Through repeated observations using Falsifying the Heavenly Dao, Li Fan had determined that the attributes of the spiritual energy refilling heaven and earth would, in turn, exert a certain degree of influence upon the Xuanhuang Realm.
For instance, if the spiritual energy carried the attribute of Slaughter, it might prompt the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao to encourage cultivators toward bloodshed.
If it possessed the attribute of Chaos, it would very likely cause the realm's laws to become elusive, erratic, and deeply sinister.
"Before I crossed over, I heard urban legends about organ transplant recipients gradually taking on the personality traits of their donors."
"The Heavenly Dao is like a person; the Heavenly Physician truly spoke no lie!"
Sealed within Li Fan's World Annihilation pocket space were more than a dozen varieties of mutated Dao-One Worms. The unique spiritual energy attributes each variety released would allow Li Fan, in the aftermath of the spiritual calamity, to reshape the Xuanhuang Realm to a certain extent according to his own design.
In fact, throughout the entire process, he had no need for the assistance of Dharma Transmitter Zhou and the others.
He could accomplish this solely through his own strength. And in every reincarnation to come, it could be effortlessly replicated.
In this lifetime, the so-called cooperation with the Dharma Transmitters merely served to disseminate across the Xuanhuang Realm, ahead of schedule, the various arrangements that would trigger the apocalyptic calamity.
It had nothing to do with this spiritual calamity.
Though Dharma Transmitters Zhou and Wei appeared to be the architects orchestrating the spiritual calamity, they were in fact already ensnared within Li Fan's grand design of world annihilation.
...
The situation in Shilin Province was unfolding completely according to Li Fan's expectations.
When Alliance Headquarters received the cry for help from Shilin Immortal City, habitual arrogance led them to treat it with little urgency. After all, it was merely an insect infestation. Once a Dao Integration cultivator intervened, it could be suppressed and resolved with ease. Compared to the myriad emergencies reported from other provinces, this hardly qualified as a major issue.
Thus, after a round of evaluation, Alliance Headquarters decided to follow standard operational procedures.
First, they dispatched an envoy to Shilin Province to verify the truth of the matter.
Only afterward would they send an appropriate Dao Integration cultivator to settle this minor trouble.
And once the Alliance envoy reached Shilin Province, witnessed firsthand the horrifying scale of the infestation, and hurried back, Alliance Headquarters gained firsthand information. Their attention to the matter increased somewhat, but only slightly.
After protracted deliberations and sending inquiries back and forth to numerous Dao Integration cultivators asking if they had free time, they finally settled on the person to handle the calamity: Golden Sword Immortal Venerable.
When Golden Sword Immortal Venerable unleashed his myriad golden swords, their spiritual power remained contained within, harming foes purely through their sharp blades. For dealing with these black insects, nothing could be more suitable.
Upon receiving the Alliance's appointment, Golden Sword Immortal Venerable agreed readily enough.
However, he gave fair warning: he was currently participating in an important exchange conference and could not pull away immediately.
He would only be free in about seven days.
Alliance Headquarters evaluated this unexpected delay.
The attendees unanimously agreed that over a mere seven days, the insect infestation would not undergo any drastic change; waiting would do no harm.
After all, if another Dao Integration Immortal Venerable took action, they might not be as efficient as Golden Sword Immortal Venerable. Moreover, every single Dao Integration Immortal Venerable was exceedingly busy; even if they switched candidates, another might not have the time either.
In truth, there were quite a few idle Dao Integration cultivators stationed within Alliance Headquarters.
However, for an arduous chore like this, by tacit convention, only Dao Integration cultivators from the "outside" were ever dispatched.
Deliberately finding a troublesome task to transfer a headquarters-based Dao Integration cultivator away for an extended period was often seen as a provocation or the precursor to a conspiracy, so it was never done lightly.
Within Alliance Headquarters, people crossed paths day in and day out; most adhered to the philosophy of keeping the peace for mutual benefit.
All in all, due to these customary reasons, by the time Golden Sword Immortal Venerable took a smug and satisfied leave of the two esteemed Dharma Transmitters and officially departed for Shilin Province to deal with the infestation, more than half a month had passed since the outbreak.
According to convention, Golden Sword Immortal Venerable did not rush to the scene of the infestation immediately upon arriving in Shilin Province.
Instead, he attended a warm welcome reception hosted by the cultivators of Shilin Province.
Host and guests alike reveled to their hearts' content, and the event concluded on a splendid note.
On the second day, Golden Sword Immortal Venerable rested for a day as was customary.
Only on the third day, accompanied by the local crowd, did he arrive at Baishi Grotto-Heaven, which was teeming with black insects.
When he saw with his own eyes the dense swarm of black insects blanketing the subterranean cavern, even this Dao Integration Immortal Venerable—initially brimming with confidence—felt his heart skip a beat.
Yet, being a veteran Immortal Venerable after all, he showed no emotion on his face. He summoned his myriad golden swords on the spot and launched a massacre against the black insects.
Once he struck, Golden Sword felt his anxiety ease.
Beneath the sharpness of his sword edges, these black insects—so highly resistant to spiritual arts—were as fragile as paper.
They fell in massive swathes; in mere moments, the cavern before him was swept clean.
Basking in the overjoyed and worshipful gazes of the Shilin Province cultivators, Golden Sword Immortal Venerable felt quite pleased with himself.
"How vast is this subterranean grotto-heaven?" he asked casually, intending to press forward in one vigorous push and resolve the nuisance here as quickly as possible.
To his surprise, their answer caught him completely off guard.
"You don't know? What do you mean by that?" Golden Sword Immortal Venerable's expression soured.
The explanation from the Shilin Province cultivators caused Golden Sword Immortal Venerable to suck in a sharp breath of cold air.
It turned out that the so-called Baishi Grotto-Heaven was a colossal underground cavern system on the borders of Shilin Province.
Within the caverns, countless pathways branched and crisscrossed.
Every certain distance, the space would open up into a broad subterranean hall.
Inside these halls, grotesque rocks jutted out in jagged arrays, growing wildly downward from the ceilings and outward from the walls.
Their shapes were bizarre, resembling humans or beasts, unsettling to behold.
Many cultivators had lost their way inside, never to return.
As for just how vast Baishi Grotto-Heaven was, it had never been fully explored to this day.
Some cultivators speculated that what had hollowed out Baishi Grotto-Heaven was likely an ancient strange beast known as the Guiyuan Toad.
Although no cultivator had seen such a beast in several millennia, perhaps in the deepest recesses of this endless subterranean labyrinth, a Guiyuan Toad or two still survived.
The entire subterranean expanse beneath Shilin Province might very well have been hollowed out.
"Why didn't you mention something so important earlier?" At the thought that he might have to face a swarm of black insects spread across the area of an entire province, Golden Sword Immortal Venerable's face darkened.
"Ah? But when we reported this to Alliance Headquarters, we stated the matter in full detail," the Shilin Province cultivators replied with innocent expressions under Golden Sword Immortal Venerable's questioning.
Golden Sword Immortal Venerable's face turned ashen. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, he wasted no more words, raising his sword and slashing his way toward the depths of the cavern.
...
Because her brood was being slaughtered en masse, the Dao-One Mother Worm seemed to grow somewhat irritated, rolling her plump, round body.
Yet it was merely irritation.
A cull of this scale could not even match the swarm's natural rate of attrition.
Even if three more Golden Sword Immortal Venerables were to arrive, they would still pose no threat to the Dao-One swarm.
Chapter 1064