Chapter 410 - 205: Taichu Unity (Part 2)
Those with profound cultivation naturally aim for those mystical mountains; those with humble cultivation do not compete with them, heading directly to the temples on the plains.
Unlike others who choose their targets nearby and go directly to them, Chu Xuan heads straight for the towering main peak at the center of the Grotto Heaven.
As he enters, his memories rapidly awaken, and he has long had a target in mind.
Of course, Cyan Lotus Daoist Palace is not the only one doing so, and in the end, seven or eight groups gather on the mountaintop, facing a mysterious hall named "Wen Dao Palace."
Rumor has it that years ago, the Celestial Evil Demon Venerable obtained the "Devouring Yuan Demon Technique" and the "Ancient Yuan-Devouring Cauldron" here, arousing great temptation for others.
Moreover, those daring enough to rush in first are usually confident and powerful sects, such as Purple Heaven Jade Mansion, Mo Luo Palace, Ghost City, etc.
Chu Xuan glanced around; the great array here is indeed as intact as before. Back then, he slipped inside because he cultivated the first part of the "Celestial Water Returning Ruins Technique," but now he can no longer enter.
Fortunately, his target isn’t the main hall, and he pays no heed to the menacing forces from various houses, leading his people around the main hall to the rear palace complex.
Others aren’t surprised; after all, the competition here is too fierce and even visited by the Evil Venerable, with a risk of coming away empty-handed. If time is squandered here, other halls might be ransacked clean.
Quickly, three or four other groups leave for other halls on the main peak, ultimately leaving only Purple Heaven and Mo Luo Palace to tacitly begin breaking the array.
...
"Boom~!" Sword lights and spell glows fall upon the invisible great array ahead, stirring ripples.
After Chu Xuan selected his target, everyone cooperated in attacking, even the little snow mink jumped out to spit "Extreme Ice Cold Qi."
Yet, Jiang Yiyi not only doesn’t contribute but excitedly directs the crowd, "Hit here! Hit there!"
Li Fanzhou lets the other disciples attack while he observes the surroundings. Hearing the intense sounds from all around the Grotto Heaven, he can’t help but lament:
"Such an ancient and wondrous Grotto Heaven, yet today we become thieves plundering others’ heritage."
The Daoist Palace members feel a bit embarrassed, their momentum weakened, but fortunately, he only laments briefly before stepping forward, lightly tapping with his finger to break the great array before him.
High Yuan, who was just about to set up the array flags for breaking the formation, hasn’t yet deployed his full skill and awkwardly stows them away.
Li Fanzhou softly remarks, "This Grotto Heaven has been unmanaged for thousands of years; the fact that the array can still function is remarkable, it’s already weakened by fifty to sixty percent, breaking it violently is faster."
Chu Xuan chuckles; back then, he had no such luxury, he managed only to pilfer the good things from Wen Dao Palace due to his limited strength, within the available time breaking only a few remote small halls.
Now, he rushes to lead his junior brothers and sisters inside to scavenge for treasures.
This place, named "Lotus Nurturing Pond," is where lotus spirit roots are cultivated.
The palaces encircle a large jade pool, within which various spiritual flowers bloom, primarily lotus flowers such as "Five-Colored Lotus," "Seven-Leaf Nine-Heart Lotus," "Dark Jade Shadow Lotus," offering great benefits for Daoist Palace cultivators.
Thus, everyone is delighted, assigning a portion to scavenge magic items while others cautiously employ spells to transfer each spirit flower from the pool, sealing them in specialized jade bottles and herbal bags.
After busying themselves, Daoist Palace members reaped sixteen spirit roots, twenty-one kinds of seeds and fruits from spirit flowers and plants; additionally, they acquired three magic items, six bottles of elixirs, two jade slips on cultivation techniques, and several hundred volumes on spirit plant cultivation.
