Under One Person: I Opened the Age of Mythology

Chapter 578

The dust of the Kunlun calamity has finally settled, but the wounds of the Three Realms remain.

The Milky Way, once the lifeblood of heaven that nourished all living beings, now has many tributaries silted up and dried up, its riverbed exposed with ugly, dark brown scabs—the remnants of the chaos left by its rampage.

The turbid waves were silent, the underwater palace was desolate, and a deathly atmosphere prevailed. The newly appointed Demon-Subduing Marshal Nezha, his silver armor reflecting the faint light of the sky, stood solemnly on the cloud.

The Pure Lotus he held in his palm still had wisps of dark purple resentment lingering on its petals, yet a warm, clear light emanated from its heart.

The clear light illuminated his cold, stern face, and also reflected the silent, scarred river at his feet.

"The dredging of the Milky Way waterway, using the remaining power of this lotus as a starting point, begins!"

Nezha shouted, his voice shaking the heavens.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Pure Lotus slowly rose from his palm and hovered above the main vein of the Milky Way.

The lotus heart vortex slowly rotated, and an overwhelming suction force arose. The stubborn, chaotic liquid accumulated below was stirred and pulled up as if by an invisible giant hand, forming turbid undercurrents that were continuously sucked into the small vortex of the lotus heart.

Inside the lotus platform, the remnants of the "Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Array" formed by magical power roared into operation, with Dao patterns flashing.

The filthy, corrosive liquid, once it entered the lotus platform, was like boiling water poured on snow. It churned violently, shedding its evil purplish-black and crimson hues, being purified, refined, broken down, and recombined... In the end, it transformed into the purest wisps of ethereal energy, flowing from the slowly rotating lotus petals like newly born trickles of water back into the dried-up riverbed.

Where the clear stream flows, the dried-up riverbeds miraculously come back to life.

Tiny patches of green sprouted tenaciously on the exposed brown riverbed, the dormant aquatic algae reviving.

Fine ripples spread out, and beside the broken ruins of the water palace, several translucent, timidly peering "Jade Toads" tentatively leaped into the newly formed waters, stirring up tiny, joyful waves—a harbinger of the aquatic creatures' return.

The clear stream nourishes even further.

The rain poured into the once-thriving villages of the mortals, nourished by the "Yunmengze," a tributary of the Milky Way, and the cracked fields greedily drank in the sweet rain from heaven.

The withered yellow rice stalks turned green and sprouted ears. The farmer knelt on the newly softened muddy ridges of the field, tears streaming down his face. Several villages joined forces to collect the essence of the newly formed jade from Kunlun Mountain and cast a tall stone tablet that stood by the lake, inscribed with the two ancient and vigorous characters "Qingyuan," expressing gratitude for the Milky Way's revival.

Beside the monument, a weeping willow that survived the fire is sprouting its freshest new buds.

The waters of the Milky Way once again became the lifeblood that nourishes all things.

Deep within the Kunlun Ruins, the Golden Cudgel, once a pillar supporting the heavens, has shed its ferocious demonic patterns. Ancient primordial energy circuits now flow and flicker on its surface like golden blood vessels, radiating a profound and boundless vitality.

The Earth God, with his white hair and beard, leaned on his dragon-carved staff. His fingertips lightly touched the cold foundation of the sacred pillar. A gentle and vast primordial aura spread through his aged fingers, quietly resonating with the primordial power within him that originated from the earth.

"Old friends, the sacred stake has taken root; it is time for the earth's veins to be reborn!"

The Earth God's voice was not loud, yet it resounded throughout the main peak of Kunlun. A rumbling echo came from the depths of the mountains, the response of the mountain gods from all directions.

In an instant, countless halos of earthy yellow and cyan light rose from the mountains, large and small, gathered by the mountain gods and land deities mobilizing the earth's primordial energy.

The Earth God took a deep breath, slammed his dragon-carved staff into the ground, and guided a condensed, pure spiritual energy outward from the divine stake.

This clear stream no longer surges and roars like the Milky Way, but instead takes on a form as viscous as liquid gold and as heavy as the earth.

