Chapter 429: The Person in the Stone Cottage

Chapter 429: The Person in the Stone Cottage

Li Xuan held the Book of Tai Cang in his hands and couldn't help but speculate. This book depicted and described the laws and principles of the Tai Cang universe, revealing its essence and the workings of its existence. Who could have written such a book?

Ordinary transcendents, those who stood above the universe, may not be able to achieve this feat. After all, even if one transcends the heavens and the earth, it doesn't necessarily mean they can understand the intricacies of the Tai Cang universe so thoroughly.

There was only one possibility!

It had to be the ruler of the Tai Cang universe who possessed such intimate knowledge of its workings.

The Master of the Tai Cang Universe!

"Could it be that the Master of the Tai Cang Universe met with some unexpected accident and left behind this Book of Tai Cang for future generations? Whoever obtains this book shall become the new Master!" Li Xuan mused.

However, what Li Xuan didn't understand was that if possession of this book was all it took to become the Master of the Tai Cang Universe, why wasn't it sought after and contested by the mighty? Or perhaps it had been fought over in the past, and due to some peculiar accident, the book had ended up in the desolate borderlands, unknown to all, only to be gradually forgotten as time passed?

Li Xuan looked up at the universe, faintly discerning the scars left by a great battle. Were these scars the result of a struggle for the Book of Tai Cang?

Or perhaps, they were left by the Master of the Tai Cang Universe in a battle against a formidable foe?

"Could the majestic figure that Xu Yan saw be the Master of the Tai Cang Universe?" Li Xuan wondered in surprise.

"So, what happened to the Master of the Tai Cang Universe? Did they die or something?"

The appearance of the Book of Tai Cang in the borderlands of the Wu Kingdom was unexpected. Was there some underlying connection? Was there a link between the existence in the stone cottage within the royal palace of the Wu Kingdom and the book? Could that person be the Master of the Tai Cang Universe?

"Impossible. How could the Master of the Tai Cang Universe be sealed within their own universe? Are they suppressing a formidable enemy?" Li Xuan took a deep breath, his heart pounding with excitement as if he had stumbled upon an incredible secret.

"Hmm, this Wu Tiannan is quite interesting. He truly is a child of destiny," Li Xuan muttered to himself.

Just as Li Xuan was about to set off for the Wu Kingdom, he was struck by something peculiar. With his enhanced strength and understanding of the Tai Cang universe, he noticed something amiss through his connection with Wu Tiannan's martial path.

Within Wu Tiannan's body was the qi of the Tai Cang universe's destiny. This was what allowed him to turn dangerous situations into opportunities and gain good fortune even in the face of powerful enemies.

"What's going on with this destiny qi?" Li Xuan was baffled.

"Should I go and take a look?" he contemplated.

Li Xuan hesitated. If he used the Eye of the Dao to observe Wu Tiannan, he would surely uncover everything.

"Never mind. It's not a bad thing for Wu Tiannan," Li Xuan decided after glancing at the dao principles related to destiny qi.

"This is getting interesting. It seems the person Wu Tiannan saved back then wasn't ordinary at all. He truly has thick destiny qi. To encounter me and receive my guidance, he can be considered one of my sect's disciples. Indeed, he has great destiny qi," Li Xuan mused with a smile as he recalled Wu Tiannan's experiences.

After reaching the Divine Realm, as Wu Tiannan's strength broke through and he began to touch upon the destiny qi of the universe, the potential within him was fully unleashed.

This was why his cultivation speed had skyrocketed, and he had been able to cultivate divine abilities.

No wonder Wu Tiannan was the first among the Tai Cang warriors to cultivate a divine ability.

"He's not far from the Immortal Realm," Li Xuan noted with a strange expression. "If my guess is correct, after Wu Tiannan breaks through the Immortal Realm, he might be able to break through the boundaries of the Divine Realm with the guidance of destiny qi."

"Is Wu Tiannan's martial guide in that place?" Li Xuan wondered as he looked up at the sky. With his understanding of the Tai Cang universe, it seemed that Wu Tiannan's destiny was somehow connected to that location.

"I'll guide Wu Tiannan again when I have time. It's about time I returned to the Wu Kingdom to see what that guy in the stone cottage is all about. I'm curious too," Li Xuan said, his heart pounding with excitement.

He was about to uncover a mystery and satisfy his curiosity.

"Let Xu Yan consolidate his cultivation before I transmit the martial arts of the Heavenly Realm to him," Li Xuan decided.

A figure emerged from Li Xuan's body and sat down in a chair, exuding a calm and relaxed aura. This was his extreme soul body.

Although it was impossible for accidents to occur at the Qinghua Realm, Li Xuan still left his extreme soul body behind as a precaution. Should any special circumstances arise, he would be able to suppress them immediately.

