Thus, Jiang Wang raised his sword, poised to strike at this horde of malevolent spirits, his intent to manifest his sharpness.

Suddenly, the very fabric of heaven and earth shifted, the human realm itself seemed to buckle.

A figure, adorned with a high crown and wide belt, like a towering mountain, appeared from nowhere directly in front of him. His arrival was abrupt, yet the moment he appeared, the sense of abruptness vanished, as though his existence was a fundamental law of this world.

With a casual wave backward, he blocked the incoming attack: “Young man, this is not your battlefield, retreat!”

Jiang Wang felt no force whatsoever, yet he was involuntarily pushed back three hundred *zhang*.

Had this person intended to kill him, he would likely have met his end without ever knowing why!

What immense power!

Jiang Wang was still reeling from the shock.

The figure who had appeared so suddenly then pointed a finger forward, issuing a command: “Death crime!”

Again, Jiang Wang perceived no fluctuation of power.

Yet, within his vision, vast swathes of terrifying evil spirits simply dissolved, turning into wisps of green smoke!

Among them were not a few Divine Arrival realm spirits, nor were there shortages of those in the Cave True realm.

For a time, green smoke curled throughout the entire disaster water domain, like burning sandalwood, lingering in the high sky!

Today, this disaster water truly attracted gathering of high-level practitioners.

Top-tier figures, once seen only after traveling ten thousand *li*, were now appearing one after another.

Who was this newcomer?

His might seemed no less than that of Chen Pu or Si Yu An.

Just as Jiang Wang, moved by the terrifying power of another Yan Dao realm expert, speculated on the newcomer’s identity, his heart stirred with a sensation. He turned his body to see a young man with a less than ideal appearance curiously sizing him up.

This person’s eyes were set close together, and his nose was remarkably wide, his features truly quite rough.

He was wearing a milky-white cross-collared long robe and carried a six-foot-long sword slung across his back, its sheath nearly dragging on the ground. This made his already short stature appear even more so, and his skin was dark.

Despite this, he seemed quite polite, and first offered a greeting to Jiang Wang: “This humble one is Xu Xi Ming, a disciple of Ju Di Palace. I followed my master to support the disaster water. May I inquire your esteemed name?”

Since this Xu Xi Ming was a disciple of Ju Di Palace, the identity of the powerful figure with the high crown and wide belt was also about to be revealed – the Great Sect Master of the Legalist school, the contemporary True Monarch, the master of Ju Di Palace, Wu Bing Yi!

This was an extraordinary figure indeed.

Divine power was not something to be easily disregarded, and the marquis nobles of overlord countries could not compare. When standing alongside these figures at the pinnacle of extraordinary power, it was truly like observing a vast sea from a mountain stream.

Jiang Wang returned the courtesy, saying: “This humble one is Jiang Wang of Qi. Today, I am fortunate to meet Brother Xu!”

Although Xu Xi Ming’s appearance was not particularly striking, his breath was deep, and his divine light was condensed. Just by observing the constantly purified waves of disaster water beneath his feet, one could glimpse his level of power. Among Divine Arrival realm practitioners, he was an absolute powerhouse, likely already approaching the Cave True realm.

“You are Jiang Wang!” Xu Xi Ming’s eyes revealed surprise, and he laughed heartily: “Indeed youthful! Truly an unparalleled Son of Heaven’s Pride!”

Jiang Wang humbly replied: “Dare not, dare not. Three Xing Palace is the holy land of the Legalist school, Brother Xu comes from a distinguished lineage, and is also… very charismatic!”

“Now is not the time for idle chatter,” Xu Xi Ming said, his face turning serious as he looked towards the distant water domain.

At this moment, the Blood River Sect Master Huo Shi Ji, the Sword Pavilion Master Si Yu An, the Evening Drum Academy Dean Chen Pu, and the Ju Di Palace Master Wu Bing Yi, four Yan Dao realm True Monarchs, were locked in intense combat with the evil spirits.