Even the Lotus Nurturing Pond’s water is a treasure, a kind of cosmic spiritual water called "Nurturing Essence Liquid," exceedingly rare and valuable outside, a small bottle sells for a good price, yet there’s a whole pool here, astonishing Daoist Palace members who are ecstatic.
High Yuan and Xu Yuanzhi even copied the pond’s array patterns and designs, planning to research them back at the Taoist Palace to see if they can replicate it.
Chu Xuan emerged early to survey the situation. As they captured the first palace, others also began breaking arrays elsewhere, gaining their first spoils.
As time progresses, the gains diminish, necessitating racing against the clock.
One thing furrowing Chu Xuan’s brow is that the members of the Shangguan family are not far away; they seem non-hostile, also hurriedly scavenging for treasures, having just broken their array without the presence of the last three realms.
Initially, Chu Xuan considered splitting his forces but dismissed the idea, recalling the previous self-operating "Distinguish Fortune and Misfortune" incident...
Meanwhile, disturbances continue at Wen Dao Palace; being a crucial part of the Grotto Heaven, even high-level cultivators struggle to break it easily.
Fortunately, those groups have numerous members, dividing forces to scour elsewhere to avoid leaving empty-handed.
Upon Daoist Palace disciples’ full emergence, Chu Xuan immediately leads them to the "Sea of Books Pavilion" where the Taoist collections are kept.
Whether there’s an opportunity to find the remaining two kinds of "Four Monkeys of Havoc" blood essences remains uncertain, reliant on chance, or purchasing from other cultivators if necessary.
...
Ji Mingyu has also entered this Grotto Heaven, wary of Li Fanzhou, she stays a distance away from Chu Xuan, entering much later.
Due to this, she uncovers a few peculiarities.
After the Daoist Palace group entered, Ji Mingyu intentionally waited a while and found a group of high-cultivation mysterious cultivators arriving, including one of the seventh realm, another of the eighth realm.
This puzzles Ji Mingyu; why are such figures latecomers? Are they avoiding detection, like her?
Watching them enter, Ji Mingyu notes another oddity: a group of cultivators ambushing outside the Grotto Heaven, secretly setting formations, with no intention of entering.
What vendetta would warrant ignoring immense benefits just to ambush others?
She considered catching someone to inquire but hesitated to alert the targets, opting instead to remain wary and immediately inform little snow to discreetly caution Chu Xuan.
Ji Mingyu isn’t particularly interested in exploring the Grotto Heaven; having lived for so long and reached such a cultivation level, she’s hardly lacking in material possessions.
Though there are indeed treasures in the Grotto Heaven that intrigue her, Chu Xuan is her greatest treasure, making it impossible for her to avert her gaze.
Due to this, Ji Mingyu notices more discrepancies, first, the Shangguan family deliberately separating from Purple Heaven Jade Mansion, moving closer to Daoist Palace.
Then those mysterious cultivators surprisingly do not loot treasures but scatter, feigning attempts to break arrays while subtly surrounding Daoist Palace members.
Ji Mingyu’s expression turns cold, resisting the impulse to eliminate them one by one, instead immediately instructing little snow to inform Chu Xuan.
If it were about tempering him, she wouldn’t even issue a warning, but considering these people far surpass Chu Xuan in strength, clearly plotting murder, she cannot idly stand by.
Little snow, even on the road earlier, wanted to remind but struggled to find a reason. It’s just a pet, how could it know about a group of strange people approaching?
Now, with the master’s order, little snow’s expression is even more conflicted.
Due to the urgent situation, it disregards potential exposure of its master’s existence, softly telling Chu Xuan, "I feel something odd, as if someone is following us."
Chu Xuan tenses up, "Who?"
Little snow shakes its head, "Unsure, but their power is strong, there are beings at the Fusion and Unity levels."
Chu Xuan’s heart grows heavy, sensing his previous ominous feeling coming true step by step... Without dwelling on little snow’s information source, he immediately reports the situation to Grandmaster Li Fanzhou.