Chapter 505: Prize

In the past, when Mount Luofu was destroyed, the human emperor sword appeared, splitting the Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron in two with a single strike. All the Grotto-Heavens around Mount Luofu fell, and the eight million worlds under the Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron were completely annihilated.

However, Li Qi didn't expect that the Sword Qi of the human emperor sword still remained in Zhu Ming Cave.

"Is this the inauspicious Jin Qi (Metal Energy) I saw with my Qi observation technique earlier?" Li Qi muttered to himself.

Indeed, this thing was truly too inauspicious.

"It's not Sword Qi… it's a sword mark." Shen Shuibi clutched her side, her hand already stained with blood.

She was already injured, a wound sustained from her confrontation with Lord Tianhong.

Lord Tianhong was, after all, a Dragon that was about to ascend, and even though Shen Shuibi, as a True Disciple of Mount Luofu, was much stronger than him, she couldn't defeat him quickly. Thus, in their entanglement, she suffered 'Heavenly Punishment.'

If a Fifth Grade fought fiercely in the world, Heavenly Punishment would inevitably occur, and Patrolling Envoys would even arrive after some time.

Shen Shuibi was lucky, or perhaps someone had intercepted the Patrolling Envoys, so she only encountered Heavenly Punishment. But this still left her seriously injured. She had stabilized, but now, affected by the aftershocks of the human emperor sword, her injuries flared up. The entire rabbit wilted, leaning against Li Qi, breathing softly, trying to regulate her breath and suppress her injuries.

However, she couldn't truly calm down and regulate her breath, as there might be countless more such aftershocks here.

That was the human emperor sword!

But then, Li Qi suddenly said, "Sword Qi emerges from the Guan Chong, passes through the Yang Valley of the small intestine, enters the San Li of the stomach, then the Shao Hai of the small intestine. Blood emerges from the Shang Yang, Qi from the Zhi Yin. When the Yang meridians are open, the blood and Qi are exhausted, and the evil Qi does not descend, thus it floats in Qiao Yin."

Shen Shuibi understood, not even needing to confirm. She immediately pulled out a row of silver needles and swiftly inserted them into the Jing, Ying, Yu, Jing, and He points of the five acupoints, controlling the five Qi. With the mutual generation of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, five degrees per hour, the kidney draws blood out of Yong Quan and into Tian Jing, dispelling the evil, thus preventing chaotic Qi from arising.

Then, dozens more silver needles were inserted into different meridians and Bloodlines, suppressing the injuries.

What was just said sounded profound, but it was actually their默契.

Shen Shuibi had to guard against potential Sword Qi aftershocks in the surroundings, so she couldn't sit in meditation and introspect to understand her injuries. She could only forcefully suppress them.

And Li Qi, at this moment, naturally didn't care about public order, good customs, or modesty. He directly used his True Knowledge Dao Resonance to scan her from head to toe, clearly seeing every inch of her skin, and even her meridians.

In this way, he had a good grasp of Shen Shuibi's injuries and directly told her.

The rabbit also felt herself being scanned, but due to the urgency of the situation, she couldn't afford to be shy at this moment. So she decisively chose to trust Li Qi and directly suppressed her injuries according to the method Li Qi provided.

Fortunately, the enhanced True Knowledge Dao Resonance did not make any mistakes.

With her injuries suppressed, Li Qi simultaneously released his senses to scout the surroundings.

The surroundings… could only be described as a complete mess.

The Xunhu was cracked, Yin Qi soared into the sky, mountains collapsed, the sea dried up, countless geofires erupted, the entire world was a mess. Zhu Ming Cave… was completely a dead land.

In this dead land, there was a sword mark.

It was as if a divine sword had descended from the sky, piercing through the Xunhu, splitting the firmament, and leaving an unhealable, massive wound on the earth, almost cleaving the entire Zhu Ming Cave in two.

From the sword mark, countless Sword Intent surged forth, transforming into indescribable 'Qi Intent' that roamed within Zhu Ming Cave, continuing to destroy the place.

The lingering sword mark of the human emperor sword unleashed terrifying residual power every moment, enough to slay ordinary Fifth Grade cultivators, as if thousands of divine swords were roaming, as if intending to annihilate all remaining vitality in this Grotto-Heaven.

But Li Qi knew that this was not a subjective intention to do so.

This was truly just 'residual power.' There was Dao Resonance on the sword mark, and these Dao Resonance were like the fingerprint left by the Great Shaman on White Snake Mountain in Baiyue back then.

A fingerprint pressed into the ground, and for thousands of years thereafter, endless residual power would emanate from this spot.

This was… the mark left by the human emperor sword. The Qi emanating from just the mark itself was enough to slay an ordinary Fifth Grade.