Si Yu An’s sword tore open heaven and earth, Wu Bing Yi’s words became law. The two, one left and one right, moved with ease, and large swathes of evil spirits fell extinct like sand. The sky-covering tide of evil spirits diminished at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Blood River True Monarch Huo Shi Ji had already been fighting in the disaster water for three days and three nights, yet showed no signs of decline, pressing his attack against the six-armed human-snake that stood a thousand *zhang* tall. At this moment, with three True Monarchs arriving in succession and sharing the immense pressure of the disaster water world, he unleashed continuous blasts that shattered three arms of this Yan Dao realm evil spirit!

The *Bodhi Seated Dao Scripture* described the “Rootless World,” which was precisely this disaster water world.

It was called “Evil thoughts proliferate, bottomless prison.”

Unlike Wu Bing Yi, who acted upon arrival, Chen Pu quietly observed the sky dome for a while, then shifted his gaze to the six-armed human-snake.

As his warm and earnest gaze fell upon it, blazing white fire ignited within the two dark, cavernous eye sockets of the terrifying evil spirit!

This flame was grand and magnificent, majestic and boundless.

The firelight illuminated the six-armed human-snake’s abyss-like eye sockets.

The mountain-like piles of evil maggots inside continuously struggled, gray patterns drilling out of their plump white exteriors, steaming out a smoke that disordered one’s thoughts – a fearsome existence named “Bad Luck.”

Some devoured each other, rapidly swelling into enormous things, even attempting to consume the fire.

But their struggle, their power, instead boosted the burning of the blazing white flame, making it more fervent, more vigorous and brilliant. The flame instantly burned through these black hole eye sockets, even beginning to spread from the sockets towards the entire skull bone.

The space surrounding the six-armed human-snake also distorted along with it, appearing chaotic with light and shadow. This was the True Fire of the Confucian school – the Great Rite Sacrifice!

“We cannot simply stand by and watch any longer!” Xu Xi Ming exclaimed loudly: “This humble one came to the disaster water not to spectate from the sidelines, appreciating the skills of the Sect Masters, but to contribute my own power for the human race! If I can contribute one inch, then I shall contribute one inch of merit. If I can strive one foot, then I shall show one foot of courage! Before great righteousness, how can a true man pity his body? I wish to draw my sword and kill evil spirits, Brother Jiang, will you join me or not!”

“Well said! How can this Jiang fall behind?” Jiang Wang felt his blood boil upon hearing this and couldn’t help but say: “Brother Xu, how many do you intend to kill?”

For a moment, his heroic spirit surged, and he entertained the thought of competing with Xu Xi Ming, to see who could slay more evil spirits with their sword.

“—One!” Xu Xi Ming said fiercely.

Saying this, he drew out the six-foot-long sword he carried on his back, and with a single step, leaped out, immediately engaging a Divine Arrival level evil spirit in fierce combat!

Jiang Wang: ……

Though speechless in his heart, his sword light turned with his hand, and he still engaged one evil spirit. With his strength, taking on three to five idle Divine Arrival level evil spirits was not a problem. But the disaster water was no place for showing off. Since Xu Xi Ming, who hailed from Three Xing Palace and possessed considerable knowledge of the disaster water, was so cautious, he too should reserve some power to cope with unknown changes.

The evil spirit currently engaged by his sword light had a green face and fangs, with long hair all over. It had the body of an ape-monkey and the eyes of a hawk-falcon. Its speed was extremely fast, and it wielded twin knives, moving like a windstorm.

Evil spirits were without knowledge or thought, yet their knife techniques were nearly divine!

This phenomenon, difficult to comprehend, was nonetheless the reality of the disaster water.

The *Strange Beasts of Mountains and Seas* circulated in Chu, and the “Strange Beasts Classic” portion described many true or false strange beasts.

Qi also had its own *Strange Beasts Record*, which was one of the regular reading materials at Ji Xia Academy, containing various records about strange beasts.

Besides Asura and evil ghosts, all were recorded in books. Humans were skilled at recording history and summarizing the past.

Only the appearance of disaster water evil spirits was never specifically compiled into a book. This was because they had no fixed form, their appearance was like evil tools, changing in myriad ways. The thousand strange and hundred odd Yin demons often had similar kinds. Only evil spirits—there were never two completely identical in the world.

Of course, within this disaster water world, besides the “manifestation of extreme evil” evil spirits, there also existed some unique strange beasts.

