The morning light had just covered Ashen Territory's city wall, and Chen Jieqi stood on the altar with a calm expression.
He has been standing on it all night, the mark between his eyebrows is slightly shining, Heart of the Naaru's perception extends westward along the wind,
Crossing the ridge, crossing the jungle, and falling on the gray-black mist.
The fog was thicker than he remembered, and the surge was not large, but it continued, like something breathing slowly underground.
Overnight, the edge of the fog moved forward about one mile, and the wheat seedlings at the edge of the field had turned gray-yellow, their roots had turned black, and their leaves were curled, as if something had sucked the life out of them.
There were sounds of footsteps under the altar, and the deputy trotted to the steps.
"My lord."
"Say."
"The scouts from the three villages in the west have all returned. Bluestone Ridge's well water was clear yesterday, but when it was pumped out this morning, it was muddy with a peculiar smell. People who took a sip vomited on the spot.
Whitewater River There are more than a dozen dead fish floating downstream, with black gills. The farthest village..." The deputy paused, as if he was considering his words.
"People in the village said that they can hear noises underground at night. It's not vibrations, it's that kind of..."
"The sound of gasping." Chen Jieqi finished for him.
"Yes.
The village chief was frightened and ran with the whole family in the direction of Ashen Territory. Halfway through, the younger one got a fever, felt hot all over and started talking nonsense.
Patriarch Yang has sent someone to pick him up."
Chen Jieqi walked down the altar. "Take me to see."
He walked westward along the valley, and the closer he got to the edge of the Cangmang Mountain Range, the heavier the air became.
It's not cold, it's stuffy, as if something is pressing beneath the surface of the earth, blocking the moisture that should be dissipated, and coating the skin in a sticky consistency.
The edges of the leaves of the weeds on the roadside are dark gray withered yellow. They don't make a crisp sound when stepped on, but are soft, as if they are rotten from the roots.
He knelt down and picked up a handful of soil.
The soil was wet, but the moisture was abnormal, and it had a faint smell, like blood mixed with water that had been left to dry for a long time.
There is fine gray-black dust mixed between the soil particles, which disperses with a twist of the hand, making no sound in the wind.
Heart of the Naaru jumped a little, not from pain, but from instinctive rejection.
The holy light in his palm penetrated into the soil, and the white-gold light traveled along the gaps between the soil particles, burning the gray-black dust into fine white smoke, and then the color of the soil returned to normal.
But after he stopped his hand, less than ten breaths later, the gray-black color filled up again, lighter than before, but it did not disappear.
He stood up and continued walking up the stream.
The stream water is still clear, but there is a layer of dark gray foam on the edge, like fine ash floating on the water.
Where the pebbles on the shore were washed away by the water, the side that turned out was gray and dark, as if it had been soaked by something, and even the texture was blurred.
He stopped at a shallow beach, squatted down, and reached into the water.
The water was cold, but the moment his fingertips touched the water, Heart of the Naaru jumped again, more obviously than before.
This kind of pollution has the same source as the one encountered last time deep in the Cangmang Mountain Range, but it is lighter and wider. It is not leaking somewhere, but the whole underground thing is seeping out.
Like a well that has been pressed for too long, the manhole cover is still there, but water has overflowed from the cracks.
Chen Jieqi retracted his hand and wiped the water stains on the hem of his clothes.
"It's not a regional leak. It's the power of darkness in the entire underground that is seeping out faster than before."
The voice of Sheng Hui sounded in Soul Ring: "The activities of Rakshasa God and Asura God are changing the Soul Power balance in the mainland.
The source of darkness expands, the order of light is squeezed, and pollution will naturally spread.
The area you purified before is only on the surface, and the things underneath are still pouring out continuously."
"Qian Renxue's Angel God Trial has been tampered with." Chen Jieqi continued walking along the stream, scanning the dead grass on both sides.
"The light power of the angelic line cannot function normally.
If there is no one to stop the light, darkness will overflow by itself. This is not a leak, but the overall water level is rising."
"You are also on the side of the light." Sheng Hui said.
"But I'm not in the God Test system." Chen Jieqi's voice was very flat.
"My strength comes from faith, from those who believe in me, not from a god.
I can defend Ashen Territory, but I cannot defend the entire continent.
If the angel's light is blocked, darkness will keep seeping out. This is not something I can solve by purifying a few villages."
He continued walking along the stream.
At a corner, an old man squatted by the stream, holding an empty barrel in his hand, looking at the stream in a daze.
There was a bundle of dry firewood at his feet, neatly tied up, as if he was going to sell it in the market, but it had not been touched.
