Chapter 74: Passing the Torch
"Squeak!" The long, ancient sound of a wooden door swinging was like a rusty iron spike, piercing the eardrums of the three people. In the scorching, twisting air of the crater, the black door of the Taoist temple known as the "Ascension Platform," sealed for countless ages, slowly and automatically opened inward. The shrill buzzing of the "Stealth Device" in Mo Li's hand abruptly ceased. It wasn't returning to normal, but rather, completely shattered after enduring an unimaginable energy shock. A wisp of green smoke emerged from the crack in the device's casing, and the needle, made of netherworld magnetite, snapped. "The device's burned," Mo Li's voice trembled uncontrollably, her face as pale as paper. "Chu Yun, hurry! The thing inside has discovered us!" Before she finished speaking, an indescribable aura flowed from the crack of the open door. It wasn't murderous, nor was it malicious. It was ancient, desolate, and majestic, as if it were the first trace of the Dao, present since the dawn of this world. However, as this aura enveloped the three, Chu Yun felt the air around him instantly solidify. An invisible, immense weight pressed down hard on his shoulders, back, and even deep within his soul, causing every bone in his body to groan under the strain. Li Ge groaned and instinctively took a half step back. She felt her heart nearly stop, and every breath seemed to drain her strength. "What is this..." she managed to utter through gritted teeth. "I don't know!" Chu Yun shielded the two behind him, staring intently at the widening crack in the door, his mind racing with a sense of utter danger. "But this is definitely not something we can handle! Retreat!" He acted decisively, knowing that any hesitation could spell doom. However, just as he was about to pull the two men away and flee, something unexpected happened! "Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!" The three previously silent fragments of the Evil-Suppressing Seal in his arms suddenly erupted with unprecedented violence! Immediately afterwards, three dazzling golden lights pierced his clothes, illuminating the dim volcanic region. "Chu Yun?!" Li Ge exclaimed. "It... it's burning!" Chu Yun gritted his teeth, feeling as if three red-hot irons were pressed against his chest. An overwhelming force surged from the debris, instantly enveloping his entire body. This force obeyed no one's commands, as if possessing a will of its own. It transformed into an irresistible golden gravitational force, forcibly pulling at Chu Yun's body, making him lose control...
“Squeak—”
The long, ancient sound of a wooden door turning was like a rusty iron spike, piercing the eardrums of the three people. In the scorching, twisting air of the crater, the black door of the Taoist temple called "Ascension Platform," closed for countless years, slowly and automatically opened inward.
The piercing buzzing of the "stealth device" in Mo Li's hand abruptly ceased. It hadn't returned to normal, but rather, completely shattered after enduring an unimaginable energy shock. A wisp of green smoke emerged from the crack in the device's casing, and the pointer, made of netherworld magnetite, snapped.
"The equipment burned." Mo Li's voice trembled uncontrollably, his face as pale as paper. "Chu Yun, hurry up! The thing inside has discovered us!"
Before she finished speaking, an indescribable breath flowed out from the open door.
It wasn't murderous intent, nor was it malicious. It was ancient, desolate, and vast, as if it were the first wisp of Dao rhyme that existed from the dawn of time. However, when this aura enveloped the three of them, Chu Yun felt the air around him instantly solidify. An invisible, immense pressure pressed down hard on his shoulders, back, and even deep within his soul, causing every bone in his body to groan under the strain.
Li Ge groaned and subconsciously took a half step back. She felt her heartbeat almost stop, and every breath seemed to drain all her strength.
"What is this..." She squeezed out a few words from between her teeth with difficulty.
"I don't know!" Chu Yun protected the two behind him, staring intently at the increasingly widening crack in the door. His brain was working frantically under the extreme sense of crisis, "But this is definitely not something we can handle! Retreat!"
He acted decisively, knowing that any hesitation could lead to their doom. However, just as he was about to pull the two of them away, something unexpected happened!
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
The three fragments of the Evil-Suppressing Seal in his arms, which had been silent until then, suddenly erupted with unprecedented violent vibrations! Immediately afterwards, three dazzling golden lights penetrated his clothes, illuminating the dim volcanic area.
"Chu Yun?!" Li Ge exclaimed.
"It... they are getting hot!" Chu Yun gritted his teeth, feeling as if there were three red-hot irons in his chest. An overbearing force surged out from the fragments and instantly enveloped his whole body.
