Chapter 470: Out of the Cave Heaven

Li Yuexiang knelt at the front, sobbing uncontrollably. Li Xijun stood in the courtyard, his Hanyin sword silently gleaming at his waist. His eyes were slightly red, and his gaze swept over the shattered jade on the ground.

A series of thoughts flowed through Li Xijun's mind, one after another, and what appeared before his eyes was surprisingly the aged face of Li Xuanxuan.

The lights in the ancestral hall flickered, and Li Yuexiang softly whimpered. As a gentle breeze stirred, Li Xijun revealed an incredibly complex expression. He took a step back, turned, and exited the ancestral hall. The heavy rain pattered down, gathering into streams at his feet.

Li Xijun first ascended on the wind, landing before the Elixir Pavilion. With his hands tucked into his sleeves, he stepped onto the stone stairs.

The courtyard before him was empty and shrouded in gray-black darkness. The only light came from the bright flame of the elixir furnace in the main hall, casting a dancing shadow on the ground. Li Ximing was seated upright before the furnace, his hands forming seals, and looked up at him.

Li Xijun waved his hand without speaking. He waited until Li Ximing had finished refining the elixir and put away the furnace before taking a step forward.

"Uncle Zhongfu's life-jade has shattered."

Li Xijun said softly.

Li Ximing, still absorbed in his research of the elixir formula, was momentarily stunned. He looked up in disbelief, exclaiming, "This... that... how?!"

Li Xijun retreated, covering his face. Hearing Li Ximing's bewildered voice behind him, he gently looked up. The lights on the distant Talisman Peak were still twinkling.

The night was deep, and Li Xuanxuan had not yet rested. Li Xijun found it almost impossible to face Li Xuanxuan and tell the old man that his last son had also perished in tribal affairs.

"Let's stall for now... just stall... perhaps there'll be a turn for the better."

Green Pine Island.

Compared to most of the brief and contained battles within the Grotto-Heaven, the fighting on Green Pine Island was chaotic and disorderly. Rogue cultivators clashed, battling fiercely and plundering one another.

Li Qinghong flew around the edge of the island, her spear in hand. Light shimmered on her jade armor, deflecting splashes of blood. Purple lightning resonated around her, causing the seawater to surge and turn into white mist.

The seawater before her churned. Suddenly, an object descended from the void: a dark, shiny pebble, no bigger than a fingernail, which hovered quietly in the air, immediately drawing the attention of numerous cultivators.

Li Qinghong's hands blazed with lightning, and she stepped forward decisively. Her long spear swept horizontally, forcing several people beside her to retreat. She seized the spiritual item that had just appeared before her, put it into her storage bag, and quickly withdrew.

Having broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, Li Qinghong's strength was considered superior among the cultivators. Her repeated successes had attracted considerable attention. Looking around, she noticed that several nearby individuals intended to form an alliance against her.

Although Li Qinghong was fearless, she understood the wisdom of knowing when to stop. She harnessed lightning and slowly retreated, flying all the way to the edge of Green Pine Island's sea area. Only then did the figures in the sky gradually thin out.

She had initially planned to ally with the Han family of Dongliu Island, which seemed like a good idea. However, the world was undergoing chaotic changes, spiritual energies were obscured, and various spiritual items were manifesting. Everyone was instantly scattered, each scrambling for spiritual treasures, and they quickly lost sight of one another.

This place was where the Grotto-Heaven merged with the mundane world, causing many strange gray clouds to appear, obstructing spiritual senses. She could no longer find the Han family members. Li Qinghong only rescued a few young Han family disciples within her capability, quickly profited, and swiftly departed.

Not being able to ally with the Han family was not a bad thing for Li Qinghong. After all, her strength was greater, and she could achieve much on her own with her Immortal Mirror, without having to share with others, which suited her well.

She tied up her hair and landed on a sea reef, sinking her spiritual sense into her mirror.

Before she could fully assess her surroundings, a wavering green light emerged from the ethereal void, moving erratically within the mirror. The green light faded, transforming into an ordinary talisman seed, which then lingered inside.

Li Qinghong's hand, gripping her spear, clenched suddenly, turning white. She stood frozen in place for a long, suffocating moment before hastily ascending on the wind, flying towards the small island where Li Xuanfeng had entered the Grotto-Heaven.

The island was desolate, with no trace of human presence or signs of combat. Li Qinghong stood there for a moment, wiped her eyes, and mused:

"Since my elder brother met with trouble, Uncle Er must also be in a difficult situation. I don't know what's happening in this Grotto-Heaven. It would be best to wait here for him to emerge... If he's seriously injured, I can look after him..."

As Li Yuanjiao perished and his immortal foundation dissipated, the power of the Purple Mansion spiritual artifact quickly swept over. Li Yuanjiao's body gradually vanished in Li Xuanfeng's hands, transforming into green rain that fell.

Li Xuanfeng's hands were empty, leaving only a long sword, a jade bottle, and a plain black-patterned storage bag.

