Using entries to cultivate immortality in chaotic times

"But places with many deaths are plenty."

"In the nineteen provinces of Da Xia, it isn't just Fei Province that has had deaths, and the Hundred Countries are in constant turmoil, with probably even more deaths. So why don't the other eighteen provinces of Da Xia have Evil Wood?"

"The Hundred Countries also don't have Evil Wood."

"Only Fei Province in Da Xia has Evil Wood?"

"I've been perplexed by this problem for a while now, assuming it might be because Fei Province is cold, and so Evil Wood, which everyone uses for heating, grew."

"But—"

"Only when this cave entrance broke did I get the real answer. Why does only Fei Province have Evil Wood? Because enough people have died in Fei Province."

"I have been aggressively buying up Evil Wood recently. I've noticed that anytime I purchase too much Evil Wood from a place, the surrounding temperature would gradually drop a bit. At first, I thought it was an illusion, but then I decided to conduct an experiment."

"I had people buy up all the Evil Wood in nearby areas covering dozens of miles, and then had people remove all the Evil Wood that had grown in this area, and that's when this incident occurred."

"You mean..." Chen Qiu slightly squinted his eyes, looking down at the endless flow of resentful spirits erupting from the cave below, roughly understanding Liu Zide's meaning.

"Exactly!"

Liu Zide took a deep breath and nodded heavily: "I've discovered the true purpose of Evil Wood, it's not for heating at all, but to suppress resentful spirits!"

"Beneath the entirety of Fei Province, it's almost as if it has been hollowed out, and beneath Fei Province lies an endless supply of resentful spirits."

"And I even suspect that the reason the Boundless Icefield is so cold is that it too has been hollowed out beneath, and beneath it lies an immense Sea of Resentful Spirits!"

"Evil Wood is the existence that suppresses these resentful spirits."

"These days we've been acquiring a large amount of Evil Wood, causing the supply of Evil Wood that suppresses the resentful spirits to become somewhat insufficient, weakening the force suppressing the resentful spirits a bit. Along with me clearing out the Evil Wood in dozens of miles around here, this place has become the weakest spot, so those resentful spirits burst out from here, like Fei Province is a watermelon that's been pierced..."

"..."

"..."

Chen Qiu remained silent, not speaking, just exchanging a look with Fat Long, who stood beside him with his face full of shock. If anyone else heard what Liu Zide was saying, they would definitely scoff at it.

A Sea of Resentful Spirits hidden under Fei Province?

The Boundless Icefield is so cold because of the numerous resentful spirits beneath it?

Absolute nonsense!

But they truly believe it, because they had been beneath the Endless Desert, where a sea of fire flowed like magma beneath the Endless Desert.

Moreover, Chen Qiu had personally experienced how carrying too many resentful spirits could drop the temperature to freezing points. The strangely cold temperatures of the Boundless Icefield, with a Sea of Resentful Spirits flowing beneath it, seemed not so far-fetched after all.

"In the past, many families and sects have burned Evil Wood, so why hasn't this happened before?"

The scholar asked, puzzled.

Liu Zide also patiently explained: "In the past, these families and sects burned Evil Wood within the borders of Fei Province, and the heat and malevolent qi released from the burning of Evil Wood could also suppress the resentful spirits beneath Fei Province."

"No one would take Evil Wood out of Fei Province."

"Because people outside of Fei Province don't need it at all."

"This has led to, over the years, a delicate balance being maintained between Evil Wood and Fei Province. This year is particularly cold, which means the resentful spirits beneath Fei Province are unusually restless, slightly disrupting this balance."

"But it was still controllable, and if nothing unexpected had happened, this winter in Fei Province would have just been a bit colder, without any incidents. However, with our massive acquisition of Evil Wood, and only purchasing without burning, this balance was completely shattered."

"I understand," Fat Long nodded, his face contemplative as he clicked his tongue, "So, you mean if you hadn't suddenly decided to do this experiment and wiped out all the Evil Wood within dozens of miles, this huge hole wouldn't have appeared, right?"

"No."

Liu Zide shook his head, his expression grim, "If I hadn't conducted this experiment, when the balance was completely disrupted, not just one hole would have appeared, but hundreds, even thousands, would have emerged throughout Fei Province simultaneously."

"Riddled with holes."

"Every single hole would require a Golden Core cultivator to suppress it, and Da Xia doesn't have that many Golden Cores."

"By then, the entire Fei City would turn into a river of blood, thoroughly becoming a lair of ghosts, and even Da Xia would find it difficult to escape this disaster—it's a major calamity!"

...

Chen Qiu understood Liu Zide's point. Although much of it was Liu Zide's speculation, based on his judgment, it wouldn't be far off, and it coincided with what he had seen.

A resentful spirit is a life.

He had only been standing here for a short while, and already nearly a thousand resentful spirits had rushed toward him and then dissipated into wisps of blue smoke. One could imagine just how many resentful spirits lay beneath Fei Province, and how many people had died there...

Evil Wood, on the Xuantian Continent, was generally considered quite precious.

The reason it was so commonly found here might be primarily because many had died here. The Xuantian Continent was much larger than their Da Xia; didn't it have any ancient battlegrounds like Fei Province?

"Let's go down and take a look."

Chen Qiu turned his head to Liu Zide, "Get all the Evil Wood out and see if we can block this hole."

"Right!"

Liu Zide hurriedly nodded. They hadn't had time to do that before; when the hole suddenly broke open, resentful spirits surged out like seawater, no amount of Evil Wood could block it. If it hadn't been for the master using the Self-Destruction Term to push these resentful spirits back, it would have resulted in a total catastrophe.

Soon—

Thousands of pieces of Evil Wood were scattered near the hole, and the resentful spirits prepared to rush out suddenly issued a piercing collective scream, retreating once more.

Apparently, the Evil Wood indeed had a suppressive effect on these resentful spirits.

Even though Chen Qiu was no longer standing at the hole, the resentful spirits merely wailed and screamed below, none daring to rush out.

"Let's go."

Chen Qiu looked at the scholar and softly said, "Let's go down and take a look."

...

Chen Qiu, along with the scholar and a few others, immediately jumped into the hole, plunging into the sea of resentful spirits. As soon as they jumped in, it was like a red-hot poker thrust into snow, instantly melting all the resentful spirits in their path.

All the resentful spirits rushing toward him also melted, without exception.
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The hole led to a vertical, narrow passage hundreds of meters deep. The resentful spirits sprang from these passages to the surface, and after plummeting hundreds of meters, suddenly, a vast space burst open before their eyes.

A massive space unfolded before them.

Just like the sea of fire beneath the Endless Desert, the only difference was, there was no fire here, just countless resentful spirits.

At a glance—

An uncountable number.

Feeling an oppressive sensation like suffocation.