Step... Step...
The wet footsteps made a light sound as they stepped on the dark ground. At the end of his sight, the light seemed to extend infinitely with him. After an unknown amount of time, the mermaid crawling behind him became weak and powerless.
"Jiji..."
Lu Liangsheng stopped, looked back at her, then looked at the faint light over there, pursed his lips and clenched his teeth, turned around, helped her to carry her on his back, hugged the fish under his waist, and continued forward with some difficulty.
"Almost there... it will be there soon."
Probably knowing that mermaids cannot be dehydrated for too long, he walked for a while, his legs gradually became sore and numb, and the "ji" sound behind him became weaker and weaker.
Lu Liangsheng didn't care whether she could understand him or not, he kept nagging her like his mother did in the past, to prevent her from falling asleep despite her weakness.
"Don't sleep... Maybe you'll need to send me to the surface of the sea... I won't hold my breath."
"You should still have relatives in your tribe, think about them... I saw some of your memories, and there were children... Your children are fish eggs, so you just put them in the coral and don't care about them?"
"…Have you ever seen a city on land? It's beautiful there too…"
The scholar kept talking incessantly, and the mermaid behind him, with her hair loose, leaned on his shoulder, responding intermittently.
"Talk, don't sleep." Faint light shone in, and Lu Liangsheng turned his head to look at the pair of thin eyebrows and eyes, the wide mouth and nose. The skin color was no longer as moist and white as before, but became dry and pale.
"Open your eyes..."
Lu Liangsheng called out in a low voice, turned around and looked ahead again. There was still a faint light, as if it was close at hand, yet out of reach.
I don't know how many miles I walked, maybe ten miles... twenty miles... forty miles... eighty miles... With an ordinary human body carrying a merman weighing dozens of kilograms, every step he took seemed to weigh a thousand kilograms. He trembled with fear and his body swayed. He fell to the ground several times and almost couldn't stand up.
"Having come this far... how can I give up..."
Gritting his teeth, his knees trembling as he knelt on the ground, with the mermaid on his back almost silent, Lu Liangsheng looked back at the endless darkness, turned around, and continued to stagger forward.
Tick-tock…
Tick-tock…
Suddenly, a cool feeling fell on his lower back, and slid down the back of his collar wetly. Lu Liangsheng raised his face weakly, and a drop of clear water fell between his dry and chapped lips.
"water?"
Licking his dry and painful lips, Lu Liangsheng's eyes showed joy. With the presence of water, he thought that it was no longer an endless void. He took a deep breath and held it in his chest. His legs obviously quickened a little. The sound of dripping water became clearer. The faint light in front of him finally enlarged slowly as he moved forward, until it occupied his entire field of vision.
The scholar stopped and hesitated for a moment. Hearing a slight whisper behind him, he raised his foot and stepped in. The white light in his eyes quickly faded away like the tide.
The view opens up ahead.
A dripping curtain of water hung at the entrance of the cave in front, falling into the white jade pool below. A covered bridge with red painted fences and white rock beds crossed over the pool, passed through the water curtain and went straight to an unknown end, with a gentle breeze blowing out.
Lu Liangsheng walked onto the covered bridge and hurriedly lowered the mermaid on his back into the water. He watched her floating on the water with her eyes tightly closed and her cheeks slightly open and closed. He didn't know if she could survive.
"I need you to look ahead. I can't take you with me."
Lu Liangsheng's voice was a little hoarse. He squatted down and spoke to the motionless floating mermaid, scooped up some clear water and took a sip, wiped the water stains from the corners of his mouth, and quickened his pace along the covered bridge, carrying the red painted fence. There was still a light spot in front of him, but this time, there was no endless darkness.
In front, at the end of the corridor bridge is the palace gate carved with countless talismans and magic arrays. There are no heavy doors, just an ancient and tall stone staircase extending straight into it. It is a huge altar, crystal clear, with carvings of swimming dragons, singing phoenixes, unicorns and other beasts, as well as immortals riding auspicious clouds and mortals from the mortal world.
On the altar, Lu Liangsheng slowly raised his eyes and saw a square seal flashing with white light hanging in the air, surrounded by colorful fairy air.
"This is the Kongtong Seal..."
Unfortunately, it was too far away and he couldn't see clearly with his current eyesight. Swallowing his saliva, Lu Liangsheng slowly walked up the stone steps.
mortal…
Suddenly, a voice that was like the power of heaven and also like a whisper came back to the altar. Lu Liangsheng walked slowly up the stone steps, turned his head, looked around, his heart pounding.
"Yes, how could such a treasure be left unguarded..."
After hesitating for a while, he still shook out his sleeves, cupped his hands and turned around, "I am Lu Liangsheng from Qixia Mountain, and I have come here specially..." He paused for a moment, took a breath, and continued, "I have come here specially to seek the treasure of Kongtong, so that the nine provinces of the world can enjoy eternal peace and the people will not suffer from war and exile. Please help me."
The voice echoed back to the main hall, but there was no response for a long time. The mermaid floating under the bridge in the distance recovered and swam happily in the water. When she heard the scholar's voice, she swam to the bridge head with a smile, jumped onto the fence, put her arms around it, and looked curiously at Lu Liangsheng who was standing under the altar.
At this moment, the voice appeared again above the altar.
Mortal... I have been watching you. You are different from Lu Yuan. Go back. Heaven has its own reincarnation. All living things have their own lifespans and disasters. Queen Nuwa created all living things in the world. Birth, aging, sickness and death, the cycle is nothing but growth again and again.
"Are you Tiandao?"
The only one who knew about the relationship between Lu Liangsheng and Lu Yuan was Heaven. However, when asked, the voice did not answer. After waiting for a while, it continued to walk towards the altar.
He also said:
"Lu Liangsheng cannot be as ruthless and desireless as a god. If there is a chance to prevent the suffering of the people of the world, I will never let it go. This is also the reason why I... came all the way across the sea."
Walking up the jade steps in the middle of the altar, the suspended square seal becomes clearly visible, surrounded by fairy air and golden dragons. Above it are five carvings of heavenly emperors. Looking from below, under the seal, one can see the big words "Kongtong".
mortal…
Just as Lu Liangsheng was about to reach out to lift up the suspended Kongtong Seal, a vague and majestic voice sounded.
…Take up the Kongtong Seal, it will absorb your blood, flesh and essence, and turn you into an old man. Are you willing
In front of the altar, Lu Liangsheng stopped his outstretched hand, looked at the Kongtong Seal that was so close to him, slowly lowered his arm, and hesitated.
"Mortal, take it, and you will no longer be what you are now. From now on, you will no longer have anything to do with the world. Are you willing?"
In the hall, Lu Liangsheng stood there in silence, clenched his fists, and his body trembled slightly.
…
At this time, in the sea outside, huge waves were surging, and five mountain-like bodies smashed together. The gushing purple smoke pressed against the Hunyuan Umbrella, and the long scarlet tongue was entangled with double whips. The bumpy Manggu Purple Clam covered Mo Liqing's face with its webbed feet, knocking the pearly divine helmet crooked, and its shoulder was cut by the Qingfeng sword. The dark purple flesh fell on the sea, raising a pungent smell.