This cave is extremely deep, and the sword formation swept through solid stone walls all the way. It's unknown who painstakingly carved it out.
But the deeper they went, the stronger the spiritual energy emanating from the cave became, and the young man's gaze grew increasingly cautious.
The sword light emanating from the lotus illuminated the dark bottom of the cave, revealing the usually deserted cavern to the young man in a blurry form.
The young man in the air took a step forward, his figure closely following the passage carved out by the sword formation. This deep cave at the foot of the mountain turned out to be a hidden world.
Abundant spiritual energy gathers here, and the deep cavern reveals a spacious dome at its bottom, beneath which lies nothing but a huge tree stump.
The tree stump was extremely thick; the young man estimated it to be at least ten meters in diameter based on the fleeting reflection of the sword light, but the rings of growth on it were not clearly visible.
A rich spiritual energy gathered on the tree stump, but no other branches or leaves grew on its side. Logically speaking, with the nourishment of spiritual energy, even withered plants could Rebirth Divine Hall with the help of spiritual energy, but this bare tree stump appeared lifeless at the bottom of the deep cave.
The abundant spiritual energy represented vitality, while the withered tree stump represented death. The two completely different auras converged here, and an extremely strange feeling arose in the young man's heart.
The young man looked at the huge tree stump in front of him, wondering how many years the tree had been there. Perhaps it once had lush foliage, and perhaps it once basked in the sunlight.
Judging from the tree stump, it must have once been a massive, sky-covering structure, but now it is withered and dead, and despite being nourished by spiritual energy, it cannot regain any vitality.
The young man suddenly recalled the fleeting black shadow he had just seen, and for some unknown reason, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes.
The sword formation opened and closed like a lotus flower, revealing an unstoppable power. Its will locked onto the huge tree stump, and the long-accumulated sword light burst forth and swept away.
With a loud "boom," the dense spiritual energy was dispelled by a chilling sword aura. The sword formation, carrying an aura of decay, swirled around the tree stump, with sword energies spreading everywhere.
As the smoke and dust in the center dissipated, a huge pit appeared on the tree rings, from which a thick, decaying odor emanated. The seemingly intact tree stump had long since rotted inside.
After the sword formation broke through the tree stump, it swept out again. The lotus flower spun in the air, its opening and closing leaves carrying a sharp edge. This time, the young man did not strike the center directly. Instead, his will circled the tree stump, and the lotus flower looked for an opportunity to uproot the tree stump!
A series of clanging sounds suddenly arose, and the attacking sword formation suddenly emitted a sparkling light on the outside of the tree stump. The originally rotten tree stump was now comparable to a divine weapon, and it was flawless in the face of the sword formation and the youth's will.
The young man's gaze turned cold, and his magical Magic Power surged from the Blood Domain. The sharpness brought by the lotus flower intensified, and the sword energy on it formed a fierce net that instantly enveloped the tree stump below.
As the leaves opened and closed, the sword energy and sharpness were revealed. The rotating sword light carried a chilling aura and leveled off a section of the soil on the side of the tree stump.
The chilling sword energy pierced through the soil, severing countless roots below. This time, a tremor was clearly felt in the deep pit at the center of the tree stump, and a ghostly black shadow appeared.
The youth's will instantly caught sight of this ghostly black shadow. The lotus sword formation retracted, spun once in the air, and then suddenly dispersed.
Nine small swords spread out around the tree stump, completely surrounding the dark figure. Powerful Magic Power flowed between the sword lights. Although there seemed to be gaps between the individual sword lights, the rotating sword lights were actually completely airtight.
The young man narrowed his eyes as he stared at the dark figure. Then, the sword light on the outside began to converge, and the scattered leaves began to recombine into a lotus flower. Under the heavy sword light and Magic Power, the dark figure within had no chance of escape.
Hehehe!
As the sword light drew ever closer, the dark figure in the center of the tree stump let out a disdainful sneer, its hoarse voice sounding like two pieces of dry bark rubbing together.
He seemed completely unconcerned about the approaching sword light, staring intently at the young man in the darkness, twisting his head as if deep in thought.
The young man remained unmoved. His will followed the sword light, and now the scattered sword light around him was about to combine, instantly increasing the pressure on the dark figure within the sword light.