After putting away the Book of Tai Cang, Li Xuan vanished from his original spot in an instant.

The extreme soul body remained as it always had, sitting calmly in the chair. No one could tell that it was another embodiment of Li Xuan's martial path.

In the Great Wilderness, as the spiritual energy increased, the speed of cultivation grew faster, and the grade of spirit herbs improved. After all these years of development, the overall strength of the region had far surpassed that of the Inner Realm.

At Jianzun Cliff, with Xietian Heng and Xieling Feng's departure, the current master is Hu Hai and his son, Hu Shan. Both have cultivated sword auras and are considered the top swordsmen in the Great Wilderness.

At Canglan Island, a sacred site of the Great Wilderness shrouded by a grand formation, every year, there are geniuses recommended by the Great Wilderness Martial Arts Academy who come here to cultivate for a month, exploring deeper into the martial path.

The pill refiners of Changqing Pavilion hold high status in the Great Wilderness, and refiners of martial artifacts have also begun to emerge, all thanks to Xuyan's legacy.

The entire Great Wilderness is thriving, and naturally, conflicts arise, but everything is under control.

The Border Wilderness remains unique, with dense spiritual energy that is fierce and lacking the presence of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Vein.

However, there are occasional Great Wilderness warriors who come here to cultivate and experience the tempering of the fierce spiritual energy.

The Tai Cang martial arts cannot be cultivated without the Heaven and Earth Spirit Vein, but the Great Wilderness martial arts do not have this restriction.

In the northern barbaric lands of the Border Wilderness, a formidable overlord has emerged, leading a vast army to invade the former Qi and Wu Kingdoms, intending to unify the Border Wilderness.

The people of the northern barbaric lands live in the harsh and cold region of the Border Wilderness, unaware of the changes that have taken place there and the emergence of martial arts. After a period of intense internal strife, they have reunited under the Northern Barbarian Royal Court, led by the strongest overlord in a thousand years.

Having amassed sufficient strength, they finally set out on a campaign to conquer all under heaven.

When the emperors of Qi and Wu learned of this, they were thrilled and took action personally. Just the two of them effortlessly pushed back the northern barbarian army and captured the northern barbarian overlord alive.

The hearts of all the northern barbarians were shattered. They had originally thought that they could destroy Qi and Wu and occupy their fertile lands, but they were pushed back by just two people!

The strength they displayed was akin to heavenly gods! The Northern Barbarian True God they worshiped and revered seemed like insignificant ants in comparison!

The Northern Barbarian Overlord was stunned, and anyone with slightly weaker willpower would have gone insane from the shock! After this incident, the northern barbarians changed, pledging their allegiance to the two emperors of the Great Wilderness and becoming their subjects. As for the Northern Barbarian Overlord, he was even more decisive and knelt to become their disciple.

"The Northern Barbarians have robust and resilient bodies, able to endure hardship, making them suitable for cultivating the Great Wilderness physical martial arts!"

Thus, some of the most talented Northern Barbarian geniuses were taught the Great Sun Golden Bell Cover, beginning their cultivation of the Great Wilderness martial arts.

The Inner Domain of the past has long been forgotten, and even the younger generation does not know that the Great Wilderness used to be called the Inner Domain.

The older generation of martial artists rarely mention the Inner Domain. Only in the historical records of the Martial Arts Academy is there some documentation of the history of the Inner Domain before the Great Wilderness.

There were too many cultivators of the Inner Domain martial arts, and not all of them could smoothly transition to the Great Wilderness martial arts. Thus, among the older generation of martial artists, most still cultivate the Inner Domain martial arts.

However, although these martial artists do not cultivate the Great Wilderness martial arts, they have integrated themselves into the Great Wilderness and no longer refer to themselves as Inner Domain martial artists, taking pride in being Great Wilderness martial artists instead.

In the Border Wilderness, within the Wu Kingdom's palace...

This place has become the residence of one of the two emperors of the Great Wilderness, the Wu Emperor, whenever he visits the Border Wilderness. Every year, the Wu Emperor spends some time living in this palace.

However, most of the time, the vast palace is cold and quiet, only coming to life during the days when the Wu Emperor is in residence.

Usually, some of the eunuchs from the past are in charge of cleaning the palace.

These eunuchs who remain are mostly those without martial arts talent, unable to pursue the martial path, and can only spend their remaining years here.

Of course, these eunuchs also cultivate, but their abilities are inferior. Nonetheless, their cultivation is sufficient to provide them with the stamina needed to clean the palace and perform odd jobs.

When the Wu Emperor returns, he also rewards them with pills.

In the Great Wilderness, the eunuch system has been abolished, and the eunuchs serving the Wu Emperor and the Qi Emperor are from the original group, with no new eunuchs added.

Deep within the palace, there is a pavilion that only the Wu Emperor can enter.

