I roughly estimated the distance between my house and the Fire God Temple. It was at least a few hundred kilometers. If the two were connected, then how big would the underground palace be?
While I was shocked, I also had some doubts.
I had entered this underground palace before. Back then, I had lifted Tao Wu's veil for the first time. Tao Wu had also given me the Death Scripture back then. At that time, I had only felt that it was a very deep cave. I didn't feel that it was very big. I had even thought that this underground palace was a cave that Liang Tianxin had excavated using the old principal's and his daughter's corpses to set up the Twenty-Eight Rakshasa Formation.
I asked Uncle Lin about it. According to his description, he had sacrificed his life, using the incense of nine lives in exchange for the wrath of the Killer God. A blood-colored coffin descended from the sky to suppress the Rakshasa female ghost. He had thought that he had no chance of survival, but unexpectedly, after a few years, he woke up in the blood-colored coffin. He even found a small black coffin inside. It was the magic tool that he had used to block the three Celestial Masters from Mount Longhu.
When he woke up and came out of the underground palace, the fatty and I had already left home, so we didn't know about this.
At that time, Uncle Lin's body was weak, so he stayed at home to recuperate. Because he realized that cultivating in the blood-colored coffin could help him condense his shaman Qi, he had entered the underground palace a few times to cultivate. Later on, Uncle Lin had accidentally touched some kind of restriction, causing the coffin to move. I discovered that there was a deep tunnel behind the coffin, but it had originally been blocked by the coffin.
At the other end of the tunnel is the Fire God Temple. Speaking of which, it's strange. The distance between us and the Fire God Temple is very far, but Uncle Lin said that he only walked for half a day in the cave to reach the Fire God Temple. According to his leg strength, it should be at most fifty to sixty kilometers.
The reason why Uncle Lin had given me the handkerchief on behalf of Tao Wu was because he had already been to the Fire God Temple.
Hearing such a strange matter, the fatty and I became interested. Since this matter was related to the Fire God Temple, it was a major matter that I had to pay attention to. After all, that place could be considered a home for Tao Wu and I. Calculating the time, in a few more days, it would be the half a year that the bronze giant had told me to meet with Tao Wu. At that time, I had to make a trip to the Fire God Temple.
But before that, I still have something important to do, and that is to pay my respects to my parents.
For the past two years, I have been wandering outside. No matter what important festival it was, I have never returned to my hometown. Every time I think about it, I feel very unfilial.
The timing of his return this time was quite coincidental. It happened to be the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, which was a good time to worship the ancestors.
Uncle Lin used to be a coroner in the village, as well as a carpenter who made coffins. Naturally, there was no shortage of paper money, incense, and candles at home.
I picked up some items to keep with me. Then, I went to my parents' grave alone.
Looking at the two small mounds in front of me, I couldn't help but think about what happened in the past.
At that time, Lu Zhenyang brought his Third Grandpa to my house. Lu Zhenyang had a complacent face, and his Third Grandpa had an indifferent expression, as if he was crushing an ant to death. His father held a hoe in front of me, and my mother's heart-wrenching cries …
Unknowingly, my eyes became moist. The past flooded my mind. Every time I thought about it, my hatred for Lu Zhenyang increased.
My parents' grave was very small. At that time, after I had found my parents' remains from the Corpse Yin Sect, I had hurriedly buried them. Since I was afraid that the Lu family would find them again, I didn't even dare to erect a tombstone. Now that I saw this lonely mound, my heart ached.
I walked in front of the grave and used my hands to pull out the weeds around the grave. Then, I moved a few pine trees to plant them. Afterward, I lit some incense, candles, and paper money before kneeling on the ground.
"Dad, Mom, your son is unfilial. It's been so long since I've come to see you."
"A few days ago, I met Lu Zhenyang again. At first, I thought that he had died in the Imperial Tomb of the Shang Dynasty. I didn't expect that not only would he come back to life, but he also received Chiyou's inheritance. It's hard for me to deal with him. This time, he asked me to go with him to Hebei. I know that this trip won't bode well for me, but I have to go. He took away Fatty's item, and it was because of me. Fatty had risked his life for me many times in the past few years, and he almost lost his life. Uncle Lin also helped me a lot, and I consider them my family. After you two passed away, they are the only family I have left in this world. I must go and take that item back to Fatty."
"Don't worry. I'll be careful. I haven't taken my revenge yet. I don't want to die like this.
By the way, I've made a lot of friends over the years. One of them is called Wang Yongjun, a big boss in Shenzhen. He's a very nice guy. There's another guy called Zhang Kanwen, who is the successor of Wen Tianxiang. There's another guy called Wang Can, whose identity is even more extraordinary. He's the head of the Ten Grottoes. But you can't imagine how he addresses me. He calls me a sage. It's interesting, isn't it? Your son is a sage now, just like Confucius, Mencius, and Laodan. Grow up.
"I almost forgot. There's one more important thing that I forgot to tell you. I … got married. Are you happy?
Your daughter-in-law is very beautiful and has a good temperament. Her name is Lao Ai. We have a good relationship. However, something happened to her. She was taken away by someone. I don't know where she went. I can only see her once every half a year. But don't worry. I'll find her sooner or later. When that time comes, we'll go back to our house and renovate it. It's the house you two built for me to marry my daughter-in-law. I'll definitely come back to live there in the future. "
"Dad, mom, I'm leaving. I'll try to come back to see you after some time."
