Out in the rolling mountain ranges, dozens of miles away from Mingxin Mansion.
Halfway up one of the peaks, a massive cave had been forcefully carved out by some inexplicably terrifying force.
Lu Xuan strolled leisurely to the cave entrance and waved his hand casually. In an instant, a wall of violet flames rose from thin air, sealing the opening tightly and completely.
That blazing wall of violet fire radiated scorching heat without restraint. Just getting anywhere near it, you could feel the searing temperature rushing toward your face—enough to send chills down your spine and make anyone think twice about approaching.
Without so much as a second glance at the fiery barrier radiating extreme heat, Lu Xuan stepped forward at a relaxed pace, slowly making his way into the cave.
His figure gradually melted into that violet wall of flames, as if he had become one with the fire itself.
This violet flame barrier, personally laid down by Lu Xuan, had every gap filled with leaping, dancing violet tongues of fire. It stood like an insurmountable chasm—not only blocking any outsiders but also serving as an invisible deterrent, turning away all who dared to force their way in.
Of course, Lu Xuan had another reason for setting up this violet flame barrier.
He was about to devote himself fully to deducing his cultivation techniques inside the cave, and during that process, there was a very real chance that terrifying power would leak out.
If that kind of overwhelming force were to escape uncontrollably into the outside world, it could very well trigger abnormal changes in the heavens and earth.
And Lu Xuan certainly didn’t want anyone out there taking notice of his presence.
After all, he was well aware that his own name had spread far and wide—known to just about everyone by now.
Once he stepped inside the cave, the space within proved to be deep and remarkably spacious, easily capable of holding a vast amount of things—like some kind of natural, colossal warehouse.
Lu Xuan casually swept his gaze toward one spot, then raised his right hand slightly and made a sudden grabbing motion toward the ground in that direction.
In that very instant, the earth there shuddered violently, as if struck by an immense force it couldn’t withstand.
Then, with a loud rumble, the flat ground bulged upward, and a massive boulder a full ten meters wide burst out from beneath the surface, slowly rising to hover midair.
Once suspended in the air, the boulder became tightly wrapped in a power that seemed to come from heaven and earth themselves.
That force transformed into countless razor-sharp blades, continuously carving and chiseling at the giant stone.
In the blink of an eye, that enormous, unwieldy rock had been sculpted into a smooth, clean stone platform. Every edge was polished to perfection, and its surface was as flat and reflective as a mirror.
The next moment, this flawless stone platform, under the precise control of Lu Xuan’s spiritual sense and primordial spirit power, settled steadily right in front of him.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lu Xuan crossed his legs and sat down upon the platform, his posture straight and firm like a pine tree.
His eyes fixed intently ahead, and at that moment, the system panel in his mind materialized before him.
Host: Lu Xuan
Realm: Divine Mansion True Human (Great Completion)
Techniques: Annihilating Heaven Saber Art 5/9 (Deducible), Inch Away Eternity 2/9 (Deducible), Undying and Indestructible 4/9 (Deducible)
Points: 207,660
Host, please confirm: Consume 50,000 system points to deduce Undying and Indestructible?
Host, please confirm: Consume 100,000 system points to deduce Inch Away Eternity?
Host, please confirm: Consume 170,000 system points to deduce Annihilating Heaven Saber Art?
Lu Xuan shifted his gaze away from the points displayed on the system panel. At some point, a small, square, pitch-black box had quietly appeared in the palm of his right hand.
That was the Void Floating Realm he always carried with him!
The Void Floating Realm hovered silently above Lu Xuan’s palm, its surface continuously emanating mysterious, restrained streams of dim light.
Then, as Lu Xuan channeled his own spiritual sense and primordial spirit power into it—
Three beams of shadowy light shot out from within the Void Floating Realm like arrows loosed from a bowstring, swift and fierce.
These three dark, pitch-black gleams were exactly the items Lu Xuan had stored inside the Void Floating Realm.
And these three objects, each different in shape, were precisely the ceremonial artifacts he had found among the ruins of the Wen family estate.
Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes. Just a day ago, he had practically turned the entire Wen family estate upside down, searching every last corner.
It had taken him a full day to find these three ritual artifacts.
What sent Lu Xuan into absolute elation, though, was that among these three artifacts, there was actually an eight-mark Lunar-level ritual implement—the Azure Spirit Pearl!
Now, Lunar-level ritual artifacts were incredibly rare throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty. Every time one surfaced, it was enough to stir up a storm of bloodshed.
And an eight-mark Lunar artifact was even more extraordinary. Even the headquarters of the Heavenly Capital Black Bird Guard only possessed a single eight-mark Lunar artifact—the Black Bird Heavenly Seal!
