Calamity Fiend Malevolent Qi

The sea below was in utter chaos.

Dozens of ferocious Sea Beasts, shaped like giant lizards and covered in dark bone spines.

Their eyes were blood-red, spewing foul, murky breath.

They crazily battered the crude defenses the Aquatic Tribe had built from coral and broken shells.

Their claws tore, their long tails swept, and every pounce churned up raging undercurrents as Evil Qi filled the waters.

Clearly, their intelligence had been corrupted by the Calamity Fiend Malevolent Qi that had settled after the Dragon-Han Calamity, turning them into creatures that knew only slaughter and Destruction.

The frail Aquatic Tribe.

The dull-colored Shell Maidens, the Shrimp Soldiers holding tiny pincers, and the Old Turtle, burdened by a heavy shell and slow of movement.

They trembled in terror, yet still desperately maintained that flickering Formation, letting out cries of despair.

The azure seawater had already been churned cloudy, streaked with glaring threads of crimson blood.

"Tsk, a pack of Vile Beasts, disturbing the peace."

Tongtian curled his lip, one hand still resting on his sword hilt, eager to act.

He could never stand the sight of the strong bullying the weak, and that bloody Evil Qi instinctively made him uncomfortable.

"Let me go down there. One sword each, and I'll clean them up. It won't take much effort!"

"Meddlesome."

Yuanshi's cold voice rang out, carrying his usual disapproval.

"Evil Qi breeds, and the strong devour the weak. Such is the norm in the Prehistoric World.

We have important business on this journey. How can we stop for such trivial matters?

We would only taint ourselves with karma and invite needless trouble."

His gaze did not even linger on that killing ground.

The survival of those Aquatic Tribe.

To him, it was no different from ants struggling by the roadside, not worth his attention.

The rampant Evil Qi was filthy as well, stirring disgust in his heart and making him wish only to leave as soon as possible.

"Second Brother, that's a little too..."

Tongtian was about to argue, to say something about how a hero did not stand by and watch others die.

But Laozi, who had been quietly observing, slowly raised a hand.

His expression remained calm and detached, as though what lay before him was not a bloody battlefield, but an ordinary landscape painting.

He brought two fingers together as though plucking a flower, then lightly brushed them through the air.

The movement was unhurried and natural, without the slightest trace of worldly force.

There was no earthshaking Mana Fluctuation, no dazzling radiance of Divine Ability.

There was only an invisible, intangible yet vast and boundless stillness.

Like fine rain in early spring, it spread soundlessly, instantly covering the sea below.

Purity and Non-Action, nourishing all things without a sound.

As that intent swept past, the Sea Beasts that had been madly biting and pouncing suddenly froze.

The savagery and chaos in their blood-red eyes receded like a tide, replaced by blank confusion.

The dark Evil Qi coiling around them seemed to be washed away by an invisible, gentle current, quietly fading into nothing.

They stopped attacking and shook their enormous heads.

They looked at one another and let out several confused low growls.

As though they could not understand why they were here, or why they had felt the urge to kill these weak Aquatic Tribe.

After hesitating for a moment.

The Sea Beasts, their minds restored to clarity, seemed as though they had been frightened.

They whipped their tails and turned around one after another.

Then swiftly dove into the deeper, darker sea abyss and vanished.

They had come suddenly, and left even more abruptly.

Beneath the sea, only the frightened and bewildered Aquatic Tribe remained, along with seawater that gradually settled and regained its clarity.

The danger had thus dissolved without a trace.

Tongtian blinked at the sight, releasing his grip on the sword hilt. His tone carried a hint of teasing and barely concealed admiration.

"Eldest Brother acted quickly. My sword hasn't even left its sheath."

Yuanshi's gaze shifted slightly. Though he disliked involving himself in mundane affairs, his insight remained sharp, and he naturally saw the profundity of Laozi's method.

Rather than forcibly suppressing or killing them, he had used a supreme state of the Dao to dissolve the root of their Malevolent Qi and guide them back to their true nature.

Thus.

No lives were harmed, no evil karma was formed, and no karma was incurred.

It was most in accord with the natural Great Dao.

"The Path of Purity is indeed convenient when dealing with such chaos."

Yuanshi gave a faint assessment, which counted as approval.

This method was indeed far more ingenious than Tongtian's expected approach of fighting and killing.

Laozi withdrew his fingers, his sleeves hanging lightly, as though he had merely brushed away a speck of dust.

His tone remained calm.

"Follow the natural course, wash away the filth and restore clarity. Avoid karma and save oneself the trouble."

To him, this was not saving anyone.

He had merely casually wiped away an eyesore.

Restoring heaven and earth to the state of "purity" they ought to have possessed.

It had satisfied Tongtian's slight reluctance to see them suffer.

It had also fulfilled Yuanshi's wish not to delay, while suiting his own Dao Heart of Non-Action and All-Action.

After that interruption, the pervasive Evil Qi was completely washed away by Laozi, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi returned to its clear circulation.

And at the very instant this region regained its purity.

Yuanshi's body suddenly trembled!

The Pure Qi Crystal between his brows abruptly brightened several degrees, radiating scorching heat.

That pull in his heart, which had previously required careful effort to grasp.

Became incomparably clear and incomparably intense at this moment!

It was as though the thin veil that had always covered his eyes had been completely lifted, and as though a distant call that had always echoed far away had suddenly sounded beside his ear!

No longer vague, no longer elusive.

It became tangible and distinct, like a lighthouse in the darkness, pointing with absolute certainty toward.

The vast sea ahead, which appeared empty and contained only ordinary rolling waves!

"There!"

Yuanshi blurted out, his voice carrying an urgency and certainty that even he had not noticed.

His previous tangled emotions.

Resistance, confusion, irritation.

