They say the City of the Great Eye was built by a senior who explored the abyss. He slew a monster that emerged from the depths, took its eyeball, embedded it into the cliff face, and hollowed it out to form a city.
That great eye can peer into the depths below, effectively monitoring for any anomalies within the Cangwu Abyss.
The three of them descended slowly past the City of the Great Eye, struck silent with awe.
Just a single eyeball from it is so massive. It's truly hard to imagine how enormous the monster that emerged from the depths of the Cangwu Abyss must have been.
The moment his body crossed the eighty-thousand-zhang boundary, Xiao Heng felt his power diminish by another degree.
Not even late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators can survive this place. Only Foundation Establishment strength allows one to continue descending, and even then, only barely.
The pressure exerted by the abyss was beginning to grow obvious.
The third layer is not as vast as the Forest of Whispering Spirits, spanning only from eighty thousand to one hundred thousand zhang deep. But without a doubt, the danger is several times greater.
Continuing their descent, Xiao Heng and the other two faintly heard a rumbling roar from far below.
Xiao Heng gazed into the distance. Within the boundless white mist, two colossal figures seemed to be standing on empty air, holding sharp blades and locked in combat.
The third layer: Puppet Gorge.
Two giant stone puppets from ancient times are engaged in battle within this region.
The two puppets exist in a strange state between reality and illusion. If you fly close to inspect them, they are like phantoms, impossible to touch.
But their influence on the surrounding area is very real.
The puppets are nearly twenty thousand zhang tall, and their strength is said to approach Dao Unity.
Even from a great distance, one can take physical damage from the shockwaves of their battle.
Boom! Boom!
Within the bewildering white mist, the figures of the two stone puppets flickered in and out of sight.
The three of them stared, momentarily entranced by this fantastical sight.
After a long while, Xiao Heng finally spoke. "Alright, let's continue downward. Take extreme caution.”
During their descent, they had to constantly monitor the movements of the two giant stone puppets, evading potential energy surges.
Furthermore, the strength of the aberrant creatures appearing within the clouds and mist grew increasingly formidable.
Thus, their progress slowed considerably.
It took a full two days before they reached the lower boundary of the Puppet Gorge.
Xiao Heng let out a long sigh of relief as he checked the guidance from the Mini Medicine King Cauldron again. "Ahead lies the fourth layer. The good news is, it seems the true Medicine King Cauldron is not far below."
Zhang Haobo frowned slightly, sending a voice transmission. "Even so, we cannot let our guard down."
"Come on, hurry up. I'm getting rather impatient to see that treasure." Su Xiaomei pursed her lips and was the first to enter the fourth layer.
No resting point was provided for cultivators between the third and fourth layers.
Only a bright red line carved into the cliff face marked the boundary.
The fourth layer: Labryrinth City.
From a depth of one hundred thousand to one hundred and thirty thousand zhang.
Sensing his own condition, Xiao Heng frowned slightly.
Having been reduced to an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, he could now keenly feel the effects of having his cultivation suppressed.
He altered their flight path. Instead of descending vertically, they flew diagonally toward the center of Labryrinth City.
It was as if a world-ending cataclysm had struck this place, leaving shattered architectural ruins scattered everywhere.
There were no human remains, no leftover possessions. Only the half-standing structures of buildings lay quietly in this space, narrating what they had endured.
The silence was deafening, while the endless repetition of ruins cast a faint, oppressive weight over everything.
Xiao Heng and his two companions steeled themselves.
Within the Lost Labyrinth, danger came from all sides. Stone-bodied creatures of unknown origin could strike at any moment, and treacherous cultivators lay in wait within the shadows, ready to launch ambushes.
The presence of the Immortal-Suppressing Force, along with the chaotic wreckage of buildings, provided them with the perfect cover.
If an ambusher waited until the stone beasts attacked and both sides were weakened before striking, their chances of success would increase dramatically.
Moreover, deep within the abyss, the phenomena that marked a cultivator's death could hardly manifest.
After succeeding, they could escape swiftly without a trace.
The number of cultivators who had mysteriously vanished within this Lost Labyrinth was by no means small.
As Xiao Heng and the others ventured deeper into the ruins toward the location of the Medicine King Cauldron, they were, unsurprisingly, attacked by two groups of cultivators.
However, these opponents were nothing more than petty scoundrels. Su Xiaomei and Zhang Haobo had previously faced a siege of thousands of faceless cultivators within the Chaoyuan Sect ruins and emerged unscathed. How could this bunch possibly threaten them?
With little effort, they easily dispatched the two groups.
After displaying their strength, they finally enjoyed some peace.
“It seems someone is tailing us,” Zhang Haobo warned.
“I’ll go kill them,” Su Xiaomei said. Her eyebrows lifted as a flash of red light flickered in her eyes. She turned.
“Don’t!” Xiao Heng stopped her at once. “We’re here for the Medicine King Cauldron, not to kill people. Drawing attention will only make things worse. Let’s shake them off instead.”
With that, the three abruptly increased their speed, weaving left and right through the ruins. After nearly an entire day of flight, they finally managed to lose their pursuers.
“Let’s go,” Zhang Haobo said.
He formed a hand seal, activating a Dao technique to conceal their auras. The three then headed straight toward the location of the Medicine King Cauldron.
After flying for several hours, they arrived at the spot indicated by the guidance.
“Huh?!” Xiao Heng scanned the surroundings with suspicion. There was no sign of the Medicine King Cauldron anywhere.
“This should be the right place. Let’s split up and search,” he said.
Su Xiaomei and Zhang Haobo nodded and scattered in different directions.
Not long after, they regrouped.
“Nothing?” Xiao Heng frowned deeply. “That can’t be right.”
Unwilling to give up, he searched the area again, but still found nothing.
Su Xiaomei took out the Mini Medicine King Cauldron from her storage ring and held it in her palm, carefully perceiving its guidance once more. The result was unchanged.
“What now?” she asked.
With no success, the three gathered again to discuss.
“This is strange,” Xiao Heng said, confusion written across his face. “I can clearly sense that the Medicine King Cauldron is right here, yet it’s nowhere to be seen.”
“Maybe it’s hidden,” Zhang Haobo said suddenly, narrowing his eyes.
With that, he channeled his spiritual power and slashed the spot where he sensed the cauldron.
The blade struck something unseen. The air rippled with distortion, and the spiritual blade vanished without a sound. Moments later, the shimmering scene returned to normal.
“Wow! So it really is the case!” Su Xiaomei clapped excitedly.
She flew toward the anomalous point, but as if it were nothing more than an illusion, she passed straight through without any resistance.
Refusing to believe it, she tried again and again, moving back and forth through the same spot. Each time, the result was identical.
“This is pissing me off! What the hell is going on?”
Xiao Heng remained much calmer. He stepped forward and carefully ran his hand over the seemingly nonexistent barrier.
“The Mini Medicine King Cauldron is the key to entering the true Medicine King Cauldron,” he said thoughtfully.
Then he looked up.
“This Mini Medicine King Cauldron... it can hold people, right?”