Chapter 65: The Method of Purification, the Aquatics' Gratitude

The design of this altar differed fundamentally from the array formations and magical artifacts of the Eastern Immortal Cultivation civilization. Creations in the Eastern Domain valued "following the natural laws of the Dao," pursuing harmonious resonance with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Their lines were mostly rounded and curved, and their runes were imbued with pictographic meanings. In contrast, the altar before him was filled with cold, precise geometric structures. Every single circuit and interface seemed to have undergone thousands of calculations, pursuing ultimate efficiency and energy conversion, thoroughly marked by artificial modification.

"To use the sacred to restrain the defiled, and then to use the laws to twist the defiled, turning it into a brand-new 'weapon'… This train of thought is quite interesting." Jiang Xiuyuan extended a finger, gently touching the altar's cold metallic surface.

The moment his fingertip came into contact with the altar, a vast divine sense surged in instantly. Like a master decoder, it began frantically analyzing the energy circuits and legal constructs contained within. Within just a few breaths, this altar—which had condensed the essence of Western Holy See alchemy—held no more secrets before Jiang Xiuyuan.

He even managed to reverse-engineer the approximate compositions and refining methods of those unknown catalysts.

"What a pity, the path has gone astray." Jiang Xiuyuan shook his head.

This kind of power was rooted in destruction and pollution; although it could erupt with astonishing might in a short period, it was ultimately rootless duckweed, useless to the Great Dao. It resembled a pure tool or weapon much more than a path of cultivation that could lead to eternity.

With a casual wave of his hand, a surge of spiritual energy poured forth, instantly disintegrating the entire altar, along with those crystal containers, into their most primitive particles, which then dissipated into nothingness. As for the abyss rift, he laid down an even more exquisite sealing formation, completely cutting off its connection to the outside world.

Having finished all this, he turned around, transformed into a stream of light, and returned to the Eastern Sea Water Clan.

When Jiang Xiuyuan's figure reappeared outside the Crystal Palace, the entire Dragon Water Clan was still shrouded in a gloomy and miserable atmosphere. Crown Prince Ao Xuan was anxiously directing the water clan warriors to repair the palace-protecting array, which had been riddled with holes and eroded by the black water. Every face was written with exhaustion and despair.

"Immortal Master!"

Seeing Jiang Xiuyuan return safely, Ao Xuan was both startled and overjoyed, hurriedly welcoming him. "You… you have returned! The source of that black water—"

"It has been resolved." Jiang Xiuyuan's voice was as calm as water, as if he had merely done something insignificant.

"Resolved?" Ao Xuan froze, almost unable to believe his ears. That catastrophic disaster which had plagued the entire Eastern Sea and left even his royal father critically injured and on the verge of death was just like that… resolved?

Jiang Xiuyuan did not offer excessive explanations. Instead, he pointed to the still-churning black ocean outside and said, "Although the source has been removed, this sea area has been deeply polluted. If it is not purified in time, within a century, the vitality of this place will be completely severed, turning it into a dead sea."

Hearing this, the trace of joy that had just arisen within Ao Xuan was instantly extinguished, and his expression turned grave once more. "What the Immortal Master says is true. This black water is venomous beyond compare; we tried various methods yet failed to disperse or purify it, only consuming vast amounts of spiritual energy in the process. I wonder if the Immortal Master has a brilliant solution?"

This was the matter he cared about most. The source was gone, but the lingering poison remained like the Sword of Damocles hanging over the Crystal Palace.

Jiang Xiuyuan pondered for a moment, deliberately putting on an unfathomable air as he said, "This thing is formed by the fusion of extraterrestrial demonic Qi and the water vein laws of this realm, catalyzed through wicked arts. Ordinary water-type or fire-type spells are indeed difficult to make effective. To purify this thing, one must take a different path."

These half-true, half-false words sounded utterly unfathomable to Ao Xuan, who bowed even more respectfully to seek instruction. "I beseech the Immortal Master to impart your wisdom!"

Jiang Xiuyuan slowly said, "All things in nature mutually generate and restrain one another. Although this demonic water is tyrannical, it is not without a solution. Its foundation is 'desolation' and 'defilement'; it must be restrained by 'vitality' and 'purity'."

He reached out, sketching in the air with spiritual energy.

"I have here a 'Three-Talents Spring-Returning Array', which requires the spiritual energies of water, wood, and light as its foundation. Water is used for its 'cleansing' meaning to wash away the form; wood is for its 'generation' meaning to revive vitality; light is for its 'purification' meaning to eradicate demonic nature. Only when the three are combined can it be effective."

As he sketched, an abstruse and complex array diagram floated out of thin air before Ao Xuan. The theory behind this array completely conformed to the logic of Eastern Immortal Cultivation, but the exquisite nature of its structure and the high efficiency of its energy utilization far surpassed Ao Xuan's understanding.

Naturally, this was a "modified" version by Jiang Xiuyuan. He had integrated some of the high-efficiency energy circuits parsed from the Holy See's altar into this array in a way that Eastern cultivators could understand.

Following that, he produced a jade slip and handed it to Ao Xuan: "This array also needs to be paired with elixirs. Recorded within is a formula for the 'Azure Wood Sweet Dew Pill'. Using spiritual plants containing massive vitality as the principal ingredients, supplemented by purifying treasures, refining them into pills and casting them into the array eyes will greatly accelerate the purification speed."

