Watching the Mountain

Chapter 247: Chapter 159: Little Xiyue’s Mood (Part 2)

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The Immortal Ancient Cultivation Realm still had not found a way to get rid of the current ”plague.” The good news, however, was that this ”plague” affected the entire world, not just the Human Race.

According to intelligence from the various Sects’ spies within the Evil Demon Race and Phoenix Race, they were now facing the same problem as the Immortal Ancient Cultivation Realm. Moreover, they had not yet found a solution either.

This included the Demon Race, the suspected instigators of this turmoil. Based on the information everyone had gathered, many members of the Demon Race had also been infected, with no exceptions.

This allowed the Immortal Ancient Cultivation Realm to breathe a slight sigh of relief. Although they hadn’t found a way to solve the current problem, the fact that their enemies were in the same predicament was a small blessing amidst the misfortune.

Otherwise, given the current state of the Cultivation Realm, they really wouldn’t be able to withstand an attack from the other side.

While it was good news that the Evil Demon Race, the Phoenix Race, and even the Demon Race were all suffering from the ”plague,” the problems they all had to face remained.

If this affliction was never resolved and things continued like this for a long time, the Cultivation Realm might truly enter an End of Dharma.

During this period, the Cultivation Realm had been widely recruiting talented individuals and extraordinary people to discuss how to deal with the current crisis.

Xu Ran certainly couldn’t help with something like this. If this ”plague” were a real plague, perhaps some knowledge from his past life could have offered some assistance—if not a solution, then at least some inspiration or ideas.

Unfortunately, this ”plague” had nothing to do with a real one. It was a problem related to cultivation. Even if he wanted to help, he was powerless to do so. He could only stay quietly in the Sect and watch how things developed.

What puzzled him, however, was that the Demon Race had also fallen ill. ’I thought Qin Yufeng used immunity to this as leverage to win over the Demon Race. It seems I was wrong.’

This made him even more curious about how Qin Yufeng had managed to persuade the Demon Race to support his plan.

But obviously, Qin Yufeng would never reveal something so central to his own plans. No matter how curious Xu Ran was, it was useless.

And so, a hundred years passed quietly. During this time, Qin Yufeng made no major moves, seemingly waiting for the right opportunity.

During this period, the affliction in the Cultivation Realm spread completely, infecting even those Above Divinity Transformation and those who had never entered a Secret Realm.

However, the infection of these powerful cultivators was not entirely bad news. After personally experiencing the symptoms, they quickly discovered the cause of the current affliction.

According to their speculation, it was the people inside the Secret Realm who, before dying, used the collective will and Resentful Qi of everyone as a catalyst to pollute the world within the Secret Realm.

It was like a curse—a curse upon the heavens fueled by the will of all living beings.

And as the Secret Realm merged with this world, it naturally caused this world to become polluted as well.

The cause had been found, but the Cultivation Realm had not yet discovered a way to break this curse.

However, the powerful cultivators devised a stopgap measure.

Numerous experts joined forces to create a Cultivation Technique, the ”Locking God Spell.” It could temporarily lock their conditions, allowing everyone to avoid losing control and to cultivate normally for a time.

However, this so-called ”locked state” was not a complete cure. It merely delayed the onset of the illness, causing it to erupt all at once at a specific time.

The day was divided into twelve hours. They could lock their condition for eleven of those hours, but during the remaining hour, the affliction would erupt. While it flared, a Cultivator could do almost nothing.

Currently, the Cultivation Technique could lock one’s condition for a maximum of three years, after which the illness would erupt for a concentrated period of three months.

This severely impacted one’s cultivation. After all, when a Cultivator had a moment of insight, it could take several years or even longer to process. This was especially true for Cultivators in a High Realm, whose moments of enlightenment could be measured in centuries. The current situation was far too disruptive to their cultivation.

Xu Ran was all too familiar with the feeling of cultivating for a while only to be forced to stop and be sick for a period. It was truly agonizing.

’Gaining insights in my cultivation is already hard enough. Every time I finally feel like I’m on the verge of understanding something, my time runs out, and it’s time to get sick again.’ It was incredibly frustrating.

Xu Ran walked along the stone path of Qing Xuan Peak, sighing with a sense of helplessness. His recent insights were constantly being interrupted, leaving him feeling inexplicably agitated. He took the rare step of pausing his cultivation for the day to wander around the Sect.

At this moment, Qing Xuan Peak felt somewhat deserted. It wasn’t that there were no people; the number of Sect disciples hadn’t decreased over the years, and Qing Xuan Peak was filled with them.

But compared to the lively scenes of the past, the Sect was now exceptionally quiet. It was rare to see people chatting. When they met, they would exchange a polite greeting before hastily departing.

Everyone seemed gentle and courteous, yet they all maintained a subtle distance from one another, as if they were strangers wary of something.

The reason for this situation was also related to the current affliction.

Since the appearance of the Locking God Spell, everyone had been able to resume their cultivation, albeit with difficulty. However, the concentrated periods of illness had become a hidden danger.