The Fairy: From the Traveling Merchant

Chapter 1031 Little Boy

After finally calming down the princess, the sky had completely darkened. Zhao Chen didn't linger any longer and quietly left the delegation's residence, heading towards Furong Peak.

Although traveling at night makes it easy to encounter "mysterious realms," there's nothing that can be done about it, since according to the information given by the "birdman," the hidden space containing the "Yellow Phoenix Essence Blood" only appears at night.

Thinking about it, that makes sense. Since Furong Peak has been developed into a tourist attraction, it must have been thoroughly searched by cultivators long ago. Any place that hasn't been discovered yet must have extremely strict entry and exit conditions.

Fortunately, Zhao Chen had the intelligence provided by the "Birdman" and the information he had gathered over the past few days through "sky-gazing and earth-measuring." Combining the two, he gained some understanding of the location of the entrance to that hidden space.

After climbing the mountain, he did not take the mountain path opened up by the scenic spot, but instead went straight into the forest and sped towards the direction where the yin energy was the heaviest.

—It wasn't that he didn't want to fly, but there were actually military commanders stationed within the Furong Peak scenic area, making it difficult to fly undetected at night.

In the forest, the trees are tall and the leaves are lush. Tens of thousands of years of fallen leaves have accumulated on the ground and then slowly decomposed, turning into swamps and miasma, making it extremely difficult to travel.

Of course, for a cultivator of Zhao Chen's level, these were not major problems. He didn't even need to make a move. The mere slight outward manifestation of the "Five Immortals' True Qi" was enough to make these dangers brewing in nature retreat on their own, not "willing" to harm him in the slightest.

After proceeding cautiously for about half an hour, Zhao Chen finally arrived at his destination: a crescent-shaped lake.

Actually, this lake isn't small; it's at least several miles in circumference. It sits beneath a precipice, its surface calm but lifeless, devoid of any vitality.

"On the surface, this is a place where yin energy gathers, and it is possible for 'yin world rifts' to be born. There is a certain probability that it will produce several common evil energies, but that's all. That's why it is not valued by major forces."

"Well, some small sects might consider such a place a treasure, but the Furong Peak area is managed by the outer sect of the Daoxian Sect. At most, they will conduct regular inspections to prevent it from being occupied by evil spirits and ghosts."

"If I hadn't known in advance that the lake was the entrance to a hidden space, and that it would only be visible for a brief moment at midnight, I probably wouldn't have discovered it."

Zhao Chen stood by the lake for a long time, examining it. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He then flipped his hand and took out the three-legged cauldron he had obtained from the Mingguang Villa.

This great cauldron was called the "Eight Trigrams Cauldron" by Fairy Mingguang. Its power was almost like that of a divine weapon or a supreme treasure. Unfortunately, it was pierced from the inside when it tried to refine the pollution in "faith", so it was half destroyed.

Zhao Chen took it out because, upon approaching the lifeless lake, the large cauldron, which had been "stored" in the warehouse of the Great Sun Star Chariot and had lost all its spirituality, began to tremble slightly.

"This situation... suggests that this cauldron has a connection with the hidden space beneath the lake... In other words, Fairy Mingguang once came here?"

"Hmm...maybe this entrance wasn't naturally formed, or deliberately created by the creator, but rather someone forcibly punched a 'hole' in there."

A glint flashed in Zhao Chen's eyes as he unleashed the full power of his "Penetrating Eye," continuously "investigating" every detail of the place.

Finally, with the help of the "Eight Trigrams Cauldron," his divine sense discovered some clues in a ravine at the bottom of the lake:
"I see... It's not just about midnight, but also about the month of Wei when the earth element is strongest, which is June in this world, for the entrance to appear."

"If it weren't for this 'Eight Trigrams Cauldron,' even if I foolishly waited until the time came tonight, I would still leave empty-handed."

"But now, it's not that complicated!"

Upon realizing this, Zhao Chen immediately communicated with the "Old Starship" and pulled the phantom of the "Key of Dawn" into reality.

As long as the "portal" can be found, this Starship component can basically be opened. He did not rashly enter the lake, after all, there are many supernatural abilities and secret techniques that can evade divine sense, and who knows what dangerous things might be hidden underwater.

Instead, he formed a sword with his fingers, condensing a sword light called "Five Emperors Paying Homage to the True Sword," which split the water in one stroke.

This is not some sophisticated sword technique, but rather it relies on the inherent characteristics of the "Five Emperors Paying Homage to the True Sword" to make all things of the five elements avoid it.

Although this idea is much smaller than the true "beauty of the Great Way" of the Five Emperors, it is still unique and practical in this context.

After the lake water was parted, the ravine at the bottom of the lake was revealed, surrounded only by strange rocks and silt, with no other unusual features visible.

But the three-legged cauldron floating in Zhao Chen's palm was shaking more and more violently, as if it was eager to plunge into it.

Seeing this, Zhao Chen touched the golden ahoge on his head with his right hand. After confirming that it was normal, he grasped the illusory key and turned it gently.

The next moment, as dense yin energy surged out of the ravine, a "hole" no bigger than a thumb appeared in Zhao Chen's sight.

The shape of the hole is extremely irregular, like a hole poked through window paper with a finger, and after it expands to its limit, it begins to shrink rapidly again.

Seeing this, Zhao Chen didn't delay any longer. He immediately used the "Heavenly Demon Formless" technique to unleash the "Soul-Devouring Yin Wind" divine power, transforming into a wisp of yin wind that swept up the cauldron and entered the cave before it closed.

Woo...woo...

All around him was a cold, eerie wind howling past, and Zhao Chen realized that he had entered a rather strange world.

The environment here is harsh, with a biting wind, like a real underworld hell, but the laws of heaven and earth are not much different from those of the Xuan Tian mortal realm, and are even more normal than the fragment of the blessed land that Qing Ling discovered, which leaned towards the laws of yin.

This environment was perfect for Zhao Chen, who was able to use the "Yinmo Sect" supernatural powers; it was like a fish in water, and he could fight on his "home turf."

However, at that moment, the cauldron broke free from Zhao Chen's control and sped away into the distance.

Seeing this, Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes, then rode the yin wind and chased after them.

During the chase, the man and the cauldron arrived at a magnificent palace.

Unlike the surrounding underworld-like environment, this palace was full of life. Not only were the plants lush and the light bright, but hundreds of children were also playing and having fun in the courtyard, creating a lively atmosphere.

The large cauldron shrank as it entered the palace, until it was only the size of a fist, and then it landed on the head of a little boy, transforming into a small crown to tie his hair.

The little boy, who looked about six or seven years old, reached out and touched the shrunken "Bagua Cauldron." His face scrunched up as he muttered, "How did it get so badly damaged?"

Then, he looked up at Zhao Chen, who was standing outside the palace, hesitating whether to come in, and said in a childish voice:

"Since you are here, please come inside for a chat."

(End of this chapter)