Under One Person: I Opened the Age of Mythology

Chapter 603

"It's over...it's all over!"

Wang Huan's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face.

Several mortal cultivators ran in panic, calling for help, plunging the entire Yunjin Terraced Fields area into a quagmire of panic.

The Heavenly Court, at the core of the starry sky. The chaotic spiritual embryo, like a giant cocoon of light, guarding the Three Realms, has been pulsating peacefully, resonating with the vitality of the Three Realms.

Suddenly, without warning, it emitted an extremely subtle yet soul-piercing tremor!

Om-!
This tremor instantly spread to the vast starry sky that covered the three realms.

In the area where the starry sky shone down on the Kunlun Mountains, a patch of light that was originally flowing with soft starlight suddenly dimmed and became murky, spreading out a chilling gray color!

It's like a malignant sore suddenly appearing on a pure sky.

Inside the Temple of Law, on the main seat, the "Heart Scales" divine core embedded between Yang Jian's eyebrows suddenly shone brightly, its silver light like needles, piercing straight into his mind!
The divine essence rapidly activated, instantly traversing space and precisely anchoring itself to the source of discord that had stirred the gray spots on the starry sky and disturbed the peace of the spiritual embryo—the Kunlun Cloud Brocade Terraces.

The invisible weights on the scales of the heart fell, instantly weighing the culprit Wang Huan's侥幸 (a sense of luck or chance) born of his laziness, and his greedy heart that blatantly trampled on the laws of nature to make a grab!

"Unbalanced! Unjust takeover, plundering heaven and earth!"

Yang Jian suddenly opened his eyes, and his clear and majestic voice rang out in a corner of the Heavenly Court where chaos was just beginning to emerge, carrying the power of judgment that pierced through falsehood.

"This is the root of the problem!"

In the command center of Jingye Valley, the countless water mirrors formed from the essence of Weak Water in front of Chen Yu suddenly turned scarlet, and the piercing alarm shattered the peaceful spiritual mist in the valley.

The water mirror reflects the hellish scene of the Yunjin Rice Terraces.

"Yun brocade is in critical condition! Chalcedony rice has petrified, the earth's veins are contaminated, and the pollution is spreading!"

The voice of the cultivator who remained behind, transmitted through the jade talisman, was filled with a desperate sob.

"Dispatch! Highest level response!"

Chen Yu slammed his fist into the control core, his voice hoarse but resolute, the composure honed over ten years transforming into a thunderous decisiveness.

The command was instantly issued through the earth vein network that permeated the Pure Karma Valley:
"Ember! Earthfire burns away evil! Northern District Three, stop the pollution immediately!"

"Dragon Clan Ao Shun Tribe! Draw the Weak Water of the Heavenly River, targeting the Western Seventh District and the seepage slime zone, and flush and purify it with all your might!"

"Zhao Qian of Chisunahara! With the No. 1 Earth Vein Resonator, target the core earth vein node of the terraced fields, spare no expense to stabilize the resonance! Protect the earth's roots!"

The three commands, like three life-saving starlight beams, shot towards the remaining veins of Kunlun.

The first to arrive was the Flame of the Burning Demon. Jin's figure appeared above the terraced fields filled with thick smoke and a foul stench. The young man's face was ashen, and the earth fire mark in his eyes burned fiercely.

He formed a hand seal, drawing upon the power of the Karmic Fire Red Lotus hidden deep within his body to connect with the earth veins of the Pure Karma Valley.

"net!"

With a low shout, a pure, blazing white flame, like a tamed, angry dragon, roared precisely along the roots of the diseased rice plant.

The petrified rice ears turned to fly ash under extreme heat, and the mucus seeping from the roots was instantly evaporated and burned into nothingness smoke, preventing the spread of the most deadly pollution.

Where the flames passed, the earth was scorched black, but a trace of "cleanliness" remained after being forcibly disinfected.

