Chapter 501

Chapter 7: Exploring the Cave Mansion

“How much do you know about this cave mansion? You’ve explored it before, haven’t you?” Meng Chuan observed the cave mansion. Its formation was still active, enveloping the surroundings.

Time is relentless.Without descendants to maintain it, a cave mansion’s formation would gradually deteriorate over long ages.The fact that it’s still operational means it hasn't been established too long ago. It certainly can’t be a cave mansion from ‘a million years ago.’

“I don’t know much,” Elder Qinggu said. “I only know that when my Primeval Spirit Avatar explored it, the outside of the cave mansion was calm and posed no danger. But once I entered, the calm cave mansion suddenly erupted with sword qi, and I couldn’t dodge it at all. As for what the other elders discovered, I’m not sure. Only Fang Chang placed a mark on every elder, thereby observing everything.”

Meng Chuan nodded slightly.At the fourth level of Primeval Spirit, one can expend a minimal amount of primal essence to form a ‘mark’ and attach it to others, which can be activated at a crucial moment.Upon reaching the sixth level of Primeval Spirit, even a sliver of Primeval Spirit thought attached to another person allows one to observe their surroundings.

“Alright,” Meng Chuan nodded gently. “It seems your exploration range was very limited. No wonder you had to capture other elders to continue exploring.”

“Yes, this cave mansion is terrifying,” Elder Qinggu nodded. “Fang Chang wasn’t confident either. Although he had reached the Heaven and Earth realm, he was only at the sixth level of Primeval Spirit, with only one Primeval Spirit Avatar. If his Primeval Spirit Avatar were to perish during exploration... it would take several years to recover.”

Meng Chuan nodded: “Carefully investigate the surroundings, and guard me vigilantly. The exploration of the cave mansion is now my responsibility.”

“Yes, sir,” Elder Qinggu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.Good.The powerful being he was following still possessed a compassionate heart. If he had been forced to enter with his true body, he would most likely have died within the cave mansion.

Meng Chuan sat cross-legged atop a low mountain, overlooking the cave mansion. However, due to the protective formation, it was difficult to discern its details clearly.

“Fang Chang from the Blood Sun World is quite wealthy,” Meng Chuan mused.Meng Chuan had previously stored Fang Chang’s corpse within his Grotto-heaven treasure. After all this time, he had long since dispatched a Primeval Spirit Avatar to thoroughly examine it.

“Two Tribulation Realm secret treasures: one a grey short spear, and the other the purple robe he wore,” Meng Chuan thought to himself. “Unfortunately, both are of the water lineage. If I want to use them, I’ll have to exchange them for lightning-lineage Tribulation Realm secret treasures.”

The Blood Sun World was a mid-tier world.Since Fang Chang had reached the Heaven and Earth realm, the Blood Sun World would likely bestow upon him a Tribulation Realm secret treasure. This was a common practice in many mid-tier worlds.

“One was bestowed by the Blood Sun World, and the other must have been his own accumulation over many years.“He also had three Emperor-level treasures and two single-use items. He should have originally possessed a ‘Death Substitute Talisman,’ which he likely used when my demonic cone first shattered his Primeval Spirit,” Meng Chuan mused. “What a shame, it’s equivalent to a slightly weaker Tribulation Realm secret treasure.”

According to the intelligence recorded by Cangyuan Realm, among life-saving items in the Outer Realm, the ‘Death Substitute Talisman’ was relatively common, with a value equivalent to a Third Tribulation Realm secret weapon.

Compared to the ‘Void Teleportation Talisman,’ it paled significantly.This is because the Death Substitute Talisman only allows for instant recovery to peak condition at the moment of death. However, in desperate situations, an enemy could simply kill you a second time!

The Void Teleportation Talisman, however, was different. Even within a living world, suppressed by its heaven and earth rules, it could instantly teleport one to any location within that world. In the Outer Realm, without the suppression of heaven and earth rules, the distance covered by a Void Teleportation Talisman in an instant would be incredibly vast. Even for Tribulation Realm mighty figures, it allowed them to escape far away and completely shake off their enemies.

In terms of value, a single-use ‘Void Teleportation Talisman’ was equivalent to a ‘Sixth Tribulation Realm’ secret treasure, and even harder to find.Given Cangyuan Realm’s deep heritage, only one Void Teleportation Talisman remained in this era, and it too had been used. The Monster Race world, with its heritage, could only exchange for one Void Teleportation Talisman from the Monster Ancestor’s Cave, even with three Emperor-level beings working together.

“What weapon should my Primeval Spirit Avatar use to explore the cave mansion?”“With a weapon, I can unleash more power.”“This will do.”

Meng Chuan made his decision.As Meng Chuan sat cross-legged, a shadowy figure of himself suddenly flew out from within his body, heading towards the distant cave mansion.

“A seventh-level Primeval Spirit avatar,” Elder Qinggu, who was guarding nearby, exclaimed to himself upon seeing Meng Chuan’s Primeval Spirit Avatar. “This Elder Dongning has also reached the Heaven and Earth realm and the seventh level of Primeval Spirit. Why hasn’t he become an Emperor? Or perhaps he intends to cultivate a unique ultimate art to break through to the Emperor realm?”

He could only guess in secret, not daring to murmur.

The shadowy Meng Chuan arrived before the main entrance of the cave mansion.The cave mansion’s formation was vast and profound, yet its power was contained, showing no obvious dangers on the surface. The main gate was currently closed.

“Boom.” The shadowy Meng Chuan casually tossed a silver metal block, which, enveloped in lightning-shrouded Chaos True Yuan, unleashed the ‘Endless Blade’ technique. It transformed into a terrifying stream of light that slammed into the cave mansion’s main gate. After the gate was blasted open, the silver metal block effortlessly flew back into the shadowy Meng Chuan’s hand.

