History Has Fallen Ill

Chapter 94: A Astonishing Reward! The Primordial Five‑Element Celestial Gourd!

“Ah, so that’s how it was.”

No wonder many felt prices had been unusually low in recent years—it turned out they had been drawing from diseased domains to support the present world.

Shi Ju asked in curiosity: “Then doesn’t that make the present world a resource trove with inexhaustible supplies?”

When resources are infinite, technological progress bursts forth.

“In theory, yes, but in reality history‑walkers have to return into a diseased domain after some interval, or even actively dive into one, where they might encounter threats but cannot record the coordinates—because the diseased domain moves. Returning to the same location later, one might find bizarre mutated creatures awaiting.

At that point, you need a living coordinate that carries the domain’s essence—a ‘diseased domain key’. These are typically earned by completing high‑rank missions, and with very low probability collected within a diseased domain.

Large diseased domains are hard to move; their locations stay fixed. One can build a staging ground there, launch cross‑realm warfare, plunder resources. But the domain’s creatures are extremely powerful—full of danger and risking death.

So each resource‑type diseased domain is extraordinarily precious. One must structure enormous resource portals, all while facing mutated creatures, disorientation, and other threats.

Crucially, when a history‑walker advances to, say, Ancient‑Talisman‑Level and automatically sinks into the Ming‑Qing transition era, they must heal ever more dangerous diseased domains. Even going against the current, they cannot linger for long in the shallow‑water tributaries of the Historical Long River.

Just like a Murky‑Current‑Level domain—it cannot contain Heavenly‑Official‑Level walkers; attempting force entry would cause an explosive failure.”

Jiang Yan nodded slightly. He had read related notes in Zhao Yinman’s journal. Powerful history‑walkers had harvested vast amounts of diseased‑mutation energy, causing themselves to become “heavier” and sink into deep‑layer history.

The Historical Long River favored those who could carry more.

Powerful mutated creatures operated similarly: they could only influence shallow history by laying out schemes and spreading impact.

Only the present world could contain everything.

Large diseased domains were akin to islands at sea—with fixed coordinates.

Resource‑type domains were like moving underwater treasure chests—most were junk domains or monsters in disguise. You must sift through them like gold from sand, and you need a key just to keep mining.

Even official agencies had to expend enormous effort finding them—most factions fared worse.

In contrast, when Jiang Yan deployed the “Mirror of Stolen‑Heaven Ghosts”, it was exponentially safer—especially since celestial ghosts are highly sensitive to diseased domains. From three mirrors, two could enter the world.

The Heichuan clan wanted to manufacture Ten‑Direction Celestial Ghosts as bargaining chips with the White‑Ying Kingdom’s top powers—to jointly steal the orthodox legacy of Tian‑Xia.

If successful, the head of the Heichuan clan would receive massive resource investment—and possibly attract the attention of White‑Ying’s gods—becoming a Heavenly Official, or even approaching higher realms would not be unimaginable.

Unfortunately…

“I nurtured the Celestial Ghost Mirror into offspring. Ordinary people might not notice, but supreme experts would detect that the ghost‑corpse and fragments of the Three White‑Ying Artifacts did not undergo ritual forging, nor draw from a Dragon Vein, yet fused flawlessly—already born with sentience. That risks revealing the embryo of a Demon God.”

Jiang Yan regretted inwardly. A Demon God embryo was a divine object that even immortals or gods might covet. No level of caution was excessive.

The Celestial Ghost Treasure Mirror was an innate sentient treasure that would grow—reflecting all realms.

He did not want to gamble with human nature.

Now, he could only hog the benefits, exchanging time for resources.

“It’s not that there’s no solution.”

Jiang Yan thought of using the Celestial Ghost Treasure Mirror to siphon world‑origin energy. Except for rare diseased domains, he could condense diseased domain keys and cooperate with the Historical Correction Bureau to develop them.

Once strong enough, he could unveil the Treasure Mirror—then exposure would not matter.

Let everyone gather resources for him, sustain him.

“At the end of the day, it still takes resources.”

Jiang Yan felt his wallet beginning to wail.

The god of poverty, always in pursuit.

Meanwhile Shi Ju asked: “If you placed a sprit‑land near the present world and let it repeatedly mutate disease, could you safely obtain endless resources?”

The number of sprit‑lands and paradises defined a great faction’s foundation—enough to draw the envy of countless wandering cultivators.

“That’s a neat idea, but reality is harsh.”

Zhou Li shook his head and continued: “You must fully master a diseased domain, at minimum reaching the Sludge‑Clogging Level, before it can be made into a paradise. As for a sprit‑land, it must be created from an Annihilation‑Level domain.

