Chapter 591: The Only Chance of Survival

The descriptions given by Long Huang and Wu Xie were very similar to phenomena caused by the Ghost and God Domain.

In Western Ox New Continent, such things were quite common. Whenever demons emerged, or Calamities or Catastrophes appeared, curses would form, shrouding a hundred-li, thousand-li, or ten-thousand-li territory, assimilating all life within it and altering the Celestial Way of heaven and earth.

The source of these phenomena was the primordial insect invasion and the pollution from the Celestial Venerable's Primordial Spirit, which nearly turned Western Ox New Continent into a land where humans could not survive.

The evil spirits born from this also gave rise to a profession unique to Western Ox New Continent: talisman masters.

Chen Shi had not expected to encounter a similar incident in the Earth Immortal Realm.

He had died and been reborn, and one could say the first half of his life had been spent fighting against such phenomena. He was intimately familiar with them.

Such things should be rare in the Earth Immortal Realm, which was why no one knew how to handle them.

"The curses in Western Ox New Continent were caused by the primordial insect and the Celestial Venerable's Primordial Spirit pollution. The primordial insect was a treasure found in the Dark Sea, while the Celestial Venerable cultivated both immortal and demonic paths through the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection."

Chen Shi's eyes flickered. He thought to himself, "Could this Clay Bodhisattva incident in Feng'an Commandery be an event orchestrated by the master of the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection?"

However, from Long Huang's description, what happened in Feng'an Commandery was somewhat different from the Ghost and God Domain, which made him uncertain whether this was indeed a Ghost and God Domain.

The Ghost and God Domain had the Corridor of the demonic domain. Anyone who fled to the edge would be teleported back to the center, in an endless loop. But the people of Feng'an Commandery could escape.

The Thunderclap Mystic Province still needed to set up seals to prevent those inside from escaping and causing a wider range of Celestial Way pollution. Clearly, there was no Corridor here.

Moreover, the power of the Ghost and God Domain was not that formidable. What happened in Feng'an Commandery could even affect immortals and gods!

"It's reached the primordial insect level."

Chen Shi thought to himself. "Pollution at the primordial insect level could destroy Great Shang in an instant. Although Feng'an Commandery is not that terrifying, it's still no small matter. The Ghost and God Domain usually has a source. Could it be that the Clay Bodhisattva is the source of this curse?"

Long Huang said, "This place is extremely dangerous. We had to bring in the Evil-Repelling Banners from the Evil-Repelling Institute to avoid being affected. The Evil-Repelling Banner can suppress Celestial Way pollution. However, the Celestial Way pollution here is too severe, and the banner has been invaded by the external Dao. It won't last much longer."

He ordered someone to bring over the Evil-Repelling Banner and said, "This banner can still protect you as you enter Feng'an Commandery, but it will only last for twelve hours. If you haven't resolved the Celestial Way pollution within twelve hours, you will turn into clay figures too."

He paused, then said, "We deities are originally carved from wood and molded from clay, surviving only through incense offerings. If you turn into clay figures, the wind will scatter you, water will melt you, the sun will harden you, and with time, you'll become stone. Be careful. Don't lose your lives!"

Zhang Xian took the Evil-Repelling Banner, and everyone gathered around to examine it closely. They saw that this was not a traditional triangular banner, but a large one. A dragon-blood pole of about seventeen or eighteen feet tall held up a strip of brocade fabric nearly as long.

The long strip of banner fabric was embroidered with golden silk thread in ghost-script-like Dao patterns, though mostly divine Dao patterns rather than immortal Dao patterns. The Big Dipper Evil-Repelling Institute was mostly staffed by deities, so their magic treasures were refined with divine Dao patterns.

As for divine Dao patterns, no one in the Fire Battalion could understand them. Even Chen Shi, after staring at the Evil-Repelling Banner for a while, was completely baffled.

He still had a few medicinal pills from Fulou Village in his possession and was considering whether to take one to study the Dao patterns on the banner.

