I have Taoism and can understand other worlds

Chapter 684 Tribal Affairs
Returning to the first heaven, the scene before my eyes was completely different from the cold and desolate second heaven.

The vast cloud platform was now bustling with activity. People from various tribes had set up temporary tents and stone houses, and some of the winged people had even used the glow of the sunset as their tents and the clouds as their mats.

The air was filled with the fragrance of various rare herbs and fruits, mixed with the sounds of bargaining in different languages, making it a grand market that transcended tribes.

Jiang Wen carried the baby girl and walked side by side with Jiang Su. They saw various solid ores displayed on the stalls of the Rock People.

The winged people displayed the radiant glow of the clouds and the refreshing dew from the clouds, while the four-armed people sold bone and jade artifacts inscribed with intricate runes.

The four holy maidens of the Hundred Barbarian Tribe also set up a small stall, displaying some special products that they had rescued from the Blackwater Calamity, such as snake saliva and red flame moss. Although the quantity was not large, the quality was excellent, and many people came and went to inquire about them.

Jiang Wen stopped in front of a stall selling spiritual plant seeds and exchanged a few spiritual herbs containing pure spiritual energy for a small packet of Soul-Soothing Wood seeds that were said to be able to stabilize the soul.

The stall owner was an elderly man from the Baiyi tribe, his face filled with sorrow. As he accepted the spiritual herb, he sighed, "In previous years, I would have treasured such a spiritual herb. But now the tribe is in turmoil, so I only ask to exchange it for more supplies that can enhance our strength."

Upon hearing this, Jiang's heart stirred, and he asked, "Old man, are the Baiyi tribes still well?"

The old man shook his head and smiled bitterly: "All is well? How easy is that? Outside the protected land, those endless corpses are becoming increasingly rampant, attacking our tribe's defenses day and night. So many fine young men... Alas!"

His cloudy eyes were filled with worry. "I heard that the barrier of the Protected Land has also malfunctioned and is unable to withstand the corpses from the Fallen Immortal Land. If this continues, I'm afraid..."

The old man said nothing more, but Jiang Wen understood.

After bidding farewell to the old man, Jiang Wen strolled over to the gathering area of ​​the Baihai tribe.

Several members of the Hundred Seas Clan were displaying some dazzling pearls and corals imbued with the spirit of water, but their expressions were not as joyful as those of other tribes that had made a harvest; instead, they carried a deep sense of anxiety.

A beautiful woman from the Hundred Seas Clan with pale blue scales behind her ears was explaining something to a Feathered Clan member while holding a Sea Spirit Pearl with a somewhat dull luster. Her tone was filled with barely concealed urgency.

Jiang Wen stepped forward, feigning interest in a blue scale, and struck up a conversation with the woman. The woman's name was Xi, and she was a priest candidate from the Baihai tribe.

"These scales... seem to lack spiritual energy?" Jiang Wen picked up a scale and sensed the faint water elemental energy within it.

A hint of sadness flashed across Xi's face: "You have a good eye, esteemed guest. To be honest, the power of my Baihai tribe has recently been declining drastically, and the vitality of the protected land is also slowly fading. The elders have tried everything, but they can't find the root cause, which is truly distressing."

She looked at Jiang Wen with a glimmer of hope in her eyes, "Honorable guest, you are very knowledgeable. Have you ever heard of a similar situation?"

Jiang Wen pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "This matter is quite strange, and we need to see it for ourselves to know the truth."

In the days that followed, Jiang Wen recuperated in the first level of heaven, using the materials he had acquired to refine pills and stabilize his cultivation, while also keeping an eye on news of Jiang Wenji's descendants.

He tried to subtly inquire with the elders of various clans about whether there were any clans with surnames similar to Jiang or Ji, or those that inherited special ancient methods of Taicang, but he came up empty-handed.

The path to immortality is not permanent; according to the records of various tribes, it lasts for ninety-nine days. As time passed, although the first heaven was vast and boundless, containing countless opportunities, it held little appeal for Jiang Wen at this point. He was slightly worried about the predicaments faced by the various tribes, especially the Baiyi and Baihai tribes.

On this day, he sought out the elders of the Baixi tribe and explained his intention to leave.

"You want to use the power of the Ascension Path to travel to Baiyi and Baihai?" The elders were somewhat surprised. "Although the Ascension Path can connect the areas near the protected lands of various tribes, it also carries risks and has a limited time."

“Precisely because time is limited, we need to go as soon as possible,” Jiang Wen said firmly.

Seeing that he was determined, the elders stopped trying to dissuade him and told him about the method of using the Ascension Path to Immortality to make short-distance cross-domain travel.

Jiang Wen first went to the Baiyi tribe. The light of the Ascension Path enveloped him, and after a spatial shift, he appeared in a mountain range.

The sanctuary of the Baiyi tribes is hidden deep within these mountains.