This force did not obey any of his commands, as if it had its own will. It transformed into an irresistible golden gravitational force, forcibly pulling Chu Yun's body, causing him to rush uncontrollably towards a corner on the edge of the crater covered by rocks and volcanic ash!
"Follow him!" Mo Li reacted very quickly, immediately grabbed Li Ge and followed closely behind Chu Yun.
Chu Yun's body completely lost control, like a puppet being manipulated by invisible strings. He watched helplessly as the force pulled him into that inconspicuous corner. Then, uncontrollably, he raised his right hand and pressed the three shimmering, vibrating fragments against the solid rock wall in front of him, which looked identical to the surrounding area.
"boom--!"
There was no earth-shattering roar, only a dull resonance that seemed to come from deep within the earth.
The moment the three fragments touched the rock wall, the hard black rock surface rippled with golden waves, like water upon which a stone had been dropped. Complex, mystical golden runes, imbued with an ancient aura, emerged from within the rock wall. Upon encountering the overwhelming golden light of the Evil-Suppressing Seal, they meekly retreated to the sides, finally, silently opening in the center of the rock wall a black hole, wide enough for only one person to pass through, leading to an unknown depth.
At the same moment when the cave entrance appeared, the desolate atmosphere emanating from the "Ascension Platform" Taoist temple suddenly stopped, as if a slight doubt had arisen.
"Now! Get in!"
Chu Yun's mind instantly cleared up. He knew this was their only chance of survival! Without hesitation, he turned around, grabbed Li Ge and Mo Li's hands, and plunged into the bottomless black cave. The second after the three of them disappeared, the golden "door" slowly closed again, and the rock wall returned to its original state, completely isolating them from the terrifying aura outside that could crush everything.
Beyond the cave entrance was a narrow staircase paved entirely with bluestone, winding its way down to the depths of the earth. On the walls on either side of the staircase, fist-sized luminous pearls were inlaid every ten feet, emitting a soft, yet not glaring, light that illuminated the entire secret passage as brightly as day.
"We... survived?" Mo Li leaned against the cold wall, gasping for breath, still in shock.
"Where is this place?" Li Ge's eyes fell on the mottled murals on the wall. "Why is this place not marked on the forbidden formation map of the Tianshi Mansion?"
Chu Yun's attention was drawn to the murals as well. The style of the murals was extremely ancient, with bold, powerful lines. They depicted not immortals preaching, but rather scenes of gruesome battles. He saw some ancestors, wearing ancient armor that bore a striking resemblance to the uniforms of the Evil Suppression Division, fighting alongside hideous demon kings... together, they were resisting an indescribable darkness from beyond the heavens.
"Because this place may not belong to the Tianshi Mansion at all." Chu Yun looked at the blurry yet inexplicably familiar images and whispered, "This place may very well be a stronghold that my Evil Suppression Division secretly built when the Tianshi Mansion was first established."
The three of them, filled with relief at having survived and curiosity about the unknown, followed the winding bluestone steps down. After walking for an unknown amount of time, they finally reached the end of the secret passage.
In front of me is a stone chamber that is not very big, but extremely spacious and tidy.
The floor and walls of the stone chamber were polished to a mirror-smooth finish. Aside from a centrally placed stone bed carved from a single block of unknown black jade, nothing else filled the space. A solemn and majestic aura, as if carrying the weight of countless generations, enveloped the entire stone chamber.
"Buzz buzz buzz..."
The three pieces of the Evil-Suppressing Seal in Chu Yun's arms vibrated to an unprecedented climax upon entering the stone chamber. They were no longer hot, but cheering and leaping for joy, as if a wanderer who had been away from home for many years had finally returned to his long-lost hometown.
The guidance from his bloodline and destiny once again became irresistible. Chu Yun's footsteps moved uncontrollably, one heavy step after another, towards the black jade bed. He could feel the Taiyi Qi in his body, even every drop of his blood, resonating wonderfully with this stone chamber and this jade bed.
He walked to the jade bed, unable to suppress the three fragments that were about to fly out on their own. He could only obey the unknown will, slowly stretched out his trembling right hand, and gently placed the three shining fragments on the cold jade bed.
At the moment when the three fragments came into contact with the jade bed——
"boom--!"