Zhang Xian had already activated the Evil-Repelling Banner. He said in a deep voice, "Brothers of the Fire Battalion, we enter Feng'an! Follow me!"

The members of the Fire Battalion followed him, heading toward Feng'an Commandery.

Long Huang, Wu Xie, and the others watched them venture deeper into Feng'an Commandery, all frowning deeply.

Long Huang said, "Did the Celestial Court send them here to die? One of them must have offended some noble in the Celestial Court!"

Wu Xie laughed and said, "You've already turned into a clay figure. Why worry about such things?"

Long Huang laughed and said, "I am a dragon god by nature. I can simply have my Golden Body remade. It's nothing more than begging for a few more incense offerings."

At that moment, he suddenly stared blankly behind Wu Xie. Wu Xie hurriedly turned around and was also stunned. He saw Master Ge of the Thunderclap Mystic Province, who had apparently emerged from seclusion at some unknown time, riding auspicious clouds with immortal qi flowing around him, approaching in their direction.

Master Ge held a feather fan and wore a silk headband, his aura ethereal, his cultivation level unfathomable. Behind him followed several beautiful fairy maidens, all with graceful figures.

And beside Master Ge stood a Golden-Armored Warrior, holding the exquisite golden pagoda in his hand, sixteen feet tall, imposing and dignified. The strange thing was that no matter how far away one viewed this warrior, his height was always sixteen feet!

"That's King Li of the Celestial Court!"

They were each stunned. "Why is he here? And Master Ge, wasn't he in seclusion? When did he come out?"

Master Ge and King Li were chatting and laughing, standing atop the clouds, clearly well acquainted.

One was an immortal, the other a god, yet their friendship ran deep, unaffected by the current opposition between immortals and gods.

"Immortal Elder, how carefree you are!"

King Li laughed and said, "Your Thunderclap Mystic Province has stirred up such a commotion, yet you choose to stay in seclusion. Could it be you think the matter isn't big enough?"

Master Ge smiled and said, "I have little influence. I serve as a protector under the Thunder Ministry, surrounded by deities. What power do I have? Even if I wanted to handle this matter, I have no soldiers and no generals."

King Li knew he was telling the truth. In recent years, the opposition between immortals and gods had become increasingly severe. Deities were quite wary of immortals, far from the closeness of former times.

Although Master Ge nominally governed the Thunderclap Mystic Province, he had long been marginalized and stripped of real power.

"Besides, this matter is quite peculiar."

Master Ge lowered his voice and said, "I suspect this Celestial Way pollution is targeting the Bodhisattva of Great Strength. Someone wants to pollute him while he descends his Golden Body. If he is attacked within my Thunder Ministry and corrupted into an evil entity, the Western Heaven will harbor resentment against my Celestial Court."

King Li hesitated and said, "You mean to say, someone is making a move in the shadows?"

Master Ge smiled and said, "I didn't say that."

King Li said, "That person must be an immortal, sowing discord between the Celestial Court and Western Heaven. Quite a skillful move. Fellow Daoist, do you intend to stand by and do nothing?"

Master Ge sighed and said, "I'm not valued in the Thunder Ministry. Do you want me to cut myself off from the immortal path as well?"

King Li fell silent.

Master Ge changed the subject and laughed, saying, "You never visit without a reason. This time you sent just a single camp of heavenly soldiers to solve the Celestial Way pollution. I even suspected there was an enemy of yours among the heavenly soldiers. But now that you've come personally, I'm no longer so sure."

King Li said, "There's a man named Chen Shi in the Fire Battalion. His background is somewhat unusual. He came from the Dark Sea and only became an immortal through Dao Unification in the Celestial Court after Ascension. In the Dao Ruins, he refined and absorbed a great Dao anomaly point."

"What?" Master Ge exclaimed in shock.

King Li said, "He did indeed refine and absorb a great Dao anomaly point. I don't know what method he used, but I saw it with my own eyes. I suspect he's a great demon, or something else from the Dark Sea."

Master Ge understood his meaning: "So you want to use the Clay Bodhisattva incident to probe his background."

