Chapter 182 The Devastated Western Land
"This..."
Feng Zichen paused slightly, his primordial immortal light spontaneously emanating from his body, extinguishing the demonic aura suddenly surging from the ground.
Whoosh...
It was unclear what Feng Zichen had stepped on, but suddenly gusts of yin wind swept around him, accompanied by the mournful cries of ghosts and gods, extremely shrill.
Streams of pitch-black, innate malevolent energy surged from the ground, floating in the air, forming bizarre and grotesque demonic shadows, uttering chilling sounds, as they lunged at Feng Zichen.
"What are these things?"
Surprised, Feng Zichen's movements were swift; his primordial immortal light flashed incessantly, and before the demonic shadows could reach him, they were reduced to ashes and vanished.
However, the innate malevolent energy seemed inexhaustible, continuously surging from the ground, causing the bizarre demonic shadows to multiply, densely packed, completely surrounding Feng Zichen, seemingly impossible to kill.
"Kill..."
"What?"
Displeased, Feng Zichen attempted to invoke the laws of heaven and earth to annihilate this place.
Upon closer inspection, however, he discovered that the laws of heaven and earth here were vastly different from those in the East. It was as if veiled by a thin layer of gauze, hazy and indistinct.
His connection with it was also intermittent, greatly diminishing its power and requiring several times the mental effort of the East.
"No wonder the masters of the East look down on the West. The cultivation environment is so harsh, far inferior to the East's rich cultural heritage. What virtuous individuals could possibly emerge from there?"
Calming his mind, Feng Zichen gathered all his magical power and forcefully activated the laws of heaven and earth.
Instantly, the world changed color, the void trembled, and the power of the Great Dao surged forth, sweeping away everything within a ten-thousand-mile radius. Countless demonic shadows vanished into thin air, and the world was instantly cleansed.
"Speaking of which, since the two sages attained enlightenment here, the environment in the West should have improved considerably. Yet, even so, this place remains so desolate!"
"I truly wonder what the West was like before Jieyin and Zhunti became sages? It must have been filled with calamity energy, a pervasive malevolent aura, and devoid of life!" Looking at the ravaged land, Feng Zichen sighed softly, summoning the light of merit. He separated a wisp from it, gently crushing it into countless golden rays, which he scattered into the void. Instantly, the energy of merit descended from the sky, forming a dazzling golden rain, brilliantly bright, covering an area of tens of thousands of miles.
With the aid of the energy of merit, the malevolent aura on the surrounding ground dissipated, the earth's veins reconnected, and the earth's energy returned to normal, flowing freely.
Spiritual veins sprouted, a touch of green appeared, and all things flourished, displaying a vibrant scene of life.
However, this period of peace was short-lived. Just as the area had returned to normal, a black line suddenly appeared deep within the spiritual vein, emanating a dense aura of death, interrupting the vein's regeneration.
Simultaneously, boundless resentment rose from beneath the earth, relentlessly destroying the surrounding veins, causing all things to wither and filling the land with malevolent energy.
"This is…"
"Ancestral vein resentment!"
Looking at the resentment, Feng Zichen frowned.
Under the destructive power of this resentment, it would likely be long before this newly formed spiritual land was completely destroyed, reverting to its previous state of malevolent energy.
This resentment was generated after the ancestral vein of the West was shattered, containing a curse upon all the spirits of the West, constantly destroying the vitality of the western land, preventing its recovery.
Back then, the Demon Ancestor Rahu, unable to withstand the Dao Ancestor Hongjun, refused to accept defeat and self-destructed, obliterating the entire West, including all the veins, including the ancestral vein.
Because of this incident, Hongjun Daoist incurred a great karmic debt with the West, forcing him to allocate two of the six sacred positions of the Xuanmen sect to the two Westerners to resolve this karmic debt.
The Western ley lines generated endless primordial energy, nourishing the beings of the West. Instead of repaying this kindness, the beings wantonly destroyed it, naturally filled with resentment.
Having sown the seeds of evil, they naturally reaped the bitter fruit. The Western ley lines, thus rife with resentment, unleashed boundless death energy, spreading throughout the West, extinguishing life and leaving it desolate and barren!
This resentment was beyond redemption; even saints couldn't resolve it, let alone Feng Zichen!
If there were a way to solve it, Hongjun Daoist would have restored the Western ley lines countless ages ago, instead of sacrificing two sacred positions to resolve this karmic debt.
"These sacred positions of the Western duo were obtained through the karma of the shattered Western ley lines; they are inextricably linked to the Western land. If they wish to continue growing stronger, they have no choice but to consider the Western land..."
"Tsk!"
"Thinking about it this way, the two Western Saints have really had a tough time. The other four have been living carefree lives since becoming saints, but they've become increasingly burdened, constantly scheming for the entire West..."
"I wonder if they'll regret it?"
Thinking it over carefully, Feng Zichen found the process and reasons for the two Western Saints' ascension to sainthood increasingly interesting.
Their sainthood was related to the Western land, and to achieve it, they borrowed immeasurable merit from the Heavenly Dao, leaving them with a mountain of debt.
To repay this debt, while other saints were discussing metaphysics and cultivating in seclusion, they were constantly scheming, plotting to revitalize the Western religion and revive the Western land, never having a moment's rest. It was truly incredibly arduous!
"Forget it, what do the saints' affairs have to do with me? With their cultivation, how could I possibly fathom their thoughts?"
"Perhaps they'll find joy in it, who knows!"
Composing himself, Feng Zichen felt a purple cloud appear beneath his feet, lifting him up and heading towards the Western Regions.
As for the changes here, he had done his best, even using up his merit points. He had done everything he could, so the lack of effect was no one's fault but his own.
The purple cloud moved incredibly fast, covering a million miles in a single breath. Feng Zichen, carried by the purple cloud, was like a streak of purple light, leaving a long purple trail in the air.
"Huh!"
"What's going on?"
"Why is the innate energy around us becoming increasingly dense the further we go?"
After flying westward for several more decades, Feng Zichen suddenly felt a drastic change in his surroundings. Completely opposite to before, the deeper he went, the denser the innate energy became, and the more active the laws of heaven and earth became. It
was already comparable to ordinary Eastern spiritual lands. He estimated that if he continued for a while longer, it would rival ordinary Eastern blessed lands.
"So we're almost at Mount Sumeru. No wonder the cultivation environment suddenly improved."
"A sage's place of cultivation—it's truly extraordinary!"
From afar, Feng Zichen saw a treasure mountain, seemingly the center of the world, immeasurably high and vast, radiating boundless light, composed of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal—four treasures.
Around the mountain, countless phantoms of gods and demons appeared, the chanting of sutras never ceasing, and golden lotuses bloomed in the void, swaying in the wind and spreading a fragrant aroma.
This mountain, with its magnificent aura, was indeed the first holy land of the West, the former stronghold of the demonic sect, and now the ancestral court of the Western Cult.
(End of Chapter)