At the present world’s edge, you can indeed actively infect it to produce stable transcendental resources.

But if mutation occurs too frequently within a short interval, a Domain‑Devouring catastrophe bursts forth.

The sprit‑land mutates into a boundary‑beast—terrifying beyond measure. Even Heavenly Officials can be devoured. Many famous families were wiped out this way, then turning into terrifying apparitions drifting in the Historical Long River.”

Jiang Yan suddenly recalled the unknown monster he had excreted the mirror into in the Silver Dynasty—could it also have become a boundary‑beast?

At this moment, Bai Rui interrupted: “The Historical Correction Bureau has many sprit‑lands and paradises, but they collect resources only at intervals, minimizing impact on the Historical Long River. The Celestial‑Treasure sprit‑land you’re heading to opens only once every thirty years.”

At this point the Rivers and Mountains Like a Painting group arrived at Baiyu‑Capital, attracting many gazes directed at them—most fixated on Jiang Yan, Zhao Yinman, and Di Sheng.

“That must be this cycle’s champion Jiang Yan: one‑week Foundation Establishment, First in Jiangnan, succeeded in manipulating the Legend‑Club’s twelfth Banquet Girl, dismantling the Dragon‑Transformation calamity. No three heads or six arms, just handsome. He’d match well with my great‑granddaughter.”

“Drop it. My great‑granddaughter has been single for sixty years since birth—she’s old enough to be your grandma. Stop chasing youth.”

“A woman over thirty embraces a golden brick; over sixty embraces the Great Wall of gold. And by the time an Ancient‑Talisman‑Level is reached, that counts only one‑fifth of a life cycle—like an eighteen‑year‑old human.”

“By your math then, compared with Heavenly Officials, I’m still the placenta!”

“What kind of aura does Ba Lie have that attracts talent? How many geniuses has he uncovered these years? Is that guy a treasure‑hunting rat spirit?”

“After Foundation Establishment, you really need time to cultivate. Jiang Yan has good talent, but he’ll still need to grind for a year. I’m betting on Di Sheng—his aura is perfect; he could reach Ancient‑Talisman first, gaining the edge in chaotic times.”

...

These people wore various attire—modern dress, Ming‑dynasty or Zhongshan suits, cheongsam—curious and kind gazes filled the air.

Their auras were formidable, mostly Law‑Seed Realms, with some Ancient‑Talisman‑Level masters.

As for higher‑level Heavenly Officials, Jiang Yan didn’t see any—perhaps his strength couldn’t detect them.

Next, most geniuses were arranged to undergo medical checks in Baiyu‑Capital, to prevent hidden injuries.

As for Jiang Yan and the other two, after a simple examination they followed Perfected Qiu Bai deeper into the capital.

Soon they arrived before a magnificent palace.

At a glance, coiling‑dragon jade pillars, interior glittering gold and jade, ground like a mirror reflecting cloud‑patterned runes—truly like the legendary Lingxiao Treasure Hall.

Cloud‑Talis inscriptions hung as couplets on either side.

Left side: Purple Qi Floating in the Great Luo Heaven.

Right side: Auspicious Clouds Drifting in the Three‑Pure Palace.

Horizontal Inscription——【Vast World】

On the prayer mat within the hall, an elderly man in a Daoist robe with white hair and a youthful face was sitting with his eyes closed, resting. When Qiu Bai entered, he didn’t even open his eyes and smiled as he said:

“Qiu Bai, boy, your complexion is looking better and better.”

“……”

The Coffin Spirit beside Jiang Yan was stunned upon hearing this and secretly glanced at the Qiu Bai True Person whose back was the only thing visible.

This person didn’t even have a face—how could one tell his complexion?

What a master of talking nonsense with closed eyes!

However, Qiu Bai cupped his fists and said, “Elder Gu’s eyes are as sharp as ever. I already have some clues on how to paint 【Self】.”

“To paint others is easy, to paint oneself is hard.”

“If successful, then the path of Earth known as 【Soil of the Nation】—the most difficult one to cultivate—will gain another Heavenly Official.”

Elder Gu stroked his beard and smiled, then turned to Jiang Yan and the others and said:

“Your performance on Jiulong Mountain made us very pleased. Though I am just an old man, I know young people dislike wasting time, so let’s get straight to the point.”

“Today, you will be heading to the 【Primordial Heavenly Gourd Blessed Land】, ranked third among the fifty-nine blessed lands in Jiangnan Province.”

As his words fell, Elder Gu slowly opened his eyes—yet there were no pupils.

