Xuanjian Xianzu

Chapter 1306 The Primordial Realm
The flowing white light had turned into a phantom, like a star in the sky, slowly receding into the distance. Li Jiangqian had a thousand thoughts in his mind, but in the end, he used a moment to discard these distracting thoughts and felt a secret thrill.

'Tai Xu... has indeed disappeared.'

Just like Wanlingtian back then, Li Jiangqian could not sense the slightest bit of the Great Void here. There was not a single gap in his spiritual sense to pass through. Sheng Yang and his supernatural powers were completely contained within his physical body!

His gaze returned to his feet, and what filled his pupils was the long river flowing eastward without end.

This river is so wide that it cannot be seen in its entirety. Its color is as black as ink, and it flows through a thick fog. Floating on the surface of the river is an extremely rich spiritual energy and various kinds of water energy. Occasionally, one or two floating lotus platforms will pass by, which are obviously places where people have cultivated in the past.

Li Jiangqian had long seen the vastness of the Yangtze River, but upon witnessing this scene, he was still somewhat moved, and his heart was filled with rather different thoughts:

'Spiritual consciousness was not suppressed!'

Back when Li Zhouwei went to Wanling Heaven, the entire world suppressed spiritual consciousness and constantly drained the magical power from others. This cave heaven was completely different; it was relaxed and carefree. Spiritual consciousness flowed freely across the vast river. If it weren't for the rich water virtue that made him very uncomfortable, it would have been a sacred place for cultivation.

'Besides this water…'

Li Jiangqian's gaze swept across the river surface beneath his feet, and he indeed sensed the gradually waning spiritual energy within it. In an instant, he made a judgment:

'Spiritual resources and palaces must lie at the bottom of this great river! The struggle for treasures will also inevitably take place within this great river!'

This does not mean that the area above the river is a safe place—it is fraught with danger. It is better to stay at the bottom of the river, but once you swim to the surface, you will inevitably be exposed to everyone's sight and become the target of everyone's attacks.

Without hesitation, taking advantage of his early entry, he immediately sank into the water. It was pitch black, and he instantly connected his spiritual senses, silently reciting:

[Investigate the Ghost!]
The vast darkness before him suddenly cleared, and the boundless waters became clearly visible. Li Jiangqian floated into the depths and soon discovered palaces at the bottom of the river.

These palaces, some large, some small, some high, some low, floated on the river. Li Jiangqian first casually stepped into a hall and found that the great formation here had long been destroyed. After carefully scanning the area and searching left and right, he could only barely take out a single spiritual resource.

This spiritual material was pitch black, consisting of scales smaller than the palm of one's hand, yet it shimmered with light. Li Jiangqian immediately felt it looked familiar:
"【Cangzhou Huilin】?"

Back then, Dingyangzi from Baiyang Mountain used this very substance when he came to refine elixirs. Li Ximing had a surplus after only two or three uses. Li Jiangqian was fortunate enough to have seen it once, but he vaguely felt that something was amiss:

"It seems a bit smaller, and the colors are deeper..."

He didn't care about anything else, just put it in his pocket. With the blessing of [Cha You], he was like a fish in water. First, he pretended to break into several halls, but as expected, all he got were some Qi Refining items. He immediately frowned and said:
"The Chen family left in a hurry, and there are quite a few things left behind. However, there must have been many cultivators in this cave back then, including many Qi Refining cultivators... We must go deeper into it to take a look."

Without hesitation, he sped towards the bottom of the river. Everything around him disappeared like dark shadows, and everything became increasingly scarce. After a while, he finally saw the black stone at the bottom of the river, smooth as a mirror.

Upon arriving at this place, the energy of the Kan water element was already extremely concentrated. Even Li Jiangqian, a being with fire element supernatural powers, felt short of breath and his heart was heavy. He searched along the riverbed for a while and finally saw a continuous stretch of palaces.

The palace is made of glazed tiles and blue bricks, with bright colors that shimmer in the dark river water. However, the array's brightness is inconsistent, seemingly due to the damage to Xuan Tao, making it somewhat unstable.

'I've heard that Dalingchuan was originally a collapsing grotto-heaven, only temporarily stabilized by the True Lord. Now that it's been activated, it's suffered many disturbances, and the formation is no longer stable!'

Li Jiangqian was immediately overjoyed. He held a bundle of supernatural power in his hand and summoned the inner fire.

The inner fire, gathered by supernatural powers, was originally the size of a fist, but now, appearing in the palm of the hand, it was only three fingers wide, its amber light flickering constantly, as if it were being suppressed by something.

'pity…'

This place is extremely unfavorable to fire-element cultivators. The spiritual atmosphere, which is completely different from the outside world and extremely inclined to water element, along with the vast and boundless Kan water atmosphere, has suppressed his supernatural powers by 30% and weakened his heart fire by 20%. If it weren't for the image of the sun in the "Great Li Book," it would be even worse.