He hung these three items at his waist. From the storage bag, he took out a jade box, then vibrated his lips. The green rain from the sky immediately poured into the box, gathering into a box of greenish-gray spiritual water that gently swirled.

The strange phenomenon within the Grotto-Heaven was very faint and subtle. The light green rainwater drifted for a while, then quickly dispersed and vanished, leaving only the gray clouds to dissipate.

When a Foundation Establishment cultivator dies, their body often returns to the earth. In Jiangnan, there is a custom of burying loved ones, often using remaining spiritual items as a substitute. Xiao Yongling stood by, watching, with his hands clasped behind his back.

He silently watched Li Xuanfeng put away the jade box. The bleeding from Li Xuanfeng's hands had stopped. He fastened the Azure Ruler Sword to his waist and stood still for a moment. Then, Li Xuanfeng descended on the wind, finding Yu Muxian's body on a mountaintop.

Yu Muxian had died the moment he was struck, his skeleton shattered into two pieces. Sharp, fine golden needles were flowing out of his meridians, and the ground was covered with sparkling, pine-needle-like golden fragments.

His once ethereal face was now like fish sashimi, torn into a thousand pieces, revealing raw red flesh. His newly opened eyes retained a look of incomprehension, and his lips were slightly parted, covered in blood.

Beside his wrist lay a white jade clasp, shaped like a small boat, smooth and delicate, unstained by blood.

Yu Muxian's feather robe had suffered two piercing wounds during the battle, front and back, shattering into pieces. In the remaining sleeve of the robe, a pale purple circular object was clutched, an unknown trump card that he had not managed to deploy even in death.

Li Xuanfeng flicked his sleeve, gathering the shattered feather robe and the jade clasp from Yu Muxian's body. He then used his magical power to retrieve Yu Muxian's storage bag and probed it with his spiritual sense, finding it tightly sealed.

He removed the feather robe. Yu Muxian's lower abdomen was still slightly undulating, covered in blood veins.

"Pop..." Yu Muxian's abdomen made a dull sound. As the Golden Dispersal Cave dissipated, various magical artifacts flew out from his abdomen, one after another, bouncing and bobbing in the pool of blood.

The few artifacts ranged from Qi Condensation peak to Foundation Establishment level and were not particularly outstanding. Only the six magical shields and eight golden shuttles were a complete set of artifacts, making them extremely valuable.

Clanging sounds came from afar. Tu Longjian, clad in black, slowly descended. A black and red token beside him was suppressing a golden hoop, which trembled constantly in the air, glowing red hot.

"Qu Yun is nowhere to be found; he's already escaped."

He murmured. Li Xuanfeng's expression remained largely unchanged. He nodded, handed Yu Muxian's storage bag to him, and said hoarsely, "Thank you, fellow Daoist, for your diligent assistance. This person's storage bag is here; it has not been opened."

Tu Longjian hesitated for a moment, then opened the storage bag. Six Ding Union Flames rose, and he casually wiped away the restrictions and hidden traps on the bag.

His abdominal injuries were still present. Tu Longjian did not stand on ceremony; instead, he took out precious medicines and spiritual elixirs from the storage bag and consumed them. He then took out several healing salves and applied them to Li Xuanfeng.

Yu Muxian indeed possessed some good items. Li Xuanfeng's flesh grew back at a visible rate. Although he still had injuries, they were no longer as horrifying as before.

Tu Longjian found a jade box in Yu Muxian's storage bag and pocketed it. He then took a few other items before returning the storage bag. Li Xuanfeng, in turn, handed it to Xiao Yongling, saying softly, "Thank you, Senior. Please select a few items as a small compensation."

Xiao Yongling looked at it, saying little. He hesitated, picked up two magical artifacts from the ground, and then began looking through the storage bag. Tu Longjian then said softly, "Senior, there's still something of yours in this golden hoop."

He intensified the flames. The two Purple Mansion spiritual artifacts wrestled in the air for a few breaths. Finally, the "Stop War Golden Hoop" relented, puffing out black smoke and spitting out a golden bead.

Li Xuanfeng glanced at it, then remembered that his first arrow had been captured by the golden hoop earlier. It had been refined by the spiritual artifact, tempered by the Union Fire and Male Fire, and struck by various spells, transforming it into this state.

He casually accepted it. Xiao Yongling pushed the storage bag over, then took out a bright golden halberd and presented it with both hands, saying softly, "This halberd, which Tang Shedou coveted earlier... is returned to its rightful owner."

This halberd was an artifact from the ancient Wei Kingdom, so calling its return "to its rightful owner" was not inaccurate. Li Xuanfeng accepted it on behalf of the Li family. He briefly scanned the storage bag but did not take anything out. Instead, he displayed the pale purple circular object from earlier and asked, "This item... is it a Purple Mansion Talisman?"

Seeing them both nod, Li Xuanfeng said, "I hope to obtain this item to suppress the clan's destiny. As for the other items, I will not take them." He pushed the storage bag away, then pointed at the storage bag itself, replying, "This item... it is not suitable for me to keep."

The storage bag was indeed troublesome to keep. Tu Longjian nodded slightly and said softly, "Leave it to me."

