Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 43 Fish Lantern

Yuchuan County, Qingxuan Town.

"Dingle bell! Dingle bell!"

A convoy came slowly from the mountains.

It was deep winter now. The forests in the mountains were cold and the streams were silent. Rotten leaves and bare rocks could be seen everywhere. Although there was no snow, the wind was still biting.

"Gudu!"

Xu Shaoliang pulled the reins, raised the leather bag, took a sip of wine, and said happily to Tan Wenli beside him:

"Master Tan, look, Qingxuan Town is just ahead. You may not know this, but I lived here for five years. It was here that I met Old Wang."

Then he turned back to the carriage behind him and shouted:

"Boyang, come here and take a look! We're here where you were born!"

During this trip, in order to facilitate his meditation and practice, Xu Boyang directly asked the escort company to arrange two loaded carriages. Each carriage was loaded with half of the goods, and the remaining half was for people to rest.

In his spare time, he would sit in the carriage, silently reading scriptures, and using his spiritual awareness to find a way to break through the three barriers of divine essence.

Because this was a long journey, the escort company brought quite a few men, a total of twenty people. When they heard that the boss was going out to visit relatives, Tan Wenli volunteered to be the escort leader.

There was a line of carriages and horses coming and going, bumpy and mighty. At first glance, it was quite a scene.

When Xu Boyang heard his father's loud call, he pursed his lips slightly, opened his eyes, bent down, lifted the curtain, jumped lightly, jumped onto an idle horse, shook the reins, and the horse's hooves clattered as it came to the front of the team.

"Boyang, look, that's the Tangchuan River. This river connects to the Huai River and is a relatively famous river in Yuchuan. It's also because our group is so large. Otherwise, we can take a boat over there. From here, we can not only reach Hanguang Town, but I heard that we can also go directly to Yuchuan."

Xu Shaoliang pointed to the green river in the distance and spoke, his saliva flying and his words flowing.

"In the past, I helped people move goods at Tangchuan Wharf, working from morning till night. My boss gave me a lunch of thirty sackcloths. We were really poor back then, and I couldn't even afford to drink the sackcloth of sugar water. What I remember most is that there was a little brat from a nearby family who would come every day with a big bowl of sugar water to watch us move goods. I was so greedy..."

Xu Boyang looked at his joyful expression, smiled after hearing it, and felt relieved. He looked in the direction his father pointed, and saw a big river under the frozen clouds, surrounding a small town with green tiles and white walls. A bluestone bridge spanned the river, and the streets were in order. People were walking in scattered places on the streets.

I think it’s because the weather is too cold and few people go out.

“So this is where I was born.”

Looking at the small town with densely packed roofs, Xu Boyang couldn't help but think of his mother. The blurry figure in the image was overlapping in his memories, but he just couldn't remember what she looked like.

Xu Shaoliang was so happy to get out this time that he was like a little kid, as if he was back in his youth as a escort. He chatted with Tan Wenli all the way, telling stories about his escort days when he was young.

Tan Wenli's ancestors were all blacksmiths and they had almost no time to go out. In recent years, they mostly moved around Dongke Town. He listened with great interest along the way, and from time to time he complimented the old man, which made Xu Shaoliang laugh.

It seems that this trip was the right one. Even if Lingxizi was not found in the end, it was worth it.

After all, there are too few worthwhile things in this world.

After a while, the cavalry crossed the big stone bridge and arrived at the town.

Tan Wenli personally went to find an inn with a larger backyard and stayed there with his escort team.

After the meal, Xu Boyang helped his drunken old father into the room and laid him on the couch. He then went to get a basin of steaming hot water, washed his feet, helped him to bed, covered him with bedding, then he breathed a sigh of relief, opened the window, looked at the winter moon outside, and then jumped out gently.

Now he no longer needs to sleep. The night is long and the inn is too noisy with people snoring and horses neighing. He might as well find a place suitable for cultivation where he can practice peacefully for a night without being disturbed.

The previous "Tianhao Daoqi Changshuo Jingzhu" includes seven magic skills: divine movement, golden armor, silver light, invisibility, dust cleansing, leaping, and holding breath.

And this "Tianhao Daoqi Changshuo Jingshu" just happened to include seven new techniques: avoiding water, sitting on fire, walking on the ground, passing through mountains, walking on marshes, going with the wind, and traveling a thousand miles. I have practiced some of them before, and tonight is a good time to practice the others.

Because there were so many people in the town, Xu Boyang didn't dare to fly with his sword. He just walked quickly through the streets with his helmet on. It was a cold winter night, but fortunately there were not many people on the streets.

In just a moment, he arrived at the bank of Tangchuan River. The water was rippling gently. He had taken a rough look at it when crossing the bridge during the day. The river was not very wide, but it was deep and clear like a mirror. The bottom of the river was a hard green riverbed without much silt, which was just the right place for cultivation.

Xu Boyang stood at the river bank and looked around to make sure that no one was paying attention. He immediately performed a "water avoidance technique" and jumped into the river.

