Chapter 352: Unchanging Qi

Chapter 352: Unchanging Qi

Li Xuan stood at the bottom of the Celestial Cavern, attempting to sense beyond it. Soon, Xu Yan, Meng Chong, Su Lingxiu, and others arrived, curiously exploring the cavern.

Xu Yan immediately sensed the extraordinary aura and captured it in his palm to examine it.

Wu Tiannan and the other Spiritual Realm experts also entered cautiously, their eyes filled with curiosity as they wondered about the formation of the Celestial Cavern.

"There's a strange aura here," Wu Tiannan frowned.

"Be careful. I feel that if we absorb this aura, it might remain in our bodies and cause some trouble," Xin Mengrou warned gravely.

Li Xuan felt helpless. His strength was lacking, preventing him from sensing beyond the heavens and the earth.

After all, he had not truly transcended the heavens and the earth.

"What kind of aura is this?"

The extraordinary aura continued to gather in his palm, eventually enveloping it completely.

Li Xuan furrowed his brows, his intuition telling him that this aura was not simple. After all, it couldn't be refined, and it gave him a sense of eternity.

"Why not give it a try?"

Li Xuan's heart stirred as he looked at the Golden Book of the Great Dao in his spirit platform.

With the Golden Book, he had gained information about the Grand Primordial Book Pattern. Perhaps he could also gain insight into this extraordinary aura?

However, the Golden Book was in his spirit platform, and he would need to absorb a strand of the aura and infuse it into the book.

He wasn't sure what would happen once the aura entered his spirit platform, which made him hesitate.

On the other hand, Xu Yan was also sensing this extraordinary aura.

"It's just a strand. It shouldn't cause any major problems," Li Xuan finally decided to take the risk.

This extraordinary aura couldn't be refined, but a mere strand shouldn't cause any significant issues. Moreover, he possessed so many divine abilities that he was confident he could expel it if needed.

With that in mind, Li Xuan cautiously absorbed a strand of the aura and brought it into his spirit platform.

To prevent any accidents, his primordial spirit had retreated to a corner of the spirit platform, and he had deployed all his defensive measures. The Golden Book of the Great Dao stood protectively in front of his spirit.

As the aura entered his spirit platform, Li Xuan noticed that it trembled slightly, as if affected by the aura's haze. It seemed to carry an eternal and immortal essence.

However, instead of rejoicing, Li Xuan's heart sank as he realized that his spirit platform felt heavier, as if a mountain had been placed upon it.

Moreover, he sensed that if this state persisted, his spirit platform might eventually crumble under the strain.

"This aura, if it enters the soul of a Spiritual Realm warrior, will be like a mountain pressing down on them. It might even cause their souls to become muddled and their consciousness to scatter," Li Xuan thought.

Even with his strong spirit platform and powerful primordial spirit, he felt a sense of heaviness. What then, of the souls of Spiritual Realm warriors?

Li Xuan opened the Golden Book of the Great Dao and infused the strand of aura into it. He stared intently at the book.

Golden light surged, and the strand of aura was absorbed by the book.

Information appeared on the pages of the Golden Book:

"Unchanging Qi, immortal and unchanging, chaotic and primordial. Only the Great Dao and the heavens at the beginning of time can transform it... When it enters a warrior's soul, it scatters their consciousness, returning them to an unawakened and unintelligent state..."

Unchanging Qi!

Li Xuan's heart pounded as he read, deeply shocked by the nature of this Unchanging Qi.

Only the Great Dao and the heavens at the beginning of time could transform it, turning it into the origin of the heavens and the earth. Even qi and other energies were derived from it.

If it entered a warrior's soul, it would scatter their consciousness, returning them to an unawakened and unintelligent state.

"Is this the aura from beyond the heavens?"

Li Xuan marveled inwardly.

Unchanging Qi, if it could be used for cultivation, would undoubtedly be a treasure, greatly enhancing a warrior's strength.

However, due to its unchanging nature, warriors were unable to cultivate it.

"That doesn't mean it's completely unusable. Just because the Grand Primordial Martial Arts can't use it doesn't mean my martial arts can't. Even if I can't use it now, I can always create a method," Li Xuan thought.

"Moreover, the Unchanging Qi in its current state is not entirely unusable. As long as I don't absorb it into my spirit platform and primordial spirit, it should be fine," he added.

Li Xuan considered the information provided by the Golden Book of the Great Dao, his mind buzzing with ideas.

While Unchanging Qi couldn't be used to improve one's cultivation level, it could be used to cultivate divine abilities.

And not just divine abilities, but also restrictions and other techniques.

Li Xuan divided the Unchanging Qi in his hand into fine strands. With a flick of his fingers, he used the Unchanging Qi to create a restriction, which he then released into the bottom of the Celestial Cavern.

This was an experiment to see if Unchanging Qi could be used for restrictions.

Buzz!

As the Unchanging Qi formed a restriction and fell to the bottom of the Celestial Cavern, the entire area seemed to be instantly sealed.