In the cold and quiet pavilion, a murmuring voice suddenly emanates from the small stone cottage, "What's going on? Why does it feel more and more off? The spiritual energy and the Heaven and Earth Spirit Vein are amplifying faster.

"Moreover, that brat Wu Emperor has become a martial artist, but the martial art he cultivates is different from what I know.

"Could it be that Tai Cang has fallen? No, if it had, how come I didn't sense it?"

This voice was filled with confusion and doubt.

If the Wu Emperor were present, he would recognize it as the mysterious voice that had disappeared for a long time.

I won't fall for their tricks again. I mustn't let my curiosity get the better of me. I won't be fooled, and I won't trust anyone, not even Tai Cang!"

His muttering grew angrier, but there was also a hint of sadness in his tone.

"I've lost track of how much time has passed. It's been so long... I keep sleeping, and Tai Cang still hasn't returned. He must be dead.

Boo-hoo, even he has died. How terrifying! Can the world continue to exist like this? Will it fall into ruin? What if someone discovers me? What will I do then?

Never mind, never mind. I'll just go back to sleep and pretend nothing happened.

Yes, that's it. I'll just sleep, and it will be as if nothing happened. Boo-hoo... Tai Cang must have died horribly. He sealed me in here. Even if I had helped him, he should have at least left a bone behind!"

The muttering voice echoed within the small stone cottage.

"Time to sleep, just sleep it off. I mustn't be curious. That little brat, Wu Huang, is definitely trying to pique my curiosity. Humph, I won't fall for it!"

The voice gradually faded away.

Li Xuan returned to the Great Wilderness, wandering among the youths who were diligently refining their skin, bones, and organs, cultivating their martial arts with vigor. It was a thriving and vibrant scene.

"Not bad. In a hundred or a thousand years, the strength of the martial arts world in the Great Wilderness will surge."

Without disturbing anyone, Li Xuan strode through the clouds and made his way to the Border Wilderness.

"Let the Border Wilderness remain as it is. The absence of the Heavenly Spirit Vein isn't necessarily a bad thing."

He arrived outside the palace of the Wu Kingdom.

Li Xuan looked up at the sky, and with his current strength and the Eye of the Dao, he immediately noticed something peculiar.

"A seal? It doesn't seem like it. It's more like the heavens and earth themselves are restraining an existence, something rather unique."

If not for his profound understanding of the Tai Cang universe, his possession of the Eye of the Dao, and his attainment of the Heavenly Realm, he might not have been able to detect this anomaly.

"Even a transcendent being beyond the heavens and earth might not be able to uncover this."

It was too well hidden!

Moreover, such a method was not something an ordinary powerful being could achieve.

Master of the Tai Cang Universe!

This was the handiwork of the Master of the Tai Cang Universe. Only they could have accomplished this feat.

"Is some powerful being sealed here? Someone even the Master of the Tai Cang Universe couldn't deal with?"

Li Xuan was baffled.

Furthermore, from the secretive nature of this arrangement, it seemed they were afraid that someone would discover and rescue the being trapped here.

He turned his gaze toward the small stone cottage.

It was as if he could see through all obstacles, and he faintly perceived a faint purple glow emanating from deep underground, perhaps several hundred li below the cottage.

"This stone cottage..."

Li Xuan's eyebrows furrowed. The cottage seemed ordinary, yet it wasn't. It was a crucial part of the entire setup and one of the components used to conceal the trapped being.

"I probably won't be able to see through everything unless I enter the stone cottage."

Li Xuan fell into deep thought.

He could only see a faint purple light, but he couldn't discern what was within it.

"With my current strength, even if the being restrained here has immense power, they won't be able to exert it. There's no need to worry about any danger."

Li Xuan strode toward the palace.

A mysterious aura emanated from him at this moment, making him seem profound and unfathomable, enough to intimidate the trapped being.

Holding a jade scepter in his hand and taking carefree strides, he exuded the demeanor of a transcendent master.

He pushed open the palace door and stepped inside.

The palace door closed behind him.

With a casual and carefree air, he entered the small stone cottage. The humble cottage appeared unremarkable, with nothing out of the ordinary.

Li Xuan brought out a chair and sat down leisurely.

He brewed a pot of spiritual tea and poured two cups.

"Little friend, come up and have a cup of tea."

Li Xuan smiled warmly.

As an extraordinary master, he naturally had to maintain his image. No matter how strong his opponent was, they would seem insignificant before him! And since they couldn't fathom his true strength, they would only view him as enigmatic and profound.

With that in mind, calling his opponent "little friend" seemed quite reasonable.

Li Xuan's face wore a gentle smile, like a friendly elder. "Little friend, there's no need to hide. I've seen you. Come, have a cup of tea, and let's chat. Let's just talk casually."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end