Xie Shuci walked to his side, puzzled.
"What's wrong?" Xie Shuci asked.
Xie An pursed his lips and lowered his head. "It's so quiet here."
Xie Shuci stared at him for a couple of seconds, and suddenly felt that she understood what he meant.
The little blind boy couldn't see and could only distinguish things by sound. Perhaps it was because the place was too quiet and filled with all sorts of unfamiliar smells that he felt uneasy.
"Then... shall I lead you by the hand?" Xie Shuci asked tentatively.
Xie An did not respond.
Xie Shuci hesitated before reaching out and touching Xie An's fingers. Only after confirming that Xie An did not object did he take his hand in his.
"Let's go," Xie Shuci said.
Xie Anjing followed quietly beside him. The hand held in Xie Shuci's palm showed no intention of returning the grip, neither refusing nor accepting, leaving her wondering what it meant.
Xie Shuci didn't think much of it and pulled Xie An to follow Chu Guiyi and the other two ahead.
The Spirit Gathering Pill was quite effective. Chu Guiyi walked alone, leaning on a wooden stick, looking no different from an ordinary person.
The king was happily hopping around in front when, by chance, it turned around and saw Diedie holding the human's hand. The human looked calm and indifferent, even with a slight expression that seemed to say, "He insisted on holding my hand." The king was so angry that it bared its teeth and grimaced at the back of the dog.
Isn't the baby the one that Diedie loves the most?
"What are you doing? Lead the way." Seeing it suddenly stop by the roadside, Chu Wenfeng gently nudged it with his foot.
But the dog was in a fit of rage and had nowhere to vent its anger, so it turned around and bit at him. Luckily, Chu Wenfeng was quick enough to pull the dog back.
"Let's go," Xie Shuci said, catching up with the two.
The king lowered his head sullenly and groaned.
Emerging from the heart of the jungle, the shade of the trees thinned considerably, and it was already dusk within Dragon Tooth territory.
Ten thousand auspicious clouds floated high in the sky, and raging fire burned half the sky red. The sun hid behind the rosy clouds, shyly peeking out half of its body.
Upon reaching the exit, a patch of yellowish-green grass stretched out before them. The king lunged forward, but for some reason, he stopped at the boundary between the jungle and the grassland.
The four of them, unaware of its unusual behavior, walked out of the jungle one after another.
The king was so anxious that he spun around in place, and finally grabbed Xie An's clothes with his teeth, which earned him a cold glance from Xie An.
"Awooo! Awooo!"
Xie Shuci walked out of the jungle, enjoying the fresh air outside, when he suddenly heard the king's anxious cry.
When everyone turned around, they found that the king was still standing in the jungle, barking wildly at the four of them.
"Come out here," Xie Shuci said.
The king pounced on the ground with his hind legs, but was suddenly blocked by an invisible barrier in mid-air.
"Awooo—"
The king let out a sob and continued to crash outwards, but he could not break through the invisible barrier that marked the boundary between the jungle and the grassland.
Xie Shuci's expression changed, and he hurriedly went back. He tentatively stretched out his palm and placed it against the transparent barrier, but his body passed through without any resistance.
Seeing this, Chu Guiyi said, "Shuci, cover it with your spiritual power and try to take it out."
Xie Shuci nodded, took the anxious, tearful Great King into his arms, and covered it with his spiritual power. When he stepped out, he actually encountered the barrier and was isolated inside.
"What's going on?" Chu Wenfeng asked in surprise.
Xie Shuci patted the king's head reassuringly and looked up at Chu Guiyi.
Of the four, Xie An was mute, and Chu Guiyi was the most learned and knowledgeable.
Chu Guiyi said, "Shuci, place your palm on the ground and let spiritual energy flow into the soil."
Xie Shuci nodded and squatted down. He placed his palm on the ground, his spiritual energy coiling in the soil like roots. Just then, Xie Shuci suddenly felt a warm pulse in his palm, as if he had touched a human pulse. He quickly pulled his hand back and almost fell to the ground.