"As I thought, my idea was correct," Li Xuan rejoiced inwardly. Just because the Grand Primordial Martial Arts couldn't do something didn't mean his martial arts couldn't.

The Divine Elemental Power was inherently more mystical than the power of the Grand Primordial Martial Arts.

The seal created with Unchanging Qi was more powerful and challenging to break by force due to the nature of the Unchanging Qi.

To break this seal, one would need to understand its key, or else possess overwhelming strength far beyond the creator of the seal.

Li Xuan looked at the Unchanging Qi permeating the Celestial Cavern. This Unchanging Qi emerged from the bottom of the cavern and maintained a balance, ceasing to emerge once it reached a certain quantity.

Unless the Unchanging Qi in the Celestial Cavern was consumed, it would continue to replenish and maintain this balance.

Moreover, the Unchanging Qi did not spill out of the cavern.

Glancing at Xu Yan, Li Xuan saw his top disciple pondering the Unchanging Qi. Wu Tiannan and the others were also curiously exploring the cavern.

"Unchanging Qi, once it enters the soul, scatters the consciousness and returns it to an unawakened and unintelligent state..." Li Xuan warned aloud.

"Unchanging Qi?" Xu Yan was startled, his curiosity piqued. "Master, I feel like this Unchanging Qi is special. It seems unrefined, yet extraordinary..."

The rest of the group was shocked and quickly calmed their minds, afraid of inadvertently absorbing the Unchanging Qi.

"The uses of Unchanging Qi are too numerous to count," Li Xuan explained briefly. "Although it can't be refined like qi to improve one's cultivation realm, it can be used to cultivate divine abilities, set up restrictions, and more..."

He left the rest for his disciples to figure out on their own.

"Are there such benefits?" Fang Hao was delighted and immediately started preparing containers to collect the Unchanging Qi.

"Can it be used for pill refining?" Su Lingxiu's eyes lit up.

"It can, and it can't," Li Xuan replied neutrally, leaving room for interpretation.

He suddenly thought of his alchemy martial arts divine ability, the Myriad Dao Divine Furnace, which could melt the myriad paths of the heavens and the earth. He wondered if it could melt Unchanging Qi.

Theoretically, if it could melt even the Dao, then Unchanging Qi should be within its capabilities.

"It should be possible. However, with my current strength, the Myriad Dao Divine Furnace is insufficient to refine the Unchanging Qi," Li Xuan concluded.

Xu Yan and the others began collecting Unchanging Qi to prepare for cultivating divine abilities.

As Li Xuan walked within the Celestial Cavern, he suddenly kicked something.

The Celestial Cavern appeared to be a cave, but it was actually a grayish-black void, devoid of any plants or other life forms. The walls of the cavern seemed smooth and pristine, as if untouched by dust.

Kicking something unexpected sparked Li Xuan's curiosity.

He looked down and saw a stone the size of a fist, colored in the same grayish-black hue.

"This stone is somewhat special."

Li Xuan reached out, and the stone landed in his palm.

Despite its small size, it weighed as much as a mountain.

Moreover, this stone resembled the Unchanging Qi, giving off an unchanging and immortal aura.

"An Unchanging Stone?" Li Xuan wondered silently as he kept the stone.

He planned to try melting it with the Myriad Dao Divine Furnace when he returned to see if it could be refined.

"With my current realm, I probably can't melt the Unchanging Stone yet. When I'm able to, it will mean that I can also refine the Unchanging Qi," Li Xuan mused to himself.

Aside from the Unchanging Qi, there was nothing else of value in the Celestial Cavern.

As Xu Yan and the others continued to collect the Unchanging Qi, it also started seeping into the cavern from the bottom.

"What's the difference between this Celestial Cavern and the one visited by the Heaven's Pride contenders?" Wu Tiannan asked Xin Mengrou curiously.

"That Celestial Cavern is from a very ancient era, and no one knows exactly when it was formed. It's much larger than this one," Xin Mengrou replied. "The Spiritual Realm does have divine artifacts, and aside from a few places in the Azure Sea, only the Celestial Cavern in the Eighteen States has them.

"Moreover, the divine artifacts within the Celestial Cavern are quite unique. The materials used to forge divine weapons all come from there.

"However, after countless explorations, I'm afraid there aren't many opportunities left in the Celestial Cavern."

Xin Mengrou explained the situation.

The Celestial Cavern was a closely guarded secret of the Superlative Spirit Sect. Even though they restricted the number of entrants each time, the frequent explorations over the years had left the cavern devoid of any significant opportunities.

Xu Yan, who was still collecting the Unchanging Qi, spoke up, "It'll be good to go take a look and see what differences there are between that ancient cavern and this one."

Li Xuan was also curious about the differences between the Celestial Cavern in the Spiritual Realm and the one they were currently in.

This cavern had given birth to the powerful existence of Mei Wu.

He wondered if a similar powerful being had emerged from the ancient cavern and was subsequently suppressed, turning it into a relic.

