Chapter 195: Secret Grievances (Please Subscribe)

"Let's start with the matter of Li Jian. Does his situation have any connection to the influence you all have suffered?"

Seeing that the conversation was growing longer and more drawn out, with a risk of veering off-topic, Du En pulled it back.

"Mm, it is related, because they are of the same origin. That transfer back then might have been the entry point; it's just that at the time, we were all caught in a sudden shift in the situation and were too eager to target one another, so we overlooked it."

"Just speak clearly; don't beat around the bush."

"..."

Meng Changqing was left speechless.

It was clearly because he saw that Du En knew nothing that he had intended to say as much as possible to help him understand the context, yet now he was being criticized for beating around the bush—truly, he didn't appreciate a kind heart!

Shaking his head inwardly, Meng Changqing took a step forward, passing Du En, and fixed his gaze solemnly on a figure painted on the wall—the Mahayana Venerable preaching on the low platform—and said slowly, "Venerable Nancang, he may not have died completely!"

Du En followed his gaze and looked over.

However, the slightly raised brow instead fell back down.

Unexpected, yet within reason.

Who was the one figure that could not be avoided in the Nancang Ruins? Naturally, it was the owner of this dojo ruin, the Mahayana Venerable from ten thousand years ago, Venerable Nancang!

Meng Changqing's tone was solemn, yet tinged with a touch of reverence and expectation: "Ten thousand years ago, it was he who suppressed and killed the primordial Grudge-Fiend. The price was the fall of his dojo and his own death and fall, disappearing along with the Grudge-Fiend."

Speaking to this point, he couldn't help but sigh.

Because now, the Falling Feather Immortal Sect was once again nurturing Grudge-Fiends here, turning these ruins into a place of filth and corruption, previously filled with evil objects and evil cultivators everywhere.

However, this did explain why they hadn't felt that Grudge-Fiends would manifest here before.

Although this place had become a den of filth, Grudge-Fiends certainly had to be discussed separately—no, it should be said...

"The Immortal Sect is doing all this—could it be to completely wear down that Venerable who hasn't died completely?"

Although Grudge-Fiends didn't like to manifest here, it wasn't that they couldn't enter, and those evil cultivators and evil objects treated this place as a lair, which could be seen as the tentacles of the Grudge-Fiend, having already penetrated deep into the dojo ruins of the Venerable who had originally suppressed their ancestor.

The implications of this were self-evident!

"Perhaps that is the case, or perhaps it is more than that, or it might just be a development born of accident. In any case, regarding our Sect Master, without completely definitive evidence, you had best not easily make any guesses or inferences."

Meng Changqing warned Du En, his words devoid of any respect, even revealing a sense of hostility.

Du En just nodded silently, knowing the real meat of the matter was about to come.

Sure enough, Meng Changqing now stood with his back to him, looking around at the wall paintings, spreading his arms as if inviting Du En to immerse himself in them once more, while his tone began to rise, though his voice became heavy.

"Du En, look, this was painted by the Venerable himself ten thousand years ago, depicting the scene of the world from even further back, fifty thousand years ago!"

"At that time, there was no clear separation between immortal cultivation and the mundane; all spirits lived in harmony, all Daos coexisted, and a hundred schools of thought contended—it was truly a flourishing era of vitality and growth!"

"In this infinitely wide, infinitely long world without limits, there was boundless spiritual Qi and resources that could never be squandered. Thus, everyone and every living thing, every Dao, every sect, and every faction could obtain their own nourishment from it!"

"I cannot say there was no struggle, nor that there was no bloodshed, nor that it was perfect, but it was truly a vast and flourishing age. The Immortal Dao was prosperous, and together they built prosperity—only then could there be such a mural of the flourishing of all spirits!"

When Meng Changqing reached this point, his tone changed abruptly.

"And now? This world is extremely twisted and deformed! The Immortal Sects have been fighting for hegemony for ten thousand years, turning the world into a giant breeding and slaughterhouse. Everywhere is filled with tragedy, and all spirits have withered away!"

He was incomparably heartbroken, his words ringing with power.

Du En responded calmly, asking: "Then, why did it become like this?"

Thereupon, Meng Changqing looked up, staring straight ahead.

"Because the Immortal Realm withdrew the Nine-Step Immortal Ascension Ladder, and thus, calamities in the world were forbidden!"

"Nine steps, nine calamities. A Mahayana Venerable standing at the peak of the mundane must undergo nine calamities to attain the Dao, undergo ascension, and ascend to the Immortal Realm above the mundane. But because calamities were forbidden, from then on, calamities in the world ceased and never appeared again."

"If one cannot reach the Tribulation Transcendence stage, then there is no mention of ascending to become an immortal. Thus, this world, this realm, fell into a twisted internal cycle, evolving step by step into what it is now."

Meng Changqing looked at the mural on the dome, at the blurred Heavenly Gate of the Immortal Realm; his gaze held no pain, only unwavering resolve.

Du En, behind him, still asked in a flat voice: "Why would the Immortal Realm do that?"

"Grudge-Fiends!"

Meng Changqing gave his answer: "The Immortal Realm withdrew the Immortal Ascension Ladder, but the Heavenly Gate still hangs alone, waiting for someone to push it open and step into the Immortal Realm behind it."

"In other words, this is actually a trial, a calamity. As long as the people of the world can excise the deformity and distortion and let the world return to the peace and prosperity of ancient times, they can pass this trial and reconnect the Immortal Path!"

"And all of this, the point and the crux, actually lie in one thing, one kind of existence: Grudge-Fiends!"

Du En did not commit to an opinion on this, simply asking in turn: "What exactly is a Grudge-Fiend?"

"They are the resentment and karmic obstacles accumulated by immortal cultivators because they cannot become immortals. From ancient times to the present, over countless years, day by day, there have long been signs!"

"Based solely on what I have tracked and traced, the Primordial Demon Sect, which flourished ten thousand years ago, already mentioned them. And when the Immortal Realm forbade calamities, the signs of their existence were already very common, and they intensified thereafter, finally manifesting completely in the world ten thousand years ago. That is why we must solve it, to solve this deformity and distortion."

"Because this is like undergoing a Heart Demon Tribulation; it is facing the weaknesses of us mortals in the lower realm directly. The more it exists, the less it is faced and excised, the more it will continue to expand!"

"It has now reached a point where it brooks no delay. If we do not find a way to face and solve it, to let everything return to the right track, then this world of immortal cultivation will sooner or later collapse and shatter, disappearing completely!"

"And along with it, dragging the entire world down to be buried with it!"

As for the first part, Du En found it hard to judge its truth, but he quite agreed with these last two paragraphs.

The five great Immortal Sects had been fighting for hegemony for ten thousand years. By now, they produced tens of millions of new immortal cultivators every year, only to basically consume them all—it was entirely a meaningless act, a precursor to losing control!

It was indeed at a point that brooked no delay. If it ever completely lost control, the consequences for the entire world were no joke!

And as for the origin of these Grudge-Fiends, perhaps Meng Changqing was not wrong. In that case, the current state of the immortal cultivation world was entirely a hotbed for nurturing them, achieving this flower of karmic obstacles blooming upon twisted soil!

(End of chapter)