Disturbed Qingyu Town

The Land Candle Dragon began its descent down the mountain. This was the southern slope, stretching for over ten li. Compared to the northern slope, the southern side was gentler. Looking south from the mountain, one could see the lights of a town.

Once they left this mountain, they would be leaving the old no-man's-land and Tianshiyuan, entering the territory of Shuofang.

On the Candle Dragon's back, the sound of bells continuously rang out. A small figure appeared with a great bell floating above its head, engaged in a fierce battle with a giant ape wielding an iron cudgel as they sped across the Candle Dragon's back.

These two Spirit Scholars fought as they moved, each collision erupting in a resounding bell chime.

In the pavilion on the carriage, other Spirit Scholars guarding the Candle Dragon's chariot nervously activated their lights, illuminating the dark night sky and repelling the Artificer Puppets that swooped down from the air.

On one of the carriages, the sound of sword chimes could be heard. Li Muge was doing his utmost to resist the onslaught of the Artificer Puppets.

Below, Artificer Puppets had infiltrated the carriages. Flower Fox shielded the passengers from behind, fighting desperately against the Artificer Puppets.

In another carriage, Hu Buping, Qingqiu Yue, and Li Xiaofan had also reached a critical juncture. The number of Artificer Puppets they faced was increasing, nearing the limit of their endurance.

Clang—

A bell chime echoed. Su Yun and Ancestor Yuan San met again, unleashing their full power. Above Su Yun's Yellow Bell, a dial suddenly spun, and White Apes leaped out from within the bell, attacking Ancestor Yuan San from all directions!

Ancestor Yuan San grunted. The attacks of these White Apes landed precisely on his old wounds, causing them to burst open!

At the same time, Ancestor Yuan San struck Su Yun's chest with his cudgel. The bell chimed loudly, absorbing the force of the blow. However, the instant the bell sounded, Ancestor Yuan San's other fist slammed into the tail end of the Iron Cudgel!

The bell did not ring again. This strike landed squarely on Su Yun's chest. Su Yun's throat felt a surge of sweetness, and he was sent flying backward.

As his body flew backward, the great bell spun, and dragon roars resounded incessantly. Flood Dragons flew out from the bell, all crashing into Ancestor Yuan San.

Man and ape, falling backward left and right, tumbled off the Candle Dragon's chariot and disappeared into the darkness.

"Grug—" The Land Candle Dragon's roar was long and deafening.

The colossal creature's long dragon whiskers drifted in the wind like streamers, emerging from the darkness. Su Yun clung to a whisker on the left, blood continuously flowing from the corner of his mouth.

Another dragon whisker drifted over. Ancestor Yuan San's face was grim as he squatted on the whisker, gripping it with both feet and one hand, his other hand tightly clenched around the Iron Cudgel.

Pat, pat.

All the wounds on his body burst open, and blood flowed down in streams.

With such severe injuries, continuing to fight would sever his life force. Yet, the berserk ape's gaze was cold, showing no intention of retreating.

Su Yun panted heavily, his mouth filled with bloody foam. He must have injured his lungs, feeling a burning sensation in his chest, with an echo in his throat when he breathed.

He had just used all seventy-two imprints of the Yellow Bell. Now, his Blood Essence was depleted. If he continued fighting, the power of his techniques would be greatly reduced.

The Land Candle Dragon's long whiskers swayed in the wind like giant pythons swimming in water. Just as the two whiskers were about to intertwine, Ancestor Yuan San leaped up, swinging the Iron Cudgel down at Su Yun!

Su Yun swayed forward, his body arcing through the air. From below, he ascended behind Ancestor Yuan San.

However, Ancestor Yuan San seemed to have anticipated this move. Without turning, he swept the Iron Cudgel backward, aiming directly for Su Yun's head!

Simultaneously, the copper rings at both ends of the Iron Cudgel spun with a whistling sound, and six White Apes leaped out from the rings!

