Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

Although the banquet afterwards was intended to maintain a lively atmosphere, the group was ultimately disinterested due to the matter of the Great Dao's pollution, and after a brief meal, they took their leave.

In front of the Taibai Star Lord's Mansion, the Floating Cloud Immortal Lord saw Ye Wenshu, Xiaogong, and Shen Yao off, as the three of them were about to set off for the Hundred Fruit Realm.

As the three departed, Immortal Lord Fuyun said to Jiang Sheng, "Heavenly Lord, please wait. There are some things I would like to discuss with you."

After a moment's thought, Jiang Sheng nodded and followed Immortal Lord Fuyun back to his residence.

In the Xianyun Palace, the original layout of the celestial banquet has been changed. The palace is shrouded in ethereal mist and clouds, with gauze curtains on all four sides, painted screens on the left and right, a cluster of real fire brewing tea in the middle, and two mats on both sides for the host and guests to sit on.

As Immortal Lord Fuyun prepared tea to entertain his guests, his usually smiling and amiable face now bore a hint of worry and solemnity: "True Lord Lingyuan, let's talk behind closed doors."

"Although my Zhenxiao Dao Sect has a shallow relationship with the Eastern Heaven, we are both Xuanmen and exist in the Three Realms. There are some things that outsiders do not understand, but you, True Lord Lingyuan, should know them clearly."

Jiang Sheng nodded. The Zhenxiao Dao Sect did not have a deep relationship with the Eastern Heaven, and it had indeed submitted to the Heavenly Court, but that did not mean that the Zhenxiao Dao Sect had become Shen Feixuan.

The Zhenxiao Dao Sect has never been as simple as just submitting to the Heavenly Court. In fact, the Zhenxiao Dao Sect is a bridge between the Eastern Heaven Daoist School and the Heavenly Court. There are many things that are difficult to say or do that are done by the Zhenxiao Dao Sect.

Just like the two Bodhisattvas in Shaoguang Realm, one in the Western Paradise and the other in the South China Sea, their purpose was to build a bridge between the Buddhist sect in the Western Paradise and the Heavenly Court, and even the Eastern Paradise.

The Northwest Kunlun Continent of the Queen Mother of the West actually serves the same purpose.

There are conflicts between the Taoists of the Eastern Heaven, the Buddhists of the Western Heaven, and the Heavenly Court, but the three are fighting but not breaking apart, a fact that Jiang Sheng is well aware of.

Seeing Jiang Sheng nod, Immortal Lord Fuyun breathed a sigh of relief, but still worried, "If it's just ordinary pollution of heaven and earth, that's fine, but if it's truly residual poison from Dao transformation..."

The most straightforward explanation of "the poison of the Dao" is the poison of the world produced after the Great Dao has become corrupted, polluting heaven and earth.

However, this is only the most superficial explanation of the lingering poison of the Dao. The key question, why the Great Dao became corrupted, is glossed over, as if deliberately erased.

After all, the Great Dao can be corrupted in many ways, the most common of which is the defilement of Heaven and Earth. This is caused by the accumulation of toxins in the world's embryonic membrane and the six desires and turbid thoughts of sentient beings overwhelming the membrane of Heaven and Earth.

In addition to these, there are other situations such as pure yang pollution and residual poison from Dao transformation, which Immortal Lord Fuyun did not elaborate on before, nor did Jiang Sheng explain them in detail.

It's best not to say too much before things are certain. After all, not telling Ye Wenshu, Xiaogong, and Shen Yao is actually a form of protection for them.

Now that Ye Wenshu and the others have descended to the mortal realm, Immortal Lord Fuyun needs to ask Jiang Sheng about some things to put his mind at ease.

Although both Pure Yang Pollution and Daoist Residual Poison are cases of the Great Dao being severely corrupted and subsequently polluting the world, there are differences between the two.

Pure Yang pollution can be seen as the Pure Yang being intentionally corrupting the Great Dao to destroy the world. It involves using Pure Yang supernatural powers and chaotic methods to influence the Heavenly Dao of a realm and pollute the laws of the Great Dao. This is a situation that can be controlled by humans. On the other hand, the residual poison of Dao transformation is when Pure Yang sacrifices its own life to completely corrupt the Great Dao.

A pure Yang life soul as a sacrifice can corrode large areas of the chaotic universe. Even the long river of time can be polluted, causing inexplicable ripples and corrupting countless spaces, not to mention the Great Dao and the Laws.

