The Ancient Seal Had Awakened!
The builder of this grotto was not an ancestor of the Yuan Household.
The Yuan Household were merely chosen "administrators".
The true builders ceased to exist long ago.
The true purpose of the grotto it left behind was...
It is neither a sect base nor a blessed place for cultivation.
It was a prison.
A prison used to Sealing Formation something away.
That thing is in the deepest part of the sphere.
It is still alive.
Su Zhan stood in the Core Space for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
During that time, he did nothing but close his eyes and process the "instruction manual".
It contains a lot of information, but is extremely well-organized, divided into three parts.
The first part is the construction history and basic structure of Mustard Seed Grotto-Heaven. Countless ages ago, a High Antiquity powerful being whose name is now lost to history created this Independent Space. He left no name, only a symbol at the beginning of the "instruction manual"—a Totem woven from thunder and mountain patterns.
The second part is List the core functions of the cave.
Su Zhan scanned it all; most of the functions were standard: automatic repair, Principle maintenance, Spiritual Qi circulation, space stabilization...
But the name of the last feature made him pause for a second.
-- "The First Sealing Formation: The Lock of Demon Suppression"
The third part is the will.
It's very short. Just one sentence.
"If this Sealing Formation collapses, then whoever possesses this grotto-heaven must sacrifice themselves for the cause."
Su Zhan opened his eyes.
He looked down at his feet.
Beneath the surface of the Core Space, in the deepest layer of the sphere at the Grotto-Heaven Heart, there is an extremely faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation.
That energy fluctuation was unlike any other energy he had ever encountered.
It is not Spirit Energy, not Devil Qi, not the Power of Principle, not Life Element.
It has no attributes.
Only "living" is possible.
A pure, most genuine feeling of being alive.
When those Black Chains were present, this fluctuation was suppressed to the point of being almost imperceptible. But now that the chains have all broken, what was Sealing Formation is slowly, bit by bit, regaining its vitality.
"Boss."
Within his Sea of Consciousness, the voice of the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning was unusually solemn.
"I felt it. Underneath the sphere, the scent of that thing... I can't quite describe it, but I instinctively disliked it."
[Thunder Emperor Divine Seat] also spoke, a rare occurrence—not in his usual languid tone, but with a hint of solemnity.
"Similar records exist in the fragments of Thunder Domain's memories. In High Antiquity times, some powerful beings would Sealing Formation things they themselves could not kill within Independent Space. The medium for Sealing Formation was usually... the bloodline of a certain race."
The bloodline of the Yuan Household.
Su Zhan did not have this information in the memories he obtained from the Soul Search —the three Elders had no idea what was sealed in the deepest part of the cave. Even the Sect Master's memories carried by that Clones did not contain any specific description of the Sealing Formation object.
The Sect Master only knew that there was an "extremely dangerous" existence beneath the Grotto-Heaven Core, but he never tried to break that Sealing Formation.
All he wanted was control over the grotto-heaven itself and the Spatial Principle.
As for what lies beneath the Sealing Formation —he avoids it like the plague.
A being who could make even Evil Dao overlord at the Second Level Martial Emperor avoid him.
Su Zhan's face didn't show much change in expression, but his mind was racing.
The Yuan Household family members are about to come down.
They don't know these things yet.
In their minds, the Grotto-Heaven Core is the final destination of returning home. Regaining control, rebuilding the sect, and expanding its branches—this has been their dream for thousands of years.
Su Zhan did not intend to tell them about the Sealing Formation right now.
The reason is simple— the Sealing Formation's fluctuations are still very weak. The instruction manual mentioned that there is a prerequisite for the Sealing Formation's collapse: the core sphere must suffer irreversible damage.
Currently, the sphere has only broken free from the Black Chains and is repairing itself; it has not suffered any substantial damage.
The Sealing Formation remains.
It's safe for now.
"Tap, tap, tap--"
Footsteps came from overhead.
Elder Yuan Ji's white hair was the first thing to appear at the entrance.
He slowly walked down the golden spiral staircase, his cloudy old eyes surveying the enormous spherical space.
When his gaze fell upon the floating, Grotto-Heaven Heart, he froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.