Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

After passing through the bluestone passage, Zhang Li arrived at a spacious and ancient stone chamber hall.

The main hall is very spacious, about half the size of a football field.

Zhang Li's gaze swept quickly across the entire area, and he could immediately see the traces of human cultivators living and practicing there for a long time. However, due to the passage of time, most of the objects in the hall had long since decayed and would crumble at the slightest touch.

On one side of the main hall, several rows of stone storage shelves were neatly arranged, with many spiritual items on them, including jade bottles and boxes containing pills, spiritual lights, etc. Without exception, they were all covered with a thick layer of dust.

Zhang Li held his breath and opened one of the jade bottles. Due to the passage of time and the fact that the cave owner had not sealed it, the pills inside had spoiled and turned into a dark, muddy mess.

Judging solely from this lump of spoiled medicinal mud, he could hardly determine what kind of pills originally were contained in the jade bottle.

However, Zhang Li probably didn't consider it a rare elixir, otherwise it wouldn't be displayed so openly in the main hall.

He then opened several other jade bottles, but found nothing.

After a careful search, Zhang Li only found a few pieces of first-tier spirit ore and a jade box containing something unknown in the main hall. The jade box had a sealing talisman on it and was also protected by additional restrictions.

Given his current condition, there's no way to open it in a short time, so Zhang Li had no choice but to put it away for now and deal with it later.

After emptying the storage shelves of anything valuable, Zhang Li continued deeper into the area.

During his brief scan earlier, he noticed that there seemed to be a passage leading deeper into the hall on the right side. He hadn't paid attention to it while busy searching the storage shelves, but now that he had finished, he deliberately turned and walked towards the right.

The stone wall on the right side of the main hall is not completely sealed off; there is a narrow passage about ten feet high, which seems to lead to a secret room at the end.

Entering the secret chamber through the half-open stone door, Zhang Li saw a cultivator's skeleton slumped in the center of the chamber. The skeleton was wearing a light blue robe, but due to severe damage and its age, the robe had long lost its spiritual essence and was worthless.

"Such serious injuries!"

The remains of this cultivator should have been left behind after the death of the cave's owner.

Through the tattered robes, one can see multiple breaks in the skeleton. The fatal wound was in the chest, with a large area of ​​the sternum shattered, and the entire right arm bone completely broken.

Judging from the scars left on the skeleton alone, one can imagine the terrible injuries it suffered before its demise, which was certainly not a natural death due to the exhaustion of its lifespan.

This also completely explains why the stone door at the entrance of the cave was half-closed. The cave's owner suffered a severe injury and died, having exhausted all his strength and no longer having the energy to seal the cave.

Several porcelain bottles lay scattered on the ground in front of the skeleton, all empty. It was clear that the cave's owner had used every means at his disposal, but his injuries were too severe to save him.

At the skeleton's waist, Zhang Li saw a dusty gray storage bag that looked unremarkable.

But a storage bag that a Foundation Establishment cultivator can carry close to their body is not as simple as it looks. It's just that it hasn't been used and refined for a long time, so its spirituality is not apparent.

Zhang Li slowly stepped forward, first bowing slightly to the skeleton to show his respect for the senior cultivator, before carefully reaching out to take the storage bag.

He then briefly inspected the secret room and, after confirming that there were no other valuable items, he turned and left without further hesitation.

Stepping out of the secret chamber, Zhang Li sealed it shut with his backhand, making it the resting place of the cave's owner.

Back in the main hall, he cleared a clean space and sat down cross-legged.

The location of this cave dwelling was clearly carefully chosen, with abundant spiritual energy. There is at least one first-grade high-quality spiritual vein beneath the cave. Although Zhang Li does not have the means to move spiritual veins, he can still use this environment rich in spiritual energy to recover from his injuries.

As for the Qin family and Zhou Xuan, they are probably already dead. Even if they are not dead, their situation is no better. The Marrow Cleansing Fruit is right there; they can't escape it.

Thinking of this, Zhang Li took another healing pill and began to meditate and regulate his breathing.

This was the most serious injury he had suffered in all his years of cultivation, and he had personally tested the destructive power of the Thunderclap Pearl.

The residual force alone could easily tear apart the protective shield formed by the Vajra Talisman. Fortunately, Zhang Li had inner armor protecting him, which prevented him from completely losing his ability to move.

Thinking of this, Zhang Li felt fortunate and silently refined the medicinal power to repair his injuries.

……

Two hours later, Zhang Li slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

Some of the shallow wounds have completely healed, and the deeper wounds have scabbed over. The internal injuries caused by the powerful impact can only be treated slowly.

After a while.

Zhang Li swam back to the surface and looked around, but found no trace of anyone else.

"Could they all really have died in the cave?" Zhang Li muttered to himself.

When the second Azure Python appeared, Qin Mu, the most powerful among the group, was whipped away by its tail and his fate was unknown. None of the rest, including Zhang Li, could stand up to the Azure Python. Only Zhou Xuan, who was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, could put up a fight.

But judging from the current situation, Zhou Xuan probably didn't escape either.

Zhang Li took out the Heavenly Sun Sword, carefully passed through the waterfall, and entered the cave again.

As soon as he entered, he smelled an unusually pungent, corrosive odor, the smell of the venom sprayed by the Azure Serpent corroding the rock walls.

The cave was in complete disarray, with rubble scattered everywhere. Many hard rocks had been smashed by the giant python's brute force. Not far in front of it lay a corpse, now lifeless.

The corpse was covered in a large amount of dark green venom, and was so corroded that it was almost unrecognizable. Zhang Li could only tell from the remaining scraps of clothing on the corpse that it was Zhou Xuan, who was at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Zhou Xuan was originally the second most powerful cultivator in the group, but unfortunately, he was tempted by the Marrow Cleansing Fruit and did not choose to escape in time. In the end, he died at the last step before escaping the cave.

Zhang Li bypassed Zhou Xuan's corpse and continued to explore inside. He then saw two more mutilated corpses, one of which had died from the corrosive effects of python venom and the other from severe injuries inflicted by brute force. Both of their deaths were extremely tragic.

These two corpses were two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators who accompanied the Qin family.

Further ahead, the bodies of Qin Feng and another member of the Qin family came into Zhang Li's view. These two had also died from severe injuries inflicted by brute force, but their condition was better than the previous three, as their bodies were barely preserved intact.

"Life is so fragile!"

Zhang Li stepped forward and closed Qin Feng's wide-open eyes, then sighed softly.

He still remembered the scene when he first met Qin Feng, a boy who was younger than him, innocent and naive, a boy who should have had a bright future, but died in the cave.

Zhang Li composed himself and continued to scan the depths of the cave. When his gaze swept over the pile of broken rocks and rubble in the center, he suddenly stopped.

"There are still people alive."

Zhang Li's mind raced, and he immediately realized what was happening.