Chapter 19: Reversing Cause and Effect, Blessed Paradise
Although Jiang Yan had absorbed a great deal of information at once, it was not difficult for someone used to surfing the internet to understand.
And he had already noticed the key issue:
“Then what about the mutation?”
Although it was unclear whether the extraordinary world followed the laws of physics, the law of conservation of mass should still apply, right?
During this process, where did the mutation go?
“It was absorbed by us.”
Ba Lie explained, “This brings us to the role of the present world. Although it doesn't produce the extraordinary, it is vast and inclusive. It can contain the extraordinary—even the mutations.
When infected by the mutation of a diseased domain creature, one must continuously ascend and suppress the side effects, or else one would lose their rationality and become a twisted monster. But after strengthening, one would be dragged deeper into the river of history, encountering even more severe mutations, repeating endlessly in a cycle.
However, we only need to periodically return to the present world to suppress the mutations to a certain degree. Remember, it's suppression, not cure. If you are contaminated by too much mutation in the diseased domain, it still leads to aberration. Especially for some History Walkers, the conditions to use their skills are overly harsh—they constantly gnaw at and distort rationality, eventually turning them into monsters.
But even this one benefit has already driven those mutated creatures and diseased domains into madness. They want to descend into reality and seize this homeland of ours to catch a breather. Some even believe that it holds the secret to breaking free from mutation.
Yet the present world is finite. If a large number of mutated creatures were to pour in, they would inevitably fight over resources, even destroy this pure land. This is a war to defend our home. There’s no option to retreat. Either they die, or we perish.”
Jiang Yan nodded, understanding the importance of the present world.
It was like the healing spring in King of Glory, except instead of restoring health points, it restored san (sanity) points.
Though the recovery rate was slow, it at least curbed the deterioration of the mutation and offset part of the skill’s side effects.
But this present world that could accommodate countless timelines, twisted mutations, and all sorts of extraordinary phenomena—
Seemed even more bizarre!
Yet probably no one would dare to think about this kind of thing, or rather...
They simply wouldn’t dare.
“You haven’t experienced many diseased domains yet, so you may not know. In there, the rate of absorbing spiritual energy and cultivating skills for History Walkers increases significantly. The deeper the historical depth, the greater the enhancement—but also the more bizarre the encounters.
As for historical depth, it’s usually divided by dynasties, which follow a chronological order and are easier to remember. For example, the Qing era where the Corpse-Dissolution Court is located is one such depth. Then there’s Ming, Yuan, and so on.
It’s not that the powerhouses of the Corpse-Dissolution Court become weaklings in deeper histories. But a diseased domain that can sink to a deeper place must conceal forbidden secrets or terrifying ancient entities. Plus, the mutations are more severe, the overall number of strong foes increases, and the power ceiling is higher.
The diseased domain dungeons that flood into the present world are also random. Sometimes, multiple depths intertwine, resulting in an even more terrifying and bizarre diseased domain.
All of this, at the root, is the river of history forcing us to anchor ourselves further into the past step by step, to seek the source of the mutations, to plunder ancient spirituality. At the same time, we leave traces in the past that, in turn, influence the present, forming a closed loop.
Perhaps the legends of the present world today are born because some ancient beings anchored themselves into the past.”
“So you're saying… we could also become ancient legends?” Jiang Yan’s eyes were filled with awe as he sensed the terrifying nature of the History Walker system.
This truly was… reversing cause and effect!
“Of course you can. But you’d at least need to be powerful enough. Even the Old Talisman Stage above the extraordinary level is far from enough,” Ba Lie laughed heartily.
Jiang Yan smiled without replying.
With the Dark God Embryo assisting him, if he still lacked confidence, he might as well go home and start farming early.
Ba Lie didn’t continue to paint grand visions. Instead, he began explaining the extraordinary system: “There are three stages in the extraordinary. The first stage is Spirit Awakening. The second stage is Foundation Establishment. One must use cultivation methods to cross the threshold and condense the soil that carries extraordinary power. At this point, the essence of life improves—regular firearms no longer pose a threat. But unless you’re a body cultivator, it’s best not to tank attacks.
Even body cultivators can die under heavy fire. I mentioned them to say... we’re different. We use our brains.
However, in the diseased domain, modern technology is affected by the dust of history, its power reduced or even nullified. But firearms or items born in the diseased domain are unaffected. Some diseased domains even give rise to mechanical life or flesh-and-blood technology, offering inspiration to modern civilization.”
‘This effectively prevents certain powerful nations from using overwhelming firepower to grind out points!’ Jiang Yan thought to himself.
“The third stage of the extraordinary—Law Seed Stage. You refine elemental qi to condense a Law Seed. After advancing, your lifespan increases to 150 years. At this stage, your skills evolve from techniques to laws. For example, your firearm upgrades to a cannon—its power skyrockets.”
After saying so much, Ba Lie was getting a bit thirsty. He intended to hold back, but Jiang Yan had already turned to look behind.
The room was laced with blood threads. He grabbed two bottles of mineral water and handed them to Ba Lie and Zhao Yinman.
“You’ve both worked hard. Have some water.”
Such keen observation—truly meticulous.
But why… couldn’t they just let us come in and sit for a while?
Ba Lie grumbled inwardly but still thanked him, took the water, drank a sip to moisten his throat, and continued, “The first two stages can be reached through personal cultivation, but starting from the third stage, the required elemental qi cannot be nurtured in the present world. Even if it exists, it's usually in forbidden places tied to History Walkers or ancient monsters.
