Earth Vein as Strings (Part 1)

Deep within the Mount Li Imperial Mausoleum, at the end of a dark passage.

A massive Black Iron Gate slowly opened, releasing a chilling miasma mixed with the musty scent of earth that had settled for millennia. Meng Tian held the Ancestor Dragon Token, its dark gold light flowing, dispelling the darkness. Beyond the gate was not a grand underground palace, but a natural stone cavern spanning several yards. The cavern walls were rough, with only a pool of milky white water, about a foot square, at the center. The water shimmered with a warm, jade-like luster, emitting an aura of pure, vast, and majestic righteousness—this was the core of the Mount Li Dragon Vein, an Earth Vein Dragon Source untouched by pollution!

At the edge of the stone pool, Cheng Xi was placed on a warm Ink Jade Platform. He remained unconscious, his face ashen, dark red Turbid Evil veins spreading like a spiderweb beneath his skin, a deathly sense of sinking almost consuming him. Only deep within his brow, a faint gray spark of the Chaos Origin Point pulsed weakly, stimulated by the aura of the Dragon Source.

Meng Tian took a deep breath, his expression as grave as iron. He raised the Ancestor Dragon Token high. The mysterious dragon patterns on the token resonated with the Dragon Source power in the stone pool, emitting a low dragon's roar. He spoke in a deep voice, "By Royal Command! Draw forth the Dragon Source energy, seal the evil, and stabilize the Dao Foundation! Rise—!"

Buzz!

The token's light blazed! The calm milky white water in the stone pool churned violently! A condensed, almost tangible pale golden Dragon Qi was drawn by the token, rising slowly like a waking young dragon, carrying supreme majesty and profound vitality, descending towards the Dantian of Cheng Xi on the jade platform, pouring into him!

The moment the Dragon Qi touched his body, Cheng Xi trembled violently! The dark red Turbid Evil veins beneath his skin writhed and thrashed like live snakes thrown into boiling oil! They emitted a "sizzling" sound of corrosive resistance! The Dragon Qi represented order, stability, and imperial authority, clashing irreconcilably with the chaotic, disordered remnants of Chaos Earth Fiend and the turbid, heavy Turbid Fiendish Power within Cheng Xi! Repulsion and conflict erupted instantly!

"Ugh..." Cheng Xi let out a pained groan in his unconscious state, black blood flecked with dark gold spilling from the corner of his mouth. The infusion of Dragon Qi was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a boiling oil pan; it brought not relief, but more intense conflict and pain!

Meng Tian gritted his teeth, maintaining his hold on the token, veins bulging on his forehead. He could clearly sense the fierce struggle between the Dragon Qi and the evil power within Cheng Xi, each impact causing Cheng Xi's life force to flicker like a candle in the wind. This seal was like forcibly building a wall on a collapsing dam, incredibly perilous!

However, amidst this intense repulsion and pain, the dormant gray spark of the Chaos Origin Point deep within Cheng Xi's brow began to operate at an unprecedented, super-speed!

Repulsion... conflict... energy attributes... Dragon Qi flow trajectory... Turbid Evil contamination nodes... violent factors of Chaos Earth Fiend remnants...

Countless pieces of information were frantically captured, decomposed, and modeled within the gray spark! Like the most precise scanner, it analyzed and reconstructed the Dragon Qi energy field pouring into the body, his own chaotic force field, and the structure of the Turbid Evil seal, in the form of pure data streams!

Deep within the gray spark, a three-dimensional dynamic model composed of pure energy lines was rapidly taking shape! At the core of the model was Cheng Xi's own collapsing Dao Foundation and Meridian Network, surrounded by the pale golden energy flow representing Dragon Qi, and within it, coiled in his Dantian, were the dark red filth representing Turbid Evil and the gray-gold restless energy of the Chaos Earth Fiend remnants!

Where were the points of repulsion? What was the threshold for conflict? Could... a dynamic balance be found, or even... could this Dragon Qi be used to scour and suppress the Turbid Evil instead?!

