Above the Ten Thousand Poison Swamp, gray-black demonic clouds lingered all year. This wetland, once teeming with vitality, had now become the three realms' most terrifying dead land. The water in the swamp emitted an eerie purple-black color, bubbling with toxic gas bubbles; even the most resilient poison grasses could not survive here. The air was thick with pungent sulfur and putrid odors; an ordinary cultivator would feel dizzy after staying here for a short while.
Tang Xiao Qi hovered in suspended flight at the swamp's edge, his brows tightly locked. Even with his Deity Transformation stage cultivation, he could feel the grievance and pain emanating from deep within this land. This was the place where the demonic entity had first descended, and also the area with the most severe demonic energy pollution.
"Alliance Leader, the monitoring array shows that the demonic energy concentration in the core area has increased another three points." The accompanying array master reported worriedly. "At this speed, within three months, the outer perimeter's seal will fail."
Xiao Qi did not answer. His divine sense had long penetrated deep into the swamp. There, he saw the twisted souls suffering wailing cries after being eroded by demonic energy, saw the contaminated land silently crying, and even saw a wisp of the demonic entity's separated soul greedily absorbing the negative emotions.
"All of you withdraw to a hundred li away." Xiao Qi said in a deep voice. "Without my signal, no one is permitted to approach."
After the crowd withdrew, he slowly flew toward the swamp's center. The black water beneath his feet seemed alive as it boiled, and countless demonic shadows rose from within, emitting ear-piercing shrieks. These were souls that had been eroded by demonic energy, long since lost sanity, retaining only the instinct to destroy.
Xiao Qi closed his eyes, and the Green Lotus in his dantian slowly rotated. When he opened his eyes again, his pupils were completely clear.
"Green Lotus Domain, open!"
With him as the center, gentle and pure azure light spread toward all four sides. Wherever this light reached, demonic energy melted like snow and ice before it, and the wailing souls gradually calmed down, their twisted faces regaining serenity. The azure light continued to spread, covering a ten-li area.
Within this domain, withered grasses and trees regained vitality, the foul air became fresh, and even the black swamp water began to grow clear. This was the might of the Green Lotus Domain, not forcibly purifying, but causing all things to return to their most authentic state.
Yet fine beads of sweat had formed on Xiao Qi's forehead. Maintaining such a vast domain placed an enormous burden on his spirit and mind. What was even more terrifying was that deep in the swamp, the demonic energy seemed to organize itself into counterattack as if it had consciousness.
"Boom!"
A thick demonic energy column shot up from the swamp's bottom, condensing into a massive demon head. This was precisely a wisp of the demonic entity's separated soul that it had left here. Although its power was not even one ten-thousandth of its main body, it still emanated a heart-shaking aura.
"Mere Deity Transformation also dares to act wild on my territory?" The demon head's voice was hoarse, and demonic energy surged toward the Green Lotus Domain like a tide.
Xiao Qi was unhurried. His hands formed seals. The azure light within the domain suddenly blazed intensely, transforming into countless tiny green lotuses. These lotuses seemed delicate, yet they contained the most primal purification power. Where the demonic energy collided with the lotuses, it immediately dissipated like boiling water poured on snow.
"Child's tricks!" The demon head roared. The entire swamp began to tremble. More demonic energy surged from deep underground, condensing into various terrifying demons in the air, nine-headed demon snakes, three-eyed rotting birds, hundred-legged poison insects, these monsters formed entirely of demonic energy crazily charged toward the Green Lotus Domain.
Xiao Qi's expression grew grave. He knew he could no longer hold back. His mind moved, and the Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword and Creation Universe Wok both flew out.
The Crimson Flame Sword transformed into a streak of flowing light, crisscrossing within the domain. Where the sword light passed, demonic entities collapsed one after another. Even more miraculous was that the Nirvana true meaning contained within the sword actually caused some demonic entities to begin transforming into normal creatures. A nine-headed demon snake, under the sword light's baptism, gradually had its nine heads fuse, ultimately transforming into a docile water snake that drilled into the clear water and vanished.
The Universe Wok, meanwhile, floated suspended above the domain, with the taiji diagram at its base slowly rotating. The demonic energy that had been scattered did not completely disappear but was instead drawn into the wok. Through the transformation of chaotic power, it turned into pure spiritual energy that fed back into the domain.
"Impossible!" The demon head let out a disbelieving roar. "How could you possibly convert demonic energy into spiritual energy?"
Xiao Qi did not answer; in truth, he could not spare any attention to speak now. Simultaneously controlling the domain and two quasi-immortal treasures, while also circulating the supreme methods from the Scripture of World Purification, the burden on him was too great. Yet he could sense that this dead land was undergoing subtle changes.
The first to sense these changes were the cultivators in the outer perimeter.
"Look! The swamp water is turning clear!"
"The demonic energy concentration in the air is decreasing!"
"I can feel... the breath of life!"
Indeed, at the domain's edge, a tender green grassling stubbornly broke through the soil. Immediately after, a second stalk, a third stalk, in a short while, a vibrant green meadow appeared at the domain's perimeter. Clear water began to have small fish swimming within, and the sky saw the long-absent appearance of birds.
All this happened within merely one hour. Yet to Xiao Qi, this one hour was longer than a hundred years. His face was already pale as paper, and the hand maintaining the domain trembled slightly. Although the demon head deep in the swamp had been weakened by more than half, it still stubbornly resisted.
"Give up!" The demon head issued its final roar. "No matter how purely you purify this land, as long as the negative emotions in this world do not perish, I can regenerate infinitely!"
Xiao Qi suddenly laughed: "You are right. Therefore, I must not only purify this land but even more purify human hearts."
His palms suddenly came together, and the Green Lotus Domain abruptly contracted. All purification power concentrated on the demon head. Amidst a miserable shriek, this demonic soul ultimately transformed into a wisp of green smoke, thoroughly dissipating.
The domain scattered, and Xiao Qi nearly fell from mid-air. The cultivators waiting outside immediately rushed forward to support him.
"Alliance Leader! Are you alright?"
Xiao Qi waved his hand and gazed downward. With his standing position at the center as a reference point, the ten-li area all around had become a pure land. The lake water rippled with gentle waves, grass grew lushly like a carpet, flowers bloomed, forming a stark contrast with the gray-black dead land surrounding it.
"This is only the beginning." Xiao Qi said softly. "Order that, using this place as a base, we will gradually purify outward. One day, this dead land will regain new life."
As he departed, looking back, he saw that the newborn oasis was continuously expanding. Though the speed was slow, it was indeed spreading outward.
This news quickly spread throughout the three realms. When representatives from each race saw the vibrant oasis in the recorded images, everyone was fired up. That even the most severely polluted dead land could be purified, what, then, was impossible?
Yet only Xiao Qi himself knew how great the consumption of this battle had been. Had he not borrowed the power of two quasi-immortal treasures, relying on his own strength alone, he could not possibly have purified such a vast area of dead land. And such dead lands numbered over ten throughout the three realms.
The road ahead was long, yet he had already seen hope. As long as he persevered, the day would come when the wounds left by the Demon Calamity would all heal. And what he must do was steadfastly walk this path.