Chapter 667: 乞望松些

"What a grand display from Ding Jiao..."

The entire street beside Li Zhouwei was already enveloped in shadow. A group of cultivators scattered, fleeing one after another towards the edge of the great formation. The area instantly emptied. Bai Rong mumbled, "This Dragon Son..."

The surroundings were noisy with people fleeing. The two mortal children who had been there earlier had long since vanished. Before Bai Rong could finish speaking, a silver-white bolt of lightning shot out from the market, danced a few times over the ocean, and flew towards the Azure Water Scaled Beast. A resonant male voice then boomed, "Miao Ye of Thunder Isle greets the Azure Sea Clear Pond Successor, Dragon Son Chengbi!"

Li Zhouwei had met this person before. He had come to Moon-Gazing Lake years ago to request the Du Ruo Spear. He was quite powerful and had privately inquired about Li Zhouwei's ancestors. It turned out he was now stationed in the Southern Sea.

Miao Ye held his hands to his knees, kneeling in mid-air. He then withdrew his hands, kneeling on one leg with the other foot on the ground, bowing three times in succession. With downcast eyes, he was too terrified to speak.

Li Zhouwei's ocular techniques were active, granting him excellent vision. The one wielding the whip atop the Azure Water Scaled Beast was indeed the demon general with prominent jowls and black armor. His expression was foul. He cracked his long whip and shouted, "This doesn't concern you! Wait aside!"

Miao Ye, relieved, moved to stand aside. He ordered someone to bring up sacrificial food. The Black-Armored Demon General waved him off impatiently, saying, "So, it's for the dragon offspring."

Dragon kin were domineering, but they didn't need to disrespect the Miao family in such a way. Li Zhouwei was slightly puzzled. Bai Rong smiled at him and whispered. Li Zhouwei then understood and asked, "What kind of treasure is it? The dragon kin are wealthy in the Eastern Sea; how could something provoke such a dispute among them?"

"Bai Rong, the Plainhearted Fox of Moon-Gazing Lake, greets the Crown Prince."

Standing in the hall was a white-horned youth whose robe was embroidered with waves and dragons. His light blue eyes smiled as he looked over. He took a step in his golden boots, and Ding Jiao spoke in a clear voice, "Ding Jiao, the Successor White Flood Dragon of Azure Sea Clear Pond, greets fellow Daoist."

"Alright..."

Li Zhouwei stepped out of the water barrier. Looking around, he saw that the surroundings were murky. The vast yellowish-green seabed, which was originally a field of coral and seaweed with glowing yellow spiritual objects underneath, was now covered in turbid sand and rocks, presumably swept away by a water storm.

The Bright Square Profound Yuan was merely an ordinary Purple Mansion spiritual item, nothing special to the dragon kin. However, it had the effect of aiding in childbirth, which made it extremely precious!

Li Zhouwei and Bai Rong had arrived before the Azure Water Scaled Beast. Miao Ye, still with downcast eyes, dared not move. He might have recognized Li Zhouwei, but the respectful expression on his face remained unchanged, and his breathing was steady.

Miao Ye repeatedly apologized. Bai Rong and Li Zhouwei watched him, then continued out of the market. The fox chuckled wryly. The area was already deserted; all the cultivators had dispersed. Li Zhouwei thought, 'He's a deep one.'

"Bright Square Profound Yuan!"

The Dragon Lord's birthday was still half a month away; how could Miao Ye not know? Otherwise, why would he have brought out the sacrificial food? The other party simply wanted to scold him without reason. He bowed repeatedly, thanked them for the reminder, and respectfully waited nearby.

"Thunder Isle once obtained a treasure that the dragon kin valued greatly," Bai Rong explained. "Both the Black Dragon Lineage and the White Dragon Lineage sent people to exchange for it. After much deliberation, the Miao family traded it to the envoy of the Black Dragon Lineage..."

Bai Rong finished speaking, and Li Zhouwei immediately understood. "The Miao family's harvest of these things takes decades, and now it's all gone..."

