Chapter 502: Exploring the Cave Abode

"How much do you know about this immortal's cave? You've explored it before, haven't you?" Meng Chuan observed the immortal's cave. Its formation was still operating, enveloping the surroundings.

Time is merciless. Without descendants to maintain it, an immortal's cave's formation would gradually decay over long periods. The fact that it's still functional suggests the cave hasn't been established for too long. It certainly couldn't be a cave from 'millions of years ago'.

"I don't know much," Revered One Qinggu replied. "All I know is that when my Essence Soul avatar explored it, the area outside the cave was peaceful and safe. But after I entered, the calm cave suddenly erupted with sword qi. I couldn't dodge it at all." He continued, "As for what other Revered Ones discovered, I'm not sure. Only Fang Chang placed an imprint on every Revered One, allowing him to observe everything."

Meng Chuan nodded slightly. At the fourth level of Essence Soul, one can expend a minimal amount of primal energy to form an 'imprint' on another person, which can be activated at a crucial moment. Upon reaching the sixth level of Essence Soul, a single thought from one's Essence Soul can be attached to another, allowing observation of their surroundings.

"Alright," Meng Chuan nodded gently. "It seems your exploration range was quite limited. No wonder you had to capture other Revered Ones to continue the exploration."

"Yes, this immortal's cave is terrifying," Revered One Qinggu affirmed, nodding. "Even Fang Chang wasn't confident. Although he reached the Heaven and Earth realm, he was only at the sixth level of Essence Soul and possessed only one Essence Soul avatar. If his Essence Soul avatar died during exploration... it would still take him several years to recover."

Meng Chuan nodded. "Carefully investigate the surroundings and guard me cautiously. I'll handle exploring the cave."

"Understood," Revered One Qinggu secretly let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the powerful individual he was following had a compassionate heart. If he had been forced to enter the cave in his true form, he would most likely have died inside.

Meng Chuan sat cross-legged on the peak of a small hill, overlooking the immortal's cave. However, the cave was protected by a formation, making it difficult to discern clearly.

"Fang Chang from the Bloodsun World is quite wealthy," he mused. Meng Chuan had previously placed Fang Chang's corpse into his grotto-heaven treasure. After such a long time, he had already dispatched an Essence Soul avatar to thoroughly inspect it. "Two Tribulation Realm secret treasure weapons: one is a gray short spear, and the other is the purple robe he wore," Meng Chuan thought to himself. "Unfortunately, both belong to the Water lineage. If I want to use them, I'd have to exchange them for Tribulation Realm secret treasures of the 'Lightning lineage'."

As a medium-level world, the Bloodsun World would typically bestow a Tribulation Realm secret treasure upon someone like Fang Chang, once they reached the Heaven and Earth realm. This was common practice in many medium-level worlds.

"One was bestowed by the Bloodsun World, and the other must have been acquired by him over many years," Meng Chuan concluded. "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 I first shattered his Essence Soul with my Demonic Cone," Meng Chuan mused. "What a pity. It was equivalent to a slightly weaker Tribulation Realm secret treasure."

According to intelligence recorded in the Cangyuan World, the 'Death-Substitute Talisman' was a relatively common life-saving item in the outer realms, valued equivalent to a Tribulation Realm secret treasure weapon at the Third Tribulation level. However, it paled in comparison to a 'Void Teleportation Talisman'. This was because a Death-Substitute Talisman could only restore one to peak condition the instant before death. In a desperate situation, an enemy could simply kill them a second time! The Void Teleportation Talisman was different. Even within a living world, despite suppression from the world's laws, it could instantly teleport one to any location within that world. In the outer realms, without such suppression, the distance a Void Teleportation Talisman could cover in an instant would be incredibly vast. For powerful Tribulation Realm experts, it could allow them to escape far away, completely shaking off their enemies. In terms of value, a single-use 'Void Teleportation Talisman' was equivalent to a 'Sixth Tribulation' Tribulation Realm secret treasure, and even harder to find. Despite its profound heritage, the Cangyuan World had only one such talisman left in this era, which had already been used. The demon world, with its own deep heritage, only managed to obtain one Void Teleportation Talisman from the Demon Ancestor Cave through the combined efforts of three Emperors.

"What weapon should my Essence Soul avatar use to explore the immortal's cave?" he wondered. "With a weapon, I can unleash more power."

"This is it then." Meng Chuan made his decision. As Meng Chuan sat cross-legged, a shadowy figure resembling him suddenly flew out of his body and sped towards the distant immortal's cave.

"A seventh-level Essence Soul avatar," Revered One Qinggu, who was guarding nearby, secretly marvelled upon seeing Meng Chuan's Essence Soul avatar. "This Revered One Dongning has also reached the Heaven and Earth realm and the seventh level of Essence Soul. Why hasn't he become an Emperor? Or perhaps he intends to cultivate a special ultimate art to break through to the Emperor realm?" He could only speculate silently, not daring to utter his thoughts aloud.

The shadowy Meng Chuan arrived at the main entrance of the immortal's cave. The cave'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, enveloped by chaotic true essence shimmering with lightning. He unleashed the 'Infinite Blade' technique, transforming the block into a terrifying stream of light that slammed into the cave gate. After the gate was blasted open, the silver metal block conveniently flew back into the shadowy Meng Chuan's hand.