Fortunately, Li Jiangqian had the blessing of [Cha You], and realized that there was no one nearby, only a palace hundreds of miles away, which no one had even noticed!

Without hesitation, he swallowed the inner fire, formed hand seals, and a little bit of crimson light flew out, swirling in his palms—this was the [Great Li Crimson Light].

These crimson lights leaped one after another, and there were already eight of them!

Li Jiangqian hasn't had time to cultivate these techniques over the years. He only consumed two spiritual items, and with the completion of the "Great Li Book" and the achievement of "Shunping Conquest," the number of these techniques naturally increased to eight!
But his movements didn't falter at all, as he simultaneously connected his inner energy:
【Greedy Net, Mysterious Separation】!
This talismanic energy responded, and life sensed a second time. Eight more Crimson Xi jumped out one by one, converging with each other and condensing into Golden Xi. Without a sound, Li Jiangqian's progress in [Great Li White Xi Light] had caught up with Li Ximing, reaching a total of sixteen, only four short of two Golden Xi. He only needed to condense two more!
His expression remained calm, while his crimson robe simultaneously lit up. The [Imperial Radiance] power of the [Heavenly Sun Profound Fire Robe] shone brightly, and an extremely intense golden light roared out. Although it weakened rapidly under the suppression of heaven and earth and the erosion of seawater, it arrived suddenly and slammed into the great formation.

"Oh!"

An invisible wave rippled outwards, and the already weakening formation finally collapsed under the onslaught of this fiery magic.

【Da Li Bai Xi Guang】is indeed a powerful spell. Using it at full power consumes a great deal of energy. Li Jiangqian was slightly out of breath when the 'Shun Ping Zheng' within his body suddenly responded the moment the formation shattered, and a golden light descended, draping over his body.

He used this opportunity to enter the palace. Without hesitation, he flew deep into the palace and once again activated the "Shunping Zheng" technique. A golden light swept across the scene, revealing the view of the side hall beneath his feet.

Two golden lights immediately descended, smashing a side hall door and tearing it open. Two black and white objects were swept out and fell into the jade box in his hand!

He had already drawn his golden spear and personally struck another one. The spear swept across, smashing the unprotected hall to pieces and lighting a bronze lamp.

Unlike when Li Zhouwei landed where many cultivators gathered, he entered earlier thanks to the light of the underworld, and now he sneaked in without any hindrance.

But he didn't let his guard down at all—under the [Cha You] probe, he found that someone was already heading straight for this place from afar, so they must have noticed something.

So he rose up amidst the flames and went straight into the main hall!
The main hall was built of huge lapis lazuli and black glazed tiles. The eaves had collapsed, broken tiles were scattered, the reliefs were worn, the emerald-like palace gates were wide open, the exquisitely carved stone table was overturned, a round bead rolled on the ground, and all was silent.

Li Jiangqian stood before the hall, but his steps faltered.

The main hall was extremely deep and secluded, with crystal-clear pillars that swayed precariously amidst the tremendous tremors, and a painting stood in the very center.

The scene in the painting is quite peculiar, constantly changing, with the sky and earth darkening, a raging storm raging, and thunder roaring—a spectacular sight of the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart.

The apocalyptic scene revolves around a tall boy, dressed in a dark yellow robe, with a jade seal hanging beside him. He is straddling a ferocious beast, holding the jade seal aloft in one hand and tightly clutching dense scales in the other.

These sharp, knife-like scales cut deeply into his palm, drawing amber-colored blood, but the boy seemed completely unaware, his face blank!
Behind the boy, a giant beast with long feathers, four legs, and wings lay prostrate on the ground, blood flowing like a waterfall.

Beyond all these sights, further north, lies a colossal wave, resembling a dragon or serpent. Within its surging currents, grotesque scales and claws are revealed, as if a pair of sinister eyes are lurking within the waters, surveying the world.

The water in the main hall was almost stagnant, filled with a desolate feeling that penetrated to the bone. Under the gaze of those eyes, an invisible yet heavy pressure lingered.

Li Jiangqian narrowed his eyes slightly and saw four golden characters floating beneath the Xuanhua painting.

'The Transformation of the Honggou Canal.'

The man stared intently, as if bewitched, and after a long while, slowly took a step back.

Li Jiangqian's supernatural powers were constantly issuing warnings. Under the influence of [Investigation of the Netherworld], the dangerous aura emanating from the painting seemed ready to burst forth at any moment and tear him to shreds.

His gaze shifted slightly, sweeping over the pearl that had rolled to the ground. No matter how alluring the pearl was, he did not hesitate to take another step back, and his figure vanished with a bang!

