On the welcoming square outside Qingxu Temple's mountain gate, the colorful pavilions originally built to celebrate the Demon Nest's destruction and allied forces' triumphant return had not yet been dismantled. Yet the atmosphere in the square was completely incompatible with these festive decorations. Dozens of cultivators in various sect attire sat silently in the square's center, their heads bowed, surrounded by a faint grayish energy. More striking were the dark purple, slightly wriggling patch-like marks on their exposed skin, glowing with an ominous luster under the sunlight.
These were "demonic spots"—a mysterious affliction that had begun spreading among cultivators who participated in the Shadow Plane expedition. They appeared on the skin like living creatures, pulsing with malevolent energy that seemed to feed on the host's spiritual power and amplify their negative emotions.
Tang Xiaoqi stood atop the Stargazing Pavilion, brow tightly locked, overlooking below. He had just returned from an Alliance high-level meeting where various forces had quarreled endlessly over war spoils distribution and newly conquered territories' jurisdiction, while the quietly spreading "demonic spot" crisis before him made his heart especially heavy.
Third Sister Liu Yun approached, her expression grave. She explained that initially only a few disciples returning from covert missions in the Wan Du Marsh's core area showed similar symptoms. They thought it was ordinary demonic energy invasion and used Heart-Clearing Incantation and spiritual medicines to dispel it. But over the past half month, those showing symptoms had increased continuously, affecting not only Qingxu Temple but also Liyang Sect, Golden Gate Sect, and even rogue cultivator alliances.
Xiaoqi examined one patient's demonic spot carefully. These marks were extremely stubborn, like flesh-burrowing bugs. They not only were hard to dispel but seemed to slowly absorb the host's spiritual energy while amplifying their negative emotions. The earliest symptomatic disciples had become increasingly irritable and volatile. Minor issues triggered intense conflicts, and several incidents of fellow disciples fighting each other had occurred.
The situation deteriorated as Xiaoqi observed. A rogue cultivator with demonic spots suddenly attacked a servant delivering water, accusing them of poisoning him. His eyes glowed faintly red, spiritual energy uncontrollably fluctuating around him, carrying a brutal aura.
Xiaoqi intervened personally. He extended his finger, and a wisp of extremely pure, soft cyan-white light swirled around his fingertip—that was purification power fusing Buddhist resonance with Azure Lotus essence. When he touched the demonic spot, it writhed violently, as if a living creature being stimulated. The cultivator's face showed pain.
Xiaoqi could feel that this demonic spot was not simple demonic energy condensation; its internal structure was extremely complex, more like a "living curse" with extremely strong polluting and spiritual interference characteristics, deeply rooted in the victim's flesh and soul. His purification power could temporarily suppress its activity, but it was difficult to completely eradicate without causing serious harm to the host.
"This is not ordinary demonic energy invasion," Xiaoqi announced to the gathered crowd. "This is a mutation residue of demonic energy, an embodiment of the demon head's power essence. It's more concealed, more vicious."
He vowed to find a complete cure, never abandoning any warrior wounded protecting this world. But promises alone were far from enough.
Over the following days, Xiaoqi personally visited demonic spot patients at various sects, trying numerous methods. His Azure Lotus domain could temporarily shrink demonic spots, but once outside the domain's range, they quickly returned to original state. Nirvana Flame Sword's flames could incinerate them, but the pain was unbearable and left incurable dao wounds. Buddhist chanting had significant calming effects but could not eradicate the demonic spot essence itself.
Master Hui Ming, a Buddhist master, analyzed the phenomenon: "This thing seems demonic yet not demonic, seems curse yet not curse, more like 'conceptual' pollution. It amplifies the inherent dark side of living beings' hearts: greed, anger, foolishness, suspicion. Buddhist dharma can dissolve the evil thoughts it triggers, but cannot sever its root."
Meanwhile, the Alliance's internal situation churned due to this crisis. Radical factions proposed that all patients should be concentrated for isolation, even secretly executed. Although Xiaoqi forcefully suppressed such rhetoric, it spread within some small circles, causing panic among patients and their relatives.
Worse, some forces dissatisfied with human, demon, sea clan co-governance began exploiting the situation, spreading absurd rhetoric about curses brought by foreign clans, further exacerbating internal cracks.
News arrived of demonic spot disciples from Southern Domain's Flowing Cloud Sword Sect losing control and fleeing, and Cold Ice Fortress experiencing unrest between infected and uninfected disciples, with casualties.
Xiaoqi ordered immediate measures: discrimination against patients was prohibited, searches for missing disciples were ordered, and he would seclude for three days to deduce methods for complete cure. Alliance affairs would be handled by Mu Qingfeng, with severe punishment for anyone creating chaos or dividing the Alliance.
This war against demonic energy aftermath had just begun.