Phoenix Cries in the Southern Border, Wisdom Travels Far

The secret envoys sent by the Dragon Palace to the Immortal Volcano endured great hardships, traversing countless perilous seas and rugged continents, finally arriving at the Southern Border holy land, which was shrouded in flames and rosy clouds year-round.

However, they were unable to see the Phoenix Clan Chief as they had hoped, nor could they even step into the core region of the Immortal Volcano.

They were received by a Phoenix Elder only within a Guest Reception Hall constructed from burning Sacred Wutong Tree wood on the outskirts.

This elder was bathed in golden flames, his aura ancient and noble, his eyes carrying that indifference typical of the Phoenix race, as if looking down upon all beings.

He did not look at the heavy gifts brought by the Dragon Envoy; he merely picked up the secret letter from Ao Guang with his fingertips. With a sweep of his divine sense, a faint, mocking curl appeared at the corner of his lips.

"The heart of fellow Daoist Ao Guang is known to our clan."

The Phoenix Elder's voice was like jade striking jade—clear, cold, and pleasant, yet laced with detachment. "However, since the Great Ancient Calamity, the Phoenix race has retreated to the Southern Border and no longer treads in the strife of the mortal world.

The cause and effect between the Dragon Race and the Myriad Dao Academy is a matter of the East Sea, and it has nothing to do with our Immortal Volcano."

He rejected the Dragon Race's proposal for an alliance directly, his tone resolute and leaving no room for negotiation.

The Dragon Envoy was anxious and hurriedly said, "Elder, please see clearly! That Sage Wanhua acts tyrannically, treating the Ancient Order as nothing. Today, he can refine the Dragon Race Water Army over a single disagreement.

If his Dao Lineage flourishes in the future, who is to say he will not covet the pure land of the Southern Border and shake the foundations of the Phoenix race? This is not a matter of a mere corner of the East Sea; it concerns the future of all Innate Venerable Gods!"

Hearing this, the golden flames in the Phoenix Elder's eyes flickered slightly, yet he remained indifferent. "The Primordial World is vast, and the Dao follows Nature.

Where there is new birth, there is old passing; this is the fundamental principle of Heaven and Earth.

Sage Wanhua can attain the Primordial Chaos, which has its own logic. Whether his Dao Lineage conflicts with our Phoenix race is yet to be seen. Even if that day truly comes..."

He paused, and a dignified aura that looked down upon the universe suddenly surged from his body. The temperature of the entire Guest Reception Hall soared, and the space itself distorted slightly. "My Immortal Volcano is not something the Dragon Palace can compare to!

The flames of the Phoenix race can burn everything to ash, yet we can also be reborn through nirvana! Why would we need to borrow external force to protect ourselves?"

The confidence and pride in these words surpassed even those of the Dragon Race, yet they also clearly drew a line in the sand.

The Phoenix race had its own dignity and foundation; they were unwilling, and indeed disdained, to bind themselves to the fallen Dragon Race at this moment to provoke a Primordial Chaos Sage of unknown depth.

The Dragon Envoy wanted to speak further, but the Phoenix Elder had already flicked his sleeves and stood up. "See them out."

Two Phoenix Race Guards wreathed in blue flames appeared silently, gesturing for them to leave.

The Dragon Envoy was filled with unwillingness and humiliation, but he dared not act recklessly in the holy land of the Phoenix race and had to depart in dejection.

The first important external contact ended in total failure.

When the news reached the Dragon Palace, Ao Guang remained silent for a long time, finally letting out a long, powerless sigh. The road to an alliance was far more difficult than he had imagined.

Academy practice, first steps into the Primordial World

At the same time, the "Unity of Knowledge and Action" philosophy of the Myriad Dao Academy, under the promotion of Xuanjizi, was no longer limited to the Trial Zone on the outskirts of the academy.

With the tacit approval of Wanhua, he selected several disciples with stable Literary Palaces and resilient minds to form a small "Action Team," preparing to truly step into the Primordial World to put what they had learned into practice.

Their first target was chosen at a place called "Black Tooth Marsh," ten thousand miles away from the academy.

According to a Lesser Demon who came to the academy for help, the place was once lush with water and grass, home to several weak Demon Race tribes and branches of the aquatic race.

But in recent years, a strange "Bone-Corroding Black Miasma" had inexplicably grown in the marsh, not only polluting the water and eroding the land but also causing the creatures living there to grow increasingly weak and even die for no apparent reason.

The local creatures had nowhere to turn, and upon hearing the holy name of the Myriad Dao Academy, they came with a sliver of hope.

Xuanjizi believed that dealing with such natural evil miasma was an excellent opportunity to verify the Confucian Dao concepts of "Investigating Things to Attain Knowledge" and "Benevolent Heart to Aid the World."

The Action Team was led personally by Xuanjizi, with members including Elder Teng, who was skilled in perception and the Dao of vitality, and Yun Xi, who was adept at dredging and purifying water veins.

There were also several disciples who excelled in "Each Word a Pearl" and the manipulation of Literary Qi.

They did not ride an Evasion Light to attract attention but arrived at Black Tooth Marsh low-key, like ordinary traveling cultivators.

The scene before them was shocking. The land that should have been a marshland was now largely shrouded in a viscous, pitch-black mist that emitted a scent of decay.

The water was turbid, the grass and trees on the banks were withered, and occasionally, the pale skeletons of fish, shrimp, and aquatic creatures could be seen—a scene of death and desolation.

"Investigate Things!" At Xuanjizi's command, the disciples displayed their respective skills.

Elder Teng extended his aged vines into the edge of the black miasma, carefully sensing its composition and flow; Yun Xi condensed Literary Qi, attempting to analyze the polluted water source;

The other disciples observed the terrain, recording the patterns of the miasma's spread.

