172: Enlightenment and Unexpected Gains in the Polluted Area

The several Holy Land Leaders who had been unceremoniously tossed into the "Dao Rhyme Contaminated Zone" by Long Qianyuan found their initial days to be agonizing, like years passing by in a single day.

This area was filled with disordered Laws and violent energy, and the various distracting thoughts arising from their research conflicts were like intangible Heart Demons, constantly battering their Dao Hearts.

The Master of Heavenly Secrets Pavilion felt that his art of deduction was completely ineffective here, as if he were trapped in a constantly shifting labyrinth of Chaos;

the Master of Wan Cao Gu "smelled" the nauseating "Law stench" produced by the conflicting attributes of countless Spirit Medicines;

the Master of Thousand Illusions Sound and Rhythm Mansion had ears filled with ear-piercing Law noise that threatened to tear his Divine Soul apart;

and even the thick-skinned Savage Bone felt entirely uncomfortable, as if countless tiny fragments of Law were slicing into his Physical Body and will.

They dared not use their power to resist, and could only follow Long Qianyuan's instructions to strive to calm their minds, discard their inherent knowledge and methods, and purely use "perception" to contact and understand this Chaos.

This process was extremely painful, like casting one's own consciousness into a boiling cauldron of oil.

However, being able to become the master of a Holy Land meant their mental fortitude naturally far surpassed that of ordinary people.

After the initial collapse and subsequent adaptation, they began to attempt to "observe" this contamination from another perspective.

The Master of Heavenly Secrets Pavilion no longer attempted to deduce, but instead, like viewing an abstract painting, "watched" the intertwining and collisions of those chaotic Law lines, gradually discovering that within these seemingly irregular conflicts, there seemed to be hidden some extremely deep, primitive information regarding "opposition" and "unity."

The Master of Wan Cao Gu endured the discomfort, carefully "tasting" those "Law stenches," and actually managed to distinguish hundreds of different types of energy residues. The process of them annihilating, merging, and mutating with each other was like an "ecological evolution" at the microscopic level, giving him an unprecedented intuitive understanding of the mutual promotion and restraint of medicinal properties.

The Master of Thousand Illusions Sound and Rhythm Mansion closed off most of his hearing, retaining only his core spiritual sense, to "touch" the "texture" of those Law noises. He discovered that even the most piercing noise was composed of countless minute "musical notes" of different frequencies; it was just that they had lost their harmonious rhythm.

He began to try to silently "compose" for these noises in his heart, attempting to find potential order within them.

Savage Bone's method was the most direct. He no longer resisted the cutting of those Law fragments, but instead opened his body and mind, using his powerful Physical Body to "record" the "feeling" of every Law fragment as it passed by. The pain turned into information; he was as if using his own body to map out a "Law tactile atlas."

Time passed day by day, and all the outside forces were closely monitoring the changes in the Contaminated Zone.

The Logic Federation's monitoring data showed that the energy Chaos in the contaminated area was decreasing extremely slowly, and the Laws in the core area seemed to be beginning to show a weak tendency towards "self-organization."

The Artifact Spirit Collective's spirit net also sensed that the "hostility" of the Laws in that area was weakening.

Long Qianyuan would occasionally wander over to take a look. Seeing that the several leaders, though haggard in appearance, had eyes that had gradually changed from initial pain and confusion to focus, and even... a hint of inquisitive excitement, he knew the method was effective and stopped disturbing them.

Several months later, significant changes occurred in the contaminated area.

That originally colorful and restless turbulence of Laws had become much softer in color, and its flow had also become gentler. Although it was still far from being completely purified, it no longer possessed strong corrosiveness or diffusibility.

And what was even more surprising was the state of the several leaders.

The Master of Heavenly Secrets Pavilion sat cross-legged on a relatively stable Law node. His body no longer emitted Star Power, but instead produced a peculiar resonance with the surrounding disordered Laws. As he raised his hand, he could guide several streams of Laws with different attributes to circle his fingertips like docile fish.

The Master of Wan Cao Gu stood on a patch of strangely colored "moss" naturally formed by various energy residues, holding a "strange grass" that had spontaneously gestated from the energy of the Contaminated Zone—an unprecedented plant that simultaneously possessed multiple contradictory attributes. His eyes flashed with an obsessive research fervor.