An invisible sword aura raged at the center, with one fierce sword beam after another attacking, its heavy power making it difficult to break free.
But his figure seemed quite light, and as the lotus closed, he was uncontrollable by the sword light and rose towards the dome. The black shadow flashed again in the young man's eyes.
With a loud "roar," a serpentine body appeared beneath the dome, its ferocious head facing the rising black shadow below.
The black shadow that had suddenly appeared was momentarily surprised when it saw the head of the blood dragon, seemingly not expecting the young man to possess such abilities. However, having experienced countless battles, it remained completely calm at this moment.
His body twisted into a bizarre pose in mid-air, deftly avoiding the blood dragon beneath the dome, but a cold smile appeared on the young man's lips.
With a resounding "hum," a heavy aura locked onto the dark figure, and the Lotus Sword Formation, seemingly anticipated, appeared before it.
The swirling sword beams instantly pierced the shadowy figure's body. The chilling sword energy enveloped the shadowy figure's form, and amidst the refracted sword beams, the young man could vaguely discern that the shadowy figure was actually the shape of a huge head.
His pupils suddenly contracted; this was...
The Heavenly Palace Grand Master, Shankui!
Hehehe!
The shadowy figure within the sword's edge, perhaps realizing its inevitable demise, turned its head and let out a strange, cold laugh at the young man.
His empty eye sockets held no eyeballs, yet it felt as if a gaze was fixed upon him. His skull-like head was a blank, and the cold laugh seemed to come from nowhere, making it sound particularly eerie.
And within those hollow eye sockets seems to possess a magical power, compelling one to gaze into them.
A murderous intent surged within the young man. He focused his mind and concentrated his will on the sword formation. In an instant, the spinning lotus shattered the massive head of the black shadow.
Under the barrage of sword light, a massive head instantly vanished into a wisp of gray mist, from which cold laughter seemed to echo.
Hearing those cold laughs made one feel restless, as if being scratched by a cat's claws. A strange thought arose in one's mind, and the murderous intent that had been in the eyes just now began to overflow uncontrollably.
A tremor ran through the young man 'Dao Heart. He immediately calmed his turbulent emotions and then, in one breath, annihilated all the gray mist within the sword light. The lotus flower swirled around the young man, and a peculiar energy emanated from the Blood Domain, erasing the distracting thoughts in the young man's mind.
The massive tree stump, which had been so sturdy just moments before, suddenly cracked open. The stench of decay could no longer be suppressed and burst forth, instantly filling the empty cavern.
At this moment, the dense spiritual energy in the cave began to dissipate, and the two strange auras from before vanished completely with the destruction of the black shadow.
A chill ran through the young man's heart. Xu Long's earlier guess was indeed correct; the Heavenly Palace's reach had unknowingly extended so far.
Xu Long had previously learned from Li Yijun's memories that the tree stump in the cave was not planted by him, and that the huge tree was not born after the establishment of Mount Emei.
Judging from its growth rings, it had been growing for thousands of years before Mount Emei. The towering tree, which had been rooted in the earth for countless years, was cut off at the root.
The Shankui from the Heavenly Palace went to great lengths to enter the Legend of Mount Shu World, and the young man knew that this was merely a fragment of the Shankui's soul.
The Shankui was a powerful being who had reached the Immortal Realm. Its main body was an immortal and indestructible being. What was annihilated in the sword formation was merely a fragment of its soul. For such a terrifying being, this was nothing more than a trivial trick.
By using this fragment of soul to influence Li Yijun, whose lifespan was dwindling, they then devoured Mount Emei layer by layer on her body, eventually obtaining the supreme treasure, the Haotian Mirror.
The actions of the Heavenly Palace have already created conflict with Xu Long, and the Shankui's behavior shows no regard for Xu Long's existence. The mystery hidden behind the scenes seems to be growing bigger and bigger, but Xu Long has no time to investigate it now.
As a top-tier cultivator in the Heavenly Palace, Shankui is not someone to be trifled with. He was previously in the " Secrets of the Heavenly Book " world, and now he is in the " Legend of Mount Shu World.
The shadow of the Heavenly Palace always loomed over Xu Long's path. Although he always managed to get ahead of them at the last minute, the pressure on him never lessened.