Once the residual poison of the Dao appears, all sentient beings who perceive its teachings and realize its Dao will unknowingly become carriers of pollution. At that time, not only the middle thousand worlds, but even the great thousand worlds will inevitably be completely corrupted and destroyed.

Previously, the Heavenly Demon Mo Xuan and the Demon Buddha Wu Jue corrupted the Hua Yang Realm and the Xuan Huang Realm, which was pure Yang pollution. They used their status as pure Yang cultivators to pollute and distort the Great Dao, thereby affecting a region of the Great Thousand World.

As a result, the Huayang Realm and the Xuanhuang Realm became corrupt and dilapidated, even the Heavenly Dao was polluted, the laws of the world were distorted, and even the fortunes of the two pure Yang lineages, the Yuanyang Dao Sect and the Yin-Yang Orthodox Sect, were shaken, indirectly leading to the fall of Feiyang Daojun and Hunxuan Daojun.

It can be said that the failure of the Nine Provinces Alliance was largely due to the efforts of Tianmo Moxuan and Mofo Wujue, two helpful allies invited by the Free and Unfettered Mystic Lord to specifically obstruct the path of Kaiyuan Tianzun.

However, even the Great Demon Lord, Tianmo Moxuan, and the Chaos Demon Buddha, Wujue, only influence the world with their own status and methods, which can only be considered as pure Yang pollution rather than the residual poison of Dao transformation.

If those two Great Heavenly Demon Lords and Chaos Demon Buddhas, who held Dao positions, were willing to relinquish their pure Yang positions and sacrifice their life souls and Dao fruits to transform into residual poison, then the Huayang Realm and the Xuanhuang Realm would likely have completely fallen into ruin, corrupting and degenerating into the depths of chaos, and might not have been able to recover for tens of thousands of years. Even if the Qingyan Heavenly Venerable and the Mingyang Heavenly Venerable, who held Dao True Yang positions in the Eastern Heaven at that time, had taken action, the Huayang Realm and the Xuanhuang Realm would not have been able to be saved intact.

Recalling the corruption of the Great Dao and the contamination of pure Yang that he had encountered during the Xuanmen Calamity, and the desolation and decay of the Huayang Realm and the Xuanhuang Realm, Immortal Lord Fuyun felt a chill run down his spine. He desperately wanted to get an answer from Jiang Sheng, the contemporary leader of the Eastern Heaven who had experienced the entire Xuanmen Calamity and personally witnessed the corruption of the Great Dao and the devastation of the Great Thousand Worlds.

After all, given Jiang Sheng's cultivation and vision, the accuracy of his predictions was more reliable than that of other celestial beings and gods in Heaven, and it was more likely to convince Immortal Lord Fuyun.

Faced with Immortal Lord Fuyun's question, Jiang Sheng remained silent for a while before saying, "Since Immortal Lord has spoken, I can only offer my personal opinion."

"If it is only heaven and earth that are tainted, then it is fine. It is nothing more than cleaning the heavenly way and purifying the world. Even if it is pure yang that is polluted, at most it is just purifying the laws and restoring the great way. It will be more troublesome and consume more rare and precious materials."

"But if it is the residual poison of Dao Transformation, then we need to investigate and understand the level of cultivation of that Dao Transformation being."

As he spoke, Jiang Sheng looked at Immortal Lord Fuyun and said solemnly, "In my opinion, no matter what the situation is, it is not something that you or I can handle. This matter should be reported to the Great Emperor of Longevity, who will personally go to the Chaos to investigate the situation of the Great Dao."

Immortal Lord Fuyun frowned: "You Eastern Heaven Daoists..."

Jiang Sheng shook his head: "The Eastern Heaven itself hasn't figured out its own affairs yet. If large-scale world pollution also occurs in the various realms under the Eastern Heaven, our Eastern Heaven's ancestors will definitely have to take action personally." "Immortal Lord, on this issue, no one can say for sure right now, and no one can help anyone else. Only when the situation is clear can we talk about anything else."

"If I were you, Immortal Lord, I would rather first recall the disciples scattered throughout the realms, set up various monitoring arrays using pure Yang methods, purify the Heavenly Pool, and check one by one whether their souls are corrupted or their Dao fruits are contaminated to avoid causing greater losses to the sect."

"There are already anomalies in more than ten worlds, so there's no need to drag more sect disciples into it."

"Otherwise, what would be the point of Her Highness Xuan Nu, Fairy Xiao Gong, and my disciple venturing alone into the Hundred Fruit Realm?"