The entire stone chamber shook violently! The black jade bed suddenly erupted with billions of golden divine lights. A vast source of energy, thousands of times purer and more refined than Chu Yun's own Taiyi Qi, rose from the jade bed and resonated with the three fragments of the Evil-Suppressing Seal!
The next second, a torrent of information, huge enough to burst any soul's sea of consciousness, erupted simultaneously from the three fragments and the jade bed, turning into a golden lightning that rushed into Chu Yun's eyebrows!
"ah--!"
Chu Yun only had time to let out a scream of agony that was inhuman, before he felt as if his head and soul were about to be completely blown apart and torn apart by this vast torrent of memories! His vision went black, and he instantly lost all consciousness.
When he "opened his eyes" again, he found himself standing in an endless void composed of stars and light and shadows.
Before him stood a tall, gentle figure with a kind smile on his face. He had seen that face countless times in his dreams and had resented it countless times.
"Dad?" Chu Yun called out tentatively.
The "Chu Jiang" in front of him didn't answer, but just smiled at him, his eyes full of relief and reluctance. He slowly raised his hand, extended his index finger, and gently tapped Chu Yun's eyebrows in front of his astonished eyes.
There was no shock, no pain. Only a series of crystal-clear images of the "truth" that had been sealed away for thirteen years unfolded in his mind like a scroll.
He saw an irreversible crack appear in the Wheel of Reincarnation in the underworld, and the order of life and death in the entire world began to collapse. He saw that the ancient demon king, suppressed under the Wheel of Reincarnation, began to awaken due to the disorder, and the destructive force was constantly attacking the precarious seal.
He saw his father, Chu Jiang, as the contemporary "Daoshu", leading all the masters of the Evil Suppression Division in that secret stone chamber, day and night, using his own life and cultivation to strengthen the seal. But it was all in vain.
Finally, he saw his father summon all the high-level officials of the Evil Suppression Bureau to this stone chamber. Looking at the loyal faces of those who had followed him all their lives and had long since disregarded life and death, he spoke in a calm and resolute tone about the only and cruelest way.
"Everyone, the only solution is to 'return to the origin.'" His father's voice echoed in his memory. "Using my soul, the soul of the current 'Daoshu', as the 'fuel', the Evil-Suppressing Seal as the 'furnace', and my life as the 'sacrifice', I will perform a final ritual. I will completely merge my soul with the Evil-Suppressing Seal, transforming it into a new, even more powerful 'lock', enough to seal the Demon King for hundreds more years."
"Master! No!"
"Even if we die fighting to the last man, we will never agree to this!"
He saw everyone's grief and opposition, and also saw his father's apologetic and determined smile.
He watched the ceremony begin, saw his father calmly walk onto the black jade bed with a smile on his face. He watched his father's soul transform into burning flames, slowly being drawn from his body, slowly merging with the three fragments of the Evil-Suppressing Seal. The excruciating pain was enough to make even gods and demons wail, but his father, from beginning to end, did not utter a single groan.
"boom--!"
At the last moment of the fusion, a vast divine light that could suppress the eternity shot up from the jade bed! Success!
But at this moment, a cold sword light full of betrayal and greed shot out from the shadow of the stone chamber without any warning, fiercely stabbing at the new "Evil-Suppressing Seal" that had just completed the ritual and was in the weakest stage of energy conversion!
It was Xuan Chenzi! And Elder Zhang! And his father's most trusted "allies" from the Tianshi Mansion!
"you--!"
He heard the roars of grief, indignation, and disbelief from the loyal uncles of the Evil Suppression Division, and then, without hesitation, they used their own flesh and blood to block the new "Evil Suppression Seal." A brutal battle of betrayal erupted. The newly formed "Evil Suppression Seal" was forcibly shattered into three pieces...
"No--!!!"
When the last image exploded in his mind, Chu Yun's consciousness was suddenly pulled back to reality! He was still standing in the empty stone chamber, kneeling heavily on the ground, letting out a heart-wrenching roar of pain!
He knew, he understood it all!
However, before he could recover from the truth that was enough to overturn his entire world, the three pieces of the Evil-Suppressing Seal fragments on the black jade bed, after completing their mission of "passing on the torch", began to shine brightly again!
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Three golden lights flashed by, and they turned into three streams of light. They ignored any resistance from Chu Yun, and penetrated into his eyebrows, heart and dantian qi sea fiercely and mercilessly!
“Aa ...
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