Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Su Yun and Ying Ying walked into the Black Iron City, looking around, they saw pavilions and towers built of stacked skulls everywhere in the city, which was very gloomy. There were also flags made of an unknown material, hanging on both sides of the road.

Su Yun stepped forward and tugged at one of the flags. The flag was very tough, like a spiritual weapon. Suddenly, a face in the flag pounced onto the surface, but it looked like it was stuck to a mirror, and the face was distorted, emitting a piercing scream.

The scream was like the pitiful cry of a duck being grabbed by the neck.

Su Yun and Ying Ying were startled and quickly stepped back. At this moment, faces appeared on all the flags on both sides of the street, contorted, ferocious, and roaring.

"These are treasures made by refining the skin and spiritual essence of spiritualists!" Ying Ying exclaimed.

Su Yun's heart stirred. This method of refining treasures was indeed a demonic method. There were relatively few spiritualists who practiced the demonic path in Yuan Shuo, but there were still some.

Demonic spiritualists often had insufficient talent, so they used the cultivation of others to supplement their own.

These spiritualists were said to have inherited the magical techniques and powers of demons.

In this Black Iron City, there were not only these white flags, but also giant skin drums, thangkas, carpets, censers, tripods, and even the stone steps on the ground were all paved and refined with human skin or skeletons!

And among these treasures, there were often the spiritual essences of spiritualists struggling and roaring within the treasures.

Even these treasures were moving, such as a large golden cauldron, each of its four legs was a skull, with gold foil embedded in the skulls, shining brightly. Below were leg bones and foot bones, also embedded with gold.

At this moment, the cauldron was stepping on the skeleton-paved ground, walking while the four skulls made a sad expression and emitted a pitiful cry.

The cauldron was covered with demonic patterns, fierce and terrifying. It seemed that the demonic patterns could hear the pitiful cries of the spiritual essences and were quite pleased.

"Ying Ying, how many demons appeared in Yuan Shuo's history?" Su Yun asked as he looked at the terrifying scene in the Black Iron City.

His expression was solemn, and it was evident that the spiritual essences within these treasures were extremely powerful. The person who refined these spiritual flags must also be extremely powerful, and their cultivation strength was unfathomable!

"The recorded Demon Chaos only occurred twice in Yuan Shuo's history. The first time was over three thousand years ago when demons emerged from the Tian Shi Yuan and caused chaos everywhere."

Ying Ying was well-versed in Yuan Shuo's history and said, "At that time, it was the era of Confucius, where many great sages gathered. Not only were there great sages like Confucius who founded Confucianism, but there were also saints who founded the Dao and Buddhism. Almost all the major schools of thought in later generations appeared. They joined forces to drive the demons back to the Tian Shi Yuan, thus leaving behind the legend of the demons."

The little book monster took out a book from somewhere, opened it, and three old men appeared in the book, each about a foot long. One was Confucius, with extraordinary bones and a prominent head; the other was Laozi, with even more extraordinary bones and a more prominent head; and the third had a head full of flesh knots like those on the head of Shakyamuni.

These three old men led many people and fought a three-headed, six-armed demon, flipping through mountains of paper and seas of paintings until they arrived at the North Sea.

The three paper men raised their palms, which emitted light, and the demon looked terrified, raising its palm and tilting its body, as if it couldn't resist their power.

Finally, a large seal was placed on the demon's body, with the word "Seal" written on it.

"Confucius and the first generation of the Holy Buddha, the first generation of the Dao Saint Laozi, led the most powerful people of their time into the Tian Shi Yuan and suppressed the demons at the North Sea. This is the recorded first Demon Chaos. As for the worse remnants of the demons, there are no records in Yuan Shuo because they were not present."

Ying Ying closed the book and put it away somewhere, saying, "The rumors of demons that followed were also very fierce, but it was later discovered that they were often only half-demons."

Half-demons were spiritualists whose spiritual essence attached to their own bodies after death, such as the ancestor of the Li family, the Marquis of Shao Fang, who died in battle. These spiritualists often had great grievances or strong attachments, but they were not enough to form full demons, only half-demons.

To become a full demon, their attachments would reach unimaginable levels!

Therefore, the number of demons was extremely small. Su Yun only knew of three demons. The ones he knew best were Wu Tong and Yu Jin, both of whom had great perseverance!

Even Yu Jin, who was extremely wicked, had admirable and sympathetic aspects.

"Truly, the second Demon Chaos was one hundred and fifty years ago. However, Wu Tong didn't cause much trouble and was played to death by Han Jun and Qin Wuling," Ying Ying said.

Su Yun stopped and looked up at a white bone pagoda, saying, "Since the true Demon Chaos originated from the Tian Shi Yuan, could the demons from three thousand years ago be the ones guarding this Black Iron City?"

Ying Ying pondered and said, "The Eastern Master was also a figure from that era and must have participated in that demon battle. He guarded the Tian Shi Yuan, most likely to suppress that demon. Unfortunately, the Eastern Master ascended to godhood and left."

Su Yun also felt a little regretful. The Eastern Master left the Ghost Market at the Heavenly Gate and planned to search for the Immortal Realm along another path.

"Ying Ying, the last time we suppressed the Eastern Master, it was the spiritual essence of a demon, right?" Su Yun suddenly asked.