King Li nodded gently: "The Dark Sea is too terrifying. I'm worried he might be a monster from the Dark Sea."

Master Ge's gaze turned toward Feng'an Commandery, searching for Chen Shi and the others' movements. He murmured, "But refining and absorbing a great Dao anomaly point is too absurd. Even a monster from the Dark Sea couldn't do that, right?"

He located Chen Shi and the others and said, "To test Chen Shi, you're willing to sacrifice the twelve hundred people of the Fire Battalion as burial companions. Ruthless and merciless. Could it be that these twelve hundred people also have problems?"

King Li's gaze also fell on Chen Shi: "They are rebels among the immortals. They released great demons, attacked the Celestial Court, and destroyed the Celestial Way magic treasure, the Celestial Strategy. They deserve death. This journey is fraught with danger. No matter what Chen Shi is, he will be forced to reveal his true colors!"

Chen Shi followed the members of the Fire Battalion as they ventured deeper into Feng'an Commandery, continuing to unhurriedly ritual-refine the yin and yang sword qi within the Purple Heaven Gourd.

The two sword qi strands had already taken shape under his refinement, like two clubs without any sharpness, striking against each other within the gourd, tempering each other, gradually honing their edge.

Chen Shi's mind was tethered to these two sword qi strands, controlling them to execute techniques from the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture, colliding them against each other. Through such refinement, the sword qi would become increasingly sharp, and when unleashed, they would respond effortlessly.

Under his refinement, the power of the two sword qi strands was astonishing. Fortunately, they were inside the Purple Heaven Gourd, which contained almost an entire world within it, so none of the sword qi's power leaked out.

"Have you noticed that our magical power is gradually becoming dull?" Suddenly someone exclaimed in alarm.

As soon as these words were spoken, it immediately drew agreement from many others.

"I noticed it too!"

"My immortal essence feels like it's turning into mud! This Evil-Repelling Banner is a bit off. It can protect our bodies, but it can't protect our magical power!"

"My Celestial Way laws are also becoming dull!"

"Same here!"

They started making a ruckus, somewhat panicked.

Zhang Xian said, "If you can't hold on, you can retreat into your own Dao Realm to take shelter. Those who can endure, keep moving forward!"

Immediately, someone who couldn't bear the pressure activated his Dao Realm. A ten-thousand-li Dao Realm appeared behind his head, then rose up, and he stepped into it.

The moment that immortal entered his Dao Realm, his body suddenly stiffened. Mud began pouring out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and he stood there frozen, not daring to move.

At that moment, heavy rain began to fall within his Dao Realm. Rainwater poured down from the sky, pelting his body.

His body gradually dissolved in the rain, turning into muddy water that flowed away. Soon, his head had disappeared entirely!

Below, the immortals of the Fire Battalion stared blankly at this scene, all feeling a creeping dread.

"Why doesn't hiding in the Dao Realm work?" someone asked in a hoarse voice.

Zhong Lin said in a deep voice, "Because we've already been polluted. From the moment we set foot in Feng'an Commandery, we were polluted. We only haven't turned into clay figures because we're under the protection of the Evil-Repelling Banner. But the moment we leave its protection, we'll become like that."

Everyone shuddered.

They were all polluted?

Xiao Dulu said, "Are you saying that after one day, if we can't resolve the source of the Clay Bodhisattva Incident, even if we leave Feng'an Commandery, we'll still turn into clay figures?"

Zhong Lin said, "We can't leave Feng'an Commandery."

Everyone was confused. Bai Fangfang asked doubtfully, "Why?"

Zhong Lin looked up at the sky. In the air hung a Mirror of Clarity as bright as a scorching sun. He said, "We are already sources of pollution. The Thunder Ministry won't let us carry the Celestial Way pollution out of here. This pure yang divine mirror will burn us to death the moment we try to leave Feng'an Commandery. Not one of us will be spared!"

Everyone's hearts sank.

Only by resolving the source of the clay figures could they have a chance to survive!