Grinding Cultivation Toward Martial Saint

But it’s completely different after achieving the Primordial Spirit.

The Primordial Spirit merges with heaven and earth, interacting with them.

Relying solely on instinct, one can perceive all the changes in the surrounding world.

As his thoughts stirred, he instantly understood that these deceased civilians had been long tempted in secret by the God Worship Sect, or they simply lived within the range covered by the Blood and Flesh God’s aura, their bodies and minds deeply eroded by the power of that Evil God.

Their vitality had long been faintly connected with the Evil God, like parasitic vines.

Now that the Blood and Flesh God has completely fallen, its authority seized, these parasitized mortals have lost their final support, becoming like rootless wood, swiftly withering away.

He sighed inwardly but felt little emotional upheaval.

This matter was not his fault, but the crimes committed by the God Worship Sect and the Blood and Flesh God.

The only thing he can do is to eradicate the source of harm and prevent more people from suffering.

Now that he has slain the Blood and Flesh God and stripped it of its authority, the permanent demise of the Blood and Flesh God means it can no longer bring harm to Great Xia.

Then, his Divine Sense swept over the entire city once more like an invisible tide, this time more meticulously.

He saw in the dwellings with dissipated auras, bodies lying quietly, both old and young. Some had peaceful expressions as if sleeping, while others bore remnants of agonized, twisted looks.

"Residence Master Lin." Jiang Ning withdrew his Divine Sense, his voice calm and uneventful, "Dispatch people to patrol the city while clearing the Blood Pool. Many civilians have just passed away. Collect their bodies uniformly, identify them, and if they have relatives, provide condolences and lay them to rest properly. Do not incite panic over this matter."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Ning waved his hand.

Several silver notes flew to Lin Yuan.

"These are the condolence payments. I hope you will be smart enough not to do anything foolish!" Jiang Ning spoke lightly.

His gaze swept over Lin Yuan’s body.

Lin Yuan suddenly shivered all over, feeling as if icy water had poured over his head, like being plunged into a cold cave.

"Yes!" Lin Yuan’s throat rolled as cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He trembled as he accepted the thick stack of silver notes, only feeling them as heavy as a thousand pounds.

The Marquis’s gaze was indifferent, yet it seemed to pierce through everything, making those subtle flashes of thought and fleeting luck in his heart appear quite exposed.

Jiang Ning said no more, and with a slight movement of his form, he disappeared from his original spot.

In the sky, only a faint black-and-white streak of light remained.

Lin Yuan stood in place for a moment until his subordinate soldiers cautiously approached him, snapping him back to reality.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the flutter in his heart, and turned around to shout sternly, "What are you dazing for?! Follow the Marquis’s orders immediately! Mobilize everyone, split into two teams! One team clears the Blood Pool, collects corpses. The other, comes with me to patrol all the neighborhoods in the city and register all the deceased!"

His voice carried a slight tremble, almost unnoticeable.

He knew, from today onwards, the skies over Jieshan City had completely changed.

The shadow previously cast by the God Worship Sect over the city was effortlessly brushed away by that Dongling Marquis.

He had always been aware of the traces of the God Worship Sect’s extensive activities within the city before.

But he had only dared to turn a blind eye because he had long experienced the God Worship Sect’s coercion and power.

He knew that if he showed any impulse back then, he would have died violently at home.

But after today, all those issues would no longer be a problem.

He looked down at the silver notes in his hand, not daring to entertain any extraneous thoughts.

...

On the other side.

Jiang Ning had not gone far.

He directly stopped atop a mountain a hundred miles away.

From the mountain a hundred miles away, he could still feel all the changes in Jieshan City.

"Land of Ruins, I don’t know, but Senior Sister Shen and others should know!" He stood atop the mountain, murmuring softly.

Then, with a flip of his wrist, the Ten Domains Heavenly Patrol Order distributed earlier by the Haoyang True Inheritor appeared in his hand.

Before, he had always kept the token on him as instructed by the Haoyang True Inheritor, allowing it to absorb Great Sun Energy, but later found it troublesome and simply stored it within the mustard seed.

At this moment, holding the Ten Domains Heavenly Patrol Order, a strand of Divine Thought infused into it.

In an instant.

He saw a chat window, glimpsed Shen Yueru, saw Lu Xun of Jiuhua Mountain, saw Ning Ke, saw Shi Jun of Earth Source Sect, and saw the messages previously left by Lin Yuexi and others.

Lin Yuexi’s messages were the most frequent in the chat.

Apart from this, only he and Bai Li have not spoken a single word.

"Information exchange, mutual sharing!" He murmured inwardly.

