Chapter 194: A Moment to Speak (Seeking Subscriptions)

The sky was clear, and the crowd was harmonious.

In the air, a True Monarch of Wild Song sang joyfully while riding the clouds; on the ground, ordinary commoners were silently tilling the fields.

Turning around, one could see cultivators in high spirits, gathered together to drink merrily. From the subtle and exquisite details, one could discern the differences in their respective cultivations, from Void Refinement stage True Men to Qi Refining stage minor cultivators, yet they existed together in one place without any status barriers, each drinking to their heart's content.

Turning one's head again, one only saw a group of common folk gathered before a low platform, upon which a Great Vehicle stage Venerable was explaining the principles of heaven and earth, leaving the commoners listening in a state of fascination.

If one continued to look carefully, one could also see demon beasts maintaining their animal forms, minor demons with wild beast heads, great demons who had fully transformed, as well as other beings such as ghosts, monks, aliens, strange spirits, and so on, scattered and dotted across the mountains, in the towns, and in every aspect of life.

Together, they composed and painted a picture of a prosperous and peaceful age.

And so, in the end, Du En looked up.

In the center of the dome, a door, extremely blurred, was painted. The door seemed to extend downward into a nine-step ladder, and the surroundings were wrapped in various abstract yet orderly lines, making one feel dizzy; yet, in this dizziness, one seemed to vaguely see that those abstract lines were actually individual people?

"That is?"

"An Immortal."

As Du En could not help but frown, Meng Changqing's voice suddenly sounded.

Without realizing it, he had actually been immersed in this painted mural for nearly half a day, to the point that he hadn't even noticed Meng Changqing approaching brazenly.

"That is, an Immortal?"

"To be more precise, it is an Immortal from the imagination, I suppose."

Meng Changqing also looked up at the dome mural, his tone sounding inexplicably melancholy, "Look, their movements—are they reaching out from behind the door and grabbing that nine-step ladder?"

"……I really can't tell."

Du En stared for another moment, shaking his throbbing head as he gave this answer.

And so, the scene fell into temporary silence.

After a while, Meng Changqing lowered his head, his expression appearing solemn and earnest: "Now that there is finally a bit of free time, so, do you really have no doubts? Why didn't you ask me to verify whether the words I said to that evil cultivator earlier were true or false?"

"You choosing to act alone earlier should have a direct connection to this, right?"

Having checked himself while alone, Meng Changqing had made some subtle adjustments to his attitude, his minute expressions, and the tone of his speech.

No, it should be said that this was the real him under normal circumstances.

To this, Du En replied: "Because it was clear that you were not lying at the time; the wasteland for burying corpses must indeed be a place established to brew resentment and evil."

Watching his consistently calm demeanor, Meng Changqing's brows lifted slightly, his expression softening a little, and he nodded, thoughtful: "You were not too surprised; in fact, you had already sensed it!"

"I did indeed have a vague suspicion."

Du En was very straightforward, stating the details he had noticed long ago: "First, the border city of Nanmo does not set any restrictions on the lower-class people outside the city; it only mentions a word or two about the rules, which is practically encouraging them to flee in silence."

"This also opens a convenient door for evil cultivators, especially after my conversation with Li Jian, when he mentioned the escapees and evil objects."

"This led me to further think that Qi Refining stage cultivators and first-tier demon beasts can enter and exit the border at will without restriction; this is clearly an intentional setup by the Immortal Sect."

"Why do this? Because it is necessary to increase the survival pressure on the lower classes, to increase the extreme emotions of the lower classes, and to provide soil for the growth of evil cultivators and evil objects. This not only involves the layout regarding the ruins here but can also be used to continue to increase the panic of the lower classes, creating more tragic deaths, wrongful deaths, evil corpses, and strange corpses."

"Finally, there is the corpse-transport supervisor Li Jian; his former Dao companion and lover, Zhu'er, only encountered the resentment and evil after participating in the corpse transport. Added to the experiences of Li Jian, who was once a corpse-buryer, one can only say that the truth of the wasteland has gradually become obvious."

Du En recounted, with a calm and unruffled heart, the things he had connected one after another.

After listening, Meng Changqing just nodded lightly: "Indeed, this bit of truth was not hidden too deeply, because it is not the root, nor can it be considered the key."

And so, Du En asked the key question: "What is the purpose of the Immortal Sect going to such great lengths to cultivate resentment and evil? What exactly do they want to use it for?"

"……I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Right, I don't know, because the ins and outs of this matter are known only to the Sect Master. As for others, they either choose to obey completely and not investigate, or they can only try to dig out the truth by probing from the side. Regrettably, I have not yet found any useful information, so I can only answer that I don't know."

Meng Changqing's sincere words made Du En raise his brows slightly.

After some thought, he continued to ask: "Is it only here in Nanmo, or do other places have similar locations?"

"If it is in the form of a wasteland for burying corpses, then indeed, only Nanmo has it. But if it involves resentment and evil, or suspected involvement, then there are quite a few places."

Speaking to this point, Meng Changqing raised his hand and waved it, indicating to stop this topic for now.

Because if expanded upon, it could be discussed for a long time, and currently, it had no connection to Du En.

So, he set it aside for now.

Du En had no objection to this.

And so, the topic moved to the next one.

While looking at the murals on the four walls, Meng Changqing said: "As things stand, I understand why that evil cultivator was a bit more clear-headed, questioning the resentment and evil and taking different actions. Looking at how much he cared about you, and some subtle clues he showed, I will make a bold guess: he previously wanted to possess you to use this identity to lurk by my side, right?"

"Mm, that is indeed the case."

Du En appeared concise, with no intention of explaining in depth, and instead asked: "Are other Immortal Sects not intervening in the dark? Logically speaking, since it involves the Sect Master's schemes, they should be interested in stepping in to try to explore, utilize, or destroy and sabotage, right?"

"That is indeed the case, provided they know and are interested."

"Is that why Nanmo was chosen? Because it is located in the heartland, or rather, a tiny corner far from the front lines?"

"If we really talk about it, Nanmo is actually not too far from the front lines; after all, our vast Immortal Sect has enemies on all sides."

Meng Changqing seemed to be refuting, but immediately spoke again: "However, the fact that the wasteland for burying corpses is located here is indeed due to the geographical advantage."

"That's right, just as you thought: this place is closest to the Nancang Ruins. In fact, one could say that it is precisely because of this ruin that our sect has traveled all the way south to explore, constantly bearing external pressure, and has moved Nanmo City thirty times within ten thousand years."

(End of chapter)