Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

In the chaotic universe, a strange fire was born in the void. Its light was as bright as the eyes of the Nine Yin, and it could see through time.

Lighting lamps and candles transforms them into flames, which, when observed, can hasten the passing of time; they are the flames of the precious lotus heart.

Gazing at the candle flame that emitted a clear, mysterious light, Jiang Sheng felt no surprise, only deep suspicion.

The exact nature of the Lotus Heart Flame remains unknown, but it has been confirmed that the Seven Mysterious Ink Lotus has an instinctive attraction to this flame.

"Could it be that the Lotus Heart Flame originally resided on the lotus platform of the Seven Wonders Ink Lotus?"

Jiang Sheng pondered, but since he couldn't find its usefulness in the short term, he had no choice but to put it aside for now.

After all, the Lotus Heart Flame is harmless for the time being. Since it won't affect me for now, I should finish what I need to do first.

As Jiang Sheng's soul and spirit returned to the lotus platform, the eyes of Jiang Sheng's physical body outside also opened. As soon as he opened his eyes, Jiang Sheng saw Ming Xian guarding his side.

Seeing that Jiang Sheng was calm, Ming Xian breathed a sigh of relief: "It's a good thing you're alright, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to explain this to Penglai."

Jiang Sheng asked, "Brother Mingxian, while you were protecting me, did you notice anything unusual about me?"

Mingxian frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Just now your aura suddenly weakened drastically, as if you had aged thousands of years in an instant and were about to run out of lifespan. Anyone who didn't know better would think that you were going through the first tribulation of the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man."

"So what exactly happened just now? And what dangers are still lurking in this void?"

Jiang Sheng didn't know how to talk to Ming Xian about the Wind of Time and the Heart Flame of the Lotus, since Ming Xian had walked this path before without any injury, and this time when he was with Ming Xian, Ming Xian still hadn't come into contact with anything.

So it must be due to my own special circumstances, perhaps because of the Seven Mysterious Ink Lotus in my sea of ​​consciousness, that I attracted the winds of time.

Jiang Sheng naturally couldn't explain these situations to Ming Xian in detail, so he could only shake his head and say, "This void is relatively safe. The problem just now shouldn't be with this void; it was my own mistake."

At this point, Jiang Sheng paused and added, "But Brother Mingxian, you should still be careful. Time flows differently here than in the normal void, so it wouldn't be surprising if all sorts of strange things happened."

Mingxian glanced at Jiang Sheng and nodded thoughtfully: "The passage of time, I know that."

"Junior Brother Lingyuan, would you like to rest here for a while and recharge before continuing our journey?"

Jiang Sheng shook his head: "There's no need for that."

"Time waits for no one. Brother Mingxian, you should get the items as soon as possible. Every minute we get faster will bring victory to the Nine Provinces Realm a moment sooner."

Seeing that Jiang Sheng had no intention of resting, Ming Xian did not hesitate any longer. He took out a jade box from his sleeve and handed it to Jiang Sheng: "Junior Brother Lingyuan, this contains the Taiyi Baohua Pill of my Tianhe Dao Sect. Take it to restore your magic power."

Faced with Mingxian's feelings, Jiang Sheng naturally wouldn't refuse. He took the pill without hesitation and then continued on his way with Mingxian.

The mysterious light refracted by the large star was still guiding the two of them. Jiang Sheng followed Ming Xian and continued to move around, finally arriving at a dark and chaotic place.

This land of darkness is vast and boundless, spanning hundreds of millions of miles. Within this region, there are no stars, no primordial energy, and no chaotic lightning or fire. It seems to be a pure and independent void, transcending the world.

Standing before this land devoid of light, Mingxian raised his hand and summoned a ball of starlight to serve as a torch. He then said softly, "Junior Brother Lingyuan, this is the true location of those stars."

"The darkness here stretches for billions of miles, and the star itself is hidden within this darkness."

"And what I'm looking for is hidden on the star itself."

"Come with me!"

After saying that, Mingxian took the lead and disappeared into the darkness. Jiang Sheng stared intently at the seemingly boundless darkness and chaos, and then followed Mingxian's footsteps into it.

Upon entering this dark and chaotic place, Jiang Sheng immediately felt that his five senses were compressed to the extreme. He could neither see nor hear, and even when he opened his mouth to speak, the words would immediately vanish into thin air.

Unable to see, hear, or hear, and with no sense of touch, this darkness is like the ultimate nothingness, so profound that even immortals and gods of the highest realms could hardly create the slightest ripple within it.

However, for the immortals and gods of the upper three realms, eyes and ears are no longer important. Even if the five senses are sealed, they still have divine consciousness to perceive.

The divine souls and true spirits of the upper three realms are incredibly powerful. Even when suppressed, they can still function as the five senses, or even be more acute than them.

As Jiang Sheng expanded his divine sense, he immediately noticed the subtle fluctuations ahead: they were traces left by Ming Xian.