Chen Jieqi stopped behind him. The old man did not look back, but just stared at the water, as if talking to the water.
"What's the use of cutting firewood when the water is broken."
The old man put the barrel on the ground, stood up and patted the dirt on his knees. When he turned around and looked at Chen Jieqi, there was no fear in his cloudy eyes, only a kind of numb resignation.
Chen Jieqi did not respond immediately.
He squatted down, and the holy light in his palms seeped into the stream.
The white-golden light spreads downstream along the water. Wherever it passes, the gray-black foam melts, and the stream water returns from dark gray to transparent.
But Chen Jieqi knows that this is only temporary.
After a few hours, the water upstream will bring new pollution down again.
He stood up and said to the old man, "Pack your things and go to the inner city of Ashen Territory. Someone will distribute the food."
The old man was stunned for a moment. "You don't want this land anymore?"
"While the land is still there, people should protect it first."
The old man glanced at him and then at the stream, without asking "When can I come back?"
He just bent down, picked up the bundle of firewood, and walked toward the inner city.
Chen Jieqi watched him walk away without moving.
Sheng Hui's voice sounded again, "The faster you purify, the faster it recovers.
This is pollution at the divine level, and relying on you, the Soul Emperor, to purify it is a drop in the bucket.
Unless the root cause is cut off, these things will never stop. Even if you purify the well water of Bluestone Ridge, Whitewater River will still be muddy.
If you purify Whitewater River, something will happen to the village further west."
"What's the root cause?"
"The root is the gods. Rakshasa and Asura are eating away at the order of light. There is another problem with the angel lineage.
After Qian Renxue's divine test was tampered with, Angel Inheritance could not operate.
Every time she stays in the Divine Examination for one more day, the angel's light becomes weaker, and as this light becomes weaker, the darkness becomes one inch thicker."
Chen Jieqi did not refute.
He continued walking along the stream for a while until he confirmed the approximate scope of the pollution, then turned and walked towards Ashen Territory.
On the way back, he calculated the time and could make it to the altar before dark.
When we returned to Ashen Territory, the sun was already heading west.
He walked up to the altar, took out the burnt feather from his arms, and placed it in the palm of his hand.
Naaru Holy Light penetrated into the feathers along the fingertips. The white-gold light traveled around the surface of the feathers and then dimmed. The feathers did not respond.
He tried a second time, injecting more holy light. The feathers lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.
The third time, he closed his eyes while injecting holy light, attached a trace of consciousness to the light, and sent it out along the feathers.
The waiting time was longer than the previous two times, so long that he thought there was no response.
Then he felt a slight tremor on his fingertips, like a needle dropped on a taut silk thread. It trembled for a moment and then stopped.
The tremor was very short, like a sentence was swallowed back just as it was about to come out, but Chen Jieqi felt it, she was there.
Qian Renxue is still in the Shenqiu test and is still being pulled, but she is still there.
After that tremor, the remaining holy light in his palm began to flow slowly, like water seeping into the dry land. No specific information was conveyed, but the warmth did not stop. She was listening.
Chen Jieqi took back the feather and held it in the palm of his hand again.
Sheng Hui asked, "How is she doing over there?"
"Still. Still sleepy." Chen Jieqi paused, "She is listening. That's enough."
He walked off the altar.
The dusk light shone obliquely from the west, drawing a long shadow behind him.
In the distance, the gray-black mist is still billowing, but the direction of the wind has not changed.
The fields, wells, streams, and old men carrying firewood he visited with Naru Holy Light Perception are real, and they are the human world that is being swallowed up by darkness little by little.
He can use holy light to temporarily dispel the pollution, but someone must block the source.
Blocking the source cannot be done by one person.
"Qian Renxue over there... what are you going to do?" Sheng Hui asked.
Chen Jieqi did not answer immediately.
He stood on the altar steps and looked at the outline of the Cangmang Mountain Range in the distance.
The sky above the ridgeline is darker, like a layer of gray veil, but it is not completely dark.
That light is still shining. The angel's light is still shining. Although it is weaker, it has not gone out.
"When she can come out, she will naturally come out." He walked toward the inner city.
"I can't leave for her, nor can I make decisions for her, but blocking the source requires her and the power of the light.
Otherwise, no matter how many places I purify by myself, I will just add water to a leaky bucket."
His back disappeared into the dusk. The wind was still blowing, and the gray-black mist was still billowing, but the direction did not change.
In the distant sky, before the last bit of the setting sun sets, there is still a very faint warm golden halo at the edge of the western skyline.