Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 172 [Evil! 】(6800)

Chapter 167 [Evil! 】(6800)

"At first, the door was closed. But people are naturally curious and have desires."

What is the world like on the other side of the door? Is there any wealth or profit to be made there?
Is it a vast, undeveloped world?

Are there countless unclaimed sacred mountains and treasure lands? Are there vast quantities of rare and precious treasures...?

These fantasies are inevitably tempting.

Even venerable saints are no exception. Mortals have their desires, and saints have their pursuits.

What ordinary cultivators seek are blessed lands and grotto-heavens, and rare and precious treasures.

What sages pursue may be the Heavenly Dao—the Heavenly Dao on the other side of the gate, can it accommodate more and higher levels of Dao cultivation?
Is it possible to increase the number of sages beyond forty-two?
Is it possible to make the path of sainthood go further and become stronger?
And so...from some unknown era, the door was opened.

Su Yi sighed softly.

"I am only a few hundred years old, but the time when the door was first opened was probably tens of thousands of years ago."

All I know is that when the door was first opened, the world was still in a primitive era, and even the people of this world were still in a primitive state.

But in that era, the world had not yet given birth to the civilization we have today; it was a vast and uncharted territory, where everything could be developed and exploited.

In that era, the world still had many rare and exotic wild animals that are now extinct, and many rare and exotic plants that no longer exist.

Perhaps, it also has some value to the realm?

Hmm, I don't know.

But what I do know is that the initial opening of the gate was definitely due to people pouring out from the realm and gaining some benefits in this world.

Although this world is lacking in vital energy, even the most barren land can still produce a peck and a half of grain.

Besides, this land was acquired for free!
So initially, in that era, the realms likely regarded this world as a target for territorial expansion.

So initially, they must have gained a lot of benefits.

But then... something unexpected happened.

Chen Yan was deeply shaken and asked, "What happened?"

Su Yi took a deep breath and resolutely declared, "Heaven will not tolerate this!!!"

heaven...

Absolutely not allowed!!
Chen Yan's expression changed.

Su Yi slowly said, "In the beginning, cultivators from other realms were not suppressed when they came to this realm. Many cultivators above the Celestial Realm have come here."

Given the primitive state of this world at that time, the creatures of this world were simply unable to resist the gathering and plundering of resources by powerful cultivators from other realms.

But soon, the Heavenly Dao—well, I'm referring to the Heavenly Dao of this world—reacted. The Heavenly Dao awakened and, using brutal methods, unleashed divine punishment!

At this point, Su Yi said in a chilling tone: "Legend has it that the Heavenly Dao of this world has unleashed divine punishment! Overnight, tens of thousands of lightning tribulations descended upon the vast land!"

Any cultivator who dared to open the gate and cross the boundary was reduced to dust by the lightning tribulation that descended upon this realm in the wrath of the Heavenly Dao!

All his cultivation and vital energy were left in this world, and all his essence, blood, and immortal bones turned into mud and dissolved into the earth of this world!
Each primordial spirit was merged with the Heavenly Dao of this realm.

The details of that great upheaval are now unclear in the records of the realm, but according to legend, even Venerable Saints who crossed the realm perished in the tribulation of lightning!
From that time on, the Heavenly Dao of this realm suppressed cultivation. Any cultivator from another realm, upon entering this world, would be suppressed by the Heavenly Dao of this world, with their cultivation being reduced by more than half—the higher the cultivation, the more severe the suppression!

Chen Yan's face turned horrified.

Tens of thousands of lightning strikes overnight?
The lightning tribulation is not just ordinary thunder and lightning, it's a lightning tribulation!
Disaster!
How powerful is it...?

The little girl, a half-step Venerable One, could only withstand two or three blows before she was finished!

The dignified half-step Venerable was so frightened that he fled back to the Mirror World, not daring to step out.

If there were tens of thousands of them, even a cultivator at the Celestial Realm would probably be finished off with just one hit!
“But…” Chen Yan swallowed hard, still puzzled, “Even if the suppression is severe, even if you have to drop two or three realms to come over, you are still a cultivator. Once you come over, the creatures of this world still cannot withstand it.”

Why did they close down and stop coming in large numbers?
Is it because they fear the Heavenly Dao will once again unleash a lightning tribulation to destroy humanity here?

"That's one reason, but the more important reason is that after the Heavenly Dao of this realm sent down a lightning tribulation, annihilating countless cultivators from other realms who had crossed over, problems also arose in the other world of that realm."