Like intelligent life roots, it burrows deep into the fragmented crust of Kunlun along the base of the divine pillar.

Wherever the pure golden liquid passed, the jagged abyss groaned, and the rock walls on both sides writhed, closed, and healed as if they were alive.

The black rock, deeply eroded by chaotic forces and riddled with honeycomb-like holes, peeled away piece by piece like a snake shedding its skin under the penetration of the golden liquid, revealing a brand-new rock layer that was warm and smooth like jade and contained spiritual light.

Upon closer inspection, tiny, stardust-like particles of chalcedony were condensing and growing within the newly formed rock strata—the very prototype of the Kunlun Spirit Jade vein, coveted by master craftsmen of the Three Realms.

A massive mountain that had once been cleaved in two by the power of chaos has, under the continuous nourishment of the pure spiritual energy, not only healed completely but also been covered with a layer of spiritual jade that shimmered with a bluish-white glow. It gleamed in the sunlight, like a deity whose severed arm had been reborn and covered with jade armor.

The withered cold pool in the mountains has been refilled with clear spiritual spring water, reflecting the snow-capped peak of the newly reborn Lingyu Peak.

The ancestral veins of Kunlun are undergoing a transformative rebirth.

Deep within the Tushita Palace, the Nine-Turn Purple Gold Eight Trigrams Furnace is at its most refined.

At the core of the furnace, the blazing Samadhi True Fire of the past is no longer present, but rather the mother core embryo that has been completely purified, leaving only the most primordial chaotic power.

It is shaped like a deep purple star that has contained all its dazzling brilliance, quietly floating and slowly rotating.

With a light wave of his whisk, Laozi instantly illuminated countless intricate and profound immortal runes on both the inside and outside of the furnace, layer upon layer, forming a vast and precise "Heaven and Earth Spiritual Source Array".

The core of the formation is that Chaos Mother Core.

As the array operated, each subtle rotation of the mother core seemed to harmonize with the rhythm of heaven and earth, releasing a pure and boundless spiritual energy. This energy was no longer violent, but was gently absorbed by the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Inside the furnace, the rare and precious materials needed to refine the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir were enveloped in pure spiritual energy, removing all impurities and allowing the medicinal properties to fuse at a speed and with a purity far exceeding that of previous fire-refining methods.

Furthermore, an abundant stream of pure spiritual energy, specially guided by Laozi, transformed into a visible pale blue spiritual stream that meandered through the many halls of the Tushita Palace and flowed directly into the depths of the Peach Garden.

In the Peach Garden, several ancient peach trees, which had survived the calamity of chaos and were on the verge of death, greedily absorbed the pure and ethereal energy that carried the meaning of the primordial chaos.

A miracle occurred: withered branches sprouted new green leaves, and old trunks shone with brilliance. Even more astonishingly, at the top of one of the peach trees, several crystal-clear, jade-like flower buds, unlike ordinary peach blossoms, sprouted in just a few days.

As the flower buds bloom, the fruit rapidly swells under the nourishment of the pure and spiritual energy day and night. Its skin displays a warm and flawless luster of mutton fat jade, while its interior faintly flows with a bluish-green spiritual light—the new seed is born, and Laozi bestows upon it the name "Jade Spirit Peach".

Upon hearing the news, the Queen Mother arrived. She lightly touched a nearly ripe jade peach, feeling the abundant yet gentle life essence it contained, and nodded in praise:
"This peach contains pure and spiritual essence; eating it can prolong life by a hundred years. It should be another precious treasure of our Heavenly Court."

The primordial core of chaos eventually became the inexhaustible source of spiritual water in the Tushita Palace.

In Beiju Luzhou, the once-vast rift valley, occupied by the Chaos Nest and spewing destructive slurry, has now been transformed. At the valley entrance stands a colossal stele erected by the celestial officials of the Medicine Palace and the heavenly soldiers under the Giant Spirit God, inscribed with the three ancient characters "Pure Karma Valley".

