"Time passes second by second."
Soon, four or five hours had passed.
During this time, more cultivators arrived.
The number of people gradually increased or decreased from around 20,000 to over 25,000.
However, what made Chen Yun feel happy was that although more people came later, no one else who had achieved immortality appeared.
Suddenly, a thunderclap echoed from the palace.
Immediately afterwards, the golden gate shone brilliantly with an indescribable golden light, and the gate slowly opened.
"Jingguan opened!"
"Finally opened!"
The originally peaceful scene suddenly boiled over.
Numerous cultivators excitedly held jade pearls and dashed towards the golden gate.
Chen Yun was not very anxious and let others enter first.
Even, taking advantage of the fact that other cultivators were rushing into the golden gate.
Chen Yun was still observing the situation of the golden gate as he had done last time.
Although the golden gate has been opened, what appears before us are numerous colorful and vivid currents of energy.
Last time, Chen Yun couldn't make out the specifics.
This time is different; he could roughly discern that these colorful energy currents seemed to twist the dimensions of time and space, creating a "particle channel."
Dragon Girl Sanjiu and the others saw Chen Yun hesitating and went up to ask him a question.
Having confirmed that Chen Yun would enter later, these old friends and their descendants then went inside the golden gate first.
With barely a few people left on the scene, Chen Yun finally walked towards the golden gate, shoulder to shoulder with Niu Dali.
What was different from the last time he passed through the golden gate was that Luoli felt as he passed through a very thin water screen, as if he saw scenes from different time currents.
He couldn't be certain at the moment, but the scenes from various worlds and different times had deeply imprinted themselves into his consciousness.
...
This situation only lasted for a moment.
The next second, the scenery changed abruptly.
Chen Yun saw himself standing atop a vast mountain.
Niu Dali, by his side, was standing and gazing at the scenery in the distance.
Chen Yun was not in a hurry to discuss anything with Niu Dali but was instead observing the environment.
This mountain was at least ten thousand miles in circumference, and from a distance, countless ranges of mountains stretched out, rising and falling into the horizon.
Looking far and wide, Chen Yun found that the boundless landscape was full of mountains and plains.
In addition, the sun and moon gushing spring scenery also fell into the eye.
On the contrary, the Miao Mountain seemed to have been shrouded in mystery by the reason of spiritual energy chaos and storms, making it impossible for him to see it clearly at once. He could only see a vague image of a "giant mountain" enveloped in various colored spiritual energies.
After observing the environment, Chen Yun turned to Niu Dali and said, "Great Saint, should we part ways temporarily?"
Niu Dali nodded slightly and said, "All right. Let's meet again in one month."
With that said, Niu Dali transformed into a ray of light and shot rapidly towards the direction of the sun and moon gushing spring.
Luoli couldn't help but laugh silently, thinking that Niu Dali wouldn't know any transmutation technique.
He immediately used the transmutation technique to try and go to where Qingding was.
Then...
Hmm, a force so strong and irresistible came down and pressed.
It not only prevented Chen Yun from successfully using the translocation technique but also almost injured him with the force's impact.
"Oh, so in the Moon and Sun Gushing Spring cave, the translocation technique cannot be used."
Chen Yun helplessly shook his head.
Chen Yun finally understood why Niu Dali and Daoyuan used "low-level" flying techniques even after achieving immortality.
But this did not deter him.
Chen Yun transformed into a ray of golden light and shot towards the fire path where the Fire Yuan Cave was located.
He couldn't help but feel that after coming to the Moon and Sun Gushing Spring cave, not only was his own power somewhat suppressed, but even his usual proud consciousness seemed to have lost some of its "sensitivity."
Chen Yun knew it wasn't just an illusion. How could he, who had achieved immortality, produce illusions?
The reason he had such a sensation was definitely because the Moon and Sun Gushing Spring cave had its own independent "laws" that suppressed a part of the power of those who had achieved immortality.
This was very normal. After all, the strength of a true immortal is too powerful.
If the cave hadn't had "laws" to constrain it, two true immortals fighting might instantly destroy the cave.