Upon probing ahead, Jiang Sheng indeed discovered a magical beacon, the very one left behind by Ming Xian.

Continuing forward, Jiang Sheng followed the beacons left behind by Ming Xian, venturing tens of millions of miles into the darkness. The deeper he went, the more his five senses were suppressed. In the end, even his divine sense was compressed to less than five miles.

Walking through this darkness, with all five senses obscured, it is difficult to discern directions or even where one is. One cannot even perceive whether the flow of time is normal. This long, dark, and lonely state of being, where one has no idea where the road ahead leads, is the most torturous state of mind and soul. No matter what level of cultivation one possesses, in such a place where there is no response and no perception, one will gradually be driven mad by the torment.

Even though Jiang Sheng's Daoist heart was untainted by worldly dust, in the silent darkness, as the time spent in the darkness grew longer and longer, and with no certainty of direction or time, he couldn't help but feel a little restless as time passed.

However, just as this trace of agitation arose, before the Qingping Sword in the sea of ​​consciousness could sever it, the Treasure Lotus Heart Flame on the Azure Lotus Platform suddenly absorbed and refined that trace of agitation. The Treasure Lotus Heart Flame remained bright, neither weakening nor increasing in the slightest.

Seeing this, Jiang Sheng was somewhat surprised, but then an idea came to him.

In the next instant, Jiang Sheng activated the flame of the Lotus Heart Lamp on the lotus platform, taking only a wisp of flame into his palm. As soon as this wisp of flame manifested, a clear and mysterious light instantly illuminated the area around Jiang Sheng, revealing a safe and peaceful realm.

And it was with the light of this candle that Jiang Sheng found the beacon that Ming Xian had placed.

Looking up, one could see that the road signs that Mingxian had placed along the way were disappearing into the darkness one after another, with tiny streaks of light forming a continuous line to guide the way.

Jiang Sheng held the precious lotus heart lamp in one hand and followed the signs along the way. Along the way, Jiang Sheng discovered that the signs left by Ming Xian were densely packed.

From the initial spacing of one Dao beacon every ten thousand miles to one every thousand miles, the deeper one goes, the shorter the interval between the Dao beacons becomes, and the denser they are placed. In the end, there are even several Dao beacons linked together with a distance of one mile. This shows how powerful the suppression of the Upper Three Realms is in the depths of darkness. Even someone like Ming Xian, who has reached the Profound Void Refinement Realm, needs to follow the steps closely to determine the direction.

Jiang Sheng now understood how Mingxian had determined his location: before venturing deeper into the chaos, Mingxian had used his profound light to illuminate the star projections, creating refracted beams of light to guide his way; upon arriving in this dark chaos, Mingxian transformed the star projections' radiance into torches, dispelling the surrounding darkness and allowing him to discern east, west, north, and south. The star projections were closely connected to the stars themselves; their radiance was sufficient to locate the stars' true forms.

The markers along the way were coordinates that Mingxian deliberately left behind in case Jiang Sheng got lost in this dark and chaotic place.

Without the flame of the Lotus Heart Lamp, Jiang Sheng would have had to grope his way through the darkness, carefully following the signs left by Ming Xian.

Now, with the Lotus Heart Flame, although Jiang Sheng's five senses are still suppressed, he can at least discern directions and see the road ahead.

Following the dense trail markers left by Mingxian, before reaching the deepest part, Jiang Sheng saw a faint ray of starlight shining through the extreme and pure darkness.

With his target identified, Jiang Sheng immediately put away the Lotus Heart Flame and followed the starlight, traveling millions of miles until he arrived at the location of the starlight. There he saw a star with a diameter of a million miles, dotted with palaces and pavilions.

Before the star, Mingxian held up a spark and gazed at it.

Sensing Jiang Sheng's arrival, Ming Xian didn't turn around, but just looked at the star in front of him and said, "I have spent countless efforts to find this place."

"This is actually my third time here."

"The first time, I couldn't find a way out in the darkness and had to return empty-handed; the second time, I finally found this star, but I was forced to retreat by the obstacles on the star."

"This is the third time. This time, with Junior Brother Lingyuan's help, I'm sure I'll be able to get that thing."

Jiang Sheng glanced at Ming Xian: "Now that we've come this far, Brother Ming Xian, stop keeping me in suspense. Tell me what you're looking for, right?"

Upon hearing this, Mingxian laughed heartily: "Junior Brother Lingyuan, the Yin-Yang Orthodox Sect is skilled in the methods of Yin and Yang, and the chief disciples of each generation have mastered several unique combined attack techniques of the Yin-Yang Orthodox Sect, which are extremely powerful."

"Take the current generation's chief Huaqing Shaoyang Zhenjun and Qinggui Shaoyin Zhenjun as examples. In addition to being proficient in the Yin-Yang method, these two are also skilled in wind and thunder, water and fire, and understand the changes of clarity and turbidity. They are adept at using the arts of heaven and earth, and are truly formidable."