He raised his head, his face filled with terror, and said to the crowd, "Alive!"
"Really?" Chu Wenfeng looked at him suspiciously, then stepped forward and imitated Xie Shuci's actions, placing his hand on the ground for a moment before suddenly pulling it back. He exclaimed in surprise, "It really is alive! Senior Brother, how did you know?"
Chu Guiyi pointed behind them, "The position of the trees has changed. When we walked past, there should have only been three trees on the left."
Xie Shuci and the other person immediately looked back and found that the tree on the right had become four.
Chu Guiyi sighed, "This forest has life, and it must be to protect it that it is not allowed to leave. It is young and has an inner core from birth, so the outside world is too dangerous for it."
"Awooo! Awooo!" The king seemed to understand his words and realized that it was about to be abandoned. It anxiously nuzzled in Xie Shuci's arms and used its teeth to hold onto Xie Shuci's sleeve, afraid that he would leave it behind and run away.
"Don't move." Xie Shuci patted its head. "Guiyi is right, you shouldn't leave here."
The king retorted, "Awooo! Awooo!"
Do you know how many people outside want your inner core?
The King: "Awooo!"
"I'm not your father."
The King: "Awoooooo!"
"I……"
For some reason, Xie Shuci thought of A Dong, because his impetuous words had almost cost A Dong his life, and Xie Shuci did not want to repeat the same mistake.
He bent down and placed the king at his feet. Seeing that the king was about to transform again, Xie Shuci stopped him in time: "You are not allowed to transform!"
The king let out a "woof" and looked at Xie Shuci with a wronged expression.
Xie Shuci patted his dog's head. "This is your home. They can protect you. I'm not very capable. I can't even protect myself, let alone you."
"Waaah..."
"Let me tell you, not all humans are like us. They are greedy and evil. They will kill you and take your inner core. From now on, you must stay far away from humans, understand?"
"Waaah..."
But Diedie's scent is so gentle... it doesn't smell like the human next to him at all...
"We're leaving now, but we'll come to see you again when we have the chance."
Xie Shuci grabbed its head, got up, and walked out of the jungle. "Let's go."
Chu Guiyi nodded, and the four of them turned and walked out.
Hearing the sobbing sounds coming from behind him, Xie Shuci couldn't help but turn around and look. The king was lying on the ground, his eyes glistening with tears, looking at them pitifully.
When Xie Shuci turned around, it probably thought he had changed his mind and stuck out its tongue happily, but he quickly turned his head back.
"How heartless its parents must have been to leave it alone in such a big forest," Xie Shuci sighed.
Chu Guiyi smiled gently and said, "Perhaps it's for its safety; the soil and plants there can protect it."
Chu Wenfeng suddenly said, "Xie Shuci, have you ever considered that killing it could help Xie An recover his cultivation?"
Xie Shuci was taken aback and shook his head.
Chu Wenfeng chuckled softly, "As expected, you're just like Senior Brother."
Chu Guiyi said calmly, "I don't need to use other people's lives to make up for my own mistakes."
Upon hearing this, Chu Wenfeng frowned. "Senior brother, that's not your fault!"
Xie Shuci was very curious about what Chu Guiyi had been through. He seemed calm, wise, and insightful, so how could he have easily gone astray?
Xie Shuci dared not ask, fearing it would touch upon a part of Chu Guiyi's heart that she did not want to mention.
Chu Guiyi noticed his hesitation and perhaps knew what Xie Shuci wanted to say. She lowered her eyes and smiled, saying, "Shuci, do you remember what I told you not long ago?"
Xie Shuci nodded. "I remember."
"In the end, it was because I overestimated myself. My strength was insufficient to support me in doing what I wanted to do. I couldn't break through this inner demon, so I naturally fell into demonic possession."
Xie Shuci lowered his head, unsure of what to say. He had never carried any burdens. Although he always said he wanted to be a great hero, he had never actually taken any action, so naturally, he could not develop any obsessions or inner demons.