"At least it's a piece of White Star Ore," Meng Chuan mused. Indeed. For the Essence Soul avatar exploring the cave, this 'White Star Ore' was chosen as its weapon. Since the Essence Soul avatar was prepared for potential demise, Meng Chuan naturally didn't want to bring any valuable weapons, not even Emperor-level secret treasures! He feared losing them permanently. As for weaker weapons? They were inferior to 'White Star Ore'! When enveloped by chaotic true essence, the 'White Star Ore' offered decent power. White Star Ore was renowned for its hardness and was a material used for refining Tribulation Realm secret treasures. However, a piece of 'White Star Ore' the size of ten li was merely equivalent to a Third Tribulation Realm secret treasure. Just one block? From Fang Chang's corpse, Meng Chuan had acquired White Star Ore piled up into a hundred-zhang-tall small mountain.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh." A full ninety-nine pieces of White Star Ore, enveloped by chaotic true essence, circled the shadowy Meng Chuan. The shadowy Meng Chuan stood at the main entrance. Upon entering, a thick mist enveloped everything. It was impossible to see with the naked eye, and even sensory domains, including the Essence Soul domain, could not penetrate it.

"Buzz." The Essence Soul avatar of Meng Chuan stood at the threshold of the main gate, releasing stellar fluctuations. These waves spread outwards in circles but were suppressed after barely reaching a dozen zhang.

"It can even suppress Essence Soul power?" Meng Chuan was secretly astonished. "This is indeed an immortal's cave of a powerful Tribulation Realm expert."

"Whoosh." With a thought from Meng Chuan, one of the surrounding floating White Star Ores, enveloped by chaotic true essence, immediately transformed into a stream of light and shot towards the distance. However, upon contact with the white mist, the super-fast flying White Star Ore began to hiss and crackle. The chaotic true essence attached to its surface was almost completely eroded in an instant, but the White Star Ore flew fast enough to still hit something with a 'thump'.

"I still have to go in," the shadowy Meng Chuan thought, standing at the threshold. Lightning flashed around him, and the flow of time altered, accelerating to a full twenty times. Since creating his ultimate art, Meng Chuan's understanding of the time lineage had surpassed the divine ability 'Quicksand'. He could manipulate time through blade techniques, and also through lightning. Meng Chuan simultaneously employed the Cloud Mist Dragon-Serpent movement technique. An Essence Soul avatar using movement techniques was actually faster and more agile than a physical body, though its defense was much weaker.

"Swish, swish, swish—" The instant Meng Chuan's avatar rushed into the immortal's cave, the previously silent cave seemed to awaken. A vast amount of sword qi erupted, with numerous streams relentlessly attacking Meng Chuan.

"What a powerful formation. I can't delve into the deep void," he thought. "Fortunately, my movement technique is adept at transformation." "Coupled with the accelerated time flow... it's not bad at all." Meng Chuan moved forward at extremely high speed while thinking. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. These sword qis were uncontrolled by a master and thus somewhat rigid. Meng Chuan, with his flexibility enhanced by the accelerated time flow, was comparable to an Emperor-level expert and managed to continuously dodge the relatively dense sword qis.

"Strange. My speed is astonishing, yet after flying for so long, I haven't encountered any structures," Meng Chuan wondered. "This cave is only about a hundred li in range."

"A void formation. The void here has been altered," Meng Chuan immediately deduced. "No matter how much I fly, I'm probably trapped within a small area and can't get out."

"Break it!" Meng Chuan thought. Thirty pieces of White Star Ore, suspended around him, all unleashed the 'Infinite Blade' technique, transforming into terrifying streams of light that struck outwards in all directions. After flying out, the White Star Ores vanished silently, as if the void were boundless.

"Am I trapped in here?" Meng Chuan flew backward. The white mist enveloped him, yet he couldn't find the main entrance. The sword qi onslaught ceased after a moment. However, Essence Soul Meng Chuan remained trapped within the white mist. Despite trying every method, he couldn't touch any physical objects or escape.

"My true essence is exhausted. So be it." With a thought, Essence Soul Meng Chuan had no choice but to disperse this Essence Soul.

On the peak of the small hill far outside the immortal's cave, Meng Chuan sat cross-legged.

"The main entrance is the easiest way in, but it's a trap. Once inside, you're caught in a void cage, trapped forever," Meng Chuan understood. "As for those weaker cultivators, they'd be directly killed by the sword qi without ever discovering the unique nature of the 'void cage'."

"It only takes three days to cultivate back one Essence Soul avatar after it disperses," Meng Chuan mused. "I have plenty of time to wear it down."

For a sixth-level Essence Soul, losing an Essence Soul avatar in battle required several years to recover. For a seventh-level Essence Soul, one could possess up to nine Essence Soul avatars simultaneously. Each avatar contained even less primal energy, so losing one only required several months to recover. Meng Chuan, having received the 'Essence Soul Star' legacy, had astonishing Essence Soul recovery abilities, allowing him to recover in just three days!

"I'll try exploring from the front gate, back gate, courtyard walls, directly from above... and various other points, sending out Essence Soul avatars again and again. In a year, I can dispatch hundreds of Essence Soul avatars," Meng Chuan thought. "I refuse to believe an immortal's cave without a master can stop me."