Chapter 19: Reversing Effect into Cause, Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands (Requesting Monthly Tickets, Requesting Follow Reads)

Although accepting so much information at once was a lot, for Jiang Yan, who often surfed the internet, it was not difficult to understand, and he realized the problem:

"Then what about the corruption?"

Although I don't know if the Transcendent World obeys the laws of physics, the law of conservation of mass should be universal, right?

In this process, where did the corruption go?

"It was absorbed by us."

Baly explained: "This brings us to the role of the Present World; although it does not generate the transcendent, it encompasses everything and can contain the transcendent, and even the corruption.

Once a creature of the Corrupted Domain is infected with corruption, it must constantly advance to suppress the side effects, otherwise its sanity will be swallowed, turning it into a twisted monster, but after its strength increases, it will be dragged deeper into the river of history, encountering even more severe corruption, repeating the cycle, an eternal samsara.

However, we only need to return to the Present World regularly to curb the corruption to a certain extent; remember, it is curbing, not curing, for if one becomes too tainted with corruption in the Corrupted Domain, it will still lead to aberration, especially since the usage conditions for some skills of Historical Walkers are too harsh, constantly devouring and twisting one's sanity until they ultimately become monsters.

But this effect alone has already driven those corrupted creatures and the Corrupted Domains mad; they want to descend upon reality to seize this homeland that belongs to us, thereby gaining a moment of respite, and even believe that a secret to escaping corruption is hidden here.

But the Present World is limited; a massive influx of corrupted creatures will inevitably lead to a struggle for resources, even destroying this pure land of the Present World; this is a war to defend our homeland, with no option to retreat—it is either they die, or we perish."

Jiang Yan nodded, understanding the importance of the Present World.

This was equivalent to the fountain in Honor of Kings, except what it restored was not HP, but SAN (sanity) values.

Although the recovery speed was very slow, it at least curbed the worsening of corruption to a certain extent and offset some of the side effects of skills.

But this Present World, capable of containing countless timelines, twisted corruptions, and various transcendent elements,

seemed even more bizarre!

But presumably, no one would dare to think about this matter, or rather...

They dared not.

"Since you have experienced few Corrupted Domains, you probably don't know yet that the speed at which Historical Walkers inhale and exhale spirituality and cultivate skills within them increases significantly; the deeper the historical depth, the higher the bonus, though the number of bizarre encounters also increases.

As for the classification of depth, it is generally bounded by dynasties, following the chronological order, which is also convenient for memorization; for example, the Qing dynasty where the Wang Ting of Corpse Liberation is located constitutes one depth, along with Ming, Yuan, and so on.

It's not to say that experts from the Wang Ting of Corpse Liberation would be mere fodder in deep history, but Corrupted Domains that sink to deeper positions absolutely possess taboo secrets or terrifying ancient existences, moreover the corruption is more severe, the total number of experts is greater, and the upper limit is also higher.

As for the Corrupted Domain instances that surge into the Present World, they are also random; sometimes, Corrupted Domains of multiple depths will intertwine and merge, becoming even more terrifying and bizarre.

Ultimately, all of this stems from the river of history forcing us to anchor ourselves step by step into the past, seeking the source of corruption and plundering ancient spirituality, while simultaneously leaving traces in the past that in turn influence the present, forming a closed loop.

Perhaps the legends of the Present World today only appeared after certain ancient existences anchored themselves in the past."

"In other words, we might also become ancient legends?" Jiang Yan's gaze was filled with shock as he felt the terror of the Historical Walker system.

Truly... reversing effect into cause!

"Of course you can, but at the very least, you must be powerful enough; even the Old Record Realm, which is above the Transcendent stage, is far from sufficient." Baly laughed heartily.

Jiang Yan smiled slightly and said nothing; with the assistance of the Demon God Embryo, if he still lacked confidence, he might as well go home early to farm.

