Lin Yi shook his head slightly, sighed, and said, "Take the two of them and leave."
leave?
Xiao Bai raised her head and looked at the person in front of her, her eyes filled with incomprehension, doubt, joy, and longing for freedom.
The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox left with the other two foxes. Lin Yi walked out of the deserted hall and turned his gaze to the southwest.
In the southwest of China lies a vast, deadly swamp that strikes fear into the hearts of many.
The climate here is unique; it rains seven or eight out of ten days a year, and all sorts of strange plants grow abundantly.
Such cold and damp places have always been the habitat of the world's most venomous beasts and insects. In addition, the poisonous gases formed by the rotting animal carcasses soaked in rainwater, trees and flowers over thousands of years, and the swamps have turned this place into a place full of dangers. If you are not careful, you will lose your life.
Such a dangerous place would naturally be deserted by most people.
But not long ago, rumors suddenly spread throughout the world that a huge golden pillar of light suddenly rose from the Western Death Swamp, shooting straight into the sky and continuing for a day and night, illuminating the sky as bright as day even in the dead of night.
Three days later, the golden light gradually dissipated.
From then on, a huge, eerie howl seemed to always emanate from within the Death Swamp, filling the people living on its edge with fear.
Once the news spread, it caused a sensation throughout the world.
From the perspective of a cultivator, spiritual objects and divine artifacts always possess their own spirituality. Such a tremendous golden light is naturally a sign of the birth of rare treasures, summoning those with affinity to come to them.
Judging from this golden pillar of light, the wonder of this extraordinary treasure is truly remarkable, causing a stir throughout the world and drawing together experts from both righteous and evil factions.
------------
Chapter 133 Heavenly Emperor's Treasury
Half a day's journey to the east of the Death Swamp, there is a desolate and decaying little village called "King Village".
These days, Dawang Village has suddenly become lively, with many powerful cultivators coming and going.
This is the closest place to the Death Swamp. The villagers here were the first to discover the golden pillar of light and the strange howling sound in the Death Swamp, and the news spread from there. As a result, many people come here to inquire about the news.
On this day, Lin Yi brought Zhang Xiaofan, who had just emerged from seclusion, to Dawang Village. Standing at the village entrance, they saw that the village was bustling with people, quite lively, unlike the lifeless scene in the surrounding villages.
Lin Jingyu had been waiting at the village entrance for a long time. Upon seeing Lin Yi and the other man, he immediately came forward and said happily, "Master, Junior Brother Zhang, you've finally arrived."
Lin Yi nodded and said, "Now that this matter is settled, I must leave. Come with me."
Having said that, he transformed into a beam of light and headed west towards the Death Swamp.
Lin Jingyu and Zhang Xiaofan hurriedly rode their magical artifacts to catch up.
Upon entering the Death Swamp, the sky was overcast and seemed to hang low. Occasionally, a chilling wind would blow from who-knows-where, making one feel cold as it brushed against their body.
As far as the eye can see, there is a vast expanse of lush aquatic plants, with only one or two trees standing alone occasionally.
A faint, putrid smell wafted through the air, while a thin, gray mist drifted above the swamp, obscuring the view to the immediate vicinity and adding to its mystique.
Several days later, a colossal tree appeared before Lin Yi and his two disciples. Its trunk, shrouded in mist, was so thick that its boundaries could not be seen. It stood tall and majestic like a giant hill, reaching straight into the sky and disappearing into the mist, as if it had entered the clouds!
"Disperse."
With a soft shout, Lin Yi waved his sleeve, and in an instant, the wind and clouds surged, and the mist that had permeated the Death Swamp for countless years began to boil like water.
As the fog dissipated, the earth was exposed to sunlight for the first time in thousands of years.
Zhang Xiaofan and his companion turned their gaze to the ancient tree in front of them. Looking as far as the eye could see, they could not see the end of it. It seemed to be a divine tree that could lead to the legendary heavens.
"Let's go up." After saying that, Lin Yi flew up the tree trunk.
The two disciples immediately followed. After flying upwards for about half an hour, they finally saw Lin Yi's figure.
Lin Yi was standing at the fork of the ancient tree. Although it was a fork, it was still exceptionally thick and strong, and even dozens of people could stand on it without feeling crowded.
The two forked branches, roughly the same size and nearly tens of feet thick, stretched horizontally across the sky like two giant dragons leaping through the air. From here, the branches and leaves gradually became lush, and the distance they extended was surprisingly long; standing at the fork, one could not see the end in either direction.
"Come with me," Lin Yi said with a smile, and then walked forward along the branches on the left.
The three of them had been traveling in the sky for a while when they saw that the tree trunks in front of them were suddenly completely covered by countless vines, and the flowers were vying for attention, forming a wall from top to bottom like a sea of flowers.
Amidst the sea of flowers, a stone gate stands prominently, five zhang high and three zhang wide, forcefully embedded in the tree trunk. It is surrounded by countless vines and flowers, leaving only the thick boulder in the center with four large characters in ancient seal script carved on it.
"The Heavenly Emperor's Treasury!"
Lin Yi stared at the stone gate before him, wondering which ancient sage had left it there.
This world has historical gaps. Although the Taoist methods of various sects inherit the legacy of the ancients, their originality is undeniable.
Under Lin Yi's discerning eye, he saw through all the changes around the treasure vault.
Time flows like water, without sharp edges, yet it changes everything silently.
The once flawless and unbreakable barrier is now riddled with holes and unsustainable.
Lin Yi flicked his finger, and an extremely sharp white light flew out, striking the stone gate.
With a "ding," the stone gate shone with golden light, and the white rainbow was deflected.
"Even a dead tiger retains its might." Lin Yi waved his sleeve, and a giant, jet-black snake appeared on the tree trunk.
Two long, narrow, vertical, deep-set eyes gleamed with a cold light. Its massive black body pressed down on the tree trunk, causing it to tremble violently, making one worry that the trunk might collapse under its weight.
The enormous snake head swayed, and beneath its fangs, its bright red, forked tongue stretched and contracted incessantly in the air, emitting bursts of hissing sounds.