"The Way of Yin and Yang is the grand and majestic path. If you want to rival Yin and Yang, ordinary wind, thunder, water, and fire are not enough. Only time, creation, the four symbols, the five elements, and so on can put you to a fight."

“For example, Junior Brother Lingyuan, you wield the Dao of the Four Symbols and the power of calamity, so you naturally have no fear of Lesser Yin and Lesser Yang.”

"And I have come here to retrieve a treasure related to time and destiny."

time?

good fortune?

Jiang Sheng frowned slightly. In all the heavens and myriad realms, time and creation are both first-rate divine powers. Any magical treasure that can be related to these two great powers must be a supreme treasure that is famous throughout the heavens.

This dark chaos actually contains such a treasure, and it hasn't been taken away by anyone?
Seeing the doubt on Jiang Sheng's face, Ming Xian explained, "Junior Brother Lingyuan, I'm not lying to you."

"I personally sought out the Tongtian Kaiyuan Patriarch, and it was personally deduced by the Kaiyuan Patriarch."

"The Kaiyuan Patriarch said that there is a treasure here that involves the creation of time and space. It is the legacy of a certain destroyed lineage, which is why I have come here to search for it several times."

Hearing Mingxian's explanation, Jiang Sheng's doubts were finally resolved, which put his mind at ease.

Tongtian Kaiyuan Daojun is the foremost Daoist in all the heavens and myriad realms, so the result he personally deduced should not be wrong.

With this thought in mind, Jiang Sheng said, "In that case, Brother Mingxian, let's go in immediately and retrieve that treasure."

Mingxian said, "No rush. I've been in here before, so we can't act rashly."

“Junior Brother Lingyuan, you may not know this, but this star belongs to a sacred Xuanmen sect from the last Yuanhui, named the Three Xuan Dao Sect.”

"This star is not the main gate of the Three Profound Dao Sect, but only one of its side courtyards. However, the owner of this side courtyard is a Mahayana Immortal Lord."

"Although that immortal lord has perished, the mechanical puppets he created are still operating on this star, and the domain formed after his fall still covers this star."

"Furthermore, after the decline of the Three Mysteries Dao Sect, that Mahayana Immortal Lord specially moved his Daoist temple here, allowing this star to be imbued with the power of time. Now, this star has been immersed in the power of time for too long and has acquired some of the characteristics of the power of time."

What are the characteristics of the power of time?
Jiang Sheng gazed at the star before him. On this star, which was millions of miles in diameter, there was no divine presence. The palaces and pavilions, which had stood for tens of thousands of years, remained as new as ever. Golden flowers and jade trees, silver orchids and red grasses shone brightly, and a gentle breeze seemed to be blowing, as if washing away the dust.
Wait, a gentle breeze?!

Jiang Sheng frowned and looked up, activating his Golden Eyes of Truth. He saw that there was indeed an almost invisible and intangible wind blowing above the star, but every time the wind blew, a strange power rippled outwards.

Seeing that Jiang Sheng had noticed something amiss, Ming Xian asked, "Junior Brother Lingyuan, did you see that wind?"

"That wind is called the Wind of Slowing All Things. It is because of the existence of this wind that the buildings and plants on this star have remained unchanged for tens of thousands of years."

"The winds of slow motion have halted the passage of time on this star, making everything extremely slow."

"If we rashly enter, and are hit by the wind of slowing down all things, our physical body and soul will also be affected by this slowing force, and our own time will be frozen."

"At that time, a single breath may take a thousand years, and a blink of an eye may take ten thousand years."

"At that time, you and I will become part of this star."

A single breath takes a thousand years, and a blink of an eye takes ten thousand years!
Hearing Mingxian's warning, Jiang Sheng felt a chill in his heart and understood the power of the wind that slows down all things: this wind freezes time and years, which sounds like it can make one live forever, but from then on, one will also be unable to move. If one cannot move, cannot blink, and even one's thoughts are frozen, what difference is there between one and a living dead person sealed in amber?!

What alarmed Jiang Sheng the most was that, according to Ming Xian's words, even immortals from the three upper realms could be frozen and sealed if they were not careful. So how did Ming Xian manage to sneak in before?

Just as Jiang Sheng was pondering, Ming Xian took out a mottled bead that looked like amber from his pocket. As the bead was taken out, an invisible power of time rippled out, turning into a barrier that swallowed Ming Xian and Jiang Sheng.

Jiang Sheng gazed at the mottled bead in Ming Xian's hand. The bead was mottled in color and had an amber-like texture. When Ming Xian held it in his palm, it seemed to have the power to reverse time. In particular, there seemed to be a slightly closed eye inside the bead.

Even Jiang Sheng, with his calm and collected demeanor, couldn't help but feel surprised upon seeing this bead:
"The Candle Dragon's Eye?!" (End of Chapter)