His body fell into the water without causing any waves, as if he had fallen into a pool of oily water. With a soft splash, his whole body sank into it.

Xu Boyang had practiced this "water-avoiding technique" quite well before, and he could do it with ease this time. After entering the water, his clothes were completely dry, without a trace of water stains, nor any biting coldness. Walking in the water was like running on land.

He ran along the riverbed for a while, looking for a suitable place to practice. After searching for a while, he unexpectedly found a dark cave in a place with lush aquatic plants at the bottom of the river.

This aroused his curiosity, so he walked over and used his spiritual sense to explore the cave entrance. He found that it was empty, so he thought about it and went in.

But he never expected that this cave actually led to another place. The further Xu Boyang walked in, the deeper it became. After walking for a while, he found a stone door inside.

At this time, the cave was flooded by the river and was pitch black. Xu Boyang suddenly used his spiritual sense to detect a stone door not far away. He was slightly surprised. After getting closer, he suddenly found that there seemed to be some spiritual light shining through the crack of the door. He was immediately overjoyed:
"Could this be a cave dwelling left by an immortal? I'm so lucky tonight!"

He stretched out his hand to push the stone door, but it didn't move at all, as if there was a magical restriction. After thinking for a moment, he summoned [Biyouxian] and used the sword to push into the crack of the door inch by inch.

As expected, there was a formation blocking it inside.

But it doesn't seem very strong.

Because the light shield of the formation just touched the sword light of [Biyouxian], it began to make a "chi chi" sound, as if it was trying its best to resist, but was somewhat powerless.

Xu Boyang was overjoyed upon seeing this, not knowing whether the formation was too weak or the [Biyouxian] was too strong. He immediately concentrated his mind and thrust his sword inside inch by inch, using the sword light to break the formation's defense.

When the spiritual light was strong, Xu Boyang would retract the sword light, and when the spiritual light faded, he would spit out the sword light again.

After going back and forth like this for a while, the formation finally couldn't stand it anymore, its spiritual light dimmed, and it disappeared silently.

In an instant, a large amount of river water rushed in!

Xu Boyang was well prepared for this. As soon as he recited the mantra, the [Lingji Jade Pendant] in his hand immediately floated up, emitting an emerald green spiritual light. The "Yuanqing Biguang Cover Array" took shape in an instant, blocking the surging river water.

With a gentle push of one hand, the stone door slowly opened.

A small, oddly shaped spiritual lamp hung on the stone wall, emitting a soft glow. Under the light, a stone chamber was revealed, five meters square, with a stone table, stone chairs, and stone couch, all spotlessly clean.

"Oops!"

When Xu Boyang saw that this place was brand new, he felt something was wrong. It looked like this was not some immortal relic, but perhaps a cultivation cave for some cultivator. He took a quick look but didn't find anything. He immediately decided to retreat and turned to leave.

Although he had become a cultivator, after experiencing the battle of Xinyue Lake, he knew that the world was as big as the bright moon and starry sky, and there were many people more powerful than himself, so he did not want to cause trouble for no reason.

When he was about to leave, he accidentally caught sight of the spiritual lamp on the stone wall. He was surprised and immediately stopped. He took two steps closer and looked up at it carefully.

This small lamp is about the size of a palm. The lamp is round and lotus leaf-shaped with slightly curled edges. The texture is as soft as jade and it emits a faint green light.

The wicks are two flexible tentacles, like the whiskers of a big fish, slender but tough, and move without wind.

The lamp base is carved into the shape of two leaping flying fish, embracing the yin and carrying the yang, and the fish scales are lifelike. Each fish eye exposed outward is a crystal clear spirit pearl, deep blue, as if hiding endless spiritual charm.

"Is this lamp... a magical tool?"

Xu Boyang became excited immediately after exploring with his spiritual consciousness.

He didn't dare to conclude completely. Since he embarked on the path of immortality, apart from the three swords, the only thing he had come into contact with was the formation magic weapon [Lingji Jade Pendant]. As for other magic weapons, he had only seen them in the ghost market and Fangcunjian, and had never actually touched them.

Unable to resist the urge for a moment, he reached out and took the lamp down from the stone wall, held it in his palm, silently recited the method of controlling the instrument, and transferred his spiritual consciousness into it.

As soon as the spiritual consciousness explored it, the small lamp seemed to come alive. The two yin and yang fish under the lamp base began to spin, and the lotus leaves on the lamp opened, like a blooming lotus. The tentacles on the wick entwined and rotated with each other, like jellyfish tentacles, expanding and contracting.

In a moment, a stream of green water spurted out from the wick, gathering into an irregular water ball and floating in the air.

"This is…"

Xu Boyang was extremely surprised. He saw that the green water that was wriggling on its own was dark in color, like a ball of moss. There seemed to be some strands of blue in the water, with a little bit of blue luster. The green and blue intersected like stars in the dark night.

"Spiritual energy of heaven and earth!"

