The Dragon Palace's secret envoys to Immortal Volcano endured countless hardships, crossing innumerable perilous seas and treacherous continents before finally arriving at the sacred land of the Southern Border, shrouded year-round in blazing flames and rosy clouds.
Yet they failed to see the Phoenix Clan Chief as they wished, and could not even enter Immortal Volcano's core region.
They were only received by a Phoenix Elder in a Guest Reception Hall on the outskirts, built from burning Sacred Wutong Tree wood.
Golden firelight flowed around the elder's body. His aura was ancient and noble, while his eyes carried the Phoenix Race's characteristic indifference as they looked down upon All Beings.
He did not even glance at the lavish gifts brought by the Dragon Envoy. He merely pinched Ao Guang's secret letter between his fingers, swept it with his divine sense, and curled his lips in a faintly mocking smile.
"Fellow Daoist Ao Guang's intentions are already known to our race."
The Phoenix Elder's voice was like clashing jade, cool and pleasant yet distant. "However, since the ancient Calamity, the Phoenix Race has secluded itself in the Southern Border and no longer involved itself in worldly disputes.
"The karma between the Dragon Race and Myriad Dao Academy is a matter of the East Sea. It has nothing to do with our Immortal Volcano."
He directly rejected the Dragon Race's proposal for an alliance, his tone decisive and leaving no room for negotiation.
The Dragon Envoy was anxious and quickly said, "Elder, please see clearly! Sage Wanhua acts tyrannically and treats the Ancient Order as nothing. Today, he could refine the Dragon Race Water Army merely over a disagreement.
"If his Dao Lineage flourishes someday, how can we know he will not covet the pure land of the Southern Border and shake the foundations of the Phoenix Race? This is not merely a matter of one corner of the East Sea. It concerns the future of all Innate Venerable Gods!"
At those words, the golden flames in the Phoenix Elder's eyes flickered slightly, but he remained calm. "The Primordial Era is vast, and Dao follows Nature.
"Where there is new birth, there is old passing away. This is the fundamental principle of heaven and earth.
"That Sage Wanhua could attain Primordial Chaos Sagehood naturally has his reasons. Whether his Dao Lineage conflicts with the Phoenix Race remains to be seen. Even if that day truly comes..."
He paused. A stern aura that looked down upon the universe suddenly surged from his body. The temperature throughout the Guest Reception Hall soared, and even space warped faintly. "Our Immortal Volcano is no Dragon Palace!
"The flames of the Phoenix Race can burn all things to ash, and can also achieve rebirth through nirvana! Why would we need outside help to protect ourselves?"
The confidence and pride in those words surpassed even that of the Dragon Race, but they also clearly drew a boundary.
The Phoenix Race had its own dignity and confidence. They neither wished nor deigned to tie themselves to the fallen Dragon Race at this moment and provoke a Primordial Chaos Sage whose depths were unknown.
The Dragon Envoy still wished to speak, but the Phoenix Elder had already flicked his sleeve and risen. "See the guest out."
Two Phoenix Race Guards, their bodies wreathed in blue flames, appeared soundlessly and made a gesture of invitation to leave.
Filled with resentment and humiliation, the Dragon Envoy nevertheless did not dare act recklessly in the Phoenix Race's sacred land. He could only depart in dejection.
Their first important external contact ended in complete failure.
When the news returned to the Dragon Palace, Ao Guang remained silent for a long time before finally releasing a long sigh filled with helplessness. The road to alliance was far more difficult than he had imagined.
Academy Practice, First Steps into the Primordial Era
Meanwhile, under Xuanjizi's efforts, Myriad Dao Academy's philosophy of "Unity of Knowledge and Action" was no longer limited to the Trial Zone outside the Academy.
With Wanhua's tacit approval, he selected several disciples with stable Literary Palaces and resilient temperaments, forming a small Action Team to truly enter the Primordial Era and put what they had learned into practice.
Their first destination was a place called Black Tooth Marsh, ten thousand miles from the Academy.
According to a Lesser Demon who had come to the Academy for help, the area had once been rich in water and grass, home to several weak demon tribes and branches of aquatic clans.
But in recent years, a strange Bone-Corroding Black Miasma had inexplicably formed in the marsh. It not only polluted the water and corroded the land, but also caused the creatures living there to grow weaker by the day, even vanishing without cause.
With nowhere else to turn, the local beings had heard by chance of Myriad Dao Academy's great name and came with a sliver of hope.
Xuanjizi believed that treating such a natural malignant miasma was the perfect opportunity to test the Confucian Dao principles of "Investigating Things to Attain Knowledge" and "Benevolent Heart to Aid the World."
Xuanjizi personally led the Action Team. Its members included Elder Teng, who excelled in perception and the Dao of vitality, and Yun Xi, who specialized in guiding and purifying water veins.
There were also several disciples skilled in Each Word a Pearl and the manipulation of Literary Qi.
They did not travel ostentatiously by Evasion Light, but arrived at Black Tooth Marsh discreetly like ordinary wandering cultivators.
The sight before them was alarming. What should have been a vast marshland was now mostly shrouded in a thick, black fog that gave off a rotten stench.
The waters were murky beyond measure, the vegetation along the shore had withered, and pale skeletons of fish, shrimp, and aquatic beings could occasionally be seen. The entire place was deathly silent and desolate.
"Investigate!" Xuanjizi ordered, and the disciples each displayed their abilities.