What lay there was only a dark void, dotted with seventy-two points of light, thirteen of which shone especially bright, like stars glittering in the night sky.

Elder Gu chuckled and said, “This old man is called Gu Jie. Due to a unique path, I can manipulate universal space and place cave-heavens and blessed lands within my eyes. This way, I don’t have to fear people sneaking in, and I can check for problems at any time.”

‘Eyes that contain all realms!’

Jiang Yan clicked his tongue inwardly. Even a small Diseased Domain here was guarded by someone at least on the level of a Heavenly Official—or even higher.

A single blessed land could give rise to an orderly great clan, benefiting generations of descendants.

And here, there were fifty-nine blessed lands, thirteen cave-heavens, not to mention that this was only Jiangnan Province. There were also Historical Revision Bureaus in other provinces.

Such depth—terrifying!

Truly, the official bureau was the greatest power!

Buzz!

Before Jiang Yan and the others could even process this, spatial power surged around them. They felt the world spinning. The next moment, they found themselves in a world resembling a primordial forest, with a massive mountain standing before them.

Here, all the flora took the shape of gourds. Insects and animals, magnified hundreds of times to the size of buildings, darted through the forest. Gourds of various colors and strange shapes grew from their bodies.

“Chhh!”

Not far from Jiang Yan, a spider whose abdomen had turned into a massive white gourd was hunting. As the gourd’s mouth opened, it spat out huge webs that spread across the jungle.

This gourd had replaced its original silk-producing organ.

Soon, it captured a gecko with a gourd-shaped body. Entangled in the web, the gecko struggled desperately.

Just as the spider approached, the gourd on the gecko’s body opened, and a smaller gecko—identical in appearance—climbed out.

It stepped on its old body, leaped, and escaped the web, vanishing into the jungle.

The white gourd spider, upon witnessing this, did not pursue. Instead, it absorbed the discarded flesh through its gourd mouth, seemingly feeding in this way.

All other creatures here behaved similarly—hunting or feeding through their gourds. The scene was surreal, like a fantastical world built entirely by gourd organisms.

However, none of these gourd creatures dared to approach the nearby mountain.

Jiang Yan turned his head and examined it carefully, then exclaimed in surprise, “This doesn’t seem like a mountain. Could it actually be… a gourd vine!?”

It was his first time seeing such a colossal gourd vine.

At its peak, dense leaves sprouted six gourds—green, red, yellow, white, black, and gray.

Each was only about the size of a palm, oddly contrasting with the massive vine.

“This is the Primordial Heavenly Gourd Blessed Land, containing a disease mutation known as the 【Heavenly Gourd】. Creatures that grow in this Diseased Domain, whether plant or beast, all develop a special gourd linked to their lives. Absorbing spiritual energy and cultivation must be done by activating the gourd, condensing one’s entire cultivation, spiritual power, and life force into it.”

“After killing such a creature, one can harvest its intact gourd to retain some of its abilities and refine it into a gourd treasure. Though it has a limited number of uses, its versatility makes it a hot commodity across provinces and a major source of income for the bureau.”

Elder Gu’s voice echoed from beyond the skies as he continued:

“In the past, the Bureau Chief ventured into this Dike-Break level Diseased Domain and discovered the core of the domain—the source of the mutation. It turned out to be a mutated creature born from a primordial gourd vine—【Postnatal Five Elements Heavenly Gourd Vine】.”

“Primordial originally referred to Innate First Qi, but for some reason, it became tainted by postnatal energy. Innate degenerated into Postnatal Primordial Five Elements, making it only half an innate being.”

“All the gourd-mutated creatures are merely its food. It expands its path by having higher-level gourds consume lower-level ones.”

“Even so, it reached the level of a Heavenly Official. After the Jiangnan Historical Revision Bureau Chief slew it and erased its spirit, he brought the entire Diseased Domain back with him.”

“This vine, by drawing from the mutations of the Historical Long River and the ecological power of the Heavenly Gourd disease, produces fruit every thirty years. These are called 【Postnatal Primordial Five Elements Gourd Seeds】.”

So “Primordial” was actually just a brand name?

“Normally, the gourd vine only produces five gourds, each corresponding to one of the Five Elements. You may harvest the gourd matching your attribute and plant it in your Foundation to nurture it. This can give rise to Heavenly Gourd spells and function like a Companion Treasure.”

“Unlike ordinary historical items that become outdated as your strength increases, this one grows with you. If you become a Lord of the Nation, it will be a Lord-tier treasure.”

Jiang Yan looked at the six gourds with curiosity and asked, “So this is an unusual situation?”

Could it be… a rare edition?

……

……