But that didn't stop him from admiring someone like Chu Guiyi. "Where are we going next?" Xie Shuci asked.
Chu Guiyi said, "The Immortal's Tomb."
Xie Shuci's face stiffened. "A grave...a cemetery?"
He reached behind him with his right hand and found Xie An's hand hanging by his side.
Xie An glanced down at her, but did not break free.
Chu Wenfeng couldn't stand his cowardly appearance and mocked, "Yeah, a cemetery, scared you to death, huh?"
Xie Shuci ignored him and asked Chu Guiyi, "Whose grave is this? Why are you going to a grave?"
“I once saw a Dragon Tooth Compendium, which described ‘Ten feet of snow provide shelter, seven steps to the East Yin reveal the universe.’ It is said that beneath ten feet of snow lies the tomb of an ancient great being, with twelve side chambers inside. These side chambers face east and are hidden underground, known as ‘East Yin.’ The ‘seven steps’ in ‘seven steps to see the universe’ actually refers to seven steps forward, seven steps back, and seven steps backward. The so-called ‘seeing the universe’ means that after completing these seven steps, the tomb will be rotated to the spacetime of the Qiankun Mirror,” Chu Guiyi said.
After hearing his words, Xie Shuci said incredulously, "The Qiankun Mirror... isn't in this time and space?"
Xie An, who had been silent and unremarkable, raised his head.
Chu Guiyi nodded: "When the Dragon Fang Secret Realm first appeared, a cultivator wrote a Dragon Fang Illustrated Guide. After the Qiankun Mirror is used once, its own time will be frozen until someone activates the Seven Steps of Eastern Yin again, comes to its time and space, and brings it back, only then can the freeze be lifted."
Xie Shuci's heart suddenly raced. He never imagined that there really was something that could reverse time. At the same time, a bold and outrageous idea popped into his mind.
Since the Qiankun Mirror can reverse time and space, can it also go to the future? What if the time and space it exists in is the future?
No, no, no, don't think like that!
Xie Shuci shook his head, clearing his mind of the extraneous thoughts.
Who cares which time and space it's in?
After hearing this, Chu Wenfeng said with a smug look, "Xie Shuci, you really got off easy. That illustrated book was something that the Chu family brought out from the Floating Pagoda Realm. Apart from my senior brother, no one else has seen it. Most people only know that the Heaven and Earth Mirror can be seen under the Immortal's Tomb, but they don't know about the Seven In and Seven Out of Dongyin. Even if they find the Immortal's Tomb before us, they will never be able to get the Heaven and Earth Mirror."
Upon hearing this, Xie Shuci looked surprised. "Isn't the Qiankun Mirror very important to you? Why would you tell us such an important clue?"
Chu Wenfeng curled his lips and remained silent.
Chu Guiyi smiled gently and said, "Having you as a friend is just as important."
Xie Shuci paused for a moment, a warm current inexplicably welling up in his chest, "Brother..."
He was so moved that he wanted to go up and give Chu Guiyi a friendly hug, but after taking a couple of steps, he found that Xie Anhui had grabbed his hand and gently pulled him back.
Xie Shuci had no choice but to step back to his side, speaking to Chu Guiyi from two body lengths away: "Good brother, from now on, the four of us will share happiness together..."
Before he could finish speaking, Chu Wenfeng interrupted him, saying, "You'll have to bear the consequences yourself."
"..." Xie Shuci was in high spirits when he was suddenly interrupted by him, "You're such a spoilsport, you know that?"
"I am stating the facts."
"Are you bored if you don't mess with me every day?"
"Are you bored if you don't cause trouble every day?"
"Who's causing trouble? I can't help but get excited."
"What are you getting so excited about? Wait until you get the Qiankun Mirror before you get excited!"
The two started arguing again after a disagreement. Chu Guiyi chuckled and walked forward in silence. Xie An also unknowingly let go of Xie Shuci's hand.
