Fortunately, everyone had already guessed what was going on, and they were not in a hurry when they saw the immovable seal in the center of the ancient battlefield. Instead, they turned their attention to the four corners.
After the passage of time and the changing of the world, not only was the ferocity in Chi You Blood Cave greatly purified by the earth, but the seal of the Yellow Emperor was also eroded and decayed by time.
As everyone searched, they found that, sure enough, the surging energy of the formation did not break through the solid seal, but instead dispersed to the four corners of the seal.
After a dozen or so breaths, a glimmer of light flashed in everyone's eyes at those decaying parts. A dense aura of blood pierced through layers of earth, through billions of years of sealing, and through the rolling energy of the array, as if carrying ancient memories and appearing directly before everyone's eyes.
Boiling blood, indomitable will, and determination to fight against heaven and earth—this represents a historical memory that, after being sealed away for billions of years, has reappeared in the world today!
"Esteemed Protectors, Protector Mo was severely injured in his battle against Li Yijun. He has volunteered to guard the Chi You Blood Cave and will not enter it. The Chi You Blood Cave Chi You Blood Cave opportunity first must Miejue Mount Emei upon emerging to quell the hatred in the hearts of my Blood Alliance!"
"We are willing to follow the Alliance Leader's orders and will surely destroy the Emei Sect!"
Youquan glanced at Xu Long, seemingly unintentionally, as the Chi You Blood Cave was about to be fully opened. After scanning Xu Long's slightly dazed gaze, he spoke righteously to the surrounding crowd.
Everyone was hoping that one less person would enter, so that their chances would be greater. Therefore, they did not notice Xu Long. After bowing to Youquan, they all swore to Miejue Mount Emei to avenge the humiliation of the Maoling Mountain Range.
However, Protector Luan at the back of the crowd, spoke much softer when swearing his oath, and the two of them looked at Xu Long beside them with rather complicated expressions.
boom!
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a crack appeared on one corner of the ancient battlefield as a torrent of energy surged through it, the pitch-black expanse within seemingly leading to the depths of the earth.
At this moment, both unknown risks and opportunities exist; who will be the first to take the plunge?
Several figures flashed in the air, and then several Blood Alliance cultivators automatically entered the crack. Before everyone had to wait long, a crack opened up on the other side of the seal with a "boom".
Youquan remained unhurriedly standing among the crowd. After several figures disappeared into the crack, he glanced discreetly at the Divine Lord Chishi beside him.
"Quack!"
Sensing Youquan's gaze, the Divine Lord Chishi tilted his head, grinned, and responded with a ferocious smile, just as he always did.
Youquan immediately withdrew his gaze, having already focused his attention on the third corner of the seal. He seemed completely unaware that the blue ghost fire in the eyes of the Divine Lord Chishi had turned into a bright blood red!
With a loud "boom," the third crack opened, seemingly combining a large amount of energy from the formation. This crack was even wider than the previous two.
At its center, a deep vortex even formed, reflecting in the eyes of the dark vortex, within which lay the Blood Alliance's thousand-year pursuit and hope, as well as its own hard work and ambition!
With a resolute glint in his eyes, Youquan plunged into it without hesitation. After two "ga-ga" sounds, the Divine Lord Chishi's eyes flashed with ghostly fire of a different color than usual, and he transformed into a streak of light, instantly entering the space.
The remaining people looked at each other in bewilderment, then transformed into streaks of light and entered the vortex.
Once all the Blood Alliance cultivators had entered the vortex, the surging energy within the formation abruptly ceased pouring in, and the fourth crack, which was about to be opened, also seemed to lack momentum without the infusion of formation energy.
After everyone entered Chi You Blood Cave, the three cracks in the ancient battlefield stopped expanding, and the energy infused into the formation gradually stopped. Then, the energy of the two array flags, which were rotating clockwise and counterclockwise respectively, stopped in an instant.
The energy in the ancient battlefield showed signs of becoming somewhat disordered for a moment, but fortunately the formation did not collapse. It started rotating again after only a short while, and the surging energy was injected once more.
However, the clockwise and counterclockwise rotations reversed, and the energies that had merged in the air regained their balance. The cracks that had been impacted by the energy closed in an instant, and the two energies of the formation flowed automatically over them, like two swimming fish hovering over the ancient seal.