Immortal Lord Fuyun was suddenly startled: "It was my oversight. Let them withdraw immediately!"

Upon receiving Jiang Sheng's reminder, Immortal Lord Fuyun immediately realized his oversight. Now that an elite force had already descended to the mortal realm to investigate the cause, there was no need to send more sect disciples into dangerous territory without knowing the situation. Otherwise, if a large number of disciples were unknowingly contaminated by the residual poison of Dao, the Zhenxiao Dao Sect would face the danger of its lineage being cut off.

Immortal Lord Fuyun took out a communication jade talisman and directly issued orders, instructing the sect to immediately set up an inspection array and purify the spirit pool, while recalling the sect disciples who were still investigating the situation outside the Three Realms.

In an instant, the disciples of the Zhenxiao Dao Sect in the Southern Universe, located outside the Three Realms, returned to the Three Realms. At the same time, Ye Wenshu, Xiaogong, and Shen Yao had already left the Three Realms through the Southern Heavenly Gate.

The World of Fruits.

In the past, the Hundred Fruit Realm was a fairyland with beautiful mountains and clear waters. It was also considered a place of outstanding beauty and spiritual energy among the three thousand worlds beyond the Three Realms. Otherwise, it would not have been chosen by the Heavenly Court as the realm for offering fruits.

Under the guidance of the Zhenxiao Dao Sect, the Hundred Fruit Realm, which became the realm of offerings to the Heavenly Court, developed extremely rapidly. The massive amounts of natural treasures that the Heavenly Court showered upon it made the Hundred Fruit Realm increasingly prosperous, and the Hundred Immortals Sect also reached its peak as a result.

However, the ensuing corruption of the world and the contamination of the Great Dao turned the Hundred Fruit Realm into a land of decay, and the Hundred Immortals Sect was powerless to reverse its decline.
Looking at the vast expanse of decaying land, the murky rivers, and the writhing, twisted creatures—whether fleshy lumps or something else—atop the distant barren mountains, Ye Wenshu felt a wave of filth and madness wash over her. It was the insane turbidity of the corrupted Heavenly Dao, the distorted laws of this world. As long as one remained in this Hundred Fruit Realm, under the constant pollution of the corrupted Heavenly Dao and distorted laws, even a Great Ascension Immortal would be prone to madness.

As the twisted, filthy, and insane thoughts transformed into a howling wind, a jade pendant with a black bird on Ye Wenshu's waist burst forth with mysterious light. The sharp and clear mysterious light transformed into a glass barrier, blocking all the corrupting and decadent thoughts that came towards her. However, as the twisted and filthy wind ravaged the barrier, even the glass barrier gradually became stained with rust, then turned into a scarlet and corrupt color, and finally cracked everywhere until it collapsed and shattered!

Just before the glass barrier shattered, Ye Wenshu suddenly flung out the jade pendant from her waist and drew her sword at the same time.

Amidst the fierce sword light, the cry of a black bird could be heard, and a majestic sword intent soared through the air, transforming into a magnificent and awe-inspiring force. In the next instant, an incomparably domineering and majestic sword aura slashed down from the sky, the sharp and fierce sword energy penetrating three million miles into the void, shattering the foul and raging wind in front of it, and also cleaving open the twisted and writhing mountain range in the distance.

The heavens and earth were torn open by Ye Wenshu's sword strike, revealing the boundary between reality and illusion. However, what was exposed between reality and illusion caused Ye Wenshu and the other two to frown deeply. There were twisted and chaotic tentacles of laws, countless filthy and frenzied vertical pupils, strange birds with sticky wings and spitting saliva, and ferocious beasts that wriggled and crawled like rotting flesh.
With just one glance, Ye Wenshu and the other two felt their souls and spirits were disturbed and their hearts were filled with nausea. Shen Yao immediately used his thunder magic to seal back the mad and filthy intent that was trying to surge out from between reality and illusion.

After taking a calming and refreshing Taiyin Pill, Ye Wenshu shook her head to dispel the dizziness and discomfort in her mind. She couldn't help but ask, "I heard that the Hundred Immortals Sect was personally selected by Taibai Xingjun to guard the Hundred Fruit Realm. How did Taibai Xingjun take a liking to the Hundred Immortals Sect?"

