Su Yun returned to Tianmen Town. Before entering through Heaven Gate, he carefully sniffed himself again. Only after making sure he carried no scent of blood did he enter the town.
"The little brat has been up to no good!"
The moment he entered town, something struck his head. A small stone rolled from beside his feet into the distance.
Su Yun raised his head, revealing the sunny, youthful smile unique to a boy. "Uncle Qu, you're slandering me."
As usual, Uncle Qu was perched atop Heaven Gate, hammering and chiseling away as he carved it.
The old man put down his axe and chisel and smiled. "You look like a little fox that's just stolen a chicken, all sneaky and shifty, and you still say you haven't done anything bad?"
Sitting leisurely on the scaffolding, he said, "You still smell of blood. You can't hide it from me. Come up. Let's talk!"
Su Yun hesitated briefly.
Of all the townsfolk in Tianmen Town, he had always been closest to Uncle Qu. But ever since he had inadvertently opened Heaven Gate with his Spiritual Nature and entered another world, where he saw Uncle Qu's corpse, he had consciously or unconsciously kept some distance from him.
In the past, he often climbed onto the scaffolding to listen to the old man tell strange and bizarre stories—about the Ghost Market at midnight, about dragons falling from the sky—things that frightened him so badly he could not sleep at night.
Su Yun climbed onto the scaffolding and came to Uncle Qu's side.
"Tianshiyuan is an extraordinary place."
Uncle Qu lay flat on his back, resting both hands beneath his head. "Heavenly Market means a city in the heavens, while yuan means city walls. Legend says our Tianshiyuan was once a heavenly city that fell into the mortal world. That is why such strange things always happen here. Little brat, your eyes will be healed soon, won't they?"
Su Yun lay down as well. His field of vision remained a stretch of darkness, and he could not see Tianmen Town's sky. "Soon. If I stir my qi and blood with all my strength, I can force open whatever is blocking my pupils, but it will only last a short while. However, if I cultivate Great Furnace Transformation to the sixth level, the Immortal Sword's shadow will no longer be able to block my pupils."
"That man named Qiu Shuijing is very capable."
Uncle Qu smiled. "When your eyes are healed in the future, if you see anything strange, do not be shocked. This is Tianshiyuan, the strangest place under heaven."
Su Yun's expression remained calm as he silently nodded.
He had seen Uncle Qu's corpse on the stone bridge in that other world. Uncle Qu said this because he feared Su Yun would be unable to accept the truth he saw once his eyes recovered.
Uncle Qu continued, "Legend says Tianshiyuan was a city where immortals lived. No one knows when it fell into the mortal world, nor why it fell. Many have tried to find the secrets of longevity here, the secrets of becoming immortals, but without exception, all came up empty-handed."
He sat up, filled with emotion. "Since ancient times, how many kings, marquises, generals, and ministers, generation after generation, have all turned to dust? They built their tombs here, hoping to live forever, but in the end, they were nothing more than a handful of dirt."
He picked up his axe and chisel and continued carving Heaven Gate. "Little brat, when Old Cen brought you here six years ago, he said your blindness was related to us. Tianmen Town owed you a debt and had to raise you, not let you die outside. Old Cen was a senior, and we agreed with him. Old Cen left not long ago, and your eyes are nearly restored. Once your eyes recover, we will no longer owe you anything. That will be the day you should leave."
Su Yun froze. "Uncle Qu..."
Uncle Qu said leisurely, "There is killing intent on you. You have grown up. These past few days, I watched you deal with danger—decisive and resolute. Your state of mind has grown as well. When your eyes recover, you will be an adult who no longer needs our care, no longer a little brat. Go on down."
Su Yun was stunned. Uncle Qu has been watching over me in secret? He knows about the dangers I've encountered these past few days...
His heart brimmed with gratitude as he silently climbed down from the scaffolding. I have always been receiving Uncle Qu's kindness. He cared for me in Tianmen Town, and in that other world, I encountered the Immortal Diagram beside his corpse and gained an enormous opportunity, allowing my strength to soar by leaps and bounds. What does it matter whether Uncle Qu is a man or a ghost?
Two days later, the vital essence within Su Yun was as pure white as furnace fire, and he had cultivated Great Furnace Transformation to the fifth level.
His bodily functions grew ever stronger. His heart was like a great furnace burning without pause, supplying his body with powerful blood, while his lungs and organs were like an enormous bellows that could stoke the great furnace at any moment, making his qi and blood surge severalfold!
His body also grew stronger bit by bit and could contain even more qi and blood.
Qi-Blood Manifestation could form flood dragon claws around his hands and feet, allowing him to race across cliff faces as if flying without relying on the Immortal Rope.
Whenever he circulated his qi and blood toward his eyes, he could even feel the Immortal Sword's imprint loosening, as though his qi and blood could wash it open at any time.
As long as he broke through the Immortal Sword imprint in his eyes, he would be able to see Tianmen Town's true face.
After hesitating again and again, Su Yun ultimately chose not to do so.
He had always wanted to heal his eyes and leave Tianmen Town to study in the city, but when the day truly approached, he still hesitated.
It was not that he did not want to grow up. He simply did not want to leave this homeland or the lovable people here.
He even felt some fear and resistance toward seeing Tianmen Town's truth!
However, as he continued cultivating and his fifth-level Great Furnace Transformation rose like the tide, his qi and blood would become ever more vast and vigorous.
Once his furnace qi and blood evolved to the sixth level and the furnace fire turned blue, whether he wished it or not, his powerful qi and blood would flood into his eyes, making it impossible for the Immortal Sword imprint to block his pupils!
