Great Ning Palace.
Li Xuanfeng adjusted his breath mid-air for a while, while Si Yuanli stood with his sword in hand. He kept one arm behind his back as he silently gazed at the crystalline pillar of light that pierced the heavens and earth.
The Dao lineage of Ning State is renowned for its use of True Essence, often in conjunction with talismanic arts, with many cultivators practicing talismans and shamanic paths. Anhuai Heaven has never been opened before, so there must be quite a few treasures inside.
He was in no hurry. The grotto heaven was vast, and many formations remained intact. It was far beyond what Great Ning Palace could compare to. Being early or late by fifteen minutes didn’t matter.
Si Yuanli was still in thought, when suddenly the world seemed to dim slightly. The crystalline light pillar flickered faintly. He furrowed his brows, but everything quickly returned to normal.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, a golden glow faintly lit up the sky. Si Yuanli froze in surprise. Glancing down, he saw the clear lake surface rolling with waves of white mist as tiny lotus flowers burst forth and rapidly bloomed in full.
“This...”
As he stood dazed, endless pink lotus blossoms crowded and collided across the lake’s surface. Auspicious heavenly glow rose at the horizon. Only then did Si Yuanli belatedly lift his head.
The sky was now filled with boundless gold, as fine golden dust fell like sand. An enormous celestial figure was now reflected in his pupils. A majestic yet benevolent golden face filled nearly the entire sky, breaking through the clouds as if the heavens themselves had collapsed. Its eyes, shimmering with golden lacquer, slowly descended into Great Ning Palace.
“Maha...!?” Si Yuanli cried out in pain, hurriedly shutting his eyes. Crimson tears of blood welled at the corners of his eyes and streamed down his cheeks. His heart was filled with terror and shock as he said, “Have I gone mad!?”
Li Xuanfeng opened his eyes at almost the same moment. A muffled boom like thunder rang out, golden-white light flashed, and Si Yuanli coughed up a mouthful of blood.
He screwed his eyes shut and clutched at his chest with one hand as he forced out a whisper. “Honored Daoist Masters...”
The sky burst into a kaleidoscope of color. Yellow, orange, red, and purple filled the sky. Hazy halos bloomed one after another as vague flames surged forth. Silhouettes descended in quick succession, and in the blink of an eye, a slender hand reached out and a white-clothed woman stepped through.
Splash...
She had just flown into the air when a misty white rain began to fall, delicate and ethereal. It was quite beautiful.
But the two had no mind to admire it. As the white rain brushed past them, the spirit wind beneath Li Xuanfeng's feet vanished like winter snow. His footing gave way, and when he instinctively tried to summon mana, not a trace of spirit wind responded.
It’s the Water Mansion... thought Li Xuanfeng.
He crashed onto the stone platform, shattering the tiles beneath him. Si Yuanli fared even worse, slamming down beside him with a heavy thud, his face flushing red.
Li Xuanfeng looked up, but the white-clothed woman had already vanished. They had been merely brushed by her divine ability, but the wind beneath their feet had been entirely dispersed, leaving them momentarily unable to fly.
Si Yuanli struggled twice before he managed to rise. His eyes were still shut, blood pouring out in streams, dripping down his cheeks as he murmured, “Brother Xuanfeng! They’ve all made their move...”
The radiant lights overhead surged toward the central cliff, painting the sky with strange phenomena. Li Xuanfeng watched Si Yuanli take out a jade vial and drop two drops into each eye before finally opening them slightly.
Li Xuanfeng felt the tremors underfoot and rose to his feet. “There’s likely going to be trouble inside Anhuai Heaven.”
Si Yuanli chuckled twice and muttered, “Trouble? This is beyond that... we should be thankful just to be alive...”
He hadn’t even finished speaking when another bearded immortal streaked across the sky. Torrents of True Flame surged through the air, evaporating swathes of lakewater and sending fiery sparks scattering. Si Yuanli was forced to shut his mouth, raise his hands, and summon mana to defend himself. His face was twisted from the heat, and his palms sizzled audibly.