Immediately afterwards, a dragon's roar shook the sky. The Heavenly River's Weak Water, like a silver waterfall from the heavens, was guided by the combined efforts of several dragons and surged into the area contaminated by the slime.

The waters of the Milky Way, which once brewed the fine wines of immortal banquets, have now transformed into the most raging torrent of purification.

Under the scouring of the weak water, the hardened and cracked soil was forcibly soaked and churned, as if undergoing a painful cleansing.

The pungent stench was diluted and carried away by the large flow of water, and the turbid mucus was carried by the water flow to the pre-designated isolation and purification pool downstream.

Amidst the rising steam, there was a foul odor, as if it had been forcibly stripped away.

Zhao Qian practically rode on the tail of the water dragon to reach the core node.

He was covered in dust, having traveled all night from the Red Sand Plain, his face etched with the marks of wind, sand, and anxiety.

Before he could catch his breath, he swiftly plunged the “Earth Vein Resonator” he had brought, which shimmered with the faint light of chaotic crystals, into the scorched earth.

"Solidate! Stay stable!"

Zhao Qian roared, his hands flying across the instrument's runes, veins bulging on his forehead, as he tried to forcefully restore the earth's resonance, which was on the verge of collapse due to excessive extraction.

The instrument emitted an overload hum, the Chaos Crystal flickered violently, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Zhao Qian's mouth.

The disorder of the earth's veins was like a raging wild horse. With just the resonance device and Zhao Qian's will, stabilizing the core was already the limit, but repairing it was beyond their capabilities!
Large areas are still slowly deteriorating.

Just as the battle reached its stalemate, purple clouds filled the sky, and the fragrance of cinnamon filled the air!

The Mysterious Furnace Boy descended from the heavens, stepping on the illusory image of a cauldron formed from the purple flames of the Tushita Heaven.

He came by the decree of Laozi, his small face tense, his eyes filled with a solemnity beyond his years and a hint of anger at being desecrated.

"Heaven and earth are not your private treasury! All things have spirits; how dare you take and plunder them so recklessly?!"

The boy shouted, his voice as loud as a great bell, which shocked Wang Huan, who was standing there dumbfounded, so much so that his soul almost left his body.

With a flick of his hand, a "Breath of Life Pill," the size of a longan and radiating a thick, earthy yellow glow and the green aura of a hundred herbs, transformed into a stream of light and precisely disappeared into the deep underground core node of the Earth Vein Resonance Instrument.

The elixir, once absorbed into the earth, was like sweet rain seeping into a long-parched desert.

A powerful, vibrant spiritual energy instantly rippled out from the depths of the earth!
The cracked, scorched earth greedily absorbed this power, and the hardened soil softened again at a visible speed. The dim spiritual light struggled to rekindle from the depths of the earth's veins, like a critically ill patient being injected with a stimulant.

Zhao Qian felt the pressure from the resonance device decrease sharply, and the chaotic and violent earth vein resonance gradually became calm and gentle under the nourishment of the elixir.

Yang Jian's figure appeared in the sky above the terraced fields, where the air was filled with the fragrance of cinnabar and the embers of water and fire intertwined.

The silver light swirled around the "Scales of the Heart" divine emblem between his brows, revealing Wang Huan's past laziness, present greed, and boundless fear and regret—all laid bare under the divine light. "Wang Huan!"

Yang Jian's voice was as cold as the Kunlun Mountains' ice, devoid of any emotion, yet it contained the absolute majesty of the laws of the Three Realms.

"You have taken advantage of the 'Seed of Source Power' to neglect your duties and recklessly alter the workings of nature. For your own selfish gain, you have forcibly seized the earth's veins, causing the spiritual fields to change, attracting gray spots to the star curtain, and disturbing the spiritual embryo! This is a desecration of heaven and earth and a violation of the fundamental law of 'giving and taking in a righteous way'!"