The young man's gaze pierced through the dome; the numerous obstacles above did not obstruct his vision. Beyond the sky, there seemed to be an impenetrable mist. The enormous tree stump in the cave had been completely shattered, and the shadowy figure had lost its eeriness after being annihilated by the sword formation.
The sword formation did not stop after annihilating the shadow. With a thought, the young man unleashed a sword light in the cave. Without the protection of the shadow, the cave shook violently along the stone wall above under the Lotus Sword Formation.
The deep cave was completely reduced to ashes under the sword formation, and the ancient tree stump was also completely shattered within, with countless roots severed underground.
The blood dragon unfurled its coiled body, its long form rising upwards, its massive head shattering the empty dome. With a thunderous roar, a streak of blood-red light dissipated into the cave.
A beam of light shines down from the dome, illuminating the ground beneath. Perhaps one day, the withered giant trees will regain their vitality under the sunlight, their towering canopies all having grown from tiny seedlings.
When White Eyebrows perished, Xu Long had already arrived at the battlefield. Under the youth's sword formation, the figure in the moon-white robe had already turned to ashes.
A beam of light shone through the sword formation, and then the sword formation swept past the light and headed towards the mountain below. Xu Long looked at the light behind the sword formation, and a long-lost joy flashed in his eyes.
Haotian Mirror!
A glint flashed in Xu Long, and then his immense will swept out, enveloping a beam of profound light in the void.
Xu Long did not act rashly at this moment. He knew that there was an even more powerful will within the Haotian Mirror, a force capable of contending with the will of the Great Emperor in the void.
Although White Eyebrows has perished, the power within the Haotian Mirror has not dissipated. He only needs to slowly gather his will and completely stabilize the Haotian Mirror within the Xuan Guang. Once the residual power diminishes, he can carefully explore the massive amount of energy it contains.
This is the most precious treasure of Mount Emei, and also a magical artifact of a Creator.
The immense energy and overwhelming power contained within it could not be unleashed by White Eyebrows. Xu Long's will slowly converged in the air, and the Haotian Mirror within the Xuan Guang kept rotating. Without White Eyebrows's body as its support, the light on its outer layer would slowly dim.
Xu Long's invisible will lifted a semi-transparent mirror in the air. He excitedly reached out his hand, and the will in the air guided the mirror to descend.
Perhaps sensing the pull of will, the mirror shrunk as it descended, rotating until it was about the size of a teacup when it reached his palm. Looking at the slowly rotating mirror in his hand, Xu Long felt a sense of relief and joy.
He stirred up trouble in the Legend of Mount Shu World, narrowly escaped death in the Chi You Blood Cave, and fled in a sorry state in the Tomb of the Great Emperor in the void.
Along the way, he united forces from both the righteous and evil factions, and finally successfully completed this mission at Mount Emei.
In Xu Long's hands, the Haotian Mirror felt like a piece of warm jade. Its exterior was neither gold nor jade, but speckled with the Spot light that flowed between its two layers. It had a slightly heavy feel when held, making the semi-transparent mirror seem like an object made of bronze or iron.
Its warm and smooth appearance is evident on its surface. Upon closer inspection, countless ancient seal script characters can be faintly seen, exuding an ancient aura under the illumination of the mystical light.
On the back of the Haotian Mirror are engraved some divine totems. This treasure has existed for countless years, and its ancient aura is immediately apparent upon contact.
Logically speaking, most treasures would gradually lose their original power if they were not constantly nurtured by abundant spiritual energy and Magic Power. However, the divine totems engraved on the Haotian Mirror were still vivid and lifelike.
The mysterious aura and imposing power were all hidden within the ferocious face of the deity. The intersecting lights in the mirror appeared and disappeared, making the deity's face appear to light up and darken intermittently.
When Xu Long looked at it, it seemed as if it was looking into Xu Long's eyes as well. No one knew whose work it was, but the divine totems carved on the Haotian Mirror seemed to have a life of their own.
Xu Long's pupils contracted slightly. In his palm was a small mirror, and within it lay an unfathomable aura of power!
As the mysterious light emanated, the ancient seal script characters within the Haotian Mirror gradually appeared, and then, guided by Xu Long's will, the characters gradually arranged themselves neatly.
A mysterious aura emanated from it; the neatly arranged characters subtly revealed the secrets of heaven, as if they recorded something, which seemed somewhat illogical when they appeared in the world.