"This cavern still has the potential to be infiltrated from outside. It must be sealed," Li Xuan thought to himself.

If his guess was correct, then Mei Wu was an enemy from beyond the heavens and earth, infiltrating through the Celestial Cavern. Even if Mei Wu was dead, there might be other beings from beyond that could enter the Spiritual Realm through the cavern.

And the Spiritual Realm's strength was relatively weak; they would not be able to handle enemies like Mei Wu.

Thus, as Li Xuan walked at the bottom of the cavern, he manipulated the Unchanging Qi, forming restrictive patterns to seal the area.

Xu Yan and the others had also collected enough Unchanging Qi and stopped their collection.

"What is Master doing?" Meng Chong asked curiously.

"Sealing the Celestial Cavern!" Fang Hao said without taking his eyes off Li Xuan.

Their master was using the Unchanging Qi to sketch restrictive patterns, sealing the bottom of the cavern!

"So, Unchanging Qi can be used like this," Fang Hao's mind raced with possibilities.

"We're fortunate to have Senior taking action, or the Spiritual Realm would have been in danger," Wu Tiannan sighed.

"Is Senior sealing the bottom of the cavern to prevent the emergence of another existence like Mei Wu?"

"Most likely," Li Xuan replied.

Once the seal was complete, only the Unchanging Qi could enter the cavern, and all other forces would be blocked and confined outside.

Li Xuan strolled out of the cavern with his hands behind his back, casually holding the jade scepter.

There was nothing of value left in the cavern.

With that, the crisis in Ice State's Celestial Cavern was resolved.

Back at Evergreen Pavilion, Li Xuan sat comfortably in his chair, his mind occupied with thoughts about the future direction of his martial path and some speculations about the world beyond the heavens and earth.

Xu Yan and his brothers also returned to the pavilion one after the other.

Wu Tiannan and the others exited the cavern, and Xin Mengrou, along with Emperor Da Zhou and the others, dispatched elders to Cloud State and Great Marsh State to handle the aftermath of the great tribulation.

"Now that the Heaven's Pride competition has concluded, let's set off for the Celestial Cavern relic," Fu Tianhai suggested.

"I agree," the Lord of Thundercloud Villa nodded.

The rest had no objections, including the Master of the Thousand Martial Palace.

After the recent events, the Master of the Thousand Martial Palace and the other powerful beings had become much more low-key, no longer daring to bring up their conflict with Xu Yan.

In fact, they were afraid that Xu Yan would hold a grudge against them.

They even sought out Fang Hao privately to negotiate a peace treaty.

With the presence of such a powerful figure in the Spiritual Realm and Fang Hao, the Junior Alliance Leader of the Myriad Ages Alliance, being his disciple, it was clear that the balance of power in the Spiritual Realm was shifting.

If they continued to target them, they might incur the displeasure of the powerful figure, and the Thousand Martial Palace would surely be destroyed.

After all, even a powerful being like the Heaven's Honor had been killed by Mei Wu, and the powerful figure had effortlessly eliminated an even stronger version of her.

The gap in strength was simply too vast.

The affairs in Cloud State, Ice State, and Great Marsh State would naturally be handled by the various Superlative Sects, with the Myriad Ages Alliance also playing a part.

As for Xu Yan and his brothers, being among the top four on the Heaven's Pride ranking, they naturally had the right to enter the Celestial Cavern relic, and they were all eager to explore the Spiritual Realm's cavern and discover its differences from the one they had just visited.

They wanted to see for themselves what set it apart.

Their flying boat departed from Ice State, led by Fu Tianhai, toward the Celestial Cavern relic.

The Spiritual Realm's Celestial Cavern relic was located in Rainbow State, tens of thousands of miles away from the site of the Heaven's Pride competition, at the base of a seaside cliff.

"The Celestial Cavern relic can only be entered after a certain period of time," Fu Tianhai explained as they arrived at the cavern's location but saw no sign of it. "However, we can enter a bit earlier than usual."

"Is this the Celestial Cavern relic?" Li Xuan immediately spotted the cavern. This one had been sealed by gathering the heavenly spirit of the world and locking the entrance, which was then further blocked by the power of the heavenly laws.

And every once in a while, the heavenly spirit would dissipate slightly, causing the power of the heavenly laws to relax and the entrance to reappear.

This was a man-made seal.

Only a martial artist above the Condensation of Laws realm could achieve such a feat.

"The work of a martial artist beyond the Condensation of Laws," Li Xuan thought, understanding the situation.

He snapped his fingers, and the entrance to the cavern revealed itself.

This cavern was more than ten times larger than the one in Ice State, and this was just the entrance.

"Let's go in," Li Xuan said calmly.

Their flying boat directly entered the Celestial Cavern relic, leaving Fu Tianhai, Emperor Da Zhou, and the others to hastily follow. As for the rule that only Heaven's Pride contenders could enter, well, it seemed that rule no longer applied to them.

After all, they weren't the ones breaking the rules.

Moreover, rules didn't apply to the powerful—their word was the true rule.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end