The Terror of Rahula's Self-Destruction

"Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi is the one who has worked hard."

Xuande returned the salute, his gaze calm as it rested on the other's slightly weary yet still upright form.

He knew that Zhenyuanzi must have expended immense effort just now to survey the entire Western region.

"How is the situation?"

Upon hearing this, Zhenyuanzi's expression grew even more solemn.

Without saying much, he slowly raised his right hand, fingers pressed together like a blade, and traced a line through the air.

In an instant, a warm, rich, earthy yellow Spiritual Light flowed from his fingertips.

It did not scatter recklessly but, guided by a profound rhythm, converged, interwove, and extended in midair.

The light flickered uncertainly, at first hazy and indistinct.

Then it rapidly sharpened, becoming intricate, layered, and stacked.

Finally, it formed an extremely vast and detailed three-dimensional map of the Earth's meridians, covering the entire Western land.

This image was not static; within it, streams of light slowly circulated, carrying a faint yet genuine pulse of the earth.

However, this pulse felt so sluggish and disordered that it tightened one's heart.

In the image, the gentle yellow light streams representing normal Earth Veins—

Like docile blood in a healthy body—were sparse, intermittent, and hardly formed a system.

More numerous were the dark red, ashen black, and even eerily glowing lines and patches representing fractures, blockages, distortions, and depletion.

They intertwined densely, with some areas knotted like a tangled mess of hemp.

Others simply ended abruptly, leaving behind shocking dark fault lines.

Large swaths were shrouded in gray, lifeless patches, as if all vitality had been lost.

The entire image resembled a giant, covered in wounds, with its meridians utterly destroyed.

Silently telling of the terrible calamity it had once endured.

"The situation... is even worse than anticipated."

Zhenyuanzi's low voice broke the silence.

He extended a finger, pointing to several particularly chaotic areas on the light map. With a pull of Spiritual Light from his fingertip, the details there were slightly magnified.

Countless tiny meridian fragments could be seen floating around the fault lines, like blood vessels severed by invisible blades, drifting slowly.

"Rahula's self-destruction unleashed overwhelming demonic might.

Its destructive power not only instantly crippled the Western Ancestral Vein and several main meridians that sustain the world's spiritual mechanisms.

But the aftershocks, like billions of the sharpest, most venomous demon blades, Radiated and slashed madly from the explosion point into every corner of the Western land.

Deep within the earth, the originally natural, delicate, and fragile network of Earth Veins

Was almost instantly shattered by this violent, brutal force."

His finger moved, sweeping across large patches of dark red blockages in the image:

"A rough count shows that identifiable, obvious major and minor fracture points in the Earth Veins already exceed one hundred thousand.

As for blockages caused by reversed Earth Qi, clashing spiritual mechanisms, and accumulated filth, they are as numerous as stars, impossible to count.

More critically..."

Zhenyuanzi paused, his tone growing heavier.

"The mountains and rivers of the earth have their own acupoints, natural hubs for the circulation of Earth Qi and the interplay of Yin and Yang, akin to the vital acupoints of a human body.

In this calamity, most of these important Earth Vein nodes within the Western region were directly destroyed, polluted, or twisted.

Without the nodes, even if residual meridians remain, Earth Qi cannot naturally circulate and cycle, and vitality cannot be revived."

Then, his finger moved steadily and gravely to the northern part of the light map.

There, a patch of deep black, polluted area gathered, writhing and churning like a living thing, constantly emitting an aura of ominous death.

Its scope was vast, its color deeper than any other wound.

"And this is the most troublesome spot—near the former site of the Rahula Demon Palace.

The core demonic energy from the self-destruction, along with ten thousand years of accumulated filth from the demon palace, Has deeply embedded itself into the depths of the Earth Veins, forming extremely pure and stubborn residual demonic Qi.

This demonic Qi is no longer superficial.

Instead, like the most viscous poison, it has entangled and fused with the fractured Earth Veins themselves, inseparable."

At this point, Hongyun also set aside his usual casual demeanor, his expression turning serious as he added:

"What Daoist brother Zhenyuanzi says is absolutely true."

I've scouted the outer perimeter of that place.

Not only are the Earth Veins corrupted by demonic taint.

Even the Four Directions' Qi in the heavens—the Geng Metal Qi, Li Fire Qi, Xuan Water Qi, and the Hou Earth Qi itself—

have been thrown into utter chaos by the demonic source buried deep underground, and are being continuously infected, forming an extremely bizarre demonic domain environment.

Ordinary plants wither upon entering, birds and beasts flee in terror.

Any living being with shallow cultivation who draws near finds their mind easily eroded by demonic thoughts, and over time, risks horrific mutation."

Jieyin and Zhunti gazed silently at the light-and-shadow-woven "Map of Earth Veins," scarred and ravaged.

The sorrow on their faces deepened, brows tightly knit, eyes brimming with anxiety that threatened to overflow.

Born and raised here, they had long known the West's barrenness and understood the heavy toll of the demonic calamity.

But only now, with this stark and brutal image laying every detail bare before them, did they truly grasp how grievous the wounds inflicted upon the Western lands were.

It was far more than broken bones and torn sinews—it was as if someone had ripped out its spine, shattered its organs, and poisoned its very lifeblood.

A heavy sense of powerlessness and an even fiercer sense of duty churned within their hearts simultaneously.

Xuande's gaze was as deep as an ancient well, slowly sweeping over every injury on the light map.

He committed to memory each fracture, blockage, distortion, and the core demonically tainted zones.

After a moment, he raised his eyes to Zhenyuanzi, his voice steady and clear:

"Daoist friend Zhenyuanzi, since the situation has been investigated and the root cause identified, how should we proceed with the restoration? Do you have a plan in mind?"

Zhenyuanzi nodded at this, his expression turning focused and solemn, clearly having given the matter deep thought.

He pointed at the light map again, this time with Spiritual Light flowing from his fingertip.

He singled out those areas where the veins were paler in color, merely slightly disordered or mildly blocked, without obvious fractures, marking them with a faint, relatively gentle yellow-white glow.

"Restoration must proceed in stages—from easy to difficult, from surface to core."

Zhenyuanzi explained, "These areas represent relatively simple problems.

They are mainly minor vein shifts caused by tremors in the major arteries leading to temporary Earth Qi imbalance, or slight blockages from natural dust and rock cover creating superficial spiritual energy disharmony.

To handle such issues, there's no need to reshape the Earth Vein structure.

One only needs to use pure, gentle Dharma power, like spring rain nourishing all things, to carefully guide and soothe the disorder, leading the Earth Qi within back to its inherent, peaceful flow."

He paused, turning his gaze to Jieyin and Zhunti, his tone sincere:

"This part of the work may seem basic, but it is crucial—it is the foundation of the entire restoration effort.

Because it covers the widest area, it requires immense patience and extremely meticulous control of Dharma power, with no room for haste or recklessness.

However, the demand for a profound understanding of the Earth Dao's deeper mysteries is relatively lower."

He gave a slight bow.

"Daoist friends Jieyin and Zhunti, you have long resided in the West.

You know the temperament of every mountain, river, plant, and tree here intimately, and your Dharma power is pure, profound, and enduring.

Could I entrust this most tedious yet most locally adaptive task of careful sorting to the two of you?

Later, I will record in detail on a Jade Slip the priority areas for sorting, the proper direction of Earth Qi flow, and the various key points to note during the guidance process, for your reference."