Ying Ying nodded, "We followed the spiritual essence in its spiritual state and broke into the demon's spiritual realm, only to find that the demon's seal had been loosened by the spiritual essence. So we rode the spiritual essence and fled."

.

That happened at night, and the spiritual essence of the demon chased after them, passing through one spiritual realm after another, assimilating one powerful demon after another, even assimilating ghosts and gods.Later, the ghosts and deities of the Heavenly Market were alarmed. Under the leadership of the Eastern Master and Lingxi, they counterattacked, repressing and sealing the demonic spirits of the human demons once again.

"At that time, I thought the human demon was suppressed on an island."

Su Yun looked up at the talismans on the pagoda and said, "Now it seems that it was not an island, but this Black Iron City! Ying Ying, the human demon suppressed by the three great sages—the Master, the Venerable Lord, and Sakyamuni—is in this city!"

The talismans shone brightly, and even after three thousand years, the Sanskrit inscribed on them still glimmered with brilliance, left behind by Sakyamuni, the great sage who founded Buddhism!

Su Yun walked forward and in a great hall made of bones, he saw the imperial edict left by the great sage who founded Taoism, the Venerable Lord!

The edict emitted an indescribable Taoist charm, suppressing the great bone hall!

Su Yun kicked aside various bones and spirit weapons forged from human skin. These spirit weapons wobbled and wandered around, emitting screams.

These were just spirit weapons, not spirit soldiers. Spirit soldiers were far more powerful, so the saints of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism came here, each using their methods to suppress the evil spirit soldiers here, to prevent the human demon from controlling the spirit soldiers to break their seals!

Su Yun and Ying Ying delved deeper into the Black Iron City and saw more spirit soldiers, all suppressed by the three saints!

Ahead, the demonic nature grew increasingly intense.

Su Yun's heart sank; the three saints must have pursued the human demon all the way here and, unable to kill him, suppressed him instead. This suppression was twofold: the physical body and the spirit.

The human demon's physical body was suppressed in the Black Iron City, and his spirit was suppressed within his own spirit realm.

"The seal in the spirit realm loosened because Lingxi went to sleep in the human demon's spirit realm, causing great chaos. With the merging of the two great heavens, the human demon in this Black Iron City might just get his chance. Because before me, God Emperor Yu Daoyuan and Luo Wanyi had arrived here…"

Su Yun hurried forward, the demonic qi and nature growing stronger ahead!

This demonic nature even began to create various inner demons in Su Yun's heart, but he had meticulously cultivated the legacy of generations of saints in the Fire Cloud Heaven, and his inner demons were extinguished as soon as they arose, not affecting him in the slightest!

"The spiritual practitioners of the Western Lands have weak Dao hearts. Even God Emperor Yu Daoyuan could be seduced by the Pan Yang maiden and fall into the demonic path, surely taken advantage of by the human demon!

"Luo Wanyi has an immense desire for power, wishing to grasp all authority in her hands. She lacks a powerful entity to rely on, so she is also easily tempted, a perfect match for the human demon!

"And they arrived here before me!"

Su Yun felt an unease in his heart. Both God Emperor Yu Daoyuan and Luo Wanyi could have been ensnared, becoming weapons for the Black Iron City's human demon to break the seals of the three great sages—the Master, the Venerable Lord, and Sakyamuni!

Su Yun quickened his pace, and upon reaching the center of the city, he suddenly felt the previously dense demonic qi and nature thin out!

Ying Ying also noticed the change, unsure of the reason.

At that moment, Su Yun saw thick chains running through the central hall of the Black Iron City, tied to stone steles around the hall, swaying slightly.

The hall was clear front and back, and inside, a Bodhi tree was planted, with Bodhi beads hanging and Buddha's light lingering around the sacred tree.

Above the hall floated a scroll of poetry, radiating thousands of rays of light, with the sound of clear recitation.

Above the hall also floated a celebratory cloud, within which was a palace with three gates, and within each gate sat a divine figure, the Three Corpse Gods severed by the Taoist practice!

The first saints of the three great teachings—Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism—left their treasures here, not only thoroughly suppressing the human demon but even restraining his demonic qi and nature.

Su Yun breathed a sigh of relief. Here, neither God Emperor Yu Daoyuan nor Luo Wanyi would be controlled by the human demon's nature and commit heinous acts.

"The first saints of the three great teachings were contemporaries, their cultivation and Dao hearts truly extraordinary."

Su Yun, accompanied by Ying Ying, passed through the great hall and saw a handsome young man chained up, reading inside. Upon seeing them pass by, the young man showed a kind smile, "We meet again. Su Yun, right? I see you are in high spirits, surely your ambitions are being realized, and you are set to achieve great things. And Ying Ying has become even more beautiful."

Su Yun asked, "Why does brother show such deference before and after?"

The young man laughed, "You would also show deference if you were chained and suppressed by the spirit soldiers of the three great sages. By the way, Su Yun, not long ago, a disabled man who claimed to be Yu Daoyuan came here, very wicked. He wanted to subdue me, but I disagreed, so he used a suppression technique on me, making it hard for me to breathe. He used a stone, pressing it on the shadow of this great hall. If you could help me move it, I would be very grateful!"

"Sure!" Su Yun agreed without hesitation and walked out from behind the hall.

The young man waited with hope, but after a long while, his face darkened, "Damn it, you even deceive me, are you even human?"