Many sacred mountains and rivers lost most of their vitality overnight, and many places rich in natural treasures withered overnight.

This upheaval even shook the entire realm. Many powerful sects and families suffered heavy losses due to the depletion of the vital energy in their blessed lands and grotto-heavens, and it even altered the distribution of power within the realm.

Later, the Celestial Venerable issued a decree, inviting all the saints of the realm to gather at the Celestial Platform to comprehend the Heavenly Dao.

Nine days later, all the sages emerged from seclusion and issued the highest holy decree of the domain, thus closing the domain and prohibiting cultivators from entering or leaving at will. From then on, large-scale territorial expansion was forbidden.

The sage issued a decree, separating the two realms and forbidding this world from falling under the sphere of influence of any other realm.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

Understood.

This is the Heavenly Dao of this world, settling scores with the Heavenly Dao of the other realms.

The people from your side who have come to my territory and plundered so much benefit and fortune, I'll come after you for them!
"Then what about crossing the boundary? Didn't the emperor issue an edict forbidding anyone from crossing the boundary?"

"It's not that crossing the boundary is forbidden, but rather that large-scale territorial expansion is prohibited."

Chen Yan grinned.

I understand. They couldn't win and were driven back. They can't openly colonize, but they can still sneak over and quietly gain some benefits.

Upon seeing Chen Yan's disdainful expression, Su Yi roughly guessed what he was thinking and shook his head, saying, "It's not what you think, fellow Daoist. The rules of this realm are different. Although it has its own set of civilizations, it doesn't actually have any cultivation resources that other realms need."

If we can't expand our territory on a large scale, simply sending people over piecemeal won't bring us any real benefits.

"Then why have people from that realm come here?"

“It was just a simple exchange.” Su Yi shook his head and said, “Now that we’ve discovered a world and opened the portal, it’s impossible to keep it closed forever.”

Even with the decree of a sage... people are curious and greedy.

"Your world also has laws, so doesn't anyone commit crimes?"

Chen Yan fell silent.

What the old fox said seems to make a lot of sense.

"A pattern has gradually been grasped within the realm: as long as you don't make a big impact in your world, you won't provoke a backlash or retribution from the Heavenly Dao."

After all, it's a brand new world, and there will always be people who want to come and take a look.

Once the passage is opened, and people's hearts are drawn to it, it can no longer remain closed forever.

I know that your Dragon Kingdom also had the practice of closing its borders to the outside world in ancient times, but... it was only for a few decades or a hundred years.

However, within the realm, tens of thousands of years have passed, and it is impossible to completely ban it indefinitely.

Moreover, your civilization has its own strengths in development. People from other realms are willing to come and exchange goods and products from your civilization, which can be used to verify the cultivation civilization of other realms.

The saying goes that it's better to guide than to block; trying to completely ban it is impossible.

Therefore, within the boundary wall, cultivators from other realms can periodically come over as the great array is activated.

Once the opening is made, it's like having a fixed passage.

With established routes in place, smuggling also became possible.

"Stowaway?"

“The boundary wall is not what you think it is, just a door or a road with a few guarding cultivators with knives and guns standing at the entrance—it’s not that simple.”

Su Yi shuddered slightly as he said this: "The connection between the two worlds is not like the customs of a country that you think of, where there is only one passage with security checks and guards."

The boundary wall is where the spaces of two worlds intersect.

It includes vast oceans, towering mountains, turbulent currents, and boundless deserts...

Moreover, many of the places I mentioned within the boundary wall can change in an instant.

What was once a flat desert can turn into a bottomless abyss in the blink of an eye.

The towering mountains will collapse in pieces and turn into dust in the turbulent space in the blink of an eye!
You were walking along peacefully when suddenly a spatial tearing force appeared in the air in front of you, ripping you into pieces!
It was a place of spatial chaos, and almost boundless.

Such a large, interconnected space cannot be completely guarded.

The so-called boundary array is nothing more than isolating the most stable and easily passable areas with a large array.

The other chaotic areas were simply inaccessible.

And so, the escape zone came into being.

Su Yi seemed to recall his experience when he fled the border. His body suddenly trembled, and his face turned pale. He said in a low voice, "When I fled the border, I had no choice but to take the risk and escape in order to gain a chance to live."

When I fled that realm, besides myself, there was also that white fox, and dozens of human cultivators and demon cultivators from other realms accompanied me.