The Master of Thousand Illusions Sound and Rhythm Mansion floated with his eyes closed, chanting tuneless syllables in an extremely bizarre rhythm. These syllables vaguely harmonized with the surrounding Law noise, causing the noise in a small area around him to become orderly, as if forming a sound-insulating barrier.

Savage Bone was simply lying on a relatively "calm" Law fragment, snoring like thunder, but the Qi and blood in his body were actually vibrating in synchronization with those Law fragments, as if he were performing some kind of Body Refining in his sleep.

It seemed... they had truly found their own respective "Dao" within this Chaos they had created themselves, or rather, they had found a way to coexist with—and even utilize—the Chaos!

On this day, Long Qianyuan felt the timing was about right and appeared outside the Contaminated Zone again.

"Hey, you lot inside, have you achieved enlightenment yet? Time to come out, right?"

Hearing the voice, the several leaders awoke from their respective states and looked at each other, seeing a trace of realization and gain in each other's eyes.

They joined forces, invoking the "connection" they had initially established with this area, and walked out of the Contaminated Zone slowly and steadily.

Compared to several months ago, their auras were restrained, their gazes profound, and although the Dao Rhyme around them was not particularly powerful, it possessed an added, indescribable "inclusiveness" and "adaptability."

"Many thanks, Director Long... for the guidance!" The Master of Heavenly Secrets Pavilion bowed first, his tone sincere.

Although the process was painful, this experience allowed them to jump out of their inherent cultivation framework and touch upon the deeper essence of the Laws, benefiting them greatly.

"Hmm, looks like you've gained something." Long Qianyuan looked them over and nodded. "Since you're out, you have to clean up this mess yourselves. In the future, when doing research, learn a lesson."

"We understand!" the several leaders replied in unison.

They did not leave immediately, but instead joined forces to employ the methods they had comprehended in the Contaminated Zone, beginning to guide and sort out the remaining chaotic Laws in that area.

This time, they did not interfere crudely, but rather, like dredging a river channel, guided things according to the situation, allowing those chaotic energies and Laws to gradually return to their proper places and subside.

The Logic Federation and the Artifact Spirit Collective monitored that the Laws in the contaminated area were rapidly returning to normal in a gentle and efficient manner, and they could not help but marvel at the "enlightenment" results of these few.

"Sure enough, pressure is the best catalyst," Dr. Li remarked with emotion. "It's just that this method of 'catalysis' comes at a high price..."

After this incident, the atmosphere within the "Cloud Study Research Alliance" was rectified.

Each Holy Land realized profoundly that researching the Cloud Court could not rely on brute force and internal competition; it required more caution, collaboration, and awe for the Laws.

They began to formulate common research standards and divide research areas to avoid future conflicts.

As for the Master of Heavenly Secrets Pavilion and the others, they turned a misfortune into a blessing, becoming the first batch of "Cloud Study" authorities in the Alliance to truly make a Breakthrough at the "Law level." The understanding and response experience regarding chaotic Laws they brought back greatly promoted the Alliance's research level.

Inside the Star Gazing Hall, Yun Feng sensed the Contaminated Zone being successfully purified and the transformation of the several leaders, and he nodded slightly.

"Misfortune and fortune are interdependent, existing within a single thought. This experience is, for them, better than ten thousand years of arduous cultivation."

He cast his gaze toward the Golden Koi; it was facing a wisp of extremely pure residual energy that had been left behind when the Master of Heavenly Secrets Pavilion and the others purified the contamination—energy that fused multiple Law characteristics—and spat out an exceptionally complex-structured bubble, as if conducting analysis and recording.

"I just wonder where this new 'cognition' will lead."

A "Dao Rhyme contamination" event that should have been a disaster ultimately ended with the "enlightenment" of the several Holy Land Leaders and the establishment of Alliance research standards.

The research activities on the periphery of the Cloud Court, after experiencing a period of Chaos and rectification, seemed to have entered a new, more rational, and deeper stage.

And that Void Realm that had once been contaminated, after being completely purified, seemed to have Laws that were more stable and... "fertile" than before, vaguely trending towards becoming a new research hotspot.