Therefore, to advance to the Law Seed Stage, one must actively dive into the River of History to find a diseased domain with the corresponding attribute, at least of Turbid Stream level. Furthermore, elemental qi is similar to spiritual treasures—often targeted by great monsters before even maturing. These monsters guard them, waiting to devour them upon maturation to seek promotion. The collection process is fraught with danger.”
This kind of upgrade method essentially forced History Walkers to continually sink deeper into the River of History.
Of course, one could choose to give up, but eventually, they would still be forced into diseased domains.
Or tens of thousands of diseased domains could surge into the present world—still a dead end.
Jiang Yan wasn’t afraid. He asked curiously, “Mr. Ba Lie, you mentioned there are many sects and clans in the present world. Where do they get the elemental qi needed for advancement?”
A sect or power must have an orderly inheritance.
Otherwise, it would be difficult to establish cohesion, let alone compete with the authorities for talent.
“Congratulations, Watson. You finally spotted the blind spot.”
Ba Lie made a detective joke and explained:
“The reason they can maintain orderly inheritance is that they have occupied diseased domains capable of producing the corresponding elemental qi or treasures. After killing the monster lords within, they use special methods to refine the space and fix it near the present world, under the elegant name—Blessed Paradise.
To me, it’s more like hell. Though I dislike it, I must admit it is indeed a shortcut for quickly training talent.
I don’t recommend joining a noble family. They trust more in bloodlines or master-disciple transmission, raising people from young and instilling responsibility and values. Outsiders, unless they perform great merit, find it hard to enter those diseased domains.
In contrast, our Bureau of Historical Revision treats everyone equally regardless of background. These rare extraordinary resources require time to be nurtured. Therefore, they are usually distributed according to labor, and there are incentives for newcomers. For example, there’s currently a newcomer training program in Jiangnan Province, and the top three will be rewarded with entry into a valuable diseased domain nurturing a treasure.”
At this moment, Ba Lie showed his true motive, enticing him with benefits.
And he wasn’t lying.
Noble children and sects, when dealing with outsiders, at most accept them as guest elders. Some extreme families even plant spells for control to ensure loyalty.
Not much different from being a dog—actually worse. The former only guards homes, while the latter is livestock among livestock, no different from animals.
But these things didn’t need to be said to Jiang Yan—it would be divisive.
“Besides the cultivation-type diseased domains, there are also some Blessed Domains open to the public, where special mutated creatures are nurtured.
For example, the Wine Jar Monster that, when irrigated with blood, can brew all kinds of fine wine. One sip puts you to sleep for a month.
There’s also the Strange Peach Tree that bears peaches with human faces. Eating one lets you forget troubles and sever emotional ties.
There are also rare diseased domains that birth fortune-telling creatures. You can go and divine your future—but they only reveal bad outcomes.
In addition, there are various humanoid monsters—like the legendary most moisturized Slug Demoness, the handsome Donkey Demon youth, and even diseased domains where low-level Heavenly Demons are raised. As long as you have money, you can enjoy a pleasure paradise there. It satisfies many people's bizarre fetishes. One day… ahem, I’ve never been there! I have no interest either!”
Facing the skeptical gazes of the two, Ba Lie gave a dry cough, his expression turning serious as he warned Jiang Yan, “But in the River of History, what you need to be most cautious of isn’t monsters—but humans living in diseased domains!”
“Join us, and you can learn this ability to change the topic without a trace. You can even have fun on the public dime.”
Zhao Yinman suddenly chimed in, not forgetting her newly assigned mission, seriously promoting the bureau's benefits.
“Cough cough cough…”
Ba Lie, who was drinking water, spat it out and coughed repeatedly.
Dear ancestor, is that really something worth boasting about?
And… was that second part even allowed to be said???
Please stop using those eyes that are so good at finding flaws.
“There are humans in the depths of history too?”
Jiang Yan pretended not to hear the last part, feigning surprise.
He had thought the River of History was only filled with Shadows of Refugees and all sorts of mutated creatures.
“Where do you think the Corpse-Dissolution Court Cavalry gets their spliced limbs from? Surely not from their own people,” Ba Lie said, sighing deeply.
“History Walkers aren’t suited for frequent entries into diseased domains. Some Borderland-level diseased domains are just monster nests. Killing them causes no psychological burden. But some high-level diseased domains form special foreign civilizations—or even… human civilizations.
These people live there, and on the surface, they’re no different from present-world humans. In fact, many of the lower-class residents don’t even know about the present world’s existence. They think their world is the real one.
This isn’t comparable to manipulating a character in a game to kill NPCs. As long as you have a conscience, prolonged slaughter will erode your rationality. Some even become infected by mutation and turn into monsters.
Though they are intelligent and capable of communication, they can’t be trusted. In order to survive, they’ve willingly accepted various mutated extraordinary systems. But that’s drinking poison to quench thirst. Only by reaching the present world can the mutation be curbed. For that, they’ll use any means necessary—stepping on your corpse to raft across into the present.”
Ba Lie sighed.
These were lessons learned with blood and tears by many History Walkers.
Even if Jiang Yan didn’t join the Bureau of Historical Revision, Ba Lie was willing to give him more reminders.
Maybe, it could help at a crucial moment.
One more strong person meant one more layer of safety for the present world.
Seeing Jiang Yan deep in thought, he finally smiled. “Once you reach the Law Seed Stage, you’ll be the backbone of any faction. And above that, the Old Talisman Stage…”
Before he could finish, Ba Lie’s phone vibrated. He unlocked the screen, glanced at the message, frowned, then relaxed.
A thought came to mind. He looked at Jiang Yan meaningfully and said:
“Since you’re so interested in the Old Talisman Stage, want to come with us to carry out a suppression mission?”