The few of them divided the items, found a mountain peak to land on, and silently meditated, awaiting the closing of the Grotto-Heaven before departing.

There was no day-night cycle within the Grotto-Heaven. Li Xuanfeng and the others meditated for several days, each recovering to some extent, before finally opening their eyes.

Although all three were seated on the peak, their expressions were not calm. The turn of events had exceeded Tu Longjian's expectations, leaving him hesitant to speak. It wasn't until a rumbling sound echoed through the world and the clouds surged and receded like tides that Tu Longjian said, "Seniors, I have important matters to attend to and cannot accompany you out of this realm. Please forgive me."

Li Xuanfeng and Xiao Yongling naturally knew that Tu Longjian, if he departed so openly, would surely fall into the hands of a Purple Mansion cultivator. They both bid him farewell. Tu Longjian hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Regarding Senior Yuanjiao's matter, I, Tu Long, am deeply regretful. If I am fortunate enough to escape this place and find a foothold in the East Sea, I will eventually rebuild the Tujun Sect. One day, I will visit you to exchange cultivation methods and complete my Tujun lineage."

Li Xuanfeng was not aware of any deep connection between his family and the Tujun Sect. He merely assumed this was Tu Longjian's reason for offering assistance, so he accepted on behalf of his family, stating gravely, "I am not privy to the details of this matter; perhaps it was Yuanjiao's individual fortune. However, our younger generations should know your name henceforth and prepare a warm welcome for you."

Tu Longjian nodded, offered his condolences, then ascended on a fiery red stream of light, vanishing like a whirlwind into the horizon, sinking into the deep sea of clouds, and disappearing from sight.

The remaining two ascended on the wind, only to find that everything around them was slowly fading, and the stars in the sky were rapidly receding. Xiao Yongling waited for a moment, then finally could not restrain himself and said softly, "My condolences..."

Li Xuanfeng waved his hand. His grief flickered in his eyes for only an instant, then transformed into deep endurance. Xiao Yongling carefully observed his face and said softly, "Decades ago, during the Li Xia massacre, you and Ruyu pursued and righteously slew the people of the Situ family. That scene is still vivid in my mind. In the blink of an eye, decades have passed, and I feel you have become greatly different."

Li Xuanfeng lowered his eyes and said, "The events of that year are like a bronze mirror submerged in water, worn down by sand and stone, becoming hazy and unclear when viewed again. Now, thinking back, it feels like a past life, something difficult to recall or hope for again!"

Xiao Yongling paused, unsure how to respond, and finally said softly, "Back then, I only thought you were too sharp, overly fond of reputation, and bound to suffer for it. I even considered mentioning it to Tongya. But now, it seems you surpass Ruyu in every aspect. It was my shortsightedness that made a fool of me."

Li Xuanfeng shook his head deeply, not in the mood to continue the conversation. He was about to say a few polite words when Xiao Yongling beside him suddenly receded into the distance, vanishing completely from head to toe. Stars, clouds, and mountains all faded and disappeared.

"The Grotto-Heaven has closed!" Li Xuanfeng raised his brows and looked around. His surroundings were now filled with vast, azure seawater.

At his feet were still the starting island and sand. The large formation set up upon their entry was still faintly shimmering. Lin Chensheng, clad in black, stood beside him, clutching his chest, with crimson blood dripping from between his fingers.

On the other side, Kan Ziyan plopped down to the ground, sat cross-legged, and immediately began to meditate and recover. Li Xuanfeng swept his spiritual sense across the island but found no trace of Zhong Qian. He knew in his heart that this person was most likely in grave danger; even if he hadn't met with an accident within the Grotto-Heaven, he had likely fallen into the hands of a Purple Mansion cultivator.

Although he did not find Zhong Qian, he saw a familiar figure clad in jade armor, holding a long spear, with slightly red eyes, staring at his hands.

"Qinghong!"

Li Qinghong nodded vigorously. Unsure of the situation, she dared not say much, only choking out a reply. Having killed Yu Muxian, Li Xuanfeng was even less willing to linger. He cupped his hands slightly towards Lin Chensheng, ascended on the wind, and rapidly flew towards Fenkui Island Market.

He had just ascended on the wind when he was suddenly stunned. The void before him cracked open and trembled violently. A man in white and golden armor stepped out, a familiar halberd pointing at him from thin air. Behind the man stood an old man in a green robe.

This old man had the hair of a crane and the complexion of a child. His nose bridge was high, and his eyes were covered with golden patterns. A long, slender object was attached to his back. He stood silently in the air, and at his side, a golden short sword hummed, its tip pointed directly at Li Xuanfeng.

The sword clanged, seemingly identifying something. In the old man's other hand, a familiar golden hoop slowly revolved, emitting a whistling sound, as if feeling wronged.

Tang Shedou's aura was weak. Much of his armor was shattered, and even his halberd bore two wounds. His face was like golden paper, and he appeared immeasurably weaker than when he had escaped earlier. He said hoarsely, "Reporting, True Person! It is this very person!"