Meanwhile, Xu Long, who had appeared somewhat dazed and listless, suddenly snapped out of it. His Magic Power and cultivation were restored in an instant, sweeping away his previous fatigue and dejection. This made him look like a completely different person from before.
His eyes, which had started beating again, stared at the closed crack in Chi You Blood Cave. He raised his head and looked in the direction where Hong Gu had disappeared, a meaningful smile in his eyes.
With a flick of his wrist, he produced an object. In the sunlight, a cold glint was reflected in his eyes. Xu Long quietly examined the small flying sword; it was the flying sword of Li Yijun, the Grand Elder of Mount Emei.
Li Yijun had naturally died at Xu Long's hands, but the flying sword, meant to deliver the final blow, clung tightly to Xu Long. It wasn't that Xu Long was incapable of withstanding Li Yijun's final attack.
Judging from the situation at the time, Youquan had already wiped out the disciples of Mount Emei. If he were too powerful, it would inevitably make Youquan wary of him, and might even cause trouble before entering Chi You Blood Cave.
So, in order to avoid arousing the suspicion of the outwardly lenient but inwardly Youquan, Xu Long had no choice but to feign death and say that he would not enter Chi You Blood Cave, so that Youquan would lower his guard. As a result, this guy even sent the Divine Lord Chishi to investigate him.
As for now, "hehehe," I wonder what's become of the Divine Lord Chishi!
For some reason, Xu Long chuckled mischievously.
He then looked at the thin sword in his hand. The thin sword had lost its momentum after striking Xu Long and fell to the ground at the same time as him. Xu Long put it away the moment it hit the ground.
He had long suspected that Li Yijun was somewhat strange, but he was unable to investigate further during the battle. He kept his doubts to himself even as he faced life and death, but in the end, he still retrieved the slender sword.
Recalling Li Yijun's various performances, although he was only at the Half-Step Earth Immortal realm, the aura he exuded was no less than that of Youquan, and even when he was on the verge of collapse, he still demonstrated extremely powerful combat strength.
This deepened Xu Long's suspicions. The aura of decay emanating from the body was not fake; it was a sign that the cultivator had no hope of breaking through and was nearing the end of his lifespan.
Decline and death often accompany a cultivator's final days, because they cannot break through their shackles and can only wait for death. Watching their once powerful bodies gradually disintegrate and their once vibrant life force begin to fade is the greatest inner demon for every cultivator.
In the days that followed, the cultivator could only await death. His depleted Magic Power could no longer be used for combat. But Xu Long knew all too well just how powerful Li Yijun had been when she was on the verge of death!
The almost inexhaustible Magic Power and the immortal body made Xu Long think that this guy had broken through to the Immortal Realm on the eve of battle. Xu Long would be suspicious of anything that seemed unusual.
At this point, he had a gut feeling that there were other things he didn't know about in the Legend of Mount Shu World!
After much thought and speculation, combined with his intuition, Xu Long's doubts deepened. With a thought, he extended his will, and his immense will instantly poured into the slender sword in his hand.
This rapier is a relic left behind by Li Yijun. When it was activated to attack Xu Long, Li Yijun infused it with a large amount of her Magic Power and divine sense, so that the flying sword's attack power could be maximized. Since there are doubts, let's start from here!
As his willpower continued to penetrate, the rapier visibly trembled, and Xu Long thought to himself that something was indeed strange!
Li Yijun is dead. Even if the flying sword has a spirit, it cannot be considered to be so obviously defiant under his powerful will.
Recalling the glimmer of light that had emanated from it before, Xu Long felt his will surge intensely into it, and the sliver of light within the slender sword, which was unavoidable, was instantly captured by Xu Long's will.
Something was definitely fishy!
With a thought, a powerful will surged into the tiny ray of light. He wanted to examine this ray of light closely. At this moment, the ray of light was the fish on the chopping board, and Xu Long's will was the knife and the chopping board!
The last trace of divine consciousness clung to the slender sword. Without hesitation, he began the soul search, his will entering to examine Li Yijun's memories. Because of his experience with soul search, Xu Long did not flood in all his will at once.
He feared that this wisp of divine consciousness could not withstand his powerful will. Frame by frame, memories flashed through Xu Long's mind like a slideshow. Because so little divine consciousness remained, Li Yijun's memories were very brief.