Even the dullest among them could now see that there was no sense in heading for Anhuai Heaven anymore. They would likely be burned to ashes by True Flame or have their bodies eroded by Water Mansion. It would be an end without a corpse or soul.
As for the majority of cultivators who had already entered, they could only pray their sect’s Daoist Masters were inside as well. Otherwise, no one even needed to target them. Just standing in the grotto heaven would be enough, for not even a trace of their true soul would remain in a few moments.
“So this is why we weren’t supposed to enter...”
Si Yuanli had only glimpsed a Maha unleash his full power, and been grazed by the divine abilities of a few other Daoist Masters. He was already bleeding profusely and gravely injured. The flesh of both his palms were sizzling as they tried to fight the searing True Flame, yet he still gritted his teeth in bitter relief, “Thank goodness... thank goodness we rested beforehand...”
Li Xuanfeng also endured the searing True Flame with gritted teeth. Though he and Si Yuanli had narrowly escaped disaster, his expression remained grim as he asked in a deep voice, “Brother Yuanli! This is no time for relief! How do we get out of Great Ning Palace?”
“Out of Great Ning Palace?” Si Yuanli wiped the blood from his face and shook his head. “Without a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator to receive us, you and I will die trapped in this damned place!”
As expected...
Li Xuanfeng’s heart sank. Si Yuanli lowered his voice and said, “We must hide quickly... You have the Huai River Map. If things truly become dire, unfurl it. It should preserve your life!”
He stabbed his longsword into the ground. One palm pressed flat against the hilt, he tapped the balde with the fingers of his other hand as he intoned, “Complete Yuan Escape Spell, seek aid from the Nether World!”
The sword immediately radiated with light. The ground beneath them split open wide before Li Xuanfeng’s eyes. Si Yuanli gave a slight nod and began burrowing into the earth.
Li Xuanfeng let the spell art guide him. After sinking for roughly fifteen minutes, they finally reached the bottom. Pitch-black stone walls appeared around him; it was an enclosed chamber no larger than a small hut, with neatly squared stone surfaces.
He suddenly noticed Si Yuanli looked shorter. Upon closer inspection, he saw that Si Yuanli’s lower body was still embedded in the stone. His face was pale, with a stream of mana held tightly in his chest.
Boom!
Li Xuanfeng immediately understood, striking the stone with his palm to extract Si Yuanli’s bloodied lower body. The moment mana began circulating, the wounds on Si Yuanli’s legs rapidly healed.
“The spiritual energy here is unusual... It’s no wonder I made a misstep...” He coughed once, then laughed heartily, “Brother Xuanfeng, your caution has saved both our lives!”
Si Yuanli didn’t suspect that Li Xuanfeng had anticipated anything. After all, the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators and Mahas that they saw were clearly beyond any forecast. Clearly something so catastrophic had occurred that even mighty cultivators were forced to intervene. If even Daoist Masters couldn’t foresee it, how could Li Xuanfeng?
“You flatter me, Brother Yuanli.” Li Xuanfeng watched as he took out pills to heal and replied softly, “If not for that brief delay, even had we entered the grotto heaven, you would still have been protected by your sect’s Daoist Master. Nothing too serious would have happened.”
Si Yuanli was momentarily stunned by those words. He didn’t know what to think, but he replied gently, “Our sect’s Daoist Master may treat his own kindly, but it’s always best to trouble them as little as possible.”
Li Xuanfeng’s thoughts were elsewhere. He spoke in a low, calm voice, “It’s a pity that Chi Tianxing and Chi Fuju from the Chi Family... now have no Chi Family cultivators to shield them within the grotto heaven...”
Before he could finish, Si Yuanli burst into laughter. “I forgot about those two bastards! What a delight! Serves them right!”
Li Xuanfeng lowered his gaze, fingers gripping his golden bow so tightly they turned pale. Meanwhile, Si Yuanli continued laughing in satisfaction. “These two were the most promising of the younger Chi Family generation, and now both are gone! I’d love to see... what talents Chi Zhiyun can turn to next!”