When I stood in front of the grave, I couldn't help but shed tears. But when I told my parents what had happened in the past few years, my heart calmed down.
At this moment, I seemed to have returned to my childhood. After I came home from school, I nestled in my mother's embrace and told her what had happened at school.
My mother, who was lying in the grave, didn't say anything. She just gently looked at me and carefully combed my disheveled hair.
After I said goodbye to my parents, the sky turned dark. I walked back to fatty's house in a daze. I saw fatty and Uncle Lin talking about their daily lives. I didn't disturb them and went to the side room.
As soon as I stepped out of the door of the living room, I heard Uncle Lin's voice. "Third Baby, you're back. You haven't eaten yet, right? I cooked something this afternoon. I'm heating it up in the big pot in the kitchen."
After hearing Uncle Lin's words, I was stunned for a moment. Waves of warmth rose in my heart. The last time someone called me out to eat was when I was at home with my parents. Hearing these words again, I couldn't help but feel a little sour.
"Okay. Uncle Lin, you should rest well."
I blinked and nodded toward the house. Then, I ran to the kitchen and took out the steaming food from the big pot.
Uncle Lin's cooking skills could only be described as so-so. But the taste of my hometown was still there.
Since my parents passed away, I had been running all over the place for the past few years. Although I had tasted all kinds of delicacies, I hadn't had the chance to have a good meal, let alone eat some of my hometown's dishes in such an environment.
Although there was only a large bowl of rice and three side dishes, I was able to enjoy the meal very much. I chewed each mouthful carefully and swallowed slowly. After I finished eating, I also drank a large bowl of vegetable soup. Only then was I satisfied.
Since it was close to the appointment with Lao Ai, I would have to leave after a few days.
After that, I didn't know when I would be able to eat a meal like this again.
After eating, I lay on the bed lazily. I wanted to sleep, but I restrained myself and got up to cultivate.
I was about to go to Hebei to meet with Lu Zhenyang. What I lacked the most was time.
I sat on the bed and meditated. While cultivating the witchcraft and Qi, I took out the three seals of the Longhu Taoist priests. At this moment, the three seals were badly damaged. Not only were they cracked, but I couldn't feel any spiritual energy from them. The seals were dim and looked like ordinary stones that could be found anywhere. They didn't look like the Celestial Master's seals that were full of spiritual energy.
The reason why I wanted to leave behind the seals of the three celestial masters wasn't just to punish the three Daoist priests from Longhu Mountain. It was also because I discovered some clues during my fight with the three Daoist priests.
The Celestial Master's seal was the proof of reaching the Celestial Master's realm. It was a life item given by the heavens and was connected to the holder's life. It was useless for others to steal it.
But today, when I used my Celestial Master Seal to collide with the Celestial Master Seals of the three Taoists of Mount Longhu, I was surprised to find that after their three Celestial Master Seals showed signs of weakening, a few strands of essence energy flowed out of the seals and were absorbed by my Celestial Master Seal. Then, the three seals were like cultivators who had their cultivation shaved off, and no longer had their previous brilliance.
That wasn't all. After my Celestial Master's seal absorbed the three wisps of spiritual energy, I could clearly feel that it was slightly different from before. Not only did the surface of the seal become brighter, but I could also faintly feel that there was a fluorescent light inside the seal. The light was moving back and forth in the black and white areas of the seal.
The Celestial Master's seal was a life item. It could only be nurtured by the user's own life energy. It would gradually become stronger as the user's cultivation base increased.
I've never seen or even heard of this kind of external force being devoured like this.
Thinking about this, I thought of something and took out my Celestial Master Seal. I tried to channel my Taoist Qi and Shaman Qi into it. As I channeled more and more Shaman Qi into it, the seal gradually grew bigger and the might it exuded became stronger.
Three inches, five inches, one foot, three feet, three feet, three and a half feet, four and a half feet.
The Celestial Master Seal's radiance circulated and grew larger and larger until it reached four feet and five inches. Only then did it stop growing. Afterwards, no matter how much shaman energy I channeled into it, it didn't grow any larger. The entire room was filled with a dense and vigorous Zhen Yuan. Even the walls of the room started to shake. I hastily retracted the shaman energy and the seal shrunk back to its original size of three inches.
Sure enough, my Celestial Master Seal had become even stronger after absorbing the essence of the three Taoist Celestial Master Seals from Mount Longhu. Originally, it could only grow to three feet and three inches, but now, it could grow to four feet and five inches.
Although my cultivation base was infinitely close to the later stage of the seal, during the process of becoming a Celestial Master, unless I reached the next realm, the seal would remain the same size as before.
This time, the seal's size had increased by one third. Moreover, from the Zhen Yuan that was released, it was much stronger than before.
Now, my cultivation base had almost reached the later stage of the seal. When the time came, I would be able to break through.
The increase in my cultivation base was already a joyous thing. However, compared to that, I was even more excited about the method of absorbing other seals to increase my cultivation base.
If this time, it wasn't a mutation and could become normal, then I would have found a way to quickly increase the seal's power.
This was good news. Although I didn't know the reason behind it, it didn't stop me from being excited. The Celestial Master's seal was one of my strongest techniques. It was also the item that gave me my name. It directly determined my cultivation base.
"Knock, knock, knock …"
Just as I was feeling happy, there was a series of hurried knocks on the door. Then, I heard the fatty yelling.
"Third Baby, what are you doing? Can't you let me sleep? Do you want to tear my house down?"