He had already seen the flaw in Su Yun's Great Yellow Bell.

The defense of the Great Yellow Bell was indeed powerful, capable of absorbing about two-thirds of his force, leaving Su Yun to endure only one-third of the impact. However, this Yellow Bell required a process, a duration, to absorb the force.

And this duration was the time it took for the seventh dial of the Great Yellow Bell, the 'Hu' dial, to complete one rotation—one second.

This meant that if he attacked the same spot continuously within one second, the Great Yellow Bell would not have time to absorb the second attack, and Su Yun would bear the full impact!

This time, Ancestor Yuan San had prepared not two attacks for Su Yun, but seven!

He intended to beat the young man into a pulp!

Clang!

His first blow landed on Su Yun. The Yellow Bell let out a deafening sound, its surface vibrating. The seventh dial was spinning, and hundreds of the three hundred and sixty dials had already turned more than a hundred.

Ancestor Yuan San turned his head, revealing his fangs, his expression ferocious.

His second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh strikes would all land on Su Yun before the 'Hu' dial could complete the remaining two hundred-plus rotations!

His second strike would directly shatter the young man's laryngeal cartilage, pulverizing his seven neck vertebrae into dust.

The third strike would shatter his skull, smashing his crown and turning his brain into mush.

The fourth strike would break off one of his arms!

The fifth strike…

As Ancestor Yuan San turned his head, his mind had not yet fully conceived the effects of these seven strikes on Su Yun. In the instant of the 'Hu' dial's rapid change, he saw Su Yun's Blood Essence surge, and heard the roar of the young man's blood flowing through his veins, like waves crashing against the shore!

He saw that Su Yun's Origin Energy, due to its intense circulation, had ripped apart all the clothing on his right arm!

He also saw Su Yun's arm suddenly become incredibly thick, bulging veins throbbing beneath his skin, and he saw Su Yun's palm edge become incredibly sharp.

The young man, enduring the force of his blow, twisted and spun. As he spun, the young man's right arm swept upward from below.

It was like a sword technique.

Ancestor Yuan San saw Su Yun's arm slice through the six White Apes, cutting them in half and reducing them to Blood Essence. He saw Su Yun's palm slice through his Spiritual Ability, the Iron Cudgel, almost without resistance.

The Iron Cudgel was split cleanly in two, its cross-section incredibly sharp.

He then saw Su Yun's palm sweep upward from his left rib cage, out from his right shoulder. The moment the Sword Aura from his palm edge flew out, he saw his own hot blood vaporize from the Sword Aura, turning into red mist.

Ancestor Yuan San's upper body flew up, and he praised mid-air, "Excellent swordsmanship! Yuan San is truly convinced, and dies without regret!"

His lower body landed on a dragon's whisker. After standing for a moment, it finally lost its strength. The agile ape-like feet couldn't hold on to the dragon's whisker, and it plummeted down.

Su Yun descended, almost falling off the slippery dragon scales. He quickly reached out and gripped the steel supports of the wooden building, preventing himself from being thrown off the Candle Dragon Carriage.

Ancestor Yuan San's half-corpse slid past him, falling into the dark mountain forest.

Su Yun's expression turned somber. Although Ancestor Yuan San had tried to kill him, he couldn't bring himself to hate him.

The reason for their life-or-death struggle had simply been the extra ten coins charged at the bridge.

"Yuanjia Ridge's bandits, robbing homes, extorting wealth, and murdering people. Even if they hadn't met me, they would have met someone else. This day was bound to come sooner or later," he thought to himself.

In the sky, Artificer Puppets whizzed towards him.

Su Yun sighed, awaiting death. He no longer had the strength to resist.

At this moment, the Land Candle Dragon paused slightly and finally reached the foot of the mountain. The Artificer Puppets flew away with a whoosh.

"Ha..."

