Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 312 – The dragon holding a candle on Zhongshan

In the envoy's mansion, Su Yun looked at Jing Zhao and then at Shen Xian Suo, furrowing his brows slightly.

This Shen Xian Suo was a treasure left to him by Cen Bo when he left Tian Shi Yuan. Previously, there was a seal left by "Mr. Wild Fox" in the Shen Xian Suo, which prevented Su Yun from unleashing its power.

Later, this seal was broken by Xue Qing Fu, who also left a hidden seal in the Shen Xian Suo to monitor Su Yun's movements.

It was not until later, when Ying Ying summoned Cen Bo's spirit and broke Xue Qing Fu's seal, that the Shen Xian Suo truly fell under Su Yun's control.

But unexpectedly, after Su Yun spent so much time refining this Great Holy Spirit Weapon, it was taken away by the crazy old man Jing Zhao.

The Shen Xian Suo was even more handy in Jing Zhao's hands than in Su Yun's, truly demonstrating the ingenuity of its use.

"The Shen Xian Suo first hanged Cen Bo, and now it comes to bind me. It must be that this treasure devours its master! If we were to choose the most spineless Great Holy Spirit Weapon, it would definitely be at the top of the list!"

Su Yun coughed and took out some Qing Hong Golden Straw, saying, "Jiang Mu, this is the Lord of the Fire Cloud Cave, my senior. You must not be disrespectful. Take it and exchange it for money to subsidize the expenses of the envoy's mansion." After speaking, he winked.

Xing Jiang Mu was surprised. These golden straws were long and heavy, all made of Qing Hong Gold and of extremely high purity.

Only during the period after the Pan Yang Rebellion, when no new refining materials were developed, would someone be willing to use such a large amount of Qing Hong Gold to refine treasures. Nowadays, people were unwilling to use such pure Qing Hong Gold to refine treasures.

And what Su Yun took out was actually straw made of Qing Hong Gold, which was truly extravagant and left people speechless.

"I made some money this time, and I still have a mountain of straw here."

Su Yun glanced at Jing Zhao, then winked at Xing Jiang Mu, saying, "You go to Yuan Shuo Tower and buy some clothes for the old cave master, make him look more presentable. When you're done, I'll go to Jian Ge with the old cave master to see Qing Luo sister."

Xing Jiang Mu understood and left with the golden straw, driving the Pan Yang carriage, thinking to himself, "The Lord wants me to find reinforcements! However, can Yuan Hui's old gourd handle the old madman?"

He furrowed his brows slightly. Jing Zhao was captured last time in the underground city of Bo Shan County and was successively injured by the Ashen God King and the Demon God Tai Sui. Only then was he securely bound by Su Yun, and later sealed by Dong Physician. Even so, he still managed to escape.

"Yuan Hui's old gourd is probably no match for the old madman, but now there's no choice but to ask him."

The Pan Yang carriage headed towards Yuan Shuo Tower. When it arrived at Yuan Shuo Tower, Xing Jiang Mu jumped off the carriage and rushed into the building.

"Young Master Xing, the old gourd is not here."

The person in charge of Yuan Shuo Tower recognized him and said, "You're late, the old gourd has already left for a few days."

"The old gourd went back to Yuan Shuo?" Xing Jiang Mu was surprised.

The person shook his head and whispered, "He left with Xia Meng Jue, we didn't dare to ask..."

Xing Jiang Mu didn't think much about it either, anxiously saying, "If the old gourd is not here, what should we do? In terms of experts overseas in Yuan Shuo, there is no one else but him..."

Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and said to the person in charge, "Borrow a place to hang a painting."

The person in charge of Yuan Shuo Tower was also an important figure in Yuan Hui and hesitated, "Young Master Xing, what kind of painting do you want?"

Xing Jiang Mu drew a wooden box and said, "Please use a knife to hang it on the wall."

The person in charge's eyes twitched and whispered, "Young Master Xing, you know the rules of the Dao. Some things cannot be touched casually. Yuan Hui can hang this painting for you, but if you add a knife, you will have to bear the consequences. Yuan Hui will never offend the Tong Tian Pavilion for your sake!"

