The Paladin in the Abyss

After a brief moment of panic, Lancelot swiftly regained his balance thanks to his excellent physical conditioning.

His memories of skiing were instinctively awakened, a skill he learned during a vacation with his brother when he was younger.

After the initial steep descent, the slope became slightly more gentle. Lancelot worked hard to control his skis, making wide turns on the dusty slope to avoid picking up too much speed.

Bruto, making smaller, quicker turns, caught up from behind and crossed paths with Lancelot while skiing.

"You're skiing pretty well!"

"What?" The wind blowing straight at him was too loud, and Lancelot couldn't hear clearly.

"I said you're doing pretty well!" Bruto roared, and Lancelot quickly nodded to show he had heard.

"I won't wait for you!" Bruto bent his body and, like a fish, shot forward instantly, leaving Lancelot in the dust at the back.

Lancelot shook his head and continued at a comfortable pace, moving steadily forward.

The wind from the Abyss carried the scent of sulfur as it brushed Lancelot's face. He skied down following the marks left by the Dwarfs, fully enjoying the thrill speed brought.

His heart gradually became calm, quietly feeling the atmosphere of becoming one with nature.

From his Dantian, a strand of True Qi naturally separated and began circulating through his Meridians in the Circulation of Qi.

At this moment, he entered a mysterious state. According to the records on the bamboo slips, Spiritual Cultivators sometimes feel very attuned with nature and subconsciously enter a state of "Enlightenment," where their primary Cultivation Technique naturally operates, significantly increasing their cultivation level and providing an indescribable insight into the "Tao."

Compared to normal Cultivation, the speed of absorbing nature's Spiritual Energy was much faster now. By the time Lancelot came out of this state, his body emitted a visible white vapor.

He realized that he had unknowingly broken through to the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation, but he had no time to rejoice over this; he was merely annoyed that the mysterious state had ended so quickly. During that state, it seemed like he had comprehended many things, and questions about Cultivation that he had been pondering over for a long time seemed to have answers, but now, he could remember none of it, only a vague impression remained.

He could only collect his thoughts and continued skiing while resuming his Cultivation.

About half an hour later, he entered a gentle slope area with the thickest dust. The Dwarfs' figures also appeared in front, and no longer controlling his speed, he quickly caught up with them.

Bruto noticed Lancelot and shouted back:

"How about it? Feels good, right?"

"Indeed, it feels quite nice." Lancelot said with a slight smile, appearing unexpectedly calm and composed, catching Bruto off guard and nearly making him tumble.

Lancelot thought to himself, 'my bad, my bad,' for startling the Dwarf, and promptly ceased his imitation of Han Tianzun's demeanor.

"What was that about just now?" Bruto, pushing a few times with his ski poles, caught up and asked.

"Ah, just feeling a bit touched by the sunny weather and scenic beauty of the Abyss, that's all."

"Psh, you were definitely just trying to act cool and cover up how slow you were going," Bruto grumbled, making a sharp turn in an attempt to throw a faceful of dust at Lancelot, who easily dodged.

"Damn, are you part Elf or something?" Bruto muttered discontentedly.

"Hey, I really could be considered part of the Elves." Lancelot answered him, keeping his upper body still while just letting his feet swing from side to side, looking quite a bit like the elegant charm of the Elves.

"What do you mean?" Bruto was about to press for details when he suddenly noticed a change in Lancelot's expression and Lancelot turned sharply toward him.

"Hey, what are you doing! You're going to crash into me, dangerous aaaaah!"

Bruto turned sharply, trying to dodge Lancelot, but saw Lancelot also twist and head in another direction, instantly widening the distance between them.

"What the..." Bruto's complaint was cut short when a thick meaty column suddenly rose from the grey layer between the two, its surface covered in centipede-like segments, and as thick as a centuries-old oak tree, about three to four people could embrace it.

Bruto looked up to see the end of the meaty column split open into a massive mouth filled with sharp teeth, coming right at him.

He let out a strange cry, his hands spinning furiously like wheels on his ski poles, shooting forward like a streak of light, with the grey worm chasing relentlessly behind at a matching speed, seemingly determined not to stop until it had devoured this intruder into its territory.

"Aaaaaah!!! Keep it away from me! Get this thing off me!!" Bruto glanced back and saw the mouth was almost upon his backside, scaring him out of his wits, flailing with all his might to slightly increase the distance from the sandworm again.

Lancelot wanted to help, but he simply couldn't catch up, so all he could do was watch anxiously from behind.

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind, remembering the records about "Flying Sword" on the bamboo slips.

The day Han Celestial Sovereign controlled a small Flying Sword, he almost instantly chopped a demon wielding great axes into pieces—the image deeply embedded in his memory.

So, when he learned from the bamboo slips that he would need the cultivation level of a Demigod in the Nascent Soul Stage to operate a "Flying Sword", his heart sank in disappointment.

According to the explanation in the bamboo slips, the Flying Sword's ability to fly relies on the control of the Spiritual Cultivator's outwardly exerted Spiritual Power. Spiritual Power originates from the Transformation of True Qi after reaching the Golden Core Stage, and being able to manipulate it with ease requires reaching the Nascent Soul Stage.

Although he only had True Qi and couldn't exert it outward, the principle of the Flying Sword could still be borrowed.

True Qi surged from Lancelot's Dantian, he referenced the Gathering Qi Slash technique to accumulate the True Qi under the snowboard at his feet, and then released it explosively from the back of the board.

A loud explosion came from the back of the snowboard, the strong thrust causing his body to lean back instantly, and Lancelot felt like an arrow shot from a bow.

After breaking through to the Middle Rank of Qi Cultivation, the True Qi in his Dantian Qi Sea was nearly full, and he could feel a clearly stronger flow of True Qi during cultivation. This strength made Lancelot initially lose control due to excessive force but thankfully adjusted quickly.

Bruto heard the sound of rushing wind from behind, thinking the sandworm was about to bite him, and too terrified to look back, he screamed out loud.

Suddenly, he felt light, as Lancelot had caught up with him, grabbed Bruto with his left hand, and tucked him under his armpit.

Lancelot continued to spur the snowboard under his feet, their speed skyrocketing, quickly leaving the terrifying sandworm far behind.

"Whew, whew, thank you so much, Lancelot. You really are, truly are, my lifesaver," Bruto said, breathless.

"Haha, your screaming just now was truly magnificent. Could you give us another one?" Lancelot teased, seeing his face smeared with snot and tears.

At these words, Bruto managed an embarrassed smile, but suddenly his face stiffened, turning into horror, and he shouted:

"The cliff ahead! The cliff!"