This remark was clearly directed at Bai Rong. Bai Rong flicked his azure-white sleeve, his voice light, melodious, and strikingly different in tone from before, as he replied. Bai Rong seemed somewhat gleeful, merely saying, "Anyway, they were bound to offend one of them. The White Dragon Lineage was terribly disgusted. Ding Jiao, having traveled all this way, naturally wouldn't have a good attitude. Miao Ye knew this deep down and was terrified of making a mistake, so he's completely flustered right now."

Li Zhouwei glanced at him. The Black-Armored Demon General approached with a smiling face, putting his whip away, and opened his mouth to say, "Esteemed sirs, please..."

"The Dragon Lord's birthday is approaching, and no blood is allowed in Eastern Sea offerings. Take that defiling object away! If His Highness sees it, you might be in serious trouble!"

Bai Rong quickly entered the hall together. Everything behind them instantly transformed into infinite ripples, intertwining shades of blue, swirling into a water storm. Clearly, the Azure Water Scaled Beast had moved. Li Zhouwei steadied his steps, hearing a clear laugh, "Fellow Daoists!"

Ding Jiao let out a hearty laugh, appearing to be in excellent spirits. He invited the two to be seated, then feigned surprise and said, "Bai Rong is originally a Plainhearted Fox, with bloodline so close to the Great Li Mountain Lord! I have been remiss. Had I known Fellow Daoist's identity, I should have come out of the hall to welcome you. That was my oversight."

"The Crown Prince jests," Bai Rong replied.

Bai Rong's eyes were slightly narrow, and his appearance was handsome. Holding a wine cup, he sat gracefully beside them, his voice soft and melodious, his smile appropriate. He was utterly different from his usual playful self, gently saying, "I received the Mountain Lord's grace from the blood pool, transforming my nature at the cost of my life. Only then was I reborn. I do not deserve such courtesy."

Ding Jiao then realized, nodded, clapped his hands gently, and softly said, "That is also profound good fortune."

After a few warm exchanges, Ding Jiao immediately turned back to Li Zhouwei and said earnestly, "Ming Huang, it was my fault last time; I neglected you. I am deeply grateful that this matter has been brought to fruition, and I will remember it!"

What Li Zhouwei wanted was the dragon kin's favor, not their spiritual artifacts. While the spiritual ring of the Bright Yang path was indeed powerful, it was not something he could use himself. So, he shook his head and said, "The Crown Prince is too kind. Senior Bai Rong provided all the assistance; I cannot take credit."

The three conversed for a while. Bai Rong, however, displayed a completely different side, one of social grace and skill. He recounted several stories in an elegant manner, praising Dongfang You a few times. Ding Jiao listened with a smile, and both host and guests were pleased.

The Azure Water Scaled Beast was extremely fast. As time passed, Li Zhouwei listened to their casual conversation until he felt a slight jolt. A long-bearded demon general came forward to report, "Reporting to esteemed sirs, we have arrived at the Tomb Abyss."

Ding Jiao then rose, walked down, and as he guided the two, he softly said, "Ming Huang might not know, so I will explain. This place, south of the Southern Sea, is called the Tomb Abyss."

The group flew up from the scaled beast. Before them was a vast sandy area. Stone islands of varying sizes were distributed radially, and in the very center was a gigantic chasm. Looking as far as the eye could see, they couldn't discern the opposite bank of this great abyss.

The islands on both sides of the great abyss were shattered, some as large as cities, others as small as houses, densely packed and stretching beyond sight. Seawater flowed through spiderweb-like narrow channels into the great abyss, below which lay infinite darkness.

Ding Jiao gazed pensively, softly saying, "Before the Celestial Transformation, this place was a vast continent, as wide as Jiangnan, though sparsely populated. At that time, Jiangnan had tens of millions of people, while this place had only millions."

"During the Celestial Transformation... two Immortal Lords fought here, shattering an entire continent. Not only did spiritual energy vanish, but to this day, no living beings exist here. Our dragon kin call it the Tomb Abyss... it is the counterpart to the Eastern Sea's World Navel."