Within the boundary wall, we traversed various chaotic areas, enduring countless hardships and narrowly escaping death!
In the end, only the white fox and I escaped alive. All the other cultivators and demon cultivators perished in the turbulent currents of the boundary wall.

I even witnessed a body cultivator at the Celestial Realm walking right in front of me, perfectly fine just a second ago.

The next second, his body was suddenly torn to pieces, ripped apart into a bloody mess by the spatial turbulence that appeared out of nowhere!

Chen Yan noticed the fear on Su Yi's face and couldn't help but frown, saying, "Since the danger is so great, why would any guy from the realm be willing to risk escaping?"
Just how grave a crime did they commit in the realm? Did they break a heavenly law, deserving of a thousand cuts, to be willing to risk such a great deal to escape?

Upon hearing this, Su Yi's expression turned somewhat strange. She sighed softly, "Fellow Daoist, haven't you ever heard the saying... information gap?"

"Ok?"

"People who haven't experienced the escape zone have no idea how dangerous it is inside!"

After truly experiencing the danger of escaping the boundary, those who were destined to die all perished.

Dead people cannot speak.

And those who were lucky enough to survive, like me… I can no longer return to the Realm and tell the people there about these things.”

After a pause, Su Yi shook his head and said, "Although the Sendai has issued a ban, which clearly states that escaping the boundary is forbidden, the boundary wall is fraught with danger."

But... without experiencing it firsthand, the so-called 'crisis after crisis' is just four words in people's minds. They always feel that with their cultivation, they can always get through it.

Moreover, a friend of mine from the Sendai Central Police Station's "Evil Suppression Division" once told me that there's another reason why Sendai Central Police Station doesn't strictly control escape attempts.

"what reason?"

“If you commit a serious crime, it will take time, manpower and resources to arrest you.”

If you walk into the turbulent currents of the boundary, it's 99.99% tantamount to suicide.

It's like a criminal going to their own death, and quietly committing suicide—no trouble, no destruction, and even dying outside their own home, without soiling their property. Why wouldn't the Criminal Investigation Department be happy with that?

Chen Yan fell silent.

After a long silence, Chen Yan sighed and said, "Tell me about the 'Seven Tribes of the Fierce Clan Bounty Order.' What's the deal with it?"

Su Yi was taken aback: "Bounty Order? I've never heard of that before."

Chen Yan was taken aback, then realized that when Jin Jia mentioned the "Seven Tribes of the Fierce Clan Bounty Order" to him, he had inadvertently mentioned that the order was issued a few years ago.

The old fox had known that Su Yi had been away from the realm for decades, so naturally he was unaware of it.

"Hmm, I misspoke. Tell me first, what's the deal with the Seven Tribes of the Ferocious Clan? Are you referring to the Ferocious Beast Clan?"

“No.” You Su Yi shook his head: “The Ferocious Beast Clan is just the Ferocious Beast Clan, only one of the seven tribes of the Ferocious Clan.”

The so-called Seven Ferocious Tribes refer to... seven traitorous tribes that betrayed the realm and sided with the enemy. The Ferocious Beast Tribe is merely one of them.

Betrayed the realm?
Chen Yan looked at Su Yi.

Su Yi slowly said, "The Seven Fierce Tribes were once among the many tribes under the command of the Immortal Platform of the Domain Realm."

However, during the Great War of Ten Thousand Years, these seven tribes successively defected to the enemy and betrayed the Realm Immortal Platform. Not only did their tribes betray them, but they also gave up their own territories.

Sendai then designated these seven traitors as the "Fierce Clan".

The ferocious beast race that you mentioned was originally called the tree-herding race, and they lived around the broken valley of the Divine Earth Mountain in the western border of the domain.

The tribe has passed down the divine method of tending trees, and for generations they have made a living by cultivating trees in the mountains and forests.

Their inherited divine methods are not simply about planting and cutting down trees, but about nurturing tree spirits, unlocking the spiritual essence of trees, and finally gathering the spirits of all trees to form a soul seed. After planting, it can nurture a divine tree!
The Tree-Shepherding Tribe revered the sacred tree they had nurtured, and each tribe would gather around the sacred tree to receive its protection.

In ancient times, at the height of the Tree-Shepherding Tribe's prosperity, there were more than ten tribes under its jurisdiction, each with its own sacred tree, dwelling on the sacred earth mountain, and its population flourished.

"Blessed by the divine tree, the climate of Shentu Mountain is pleasant, with favorable weather, abundant resources, and thriving animal life..."

Chen Yan's eyelids twitched as he listened.

