According to common sense, with Tao Qian's level of cultivation and mana, even if a vast tide of knowledge, like that of a library, were to flood into his mind, he would still be able to withstand it.
Yet this moment is vastly different.
In Tao Qian's eyes, it seemed as if scenes from all the heavens and realms were reflected, with brilliant colors and shadows of various sizes writhing. There are beings and phenomena in all sorts of forms, some known and some unknown, flooding in together, some communicable, others not.
Some express yearning, while others emit meaningless howls and roars.
What they have in common is pollution.
Every syllable carries the power of mutation, seeking to engulf Tao Qian within.
Even though he is the respected Lord Suppressing Evil of the Spirit Treasure Sect, at this moment, he falls into a brief daze.
Grandma Taizhen hastily transmits a message, timely entering his ears:
"Dear son-in-law, retreat quickly, there's too much filth, something is very wrong."
"Even though I have stirred the Innate Yin Qi tide, and indeed, my precious granddaughter can be regarded as a 'Source Sea Fragrant Bun,' it's impossible to draw in so many evil spirits, especially those mixed with at least a dozen God Demon species, Evil God's Clans. If fought individually you could prevail, but now they've abandoned their conflicts to swarm together, how can you possibly contend?"
"Seek aid!"
"Do not be overconfident."
Upon hearing the message, Tao Qian comes to his senses as well.
Opening his eyes, he finds himself, along with the Miraculous Tree Treasure Boat beneath his feet, seemingly trapped in a world of rainbow-colored sludge.
All directions are filled with this peculiar substance, a mixture made up of complex Source Qi, the excrement of various evil spirit clans' descendants, and themselves...
Tao Qian, possessing the Spirit Treasure Sublime Body, had long abstained from food and did not require breathing.
But at this moment, he bizarrely senses a feeling of suffocation.
In his mind, new records burst forth:
[Currently enduring a combined mental pollution and spiritual attack from a total of three hundred evil spirit demons and thirteen God Demon Clans… Exemption in progress!]
[This attack is a first touch; once these demon clans ascertain the depth of mana, they'll swarm and devour flesh and soul...]
Upon seeing the second record, alarm bells ring in Tao Qian's mind.
Acting immediately, he flicks his fingers, mana surging forth.
The long-endured "Shocking God Bell" instantly vibrates madly, unleashing a sound that invokes anger and fear in all things.
This sound momentarily parts the evil spirits, and with a stamp of his foot, the Miraculous Tree Treasure Boat also erupts with divine light.
The exclusive brilliance of the [Miraculous Tree Great Venerate] manifests tens of thousands of thick green vines, resembling dragons and snakes emerging together, forcibly pushing apart all the evil spirit demons.
Tao Qian pilots the treasure boat, calmly retreating to the entrance of the Star Aperture.
Standing at the bow, Tao Qian formally opens the "Spiritual Resonance Eye" to scrutinize the myriad otherworldly beings filling the tidal passage before him, encompassing demon species, God Demon descendants and clans, and even some that appear "Human Clan," but are in fact disguised alien species or fallen existences of the Immortal Demon type.
Hardly a single one brought good intentions.
In this instant, Tao Qian silently measures the strength of all the demons he sees against his own combat power, and swiftly makes a decision.
Without hesitation, he leaves the treasure boat and the Shocking God Bell at the entrance, as dual insurance with the Little All Heavens Stars Capturing God Prohibition.
He then transmits through the forbidden technique, speaking to the uncles and aunties in the Penglai Sea: "On the treasure boat granted by the Sect Master, there are three great prohibitions and eighteen small prohibitions, all inscribed by the Sect Master. If the treasure boat cannot withstand, I ask all my uncles and aunties to come promptly and protect the lives of my wife and daughter."
This statement reveals Tao Qian's intentions to everyone.
Indeed, the next moment sees him leap from the treasure boat, with overpowering killing intent that's impossible to conceal on his face. He is not familiar with any otherworldly languages, and cannot embed pollution within the syllables he utters.
However, it's not a concern, for although he's only touched a bit on the "Daoist Transformation Realm," after experiencing a Dao Nightmare, he's gained some understanding and acquired some extraordinary power.
What he obtained holds great restraint over the filthy things before him.
Seeing this, Tao Qian faintly smiles, saying: "Let all demons know how the name 'Lord Suppressing Evil' came to be."
With these words, he mentally retrieves a Spirit Treasure Immortal Sword from the treasure bag and strides forward, singing along as he strums the sword, reciting the Spirit Treasure Dao Song word by word in a loud voice.
The song rhymes are profound; all things and spirits listening can gain great benefits, and if Taoist, Buddhist, or Side Door magic veined cultivators hear, they too can achieve enlightenment.
Yet for evil beings wallowing in filth, it is extremely unbearable, even more so than the Shocking God Bell.
The once violent tide of evil beings momentarily stagnates as a result.
The next moment, Tao Qian smiles again and says:
"These countless useless evil spirits and monsters cannot harm me, but their buzzing noise is irritating. Rather, let's clear them first."
"If one can withstand a mouthful of my true fire and survive, then they can fight me in combat."
This time, what he breathes out is the True Fire of Suppressing Evil.
Unlike before, it's no longer just a wisp or a strand.
Instead, it's a large swath of grayish fire smoke, surging forward like a cloud tide, directly clashing against the raging tide formed by countless evil beings.
This mouthful of true fire!
Within, there are several million Outer Heaven Flame Essences.
Even though the Flame Essences are most affectionate and indulgent towards Tao Qian, the cost is still not small, consuming a full one-fifth of Tao Qian's mana.