As the sun set and night fell, the temperature dropped sharply.
The sudden chill dampened Xie Shuci's spirits, and the four fell silent.
"Senior Brother, how much longer do we have to go?" Chu Wenfeng asked, frowning.
They walked for a long time along the grassland outside the jungle. The surrounding area was vast and boundless, with waist-high grass stretching as far as the eye could see. They did not encounter any disciples from other sects along the way.
Chu Guiyi could not use her spiritual power to resist the cold. Her face was frozen white, her lips were bluish-black, but her body remained straight.
He looked up at the constellations arranged in the sky, then at the endless green grass in front of him, and said in a deep voice, "The map says that south of the Big Dipper is an extremely cold place, with snow ten feet deep. The colder it is, the closer you are to the Immortal's Tomb."
Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng were in relatively good condition, able to use their spiritual power to resist the cold. However, Chu Guiyi and Xie An had no spiritual power in their bodies, and the Spirit Gathering Pill could only allow Chu Guiyi to walk normally with difficulty.
Xie Shuci glanced at Xie An beside him. He was dressed in thin clothes, his head was covered with a layer of frost, and his black hair was wet. Although his face was expressionless and his back was very straight, he inexplicably gave off the feeling of a pine tree that still stood stubbornly after being hit by frost.
"Are you alright?" Xie Shuci asked.
Xie An seemed to be thinking about something. After hearing Xie Shuci's words, he hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
"Are you scared?" Xie Shuci asked.
Xie An calmly raised his head. "I'm not afraid."
"Oh..." Xie Shuci looked at him suspiciously.
For some reason, he felt that the little blind man had become preoccupied ever since he left the jungle.
The four walked for about half an hour before finally seeing a vast expanse of white in the cold moonlight.
"Wen Feng, bring out the Spirit Pearl," Chu Guiyi said.
Chu Wenfeng held the spirit pearl in his palm, and its dazzling light instantly illuminated everything around him.
Not far away, beneath the star-studded night sky, a large patch of white clouds appeared, forming another layer of sky with only floating clouds. The dividing line between the two was like a clear river, with the upper half being the pitch-black night sky and the lower half being layers of thick clouds.
"arrive!"
As we got closer, a gust of cold wind hit our faces, and we could vaguely see snowflakes falling from the sky.
Chu Guiyi cautioned, "Everyone be careful, there are snow beasts lurking inside."
Xie Shuci nodded, and the four of them entered the snowy area one after another.
Chu Wenfeng had already put away the spirit pearl. When Xie Shuci looked up and around, all he could see was a world covered in silver. Apart from the sound of falling snow, he could hardly hear any other sounds.
Chu Wenfeng led the way, followed by Chu Guiyi, then Xie Shuci, and behind Xie Shuci was Xie An.
Perhaps due to psychological effects, Xie Shuci felt much less afraid as he was surrounded by them, only occasionally glancing back at Xie An's situation.
Even in such a cold place, Xie An remained unaffected, except that a lot of snowflakes had fallen on his head and shoulders.
"etc--"
Chu Wenfeng, who was at the very front of the group, suddenly stopped. Xie Shuci was walking in a hurry and couldn't stop in time, so he bumped into Chu Guiyi's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."
"It's alright."
Chu Wenfeng squatted down, brushed away a layer of snow on the ground, and revealed the bright red blood buried underneath.
Xie Shuci glanced at it and immediately pulled his head back.
"Blood?" Chu Guiyi exclaimed softly.
Chu Wenfeng picked up a clump of blood-stained snow with his fingertips, brought it to his nose and sniffed, "Human blood."
"It seems someone has already found this place first."
Chu Guiyi shook his head and said, "I'm afraid there's more than one group of people. Be careful."
"Young Master Xie, your hearing is better than ours, so please be more careful."
Xie An slightly raised his chin in response.
The four followed the bloodstains on the ground deeper into the area, with gusts of cold wind blowing against them and a faint smell of blood in the air.
