Chapter 18: Why Not Sit Back and Watch Him Soar to Glory?

The testing process was tedious, with one different test strip after another taking turns to be used. Yet the content of the tests was intriguing and highly valuable.

He not only experienced more than a dozen different forms of "mild contamination," but also meticulously recorded the specific characteristics of each high-purity pollutant.

Although he couldn’t directly ask what each test strip represented or what pollution source it corresponded to, Yuan Zhu still integrated these contamination data into the Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture. In the future, if he encounters similar contamination, he will receive immediate alerts.

The pollution energy selected by the Security Bureau specifically for testing suspects must be highly representative—either not particularly dangerous or widespread in its transmission. The minor, low-level pollutants from places like Calami were clearly unqualified for such testing.

“All right, your testing is complete. Next comes the final step,” the elderly man said.

He withdrew the last test strip, covered in blood-red patterns, which emitted a strong metallic scent of blood at just a glance, accompanied by strange gurgling sounds like intestinal peristalsis.

He tapped the table with his knuckles, snapping Yuan Zhu out of his daze.

“Huh? It’s over? That was so fast,” Yuan Zhu said, still somewhat groggy, as if roused from sleep, swallowing nervously.

The experience of gradually immersing himself in the tests was surreal, almost like being under a spell, quickly losing himself in a sensory-distorted virtual experience.

In his mind, the Immortal Scripture kept ringing alarms. But to better pass the tests, he deliberately let his little spirit block these warnings and threw himself fully into the experience.

The final conclusion: every trace contaminant that instinctively triggered his Soul Firewall’s danger alert instead sent him a friendly call.

While immersed, the images and sensations were clearly negative, but his brain and consciousness dulled, failing to recognize the danger and instead issuing a false but comfortable signal.

He remembered that on some test strips, his eyeballs felt pierced, his tongue sliced. The pain transformed simultaneously into proportional pleasure. This pain-pleasure paradox was addictive, a dangerous mental state that now, in hindsight, he recognized as truly sinister.

Such reactions occurred repeatedly, and he reported them honestly. Now, recalling them, Yuan Zhu felt a pang of guilt.

He was certain his body hadn’t been contaminated even slightly, yet during the tests, he felt he surrendered to each test strip without resistance, performing poorly.

Unable to help himself, he tentatively asked, “Sir, is my condition normal? Am I contaminated?”

He wondered if others facing the contamination test strips would resist to the death, but he alone accepted multiple tests in succession with high compatibility.

The old man ignored him, simply marking checkmarks or crosses on a form based on Yuan Zhu’s responses and behavior, working swiftly until the entire sheet was completed and signed in the corner.

“These are private matters. No disclosure,” he said.

Yuan Zhu was undeterred. “I’m just curious. During the tests, I felt repulsion toward some strips, but with others, I was irresistibly drawn in, unable to resist this instinctual embrace. Is this good or bad?”

The old man gave him a half-smile. “Among these test strips are samples from notorious evil deities as well as some divine powers, all randomly ordered. Isn’t it normal to either resist or be attracted?”

But he gave no explanation about which attractions were good or which rejections were bad. Yuan Zhu only remembered being repelled by a Buddha figure covered with countless eyes.

So the question arose: was this distinctly Cthulhu-esque Buddha good or evil? The riddler was truly despicable! He ought to be banished from Runing City!

“Now, the final step. Use your palm to smear this ink pad, then leave a handprint on this white paper. Finally, prick your fingertip and drop a drop of blood on the lower right corner. That will do.”

As he spoke, the old man returned the test strips to a sealed metal box, placing it in a drawer. Then he opened another drawer and took out what looked like a spilled paint box. Inside, multicolored oil paints swirled chaotically, intertwining into twisted arcs and circles.

Not only that, but as Yuan Zhu’s palm approached the chaotic paints, the Immortal Scripture sounded another alarm.

By now, Yuan Zhu was numb to it—the damned thing warned nonstop, 24/7. Had he never seen anything safe, uncontaminated? So the ink provided by the Security Bureau wasn’t safe at all?

Suppressing discomfort, he placed his palm on the paint. Instantly, he felt the paints come alive, extending countless thread-like tendrils that brushed and probed his palm’s skin, attempting to enter through his pores and pierce into his flesh.

Yuan Zhu shuddered violently, his face grimacing with disgust as he withdrew his hand, as if he had touched something filthy, his whole body breaking out in goosebumps.

Then he eagerly pressed his palm onto the white paper, grabbing several tissues to scrub his palm vigorously, trying to erase the uneasy, writhing, invasive ink.

“Prick your finger and then you can leave,” the old man reminded him.

