I have Taoism and can understand other worlds

Chapter 668 Freshmen
Jiang Wen stood still in the void, his divine sense sinking into his sea of ​​consciousness, where he saw the merit stele.

The originally abundant merits disappeared by more than half; upon closer inspection, it turned out that a full 150,000 merits had been consumed.

He sighed inwardly, feeling a pang of regret. This opportunity, though enormous, was something he had no choice but to seize.

His gaze fell upon the thousand-mile-long fissure below, now reforged by the Samadhi True Fire. Though the fissure was now cleansed of all evil and filth, revealing a clear and bright expanse, countless wisps of gray-black energy, like dust that could not be dispelled, still lingered in the depths of the fissure and in the air, emitting faint, mournful cries.

Those are the lingering obsessions of the Baixi people, who have been buried here since time immemorial, eroded by the power of death and unable to be reborn.

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, soul to its homeland. Very well, let this humble Taoist perform the ritual once more."

Jiang heard the soft words and knew that the resentment was not dispelled, so this place would never be truly peaceful, and the chance for a new life would be hindered.

He immediately sat cross-legged in the void, his hands forming the Supreme Compassion Mudra, his face solemn, and he loudly recited the Rebirth Sutra:
"At that time, the Savior from Suffering Heavenly Venerable pervaded the ten directions. He constantly used his divine power to save all sentient beings..."

Once the scripture was read, it was no ordinary sound.

Its voice was initially clear and melodious, then transformed into a rolling Daoist sound, like an imperial decree from the heavens above, or the gentle call of a loved one, containing boundless compassion and guiding power, clearly echoing in every inch of space across thousands of miles, even penetrating the void and reaching the deepest recesses of those confused and remnant souls.

At first, there was nothing unusual about the crack.

But as the scriptures circulated, faint glimmers of light, carrying various emotional fluctuations, gradually rose from the cracks in the rock walls and from the dust of the void.

First there were three or five dots, then hundreds and thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions... In the end, they became densely packed and countless, like a galaxy flowing backwards, rising from every part of the thousand-mile crack!

These glimmers of light are the souls of the dead who have been trapped for millennia.

They come in various shapes and sizes; some are vaguely recognizable as human figures, while others are just a blurry halo, all exuding a strong sense of sadness, pain, confusion, and resentment.

However, under the baptism of the great and compassionate scriptures, the gray and resentful aura on their surface is gradually dispelled, revealing the true nature of their souls, which should have long since found peace.

"Salvate from all sins, deliver from all calamities..." Jiang Wen chanted continuously, his body naturally radiating a pure and holy glow.

Combined with the power of the scriptures, it transforms into gentle yet irresistible golden bridges that guide the boundless torrent of souls, leading them to their destined final resting place.

The moment countless souls stepped onto the golden bridge, the pain and confusion on their faces vanished completely.

They all wore smiles of peace, gratitude, and even a hint of relief.

They bowed or kowtowed in the direction of Jiang Wen, their silent expressions of gratitude filling the world with a sacred and solemn atmosphere.

Souls danced in the sky, a golden bridge spanned the void to guide them, and the Daoist chants were majestic and resonant. This scene was like a vast "Celestial Venerable's Guide to Ferrying," both compassionate and magnificent.

When the last remnant soul transformed into a stream of light and disappeared at the end of the golden bridge, all the soul light in the sky returned to silence, and the Daoist sound also slowly ceased.

Jiang Wen felt the stone tablet in his divine sea suddenly tremble, and the merit he had consumed not only instantly replenished, but also surged wildly.

Auspicious wisps of energy swirled around it, and when it finally stabilized, the number on it had transformed into—400,000 merits!

The merit gained from this ritual of liberating countless souls far exceeds the cost.

This was a great joy for Jiang Wen.

Slowly opening his eyes, his gaze once again fell upon the thousand-mile-long rift, now free of any lingering spirits.

He took a step forward, his figure floating down, walking across this newly formed chasm. The crystal-like rock walls on both sides reflected the dim light of the sky, and the spiritual energy emanating from the depths of the earth's veins became increasingly evident.

Reaching the very center of the rift, where the power of death was most concentrated in the past, and where the divine power of the Heavenly King of Growth was most gathered.

He sensed something and stopped. His gaze swept across the area and he saw two objects suspended within a slightly concave crystal cluster.

The object was a droplet about the size of a longan, crystal clear like a flawless ruby.

It seemed to contain boundless life essence and the laws of heaven, with the faint echoes of the Great Dao. Amidst the flowing light, it formed a miniature universe.

