Chapter 690: 365
Chapter 690: 365
"The enemy from beyond the heavens,"
Li Xuan sighed.
The Heavenly Grotto, the hole of the Domain, located at the rift of this world, eroded by external forces and thus forming a Heavenly Grotto.
There were Heavenly Grottos of various sizes. The smaller ones were merely little holes, like the one Xu Yan discovered in the dark pool of the Azure Sea.
As for the enormous Heavenly Grottos, they were vast in space.
And the Azure Sea Abyss happened to have once experienced a Domain rift, which under the infiltration of Netherworld's power, transformed into a Heavenly Grotto.
"Is the Seductive Witch also from the Netherworld?"
Li Xuan pondered.
The Heavenly Grotto in Ice State had already been sealed by him, and the Seductive Witch could no longer enter.
"The Taicang Domain seems to face external threats? The Heavenly Grotto is the channel for the invasion of enemies, though the enemies can infiltrate through the Grotto, the martial artists of this Domain cannot enter their territory and can only sit and defend."
Li Xuan thought about the small stone house in the Wu Country Royal Palace. The being that was sealed inside, was it the master of the Book of Taicang or an invading enemy from afar?
Logically, being sealed within this Domain, it seemed more likely to be an external invader.
But who sealed it?
Master of the Book of Taicang?
If it was a seal for an enemy, why wasn't there any expert guarding it?
Could it be that the master of the Book of Taicang sealed the enemy but also perished in the process, and no one knew that an enemy was sealed there?
Li Xuan recalled when The Emperor of Wu mentioned that mysterious voice, he had said the other party once raved madly, uttering things about imposters… Moreover, since they knew that Martial Arts couldn't be cultivated in the Border Wilderness and seemed quite familiar with the Taicang Domain,
It seemed that it might not be an enemy invader after all.
"The truth will become clear once I find the other party,"
Li Xuan thought to himself.
Boom!
The battle was nearing its end, Meng Chong at this moment displayed his Divine Skills, slaughtering a group of Blood Slaves.
And Su Lingxiu felt like she had practiced enough and began making deadly moves.
Fang Hao and Red Cat did the same.
"To the Azure Sea Abyss."
Li Xuan ordered.
Humm!
The Flying Boat transformed into a streak of light, heading towards the Azure Sea Abyss.
Spiritual Realm Experts like Wu Tianan simultaneously heaved a sigh of relief and quickly followed.
A massive black vortex emerged from the Azure Sea Abyss. Through the black vortex, one could see the surging waves of blood below.
"This is..."
Wu Tianan and others trembled at the sight, filled with a sense of horror, not daring to rashly enter.
"Master!"
Xu Yan came to the Flying Boat and respectfully said.
"Hmm!"
Li Xuan nodded, not entering the Heavenly Grotto below immediately.
Boom!
The battle finally calmed down, Meng Chong, Su Lingxiu, Fang Hao, and Red Cat all returned to the Evergreen Pavilion's Flying Ship.
"Let's go in,"
Li Xuan said.
The Flying Boat shone with thunder, the Formation activated, and entered the Heavenly Grotto below. After arriving, they discovered that this Heavenly Grotto was much larger than the one in Ice State.
Moreover, at the bottom of the Grotto, waves of blood rolled tumultuously, appearing to be formed by the erosion of some sort of blood-evil Qi on the invading sea water.
Spiritual Realm Experts like Wu Tianan stood by the Grotto, hesitating to enter.
Boom!
The waves of blood roared, permeated by the blood-evil Qi, surging forward as if intending to dye even the Flying Boat blood-red.
Li Xuan raised his hand and with a boom, the waves began to condense and clear up, reversing back up as the seawater returned to the Azure Sea.
At this moment, three blood-red pearls appeared in the center of the Heavenly Grotto.
Netherworld Blood Orbs!
"These are treasures that greatly replenish vital blood!"
Su Lingxiu stated.
Li Xuan nodded. Netherworld Blood Orbs were also a type of treasure. If used properly, they could enhance vital blood, heal injuries caused by vital blood loss, and to a certain extent, strengthen the physical body.
If combined with other Spiritual Medicines to refine pills, the effects would be even stronger.
And the Netherworld Blood Orbs, perhaps due to the abundant blood Qi contained in the Netherworld, were therefore able to condense into Blood Beads.
Whether for Blood Slaves or Blood Disciples, each possessed a life-origin Blood Bead, also cultivated from Netherworld Blood Orbs.
At the bottom of the Heavenly Grotto lay a pale red barrier, thin as a membrane that seemed to suggest a glimpse of the outside world could be seen through it.
However, this membrane was a Domain Barrier, and despite Li Xuan's current Void-breaking Realm, he could not traverse it to leave this specific domain.
After all, he had not truly transcended the domain.