Chen Yun couldn't help but recall the last time when Niu Dali and Daoyuan fought for nearly a month. In the end, hadn't their unleashed power's residual waves not affected him either?
According to Niu Dali and Daoyuan's strength, if they fought without any constraints, they might have been able to destroy the Moon and Sun Gushing Spring cave.
In fact, it wasn't like that.
Therefore, Chen Yun judged that there must indeed be some kind of "law" constraint within the Moon and Sun Gushing Spring cave, preventing immortals from unleashing their full power.
Although under the constraint of "laws," his own power may be limited greatly.
But not only him was limited. He still felt that he could control the situation, would not be facing a disaster that could swallow him up whole.
Moreover, Chen Yun could sense it while flying.
The "laws" of the Moon and Sun Gushing Spring cave constrain both spiritual energy and consciousness.
It seems there is no significant constraint on his physical body.
"My physical body has been cultivated to the point where I can shatter stars and split the sun. Even without relying on spiritual energy and consciousness, I won't fear ordinary immortals."
Chen Yun's confidence does not solely come from his powerful physical body.
"I also have the Thunder Fire Dao Body and the Golden Demon God Dao Body. Once these two manifest, my physical body will be strengthened to an unbelievable extent. I believe that, besides the Mother Earth immortals, there are no other immortals with a stronger physical body than mine."
As for the strength of the Mother Earth Immortal's body, Chen Yun had never fought with her, so he truly couldn't guess its strength.
He came to the Moon and Sun Gushing Spring cave this time for "riches," so he definitely wouldn't randomly fight with someone without a reason.
Chen Yun believed that the other immortals shared the same idea as him.
As long as there was no conflict of interest, it was unlikely for them to start a fight.
As he was thinking, a flash of time passed by in an instant.
He arrived at the Fire Yuan Cave, millions of miles away.
The Fire Yuan Cave had been destroyed to the point of being unrecognizable last time.
However, after fifty years of the cave's self-restoration, the Fire Yuan Cave had recovered to its original appearance.
Unlike the other places on the fire path where occasional bursts of flames are sporadically occurring, there is no trace of fire here.
Upon arriving here, Chen Yun saw that the land was covered with a vast expanse of scorching blue-white flames.
He remembered the last time he came here, he felt an unimaginable heat, and even needed to release true energy to withstand it.
However, this time, with his increased cultivation and his physical body more refined, he did not consider the scorching heat as a threat.
Chen Yun strode directly towards the inside of the Fire Yuan Cave.
He had been here before, so he was familiar with the environment inside.
A winding path stretched ahead.
In theory, such a narrow path leading to the underworld should be lacking in light.
However, there is a bright and vigorous light here, as if a layer of golden radiance covers the walls of the mountains on both sides of the path.
Chen Yun knew why.
Because it was the light from that Qingding lantern that illuminated the entire underworld.
In a short while, he arrived at the deepest part of the underworld.
Chen Yun saw a gold light ahead as soon as he emerged from the cave mouth.
There was a small cave over there.
It could probably fit only four or fifty people.
There were countless unknown talisman patterns carved on the stone wall.
There is a small spring in the middle of the cave, and a golden lantern is suspended above it.
To be precise, it was a bronze oil lamp.
It was just that the lamp was burning with tiny golden flame sprouts, casting everything around into gold, including the bronze oil lamp itself.
This bronze oil lamp was incredibly strange. Although there was nothing underneath it, it still hung in mid-air.
The wall of the palm-sized oil lamp was covered with various strange symbols.
These were the same symbols that Chen Yun had seen during his last visit, and they did not strike him as strange.
He slowly walked out of the cave mouth.
He sensed that the wick of the lamp seemed to possess the mind of a living being.
This mind was constantly warning him not to get close.
It seems like the lamp is "alive."
Chen Yun was not surprised by this. He had guessed the last time that there might be an "soul" inside the Qingding Taoist artifact.
He currently has several treasures at his disposal, such as the Ice Ring, the Immortal Capture Banner, and the Wind God Banner.
The power of these treasures varies in strength.
For instance, the Immortal Capture Banner and the Ice Ring are relatively weak and may only be effective against cultivators who have not yet achieved immortality.
