Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

The spiritual power of Qi Refining disciples is weak, and it dissipates almost completely within a few days.

Foundation Establishment cultivators possess much more condensed spiritual energy, with each strand resembling an invisible fragment of a sharp sword.

It requires careful use of spiritual energy to neutralize or dispel it, or simply to temporarily seal it with an array and let time wear it down naturally.

This process takes several years, and the traces are difficult to erase.

The true problem lies in the demonic power of third-tier demonic beasts.

The powerful demonic energy that seeps into the soil and river water has little effect on ordinary spells.

The Core Formation technique that Lin Zhao witnessed in the secret realm hadn't disappeared for a thousand years because the secret realm was too small, and the power of heaven and earth wasn't enough to wear it down.

This is a truly vast world, where the power of heaven and earth is immense, but without human intervention, it would take hundreds of years for this power to be worn away by the winds and rains of heaven and earth.

Finally, with no other option, the group had to activate the third-tier spirit boat again, using its own spiritual energy field to perform a large-scale purification.

The spirit boat cruised slowly at low altitude, its runes fully activated, casting a gentle yet powerful purifying light. Wherever it passed, the unsettling demonic energy was forcibly dispelled.

Even so, Pei Yue estimated that it would take more than ten years for the demonic power to be completely purified.

There wasn't enough time to set up some remote areas, so we could only put up a few simple warning and isolation formations to prevent ordinary people from accidentally entering.

Despite their best efforts, as the one-month deadline approached, this hundred-mile-long battlefield had finally changed its appearance.

The deep pit is gone, and the riverbed is now confined to a more solid new riverbed, although the land remains barren.

But on the surface, the feeling of the post-war period is no longer visible.

The group boarded the spirit boat to prepare for their return journey.

Lin Zhao stood at the ship's railing and took one last look at the land below that was slowly "healing".

Looking at the newly built river embankments, he suddenly thought of his hometown—the Yunxia Mountains.

The Cloud Domain is quite large, but its environment is harsh. The spiritual energy is turbulent, and the demonic beasts are easily enraged.

There are few places for ordinary people to live in the mountains. There is only the Great Yun Dynasty in the north, and they must always be on guard against the invasion of monsters.

Lin Zhao used to think it was just due to the special geographical environment, that it was something she was born with.

But now, having witnessed firsthand the destruction that Core Formation cultivators inflict on the landscape and environment, a thought popped into his head:

Could the environment of the Yunxia Mountains not be naturally occurring at all?

He recalled the "Wind Spirit Canyon," a long, winding canyon stretching for dozens of miles and perpetually swept by fierce winds, not far from Qingfeng Market.

The rumors circulating among the people say that these are traces left behind after two Nascent Soul stage experts fought a long time ago.

Then I thought of the Black Fiend Stone, a specialty of the Cloud and Mist Mountains, which could incite monsters to go berserk...

There are also black fiend mineral veins existing beneath the mountains...

The relentless beast tides year after year...

All the clues seem to be connected by an invisible thread.

"Could it be... that the root cause of the harsh environment of the entire Yunxia Mountain Range is a 'aftereffect' left by a battle at the Nascent Soul level?"

"The Black Fiend Stone vein—is this the price of that great war?"

Lin Zhao was startled by her own association.

If that's the case, then the cultivators and mortals living in the Cloud and Mist Mountains have actually been living under the influence of some kind of war for generations.

After the spirit boat started, it broke through the clouds.

The mountains and rivers below rapidly shrank.

Lin Zhao withdrew his gaze, but the conjecture that was close to the truth remained in his mind.

The world of cultivation seemed to be more complex and cruel than he had imagined.

The spirit boat, carrying tens of thousands of disciples, transformed into a streak of light on the horizon and vanished completely.

Above the battlefield stretching for hundreds of miles below.

Ripples appeared in the air once again.

The figure of Master Mingjing quietly appeared, followed by four other Golden Core cultivators and hundreds of Foundation Establishment instructors.

They stood in mid-air, looking down at the land below, which had been initially cleared by their disciples.

The air still retained faint traces of demonic energy and mixed spiritual energy fluctuations, but the overall sense of environmental destruction had been greatly reduced.

An instructor stepped forward and asked, "Master, how should we evaluate the grading of this major exam, especially the final handling?"

Master Mingjing's gaze swept over the newly built river embankments, the filled-in pits, and the isolation and warning formations at the edges. His face remained expressionless as he simply said, "The total score of all participating disciples in the final assessment will be increased by 10%."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding instructors all smiled knowingly.

According to sect practice, the maximum bonus for this "cleanup" step is 10%.

Master Mingjing gave it the highest rating, clearly quite satisfied with his disciples' actions in clearing the battlefield.

That makes sense when you think about it.

As the de facto ruler and protector of Yunzhou, the Yunhai Cangming Sect has a responsibility to protect the hundreds of millions of mortals within its territory.

The villagers along the coast who were "disappeared" beforehand were transferred and protected by the sect's stewards.

The disciples' awareness and action are more important to the sect than killing the monsters.

For the sects that rule over the entire Yunzhou, a territory spanning millions of miles and comprising one hundred and thirty-eight domains,

How many spirit stones are a mere third-tier demonic beast worth?

It wasn't even enough to cover the appearance fees of a few Core Formation cultivators.

"We'll handle the rest." Master Mingjing said no more and took a step forward.

The five Golden Core cultivators moved with ease.

In an instant, they gained control of the spiritual energy within a hundred-mile radius.

With a flick of his sleeve, a master silently destroyed the simple array set up by the disciples below.

The third-tier demonic power sealed within the formation rapidly dissolved and was then purified.

If the disciples were to do this, it would probably take several years of hard work and be fraught with danger.

The process of reshaping the terrain is even easier and more pleasant.

As soon as a master looked at the huge cracks and pits that the disciples had failed to fill due to exhaustion, the soil and rocks on both sides seemed to come alive, automatically filling and compacting them, without showing any trace of repair.

The river, which was still somewhat turbulent after the diversion, was gently "smoothed" by an invisible force, and the water flow became gentle.

Another real person, with fingers held together like a brush, sketched in mid-air, and points of light flew from their fingertips, landing on the ruins of the village.

The light immediately spread upon landing, transforming into clear rays that outlined the contours of houses, roads, and waterways.

Immediately afterwards, the soil, wood, and stones seemed to be manipulated by an invisible, skillful hand, rapidly "growing" and "piling up" along the trajectory of the light!

In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, rows of brand-new villages, larger, more orderly, sturdier, and more rationally laid out than before, have sprung up from the ground.

There are even several times more planned fertile fields.

The most astonishing part was the final step. A Jurchen woman, who had remained silent throughout, gently raised her hand, and streams of vibrant green light, brimming with life, fell like a gentle rain.

The scorched earth, ravaged by the great war and almost devoid of life, visibly shed its dead grayness, revealing the dark color of the soil once more. Some tender shoots even broke through the soil in the fields, quickly growing and maturing.

The entire process was devoid of any earth-shattering fanfare, but rather possessed a subtle yet profound and transformative power.

The five True Immortals worked in perfect harmony, their every gesture exuding a natural Daoist charm. Meanwhile, hundreds of Foundation Establishment instructors were scattered in all directions, responsible for handling even the most minute environmental details.