How did Zhu Ming Cave manage to withstand the human emperor sword's true body back then?

And what kind of power must that single strike from its true body have possessed?

Li Qi was shocked, but he had to force himself to calm down.

The human emperor sword had already left; what remained here was merely a sword mark. Li Qi irresponsibly guessed that the human emperor sword could probably make two hundred such cuts per second, so it wasn't anything particularly significant.

Compared to when it cleaved the Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron, this strike was merely a casual act by the human emperor sword. There was no need to be too nervous…

Furthermore, what he was facing was a mark left by a casual sword strike, and only a tiny bit of Qi Intent emanating from that mark. That was all. There was no need to worry… a Fifth Grade and a Sixth Grade wouldn't be shaken to death by Qi Intent.

If it were a Seventh Grade… they might truly be shaken to death.

He had been too careless. Outside, in the world, all traces and aftershocks were thoroughly cleaned up by the Patrolling Envoys, but he hadn't expected that those Patrolling Envoys wouldn't care about the situation inside Zhu Ming Cave.

All of Mount Luofu's Grotto-Heavens were probably in this state now, and many Grotto-Heavens might have already completely shattered and fallen.

Li Qi completely released his True Knowledge, reading all the information around him. At the same time, he looked far into the distance, enduring the stinging in his eyes, observing the sword mark and Zhu Ming Cave, which was almost split in two.

It was hard to imagine a Second Grade, almost First Grade, Grotto-Heaven being struck like this… How long was this sword mark? Zhu Ming Cave, as a top-tier Second Grade Grotto-Heaven, its area should be measured in light-years, right?

That is to say, this sword mark must also be measured in light-years?

Fortunately, Shen Shuibi knew the way. When they entered, they arrived directly at the central area; otherwise, if they had entered randomly, it wouldn't have been a matter of one or two days to get here.

As he observed, Li Qi relayed the information and intelligence he gathered to Shen Shuibi.

"The next Sword Qi will pass this way in about three hours. The Sword Qi here has no discernible pattern; it moves randomly. It's all residual from that sword mark, but the quantity isn't large, only… over ten thousand. Although they are still being generated, some are also weakening with the passage of time."

Shen Shuibi nodded. She looked much better. The silver needles had temporarily suppressed her injuries, so her complexion had recovered significantly.

Then, she said, "That's good. Over ten thousand, it shouldn't be dense in Zhu Ming Cave. I can also sense it: the fluctuations corresponding to the outside world are about thirty thousand miles ahead, in the southern position."

"Alright, then let's head that way first." Li Qi helped her, summoned the Ghost Chariot, and they both rode on it.

Shen Shuibi wanted to drive the Ghost Chariot, but Li Qi stopped her: "Teach me the method. Although I'm not skilled, you should rest and regulate your breath while we travel."

Shen Shuibi pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Very well. There should be no one else in Zhu Ming Cave at this time, so even if you make a mistake in controlling it, you won't hit anyone. It's a good opportunity for you to practice."

Saying that, she formed several hand seals, which produced several wisps of scholarly Qi, containing the method for driving the Spiritual Artifact.

Li Qi took the scholarly Qi, scanned it with his True Knowledge Dao Resonance to read the information within, and then began to learn how to drive.

It was well-known throughout the world that Shaman were not adept at using Spiritual Artifact.

More Spiritual Artifact wasn't necessarily better or stronger. Stronger Spiritual Artifact required more mental effort and energy to control, which would divide one's attention more in battle.

Moreover, Spiritual Artifact themselves might not always be compatible with the cultivator, perhaps leading to half the effort for twice the result. Therefore, Dao Orthodoxy that used Spiritual Artifact would try to increase the compatibility of their Spiritual Artifact and specifically train their ability to use Divided Soul to control them.

But Shaman had no such need. They basically had no requirements for Spiritual Artifact. Even if they occasionally did, they were Shaman Dao-specific 'living Spiritual Artifact' that possessed living properties and could cooperate with the Shaman on their own, without needing Divided Soul.

However, now that Li Qi had studied in the Doctrinal Canon, he had gained some experience in controlling Spiritual Artifact. He had even fought the Demonic Prince using Spiritual Artifact exoskeleton before, so he was no longer so 'ignorant.'

After accelerated learning with his True Knowledge Dao Resonance, Li Qi learned how to drive within an hour.

However… he was a novice driver, to the point where he'd need insurance if he crashed.

As a novice, Li Qi controlled the Ghost Chariot, moving forward. Fortunately, the Ghost Chariot had the ability to infiltrate the underworld, which was like phase-shifting, allowing it to avoid many people's sight and specific dangers. So Li Qi wanted to try this function.

But after trying, he found that there was no underworld within Zhu Ming Cave.

He had no choice but to give up and continue forward honestly.