Xiao Gong also took the elixir to protect his mind and body. Hearing Ye Wenshu's question, he said helplessly, "Your Highness Xuan Nu may not know, but the Hundred Immortals Sect originated from a group of plant spirits who admired the Xuanmen and were dedicated to cultivating the Dao. After these plant spirits cultivated into human form, they banded together for warmth, and that's how the Hundred Immortals Sect came to be."

"It is not easy for plants and trees to attain the Dao. In addition, their hearts are turned to the Xuanmen. The Immortal Lord was grateful for Heaven's benevolence and also appreciated their sincere cultivation. So he allowed them to establish their own sect. These plant and tree spirits also know the kindness and have always been vassals of my Zhenxiao Dao Sect, providing my Zhenxiao Dao Sect with spiritual fruits and trees."

"Later, when the Heavenly Court selected the realm for offering fruit, the Immortal Lord also considered that this realm was rich in spiritual trees and immortal plants, and was also cared for by the spirits of plants and trees, which was considered to be uniquely endowed by Heaven, so he reported this realm to the Heavenly Court."

"Who would have thought they could cause such a huge mess?"

Shen Yao calmly replied, "It's not their fault."

"It is already difficult for a group of plants and trees to attain the Dao. They have the protection of the Zhenxiao Dao Sect in front and the Heavenly Court behind. Who would have thought that someone would dare to sacrifice billions of lives and corrupt an entire world?"

"Such a cause and effect relationship would cause even a pure Yang to lose a huge amount of merit and fortune. They, a group of plant creatures, only know how to cultivate and take care of fruit trees. They never imagined that someone would be so crazy."

As the reincarnation of the Heavenly Emperor of the Mountain and Sea Realm, Shen Yao's vision was far superior to that of Ye Wenshu and Xiao Gong. He could tell the painstaking efforts of Immortal Lord Fuyun just by glancing at the layout of this realm. The dilapidated arrays and ruined palaces and gardens were clearly the work of Immortal Lord Fuyun. Immortal Lord Fuyun truly cared for the plant spirits of the Hundred Immortals Sect, allowing them to focus solely on cultivation and tending to their fruit trees and spiritual plants, without having to worry about external dangers.

But who could have imagined that a being of pure Yang would attack a region of the Middle Thousand Worlds?
Ye Wenshu sighed upon hearing this. She had anticipated the difficulty of the Hundred Fruit Realm and listened to Jiang Sheng's instructions, but she never expected that the realm would be so devastated. The Hundred Fruit Realm was about to be completely corrupted and fall into the depths of chaos and the dark side of the universe!
With a flick of her sleeve, another jade pendant shaped like a black bird landed and hung perfectly on the golden feather belt of a flying phoenix at her waist. Ye Wenshu sheathed her sword, her eyes cold: "You two, be careful and cautious in everything you do. Focus on your own safety. Let's continue forward."

Xiao Gong and Shen Yao nodded, and the two of them also replaced their protective magic items. At the same time, Shen Yao took out three green talismans from his bosom and gave them to Ye Wenshu and Xiao Gong: "The talismans drawn by my master, although they do not have the effect of defending the mind, are excellent for attacking."

Upon hearing that the talisman was drawn by Jiang Sheng, Ye Wenshu took it and examined it. In just one glance, Ye Wenshu seemed to see a sword light containing overwhelming power slashing across time and space. This sword light was unstoppable and had nowhere to be avoided. It was targeting the enemy's true spirit and Dao fruit, intending to kill them all without mercy.

"call"

Exhaling a soft breath, Ye Wenshu didn't even realize that her forehead was covered in sweat: "What a sharp sword talisman! When did your master draw this talisman?"

Shen Yao recalled for a moment, somewhat uncertain: "It was about 150 years ago. At that time, my master broke through to the fifth level of cultivation. In order to calm his mind and stabilize his cultivation, he would draw talismans when he had nothing to do."

Ye Wenshu and Xiaogong exchanged a glance, feeling incredulous: the sword intent and power contained in this sword talisman had long surpassed the fifth tribulation level. Even an ordinary Mahayana cultivator might not be as powerful as this sword talisman when they used their full strength. Yet, this was something Jiang Sheng casually drew to stabilize his cultivation when he first broke through to the fifth tribulation.
But considering that the person who made the talisman was Jiang Sheng, the two felt somewhat relieved. However, they were still a little curious: Jiang Sheng, who had just broken through to the fifth tribulation realm, could draw talismans that were comparable to those of the Mahayana realm.

Now that Jiang Sheng has stabilized at the Fifth Tribulation Realm, what kind of methods does he possess? (End of Chapter)