Guided by the Baiyi people, Jiang Wen entered the Baiyi Forbidden Land. This place was a world of its own, with mountains and rivers, and the cycle of the sun and moon, but the air was filled with a faint smell of decay, and in the distance came the occasional chilling roars, which were the corpses that were constantly attacking the tribe.

Jiang Wen took out the God-Slaying Whip, closed his eyes, and focused his mind, carefully sensing its power. The God-Slaying Whip resonated faintly with this ancient divine body, guiding him in a certain direction.

After an unknown amount of time, they arrived before a strange, mountain-like formation. Having spent a long time among the Baiyi people, he now knew which god inhabited their land. It was none other than the Heavenly King Duowen, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

The source of this filth was the brain of Vaishravana, unlike Vaishravana who had been beheaded. Jiang Wen looked at the source of the filth and confirmed that it was indeed there. The veins that should have flowed with pure divine blood were now blocked and corroded by a dark, filthy substance, emitting a nauseating stench and constantly breeding corpses from the outside world.

Jiang Wen's expression turned solemn as he activated the God-Slaying Whip. The runes on the staff lit up, casting a clear glow as it fiercely battled the filthy entity.

In the end, he managed to temporarily seal off the most important filthy channels, cutting off the source from which the corpses continued to breed.

During the cleansing process, he discovered several broken metal fragments deep within the Heavenly King's head, shimmering with a faint, precious light. They seemed to be the remains of a powerful magical artifact, but unfortunately, they had been completely destroyed and lost all their spiritual power.

At the same time, he also found a statue of Vaisravana that had been corrupted by filth. He put it away and nurtured it in his own divine sea.

"Thank you so much, Elder Jiang!" The Baiyi chieftain, having witnessed Jiang Wenting's temporary removal of the filth, was moved to tears. "Our Baiyi tribe can finally breathe a sigh of relief!"

Without stopping after leaving the Baiyi tribe, Jiang Wen immediately used the Ascension Path to head to the Baihai tribe.

The Hundred Seas Tribe's protected land is located deep within the vast and boundless Sea of ​​Return to Nothingness, and the protected land is the Heavenly King Guangmu.

Entering it is like stepping into a water-blue world, where the sky is flowing nectar and the earth is sparkling crystal coral.

However, this world, which should have been vibrant with life, appeared unusually weary. Many of the Hundred Sea Clan members were pale, their scales dull and lifeless, and the young children were particularly frail.

When Jiang Wen saw the colossal object that pierced the heart of Guangmu Tianwang and firmly pinned him to the eye of the Guixu Sea, he understood everything.

It was an ancient sword of indescribable size.

The sword is ancient and covered with rust, yet it still exudes a sharpness and deathly stillness that makes one's soul tremble.

Endless foul power seeped from the sword and the wound, polluting the divine blood of the Heavenly King Guangmu and eroding the very bloodline of the Hundred Seas Clan who depended on it for survival.

This sword is so magnificent that Jiang Wen, with his current cultivation level, simply cannot remove it.

He could only rely on the God-Slaying Whip once again to set up layers of sealing restrictions around the giant sword, temporarily curbing the spread of the corrupting power.

“This seal can only last for a hundred years at most,” Jiang Wen told the Baihai Clan Chief, his expression solemn. “Within a hundred years, we will need to find another way to completely resolve this issue.”

During the process of sealing the giant sword, he also found some fragments of the statue of Guangmu Tianwang and some scattered Daoist script nearby, which he collected one by one.

Faced with the predicament of the Hundred Seas Clan's bloodline being depleted, Jiang Wen pondered for a long time and decided to pass on the Four Symbols Battle Technique to the Hundred Seas Clan.

After all, the crisis of the Hundred Seas Tribes has temporarily ended, and the Four Symbols Battle Technique is just the right time. He also happens to be interested in promoting the battle technique to replace the bloodline method.

The method of bloodline is not a long-term solution; battle techniques and tactics are the foundation of all races.

Finally, Jiang Wen went to the homeland of the Bai Man tribe, which had been completely submerged by the Black Water.

He stood atop the mountain where the ladder to heaven had once been built, gazing down at the boundless black ocean, trying to find a way to purify this desolate place.

However, the black water was a chaotic mess beneath, making it difficult for divine sense to penetrate, and the deathly power it contained was far beyond his current capabilities.

He tried several methods, but all to no avail.

Just as he was pondering this, a thought struck him, and he sensed that the guiding force of the path to immortality was weakening.

The ninety-nine days are approaching.

Looking at this black, desolate zone that exuded an aura of despair, Jiang Wen could only sigh helplessly.

Dhritarashtra, the most renowned of the Four Heavenly Kings, has fallen in such a state. Whether this is a good thing, a bad thing, or the will of Heaven is unknown.

(End of this chapter)