Among all the cultivators present, the middle-aged man seated to the north wore the darkest expression. It was so heavy it seemed to drip with suppressed fury. His robes were ethereal and majestic, much like Tuoba Chongyuan’s. Clearly, he hailed from Shengle Heaven.
Tuoba Chongyuan had been attacked precisely when the ruins of the Dongning Palace descended. The great void had been in turmoil, but he had reacted within just a quarter of an hour. But by then, most of Tuoba Chongyuan’s life force had vanished. When the man traversed the great void and manifested back in the world, all he managed to preserve was a single wisp of Tuoba Chongyuan’s soul.
That wisp was missing more than half its essence. Even if it reincarnated, it might no longer be Tuoba Chongyuan. Outwardly, he maintained appearances, claiming to his demonic allies that his soul was intact, but only he knew the bitterness buried deep in his heart, The one who struck is frighteningly powerful... Even though Chongyuan had fought multiple battles and used most of his trump cards, he still shouldn’t have died in just fifteen minutes... That level of strength is simply beyond Foundation Establishment Realm...
The Tuoba Family had lost all face, so how could he not be filled with a mix of fury and fear? He had also broken the rules, and now the ruins were out of reach. Rage burned within him, but there was nothing he could do.
For this person to strike with such perfect timing, they must have been stalking Chongyuan for a long time! The Dragon Clan clearly hasn’t let go of their grudge against my family. Their plotting must’ve begun back in Dai Commandery...
Yet, he couldn’t discern which branch of the Dragon Clan had appeared. Based on their expressions, not even the Maha could figure it out. This only laced his rage with dread and fear.
Could Beijia and Xiyang be involved too? But why would they target someone so junior?
The Dragon Clan had once run rampant and made many enemies. The Tuoba Family was merely one of the more prominent targets. He’d thought that the Dragon Clan wouldn’t be so persistent after so many years, but he had been met with a crushing blow the moment he stepped out.
Back then, the Nine Sons of the True Hornless Dragon were known for their troublemaking. They would do everything from besieging True Monarchs to harassing imperial heirs. At their peak, they had more than ten Dragon Monarchs. If not for internal strife and a lack of Dao Embryos, the Four Seas’ Dragon Palaces could’ve rivaled the demon courts.
But they were all too unruly, drawing the ire of both immortals and demons. Suppression, both open and hidden, had reduced their numbers. Now, only two sons remained, and one was missing. Even the Dragon Clan had lost the Northern Sea. Beijia had fled eastward, lying low to lick his wounds and focus on thunder cultivation. Surely, he wouldn’t be stirring trouble again...
But who can say for sure... Emperor Wu once said, ‘The Nine Sons of the True Hornless Dragon are wild and wanton...’ Now that the Dragon Clan has greatly declined, and Beijia and Xiyang only spared because they couldn’t be killed, the world has gradually stopped suppressing them. Who’s to say they won’t revert to their old ways?
When the middle-aged man reached this point in his thoughts, he was already considering withdrawal. Suddenly, light burst forth from the great void. Brilliant multicolored radiance swiftly spread across the void.
“What...”
The colors flickered and quickly dimmed. Several Maha began forming spells to divine the cause, but soon looked at one another and shook their heads, halting their incantations.
The Purple Mansion Realm cultivator and Mahas all found it strange and began speculating about the light. But Lu Jiangxian, hidden off to the side, had a sharper divine sense, and what he saw was entirely different.
Xu State was in an unusual state. Its spiritual energy was chaotic, as treasures were scattered across the land, and entirely unpredictable. With so many Purple Mansion Realm cultivators and Maha standing in the great void, the difficulty of divination had reached its peak. None could determine when or where the next ruin might fall.
But in Lu Jiangxian's eyes, the darkness of the great void was not empty. There were countless phantoms of the immortal families scattered throughout, some floating and some sinking. Some were firmly anchored behind the great void’s veil, while others trembled on the verge of collapse, unlikely to last much longer.
Most of these remnants belonged to the long-fallen Ning State. Lu Jiangxian spotted two particularly solid illusions at the highest points. Having read the memories of the Five-Eyed Merciful One, he had some understanding of these ancient matters.
One emitted multicolored light, so it must be the Wanglin Heaven of the Wanglin Upper Sect. The other, surrounded by a celestial blue glow, belonged to the royal family of Ning State, the Anhuai Heaven.
These two grotto heavens were exceptionally stable. No amount of turmoil caused by a few Purple Mansion Realm cultivators and Maha could bring them down. Lu Jiangxian himself could only barely perceive them.
But among the many ruins that might descend, one stood out. It was the former royal palace of ancient Ning State, the Great Ning Palace. Despite its ruin, much of it still exuded imperial grandeur. Its soft golden radiance flitted over jade pools, white mists, and golden-feathered robes.
The colored light just now had burst from this very place, an arched portal the size of a doorway, through which faint glimpses of a vibrant world could be seen. Clearly, something within one of the ruins had activated it, triggering a connection to the Great Ning Palace that had caused the colored light to flash briefly through the great void.
A grotto heaven... Though no True Monarch has made a move, and Anhuai Heaven of Ning State won’t descend yet. But the ruins that have fallen include the Great Ning Palace, and it holds an entrance into that grotto heaven!
His heart trembled slightly, and everything before him suddenly became clear.
Judging from this... Even if Xu State is too chaotic to divine due to so many upheavals, the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators and Maha must already know there’s a hidden grotto heaven in the ruins! That’s why they’re all gathered here!
How could so many Purple Mansion Realm cultivators and Maha gather for mere Dao lineage disputes or a few fallen ruins? Clearly, they knew the Great Ning Palace held a gateway to Anhuai Heaven.
All their scheming, all the sacrificed cultivators from north and south, all the spiritual energy upheaval, everything had been to shake the Great Ning Palace into revealing itself. Their true ambition was undoubtedly what lay hidden within Anhuai Heaven!
Ning State’s Anhuai Heaven had never been discovered. Who could say how many treasures that were useful to both Foundation Establishment Realm and Purple Mansion Realm cultivators were hidden there? Yet, if so many powerful figures were converging, there had to be something even more incredible. Countless thoughts surged through Lu Jiangxian’s mind as his thoughts rapidly crystallized.
So this was the plan all along... Who knows how long it’s been in preparation? Yue State has around a hundred Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. Not a lot. Azure Pond Sect won’t lose much. Seems most of the lives sacrificed will be the rapidly-trained northern devil cultivators...
Lu Jiangxian had observed the great void for a long while, and now, his doubts were finally resolved, There will be a great struggle within Anhuai Heaven. It won’t just be Li Xuanfeng entering. If Azure Pond Sect wants to seize more benefits from within the grotto heaven, they’ll need more powerful cultivators ...
In the battle to come... Tang Shedu, Yu Su, Lingu Rao, they’ll likely all have to ‘earn merit’ by taking those pills and entering the grotto heaven to fight...
He watched quietly and thought, Anhuai Heaven isn’t like Mirage Mirror Heaven. The Green Pine Temple’s grotto heaven belonged to their own Dao lineage. They divided its treasures politely, and everything was predetermined. But Anhuai Heaven... is where the three great paths battle to the death.
After a hundred years, Lu Jiangxian finally wasn’t someone caught in the storm. This time, he was keeping pace with, and was perhaps even a step ahead of, the Purple Mansion Realm cultivator.
A fire stirred in his heart, If I must send someone into the grotto heaven... Only Li Xuanfeng will do. Now that I can roam the great void in spirit, even if I can’t break into the grotto heaven directly, I can still accomplish far, far more ...