Then, with a thought, his Divine Thought transformed into words emerging.

[Jiang Ning]: Senior Sister Shen, are you there?

His words appeared in the chat window, akin to a stone dropped into a lake, silent for several breaths.

[Lin Yuexi]: Brother Jiang, why are you looking for Senior Sister Shen?

Seeing Lin Yuexi taking the initiative to break the silence, Jiang Ning stirred his mind, allowing his Divine Thought to form words once more.

[Jiang Ning]: Ah, it’s Junior Sister Lin! I’m seeking Senior Sister Shen to ask some questions; Senior Sister Shen is the chieftain of the Red Flame Sword Sect, she should be well-versed.

[Lin Yuexi]: Brother Jiang, you’re underestimating me! I, Lin Yuexi, in the Flower Cave Heaven, am reputed as a moving encyclopedia.

[Jiang Ning]: I wonder if Junior Sister Lin knows about the ’Land of Ruins’? I recently encountered a place named ’Gui Xu’, but there aren’t many records in ancient texts, so I wanted to learn more about the Land of Ruins.

[Lin Yuexi]:...

With Jiang Ning’s words trailing off, the chat window fell silent for a moment.

Just as Jiang Ning believed Shen Yueru wouldn’t respond for a while, a name that had never spoken in the chat suddenly popped up.

[Bai Li]: I know the Land of Ruins.

This concise sentence seemed to surprise the others in the chat window.

[Lin Yuexi]: Senior Brother Bai?! You’re actually online?

[Ning Ke]: It’s rare; Bai Li actually spoke!

Bai Li disregarded the others’ astonishment, continuing to send information briefly and concisely.

[Bai Li]: The Land of Ruins is not a place in the usual sense. It’s the deepest layer of the Time River, where the concepts of time and space become void.

[Bai Li]: There, no distinctions exist between time and space, nor is there a four directions realm of up, down, left, and right. If we compare our current world to a ceaselessly flowing river, the Land of Ruins is the riverbed—a profoundly silent, indefinable, immeasurable void.

[Bai Li]: Any living being or consciousness, without external anchors or strong guidance, will easily become lost when delving into the Land of Ruins. The absence of time means consciousness will gradually become confused due to a lack of reference, and the lack of space means total loss of direction.

[Bai Li]: For this reason, since Ancient Times, during certain catastrophes, some extremely powerful beings choose to enter the Land of Ruins to avoid calamity and disaster. Including certain special existences unable to appear in the world, they too hide within the Land of Ruins. For them, it’s the perfect sanctuary but also a cage; once deeply entrapped, returning to the Ten Directions Realm becomes nearly impossible.

[Jiang Ning]: I see! Thank you, Senior Brother Bai Li, for clarifying. But regarding the Time River mentioned earlier by Senior Brother Bai, what does it mean?

[Lin Yuexi]: It seems Brother Jiang is quite uninformed; I know about the Time River too.

[Jiang Ning]: I seek Junior Sister Lin’s enlightenment.

[Lin Yuexi]: Since Brother Jiang has asked, I shall try! The Ten Directions Realm where we reside, and indeed all things defined and undefined, living and non-living, have their foundations and networks relying on the ’Time River.’

[Lin Yuexi]: Brother Jiang can imagine the ’Time River’ as a limitless, seamless flowing grandiose river. It’s not ordinary water flow, but a stream carrying the fundamental laws of ’existence’ itself. The Ten Directions Realm where we are in, whether Great Xia in the human world where Brother Jiang is located or the Cave Heaven Blessed Lands where our sects are, are waves in this river.

[Lin Yuexi]: It can be said, without the Time River, there would be no foundational existence for the Ten Directions Realm.

[Lin Yuexi]: As for living beings—whether ordinary humans, cultivators, Demon Clan, or Gods—essentially, we are all ’fish’ swimming in the Time River. We are born in the river, grow within it, and our thoughts, actions, and existence are nurtured and propelled by it. Where we currently stand is at the furthest endpoint of the Time River; the past is where the river has flowed, and the future is the direction in which the river is destined to rush forward.

[Lin Yuexi]: But the vast majority of beings, throughout their lives, are unable to realize they exist in a ’river,’ much less perceive the river’s form and flow direction. Recognizing the truth of the ’Time River’ is limited to those who comprehend the essence of heaven and earth—the True Immortals of the previous era. What is ’true’? One becomes true by seeing the truth of the world. The words True Immortal signify beings able to truly transcend heaven and earth’s bonds, realizing they are merely ’fish’ swimming in the Time River, and perceive the world’s origin.

Here, Lin Yuexi’s words also paused in the chat window, seemingly allowing Jiang Ning time for reflection.