“This is a true stroke of heaven-defying fortune!” Lu Xuan murmured to himself, his voice barely able to contain his excitement.
Even though Lu Xuan had already seen his fair share of ritual artifacts before, facing this eight-mark Lunar artifact still left him deeply shaken.
For a moment, his mind even went blank, completely overwhelmed by the sheer surprise, his reactions turning sluggish.
Lu Xuan reached out with his left hand and gently took the eight-mark Lunar artifact, the Azure Spirit Pearl. His eyes filled with confusion as he couldn’t help muttering, “How strange!”
At the same time, he furrowed his brow slightly, his expression a mix of contemplation and bewilderment.
“That old bastard clearly had the eight-mark Lunar Azure Spirit Pearl on him—so when he detonated the seven-mark Lunar artifact, the Haoran Ruler, why didn’t he set this one off too?”
As Lu Xuan replayed the process of searching the Wen estate in his mind, his thoughts grew clearer and clearer.
This precious eight-mark Azure Spirit Pearl had actually been found right where Wen Fengyuan had detonated the seven-mark Haoran Ruler.
In other words, this incredibly valuable Azure Spirit Pearl had been carried on Wen Fengyuan’s person all along.
Lu Xuan was well aware that the old bastard Wen Fengyuan hadn’t chosen not to detonate the Azure Spirit Pearl out of reluctance.
After all, a ruthless old monster like Wen Fengyuan wouldn’t hesitate over a single ritual artifact.
But Lu Xuan had no way of knowing the dire straits Wen Fengyuan had been in at that moment. That violet-black flaming saber arc had come bearing the force of annihilation itself, instantly pushing Wen Fengyuan to the very brink of life and death.
That terrifying, extreme heat had nearly erased Wen Fengyuan from existence entirely.
In that split-second, do-or-die moment, Wen Fengyuan simply didn’t have time to detonate the Azure Spirit Pearl on him.
Left with no other choice, he had to settle for second best and hastily set off the Haoran Ruler in his hand instead.
However, as for Wen Fengyuan’s desperate predicament—Lu Xuan had no way of knowing, nor did he care to.
As far as Lu Xuan was concerned, what mattered most was that he now had the Azure Spirit Pearl in his possession.
The remaining two ritual artifacts still floating in midair—
One was a three-mark Stellar-level ritual artifact, shaped somewhat like a longsword, its blade slender, faintly emanating an ancient luster.
The other was a six-mark Star-level ritual artifact, a bronze object resembling an inkstone, its surface exquisitely perfect, constantly radiating a profound and abstruse light.
“Last time, when I refined the Pure World White Lotus Sect’s seven-mark Lunar artifact, the Pure Ultimate Lotus, I got eighty thousand system points.”
“So let’s see how many system points this eight-mark Lunar Azure Spirit Pearl will give me.”
Lu Xuan’s left hand unconsciously tightened around the Azure Spirit Pearl, his knuckles whitening from the force, causing the pearl’s surface to glow even more intensely.
Then, Lu Xuan silently chanted in his mind: “Extract!” The voice was soft, but it carried an unmistakable, unshakable resolve.
The moment Lu Xuan confirmed it, the Azure Spirit Pearl in his hand erupted with brilliant radiance.
The cave, which had been dimly lit, suddenly blazed bright as day.
Yet that glorious light vanished as quickly as it had come—within just a few breaths.
The Azure Spirit Pearl rapidly deteriorated, its once-flawless, mysterious patterns fading away as if eroded by the relentless passage of time, disappearing in an instant.
All that remained was a dull, cracked bead, as if that brief brilliance had never happened at all.
Lu Xuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze immediately falling upon the system panel.
“It increased by 160,000 system points!”
Seeing that number, Lu Xuan remained calm. It aligned perfectly with his earlier estimate, so he wasn’t particularly surprised.
Without pausing, Lu Xuan shifted his attention to the two ritual artifacts still suspended in midair.
Then, he suddenly raised both hands, grasping toward the void with force, catching both artifacts steadily—one in each hand.
“Extract!”
Lu Xuan’s voice was deep and resolute, echoing once more through the silent cave.
This time, refining those two ritual artifacts took noticeably less time than the Azure Spirit Pearl.
Within just a few short minutes, Lu Xuan casually tossed aside the two now-lusterless, ordinary objects and turned his eyes back to the system panel.
“The six-mark Star-level artifact gave me 55,000 system points, and the three-mark Stellar-level artifact gave me 15,000.”
“That’s 70,000 points here, plus the 160,000 from the Azure Spirit Pearl…” Lu Xuan murmured under his breath, a hint of joy creeping into his voice.