For example, the disaster beast, the “Fei,” seeing which would cause great epidemics in the world.

The true Fei beast was much stronger compared to the Fei beast that appeared in the Mountain and Sea realm.

In former years, the head of the Ge clan personally entered the “disaster water” to seek a young Fei. As a result, a True Person of that generation vanished without a trace. Thus, only later did Ge Fei enter the Mountain and Sea realm, regardless of everything, relentlessly pursuing the Fei beast.

It was also because of this that Jiang Wang had known a thing or two about the dangers of the disaster water early on.

But no matter how much he heard, it was ultimately not the same as seeing it with his own eyes.

When the vast, sea-like evil spirits spread out before him, when countless Divine Arrival level and even Cave True level evil spirits wailed and howled, when Yan Dao level evil spirits shook heaven and earth! Only those who witnessed it could truly know why, among the countless dangerous places in the world, this place alone was called “Extreme Evil,” the Buddha called it “Rootless,” and the Dao called it “Sin Sea”! (The saying of “Sin Sea” can be found in the *Jing Xu Xiang Er Collection*.)

Jiang Wang casually wielded various sword styles of the Human Dao, easily suppressing the evil spirit before him. After three rounds, one sword wiped its throat. The green-faced evil spirit, just moments ago astonishingly mighty, instantly exploded after its head left its body, turning into a pouring stream of water. Only this cluster of water was exceptionally clear, no longer exhibiting the complexity of the disaster water.

From this, one could roughly glimpse a way in which evil spirits were formed – the world’s negative accumulation all gathered upon this rootless world, finally condensing into disaster water. When the negative accumulation of disaster water reached a certain degree, then evil spirits were born.

Jiang Wang at this moment finally understood the true meaning of the sentence from the *Jing Xu Xiang Er Collection*: “The people of the bitter and joyous world, ten thousand kinds for sin. Evil extreme has no place, gods and ghosts all fear.”

Learning the Dao Scripture at Ji Xia Academy with Qin Shu, Qin Ji’s lectures were also excellent. But reading a book a hundred times was truly not as good as seeing it once.

Jiang Wang, while engaging and slaying an evil spirit, looked towards Xu Xi Ming’s direction—

This not-tall true successor of Three Xing Palace held the six-foot-long sword with both hands, precisely chopping the waist of the evil spirit in front of him. Then, he lifted his foot, blocking another evil spirit.

It was still confinement, picking up the sword, dismantling.

His movements were orderly, every step, every sword strike, seemed to follow strict rules. Although he was so ugly, his milky colored long robe and dark skin, his short stature and the six-foot-long sword, all appeared so uncoordinated. But within his movements, there was a beauty of order.

Watching him slay evil spirits was like watching a scholar write, a painter paint, every step very methodical.

“Old Master, how did you come to this place? These things are so ugly!”

Inside the Immortal Palace ruins, White Cloud Boy woke up at some unknown time, lying on the roof of the Cloud Sky Pavilion observing the outside world. Upon seeing this, his chubby little hand suddenly covered his eyes.

Here, perhaps, it could no longer be called Immortal Palace ruins. After the day and night labor of the Immortal Palace warriors, this cluster of Immortal Palace buildings residing in Jiang Wang’s Five Mansions Sea was already in a barely presentable state. Of course, its functional buildings still had no substantial progress.

“Do you have any memories of the disaster water world?” Jiang Wang asked.

White Cloud Boy’s expression was confused: “I seem to remember… and yet seem not to remember.”

The former welcoming boy of the Cloud Top Immortal Palace, tied to the Immortal Palace’s karma, reincarnated through many lives, losing all his memories, only possessing the obsession to revive the Immortal Palace. Finally, on Chi Yun Mountain, his previous body dissipated into smoke, only a thread of karma remaining, attached to the Immortal Palace, giving birth to an Immortal Spirit.

The present White Cloud Boy was completely different from the previous welcoming boy, he could not even be considered a “person,” but there still remained some remnants of the welcoming boy’s memories from many lives and the Immortal Palace’s own memory. These would occasionally awaken when he encountered related clues.

For example, clues related to the buildings of the Cloud Top Immortal Palace, for example, the *Immortal Prescriptions Scripture*, for example, the method of making Immortal Palace warriors – all were fragments of his awakened memory. Now, being in the disaster water, it was also very possible to retrieve some memories.