Is the climate pleasant?
Good weather and abundant harvests?

Abundant in resources and teeming with animals?
I wonder if I've gone to a fake sacred mountain?

Oh, by the way, it's now called Badlands Mountain.

Sure enough, Su Yi sighed softly: "Later, the Mu Shu Clan betrayed Sendai, and Shentu Mountain was renamed Evil Soil Mountain."

The Tree-Shepherd Clan was also designated by Sendai as the Ferocious Beast Clan.

Chen Yan tapped his fingers lightly on the stone table: "Why would the Beast Clan betray us?"

Su Yi shook his head: "I don't know the specific reasons. This group betrayed Sendai thousands of years ago."

However, in general, it is naturally related to the invasion of 'evil spirits'.

Let's get down to business!
Chen Yan roused himself and took a deep breath: "Then let's talk about 'Sui'! What kind of race is this, and how did they manage to stir up trouble in the realm and invade your territory?"

Su Yi looked somber and shook his head, saying, "Sui... is not a tribe in the realm."

"Ok?"

"In fact, even after tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years of great battles, the realm still cannot figure out where these evil spirits came from," Su Yi said with a wry smile.

Chen Yan was stunned: "What...does this mean?"

Su Yi sighed, his expression complicated.

"If I were to go back in time, I'm not sure exactly which year the evil spirits started to appear, since I wasn't an official in Sendai who managed the immortal registers."

All I know is that a long, long time ago, in some unknown year, a disaster suddenly struck the northwestern border of the realm.

There was a herding tribe, three of which were wiped out overnight, with no people or livestock left alive.

Sendai was furious and dispatched a high-ranking cultivator to lead the battle army to investigate. If any demons were found, they were to be swept away with lightning speed.

However, the cultivators and immortal soldiers sent there investigated the place for several days but found nothing.

The destroyed tribes were left with no survivors, both humans and livestock. Moreover, according to the great cultivator's examination, the primordial spirits of all the dead tribes had been extracted.

Sendai initially thought it was the work of demonic cultivators or powerful demons, and even issued a bounty, sending powerful cultivators to sweep away the demonic cultivators and evil demons in the vicinity, killing quite a few—since they couldn't find the mastermind, they decided to wipe them out completely! Killing a batch of evil demonic cultivators and demons likely meant the mastermind was among them.”

Chen Yan nodded; there was nothing wrong with this approach.

"After it was done, Sendai issued a decree to announce it, and everyone thought that the matter was over."

But a few years later, a similar thing happened again in the northern frontier, and several tribes of another clan were wiped out, with no one and no livestock surviving!
Sendai then dispatched powerful cultivators to investigate, but they found nothing, just like before. They could only repeat the previous method: cordon off a thousand-mile radius around the incident site, and all demonic and evil spirits within that radius were wiped out!

Chen Yan said slowly, "I guess things aren't over yet."

"Yes, after that incident, this kind of thing would happen every few years in the western, northern, and southern borders of the domain."

Later, the scale of the incidents grew larger and larger. The annihilation of tribes was no longer enough for the enemy; even major cities within their territories were attacked.

Tens of thousands of immortals in the city were slaughtered, and their primordial spirits were extracted.

But the attack on the major city eventually led to the news getting out.

Within the great city, there were communication arrays. If the city was attacked, the city's garrison would use these arrays to report to the celestial realm—for the first time, the true nature of the evil spirit was revealed to the eyes of the domain. It was a peculiar thing.

"What's so peculiar about it?" Chen Yan asked, intrigued.

"First, we don't know where they come from. After invading and destroying cities and people, they will disappear. Although each invasion is larger than the last, they will leave after achieving their goal and satisfying their killing desires."

But where they came from and where they went after they left remains a mystery.

After each battle, a high-ranking official would personally search the battlefield, but despite traveling thousands of miles, he could never find where these guys had retreated to.

Even when attacking passes and city defenses, the enemy forces number in the tens or hundreds of thousands. If such a large army retreats, it will certainly leave traces along the way.

But Da Xiu's search yielded no results, as if these guys had appeared out of thin air and disappeared just as suddenly.

The entire land of the domain has been searched, but we still don't know where these things' nests are.

The southern sea area was also attacked, and a major search was carried out afterwards. A venerable person risked entering the sea area and went deep into the waters, but still found no clues.

These 'evil spirits' cause trouble every few years, and they appear in different locations. They can appear in the northern, western, and southern borders of the domain.

