Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 86 – Great Unification

"Ying Ying is an interesting girl, but unfortunately I couldn't lure her away."

Su Yun walked out of the Wen Yuan Ge with regret in his heart. If he could lure the book monster Ying Ying away, it would be like taking all the books in the Tian Dao Yuan with him.

Unfortunately, this girl was too smart.

--Of course, it is also possible that she has been lured away too many times.

Outside the Wen Yuan Ge, the sickly Di Ping was waiting silently. When he saw Su Yun come out, he couldn't help but smile and ask, "Su Yun, did you gain anything from the Wen Yuan Ge so quickly?"

Su Yun was wary of him and smiled, "If I didn't gain anything, then the Tian Dao Yuan wouldn't deserve its name. Brother Di Ping, I have something to do, so I'll take my leave."

He walked towards the gate of the Tian Dao Yuan. This time, he wanted to try leaving through the gate to see if he could return directly to his own spiritual realm.

Although directly retrieving his Qi from the Tian Dao Order could return him to his own spiritual realm, the sudden change in scenery could make him feel nauseous and uncomfortable.

Di Ping followed him and walked with him, saying with a smile, "I see a wildness in you, a ferocity. You are different from the other scholars of the Tian Dao Yuan. You are like a wild beast that has walked out of the primitive forest. You walk cautiously, and your vision, hearing, smell, touch, perception, and taste are always aware of every move in the outside world. You are like a fierce beast that is ready to show its claws at any time!"

Su Yun shook his head and said, "Brother Di Ping, your judgment of people may not be accurate. I have always been kind to people and never hurt anyone."

Di Ping's tone also had a kind of sickly madness as he laughed, "No, I judge people very accurately! You have a high vision because you have great confidence in yourself! After you entered the Wen Yuan Ge, you must have looked for the Chao Tian Que technique! So, are you learning the Ying Long Induction Chapter?"

Su Yun hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Di Ping laughed heartily, "No wonder Qiu Shuijing let you into the Tian Dao Yuan! The Tian Dao Yuan hasn't had a scholar as full of fighting spirit as you in a long time! But the Ying Long Induction Chapter alone is not enough for unification. You still need the other eleven techniques. You should stay and study well instead of leaving now."

He had a strange light in his eyes and a sickly flush on his face as he said, "Do you know what unification means? Do you know how to achieve unification?"

Su Yun stopped and asked tentatively, "Is it to use a technique to unify all realms, and then it is called unification?"

"Wrong! Different realms should use different techniques because the direction of cultivation and the foundation of cultivation in different realms are different. A technique that covers all realms is just a foolish dream and a waste of effort!"

Di Ping had a compelling aura as he said loudly, "The so-called unification is actually a heart technique that unifies one realm. And the unification technique in the foundation realm is precisely the Hong Lu Shan Bian technique that you are practicing!"

Su Yun's heart was slightly moved as he asked, "Brother Di Ping, can you talk about it in more detail?"

The two of them walked around the Tian Dao Yuan like other scholars, exchanging ideas. However, Su Yun did not notice that other scholars and teachers of the Tian Dao Yuan avoided them and did not dare to approach.

Di Ping smiled and said, "Qiu Shuijing created the Hong Lu Shan Bian technique for the purpose of unifying the twelve techniques of the Chao Tian Que into one technique!"

Su Yun looked at him incredulously and said, "Are you saying that the Hong Lu Shan Bian technique can accommodate all twelve Induction Chapters?"

"Not just accommodate, but merge and contain!"Di Ping looked up at the sky in the distance and said leisurely, "After he created the transformation of the Honglu, some scholars started to practice, using their own bodies as the Honglu to brand the twelve sacred beasts. However, no one succeeded, and in the end, seventeen Tian Dao Academy scholars died. The saying goes, 'Hearing the Tao in the morning, one can die content in the evening.' To die for the Tao is to die in the right place. Unfortunately, Qiu Shuijing stopped this experiment."

Su Yun frowned deeply, feeling the danger and horror of this experiment!

Every scholar of Tian Dao Academy was a genius with outstanding talent and ability. Only ten to twenty were selected from Yuan Shuo country every year. Such talents actually died because of this experiment, and there were seventeen of them!

Di Ping continued, "Qiu Shuijing dare not continue the experiment, so he only wrote a crocodile dragon chant to deceive people, wasting the talents of Tian Dao Academy scholars."