Su Yun let out a laugh, then suddenly burst into hearty laughter. As he laughed, he coughed violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood, his breath weak and dispirited.

"Xiao Yun! Xiao Yun! Where are you?" Flower Fox's voice came.

"Junior Brother Su Yun, if you hear us, please respond!"

"Brother Xiao Yun, you're safe now! Where are you?"

Su Yun responded, "I'm here..." However, his voice was too hoarse to carry far in the wind.

"I'm here."

Su Yun took a breath and repeated, "I'm here."

Lights shone from the pavilions of another small wooden building, illuminating him. Then, lights from other platforms on the Candle Dragon Carriage also lit up. Su Yun was stunned for a moment, a smile appearing on his face.

For the first time, he felt the warmth of strangers.

On the Candle Dragon's back, Flower Fox, Li Muge, and others hurried towards him, following the lights. After a while, Su Yun, almost frozen stiff, was helped into the small building. Strangers took off their clothes and wrapped him in them. Someone also boiled hot water, and he held a ceramic cup to warm his hands.

Li Muge brought wound medicine, both for internal and external use.

Su Yun felt a warmth spread through him.

The carriage gradually quieted down. Su Yun mobilized his remaining Origin Energy, activating the Great Furnace Transformation: Qi Cultivation Chapter to heal his injuries, using the Origin Energy to boost the medicinal effects of the wound medicine. This cultivation technique was very beneficial for strengthening the internal organs.

Outside the window was darkness. In the fields, scattered lights illuminated a small town.

Li Muge said, "That's Qingyu Town."

Su Yun blinked slightly. For some reason, the name felt familiar.

Flower Fox asked curiously, "It's so far from the sea, why is it called Qingyu Town?"

"Legend has it that the people here moved out from Tianshiyuan six or seven years ago. They were originally fishermen from the North Sea."

Li Muge added, "Afterward, a disaster struck that place, turning it into a no-man's-land. Only these displaced people survived."

Su Yun shook his head, his mind buzzing. The name Qingyu Town felt familiar, but for some reason, when he tried to recall things from before the disaster, his mind went blank.

His memory seemed to be missing a large chunk. His memories from before the disaster had completely vanished!

The more he tried to think, the more his head hurt, and the louder the buzzing became!

His complexion immediately turned sallow, and he couldn't help but cover his ears. Flower Fox, Li Muge, and the others spoke to him urgently, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

After a moment, the buzzing finally stopped.

Su Yun gasped for breath, his eyes unfocused. He waved his hand at Flower Fox and the others, "I'm fine. It might be my injuries flaring up."

Outside the window, Qingyu Town had already passed by.

"Qingyu Town..."

He thought to himself, "I must visit this place!"

The Candle Dragon sped on. Although it was night, the scenery along the way amazed Su Yun and Flower Fox.

There were large mountains along the route. Lights shone brightly at the foot of the mountains, with people coming and going, creating a lively scene. Su Yun asked Li Muge, who informed him that it was a mining area.

"There are also some places that are kilns."

Li Muge explained, "The mines extract gold, silver, copper, and iron ore. The Calamity Ash factories dig up Calamity Ash from underground. The smelting plants burn Calamity Ash to refine the ore. The kilns fire Calamity Ash to make bricks, tiles, and pottery. Besides these, there are also glass factories that make colored glass, steel mills that refine steel, and sacrificial factories for offerings. And all these factories require Calamity Ash."

Flower Fox asked curiously, "What is Calamity Ash?"

"It's coal from underground. During the reign of the Martial Emperor, a Spirit Scholar in Shuofang dug a thousand feet deep and discovered coal underground that could be ignited. A small piece could burn all night."

Li Muge continued, "The Martial Emperor ordered an investigation into the source of the coal. A Holy Buddha said that this was Calamity Ash from the previous era. In the previous era, there were people, creatures, and plants, and somehow a great calamity erupted, burying them underground."

Zhai Zhu: Begging for recommendations!