The Immortal Sword imprint and Tianmen Town's imprint would not vanish because of this. They would remain in his pupils, but by then, they would no longer affect his vision!
Qiu Shuijing was an extraordinary man. His judgment of Su Yun's eye ailment had been exceedingly accurate, fully deserving the Tianmen Town residents' praise.
Flower Fox and the three little foxes returned from Huangji Town, and Su Yun's life returned to its former rhythm. Every morning, he rose early to cultivate before the sunrise over the sea, then hunted and foraged with the foxes before going to Niu Family Village's vegetable gardens to steal vegetables.
If there was moonlight at night, they would gather the essence of the moon together.
They would occasionally go to Snake Ravine to catch fish. Now that The Whole Village Eats was gone, Snake Ravine had become much safer, and the villagers of Yellow Village and Linyi Village dared to come here as well.
The fish of Snake Ravine were exceptionally rare. Since the ravine was close to Dragon Burial Mound, rumor had it that they carried dragon bloodlines. They had few bones, tender flesh, and marvelous flavor. Steam them in a pot with some scallions and drizzle hot oil over them, and they became a delicacy that made one's fingers twitch with anticipation.
Most remarkably, eating Snake Ravine fish made one feel their qi and blood boiling, and cultivation became much faster than before.
"No wonder The Whole Village Eats always occupied this place. So there was this benefit too." Flower Fox was deeply envious.
Their cultivation speeds had also become very fast these days. Flower Fox had cultivated Great Furnace Transformation to the fifth level, while the three little foxes had reached the fourth level. Clearly, the fish in Snake Ravine had benefited them greatly.
Su Yun was also steadily approaching the sixth level of Great Furnace Transformation. Whenever he occasionally felt qi and blood pour into his eyes, he could vaguely see an Immortal Sword spinning in midair.
As his qi and blood improved, the Immortal Sword became clearer and clearer. Apart from that, Tianmen Town's imprint was also within his eyes.
The eight Chao Tian Que also gradually became clearer.
Besides Tianmen Town, his eyes also contained the North Sea. An incomparably thick, colossal pillar of water rose as it spun, its height unknown by how many miles, reaching another world beyond the heavens!
Countless ships sailed over the raging waves of the North Sea. Some ships traveled upon the water pillar itself, appearing and disappearing amid the waves as they headed toward that other world!
This was the last sight Su Yun had seen six years ago.
Within the valley of Dragon Burial Mound, Su Yun closed his eyes. That scene was branded into his pupils and could not be erased even with his eyes shut.
"Big Brother Yun, hurry over here!" Hu Buping called from ahead.
Su Yun opened his eyes and walked forward. Whenever night fell, Dragon Burial Mound became extremely dangerous. Dragon Spirits would emerge and circle their own corpses in flight. The pressure of their powerful qi and blood could seal off all five senses and six perceptions, leaving one dead without even knowing how one had died!
But during the day, the Dragon Spirits vanished, and this place became very safe.
During the daytime, Su Yun and the four Fox Demons would come here and seriously "investigate dragon bones."
Investigating Things to Gain Knowledge—this was the wonder of cultivation.
Back then, Team Leader Senior Brother had led Tiandao Academy's Scholars here to investigate the dragon corpse, comprehending sixteen volumes of methods from it. Since they could comprehend astonishing cultivation arts and divine abilities, Su Yun and Flower Fox were confident that they could do the same.
Only, the dragon corpse no longer had flesh and blood, leaving only its skeleton behind, so they could only come to "investigate dragon bones."
They had all cultivated Crocodile Dragon's Roar and witnessed The Whole Village Eats evolve into a Flood Dragon. Su Yun had even transformed Crocodile Dragon's Roar into Flood Dragon's Chant, while Flower Fox was also in the midst of transformation. Thus, investigating dragon bones was extremely important to them.
Su Yun had obtained the divine essence of a flood dragon's form from the Immortal Diagram in that other world, and through observing The Whole Village Eats transform into a flood dragon, he had gained flood dragon qi and blood. Yet he had never seen a dragon's skeleton, muscles, textures, channels, sinews, internal organs, or other bodily structures.
Now that dragon bones lay before him, naturally he could not let this chance slip away.
As the saying went, drawing skin was easy, drawing bones was hard. The difficulty lay in the fact that ordinary people could not come into contact with skeletons. For example, when visualizing fierce beasts or demon creatures such as tigers and crocodile dragons, ordinary people could only glimpse them from afar. If they were discovered by such beasts, they would most likely lose their lives.
But investigating things required close observation: observing their essence, qi, and spirit; observing their movements and behavior; even cutting open fierce beasts to observe the workings of every organ while they were still alive, understanding their principles and perceiving their mysteries. One also had to observe the movements of their bones when they acted. For ordinary people, this was utterly impossible.
Even for Scholars, it was incomparably dangerous. Only under the guidance of famous teachers, or with the immense wealth of the Great Aristocratic Families, could one possibly learn the essence of it.
But for divine creatures like true dragons, which existed only in mythological tales, even famous teachers and Great Aristocratic Families could generally only teach Scholars with sculptures, paintings, or books. It was simply impossible to find a true dragon!
Before Su Yun lay the bones of a true dragon!
"Dig it out!"
Flower Fox stood before Dragon Burial Mound, high-spirited as he commanded the little foxes, "Dig it out and investigate it!"
Zhai Zhu: Hmph! I dreamed last night that someone stamped a blue, round seal on my butt, then pushed me into the vegetable market. Zhai Zhu saw so many people holding recommendation tickets to buy me. Is this what it feels like to be pampered? So happy, hmph hmph~~
Before you continue