His gaze fell on Su Yun and he said, "But he actually took you into Tian Dao Academy in Shuo Fang, and let you come here. I think he may have some expectations for you."

Su Yun frowned. Does Master Shuijing really have such expectations for him?

Last night, Qiu Shuijing repaired a Tian Dao token and gave it to him, telling him that there was something inside, and to go to the immortal residence in the Tian Fang Tower when he didn't understand. Did he already anticipate that Su Yun would choose the Ascending to Heaven Qu in the Wen Yuan Pavilion after entering Tian Dao Academy?

"Perhaps."

Su Yun silently thought, "Master Shuijing once said that there was something in my eyes. He knows about the Tianmen Town brand and the Immortal Sword brand in my eyes, as well as the matter of the Ascending to Heaven Qu. Does he think that I can cultivate this unified technique?"

"Su Yun, brand the twelve sacred beasts on the wall of the Honglu after its transformation."

Di Ping sent Su Yun to the gate of Tian Dao Academy and smiled, "Su Yun, when the Yinglong brand appears on your Honglu, you can re-enter Tian Dao Academy and learn the second Ascending to Heaven Qu."

Su Yun bowed and thanked him.

Di Ping waved his hand and smiled, "I'm waiting for you to come back and learn the Enlightenment Induction Chapter."

Su Yun opened the door and walked out, thinking to himself, "Come back? No way! I have already learned all twelve chapters. I will never come back!"

Di Ping faced the gate of Tian Dao Academy and chuckled softly, "Qiu Shuijing, you are very conservative about the unified Ascending to Heaven Qu technique and do not want to use scholars for experiments, but you are very radical about politics. How can I tolerate you? However, you did send me a good seedling..."

Su Yun opened his eyes and saw that it was already late outside. After entering Tian Dao Academy in the morning, he had been studying tirelessly and had forgotten about time passing.

He was a bit scared, "If I forget the passage of time in Tian Dao Academy, my body is likely to starve to death!"

Su Yun quickly got up and walked towards the kitchen in the Shanshui Residence, thinking to himself, "Although Di Ping has been kind to me, he seems to have many secrets and gives people a feeling of being hard to approach. Is he a friend or an enemy?"

Di Ping was very self-confident, mysterious, and sometimes crazy. These two encounters made Su Yun feel that Di Ping was a difficult person to approach, so he did not tell Di Ping that he had mastered all twelve Ascending to Heaven Qu techniques.

He felt that he had to be reserved when facing this person.

Laughter came from the kitchen of the Shanshui Residence. Su Yun walked over and saw Chi Xiaoyao and Qing Qiuyue cooking. They had already made almost half a table of dishes.Seeing Su Yun coming, Chi Xiaoyao wiped her hands on her apron and smiled, "I saw you were practicing earlier, so I didn't want to disturb you. I bought some vegetables at the market and cooked them here as a treat for you. Please sit down, Junior Brother."

Su Yun wanted to help, but Chi Xiaoyao pushed him out and said, "You'll just make things worse if you help. It's better if Yue'er helps me."

So Su Yun had to wait outside. After a while, Chi Xiaoyao finished cooking a table full of dishes and took off her apron. She smiled and said, "I'm treating you, but you guys have to wash the dishes."

Su Yun looked at the table full of more than ten dishes, some hot and some cold, some meat and some vegetables, some soup and some stew, some steamed, boiled, fried, baked, and grilled. He couldn't help but be surprised and delighted, nodding repeatedly and saying, "Senior Sister, you're a great cook!"

Chi Xiaoyao was also quite proud and said, "Don't praise me yet. See if it's good first."

After everyone sat down, they praised the meal and ate until they were full and satisfied. Then, Hu Buping and Li Xiaofan, two little foxes, decided to abandon Li Zhuxian and marry Chi Xiaoyao instead.

Su Yun cleaned the dishes while Chi Xiaoyao helped, and they talked as they washed. "Senior Sister, did you go to the herbal medicine shop in Xinglin today?" Su Yun asked curiously.

"The herbal medicine shop only has more business during the off-hours. There's no business at this time," Chi Xiaoyao smiled. "In the evening, the streets are full of people and monsters. That's when business starts. People and monsters don't hide at that time, they just stroll around openly...I have to go back now. I'll be busy soon."