"The bottom of the Heavenly Grotto seems rather small; this space must have formed later on,"
Fang Hao remarked with surprise.
The bottom of the Heavenly Grotto wasn't very large, similar to the one in Ice State, but the Domain Barrier here appeared somewhat weaker, with threads of blood energy constantly flowing into the grotto. It had grown to such an immense size over time due to the long erosion by the blood energy.
"There's no trace of Imperishable Qi here; does this mean that the Heavenly Grotto is different?"
Xu Yan pondered as he explored the grotto.
"Quite likely, and I feel this blood energy might actually aid in the practice of Physical Body Martial Arts to a certain extent, although it is of no use to me at my current physical state,"
Meng Chong added as he walked through the grotto.
"What do we do now? Will there be Netherworld Blood Disciples coming into the Spiritual Realm?"
Fang Hao asked with some concern.
As a resident of the Spiritual Realm, this place was his homeland.
Despite having stepped down from his position as Alliance Hierarch of the Wanshi Alliance, they still held great respect for him.
"Just seal it,"
Li Xuan had investigated the base of the Heavenly Grotto and, despite not being able to see the details, he knew that it was a location prepared by one of the Six Blood Disciples looking to ascend to the rank of Xuezhi, who had not informed anyone else.
Fearing others might take credit for it, this Netherworld Cave remained unknown for the time being.
It merely required sealing; unless someone's strength was too overwhelming, it would be difficult to discover.
"We're lacking a pupil-based Divine Skill,"
Li Xuan muttered to himself, deciding that at some point he would take the time to create several pupil-based Divine Skills, such as 'Heaven's Eye,' 'Golden Eyes of Fire,' 'Eyes of Illusion-Breaking,' and so forth.
Whether they could be cultivated or not would be left for his disciple to figure out.
"Master, please seal this Heavenly Grotto,"
Fang Hao respectfully requested.
"Hmm,"
Li Xuan nodded, waving his hand; threads of Imperishable Qi emerged, and in an instant, transformed into a massive seal that enveloped the base of the Netherworld Cave.
Completely concealing the grotto.
"There's nothing of value here; let's leave!"
The Flying Boat left the Heavenly Grotto and then headed to the Black Abyss of the Azure Sea. Li Xuan glanced at the grotto Xu Yan had discovered; it was too small, and he was unsure how long it would take to expand.
Especially after Fang Hao's seal, its expansion rate had slowed to a crawl, making enlargement nearly impossible.
With a wave of his hand, another seal descended, thoroughly sealing off the grotto.
Shortly after Li Xuan sealed the grotto and departed, the once small base of the Heavenly Grotto suddenly manifested an eye that seemed to be trying to see through.
However, it saw nothing, filled with confusion and even doubting whether there was an issue with its vision. After blinking a few times and straining to see, it found nothing and eventually closed its eyes, full of bewilderment.
The Divine Bridge had broken, and the path to the Divine Realm was severed as well.
The turmoil in the Black Abyss of the Azure Sea had all the experts of the Spiritual Realm deeply worried, Fang Hao included.
"Is there anywhere else in the Spiritual Realm where danger might erupt at any moment?"
Wu Tianan asked in a grave tone.
"We should explore all of the well-known dangerous places within the Spiritual Realm,"
Xin Mengrou suggested.
While a formidable figure was still within the Spiritual Realm, if any dangers did exist, they could ask for assistance in sealing them off.
They all looked towards Fang Hao.
Given that Fang Hao was the disciple of the formidable figure and held in high esteem by the Wanshi Alliance, he was deeply concerned about any potential crisis in the Spiritual Realm.
"Master, I would like to explore the Spiritual Realm and uncover other potential crises!"
Fang Hao spoke respectfully.
"Hmm, go ahead!"
Li Xuan nodded.
If a crisis lay hidden in the Spiritual Realm, Fang Hao would worry even if he were in the Divine Realm. Rather than that, it would be better to investigate the Spiritual Realm now and resolve any underlying threats.
Only then would Fang Hao be able to go to the Divine Realm with peace of mind.
"Junior Brother, let's split up and work quickly to finish the investigation,"
Xu Yan suggested.
As the Spiritual Realm was connected to the Inner Domain, any catastrophe that befell it could likely spread there; and currently, the overall strength of the Inner Domain was far weaker than the Spiritual Realm.
"Alright!"
Fang Hao agreed.
Xu Yan, Meng Chong, and Fang Hao immediately departed, while Red Cat did the same. It returned to the Demon Clan to arrange various tasks and also participate in the search across the Spiritual Realm.
Wu Tianan, Xin Mengrou, and other experts of the Spiritual Realm dispersed, employing the powers of the Transcendent Spirit Sect to scour the entire realm. They would investigate any abnormality, even if it was just a rumor, personally.