Baly did not continue painting grand pictures next; instead, he began describing the transcendent system: "The transcendent has three stages; the first stage is Spirit Opening, and the second is Dao Foundation, both of which must be crossed using a Practice Method to condense the soil that bears transcendent power; upon reaching this step, the essence of life improves, and ordinary firearms cannot pose a threat, though unless you are a body cultivator, it is not recommended to withstand them head-on.

Even body cultivators will die if covered by firepower; the reason for mentioning them is to say... we are different, we have brains.

However, within the Corrupted Domains, modern technology is affected by historical dust, reducing its power or even rendering it ineffective, but firearms or props born within the Corrupted Domains are unaffected; indeed, some Corrupted Domains have spawned mechanical lifeforms and flesh-based technology, which have inspirational effects on modern civilization."

'This effectively prevents certain major powers from using firepower to scour the earth and farm points!' Jiang Yan thought silently.

"The third stage of the transcendent—Dharma Seed; one gathers Qi to condense a Dharma Seed, and after advancing, lifespan increases to one hundred and fifty years; upon reaching this step, your skills transform from Arts into Laws; for example, the firearm in your hand upgrades into a cannon, with greatly increased power."

Having said so much, Baly felt somewhat thirsty; he originally intended to just endure it, but unexpectedly, Jiang Yan looked behind him first, where blood threads permeated the room, and picked up two bottles of mineral water, handing them to him and Zhao Zhao Yinman.

"You two have worked hard; have some water."

This power of observation was truly meticulous.

But why... couldn't they let us go inside and sit for a while?

Baly complained inwardly, thanked him, took the water and drank a sip to moisten his throat, then continued: "The first two realms can still be achieved through self-cultivation, but starting from the third stage, the required Dharma Qi cannot be nurtured in the Present World; even if there is any, it is found only in forbidden lands related to Historical Walkers or ancient demons.

Therefore, to advance to the Dharma Seed stage, one can only actively sink into the river of history to seek a Corrupted Domain of the corresponding attribute and above the Turbid Current level; furthermore, Qi is similar to heavenly treasures and earthly materials, often targeted by great demons before they even fully form, who guard them waiting to swallow them upon maturity to seek advancement, making the collection process fraught with danger."

This method of leveling up completely forces Historical Walkers to continuously sink deeper into the river of history; of course, one could also choose to rot, but sooner or later, one will still be forcibly entered into a Corrupted Domain.

Or else, thousands of Corrupted Domains will surge into the Present World, which is still a dead end.

Jiang Yan was not afraid, however, and asked curiously: "Mr. Baly, you mentioned that there are many sects and noble families in the Present World; where does the Qi they need for advancement come from?"

A sect or faction must have an orderly inheritance; otherwise, it is difficult to generate cohesion, let alone compete with the government for talent.

"Congratulations, Watson, you've finally discovered the blind spot."

Baly made a detective reference and explained:

"The reason they are able to maintain an orderly inheritance is that they have occupied some Corrupted Domains capable of producing corresponding Dharma Qi or treasures; after killing the Demon Domain Lords within, they use special methods to refine the space and fix it near the Present World, euphemistically calling them—Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands.

In my opinion, those are more like hells; although I don't like them, I have to admit that this is indeed a shortcut for rapidly cultivating talent.

I do not recommend you join a noble family, because they trust more in bloodline or master-disciple inheritance, cultivating from childhood and instilling responsibility and values; for outsiders to join, unless they make great contributions, it is very difficult to enter these Corrupted Domains.

On the contrary, our Historical Correction Bureau treats everyone equally regardless of origin; since these rare transcendent resources require time to nurture, they are generally distributed according to contribution, and there are also policies to incentivize newcomers; for example, recently there was a newcomer training session in Jiangnan Province, where the rewards for the top three included entry into a precious Corrupted Domain nurturing treasures."

At this moment, Baly revealed his dagger from the map, tempting him with benefits.

He was not lying; for noble families and sects regarding outsiders, at most they absorb them as guest advisors, and some extreme families even plant spells to control them, ensuring loyalty.

