luo Hanying's behavior of shining like a little sun on others, as there would always be people who would think she was meddling and thus hurt her.

Suddenly, Luo Hanying heard the curses of men and women covered in filth again: "You're so kind, you must be doing this because you embezzled our life-saving money and have a guilty conscience!"

My parents and daughter are starving to death! And now you're trying to be a good person? Who cares!

What's the point of all this soup and broth?! It's just filling us up with water!

……

Their flesh and spirit are emaciated and ragged, but their malice is plump and well-dressed.

Luo Hanying looked at Ruan Chayan's profile and forced a smile: "It's alright! Aunt Chayan, you don't need to worry too much about me. I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"

I am a monk, and I have the ability to protect myself.

"When one is successful, one should help others in need. Since I have this ability, I naturally want to do something about it."

Ruan Chayan didn't notice Luo Hanying's disappointment. She pulled the stone slab buried in the pit with both hands and exclaimed in surprise, "What is this?!"

As she moved, the spiritual energy in the surrounding air subtly began to swirl and churn.

Luo Hanying composed herself and went closer. She saw that Ruan Chayan had carved intricate patterns on a stone slab near the spring, exhibiting central symmetry and continuous patterns on both sides.

Luo Hanying reached out and touched the stone slab, sensing the energy on it: "This seems to be a formation, something like a formation plate, there seems to be a formation on it."

Ruan Chayan was surprised to find a clue so quickly. She hurriedly asked, "Is the formation active? Can you break it?"

Luo Hanying said solemnly, "I'll try. You can look around for anything else like this. I suspect that Changshui became what it is because of it."

The two divided the work: Ruan Chayan took over the task of cleaning the spring and its surroundings, while Luo Hanying used her divine sense to try to deduce the formation.