The main hall fell silent for a moment. The collapsed jade table lay quietly in the hall, and suddenly a slight cracking sound could be heard.

"Crack."

The wind and rain in the painting began to drift slowly, and lightning flashed, splitting the painting into a small crack. Immediately, a trickle of wind and rain emerged, dripping and pattering on the glazed floor.

"Crack!"

Another bolt of lightning struck.

The wind and rain inside the main hall intensified, and the river in the painting suddenly began to flow, as if it were about to burst out of the mysterious painting and sweep across the eight directions. The boy riding on the ferocious beast seemed to be slowly fading away, and his hands gradually loosened.

A slight tremor came from the main hall.

The winged behemoth lying on the ground shifted its body slightly, as if panting in pain. The ferocious beast held in the boy's hand turned its eyes and stared straight at the exit of the hall. The scale or claw that had been visible in the distant waterfall that resembled a dragon and snake had disappeared.

A pair of white boots stepped onto the ground.

The white pearl, covered in dust on the ground, shimmered and was picked up by a clean, white hand. Its lustrous, glass-like surface reflected a myriad of images, illuminating the handsome face of the young man with delicate eyebrows and large eyes, and his meticulously groomed beard and hair.

He tossed the jade bead, put the item into his sleeve, carefully straightened his sleeves, righted the tilted stone table, sat up straight, and quietly watched the figure that hurriedly descended from the sky to the front of the hall.

This man, holding a long halberd, was dashing and spirited. He wore a tall crown and a wide belt, and his feathered robes shimmered. He seemed to be discerning his location. Once he confirmed that this was the place, he stood still and immediately noticed the person in the hall.

His pupils dilated sharply, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. This dignified master was momentarily speechless, listening to the man in the hall laugh:
"Fellow Daoist Tuoba, you've been tricked again!"

"Boom!"

A terrifying storm of supernatural power erupted instantly, its light, both dark and yellow, shooting straight into the sky and pushing aside all the waves. From within, an extremely solidified black light, tinged with a deep crimson hue, flew out, followed by a resounding, earnest voice that echoed throughout the sea:

"You'd better run for your lives!"

……

'Dalingchuan. '

The sky and earth were gloomy, the water rippled, and in the vast天地 (heaven and earth), only the long river flowed endlessly, while everything else was boundless darkness. The man in white stood on the deep sky, quietly looking down.

Lu Jiangxian had already stepped into this remaining cave, strolling through it with bright eyes.

'How peculiar!'

This cave is completely different from the previous ones. It is circular in shape, concave and convex in the middle, like a circular trench dug in flat ground, with the ends connected.

'This is the pit of the Kan River.'

The long river within it flows ceaselessly, its head and tail connected, endlessly flowing through this ring-shaped valley, completely isolated from the outside world. If it were never opened by outsiders, this world could continue its endless cycle.

His gaze pierced through the endless flow of water, and in an instant, he saw a ray of light that existed at the bottom of the endless river, sealed away by all sorts of supreme supernatural powers.

This radiance is extremely captivating. Converging at a single point, it evokes endless imagery, as if a hundred rivers were flowing together, passing through the earth, and through narrow gorges, the water flows amidst overlapping shadows, thus revealing its depths before rushing into the sea!

'Kan Water' has the element of Metal!

The distinctly different aura emanating from above indicates one thing:

"This is the 'Kan Water' metal element from before, the 'Kan Water's Trapped Nature' that Xiao Chuting spoke of! It's not just that the powerful being who hid this cave back then possessed extraordinary abilities, but also the very existence of this metal element—this very thing—that is the fundamental reason why Dalingchuan has been able to independently maintain its natural world and self-circulate for so long!"

But things are different now.

Lu Jiangxian could clearly sense that as this cave gradually connected with the outside world and broke free from the control of the metal element, without the intervention of the True Lord, everything in the world would slowly approach the current 'Kan Water' fruition.

'The Kan River has ripples.'

All these changes manifest outwardly as the surging river beneath our feet!

'As this grotto-heaven was gradually tamed by the power of the fruition, the water level was rising at a slow but steady pace, attempting to overflow from the pool within the trough…'

The moment when the rivers and seas filled this world was the moment when this great Lingchuan River disintegrated, the moment when the metal element leaped out of the pit—and the moment when Xiao Chuting finally achieved enlightenment after many years of preparation!
According to Lu Jiangxian's calculations, even if no one interferes, this time will definitely not exceed three months. If any major changes occur, it will certainly be earlier.

'not to mention…'

He slowly raised his head, his solemn gaze fixed on the sky, looking at the figures beyond the cave, figures that stretched to the heavens and the earth, forced to bow and stoop between heaven and earth:
Everyone's here.