Upon closer inspection, Jiang Wen felt a surge of spiritual energy within his body. He was nearly cleansed by this treasure, and his golden core almost burst.

Good heavens, what is this?! He was astonished and tried to approach it.

After several attempts, Jiang Wen finally understood what this treasure was.

It was the purest and most unpolluted blood of the Heavenly King of Growth.

Just by getting close, one can feel a powerful yet gentle vitality, which is refreshing and invigorating. He then looked at another object, a bead the size of a pigeon egg, completely black and without any luster.

It lay quietly beside the divine blood, seemingly able to devour all light and sound, exuding an aura of absolute annihilation.

With just one glance, Jiang Wen recognized what the black bead was.

It is an object formed from the essence of the deathly stillness of this place over thousands of years—a round bead formed from the convergence of deathly stillness.

This thing is extremely yin and dark. If it had not been temporarily dispelled by the Samadhi True Fire transformed by Jiang Wen, its aura would have been enough to return the area within a hundred miles to the dead zone.

Jiang Wen carefully put away the two treasures that contained the ultimate Dao of life and death. He knew in his heart that these two were rare treasures of heaven and earth that could not be obtained by chance and would surely be useful in the future.

After doing all this, he flickered and became a blur.

Before long, they returned to the place where Jiang Su and the others were waiting, dozens of miles away.

Upon his return, all the undead, led by Rui, knelt down in unison, bowing their heads deeply to the ground.

Their bodies trembled, not from fear, but from an indescribable excitement and gratitude.

"Thank you... God... for the grace of rebirth!"

Rui's voice was hoarse and dry, yet it was filled with an unprecedented sincerity and relief.

Although they were terrifying in appearance and their minds were clouded, at this moment, their withered blue faces revealed a pure and peaceful expression, as if they had returned to the beginning of life.

Jiang Wen silently accepted the greeting and said softly, "Now that this matter is settled, do you wish to return?"

Rui slowly shook his head. He raised his withered face and looked towards the village where they had lived for countless years, his eyes revealing deep longing and relief.

“God, we were originally dead. We have clung to this holy land until now because of our obsessions. Now the shackles that bound us are gone. Our obsessions have vanished, and perhaps it is time for us to truly rest…”

He seemed to have used up all his strength. After saying these words, his body began to slowly turn into fine sand-like dust from the edge, drifting away with the wind.

Not only Rui, but all the undead behind him began to exhibit this strange weathering phenomenon.

Jiang Wen and Jiang Su stood quietly to the side, not stopping them. They understood that this was not annihilation, but true liberation, the peaceful end that this distorted tragedy, which had existed for millennia, had finally come to.

As Rui watched his hand gradually disappear, a peaceful smile, even tinged with happiness, appeared on his face.

He looked at Jiang Wen one last time and said with difficulty, "I entrust our last belongings and words to the gods. May my Baixi enjoy eternal peace."

As soon as he finished speaking, his body completely turned into a pile of pure white bone powder, mixing with the bone powder of other living dead, making them indistinguishable from each other.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the bone powder drifted down like countless white butterflies, eventually slowly falling back onto the land they had protected and imprisoned for millennia, truly merging with this land that was beginning to be reborn.

In the arena, only the dozen or so survivors from Baixi remained. They had already awakened and witnessed everything. Tears streamed down their faces as they bowed repeatedly towards the pile of bone powder and towards Jiang Wen and his companion.

Jiang Wen sighed softly, gazing at the distant mountains. Perhaps it was because the great crack was beginning to heal, but a few rays of yellow light were casting into the dim sky.

He glanced again at Jiang Su beside him, who also looked sentimental, and said softly, "We should go."

The two did not linger. After talking with the surviving members of Baixi, they led them toward the Bridge of Confusion.

Along the way, Jiang Wen noticed that this once desolate holy land was indeed undergoing some subtle but real changes.

On the gnarled branches of some ancient trees that had been withered for countless years, a few extremely weak, trembling tender green buds actually sprouted.

The suffocating stillness in the air was slowly dissipating, replaced by the fresh scent of earth after the rain.

From the direction of that thousand-mile-long rift, an increasingly dense spiritual energy of heaven and earth faintly emanated.

Although it remains desolate and barren, the sense of despair and death has dissipated, and the seeds of life seem to be quietly sprouting deep within this purified land.

As their figures receded into the distance, finally disappearing into the horizon, a gentle breeze carried shimmering powder in all directions. It drifted to the secluded little village and landed on the withered wooden table outside the house.

There seemed to be someone chanting, but when you listened again, there was no sound.

The holy land has once again returned to peace.

(End of this chapter)