His gaze, sharp as lightning, pierced through Wang Huan's humble, prostrate figure: "According to the new chapter of the 'Three Realms Law,' the crime of 'dereliction of duty and greed for profit, bringing disaster to the world' is hereby decreed: Your celestial status and rank are stripped, and your mortal foundation is destroyed! You are punished to enter the Netherworld Purification Department to participate in 'karmic labor' to atone for your sins—to personally repair one hundred miles of barren and desolate land! Only when the one hundred miles of land regains its vitality and is covered with lush vegetation can your celestial destiny be reconsidered!" As soon as he finished speaking, a silver-gray chain of law emerged from the void, wrapped around the ashen-faced Wang Huan, and instantly swept him toward the Netherworld.

The dust has settled, leaving behind a scene of devastation.

With the combined efforts of Chen Yu, Zhao Qian, Jin, the Dragon Clan, and Xuanlu Tongzi, the pollution was completely removed, and the core of the earth vein stabilized under the nourishment of the Xirang Peiyuan Pill.

The terraced fields area has begun a difficult reconstruction.

At the edge of the new field ridge, a stone tablet made of black iron and Kunlun jade stands majestically and solemnly.

The inscription on the monument does not record merits, but rather originates from the "Nine Sincere Questions" that directly challenge the soul at the Ascension Platform:
Ask yourself, have you ever revered nature in what you have taken?
The second question I must ask myself is whether my actions have been tainted by any hidden greed or selfishness.
The three questions are: what do we seek, and where does our sincerity lie? Is it for the sake of all beings or for our own sake?
Four questions…

……

"Nine self-examination questions: Do you dare to face the scales of your heart?"

Every morning at the first light of dawn, a cultivator on duty stands before the monument, using spiritual power to resonate with their mind and recite the Nine Questions in a powerful voice, which echoes across the terraced fields.

Those words, like the morning bell and evening drum, struck the hearts of everyone who witnessed this disaster, deeply imprinting the word "reverence" into every inch of the sacred land of the Yunjin Terraces.

Above the starry sky, deep within the boundless chaotic radiance, Sun Wukong's figure floated silently, his golden eyes piercing through layers of space, witnessing the chaos, rescue, punishment, and rebirth below.

He witnessed Wang Huan's downfall and collapse, Chen Yu's decisive command, Jin's resolute act of igniting the earth fire, the arduous task of the Dragon Clan in controlling the Weak Water, Zhao Qian's painstaking efforts to stabilize the earth's veins, and even more so, the sorrow in Xuanlu Tongzi's eyes when he threw out the golden pill and the awe-inspiring divine might when Yang Jian delivered his judgment.

When the stone tablet bearing the "Nine Questions of Sincerity" was erected on the scorched earth, and the sound of recitation echoed for the first time in the morning light, a very subtle hint of approval seemed to flash across Sun Wukong's usually calm face.

He slowly raised his hand, a wisp of the most primordial, undifferentiated dark golden source power swirling around his fingertips.

The source energy was as light as smoke, yet heavier than stars, and he flicked it lightly with his finger.

The light fell silently, disappearing into the deepest part of the most severely damaged core soil, which had been almost burned into a glassy state.

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight shone into the Yunjin Terraces.

Under the gaze of countless weary yet hopeful eyes, a soft, diamond-like ray of light pierced the dust in the center of that scorched earth once covered in despair.

A newly sprouted rice seedling stands proudly in an unimaginable way!
It is completely translucent, as if it were carved from the purest chalcedony. On its stem, there are fine dark gold patterns that flow naturally. If you look closely, they can be seen to faintly echo the core patterns of the chaotic star curtain above the nine heavens!
A morning breeze blows, the rice leaves sway gently, and a unique, refreshing, and lingering fragrance of rice, as if it could cleanse the dust from the depths of one's soul, quietly spreads through the air.

Wherever the fragrance reaches, the restless mind is soothed, the chaotic thoughts are cleared, and even the spiritual plants that have just regained some vitality around them stretch out a few leaves under the nourishment of the fragrance.