It was no different from being a dog, or even worse; the former only needs to guard the house, while the latter are the cattle and horses among cattle and horses, no different from livestock.

But there was no need to tell Jiang Yan these things, as it was not conducive to unity.

"Besides cultivation-type Corrupted Domains, some Cave Heaven Domains are also open to the public, inside of which some special corrupted creatures are nurtured.

For example, there are Wine Jar Demons that can brew various fine wines when irrigated with blood; one sip can make you sleep for a month.

There are Eerie Peach Trees bearing peach fruits with human faces; eating them allows one to forget troubles and sever emotional ties.

There are also rare Corrupted Domains that nurture divination-type creatures, where one can calculate their own future, though one can only see bad events.

In addition, there are various humanoid demons, such as the legendary most moist Slug Demoness, the handsome Donkey Demon Boy, and even Corrupted Domains that raise low-level Heavenly Demons; as long as you have money, you can enjoy a paradise of supreme pleasure within them, satisfying the strange hobbies of many fellows; if there's a chance... ahem, I haven't been there, nor am I interested in going!"

Facing the suspicious gazes of the two, Baly cleared his throat lightly, his expression becoming serious, and reminded Jiang Yan: "However, in the river of history, what you need to be most careful of is not monsters, but the humans living within the Corrupted Domains!"

"Join us, and you can learn this ability to subtly change the subject, plus you can play using public funds."

Zhao Zhao Yinman suddenly spoke up, not forgetting the mission she had just been assigned, and seriously introduced the branch bureau's benefits.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Hearing this, Ba Lie, who was drinking water, spat it out in a spray and coughed repeatedly.

Great-grandma, is this a capability worth showing off?

And... is the latter something that can be said???

Please stop using those eyes so skilled at finding flaws.

"Are there humans deep in history too?"

Jiang Yan pretended not to hear the remark, his expression feigning surprise; he had thought the River of History was filled entirely with the shadows of refugees and bizarre mutated creatures.

"Otherwise, where do you think the limbs spliced onto the Wang Ting cavalry of the Corpse-Release Court come from? They certainly wouldn't use their own people," Ba Lie said with a sigh, his expression wistful:

"History Walkers are not suited for frequent entry into the Plague Domains. Some desolate-level Plague Domains merely form monster nests; killing them carries no psychological burden. But some high-level Plague Domains have formed special alien civilizations, or even... human civilizations.

Except for living there, their appearance is no different from humans in the Present World. Even the lower-class humans there do not know of the Present World's existence, believing the world they live in is the true world.

This cannot be compared to manipulating characters to kill NPCs in a game. Anyone with a moral compass will have their sanity collapse under prolonged slaughter, or even become infected by the mutation and turn into a monster.

Yet although they possess intelligence and can communicate, they cannot be trusted. After all, to survive, they have voluntarily accepted various mutated transcendent systems. But this is drinking poison to quench thirst; only by ascending to the Present World can the mutation be halted. For this, they will stop at nothing, using your bones as a raft to fight their way across to the Present World."

Ba Lie sighed; these were experiences summarized one by one by History Walkers with blood and tears.

Even if Jiang Yan did not join the Historical Correction Bureau, he was willing to offer a few more reminders, perhaps to provide help at a critical moment.

The more powerful beings there are, the safer the Present World becomes.

Seeing Jiang Yan thinking seriously, he finally smiled. "Once you reach the Law Seed Realm, you count as a mainstay in any faction. Beyond that, the Old Script..."

Before he could finish, the sound of a phone vibrating came from Ba Lie's body. He unlocked the screen, glanced at the incoming message, frowned, but quickly relaxed.

A thought sprang up in his heart. Looking at Jiang Yan, he said meaningfully:

"Since you are so interested in the Old Script Realm, would you like to go with us to execute a suppression mission?"

Two chapters released back-to-back. Continuing to ask for monthly votes, for follows, and for recommendation votes. This is very important for a new book. If you have good suggestions or know of any Historical Relics, please leave a comment in the comment section.

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(End of this chapter)