Xu Long only found the latter half of his memories, and Li Xiuran actually occupied most of Li Yijun's memories.
The two belonged to the same sect, but their seniority was quite different. Li Xiuran's cultivation path was mostly paved by Li Yijun. With Li Yijun's guidance and his own excellent aptitude, he naturally reached the ranks of great cultivators in a very short time.
Li Yijun spared no effort in cultivating Li Xiuran, even securing him a major mission such as guarding the Southern Foothills Mountain Range. However, as Li Xiuran grew up, Li Yijun gradually aged.
He was the Grand Elder of Mount Emei, stuck at the Half-Step Earth Immortal level for many years without making any progress. His lifespan was clearly exhausted. In the eyes of the mountain sect, he could only cultivate a successor to ensure the safety of the clan.
But Xu Long's doubts remained undiminished. He then skipped over Li Yijun's matter and wanted to know what kind of energy supported an old man in a half-dead state, enabling him to fight against him in a battle comparable to that of the Immortal Realm!
He rushed straight into his memories until Li Yijun had sealed herself in the underground cave at the mountain gate, where there was a half-dead tree stump in the deep cave.
The spiritual energy in the cave was extremely rich, but even this could not stop Li Yijun's life force from dissipating. He sat cross-legged on the tree stump, as if only this withered tree stump could alleviate his decaying aura.
Xu Long bypassed Li Yijun and focused his will on the huge tree stump beneath him. Li Yijun had no idea where this tree stump came from; after finding the cave, he only knew that by perching on it, he could use its power to prolong his life.
But he harbored another thought in his heart: he had always been paying attention to Li Xiuran, the junior he had personally mentored, and his attention to Li Xiuran had even surpassed that to himself.
He remained perched on the tree stump day after day, and the magical stump delayed his death day by day, as if the decaying stump could provide him with endless vitality, allowing him to surrender everything beneath it without any defense.
When Xu Long read this passage, he already knew the answer: an old man nearing the end of his life, a gifted junior, tireless cultivation, meticulous care, a tree stump delaying death...
It seemed that all the doubts ultimately rested on this mysterious tree stump. Xu Long carefully probed it with his will, and as his will approached, the old man perched on the stump suddenly opened his eyes, as if showing signs of resurrection, and grinned at Xu Long:
Hehehe!
A ferocious smile appeared on the withered, wrinkled face. Before Xu Long could react, a gray flame shot out from his eyes, instantly engulfing the old man and the mysterious tree stump beneath him.
Seemingly not wanting Xu Long to investigate further, everything vanished into nothingness within the flowing flames. The black flames, like flowing water, engulfed everything within Li Yijun's remaining consciousness.
Xu Long watched all of this quietly. He didn't need to withdraw his remaining divine consciousness now; he could even stand aside and watch the gray flames engulf everything.
Mysterious tree stump, Li Yijun, Li Xiuran, Southern Foothills Mountain Range, Spirit-Gathering Array...
Recalling some clues and doubts from before, Xu Long's doubts seemed to have been answered: the tree stump beneath Li Yijun was definitely not an ordinary object.
Li Yijun was on the verge of death, had ulterior motives in training Li Xiuran. Xu Long knew that his path of cultivation was still long and he did not need to worry about his lifespan ending for the time being.
But for someone who has held a high position for many years, the inability to break through constraints and lifespan is a terrifying thing.
Watching his own life fade away day and night, he couldn't help but feel frustrated. But in Li Xiuran, he saw life and hope.
What happened next is not hard to guess. Faced with death and morality, Li Yijun, sitting cross-legged on the tree stump, must have already made up her mind about which to choose.
Reborn through the Rebirth Divine Hall, to live another life!
Forget about morality; in the face of life and death, nothing matters.
The most important thing is to survive.
For this, I'd give up everything.
Li Xiuran's ability to carry a large-scale Spirit-Gathering Array to guard the Southern Foothills Mountain Range at such a young age is not due to outstanding ability.
The existence of that mysterious tree stump was impossible to investigate, but Xu Long determined through his investigation that it must be an evil object.
Under its relentless erosion, in her final days, there was no longer any doubt about whether Li Yijun was good or evil.
Although he had gone astray, he didn't care at all.
The energy that Li Yijun unleashed in his near-death state was inextricably linked to the withered tree stump, after all, he had prolonged his death on it!