But the effect is astonishing enough; when several million chattering Outer Heaven Flame Essences transform into a fiery cloud tide sweeping across, it's like raging fire meeting hot oil, almost invoking a great explosion that nearly blows apart the Source Qi passage.
When all falls silent, the "knowledge tide" that previously made Tao Qian extremely uncomfortable has finally subsided a bit.
Though terrifying howls still come, they can no longer fill Tao Qian's mind.
In this move, according to the gaming parlance from his past life, Tao Qian was essentially clearing the small monsters.
Yet, each little monster that perished in the True Fire of Suppressing Evil, if thrown into the Longevity Realm, could wreak great havoc.
Just like the train-sized insect corpse now rolling to Tao Qian's feet.
Tao Qian touched it, and the corpse disintegrated into flying ashes, yet the record remained:
[Panxing Earth Snake, an outer realm alien species, akin to the Source Sea Demon Dog, possessing extraordinary powers. Not only can it swim across the Source Sea, but it can also devour everything. However, this species does not favor the blood food of living beings; rather, it craves planets, earth, and other inanimate objects.]
[Individuals of this species face life-and-death tribulations as they mature, equivalent to the Immortal Ascension Tribulation faced by human cultivators. If they succeed, they gain two great divine powers: Swallowing Star and Breaking Realm, invincible to cultivators below the Daoist Transformation Realm.]
[This is a juvenile, currently only able to swallow mountains.]
[Having detected the scent of the three-thousand Immortal Mountains in the Penglai Sea, a total of eight hundred Panxing Earth Snakes attacked and perished in the True Fire of Suppressing Evil.]
[A total of eighty-one "Panxing Immortal Pills" were refined, at the cost of the name of Spirit Treasure Sect's Lord Suppressing Evil, Tao Qian, being marked by the acquired demon god "Earth Snake Star Lord," which is unexempted.]
...
As he looked at the record, Tao Qian also reached out to collect the eighty-one immortal pills wafting over with the smoke into his treasure bag.
The so-called Panxing Immortal Pills are indeed extraordinary; consuming one can sate hunger for a hundred years.
"Good gracious!"
"Eating this pill is practically equivalent to 'living off the land,' and if I were to gobble them all up, I wouldn't need food or drink for eight thousand years!"
"Fortunately, these pills have some other profound uses. If not, to have my name blacklisted by that blasted Star Lord would be a huge loss."
Master Tao, while grumbling, opened his treasure bag and collected all kinds of pills and treasures drifting with the smoke.
After all, they were painstakingly refined by the Outer Heaven Flame Essences and could not go to waste.
As for the constant records of being marked by this Star Lord or that Demon God during the process.
The more lice there are, the less one fears itchiness, and Tao Qian did not care.
He knew that by holding this pass, the name of Spirit Treasure Sect's Lord Suppressing Evil, Tao Qian, was bound to echo within the Great Abyss.
When he ventures out in the future, he will find foes across the world.
"My good daughter, she's presumably indeed like Grandma said, a Little Demon Star."
"She hasn't been born yet, and I've already been ensnared horribly."
As this thought crossed Tao Qian's mind, the boundless sky, filled with smoke and various filth, finally cleared.
Immediately, Tao Qian halted his steps.
His brows knitted tightly, and the alarm bells in his heart rang more fiercely than ever before.
The reason?
His Spiritual Resonance Eye and innate Spiritual Response had perceived there were presences on the level of "Mana and Taoist power" comparable to, if not stronger than, him, and not just one.
To be precise, there were as many as five.
Tao Qian raised his eyes and spent two breaths of time to clearly discern.
Before him lay a dense horde of evil spirit demons and clan devils, yet different from before, there was order.
Five entire armies occupied each position, staring at Tao Qian.
Tao Qian ignored the little demon soldiers, focusing only on the five figures in front.
In their gaze, Tao Qian confirmed that each of their equivalences in cultivation and Taoist power was at least not weaker than his, some possibly even stronger.
Tao Qian spoke, sighing:
"With a mouthful of true fire, I burned away those dazed and blindly foolish monsters, also smoking out you stronger ones."
"Possessing exotic treasures and divine artifacts capable of resisting Outer Heaven Flame Essences, you seem to be of high intelligence."
"Yet why must you trouble me and my daughter?"
"Could it be that the name of my Spirit Treasure Sect is not well known within the Great Abyss?"
As these words fell.
Before any of the other enemies could speak, from the southern position, a devil army suddenly broke into turmoil.
Their soldiers were all mountains large, seemingly like monster demons akin to flying night demons.
Their bizarre demon bodies appear patched together from parts of various rotting demon corpses, primarily consisting of massive bat demons, with elements of eagle, dragon python, and even human spines visible to the naked eye.
What struck Tao Qian as particularly abnormal was an indescribable familiarity with the aura of these yet unnamed monster demons.
Before the flipping pages of the "Records of Strange Compilations" could provide an answer, the leading "bat demon" among them flew up, flapping membranous wings as dim as the yellow dusk, producing a howl capable of instantly annihilating the souls of tens of thousands.
Soon, it descended, transforming into a, hoe-clad, skinny Daoist draped in a tattered yellow robe.
This Daoist raised a skeletal claw, pointing at Tao Qian, rasping with laughter:
"I am named 'Yellow Bat True Immortal,' a member of the Heavenly Kui Bat Clan."
"My clan has served the [Yellow Robed Lord] through generations; hence, the enemies of Yellow Robe are the enemies of my people."
"Spirit Treasure Sect's Lord Suppressing Evil, Tao Qian, you once used treachery to slay our lord's son, Ying Qingdi. I, this humble Daoist, come to claim retribution for his life."
PS: There's more.