If faced with an actual immortal, these two treasures would be completely ineffective.
However, the Wind God Flag is different.
Chen Yun had previously confronted Xie Wuyang and knew that it was an extremely powerful treasure.
Although the Wind God Flag is extremely powerful, there is no "soul" within it.
Therefore, when Chen Yun came here again, he immediately concluded that the quality of the Qingding Lantern in front of him was probably higher than that of the Wind God Flag.
This is a treasure so powerful that it's hard to believe!
"If I could truly obtain it, perhaps I could deal with the Stars God Screen of Guodao Daoren. That other treasure would have a way."
Chen Yun stood there, not immediately going forward to take the Qingding Lantern.
Chen Yun remembered that Wu Kejiu had said before that there was once a cultivator in the latter stage of an upper-grade wizard who had a defensive treasure. Even so, he was still burned to ashes by the strange flames emitted from the Qingding Lantern.
As a deified immortal, he was unsure if he could withstand the power of the strange fire emitted by the Qingding Lantern.
After all, he had previously judged that the quality of the Qingding Lantern was even higher than that of the Wind God Flag.
Without the Seven Treasures Marvelous Tree, Chen Yun dared not directly confront the power of the Wind God Flag with his physical body, so his caution was quite reasonable.
Although he had a "revenge armor," if he were to be beaten out of the way by trying to obtain the treasure, it would indeed be a loss.
Chen Yun took out the Seven Treasures Marvelous Tree, releasing the colorful mist and the white light blue lotus to test if they could move the Qingding Lantern.
As soon as the colorful mist and white light blue lotus were born, they rushed towards the Qingding Lantern.
In the next moment, a terrifying sight unfolded!
The flames on the Qingding Lantern suddenly swelled, instantly engulfing the colorful mist and the white light blue lotus!
"What?" Chen Yun was shocked. "The colorful mist and white light blue lotus released by the Seven Treasures Marvelous Tree are so powerful that even the Wind God Flag cannot be destroyed. Yet, in front of this Qingding Lantern, they are completely insignificant!"
He finally realized one thing, that if he had rashly gone forward to take the Qingding Lantern just now, his "revenge armor" might have already been beaten out.
No good.
Can't just dash forward impulsively to take the Qingding Lantern.
Chen Yun felt he needed to come up with a plan to see how he could acquire the Qingding Lantern.
Since this Qingding Lantern can effortlessly burn away the energy released by the Seven Treasures Marvelous Tree, its power is beyond doubt.
If he could get his hands on it, the probability of burning alive Guodao Daoren would be quite high!
Therefore, he was determined to obtain the Qingding Lantern treasure.
But how could he obtain the Qingding Lantern treasure?
Chen Yun kept thinking.
He had a confusing thought in his mind.
This Qingding Lantern is so powerful.
Could it be that none of the cultivators who entered the Qingding Lantern in previous times discovered it?
This is simply against common sense!
Wait a moment!
Chen Yun silently pondered, "Could it be that there have always been immortals paying attention to this Qingding Lantern, and they are now hidden nearby? However, since I entered the Moon and Sun Gushing Spring cave, my spiritual awareness has been suppressed, and I haven't noticed it temporarily?"
If there were indeed immortals lurking nearby, that would be a huge stroke of luck for Chen Yun.
Why does Chen Yun feel this way?
Because if there are immortals lurking nearby, they must have some knowledge or understanding of the Qingding Lantern.
At the very least, they have more understanding of the Qingding Lantern than you do.
Maybe they know how to obtain the Qingding Lantern treasure.
Of course, these are all just Chen Yun's own guesses.
In fact, he has not been able to determine whether that is truly the case for the moment.
However, one thing is certain.
Chen Yun knew that he could not approach the Qingding Lantern immediately.
Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Yun closed his eyes and released his spiritual awareness as much as he could.
He wanted to investigate whether there were any other immortals lurking nearby.
If there were, it would prove that his previous guesses were correct.
If there were none, it would mean that he was overly suspicious.
This was important to Chen Yun, and he had to clarify his thoughts.