The gray spark's deduction entered a white-hot phase! It was no longer passively receiving, but actively analyzing, calculating, and searching for that sliver of possibility! The core ability of the Chaos Origin Point, to analyze all things, was pushed to its extreme under the threat of death!

The withered Demonic Locust Tree stood like a giant tombstone in the center of the desolate forest. Its charred branches wailed in the wind, and a decaying scent permeated the air.

Yan Lingji stepped barefoot across withered branches and fallen leaves, her orange-gold eyes sweeping over this land of deathly silence. The guidance from Pangu Hall pointed clearly underground—the slumbering Demonic Root was the last lingering poison of the corruption.

She stopped before the large mound of earth where the main root of the Demonic Locust Tree bulged. There was no need to dig; her bloodline's senses for earth and fire had already clearly outlined the contour of the main and lateral roots coiled deep underground, covered in dark gold keratin, like a poisonous dragon in hibernation. Cold, greedy, and waiting for an opportunity.

"Where filth gathers, it shall be... burned with Kindling Fire!" Yan Lingji's voice was clear and cold, filled with resolve. She sat down cross-legged, placing the cracked Qingping Sword Sheath horizontally before her. She formed a hand seal, and the orange-red Kindling Fire Heart Lamp at her chest instantly lit up! The emerald core within the lamp flame (the imprint of Tongtian Sacred Blood) circulated, imbuing the fire with a more refined will to repel evil!

She did not attack directly, but sank her consciousness into the earth. The orange-red fire flowed from her Heart Lamp, following her palms pressed against the ground, like countless warm and tenacious root tendrils, silently seeping into the soil, winding towards the dark gold Demonic Root deep underground!

The fire was formless, its intent was to burn! The power of the Kindling Fire targeted not the physical body, but... the origin of filth and chaos!

Buzz!

Deep underground, the coiled dark gold Demonic Root trembled violently! The thick keratin layer covering its surface, under the intent-scorching of the orange-red fire, actually emitted a faint "sizzling" sound, as if being corroded by invisible acid! A burning pain and sense of disgust originating from its core was transmitted along the Demonic Root to its core—a rice-sized dark gold core!

The dark gold core suddenly lit up! A violent, chaotic demonic intent erupted! It attempted to resist this all-pervasive Purifying Fire! The Demonic Root writhed and pierced through the soil like a startled venomous snake, trying to shake off the fire's embrace!

"Hmph!" Yan Lingji grunted, her face slightly pale. The Demonic Root's resistance was extremely fierce, and the impact of its chaotic demonic intent made her mind tremble. But her eyes were firm, and the orange-red light of her Heart Lamp intensified! Behind her, a blurred phantom figure made of fire, with a human head and snake body, vaguely appeared—this was the initial manifestation of Zhurong Ancestor Witches' power after her bloodline had been refined!

The phantom's snake tail swayed, merging with the earth. Yan Lingji's perception and control over the Earth Vein instantly increased! She guided the orange-red fire, no longer scattering it to scorch, but concentrating it into countless fine fire needles, precisely piercing the extremely subtle energy nodes exposed on the Demonic Root's keratin layer as it writhed wildly! These nodes were the hubs through which the Demonic Root absorbed and converted corrupted energy!

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

The sound of invisible scorching and annihilation erupted densely underground! The writhing of the dark gold Demonic Root intensified drastically, emitting a silent wail! The places on the keratin layer hit by the fire needles quickly turned gray and lost their luster! Its efficiency in absorbing and converting corrupted energy was forcibly interrupted and weakened!

The dark gold core thrashed wildly, releasing even more intense chaotic demonic intent, attempting to repair the damaged nodes and even reverse-corrode the orange-red fire! But the emerald core of the fire circulated, the sharpness of the Sky-Severing Sword Intent faintly appearing, stubbornly blocking the corrosion of the demonic intent!

A silent tug-of-war unfolded fiercely deep beneath the ground on the northern foothills of Mount Li. The Kindling Fire purified, pressing forward step by step; the Demonic Root resisted stubbornly, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack. Beneath the withered giant tree, Yan Lingji sat like a stone, orange-red flames rising around her, forming a stark contrast with the cold, dark gold demonic intent underground.