Xu Boyang was horrified and astonished. He looked down at the palm-sized lamp flashing with crystal green light. His mind turned, and the green water in the air slid back into the lamp with a hissing sound, like a dragon sucking water.

"This, this thing..."

Xu Boyang was inexplicably shocked, surprised and happy, and couldn't contain his excitement.
"...can it absorb and store the spiritual energy of heaven and earth on its own?"

A quick look at this lamp compared to the small gas-gathering bottle given by Ding Tianshi shows that the difference is obvious. They are not on the same level at all. The gas-gathering bottle given by Ding Tianshi requires people to go to the gas-gathering location and practice qigong day and night to gather gas.

This small lamp can absorb and store spiritual energy on its own. It is many times more convenient than the small bottle for collecting energy. It seems that it is a magical tool at least above the foundation-building level.

"It turns out there's a spiritual energy hidden at the bottom of the Tangchuan River. I don't know what it's called. It's likely that a cultivator deliberately placed this lamp there to allow it to absorb and store the spiritual energy."

"At this moment, this little lamp has already absorbed enough spiritual energy from the riverbed, so it is in a dormant state and has not produced any spiritual energy effects from absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth."

Xu Boyang had no intention of embezzling money, for fear of causing trouble, but now that he discovered the mystery of this small lamp, he could not move.

This thing was too tempting for him at that moment. The opening of the [Migration Palace] of the [Purple Star Fate Palace] itself was responsible for collecting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. So if he got this magical tool that could automatically collect spiritual energy, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. He didn't know how much trouble it would save him in the future.

"I don't know where you are, fellow Daoist, I didn't mean to offend you, but since God has allowed me to see you, you can only blame your bad luck!"

Xu Boyang glanced at the stone chamber, muttered to himself, and immediately put the small lamp into the storage bag. He quickly walked out of the stone chamber and with a wave of his hand, the [Lingji Jade Pendant] flew back.

The river water rushed in with a roar, instantly submerging the entire stone chamber.

Xu Boyang didn't dare to stay any longer, and quickly used his "magic speed" to quickly leave the cave.

After reaching the shore, he put away his magic and hurried back to the inn.

As soon as he entered the room, he sat on the couch and meditated without saying a word, entering the [Purple Star Fate Palace].

"This is a foundation-building magical tool, considered top-grade. Its main function is to collect and store spiritual energy. It's called the [Greedy Fish Lamp]."

Ma Lingguan bent his arm, held up the small green lantern with three fingers, glanced at it, and smiled.

"Not bad, not bad! You're quite capable, kid! In such a short time, not only did you get a magical instrument to collect spiritual energy, but you also collected a stream of spiritual energy from heaven and earth. You really keep your word!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Boyang immediately smiled.

"Hmm... first let me see what kind of spiritual energy it is."

After Ma Lingguan finished speaking, the [Greedy Fish Lantern] in his hand immediately emitted a green light and began to rotate on its own. The wick spit out a stream of lush blue water, which floated in the air.

"So it's [Kan Water], this... should be [Blue Ice Water]..."

"[Blue Ice Water]?"

Xu Boyang was even more excited after hearing this. This was a single spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Wasn't it the spiritual energy of the righteous way worth ten thousand spirit stones? But when he turned around and heard Ma Lingguan sighing slightly, as if he had some complaints, he felt a little surprised and asked:
"May I ask, Master Lingguan, is this [Blue Ice Water] the spiritual energy of the righteous path?"

"Yes and no."

Ma Lingguan took the [Blue Ice Water] and sighed softly,
"You don't know, between heaven and earth, there were originally only eight righteous spiritual energies: Heaven, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Water, Fire, Marsh, and Mountain. Unfortunately, these eight righteous spiritual energies were divided into eight, and from then on, there is no longer any pure spiritual energy between heaven and earth."

"This [Blue Ice Water] is exactly one of the eight separate spiritual energies within the [Kan Water] righteous spiritual energy."

"The value of your spiritual energy is slightly higher than that of the transformed spiritual energy, so let's just call it twenty Yuqing."

After saying that, he waved his hand and returned the [Greedy Fish Lantern] to Xu Boyang.

After hearing this, Xu Boyang felt a little disappointed, but then he thought that this spiritual energy was completely his good luck, he got it for free, it was really effortless. This was an extra reserve of two thousand spirit stones, what was there to be dissatisfied about? He said nothing more and bowed to take his leave.

The next morning, as soon as it was daybreak, Xu Boyang hurriedly urged Tan Wenli to set off and leave Qingxuan Town.

When passing the stone bridge out of the town, Xu Boyang deliberately delayed and glanced down. A night had passed, the river water was as clear blue as ever, and no one seemed to have noticed anything unusual. He pulled the reins with satisfaction, rode away on his horse.

Thanks to book friend Tongtian Youlu for the reward!
After laying the groundwork for a few chapters, the third climax is finally coming. Let’s go together! Book friends who like this book can help recommend it to their friends!
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(End of this chapter)