Bai Rong nodded, seemingly visiting this place for the first time. He glanced around with interest and softly said, "I heard there's no spiritual energy here, hence no Great Void. Even Purple Mansion cultivators have to fly closer to the ground here..."

"That's right," Ding Jiao softly said. "This place extends all the way to the Underworld, where the Netherworld Bureau is located. It is said that people from the Netherworld Bureau enter and exit through here."

As he spoke softly, he steadily descended. The three of them quickly vanished into the infinite darkness. Li Zhouwei watched the surging seawater plunging down on both sides, frowned, and whispered, "This Tomb Abyss is terribly vast. Has the Southern Sea's water never flowed dry? This is hundreds of times larger than that Celestial Cavern in the Northern Sea. Even if the entire Southern Sea rained, it couldn't fill it..."

"Could it be that this place is like a sea corner, where seawater that falls into the depths immediately transforms into water veins and returns to the sea?"

Ding Jiao shook his head and explained, "This seawater doesn't fall into the Tomb Abyss everywhere. This place is merely a spillway. If you fly south for a while, the ground will be higher than the sea level, and no seawater falls there."

Li Zhouwei then nodded and reminded them, "There's no spiritual energy here; it will be dangerous if our magic power runs out..."

"Don't worry," Ding Jiao said. He took out a white pearl from his sleeve, thought about it carefully, then put it back. He instead produced a dark-colored round disk spiritual artifact, which instantly enlarged, serving as a platform beneath them. He apologized, "My cloud-riding mount is quite inconvenient in the abyss."

Bai Rong nodded, then asked with some doubt, "Regarding this talk of a path to the Underworld, I haven't heard of it... after all, we are not familiar with matters of the sea. Could the Crown Prince elaborate?"

Bai Rong made a gesture of apology. Ding Jiao waved his hand and whispered, "This matter dates back to the Qi Dynasty. When Northern Qi replaced Wei, the former Wei Crown Prince Li Xunquan raised an army and once controlled the Longdi region, which people at the time called Long-Wei. One of our respected elders resided in Wei and befriended someone with whom he conversed very pleasantly."

"Later, there was a great drought in the south, and our elder personally went to bring rain. Upon his return, his friend had been harmed by someone else. So, he traveled all the way here, delved deep into the abyss, and flew all the way to the Underworld. He met the Judge of the Netherworld Bureau and brought that person back."

Li Zhouwei was startled at first, then his heart warmed as he said in a deep voice, "Do the deceased truly get restrained by the Netherworld Bureau as legends say? Can they even be brought back?!"

Ding Jiao hesitated, then whispered, "When a mortal dies, their soul definitely dissipates. I've heard that everyone in the world is on the Netherworld Bureau's roster. If one cultivates the Purple Mansion Golden Core path, the Netherworld Bureau can even know their cultivation and spells. As for capturing souls, that probably doesn't happen anymore."

"But..." The strong hope that had arisen in Li Zhouwei's heart suddenly extinguished. He lowered his head and asked a question. Ding Jiao replied, "I've also inquired about this. I heard it was because that person was born before the Celestial Transformation and also cultivated the Purple Mansion Golden Core path... the Netherworld Bureau apprehended him according to their laws... as for those born after the Celestial Transformation, unless they fail to break through to the Golden Core, the Netherworld Bureau generally does not interfere."

Bai Rong looked uncomfortable and changed the subject. Secretly recalling something, he softly said, "What if an immortal cultivator is not on the roster?"

"Not on the roster?" Ding Jiao glanced at him, shook his head, and chuckled, "Then they must be cultivating the shamanistic or talismanic path, or the Qi Nourishment and Nature Cultivation methods!"

The white fox lowered his head thoughtfully. Li Zhouwei, however, was only disappointed for a moment before quickly adjusting. He whispered, "I've heard the name Li Xunquan. In the North back then, uprisings were constant, and quite a few gained momentum. There were two attempts at Wei-Li restoration, and later there was Li Xuan... but I don't know what happened to him?"

