Chapter Thirty: Sorrow

The Clear Heart Cave within the Cold Pond was protected by layers of restrictive formations. Lin Xiao and the others could not hear Blood God Ancestor's loud shouts. They didn't even notice anything amiss when numerous demonic cultivators devastated Spring Return Valley, causing the earth to shake and mountains to tremble. Danxia was explaining to a slightly dazed Yao'er how to implement the restrictive formations based on the five elements' generative and restrictive cycles, while Lin Xiao quietly circulated his profound energy, diligently practicing several extremely practical restrictive formations taught by Danxia.

He repeatedly changed hand seals, recited incantations, and condensed his true essence into his hand seals before slowly dispersing it, constantly honing his proficiency in releasing restrictive formations. Danxia described how cultivators with profound cultivation could, with a mere flick of their fingers and a clear shout, confine a vast ocean into a mirror. Lin Xiao, captivated by the wondrous scenes Danxia described, couldn't help but imagine himself possessing such earth-shattering cultivation one day. Thus, he practiced the restrictive formations with exceptional care and diligence.

Occasionally, when his mental energy was depleted and he felt fatigued, Lin Xiao would sit cross-legged and cultivate the techniques from the Thunderclap Fire Art that Jiang Zizai had gifted him.

As the Heavenly Fire True Essence circulated through his body time and again, Lin Xiao felt that after cultivating the Thunderclap Fire Art, his true essence had become increasingly pure and scorching. Furthermore, a strand of extremely potent lightning essence naturally emerged within the fire energy. The lightning essence flowed through his meridians, occasionally surging into his bones and muscles, causing Lin Xiao's entire body to tingle with a pleasant itch.

Moreover, Lin Xiao discovered that when cultivating the Thunderclap Fire Art, he seemed to enter a state of profound tranquility more easily, and his perception of his surroundings had significantly improved. Even if a minuscule speck of dust drifted before his eyes, he could gain a deeper understanding of certain ancient principles governing heaven and earth. Although this deeper understanding was advancing by less than the thickness of a hair, it was undeniably progressing, constantly approaching the 'Dao' and 'Reason'!

Even if Lin Xiao were more obtuse, he would have known that the Thunderclap Fire Art taught by Jiang Zizai was an extraordinary method. Lin Xiao felt both grateful and ashamed, unable to comprehend why Jiang Zizai treated him with such generosity. He had made up his mind: if he achieved great success in the future, he would definitely repay Jiang Zizai handsomely to settle this debt of gratitude.

After completing another eighty-one great heavenly cycles of energy circulation, Lin Xiao slowly opened his eyes. This time, as his eyelids lifted, tiny blue currents flashed and vanished between his brows. However, the currents were so minuscule that neither Danxia nor Yao'er noticed them. Lin Xiao himself felt that with each practice of the Thunderclap Fire Art, his eyesight seemed to improve. For instance, at that moment, Lin Xiao could clearly see a single eyebrow on Danxia's face, about three feet away, that was slightly disheveled and out of place with the surrounding hairs.

Blinking with a hint of pleasant surprise, Lin Xiao once again formed hand seals, resuming his practice of the restrictive formations taught by Danxia. Waves of subtle magical energy fluctuations condensed in Lin Xiao's palms and quickly dissipated, repeating endlessly without interruption. Danxia, who was explaining to Yao'er how to simultaneously cast two different elemental restrictive formations, couldn't help but cast a satisfied glance at Lin Xiao. Such a diligent and talented disciple was someone she, Danxia, would absolutely not yield to Daoist Danling! Unless, of course, Daoist Danling offered a magical treasure superior to the Hundred Treasures Rainbow Robe in exchange, then perhaps she might consider it.

Just as Danxia was happily indulging in her little calculations, the Clear Heart Cave suddenly shook violently. Danxia exclaimed, "What's happening?" Before her voice even faded, the entire mountain where the Clear Heart Cave was located was uprooted by an immense force. With a "boom," the peak soared a hundred zhang into the air. A surge of immense demonic energy rushed in, causing countless restrictive formations within the mountain to flash with dazzling light. The formations were broken by the spells cast by thousands of demonic cultivators, and the mountain groaned before suddenly disintegrating into countless fragments.

Dozens of disciples of the Great Luo Pill Dao within the Clear Heart Cave cried out in unison. As the mountain collapsed, they plummeted from the sky. However, before they could hit the ground, countless streams of black smoke and malevolent energy surged forth, slicing them in half at the waist. Their true spirits spiraled upwards, flying directly towards the sky and disappearing.

Danxia grabbed Yao'er with one hand, casually tossing her towards Lin Xiao. With a point of her right hand, a beam of tri-colored light shot into the sky, forming a protective shield around the three of them. The Hundred Treasures Rainbow Robe she wore transformed into a mass of seven-colored auspicious clouds spanning twenty zhang, tightly enveloping the three of them. The dozens of powerful defensive magical artifacts integrated into the Hundred Treasures Rainbow Robe, such as potent pearls, bells, and jade pendants, flew out, forming clusters of fist-sized lights that created a small "heavenly net formation" in their vicinity.

Hundreds of streams of black smoke charged towards them almost simultaneously as the seven-colored auspicious clouds erupted.

Each stream of black smoke contained a thumb-sized Yin Fiend Blood Thunder. Upon detonation, this small thunderclap exploded, unleashing a patch of bloody light spanning about ten feet, causing Danxia's protective divine light to flicker erratically. With hundreds of streams of black smoke detonating simultaneously, the Hundred Treasures Rainbow Robe released by Danxia dimmed, its protective auspicious light rapidly compressing to a thickness of only about a foot. Danxia grunted, spitting out a mouthful of blood that flew several feet. She had sustained severe internal injuries upon the initial contact.

Over two thousand demonic cultivators surrounded Danxia, Lin Xiao, and Yao'er. These demonic cultivators didn't bother with any wasted words. Seeing Danxia block the first wave of Yin Thunder attacks with the power of her magical treasure, they simultaneously raised their hands, unleashing their flying swords and various magical treasures, which rained down upon the three of them like a downpour.

Danxia's face turned ashen. Before she could even figure out what was happening, she was struck by a frontal assault. Lacking experience in combat, she was thrown into a panic. Seeing thousands of sword lights and treasure lights descending simultaneously, she instinctively slammed her palm into Lin Xiao's back, sending him and Yao'er flying far away.

"Xiao'er, Yao'er, escape quickly!" Danxia screamed, her tri-colored sword light soaring into the air, meeting the countless sword lights.

Lin Xiao, struck forcefully in the back, drifted hundreds of zhang away. He and Yao'er looked back, just in time to see Danxia engulfed by the myriad sword lights and treasure lights.

"Auntie!" Lin Xiao and Yao'er cried out in unison, only to see the thousands of sword lights and treasure lights that had swallowed Danxia converge into a torrent and rapidly shoot towards them.

Lin Xiao screamed. He drew the Crimson Dragon Sword from his back, tightly embraced Yao'er, who was writhing and struggling in his arms, and conjured a red light, fleeing in a disheveled manner towards the back mountain of Spring Return Valley. (To be continued)