As they walked across a snow-capped mountain, Xie An pulled Xie Shuci back from behind.
Xie Shuci immediately said to the two people in front of him, "Wait a moment."
Chu Guiyi and his companion paused slightly, turning back in confusion.
Xie Shuci, unaware of what had happened, looked at Xie An.
Xie An didn't speak, but turned and walked towards the snow-capped mountain. He kicked up a slightly raised patch of snow with his right foot, and a blood-covered corpse was lifted into the air and landed on the ground not far away.
After a moment's thought, Chu Gui said, "A disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect."
Chu Wenfeng immediately stepped forward to examine the cause of death of the corpse. After searching the body for a while, he said to the three of them, "Although he died from being torn apart by wild beasts, there is the scent of acacia incense on his body."
"The Free and Unfettered Sect and the Joyful Union Sect have already found this place?" Xie Shuci asked in surprise.
Chu Guiyi nodded, "Yes, it's not surprising that they were able to find this place. It seems that the entrance to the Immortal's Tomb is nearby."
Just then, Xie An walked to the side of the snow mountain, bent down to pick up a small stone, and casually threw it over. The stone disappeared into the snow mountain without making any sound.
Upon hearing this, Chu Gui frowned immediately, leaned on his wooden stick, and stepped forward. He poked the stick into the snow mountain twice, but still felt no resistance.
Seeing this, Xie Shuci also curiously reached inside, but found nothing but piled-up snowflakes.
"Fake?" Xie Shuci asked in surprise.
Chu Guiyi nodded and called out to Chu Wenfeng, who immediately understood his meaning and took the Flying Bird Nine-Section Whip from his waist.
"Shuci, take Young Master Xie back a bit," Chu Guiyi said to the two of them.
Upon hearing this, Xie Shuci quickly pulled Xie An aside, and Chu Guiyi also stepped aside.
Chu Wenfeng stepped forward, brandished his long whip, covered the whip with his spiritual power, and then swung it fiercely towards the snow mountain.
With a loud "boom," the snow-capped mountain was shattered into pieces by the whip, and the piled-up snow chunks fell down. Xie Shuci was staring blankly when suddenly his face was covered with icy snow.
"Pfft—" Xie Shuci wiped the snow off his face and spat out the snow that had been smashed into his mouth.
"Chu Wenfeng, did you do this on purpose?"
The latter shrugged at him, somewhat gloating, "Do you have any evidence?"
The snow-capped mountain, over ten feet high, slowly collapsed, kicking up a cloud of snow dust. Xie An promptly used his wide sleeves to shield Xie Shuci from the swirling snowflakes.
After the noise stopped, Xie Shuci pulled Xie An's arm down and looked ahead. He saw that a large hole had collapsed where the snow mountain used to be, and the dark hole was emitting heat.
Xie Shuci and the others exchanged glances and slowly approached the cave entrance.
When they reached the vicinity of the cave entrance, Chu Wenfeng took out the spirit pearl and illuminated the scene below the cave entrance.
The cave entrance is about two zhang deep, and from above, you can vaguely see a stone-paved passageway below.
"Is this the entrance to the Immortal's Tomb?" Xie Shuci asked.
Chu Guiyi shook his head: "No, it should be a hole dug by someone above the tomb."
"Shall we go down from here?"
"Um."
Chu Wenfeng went down first to scout the way, and only after confirming that there was no danger did he let the three of them go down together.
The three of them arrived one after another below the cave entrance and found themselves in the middle of a passageway, with a side chamber in front and behind. The dim yellow candlelight reflected on the walls and began to flicker when blown in by the wind from outside the cave.
It was probably Xie Shuci's imagination, but even though the temperature in the passageway was much higher than up there, he still felt a chill in the air and nervously followed Xie An.
"I hope there's nothing like that in here... No, no, it won't."
Xie Shuci clung to Xie An's arm, pressing herself tightly against him, her eyes darting around in fear, as if afraid something might suddenly leap out from a corner.