“Is it over now? I passed the test and can go home?” Yuan Zhu asked.

The old man opened another drawer, took out a card, and tossed it onto the table in front of him. “You’re free for now. For the next two months, come for a retest every week. After eight weeks, you’ll be fully free. Keep this medical card safe. When you have time, visit the Second City Hospital’s Holy Light Exorcism Department for two free treatments.”

Yuan Zhu was sensitive about treatments and asked, “If I passed and have no problems, why do I need treatment?”

The old man patiently explained: “This test doesn’t guarantee absolute safety. I only check for a few globally recognized forbidden contaminations. There are many other pollutants the Security Bureau can’t monitor. The hospital’s free Holy Light treatments won’t cost you anything. Whether you’re sick or not, it helps remove evil, maintain health, calm the mind, deeply relax, and eradicate hidden contamination. Why resist? Are you afraid of the Holy Light’s illumination?”

“Such a good deal?” Yuan Zhu was unafraid. He pocketed the card, determined to check it out. This was a direct channel to the orthodox transcendent system.

Recalling from memory, he knew the Holy Light belonged exclusively to the Sanctum organization.

This was a top-tier transcendent religious force, on par with Taoism and Buddhism, with a widespread presence worldwide. Many major cities had Sanctum churches.

The Sanctum was one of the most mainstream orthodox religions among the Do Ling, intricately linked to the seventh-ranked deity among the Twelve Fate Lords, the Great Moth.

In Yuan Zhu’s understanding, the Sanctum was like a “Church of Light” from a fantasy novel or Earth’s Flash Tribe’s Cross Church equivalent. Their scriptures venerated many “abstract angels,” with the Great Moth being the most famous among the Fate Lords.

However, the Do Ling Sanctum had no crosses or crucifixion elements.

The Holy Light power was said to have strong repelling and purifying properties, often used to expel evil spirits.

Having understood this, Yuan Zhu brazenly asked, “Sir, do you have similar medical cards for Buddhism or Taoism? For body checks and hazard removals? The Sanctum alone isn’t enough.”

The old man laughed outright. “You’re shameless. Forget Buddhism. A few years ago, the high-ups of Taixi had a minor conflict with Buddhism, sparking an anti-Buddhist movement in the northern West Coast. The capable wandering monks left local temples for the south. The skilled monks remaining stayed in private monasteries and don’t offer services publicly.”

“As for Taoism, there’s a local temple worshiping the Yellow Heaven located deep in the suburban mountains. The roads are tough, it only admits those with fate, and the fees aren’t cheap. If you’re interested, I’ll give you the address. But nowadays, young people like you disdain old beliefs like Yellow Heaven, claiming ‘Yellow Heaven is dead.’ Look at the Sanctum—popular, government-supported, and even subsidized.”

Half-understanding, Yuan Zhu nodded. “I see. Then forget it.”

He was unfamiliar with Buddhism in this world, but truly understood Yellow Heaven. In the old Xi Kingdom, Yellow Heaven Taoism was the state religion. For thousands of years in the eastern continent of Gen, Yellow Heaven Taoism dominated Taoist thought.

Even more astonishing, the Taoist ancestor revered in Yellow Heaven Taoism was none other than Earth’s Taiping Dao’s Great Sage Teacher—the Heavenly General Zhang Jiao.

This “Taoist ancestor” was not the Three Pure Ones of Earth’s Taoist mythology but Laozi Li Er, the human founder of Taoist thought. Zhang Jiao essentially represented the Do Ling planet’s Laozi, founding Taoism there—a truly remarkable fact.

Yuan Zhu thought: I’m not alone; there are fellow Earth natives here.

He hadn’t cared for history or culture in school, but now, recalling fragmented memories, he could analyze sufficiently.

He knew that in the distant ancient times of the Xi Kingdom, Taiping Dao hadn’t yet appeared on that land. Many historians believed Zhang Jiao was a mythical figure.

Yet throughout history, local historical figures suspected of being time travelers disputed this, claiming “Great Sage Teacher” was a real transcendent from another immortal realm who once appeared in a dream to the founder of the Heavenly Government, inspiring the original Yellow Heaven Taoism.

This Heavenly Government was essentially a Do Ling version of Earth’s Celestial Master’s Mansion. The first Heavenly General, suspected to be a Taiping Dao Yellow Turban rebel, traveled back to ancient Do Ling, impersonated the Taoist ancestor in dreams, replicating Taiping Dao doctrines and classics like the Tao Te Ching, thereby creating the indigenous Yellow Heaven faith.

Thus, the Xi Kingdom’s land had long sincerely believed “Yellow Heaven above.” Yellow Heaven Taoism was merely a common feudal religion, without transcendent powers or true deities.