Inside the valley, the remaining chaotic earth fire was restrained and channeled by an ingenious array, no longer violent, and transformed into hundreds of gentle, crimson-gold warm currents that gurgled in the specially made black jade channels.

On both sides of the ditch are neatly cultivated medicinal gardens.

Those refugees who once suffered from the erosion of chaos and now work and live here are carefully planting various strangely shaped herb seedlings that emit a faint glow under the guidance of the Medicine Fairy. These are the "anti-evil spirit herbs" that the Medicine Palace has painstakingly cultivated, which can absorb and transform the evil energy from the ground and refine elixirs to cleanse the mind and purify the heart.

Deep within the rift valley, where the power of earth fire is most refined, a young man sits cross-legged on a naturally formed crimson jade platform.

He was the boy who had been imprisoned by the fragments of the Evil Moon Purple Crystal, whose pupils had once turned into chaotic vortexes.

Now his eyes have regained their clarity and are as clear as if washed clean, but his body faintly exudes a power fluctuation that is unusually compatible with the fire in the valley and even the remnants of chaos deeper inside.

He is the core guardian of "Pure Karma Valley".

The boy's eyes were slightly closed, and his breathing subtly synchronized with the pulse of the earth's lungs.

He didn't need to deliberately cast spells; his innate affinity acted as an invisible bridge and buffer, guiding the pure earth fire power, which was difficult for arrays and human power to fully control, into the Xuan Yu Ditch. At the same time, it fed back the pure spiritual energy flowing in the ditch and injected it into the depths of the restless rift valley veins, forming a delicate dynamic balance.

An elder of the Imperial Pharmacy stroked his beard and sighed, "If this child had not been born with a natural affinity for the power of chaos and the ability to harmonize yin and yang, it would have been difficult to pacify this valley. The hardships of the past have become the destiny of today."

In the valley, wisps of smoke rise from the newly built houses, and children run safely through the medicinal fields. This corner of Beiju Luzhou, which was once desolate and hopeless, has been reborn through labor and hope.

After the court proceedings in Lingxiao Palace ended, the newly appointed God of Justice, Yang Jian, with the light between his brows dimmed, stepped steadily into the solemn Temple of Justice.

On the jade table in the palace, the heavy Heavenly Laws Jade Book was spread out on a crucial chapter.

Yang Jian gathered divine light at his fingertips, slowly adding new legal texts to the jade book like a carving knife. The characters exuded a stern and impartial sharpness: "All cultivators in the Three Realms, regardless of whether they are immortals, mortals, demons, or monsters, who have the merit to purify the filth of chaos, deliver evil spirits and vengeful ghosts, or repair damage to the earth's veins, shall have their merits recorded and accumulated as 'Purifying Spirit Merits.' With these merits, one can, according to custom, draw spirit stones from the newly formed spirit jade mines of Kunlun Ruins; one can request the 'Purifying Heart Pill' made from anti-evil spirit herbs from the Medicine Hall; and one can enter the outer perimeter of the Tushita Palace to draw upon the pure spiritual energy to temper magical artifacts..."

Once the law was completed, the immortal script was imprinted into the jade book, transforming into a beam of clear light that entered the laws of the Three Realms.

The implementation of this method has been met with overwhelming positive feedback.

Beside a blackwater swamp in the Southern Continent, polluted by chaotic evil energy, several rogue cultivators joined forces to set up a "Spirit Guiding and Returning to Origin Array," gradually drawing away the pervasive resentful evil energy and guiding it into the array for purification.

The old Taoist priest, who was at the head of the group, looked at the "merit" points on the jade talisman in his hand, which were slowly increasing and shaped like a blue lotus, and a look of relief appeared on his tired face:
"With this meritorious deed, the main ingredient my disciple needed for refining the Core Formation Elixir has finally been found!"

Even more noteworthy is the border of Dongsheng Shenzhou.

Several plant spirits with considerable cultivation and who were usually well-behaved worked together to dredge and stabilize a spiritual spring vein that was on the verge of drying up due to the eruption of chaotic power.