This is no ordinary jasper rice. It is the response of the Star Curtain Source Force to this calamity, and the tangible gift of "sincere" power born from the courageous confrontation and thorough correction of "errors" by Chaos.

“Star-patterned rice…” Chen Yu murmured, his fingertips gently brushing against the cool, smooth, jade-like rice leaves, feeling the peaceful and vast power contained within them.

He looked up at the sky, where the vast starry sky still arched over the three realms, as if the breathtaking anomaly had never happened.

However, the rice stalk that shines like starlight on the ruins, and the lingering, calming fragrance of rice in the air, both reveal an irrefutable law: true protection begins with every solemn gaze upon heaven and earth; and the correction and repentance that originate from the depths of the heart are themselves a powerful force that shakes the rules and gives birth to new opportunities—the power of sincerity.

The starry sky was silent. The once conspicuous gray spots on it had completely disappeared in the steady pulse of the chaotic spirit embryo, leaving only the eternally flowing starlight, quietly watching over this land that had been reborn from its lessons.

……

……

at the same time.

Deep within the Netherworld, the Swamp of Wicked Souls, which has churned for millennia, is undergoing an unprecedented transformation.

"Ho-!"

The thunderous growl of a bear reverberated through the filthy, cold space.

His massive body, like a moving mountain, was deeply mired in the viscous, black mud. The muscles in his arms were bulging and taut, and his earthy yellow demonic power condensed into two giant divine palms, which were pressing firmly on the trembling purification array base in the center of the swamp.

The black mist, like a living venomous snake, frantically coiled and tore at his bare arms, leaving corrosive marks, but he seemed oblivious.

As demonic power continued to flow in, the light of the magic circle changed from a dim, yellowish hue to a clear, pale gold, and its range continued to expand.

The foul black energy shrouded in light churned violently, emitting a shrill and ear-piercing shriek, as if it had been thrown into the fires of purgatory, and was gradually drawn away, decomposed, and annihilated into nothingness, like wisps of smoke.

The murky mud settled like the receding tide, revealing the dark red, ghostly rock layer beneath, which had been stained for countless years.

Tiny, milky-white pure soul flames, like pearls long covered in mud, timidly flickered in the crevices of the rock, exuding a long-lost aura of peace.

At the edge of the swamp, beside several ancient cracks in the wells of reincarnation, several other giant demons of redemption were carefully filling the bottomless cracks that constantly oozed resentful and chilling energy by mixing their own demonic power with the powder of Netherworld Jade with the guidance of the Ghost Judge.

Their movements were clumsy yet incredibly focused, and each filling brought forth a soothing hum from the depths of the Reincarnation Well.

"Excellent! This thousand-year-old sore that has blocked the cycle of reincarnation is now showing signs of healing!"

One of the ghost judges in charge of supervision was so excited that his pen, used to record merits and demerits, trembled slightly.

The group of ghost messengers behind him, who were usually numb, now showed a rare look of shock and bewilderment in their eyes.

They were used to the wails of vengeful spirits and the cruelty of punishment, and never imagined that this place of despair could radiate such a faint but real "life force".

However, this newfound "vitality" was nothing short of a wildfire that would destroy the very foundation of their power in the eyes of several ancient beings among the Ten Kings of Hell!
The deepest part of the Yama Palace, the Senluo Palace, is chilled to the bone.

There were no candles in the hall, only eighteen ghostly lamps hanging from the ceiling, casting a pale green, flickering light that illuminated the ashen, distorted face of the king on the throne—King Qin Guang, Jiang Ziwen.

His withered, claw-like fingers were tightly gripping a secret report presented by his trusted judge, which detailed the "achievements" of the redeemers in the Swamp of Wicked Souls, and the resulting decline in resentment in various prisons and the idleness of the ghost messengers.

Even more jarring was the assessment: if the redemption system were fully implemented, nearly half of the functions under the jurisdiction of the Ten Kings of Hell would be replaced!

(End of this chapter)