Li Yu's escape light shifted, and he soared into the air.
A moment later, Li Yu landed before the hall from earlier.
Stepping into the hall, he saw Zhou Yi cultivating. Streams of vital essence circulated through him, and his Sea of Bitterness rumbled like thunder. He seemed to have reached the critical point of opening his Sea of Bitterness.
"Not bad. Your Sea of Bitterness is about to be successfully opened."
Li Yu nodded, found a place nearby to sit, and began reviewing his previous gains.
Although the remnant soul of the Azure Emperor descendant had not possessed top-tier cultivation, everything he had learned was exceedingly orthodox. Whether it was the Emperor Scripture, the Nine Slashes of the Demon Emperor, or the Eight Forms of the Heavenly Demon, all were supreme arts.
More importantly, these cultivation methods and secret arts could be used without consuming energy. Although the system had scanned every resource in this world, each one required energy to exchange.
Even though cultivation manuals consumed little energy, Li Yu only had a little over a thousand points in total. How could he bear to spend them carelessly? Things like these, obtained in physical form and usable without consuming energy, were what Li Yu loved most!
"Cultivation insights and combat experience are both very useful."
Li Yu nodded and turned his gaze toward the demons he had slain earlier.
"System, extract the cultivation methods, cultivation insights, and combat experience of the shapeshifted demon clans as well. They may not be very useful, but they can still enrich the Resource Library. As for the rest, directly break them down into energy."
After the decomposition, the system's energy increased again, reaching just over two thousand.
"By staying in this world for a year, with the Demon Saint-level true body of the Crocodile Ancestor, the Celestial Sword Pool, as well as the Crocodile Ancestor's Saint-level armor and Saint Weapon sword, I should have no problem protecting myself under normal circumstances."
Li Yu raised his head toward the volcanic crater and smiled. "If I can obtain the Azure Lotus Emperor Weapon and the Heart of the Demon Emperor, I'll be even safer."
"Buzz..."
A tremor sounded, and brilliant radiance bloomed.
A dazzling layer of rosy light flowed across Zhou Yi's entire body as he sat cross-legged on the ground.
"His Sea of Bitterness has opened? There's even a manifested phenomenon. It seems his foundation is pretty good!"
Li Yu smiled and nodded, offering praise. Yet what he meant was that Zhou Yi's foundation was merely pretty good.
"His innate essence is still somewhat weak. If he wants to achieve anything, he'll need to exchange for a powerful physique."
Li Yu smiled. "Zhou Yi is also a descendant of the Ji family, so naturally he should possess the Ji family's divine body! The Void Emperor Scripture and the Divine Body of the Eastern Wasteland—only then will he be worthy of his status as a Descendant of the Great Emperor!"
"Patriarch!"
By then, Zhou Yi had finished his cultivation. Seeing Li Yu standing guard nearby, he felt deeply moved. Was Patriarch still worried about my safety?
"Mm. Your Sea of Bitterness has opened. Not bad."
Li Yu nodded at Zhou Yi. "If you wish to go far on the path of cultivation, your foundation must be solid. Although your foundation is decent at the moment, it is still lacking if you wish to contend against the geniuses of this age."
"Please guide me, Patriarch."
Hearing Li Yu's words, Zhou Yi hurriedly bowed to the ground and sought his guidance.
"Though you are a Descendant of the Great Emperor, your bloodline has grown somewhat thin. If you wish to strengthen your foundation, naturally you must begin with your bloodline."
Li Yu rose to his feet and smiled at Zhou Yi. "Do not be in such a rush to raise your cultivation. Your foundation is the root of everything."
"This disciple understands."
Zhou Yi nodded solemnly.
"Mm. Then make your preparations first. I'll take a look around the area."
Li Yu nodded, walked out of the hall, and rode his escape light toward the volcanic crater.
Within this volcano lay the Azure Emperor's Tomb. Although there were still several months before the tomb emerged, Li Yu wanted to see whether he could get his hands on it ahead of time.
His escape light descended at the crater. Before him stretched a sea of surging flames, while scorching magma boiled within the crater and dyed the sky red.
"So hot."
Even after exchanging for the Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo, Li Yu's powerful body still found the heat somewhat unbearable.
"Activate resource collection. Collect the heat."
An invisible black hole appeared around Li Yu. The heat from all around surged madly toward it, yet it could no longer affect him in the slightest.
"Not bad."
Li Yu nodded and walked to the crater's edge, arriving beside the churning lake of magma.
"The Azure Emperor's Tomb is a hall buried beneath this scorching magma. If I collect all this magma, can I directly find the Azure Emperor's Tomb?"
Li Yu pondered this, growing eager to try.
"Even if it fails, collecting this magma can still replenish the system's energy. Let's give it a try!"
He waved toward the magma lake, and an invisible black hole formed within it.
Boom!
The entire magma lake shook violently, sending up enormous waves of molten rock. A massive vortex instantly formed in the lake, and the churning magma continuously rushed into it and vanished.
"So it really works."
Seeing this, Li Yu could not help but laugh. "System, break down the collected magma and convert it into energy."
As time passed, the surface of the magma lake gradually lowered, while the energy count in the system kept climbing.
Two thousand five hundred, three thousand, four thousand...
"Excellent. Even if I can't find the Azure Emperor's Tomb, these energy points alone make this worthwhile."
Seeing the system's energy constantly increase, Li Yu beamed with delight.
With energy, everything became much more convenient!
Li Yu rode his escape light and floated above the magma lake. Watching the surface steadily sink and faint points of radiance emerge from within the magma, he felt immense joy.
"System, determine the location of the Azure Emperor's Tomb and speed up the collection of magma."
Boom!
The magma lake shook violently once more, and its entire surface rapidly dropped at a speed visible to the naked eye. Gradually, a magnificent hall radiating brilliant light was revealed.
Not long afterward, the hall emerged from the magma.
It was a majestic and resplendent hall.
The entire hall had been refined from five-colored divine jade. Crystal-clear throughout, it shimmered with flowing light and overflowing radiance, appearing incomparably wondrous.
Countless ancient characters were carved into the walls surrounding the hall and its foundation below. Their forms were archaic, like vines and tendrils, like dragons and serpents. There were also images of dragons, phoenixes, tortoises, and qilin, making the place appear profoundly mysterious.
"So this is the Azure Emperor's Tomb?"
Li Yu's eyes lit up, and his heart brimmed with joy. "Hahahaha! This item is fated with this poor taoist!"
His escape light descended, and Li Yu arrived before the hall.
Crack!
A dazzling radiance erupted, and an immense force suddenly surged forth like a tsunami and a collapsing mountain.
"Damn it!"
Li Yu paled in shock. He hurriedly drew upon the power of the Crocodile Ancestor's corpse, forming a screen of light before himself to desperately block the impact.
Crack!
After resisting for only a moment, the light screen formed from the power of a Demon Saint's cultivation began to fracture.
"I refuse to believe I can't stop this!"
Li Yu gritted his teeth and waved out the Crocodile Ancestor's Mystic Gold Armor. Though it did not fit him, he still hurriedly put it on.
Clang...
The sword qi within the Celestial Sword Pool erupted violently, slashing toward the incoming force.