As An Jing settled into meditation, a Sword Mark on the boy's forehead began to glow faintly.
Through An Jing's senses, the Sword Spirit observed the Spiritual Energy in the Huaixu Realm alongside him.
Not long after,
An Jing's expression suddenly changed. He opened his eyes in astonishment, and the Sword Mark on his forehead flashed with shocked silver light, proof enough that the Sword Spirit was just as shaken.
"Demonic Qi!"
An Jing sprang to his feet and stared at his hands. Then he swept his gaze around the world in disbelief. "It's all Demonic Qi?!"
"How is this possible... The Spiritual Energy throughout the entire Huaixu Realm has been completely polluted by Demonic Qi?!"
When An Jing meditated and practiced Qi Refining in the other world, he could sense that the Spiritual Energy throughout the world was somewhat murky, like a city shrouded in heavy fog or gray smog.
You could breathe, but the air was full of impurities. Breathe it for long enough, and it would harm your body.
This was the aftereffect of the 'Devil Calamity.' The entire world had been corrupted by the Heavenly Demons, leaving behind damage that was nearly impossible to heal and would last for ages.
The Wilderness and acid rain were only the most superficial signs. The deeper sign was the foul Spiritual Energy, which made cultivators prone to demonic corruption.
So when the Sword Spirit discovered that the other world still followed the 'Spirit Root Qi Refining' system, they had actually found it rather strange.
—With pollution this bad, the other world could still practice Qi Refining? It was like washing in a river full of heavy-metal pollution.
The Huaixu Realm looked bright and sunny, with no sign of pollution, yet had been forced to adopt 'Fate Grid Martial Arts.'