Xing Jiang Mu gritted his teeth and said, "You can rest assured! If something happens, I will take responsibility myself!"

Seeing this, the person in charge ordered someone to bring a knife and pierced it through the painting, nailing it to the wall of Yuan Shuo Tower.

Xing Jiang Mu anxiously waited, but no one came to take down the painting. Unconsciously, the sun set, and the lights of the night market began to shine.

He was extremely anxious, not knowing what had happened to Su Yun. He wished he could take down the painting himself and return to the envoy's mansion. Just then, someone pulled out the knife on the wall, and a gentle voice said, "Who hung this painting?"

Xing Jiang Mu rushed out and saw under the Ashen Lamp, a young man from Yuan Shuo wearing a cloak, covering the upper half of his face. He held a knife in one hand and the painting in the other.

Xing Jiang Mu was about to speak when he suddenly saw a shabby-looking middle-aged man in a blue and white robe standing behind the young man from Yuan Shuo. He was about fifty years old, with the marks of time on his face, and carried a basket of books on his back, containing rolled-up drawings. He grinned at Xing Jiang Mu as if he were laughing.

Xing Jiang Mu looked behind the craftsman and was greatly shocked. Behind the craftsman stood two to three hundred people from Yuan Shuo, dressed in various costumes. There were men, women, old, and young. Some were dressed elegantly, while others were unkempt. It seemed that there were very few people who looked like normal people.

"Is it your painting?"The young man in the cloak took off his cloak, revealing a handsome face, and smiled, "The Tongtian Pavilion does not have a rule that allows interference with the key. Interfering with the key means that the Tongtian Pavilion cannot handle it and needs the protection of the Pavilion Master. If it really comes to that, the Pavilion Master will personally take action."

Xing Jiangmu asked, "May I ask who you are?"

"I am Yan Qingzhou from the Yuanshuo Tongtian Pavilion."

The young man in the cloak smiled, "This is the eldest senior brother of the Yuanshuo Tongtian Pavilion."

The craftsman behind him grinned and nodded at Xing Jiangmu.

"Behind the eldest senior brother are 213 fellow disciples from the Yuanshuo Tongtian Pavilion, and some disciples cannot leave due to their official positions in the Yuanshuo."

Yan Qingzhou said, "We have come from afar for the battle of the Pavilion Master. So, the reason for hanging this painting is..."

Xing Jiangmu interrupted, "Please save the Pavilion Master!"

At the Yuanshuo Embassy, Su Yun activated the Honglu Transformation Technique, mobilizing the seventy-two caves and the Deep Abyss, and harnessing the elemental energy of heaven and earth to enhance his cultivation and power.

This time, he gained a lot from his trip to the Heavenly Court, especially when the gods of the Heavenly Court personally displayed various divine abilities and guided him in his cultivation, allowing him to comprehend many insights into cultivation.

As his technique operated, his physical body and spiritual essence cultivated simultaneously, progressing together.

Jing Zhao, the master of the Fire Cloud Cave, paced anxiously by his side.

"You're cultivating it wrong!"

Jing Zhao stopped and sneered, "There are nine abysses in the Deep Abyss, and you're only cultivating the first abyss. You've only cultivated the first level of the Spiritual Essence Palace!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yun opened his eyes and humbly asked, "I haven't been to school, so I don't know the reason behind this. What are the nine abysses?"

"The west wind startled the sleeping dragon, taking the bright pearl out of the nine abysses. The priceless pearl must be in the ninth abyss, under the chin of the Candling Dragon!"

Jing Zhao impatiently said, "Do you understand? Startled dragon, bright pearl, nine abysses! Candling Dragon! Your current cultivation only polishes the first abyss. If you continue to cultivate, you will never refine the bright pearl, let alone make it come out of the Deep Abyss!"

Su Yun pondered.