“At least it’s a piece of White Star Ore,” Meng Chuan thought to himself.

Indeed.When a Primeval Spirit Avatar explored a cave mansion, its weapon was typically ‘White Star Ore.’ Since the Primeval Spirit Avatar was prepared for death, Meng Chuan naturally wasn’t willing to bring overly valuable weapons, not even Emperor-level secret treasures! He feared losing them and not being able to retrieve them.As for any weaker weapons? They wouldn’t even compare to ‘White Star Ore’!

When enveloped in Chaos True Yuan, ‘White Star Ore’ offered decent power. White Star Ore was known for its hardness and was a material used to refine Tribulation Realm secret treasures. However, only a piece of ‘White Star Ore’ the size of ten li was equivalent to a Third Tribulation Realm secret treasure. Just one piece? From Fang Chang’s corpse, Meng Chuan had obtained White Star Ore piled up into a small mountain hundreds of zhang tall.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.”A full ninety-nine pieces of White Star Ore, enveloped in Chaos True Yuan, circled around the shadowy Meng Chuan.

The shadowy Meng Chuan entered the main entrance.Inside, a dense mist permeated the area, obscuring vision. Even domains struggled to perceive anything, and even Primeval Spirit domains were unable to pierce through.

“Buzz.” The Primeval Spirit Avatar, Meng Chuan, stood at the threshold of the main gate, releasing stellar fluctuations that rippled outwards. However, they were suppressed after barely reaching a dozen zhang in every direction.

“Even Primeval Spirit power can be suppressed?” Meng Chuan was secretly astonished. “This is indeed the cave mansion of a Tribulation Realm mighty figure.”

“Swoosh.”With a thought from Meng Chuan, one of the surrounding floating White Star Ores, enveloped in Chaos True Yuan, instantly transformed into a stream of light and shot towards the distance. However, upon touching the white mist, the super-fast flying White Star Ore began to sizzle, and the Chaos True Yuan attached to its surface was eroded almost instantly. Yet, because the White Star Ore flew fast enough, it still struck something with a thud.

“I still have to go in,” the shadowy Meng Chuan standing at the threshold thought. Lightning flashed around him, and the flow of time changed, accelerating to a full twenty times the normal speed.

After Meng Chuan created his ultimate art, his understanding of the lineage of time had surpassed the divine ability ‘Quicksand.’He could manipulate time using his blade techniques, and also by harnessing lightning.

Meng Chuan simultaneously unleashed his Cloud Mist Dragon Serpent movement technique. A Primeval Spirit Avatar’s movement technique was actually faster and more agile than that of a physical body, though its defensive capabilities were much weaker.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—” The moment Meng Chuan’s avatar rushed into the cave mansion, the dormant mansion seemed to awaken. A massive surge of sword qi erupted, with numerous sword qi frantically attempting to intercept Meng Chuan.

“What a powerful formation, I can’t even infiltrate the deep void.”“Fortunately, my movement technique also excels at transformations.”“Combined with the accelerated time flow... it’s not bad at all.” Meng Chuan thought to himself as he advanced at extreme speed.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.These sword qi, lacking a master’s control, were somewhat rigid. Under the influence of the accelerated time flow, Meng Chuan’s agility was comparable to that of an Emperor-level being, allowing him to continuously dodge the relatively dense sword qi.

“Strange, my speed is astonishing, yet after flying for so long, I haven’t encountered any structures?” Meng Chuan wondered. “This cave mansion is only about a hundred li in scope.”

“A void formation, the void here has been altered.”Meng Chuan immediately guessed this.

“No matter how I fly, I’m probably confined to a small area and can’t get out.”

“Break through!”With a thought from Meng Chuan,thirty pieces of White Star Ore floating around him simultaneously unleashed the ‘Endless Blade’ technique, transforming into terrifying streams of light that bombarded the surroundings.After flying out, the White Star Ores vanished silently, as if the void stretched endlessly.

“Am I trapped in here?” Meng Chuan flew back, but despite the surrounding white mist, he couldn’t find the main entrance.

The sword qi onslaught ceased after a moment.However, the Primeval Spirit Meng Chuan remained trapped in the white mist. He tried every method he could think of but couldn’t touch any physical objects or escape.

“My True Yuan is exhausted, that’s enough,” the Primeval Spirit Meng Chuan thought, and could only disperse this Primeval Spirit.

Outside the cave mansion, atop the distant low mountain, Meng Chuan remained seated cross-legged.

“The main entrance is the easiest way in, but it’s a trap. Once inside, one falls into a void cage, forever imprisoned,” Meng Chuan understood this point. “As for those with weaker strength, they are directly killed by the sword qi and wouldn’t even discover the peculiar nature of the ‘void cage.’”

“Even if one Primeval Spirit Avatar disperses, I can cultivate another back in three days,” Meng Chuan thought to himself. “I have plenty of time to slowly wear it down.”

For a sixth-level Primeval Spirit, the loss of an avatar in battle requires several years to recover.For a seventh-level Primeval Spirit, who can possess nine avatars simultaneously, each avatar contains even less primal essence, so losing one only takes a few months to recover.

Meng Chuan, having received the ‘Primeval Spirit Star’ legacy, possessed astonishing Primeval Spirit recovery abilities, able to recover in just three days!

“I’ll try exploring from the front gate, back gate, courtyard walls, directly above... trying every location repeatedly. In a year, I can dispatch hundreds of Primeval Spirit Avatars,” Meng Chuan thought. “A cave mansion without a master controlling it? I refuse to believe it can stop me.”