At this moment, they strangely settled by quite a bit.

They were replaced by a purer sense of certainty.

Tongtian immediately followed his gaze.

Before them stretched endless emerald waves, sea and sky blending into one, no different from anywhere else.

"Where? There's nothing there."

He focused his sight to its limit and even used his Spiritual Sense, yet still found nothing.

That sea was completely empty. Let alone an Immortal Island or Spirit Root, there was not even a decent reef.

Laozi's deep gaze also fell upon that empty expanse. A moment later, he nodded faintly.

"There seems to be a Primordial Array concealing it, naturally formed and isolating the inside from the outside. If karma has not arrived, even inches become horizons."

A trace of appreciation entered his voice.

To arrange such an exquisite and natural Primordial Guardian Array, one that even he could not immediately see through.

The master of this place—or perhaps the place itself—was truly extraordinary.

"A Primordial Guardian Array?"

Tongtian's interest grew even stronger upon hearing that.

"No wonder Second Brother's sense of it is so strong, yet he cannot locate it precisely. Let me test what it's made of!"

With that.

Impatient, he formed a sword with two fingers.

A thread of extremely condensed, razor-sharp Shangqing Immortal Power, carrying an aura of Destruction, was about to shoot from his fingertips.

He intended to forcibly probe the truth of that invisible Formation.

Yuanshi shouted to stop him.

With a sweep of his sleeve, a gentle yet irresistible force instantly interrupted Tongtian's casting.

"How can you be so reckless!"

Yuanshi's tone held faint anger, as well as an indescribable tension.

As though what Tongtian meant to poke was not a Formation, but some fragile treasure.

"This Formation is for protection. How can forceful assault be proper? What if you disturb whatever is inside... or damage the Formation's foundation? What then?"

The words "the living beings inside" reached his lips, but he swallowed them.

Yet his protective intent had already become unmistakably clear.

Tongtian was startled by the rebuke.

He withdrew his fingers and looked at his Second Brother with a mix of grievance and curiosity.

"Second Brother, you...

You haven't even met them, and you're already protecting them?

I only wanted to test it. I know my limits. How could I truly force my way through the Formation?"

He truly had not expected his Second Brother, who had always valued rules most highly and remained distant from all things.

To show such obvious protectiveness toward this place.

This was practically unheard of in the Prehistoric World!

Yuanshi also realized that his reaction had been somewhat excessive.

A trace of discomfort flashed across his face.

He quickly returned to his usual cold demeanor and forcibly explained.

"I...

I merely believe that since this is a place of karma, we should seek it with courtesy rather than break through by force.

Lest we lose our manners and needlessly earn another's displeasure."

Those words sounded high-minded, but they carried an unmistakable air of trying to conceal the truth.

At the side, the faint smile at the Corner of Laozi's mouth deepened slightly.

Yet he did not expose him, merely saying slowly.

"Second Brother is right.

Primordial Arrays are profoundly mysterious, often connected to Earth Veins and the secrets of heaven. A forceful assault is not the act of a wise man and can easily invite backlash."

His gaze fell upon that empty expanse again. Countless Dao marks rose and vanished in his eyes as though he were deducing and analyzing it.

"This Formation draws upon the power of heaven and earth, blends with the Dao marks of water, hides within nothingness, and forms its own cycle. It is truly no ordinary work.

The one who set this Formation possesses innate mastery upon the path of formations."

Laozi rarely offered praise.

"To enter it, one must find its veins, sense its rhythm, or wait for it to open on its own."

Hearing this, Tongtian also put away his playful mood and began to study it carefully.

Though lively by nature, his talent in cultivation was peerless.

As he focused his senses.

He indeed discovered that the sea ahead looked ordinary.

Yet the paths along which Spiritual Qi flowed contained an extremely profound rhythm, perfectly integrated with the surrounding heaven and earth, without a single flaw.

"Tsk, this Formation really is sturdy."

Tongtian stroked his chin. Rather than becoming annoyed, he wore the delighted expression of one who had found a worthy challenge.

"Interesting.

Looks like our 'daughter' has quite a solid foundation. She knows to nest in a good place."

His words came naturally, as though he had already placed the unseen Su Miao within his own family.

At the word "daughter," Yuanshi's eye twitched again.

Yet he did not refute it this time, merely concentrating on the pull that lay so close at hand.

He tried to find some clue within it that would lead into the Primordial Guardian Array.

Time silently passed amid that wordless search.

The Prehistoric World did not count the years. In the blink of an eye, several thousand more years flowed by like water.

The Three Pure Ones remained outside this sea, sometimes standing in quiet contemplation, sometimes deducing the Formation, sometimes curiously testing it.

Yuanshi's emotions also slowly settled during that long wait and search.

His initial resistance and sense of absurdity were gradually replaced by an ever-stronger anticipation and sense of responsibility.

A father and daughter ordained by heaven...

Root of World Purification...

His mind even began uncontrollably sketching several vague images.

No matter what it was, since it shared this heaven-ordained bond with Yuanshi, then he...

Had no reason to stand by and ignore it.

It was just that this Formation was truly profound and mysterious...

Just as Yuanshi's patience was about to run out and he was considering joining forces with Laozi and Tongtian,

to gently "knock on the door."

The Innate Grand Formation, which had always been incomparably stable and flawless,

suddenly caused the space at its edge to ripple ever so slightly, like water.

As though a mischievous little fish had gently blown a bubble beneath the surface of a tranquil lake.

An exceedingly faint spatial ripple,

accompanied by a trace of familiar, intimate Purification Dao Rhyme,

spread out from that rippling point.

Though it vanished in an instant.

This time,

it was not only Yuanshi—even Laozi and Tongtian clearly caught it!

The Three Pure Ones' gazes

instantly sharpened as they focused on that single point!