Everything began during the “magic-plane invasion” 400 years ago. The transcendent awakening on Do Ling started then, and Yellow Heaven revived at that time.

But soon after, the long-held Yellow Heaven was overthrown by the sudden rise of the Red Heaven.

Hence, the prophecy “Yellow Heaven is dead; Red Heaven rises. In the year of Jiazi, all under heaven will prosper” spread widely across the continent.

The old Xi Kingdom’s remnants were utterly defeated, collapsing rapidly. The Red Dragon Empire, worshippers of Red Heaven and steam technology, swept across the land.

In the end, the emigrants to the new continent brought with them the obsolete Yellow Heaven faith, struggling to survive even today. The new continent’s West Coast remains one of the few places where Yellow Heaven is openly worshipped as orthodox.

However, the young people of the new federation no longer buy into Yellow Heaven. Only the older generation worships devoutly, while younger ones mock “Yellow Heaven is dead,” and also reject the inherently evil opposing Red Heaven. Today’s Taoist cultivators study Kunlun immortal techniques or scattered overseas immortal scriptures.

Overwhelmed by so much strange knowledge, Yuan Zhu excitedly told his little spirit, “Quick, record this! This world has gods and immortals! Not fake impostors from magical races, but real sword immortals recruited by the federation, crucial to the military!”

The little spirit, also reading related memory fragments, was shocked: “Got it! Did the Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture just get insanely lucky? By sheer coincidence, it truly arrived in another unknown universe with an immortal cultivation system? Incredible, like a deliberate twist of fate!”

Yuan Zhu disagreed: “Not necessarily. Do Ling is toxic, linking eight external universes. It can cross time and space to capture the Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture locally, and even bring Earth native travelers in ancient times, creating the Yellow Heaven faith of Taoist ancestor Zhang Jiao. So it’s not surprising it also brought genuine cultivators from unknown universes.”

The little spirit replied: “I’m still shocked! This planet was just an ordinary world 400 years ago—a feudal kingdom with no transcendent powers. How did it suddenly transform? Binding multiple external universes, spawning numerous evil gods? This planet must have been possessed!”

Yuan Zhu, a high school dropout, couldn’t answer such profound questions: “I don’t know, but I’m amazed!”

Little spirit: “Me too!”

...

Pocketing the Holy Light Exorcism Department medical card, Yuan Zhu left the interrogation room in a daze, regaining his freedom.

His mind was chaotic. The information was overwhelming. The Immortal Scripture could handle it, but he himself suffered data overload. He needed quiet.

Behind him in the interrogation room, a young officer who had just handed over equipment entered, seeing the empty seat and frowning heavily.

“Captain Wang, are you really letting him go? He’s the only survivor of a sacrificial ritual that killed over forty people. He can’t be innocent. He must be hiding something big—that’s obvious!”

The elder who had taken the handprint spoke up: “But the test results show he’s frighteningly pure—cleaner than the offspring of the great nobles.”

The young officer instantly replied, “So what? Do you believe all this is natural?”

Captain Wang nodded, trimming his nails. “What if it’s unnatural? He’s clean enough and mentally stable—that’s enough. We deal with so many problems daily; who has time to focus on one ‘clean and stable’ normal person? You live a normal life—no wife, no kids, no girlfriend, no bars, no fishing, no music halls. Why obsess over him?”

The young officer: “I…”

Captain Wang sighed. “You’re too young and reckless. Look at it another way: over forty lives lost in a sacrifice. If he had problems, wouldn’t he be infused with tremendous evil power? Have you thought about that? This guy, Yuan Zhu, had no prior contact with transcendent powers. He’s a pure civilian who doesn’t understand cultivation taboos, lacks control, and has no safety awareness.”

“A person with no cultivation, no orthodox backing, caught in an illegal ritual and injected with pollution. The stronger this power, the more dangerous his state. What does the enforcement manual say about those with dangerous powers?”

Young officer: “Let them grow stronger, then…”

Captain Wang took over: “Then Do Ling will reject him, banishing him beyond reality—into ‘divine concealment.’ So, we don’t need to do anything except ensure he comes for retests. If he acts normal, we’re happy. If he loses control, we arrest him. If he hides other schemes, wouldn’t you leak his info? Many would be interested in such a ritual survivor. If someone forces him to expose himself and use corrupt powers, then we just wait for his loss of control—and ascension…”

Young officer: “That’s irresponsible to the public!”

Captain Wang: “I’m off work. If you’re so righteous, I’ll help you apply for the current Decree System trial?”

Young officer nodded: “Okay!”

Captain Wang was surprised: “Wait, you’re serious?”

“I’m serious!” the young man said.

...