Chu Wenfeng rolled his eyes at him after hearing this, "What do you mean you can't? How could you not? Some cultivators with too deep obsessions cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation after death, so they become wandering spirits and roam the world. Some even become evil spirits and harm the human world."
"No, no, no... this is not scientific..."
Science? Science my ass! Is spiritual power scientific? Is cultivating immortality scientific?
Xie An found it inconvenient to have his arm held by him, so he simply pulled away from his embrace and instead wrapped his arms around his waist, protecting him in the crook of his arm.
Xie Shuci was almost moved to tears. He grabbed Xie An's clothes with one hand and leaned on Xie An's shoulder, feeling a great sense of security.
Seeing this, Chu Wenfeng said disdainfully, "Who is older, you or Xie An?"
In this state, Xie Shuci felt guilty even if he wanted to retort, so he could only say in a low voice, "Isn't it okay if I'm mentally young?"
Chu Wenfeng pursed his lips and turned to ask Chu Guiyi, "Senior Brother, which way do we go?"
Chu Gui pondered for a moment and said, "Ahead." The other three naturally had no objections and walked towards the side chamber at the front of the passage.
On the walls on both sides of the passageway, there is an ever-burning lamp placed every twelve bricks. It is said that the lamp is made of dragon bones and has a core of dragon whiskers, and can burn for ten thousand years without going out.
The only sound in the quiet passageway was the soft footsteps of the four people. Chu Wenfeng took the lead and entered the tomb chamber in front. After looking around, he said to the other three, "Nothing here."
Generally, the tombs of ancient powerful beings contain a great many burial objects, and they are extremely valuable. However, this side chamber is completely empty, with only a stone tablet standing in the center of the tomb.
Chu Wenfeng walked to the stone tablet and was about to squat down to examine it when a stone slab beneath his feet suddenly sank, as if triggering some mechanism. He turned around and shouted to the four people, "Watch out!"
Because Xie Shuci was on edge, he immediately pushed Xie An out of the tomb chamber after noticing something was wrong, and then rushed forward to pull Chu Guiyi back as well.
Then, in the next instant, several dents suddenly appeared in the walls of the tomb, and a pile of black liquid flowed out from the cracks in the bricks. Xie Shuci looked closely and realized that this was not a liquid at all, but rather countless small snakes that surged like a tide, and they quickly crawled toward Chu Wenfeng in front of the stone tablet.
Xie Shuci felt a chill run down his spine and froze on the spot.
"Chu Wenfeng..."
Chu Guiyi was pulled out of the tomb by Xie Shuci. He leaned against the wall to catch his breath and said to Chu Wenfeng, "Wind-eared snake, afraid of sound."
Compared to Xie Shuci's panic, Chu Wenfeng remained calm as if nothing had happened, nodding slightly to Chu Guiyi. He displayed a composure far beyond his years when facing danger.
The next moment, Chu Wenfeng raised his nine-section whip and lashed it onto the ground, the loud sound echoing in the tomb chamber.
As Chu Guiyi said, the group of snakes became agitated the moment they heard the sound. The snakes, which had been crawling in an orderly manner, seemed to lose their way in an instant.
Chu Wenfeng cracked his whip a few more times, and the little snake began to flee frantically, crawling back into the crack between the bricks in the blink of an eye.
Xie Shuci: "..."
If I'd known it was this easy, why would he have run away? A couple of shouts would have scare them back to their nests.
The three returned to the tomb chamber. Chu Wenfeng stared at Xie Shuci and chuckled softly, saying, "Xie Shuci, do they look familiar to you?"
"No," Xie Shuci shook his head.
"Oh? Really? Don't you think you're a lot like them?"
"?" Xie Shuci asked in surprise, "When did you go blind?"
Chu Wenfeng smiled enigmatically: "They seem to have a lot of influence, but they're easily intimidated. I thought they were your relatives."
Xie Shuci: "..."
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