With trembling hands, Ao Xuan received the array diagram and the jade slip, treating them like a supreme treasure. Just by taking a cursory glance, he knew their value was incalculable. This was not merely a method to resolve the black water disaster; it also contained profound truths of array formations and alchemy.

"Immortal Master… This grace of reinvention bestowed by the Immortal Master is something our Eastern Sea Water Clan will never forget for all eternity!" Overwhelmed with emotion, Ao Xuan prepared to drop to his knees and prostrate before Jiang Xiuyuan.

Jiang Xiuyuan casually raised a hand to support him, saying indifferently, "A mere trivial matter. I am a person of the wilds, wandering here and unable to bear the sight of living beings suffering a catastrophe. You should act upon this as quickly as possible."

With those words, he took Jiang Yiyi and Jiang Xiaobai to settle down within the water clan, awaiting the results in tranquility.

The operational efficiency of the Eastern Sea Water Clan was astonishing. Once a clear and feasible method was obtained, Ao Xuan immediately mobilized all resources. Countless dragonfolk skilled in water-type spells, sea monsters proficient in flora-based powers, and strange water clan beings naturally capable of emitting purifying light were organized to begin deploying the massive "Three-Talents Spring-Returning Array" at the edge of the black water-polluted zone.

Simultaneously, various spiritual herbs and immortal woods stored in the water clan's treasury for tens of thousands of years were unhesitatingly brought out and handed over to the water clan's alchemists, who began stoking the cauldrons day and night.

Seven days later, the grand array was initially completed.

As Ao Xuan personally cast the first batch of refined "Azure Wood Sweet Dew Pills" into the array eyes, the entire array roared into operation!

Gigantic pillars of azure-blue light soared into the sky, stirring the waters of the four seas into towering waves that repeatedly battered that expanse of black sea territory. Immediately following that, verdant green radiance spread outward from the array; wherever it passed, the corals and sea grasses killed by the black water unexpectedly began to regain a trace of vitality at a rate visible to the naked eye. Finally, milky-white purifying light, like successive scorching suns, sank into the seabed, illuminating that viscous black water until it sizzled and continuously evaporated and dissolved.

It worked!

Witnessing this scene, all the water clan members let out earth-shaking cheers.

Although the purification process remained slow, the dawn of hope had finally appeared. At this rate, within ten years at most, this sea territory would be restored to its original state.

The crisis had finally been lifted.

That very evening, the Eastern Sea Water Clan hosted the grandest banquet in their history to treat the three guests. At the banquet, the Old Dragon King, whose injuries had already stabilized, personally appeared to express his highest respects to Jiang Xiuyuan.

After the banquet, the Old Dragon King invited Jiang Xiuyuan into a secret chamber. With a wave of his hand, over a hundred gigantic treasure chests appeared out of thin air, filled to the brim with dazzling, brilliant rare treasures that practically blinded the eyes.

"Immortal Master, this is a token of appreciation accumulated by the Eastern Sea over nearly ten thousand years. Please do accept it." The Old Dragon King's attitude was exceptionally sincere.

"The Dragon King is too polite." He shook his head. "These things are of no use to me. You should keep them for post-war reconstruction instead."

The Old Dragon King was stunned, not expecting the other party to not even deign to take a look at them, which elevated his evaluation of the master in his heart by countless more levels. This was a true worldly expert who viewed wealth like dirt!

"Then… does the Immortal Master have any requests? As long as our Eastern Sea can accomplish it, we will not hesitate even unto death!"

Jiang Xiuyuan pondered for a moment and said, "I do indeed have a favor to ask. I usually enjoy wandering about, but I am not very familiar with the geography overseas. I wonder if the Crystal Palace possesses a detailed map of the Eastern Domain's overseas regions? The more detailed, the better."

He needed to prepare for possible future travels. The "Holy See" on that Western continent made him realize that this world extended far beyond the Eastern Domain. He needed a map to understand the layout of the entire world.

"A map?" The Old Dragon King was first startled, then overjoyed. To him, this was simply the easiest matter possible.

"Yes! Of course we do!" He hurriedly retrieved a deep blue crystal sphere and respectfully handed it to Jiang Xiuyuan. "Immortal Master, this is the 'Four Seas Myriad Spirits Chart' drawn by my dragon race over tens of thousands of years by traveling across all four seas. Not only does it include all overseas islands, secret realms, and navigation routes of the Eastern Domain, but it even marks some coastal areas of the Southern Wilderness Demon Domain, the Western Desert Buddha Realm, and the Northern Plains Snowy Region. The locations of certain ancient ruins and spatial nodes among them are even the non-shared secrets of our race. Today, I present this to the Immortal Master!"

Jiang Xiuyuan took the crystal sphere, and his divine sense probed into it. An immensely vast and detailed three-dimensional sea chart instantly unfolded within his sea of consciousness. The richness of its information far exceeded his imagination.

This was precisely what he truly needed.

"Many thanks." Jiang Xiuyuan nodded in satisfaction. "Since this matter has concluded, it is time for us to take our leave."

"The Immortal Master is leaving already?" Both the Old Dragon King and Ao Xuan wore expressions of reluctance.

"Affinity arises and ceases; there is a fixed destiny." Leaving behind these profound words, Jiang Xiuyuan took Jiang Yiyi and Jiang Xiaobai and drifted away.

Leaving behind the entire Eastern Sea Water Clan, filled with deep gratitude, to pass down the legend of this "wandering expert" from generation to generation.