Jiang Wang thought for a moment, and tentatively said: “Bodhi Evil Ancestor?”

Hearing these four words, White Cloud Boy was clearly startled for a moment, then mumbled somewhat confusedly: “Mixed Yuan… Evil Immortal.”

“Mixed Yuan Evil Immortal?” Jiang Wang did not expect to hear a new term: “Who is this one?”

White Cloud Boy covered his head: “I can’t think of it.”

The name “Mixed Yuan Evil Immortal” made him subconsciously associate with the two characters “Dao Thief” he once saw on the Divine Tablet. After exchanging words with Tu Hu at Min He Temple, he always thought “Dao Thief” was the Cloud Top Immortal Palace’s scorn towards the Dao Gate, because Tu Hu said that the destruction of the Cloud Top Immortal Palace was related to the Dao Gate. These words held some credibility.

But now there seemed to be another possibility. After all, those named “Immortal” were not many to be seen. That was still a distinct mark of the Immortal Palace era.

“Is it related to ‘Dao Thief’?” Jiang Wang asked again.

White Cloud Boy furrowed his brow, a bitter expression on his face: “Immortal Master Old Master, I don’t know. I only know that I haven’t seen ‘Dao Thief’. If I see him, I will recognize him.”

“You don’t remember anything, how would you recognize him?”

“I will be afraid, ah.” White Cloud Boy said pitifully: “Just hearing these two words now makes me afraid. If I truly encounter him, I will definitely be scared to death.”

“…” These words indeed held some truth. Jiang Wang thought for a moment: “What about Zhao Xuan Yang?”

“He’s definitely not,” the little boy swore.

Jiang Wang’s heart grew more confused.

Zhao Xuan Yang was a disciple of the orthodox Dao Gate. If the Immortal Palace viewed the Dao Gate as thieves, then Zhao Xuan Yang should also be a Dao Thief. Now White Cloud Boy said that Zhao Xuan Yang was not a Dao Thief, was it possible that Tu Hu was lying? But why would he tell this lie?

Moreover, the destruction of the Immortal Palace era was certainly influenced by the Dao Gate, the experience of the Frost Immortal Monarch Xu Qiu Ci could be evidence.

What exactly was the hidden problem in this?

In which part of history was it lost in the fog?

“Regarding this disaster water world, have you thought of any other useful information?”

“Immortal Master Old Master, I want to sleep.”

“…Sleep then.”

Jiang Wang ended the conversation in the Five Mansions Sea, his heart feeling weary.

Putting together history, seeking the truth, these were indeed things that could exhaust one’s heart and energy. Especially with this White Cloud little Immortal Boy being so foolish, only remembering fragments of everything.

From this, one could also see what a great work *History Knife Chisel Sea* was. To be able to capture sporadic fragments in the long river of time and restore the long scroll of history, how formidable a figure Si Ma Heng was!

Jiang Wang did not consider himself to have the talent to restore history, but he simply couldn’t ignore the clues regarding the Immortal Palace era. After all, the Cloud Top Immortal Palace was now in his Five Mansions Sea, and having benefited from the Immortal Palace, it was difficult to completely clear the karma.

Where was the Immortal Monarch who looked down upon the world in those days now?

Even if Xie Ai truly reincarnated, how many years had already passed from Xu Qiu Ci to Xie Ai?

He wouldn’t specifically pursue it, but if he accidentally encountered related clues, he naturally shouldn’t miss them. As the saying goes, without far-reaching strategy, one cannot travel far. Jiang Wang had always been a person with a strong sense of crisis.

“Brother Jiang, Brother Jiang!”

He heard Xu Xi Ming’s voice, but it was coming from below. Under the water?

Jiang Wang suppressed his thoughts about the Immortal Palace, and while wielding his sword to slay the evil spirit in front of him, he lowered his eyes to look.

Within the complex colored disaster water, there was a white, chubby little boy, looking exactly like White Cloud Boy, just lying on his back in the water, using his dark, slippery little eyes to look at him without emotion!

Seeing him look over, he suddenly grinned, his smile revealing bright white teeth!

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