The Li family had gathered quite a bit of information over the years and paid particular attention to such matters. However, they couldn't inquire about them in Jiangnan, so it was rare to hear anything in the Eastern Sea.

Bai Rong glanced at Ding Jiao and softly said, "He was killed by Emperor Qi, his head hung in Dinyang City for nine years without being taken down."

Ding Jiao was silent. The spiritual artifact beneath their feet gently swayed up and down. Li Zhouwei felt a slight stifling sensation, his expression darkened slightly as he looked out into the boundless darkness. He mused, 'What exactly does Ding Jiao want to do...?'

Along the way, Li Zhouwei gradually understood Ding Jiao's identity. This Crown Prince of the White Dragon Lineage was probably one of the most distinguished individuals. He wondered, 'The Eastern Sea is vast, and there are many Purple Mansion demon beasts under the dragon kin. If he truly had a request, wouldn't the dragon kin be able to send a Purple Mansion Grand Demon to assist him? Putting aside other things, Dongfang Heyun alone is strange enough...'

Bai Rong was a Foundation Establishment fox demon, and the cultivation method he practiced wasn't known for its auditory abilities. Perhaps it was due to his bloodline, or he possessed a few special tricks for listening and investigating. But could he truly compare to a Purple Mansion cultivator with divine abilities? Li Zhouwei thought, 'From the attitudes of the two demons, it's clear... this matter was jointly facilitated by the fox kin and dragon kin... What kind of matter is it, that they need to bring me along? Bai Rong said Ding Jiao wanted to befriend me... so he brought me here. Is there some benefit to this...?'

He pondered for a moment. After several days of quiet meditation, both Ding Jiao and Bai Rong had fallen silent. Ding Jiao said nothing, and Bai Rong's expression was extremely focused, his ears twitching slightly.

He slowly stood up. After listening for a moment, white fur gradually emerged all over his body. He shook himself and transformed into a pure white fox, without a single speck of impurity. The fox's two ears stood upright, and surprisingly, there was another ear at the center of its forehead, triangular in shape with its tip pointing upwards, looking like a white horn from the side, furry and exquisitely delicate.

Bai Rong, in his true form, crouched on the disk. They continued to descend. Ding Jiao remained unmoving, quietly watching the two. The spiritual artifact flew slower and slower, finally coming to a stop.

Ding Jiao softly said, "There should be a sound here. Bai Rong, please listen. My spiritual artifact doesn't have much magic power left. If you can't hear anything here, we'll try going deeper."

Li Zhouwei heard nothing at all, only feeling that the surroundings were terribly silent. Bai Rong paused, then shook his head. "Please fly a little further."

Ding Jiao silently activated the artifact, flying for a good half an hour. The surroundings were pitch black without a trace of light, as if they were trapped in endless gloom, before finally stopping.

Bai Rong twitched his ears and frowned. "It's a man's voice..."

The fox listened for another fifteen minutes, then whispered, "He says... Fa... Suo Chi... Tang, Qi... what..."

Li Zhouwei's heart tightened upon hearing this. Ding Jiao frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Did he say anything else?"

Bai Rong listened for a while longer. His magic power circulated, and purple light mixed with mist swirled around his body. The white fur on his ears gradually turned dark purple. After another fifteen minutes, he quietly said, "No other words, just this one sentence." His expression was somewhat shocked. He paused before saying, "His voice was sometimes as loud as a tiger's roar, heart-rending and mixed with the sound of coughing blood; at other times, it was as sharp as a mouse's squeak, piercing clouds and splitting rocks, extremely terrifying."

"He was saying... 'The magic fetters are searing hot, bound too tightly. I beg for them to be loosened slightly.'"

Ding Jiao's eyebrows rose, revealing an expression of shock mixed with coldness and anger. He was silent for a moment, then took out a jade bottle from his sleeve, placed it in his palm, and softly said, "Plainhearted Fox, keep listening."