I just don't know how they managed to travel thousands of miles and gather so much power from all directions to invade the realm.

As the war escalated, border cities were massacred, tribes were wiped out, and the peaceful situation that had lasted for countless millennia was completely shattered.

Finally, in order to resist the "evil spirits," Sendai built the "Three Platforms, Eight Towns, and Sixteen Passes" outside its territory to resist their invasion.

After these three platforms, eight towns, and sixteen passes were set up, the evil spirits indeed stopped penetrating the territory.

It seems as if they are naturally drawn to the places where creatures gather closest to the frontier, and they do not employ any tactics such as 'raiding behind enemy lines' or 'driving straight in'.

If the passes are at the forefront, they will obediently only attack the border passes.

Thus, the three platforms, eight towns, and sixteen passes became the protective umbrella of the domain, blocking all invasions by evil spirits.

Chen Yan was silent for a moment, then asked, "You just said they were strange, and you even mentioned the first one. Since there's a first one, then of course there must be a second one, right?"

"Secondly... there is suspicion within the domain that the emergence of evil spirits is related to the tribes native to the domain."

You Su Yi sighed: "I once served at the border—I already told you about it last time. I have personally seen 'Sui' and fought against it."

These things, their very appearance, always evoke deep thought and fill me with apprehension and fear.

"What do they look like?" Chen Yan asked.

Su Yi gave a bitter smile, her face pale, and whispered, "Just like us!"

Chen Yan: ? ? ?
He looked at Su Yi with a puzzled expression.

"When I say 'we,' I don't mean my fox demon clan, but all the beings in the realm!"

Humans, demons, barbarians, witches, ghosts...

The appearance of these evil spirits is exactly the same as that of the myriad tribes in my realm!
It seems to be, it seems to be...

It was as if they had replicated the appearance of all the races and peoples in the realm, creating a huge number of them. They came in all shapes and sizes, from tall to short, fat to thin, handsome to ugly.

They appear suddenly and attack the border, swarming in and fighting fiercely without fear of death.

Moreover, communication was impossible. No matter how much we shouted, they wouldn't respond at all; they were like mindless killing machines!

A mindless killing machine?
Chen Yan asked with a puzzled look, "After so many years of fighting, haven't you ever captured anyone alive to take back and interrogate them slowly?"

"...We can't catch them!" Su Yi shook his head: "Even if a Venerable Saint has taken action, it's useless to capture them alive."

As he spoke, the old fox took a deep breath: "Although these evil spirits are no different in appearance and physique from the races of the realm, and each time they invade, they are a mixture of many different tribes."

But during the battle, they all emitted a strange red glow…

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan's heart skipped a beat!
Red light?

He remembered when he met Jin Jia in Badlands, the wounded leader of the Beast Clan was glowing red all over!

"Once a demon is killed, the red light on its body will disappear, and it will turn into a corpse without a soul. In just a few hours, the flesh and blood will dissipate, and the corpse will turn into a skeleton!"

They captured many prisoners alive, but when the other party was possessed by a red aura, no amount of interrogation was effective. They were like madmen without any reason. Even if a saint intervened and used the soul-searching technique to interrogate them, they would get nothing.

However, if the interrogation is excessive or the methods too harsh, once the victim dies, the red light disappears, and the body turns into skeletons.

Chen Yan spoke in a strange tone, looking at Su Yi and said, "So... you have been fighting this evil spirit for tens of thousands of years, yet you don't even know who it is, where it comes from, why it attacks you, or how long this battle will last."
They didn't even exchange a single word with the enemy?!

"..." Su Yi looked at Chen Yan with a complicated expression and said in a low voice, "Perhaps there is, but my status is lowly, how would I know higher secrets? Even if the Immortal Platform knows something, it is not something a lowly demon cultivator like me could know."

Chen Yan pondered You Suyi's words, but then heard You Suyi suddenly hesitate and say, "Actually..."

"Actually what?"

"Actually, there are also some speculations in the realm about the origin of the evil spirits."

"Ok?"

"We have always suspected that the 'evil spirit' might not be a living being, but rather a ghost."

Ghosts?

"Rumors circulate in the realm that some kind of force from outside the realm has invaded, awakening the spirits of the native races who died and turning them into 'evil spirits' that only know how to kill, and they are now attacking us."

As he spoke, Su Yi said with a wry smile, "Perhaps the saints on the Sendai think so too, which is why the official wording issued by the Sendai is 'Sui,' meaning sneaky and treacherous!"

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(End of this chapter)