Indeed, he hadn't attended school for long, and even if he did, there were very few people who could teach him. The path he was currently taking was the path of the Spiritual Essence and Dual Cultivation Technique created by Yue Liuxi, Jiang Zushi, and Qiu Shuijing. However, even these three individuals had not achieved success in their cultivation, and they hadn't even created a complete technique.

After reaching the Beginning Movement realm, Su Yun had to rely on his own exploration to understand how to cultivate his realm. He had no idea whether the path he was currently taking was correct or if he had taken a wrong turn.

Unconsciously, he had already ignored the experiences of those who came before him.

The most comprehensive explanation of the realm came from the ancient Saint's technique, and the Fire Cloud Cave was undoubtedly the most knowledgeable about it!

Jing Zhao rambled on, reciting the ancient Saint Emperor Xuanyuan's technique one moment and Emperor Yu's technique the next, with various explanations of the nine abysses pouring out in a disorderly manner.

Su Yun tried to remember, but Jing Zhao's ramblings were too chaotic and made no sense.

Su Yun could only extract key words and phrases from the words of the various saints and emperors and ask about them.

After a while, Su Yun asked all the saints in the Fire Cloud Cave about their explanations of the Beginning Movement realm, and he fell into contemplation.

Jing Zhao continued muttering beside him, but Su Yun ignored him.

According to the records in the Fire Cloud Cave, the Beginning Movement realm was not just a single abyss with inscribed runes. It was actually a preparation for the next realm, the Deep Abyss realm.

In this realm, true essence and spiritual essence needed to dive into the nine levels of the Deep Abyss, with the ninth level being called the mouth of the true dragon. There, true essence and spiritual essence would merge and nurture the Candling Pearl!

However, the requirements for true essence and spiritual essence in the nine abysses were extremely high. If one's cultivation was insufficient, the spiritual essence might be crushed.

When spiritual essence reached the ninth abyss, something marvelous would happen. The ancient saints called it the sight of the Candling Dragon.

At the ninth abyss, when the Candling Pearl was about to form, one would see a boundless dark universe with an immeasurable Candling Dragon coiling around a mountain, its mouth holding the pearl, illuminating the Candling Dragon Cave like a star core!

That Candling Dragon was not an ordinary land dragon!

The ancient saints had many speculations about the Candling Dragon seen in the nine abysses. Some believed that the mountain was Zhongshan, some believed that the Candling Dragon was a phenomenon formed by elemental energy and was impossible to exist, and some even said that the peak of the Candling Dragon Mountain was the Immortal Realm.

There were various opinions, but nothing was certain.

Su Yun comprehended the explanations of the gods regarding the Beginning Movement realm and immediately activated his true essence, escorting his spiritual essence into the Deep Abyss. His spiritual essence was already extremely powerful, and his elemental energy was also incredibly vigorous. This time, he didn't feel much pressure when diving into the Deep Abyss; he could only feel his true essence moving on the surface of his spiritual essence.

A faint light appeared on the surface of his spiritual essence, and the imprints formed by various divine abilities floated on the surface, constantly moving and illuminating the Deep Abyss.

"This should be the Nixuan Abyss, where divine abilities swim like fish on the surface."Su Yun didn't know how deep the Deep Abyss was. Suddenly, he felt his true essence seeping in, merging with his spirit. His divine power transformed into runes, continuously branding deep into his spirit.

"This should be the second abyss, right? It's called the Abyss of Still Water."

Not long after, Su Yun saw his divine power rune flowing within his spirit body and thought to himself, "This is the Abyss of Flowing Water that the old sage spoke of."

Descending another layer, he reached the Abyss of Overflowing Water, where his divine power flooded within his spirit body, merging with his true essence.

Descending yet another layer, he arrived at the Abyss of Fertile Water, where his divine power and true essence grew stronger, continuously thriving.

......

By the time Su Yun's spirit descended to the ninth abyss, only his spirit was illuminated, while darkness surrounded him.

Looking around, Su Yun didn't see the Candling Dragon, let alone Zhongshan.

Just as he was feeling disappointed, a speck of light suddenly came from the distant darkness. He finally saw Zhongshan and the Candling Dragon, composed of countless stars and galaxies!