Elder Teng extended his aged vines into the edge of the black miasma, carefully sensing its composition and flow. Yun Xi gathered Literary Qi and attempted to analyze the polluted water.
The other disciples observed the terrain and recorded the patterns of the black miasma's spread.
They discovered that the black miasma was not merely poisonous gas. Its core seemed to contain a twisted, bizarre law that devoured vitality, and its source was likely deep within the marsh.
"To know that it is so, we must also know why it is so," Xuanjizi said solemnly. "We must go deep into the marsh and find its root before we can cure it completely."
This was undoubtedly dangerous. The black miasma was somewhat corrosive to Literary Qi, and the marsh's terrain was complex. There might also be ferocious creatures born from the environmental changes lurking within.
Yet no one on the Action Team retreated. Protected by Literary Brilliance Barriers and carrying Literary Treasures refined by the Dragon Race Water Army, they cautiously advanced toward the depths of the marsh.
Along the way, they encountered several Demon Beasts that had been corroded by the miasma and lost their minds. They used Tongue-and-Sword to drive them back or restrain them, without taking their lives.
Instead, they tried to purify them with words containing the principles of Clearing the Heart and Calm Spirit. Though the effect was limited, it was still an expression of Benevolent Heart.
After several days of searching, they finally reached the bottom of a muddy pool that continuously bubbled with black foam.
There, they found the Source of Filth, which constantly emitted strange black qi—a fragment of bone tainted by an unknown Remnant Soul of an Ancient Demon God!
Purging Filth, the Literary Dao Shows Its Might
Having found the root, they found the solution. Destroying it by force might provoke a counterattack from the remnant soul and spread the damage even farther.
After discussing it, Xuanjizi and the others decided to use Confucian Dao methods to "purify" and "seal" it.
Using their own Literary Palaces as anchors, they mobilized vast Literary Qi and set up a Righteous Heart Demon Purging Array around the Source of Filth.
The array did not attack by force. Instead, its upright and harmonious Literary Radiance Dao Charm continuously washed over the remnant soul like warm water boiling a frog, gradually wearing away its viciousness and twisted laws.
Elder Teng infused the array with the vitality of his Benevolent Resilience Literary Heart, countering its ability to devour life.
Yun Xi invoked the principle of clear water to purify the contaminated water essence, while the other disciples recited Confucian Dao passages filled with the righteous qi of heaven and earth in unison, drawing forth resonances of principle to strengthen the array.
It was a slow and mentally exhausting process. The Action Team disciples took turns, working day and night without rest for a full forty-nine days!
During that time, the Remnant Soul of an Ancient Demon God erupted several times, causing the black miasma to surge wildly and conjuring all manner of terrifying demonic shadows to assault the array. Yet the disciples held them back through their steadfast Literary Hearts and flawless cooperation.
Xuanjizi repeatedly used the Startling Dragon Brush to write the true word of Righteousness, forcibly suppressing the backlash.
At noon on the forty-ninth day, when the pure yang energy was at its strongest, the black qi upon the Source of Filth was finally washed away completely. The bone fragment turned to dust and vanished without a trace.
The Bone-Corroding Black Miasma that had blanketed Black Tooth Marsh for years began to rapidly recede like Morning Mist scattered by sunlight!
Clear water flowed forth once more, fresh green shoots sprouted from the roots of withered grass and trees, and the surviving creatures felt the long-lost vitality.
They cried out joyfully and bowed toward Xuanjizi and the others in thanks.
Feeling the immense fortune of the marshland's restored vitality, as well as their Literary Hearts becoming more harmonious and lucid through this act of Knowledge and Action, even their cultivation improving somewhat, Xuanjizi and the others exchanged smiles. Their hearts were filled with indescribable accomplishment and firmer faith in the Confucian Dao.
Aftermath and Attention
Though the changes in Black Tooth Marsh occurred in a remote place, their almost world-transforming effects—
Along with the Action Team's unique methods, so different from the usual combat between cultivators and more focused on regulation, purification, and rebuilding Order, gradually spread through the accounts of surviving beings.
"Myriad Dao Academy's disciples could actually resolve such a death zone?"
"They did not use slaughtering arts, but... reason? Array formations? They could even purify a demon god's remnant soul?"
"Such a method to aid the world is unheard of!"
This won Myriad Dao Academy considerable goodwill and curiosity from the lower-ranking beings, while further drawing the attention of various factions.
After the demon race's Bai Ze received the intelligence, he raised his assessment of the Confucian Dao's ability to construct Order and transform environments once more.
Some Rogue Cultivators who had originally held prejudice or doubts toward the Academy also began to reassess this emerging Dao Lineage.
Xuanjizi led the Action Team back in triumph and received a hero's welcome throughout the Academy.
Within Chaos Space, Wanhua nodded slightly, expressing his approval of his disciples' results in this act of Knowledge and Action.
After this battle, Unity of Knowledge and Action was no longer an empty slogan. It had become a practical path of cultivation for the Academy's disciples.
More and more disciples began eagerly preparing themselves, hoping that they too could leave the Academy, travel into the Primordial Era, practice principle, and write their own glorious chapters of the Confucian Dao.
However, where had the Source of Filth in Black Tooth Marsh come from? What ancient secret was connected to that Remnant Soul of an Ancient Demon God?
Would the Action Team's success draw the attention of certain beings hidden even deeper within the shadows?
New storms seemed to be quietly brewing amid this first successful practice.
The Academy's influence was advancing step by step into the broader Primordial World with its disciples' footsteps, and it would surely touch more unknown domains and... potential enemies.
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