Chapter 18: Pathogen Domain Classification, The Ancient Ones!

For Jiang Yan, a hardcore folklore enthusiast, frequently entering a Pathogen Domain could hardly be considered a punishment.

On the contrary, after being diagnosed with cancer, his mindset underwent a subtle shift; he began to grow weary of his ordinary, boring daily life, and instead, the bizarre and grotesque Pathogen Domains opened the door to a new world for him, allowing him to see so many interesting and beautiful mutated creatures.

How could that not be a pleasure?

Not to mention, his Demon God embryo grew continuously by using countless mutated creatures as nourishment.

One man's poison is another man's gold mine!

Even without this side effect, he would have found ways to seek out more Pathogen Domains himself.

As for having too many offspring, leading to being submerged in history at every moment and opening Pathogen Domains?

That was even less of a concern, because Jiang Yan could control his output.

Don't forget, his offspring could devour each other to upgrade; after all, too many skills would appear cluttered, so it was better to prune the dross and keep only the core abilities.

Once the number of offspring decreased, even if their quality improved, the speed of entering Pathogen Domains would slow down.

To want or not to want, it was all just a matter of a single thought.

Ba Lie looked at the silent Jiang Yan, his heart sinking to the bottom; he no longer held any hope of recruiting the other party, but since he had already spoken, he decided to see the good deed through to the end:

"You don't need to worry too much. Only destroying the present world will significantly accelerate things; just using skills doesn't have much of an impact. Generally speaking, the Pathogen Domains that History Walkers enter do not exceed their own level by too much. After all, the River of History needs us to excise the mutations, not to use us as expendable filler for the pits.

A situation like yours, starting at the Grade A Turbid Flow difficulty boundary, is rare. By the way, you probably aren't clear on the classification of Pathogen Domain danger levels yet, so let me explain it to you.

The first stage is called the [Barren Level], like a river during a dry season; no mutated creatures exceeding the Spirit Opening Realm will appear, and most are pseudo-demons tainted by the mutation.

For example, the Pathogen Domain creature most newcomers encounter first—the Shadow of the Displaced. These are humans who died in disasters throughout history; their unwillingness and resentment twisted within the mutations of the River of History, forming shadows that linger in the past.

Some formed into gaunt, evil ghosts that devour everything in sight, while others, despite their bodies rotting, oozing pus, and crawling with flies, became Shadows of Impurity, yet they still search for the living to spread their own viruses. Besides these, there are monsters born from droughts, floods, and other calamities. No matter where you go, it is always the common people who suffer the most..."

"The second level is the [Turbid Flow Level], like the murky water at the start of a flood season. It will flush out some strange and powerful creatures, but the highest will not exceed the peak of the Dao Foundation Realm.

At this stage, if they are not resolved, the filth within will clog the river, leading to siltation, and the flow of water scouring the reality will also decrease. But this is not a good thing; if it isn't dredged in time, you should know what will happen, right?"

"A levee breach," Jiang Yan replied.

As a people who grew up under the nightmare of the Yellow River—the Mother River—changing its course, both history books and textbooks recorded the terror of the Yellow River breaching its levees.

Every time it occurred, it meant millions of corpses and the land laid waste, shaking the rule of any dynasty.

Compared to the gentle-natured and resource-rich Nile, the Yellow River was simply a demon god on earth, making the lives of those living nearby miserable. It wasn't until modern times, with a focus on afforestation, the aid of modern technological means, and powerful coordination capabilities along with near-perfect post-disaster rescue, that the Yellow River began to appear a bit kinder.

There is even a saying circulating on the internet.

The Yellow River will punish every emperor who does not properly maintain water conservancy.

Just kidding, if you maintain it well, I will punish you too.

Only the strong are worthy of being its children.

"That's right, it's the Great River breaching its levees, turning into a surging flood that sweeps away everything."

Ba Lie was lost in thought, seemingly caught in memories, but he quickly came back to his senses and continued:

"This stage is called the [Levee Breach Level]. After this, there is the [Annihilation Level], signifying the annihilation of civilization and the interruption of history."

Barren, Turbid Flow, Levee Breach, Annihilation.

They are further divided into Grade A, B, C, and D.

Ba Lie said: "There are even higher levels of Pathogen Domains, but those are too far off. The highest we can come into contact with is the Levee Breach Level. Knowing too much is not a good thing; it only adds to one's troubles.

Back to the Levee Breach Level: before the breach, there is an initial stage called the Flood Season or the Siltation Period. It is like a warning before a flood breaches the levee; the River of History will show various omens. During this time, mutated creatures of the Dharma Seed Realm will appear, or even... terrifying demons who hold the Ranks of the Old Days."

"What are the Ranks of the Old Days? Can History Walkers also promote to them?"

Jiang Yan asked, like a sponge, not letting any opportunity to suck up the water of knowledge pass by.

He wished he could drain Ba Lie of all his knowledge.

"You kid really knows how to ask. This content, if placed on the dark web dedicated to History Walkers, would be worth at least one hundred thousand yuan. But since you met me, nicknamed 'Old Ba who loves to share,' I'll tell you. However, before saying that, I have to ask you a question."

Ba Lie asked: "Do you know when the River of History began to mutate?"

Jiang Yan was stunned upon hearing this; he really couldn't think of an answer.

But looking at the mutations of the immortals and gods, it should be very ancient, right?

"The answer is, no one knows." The one who spoke was Zhao Yinman.

I didn't ask you to answer!

Ba Lie rolled his eyes. He had wanted to build some suspense, but he could only continue:

"Indeed, no one knows when the River of History began to mutate. Perhaps it was before humans were born, perhaps it was when the Ancestral Dragon ascended Mount Tai to sacrifice to the gods and promised to surpass the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, or perhaps it only started yesterday.

It sounds illogical, but you only need to know that rules are for mortals to follow. After the River of History mutated, it interfered with the present world and twisted time. All the demons, ghosts, monsters, and spirits that existed in the past and in illusions, as well as ancient practitioners and eternal ruins, manifested accordingly...

Rather than saying they have always existed, it is more like countless parallel worlds possessing extraordinary power are superimposed onto the past of the single timeline that is the present world. They are constantly squeezing toward the present, forming the extraordinary system we have today."

"The power of a History Walker comes from the River of History, but it does not rely on slaying monsters, but rather on anchoring oneself..."

"Anchoring to the Ancient!"

"Anchoring... the Ancient?"

Jiang Yan's pupils trembled slightly. He repeated these words softly, seemingly understanding something, and suddenly raised his head.

He suddenly thought of the changes in Pan'an Old Street.

The ruins in the boundary land had fed back into the present world.

If a Pathogen Domain could influence history, then...

What about History Walkers?

Are they cleaners of history? Or a part of history?

Is the excised Pathogen Domain truly a mutated history?

"As expected of a genius rated Grade A-plus by the River of History, you guessed it so quickly."

Ba Lie smiled and said: "We kill monsters and extract historical relics, skills, and knowledge; in essence, we are plundering their extraordinary traits and concepts of existence, attaching them to ourselves, thereby making us ancient as well. And the stronger our strength, the deeper into history we can enter, gradually engraving our own influence, and even... interfering with reality."

"Ancient things are not necessarily powerful, but once we become powerful, we will inevitably become..."

"The Ancient Ones!"

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(End of chapter)