“So that means—a total of 230,000 system points!”
Though Lu Xuan tried his best to suppress his excitement, the thrill still showed plainly on his face.
Host: Lu Xuan
Realm: Divine Mansion True Human (Great Completion)
Techniques: Annihilating Heaven Saber Art 5/9 (Deducible), Inch Away Eternity 2/9 (Deducible), Undying and Indestructible 4/9 (Deducible)
Points: 437,660
Host, please confirm: Consume 50,000 system points to deduce Undying and Indestructible?
Host, please confirm: Consume 100,000 system points to deduce Inch Away Eternity?
Host, please confirm: Consume 170,000 system points to deduce Annihilating Heaven Saber Art?
Lu Xuan looked over the three martial techniques twice, his gaze finally settling on the Annihilating Heaven Saber Art.
After a brief pause, his eyes sharpened, and the word “Deduce!” burst from his lips without hesitation.
And he didn’t intend to stop at just one deduction. This time, he wanted to see if he could push the Annihilating Heaven Saber Art through two deductions in a row.
As Lu Xuan confirmed the two deductions, the system panel showed no warning of insufficient points.
In an instant, the 437,660 system points on the panel dropped to 27,660.
The first deduction cost 170,000 points, and the second cost 240,000.
Seeing that, Lu Xuan felt a pang of pain in his heart—but before he could dwell on it for long, he closed his eyes once more, immersing himself in the transformation of the Annihilating Heaven Saber Art!
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
From within the cave where Lu Xuan was cultivating, tremors erupted from time to time. Explosion after explosion burst forth, the sheer force of it making it feel like the mountains themselves were splitting apart.
This boundless, surging force spread swiftly down to the foot of the mountain, and even the surrounding peaks weren’t spared—they were heavily affected too.
Sands and stones on the mountaintops rattled and rolled down, tumbling and bouncing chaotically across the ground, making a mess of scattered sounds.
Then, countless rocks and boulders plunged over the cliffs one after another, vanishing into the deep, dark valleys below.
Yet the eerie violet flame barrier at the cave entrance remained firmly in place, blocking the opening without fail.
No matter how terrifying the power inside the cave became, the barrier stood as steady as a mountain, unmoving, sealing off any force that tried to escape.
Host: Lu Xuan
Realm: Divine Mansion True Human (Perfection)
Techniques: Annihilating Heaven Saber Art 7/9, Inch Away Eternity 2/9, Undying and Indestructible 4/9.
Points: 27,660
“Divine Mansion Perfection!”
After finishing the deduction, Lu Xuan didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he turned his focus inward, observing the changes taking place within his Divine Mansion.
At this moment, his previously fully liquefied violet Divine Mansion had undergone an unimaginable transformation.
What had once been as vast and boundless as an ocean had now expanded to an incomprehensible degree.
Before, although his Divine Mansion had been immense, it had at least been within the realm of perception.
But now, it had turned into a deep, unfathomable, endless void.
At the very center of the Divine Mansion, a mysterious violet vortex was slowly turning.
That eerie violet swirl was like a rootless, boundless river of stars from the depths of the cosmos, dotted with flickering points of purple light—mysterious and profound.
Each glimmer of that purple light seemed to contain endless mysteries and power.
Above that violet vortex, Lu Xuan’s spiritual sense and primordial spirit were no longer simply growing larger in form. Instead, they were slowly establishing a wondrous connection with the vortex.
It was as if an invisible force was pulling them together, causing Lu Xuan’s primordial spirit to gradually merge into that violet vortex, as if at any moment it might become one with it, peering into its boundless, mysterious power.
Just as Lu Xuan shifted his awareness to his primordial spirit, a surge of unprecedented, overwhelming power came rushing at him unexpectedly.
However, given his current martial realm, he still found it difficult to fully perceive the entirety of this force.
In the end, he could only vaguely catch a trace of its aura from within that violet vortex.
That aura was filled with boundless mystery and immense energy, and it also felt strangely familiar to Lu Xuan.
Wasn’t this somewhat similar to the aura of his own martial techniques?
And wasn’t this exactly the power of the laws of heaven and earth—something that only True Lords at the Cave Void realm could command?
At the same time, Lu Xuan could clearly sense that, somewhere in the unseen depths, an invisible restraining force existed—like a heavy shackle binding him tightly.
And that restraining force was none other than the bottleneck of martial cultivation, looming before him, blocking his further exploration of that mysterious power.
The Cave Void realm!
That violet vortex that had appeared at the center of his Divine Mansion—could it be the very power of the laws of heaven and earth that one could only grasp after breaking through to the Cave Void realm?
