A Twist of Fate, Bound to the Expounding Sect

Li Zhengyuan swiftly formed seals with both hands, streams of mysterious and powerful incantations flowing from his fingertips and winding around the ball of light like spirit serpents.

The light seemed to sense the danger. It writhed desperately, trying to break free of its restraints, but how could Li Zhengyuan's seal be so easily broken?

He gave a soft snort. "Having encountered a worthy master, how could you dare keep yourself hidden?" With that, he suddenly summoned the Earth Book.

The moment the Earth Book appeared, strange runes and restrictions automatically emerged upon it.

Under Li Zhengyuan's control, these restrictions instantly transformed into a massive net of Dharma, descending upon the ball of light from all directions.

With a deafening bang, the ball of light was firmly trapped in place, unable to move in the slightest.

After trapping the light, Li Zhengyuan finally let out a breath and slowly lowered his hands.

Yet he did not let down his guard. Instead, he cautiously released his divine sense to probe ahead. What exactly is this thing? Why is it so troublesome?

The moment his divine sense reached forward, it seemed to suffer a violent impact. With a boom, heaven and earth vanished from his awareness; his soul spun, his spirit scattered, and his whole body trembled. Even his control over the Earth Book slackened sharply. Seeing the restrictions on the ground loosen slightly, the treasure tried to escape its predicament.

In an instant, Li Zhengyuan steadied his mind, stabilized his primordial spirit, and reinforced the restrictions, trapping the Dharma treasure where it was once more.

This time, he behaved himself. He no longer dared probe ahead with his divine sense, instead using his mana to draw it over and inspect it carefully in his hand.

The moment the Dharma treasure fell into his hand, it lost its former radiance. Li Zhengyuan immediately understood that this was likely the treasure concealing itself.

It was a bell-shaped spiritual treasure, one that had reached the level of a high-grade Innate spiritual treasure. However, it lacked several Innate Restrictions, making it slightly inferior to ordinary high-grade Innate spiritual treasures. Its origin was somewhat deficient.

Upon closer inspection, he saw the words "Lost Soul Bell" formed from innate Dao script on the bell. This had to be the Lost Soul Bell.

But wasn't this Guangchengzi's treasure in later generations? How did it end up in my hands? And why do I share such an inexplicable connection with it?

Could I have stumbled into the Expounding Sect's nest? The Apricot-Yellow Banner is already in my possession, and now the Lost Soul Bell has come to me as well. Just what is going on?

Never mind. Things have already come to this; there is no need to say more. Too many lice, and one no longer fears the itch.

Since I already have it, I might as well accept it. It is a high-grade Innate spiritual treasure, after all—better than nothing. With that thought, he stored it within his Purple Abode and began slowly refining it.

Immediately afterward, he continued deeper inside. This was only the first layer of the Cave-Heaven after breaking through the Innate Restriction, yet he had already obtained a high-grade Innate spiritual treasure. There was surely extraordinary fortune deeper within.

This small cave-heaven had been hidden away in the world. Had he not happened to stop here and rest, he likely would never have noticed its existence.

Was this cave-heaven inherently extraordinary, or was it merely a coincidence of fate? Either way, it was worth investigating carefully.

As he walked, his eyes suddenly lit up. Not far ahead grew numerous spiritual roots and immortal herbs.

These spiritual roots and immortal herbs radiated dense spiritual energy and brimmed with vitality, making them irresistible. Overjoyed, he walked over, gathered quite a few precious varieties, and carefully stored them away.

Continuing onward, he unexpectedly discovered a spiritual spring underground. Its water was crystal clear and flowed without end. After examining it closely, he was delighted to discover that it had actually been formed from Immaculate Pure Water!

After thinking briefly, he decided to use his mana to divide the springhead in two. He stored the larger portion within his Purple Abode, intending to bring it back to Five Villages Temple to water the Ginseng Fruit Tree. He left the smaller portion where it was, so that those who came later could benefit from it.

He knew well that one should always leave some room in all things. He could not be like those greedy "locusts" who plundered without restraint, leaving nothing behind wherever they went.

Otherwise, it would not only harm his hidden virtue, but might also invite retribution from the Dao of Heaven. Therefore, even when faced with such rare resources, he never took everything, always leaving a measure behind.