After a careful inspection, the celestial general in charge of verifying the merits nodded in approval and handed a jade tablet bearing the seal of the Temple of Justice to the leading peach tree spirit: "Your merits have been achieved. According to the new law, you may take this tablet to the Kunlun Mountain God to register it in the 'Earth Vein Protection Department' for future records. You will then receive your Heavenly salary and cultivation provisions according to your department's duties."

The peach tree spirit accepted the jade tablet, its branches and leaves trembling slightly, while the several spirits behind it were even more excited.

After thousands of years of arduous cultivation, they finally saw a glimmer of hope that they would be formally accepted by the Heavenly Court and break down the barriers of their birth.

……

……

The celebratory banquet at the Qitian Palace had not yet faded, the lingering fragrance of the fine wine still lingering, and the newly sprouted jade peaches in the Peach Garden were still glistening with morning dew. Sun Wukong's figure had already quietly appeared in the sky above a wild mountain forest in the Southern Continent that had once been eroded by chaotic miasma and was now struggling to recover.

He did not perch high in the clouds, but stood firmly on the ground, his golden eyes scanning the scorched earth and the tender green shoots that stubbornly sprouted beneath his feet.

Several minor land deities and mountain spirits who were guiding the mountain spring to irrigate the barren soil were startled when they saw the imposing figure that carried a hint of barely perceptible fatigue. They hurriedly prostrated themselves in worship.

"Get up, all of you, and get on with your business."

Sun Wukong's voice was not loud, but it carried a comforting power.

He bent down, grabbed a handful of scorched earth, and rubbed it between his fingertips, feeling the remaining dryness and faint, struggling earth energy within it.

“This land is less damaged than Kunlun, but it has been ‘sick’ for a longer time, so we need to put in more effort.”

With a slight thought, he didn't remove the golden cudgel from his waist, but his intention had already spread throughout the Three Realms. A moment later, several figures arrived, breaking through the air.

Yang Jian's silver armor gleamed, and his third eye swept across the mountains and forests. He said in a deep voice, "The earth's veins here are blocked, and the spiritual energy is not flowing. We need to draw upon the clear spiritual energy of the Heavenly River branch and nourish it with Kunlun jade powder." His third eye could penetrate the earth's core and accurately locate the lesion.

Nezha rides on his Wind and Fire Wheels, and although the Pure Lotus in his hand has been returned to the Tushita Palace for nurturing, its purifying power has been integrated into the Heavenly River waterway.

He pointed to a murky stream in the distance: "There is still a trace of lingering poison at the source of this river. I will dispatch a naval force to cleanse it using the method of diverting the Heavenly River to purify the source, and then introduce water spirit algae to strengthen its foundation."

The Earth God arrived, leaning on his staff, followed by several mountain gods with steady auras: "This humble god has gathered the nearby mountain gods, who can work together to purify the shallow earth energy and guide the pure spiritual power brought by the Great Sage and the True Lord to permeate the fertile soil."

Sun Wukong nodded intently, his eyes gleaming: "Alright! Brother Yang Jian, guide the spiritual veins; Junior Brother Nezha, clear the river channel; the Earth God and the Mountain God, regulate the earth's energy—each of you perform your duties!"

He paused, then his voice suddenly rose, like thunder rolling across the mountains and forests, echoing throughout the vast wilderness: "All living beings here, whether spirits of plants and trees or human cultivators, who are willing to contribute, whether it be moving earth and stones, planting grass seeds, or dredging waterways, will be recorded as 'Qingling Merits'! I, Old Sun, will personally supervise the work!"

These words caused a stir in the mountains and forests.

The plant spirits that had been hiding peeked out, and the mortal villages nearby, hearing that the Great Sage had come in person and promised them merit, flocked to the village, led by respected elders, carrying hoes and shovels.

Some cultivators who had traveled to this place also appeared, some using minor teleportation techniques, others using minor life-giving spells.

A restoration project far exceeding the scale of the Pure Land Valley and any single deity's individual actions was launched under Sun Wukong's command and coordination.

(End of this chapter)