They discovered that this black miasma was not merely poisonous gas; its core seemed to contain a strange law that twisted and devoured vitality, and the source was likely deep within the swamp.

"To know the 'what,' one must also know the 'why,'" Xuanjizi said in a deep voice. "We must go deep into the marsh to find the root cause before we can cure it."

This was undoubtedly full of danger. The black miasma had a certain corrosive effect on Literary Qi, and the terrain of the swamp was complex, potentially hiding fierce beasts born from the environmental mutation.

But no one in the Action Team retreated. They protected their bodies with a Literary Brilliance Barrier and, holding Literary Treasures refined by the Dragon Race Water Army, carefully advanced toward the depths of the swamp.

Along the way, they encountered several attacks from Demon Beasts that had lost their minds due to the miasma, all of which were repelled or bound by "Tongue-and-Sword" without taking their lives.

Instead, they attempted to purify them with words containing the principles of "Clearing the Heart" and "Calm Spirit," and although the effect was limited, it was a manifestation of a "Benevolent Heart."

After several days of searching, they finally found it at the bottom of a mud pool that was constantly bubbling with black foam.

They found a "Source of Filth" that was constantly emitting strange black energy—a broken bone stained with the Remnant Soul of an Ancient Demon God!

Resolving the filth, the power of the Literary Dao manifests

Having found the root cause, they had a way to solve it. Forcibly destroying it might trigger a backlash from the remnant soul, affecting a wider area.

After consulting with everyone, Xuanjizi decided to use the methods of the Confucian Dao to "purify" and "seal" it.

They used their own Literary Palace as a conduit, mobilizing vast amounts of Literary Qi to lay down a Righteous Heart Demon Purging Array around the Source of Filth.

The array was not designed for brute-force attacks; instead, it utilized the upright and tranquil Literary Radiance Dao Charm to continuously wash away and erode the baleful energy and twisted laws within the Remnant Soul of an Ancient Demon God, much like a frog being boiled in warm water.

Elder Teng infused the vitality of his Benevolent Resilience Literary Heart into the array to counter the remnant's ability to devour life force.

Yun Xi invoked the principle of clear water to purify the contaminated water essence, while the other disciples chanted Confucian Dao passages imbued with the righteous energy of heaven and earth in unison, triggering a resonance of principles to bolster the power of the array.

This was a slow and mentally exhausting process. The disciples of the Action Team took turns in shifts, working day and night for forty-nine full days!

During this time, the Remnant Soul of an Ancient Demon God erupted several times, causing the black miasma to surge wildly and manifest various terrifying demonic shadows to assault the array, all of which were repelled by the disciples through their steadfast Literary Hearts and exquisite coordination.

Xuanjizi even used the Startling Dragon Brush several times to write the true mantra of "Righteousness," forcibly suppressing the counterattacks.

At noon on the forty-ninth day, when the energy of extreme Yang was at its peak, the black aura on the Source of Filth was finally purged completely, and the bone fragment turned into dust, dissipating into nothingness.

The Bone-Corroding Black Miasma that had shrouded Black Tooth Marsh for years began to recede rapidly, like Morning Mist dispersed by the sun!

Clear water surged forth once more, and new green shoots sprouted from the roots of withered plants; the surviving creatures felt the long-lost vitality.

They let out joyful cries one after another, bowing their heads in gratitude toward Xuanjizi and the others.

Feeling the vast fortune of the marshland as it regained its vitality, and sensing that their own Literary Hearts had become more rounded and transparent due to this act of "Unity of Knowledge and Action."

Even their cultivation had improved; Xuanjizi and the others exchanged smiles, their hearts filled with an indescribable sense of accomplishment and a firm belief in the Confucian Dao.

Aftermath and Attention

Although the transformation of Black Tooth Marsh took place in a remote location, its "world-changing" effects.

And the unique methods of the Action Team—which differed from the combat styles of ordinary cultivators and focused more on regulation, purification, and the reconstruction of Order—still gradually spread through the accounts of the surviving creatures.

"The disciples of Myriad Dao Academy were actually able to resolve such a dead zone?"

"They didn't use killing techniques, but rather... reasoned with it? Set up arrays? And even purified the Remnant Soul of an Ancient Demon God?"

"Such a method of saving the world is unheard of!"

This earned Myriad Dao Academy the goodwill and curiosity of many lowly creatures, and further attracted the attention of various factions.

After receiving the intelligence, Bai Ze of the Demon Race raised his assessment of the Confucian Dao's ability to "construct Order" and "transform the environment" once again.

Meanwhile, some Rogue Cultivators who had originally held prejudices or doubts about the academy began to re-examine this emerging Dao Lineage.

Xuanjizi led the Action Team to a triumphant return and received a hero's welcome from the entire academy.

In the Chaos Space, Wanhua nodded slightly, expressing his approval of the results of his disciples' "Unity of Knowledge and Action."

After this battle, "Unity of Knowledge and Action" was no longer just an empty slogan, but had become a practical path of cultivation for the academy's disciples.

More and more disciples began to gear up, looking forward to stepping out of the academy, venturing into the Primordial World, practicing their principles, and writing their own chapters of the Confucian Dao.

However, where did the Source of Filth in Black Tooth Marsh come from? And what ancient secrets were tied to that Remnant Soul of an Ancient Demon God?

Would the success of the Action Team attract the attention of certain entities hidden in the deeper shadows?

New storms seemed to be quietly brewing within this first successful practice.

The influence of the academy was stepping, one step at a time, toward the vast Primordial World along with the footsteps of its disciples, and it would inevitably touch upon more unknown realms and... potential enemies.