Su Yun quickly got up to see her off and said, "Senior Sister, if you have nothing to do during the day, I have a job for you. Can you be our private tutor?"

Chi Xiaoyao was puzzled and looked at him. Su Yun looked guilty and whispered, "We just left Tian Shi Yuan and entered the city when we coincidentally encountered the imperial examination. We passed the Wen Chang exam, but we never attended an official school in Tian Shi Yuan. We don't understand what they teach in school..."

Chi Xiaoyao laughed and cried, "You passed the exam even though you didn't understand anything?"

Su Yun was humble and said, "I'm just good at fighting..."

Chi Xiaoyao frowned and said, "I'm worried that I won't have enough knowledge to teach you. But if I can teach you some basics, it shouldn't be a problem."

Su Yun breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "How much do you charge per day, Senior Sister? I asked a teacher last time, and he charged half a Qing Hong coin for half an hour."

Chi Xiaoyao was shocked and said, "This teacher is robbing people! He's taking advantage of us country folk!"

"Isn't he?" Su Yun agreed, feeling resentful towards Qiu Shuijing.

Chi Xiaoyao laughed and said, "If you want me to be your private tutor, I'll charge...um, I'll charge one hundred coins for three hours a day!"

Su Yun raised his hand and said, "Deal!"

Chi Xiaoyao raised her hand and slapped his palm, saying, "Deal! I'll prepare my lessons tonight and come to be your private tutor tomorrow!"

She left excitedly. Hua Hu poked his head in and whispered, "Did you go to Tian Dao Yuan this morning?"

Su Yun nodded, and Hua Hu got excited and slipped into the kitchen. "Did you beat that little brat named Di Ping?"

Su Yun hesitated for a moment but decided not to tell him about Chao Tian Que. He said, "Di Ping is very strange. I don't know if he's an enemy or a friend. But he pointed me to the Wen Yuan Ge, where I learned a set of basic techniques for the six stages of foundation building. I have to practice them. I also found out that the Hong Lu Shan Bian transformation is not that simple..."He frowned and said, "Second brother, I'll teach you when I've finished practicing and haven't deviated. Also, you guys should review the books in the Wenchang Order tonight. Xiao Yao will come to give a lecture tomorrow."

Hua Hu always listened to him and nodded, saying, "Okay. What about you?"

Su Yun's eyes flickered as he said, "I have to go out to handle a case. I promised Master Tu Ming that I would investigate the case of the robbery of the Grey Monster!"

Hua Hu was startled. "Aren't you tired?"

"Not tired."

Su Yun also felt strange. He had been studying the extremely complicated techniques of the twelve gates in the form of his spirit all day at the Tian Dao Academy, but he didn't feel tired at all. Perhaps his body was resting while he was studying.

Hua Hu could only say, "Wait until Buping and the others are asleep before you go out. If they know you're investigating a case, they'll be excited and won't be able to sleep, clamoring to go with you."

Su Yun nodded.

By the time it was the hour of the Pig, the three little ones had finally fallen asleep. Qing Qiuyue slept in one room, while Li Xiaofan and Hu Buping slept in another.

Su Yun tucked in Hu Buping's blanket, turned off the Grey Monster Lamp, and was about to leave when Hu Buping whispered, "Brother Xiaoyun, will you abandon us?"

Su Yun was slightly taken aback and turned back to smile. "Why do you say that?"

Hu Buping shrank into his blanket and lowered his voice, saying sadly, "We're monsters, and you're human. You protected us all the way, fought and killed for us in the city, and finally brought us to school. I'm afraid that one day, when you see that we have a place to go to school and study, you'll abandon us..."

On the other bed, Li Xiaofan poked his head out of the blanket and looked at Su Yun with his shiny eyes, whispering, "The city is full of humans, and Brother Xiaoyun will probably be with them. But we're monsters..."

Su Yun smiled and said, "I won't abandon you guys. In my heart, you're all my family. Now go to sleep."

The two little foxes murmured and snuggled into their blankets.

Su Yun put the Grey Monster Lamp outside the room, sat between their two beds, and touched their heads. After the two little foxes fell asleep, he left.

As for the last sentence, it seems to be unrelated to the previous context and is a comment from someone named "Zhai Zhu" about the outbreak of confirmed cases in Xuzhou, China, and their decision not to visit relatives.