Fortunately, his learning ability was extraordinary, and he mastered the driving skills in no time.

However, even though he had mastered it, driving… was indeed troublesome. There were too many things to manipulate and too many things to pay attention to.

Controlling a Sixth Grade Spiritual Artifact to fly was more complex than he had imagined. No wonder some Great Power preferred to travel on foot or tame mounts rather than get a flying Spiritual Artifact.

It turned out they didn't want to drive; driving was too much trouble.

This was still a passenger-type Spiritual Artifact, with many convenient control settings like a dashboard.

If one were to fly with a sword, a combat Spiritual Artifact completely unsuitable for carrying passengers, it would probably consume even more mental energy.

Those who fly with swords… there must be something a little… off in their heads.

However, it might also be because it was truly cool. For the sake of being cool, spending a little more mental effort was fine.

Li Qi's mind wandered with these strange thoughts, and he became more and more skilled at driving. Finally, in less than half a day, he cautiously, without any accidents, drove to the place Shen Shuibi had mentioned.

This place… should be the core area of Zhu Ming Cave?

Li Qi could see that in this place, the human emperor sword had struck especially fiercely, but surprisingly, there were no lingering sword marks nearby.

This meant that the core area had withstood the greatest attack but left no traces. This might be why Zhu Ming Cave still existed.

"This area is safe; we've arrived." Li Qi patted Shen Shuibi.

At this moment, the rabbit opened her eyes, her complexion looking much better.

With nearly half a day's time, she had temporarily suppressed her injuries. They weren't healed, but if she didn't make too many large movements, she would be as good as new.

Of course, if the suppressed injuries flared up again, it would be even more severe.

"This area… I found it. It's in there." Shen Shuibi looked around and found an immortal mountain floating in the air.

Li Qi was surprised to find that if she hadn't said anything, he wouldn't have noticed anything there!

There must be some special means, right?

After all, it was Zhu Ming Cave; it was normal for there to be something inside.

Thinking this, Li Qi immediately drove the Ghost Chariot straight to the floating mountain.

There was a faint layer of spell protecting it, not a permanent spell, but one cast by a person, and… the fluctuations on it were so intense that even Li Qi could sense them.

"Whose aura is this? So strong… The residual aura is at this level, are they still alive?" Li Qi frowned. He sensed that the spell was still operating, which meant there was a very high possibility of a living person here.

Shen Shuibi, however, showed a surprised expression. She quickly said, "It's one of our own! This aura… this fluctuation, it's Granny Lan!"

"Granny Lan?" Li Qi hadn't heard that name, but he knew Granny Mei.

The only surviving Fourth Grade of Mount Luofu, who was once the master of many Grotto-Heavens of Mount Luofu.

So, was this person also a former master of a Mount Luofu Grotto-Heaven? Where was Qingjing Xiansheng?

Qingjing Xiansheng was the master of Zhu Ming Cave.

Moreover, looking at the name, Qingjing Xiansheng was a Anomolus Spirit of plants and trees. Granny Mei and Granny Lan should also be Anomolus Spirit of plants and trees, which means that most of Mount Luofu's Grotto-Heaven masters were Anomolus Spirit?

Indeed, Dao Orthodoxy was not constrained by these things, and Mount Luofu happened to be such a treasure land, with Spiritual Plant everywhere, so it was probably normal for many plants and trees to become Anomolus Spirit.

However, since it was confirmed to be one of their own, they should quickly go up and see.

The two drove the Ghost Chariot, swiftly breaking through the concealing spell. Shen Shuibi led the way, and Li Qi drove. They quickly rushed into the mountain.

Then the two jumped off the Ghost Chariot, and Li Qi put it away.

Shen Shuibi didn't even wait for Li Qi to stand firm, rushing directly towards the source of the fluctuations in the distance.

Li Qi shook his head, put away the Ghost Chariot, and quickly followed. He was also very anxious.

Mount Luofu had another Fourth Grade alive!

This was a huge joyous occasion. Not to mention the support and stabilizing effect a Fourth Grade's presence would have on the current Mount Luofu, just the fact that 'someone is still alive' was enough to be a pleasant surprise.

Returning to a destroyed homeland, if one could meet an old acquaintance, the joy in one's heart was indeed indescribable.

The two quickly arrived at the top of this hidden immortal mountain.

However, as soon as they reached the top, Li Qi discovered that there was a small maze here, arranged with various trials, but these trials were all miniaturized versions.

Li Qi had seen the original version.

The 'opportunities' that those Daoists outside had stumbled upon, the designs of the mechanisms and traps, were all laid out here.

And next to these designs, an orchid was swaying.

"Is this… the prize?" Li Qi frowned.

The orchid was alive, but one couldn't say 'alive'.