Chapter 632 470: Leaving the Cave Heaven (Part 2)

By his wrist, a white jade buckle lay quietly, shaped like a small boat, smooth and delicate, unstained even by blood.

Yu Muxian's Feather Clothing had suffered two piercing wounds in the battle, shattered into fragments, and within the remnants of the sleeve, a faint purple round object was clasped, its nature unknown, never having been unleashed before death.

Li Xuanfeng waved his sleeve, gathering both the shards of the Feather Clothing and the jade buckle in one motion, then used mana to seize his storage bag, probed it with his spiritual sense, sealing it tightly.

He removed the Feather Clothing; Yu Muxian's lower abdomen was still gently heaving, covered in bloodstreaks.

"Pa…"

A muffled sound came from Yu Muxian's abdomen. As the Golden Melting Cave dissipated, one magic artifact after another flew out from his belly, leaping in succession, swaying and bobbing in the pool of blood.

Several of the magic artifacts were of the Qi Cultivating Peak or Foundation Establishment level—not particularly outstanding, save for the six Dharma Shields and eight Golden Shuttles, which were complete sets and extremely precious.

In the distance came the clang of metal; Tulong Jian, clad in dark robes, descended slowly, a black-red token suppressing a golden circle nearby, which pulsed and trembled mid-air, burning the loop crimson.

"Dispelling Cloud is nowhere to be found—he's already escaped."

He muttered softly; Li Xuanfeng's expression remained nearly unchanged, and he nodded, handing Yu Muxian's storage bag to him, saying hoarsely,

"Many thanks, Taoist Fellow, for your devoted help. This person's storage bag is here, never once opened."

Tulong Jian hesitated twice, then opened the storage bag—Liu Ding Bing Fire surged forth as he casually dispelled the bag's seals and hidden traps.

The abdominal wound yet lingered; Tulong Jian was not polite, instead extracting precious medicines and spirit pills from the storage bag and swallowing them, then producing a few healing salves to apply to Li Xuanfeng's wounds.

As expected, Yu Muxian did carry good things; Li Xuanfeng's flesh and skin grew at a speed visible to the naked eye. Though he still bore wounds on his hands, they were no longer as ghastly as before.

Tulong Jian found a jade box in the storage bag, slipping it into his own pouch, then took several other items before returning the bag. Li Xuanfeng then handed it to Xiao Yongling, quietly saying,

"Thank you, Senior. Please, choose a few things as compensation."

Xiao Yongling glanced over, said nothing more, hesitantly searched the ground for two artifacts, then looked into the storage bag. Tulong Jian then spoke softly,

"Senior, there is still something of yours within this golden circle."

He augmented the flames. The two Zifu Spirit Instruments battled in the air for several breaths before the Ceasing Spear Golden Circle finally relented, spewing out black smoke with a sputter, and ejecting a single golden pearl.

Li Xuanfeng cast a glance, recalling that his first arrow had earlier been seized by the golden circle, reforged through spiritual artifact's grinding, with Bing Fire and Mu Fire's tempering, and struck by myriad spells—refined into this current form.

He caught it at once. Xiao Yongling pushed over the storage bag, then produced a gleaming golden long halberd, presenting it with both hands and gently said,

"This long halberd once caught Tang Shedou's eye… returning it to its rightful owner."

The halberd was from Ancient Wei, so claiming to return it to its origin was not off the mark. Li Xuanfeng, receiving it for the Li Family, gave the storage bag a cursory examination without taking anything else, but showed the earlier pale purple round object and asked,

"This object… could it be a Zifu Talisman?"

Seeing the two nod, Li Xuanfeng said,

"I hoped to obtain this to suppress the family's fortune. As for the rest, I take nothing more."

Pushing the storage bag forward, he said, gesturing at the bag itself,

"This item… I should not keep it."

The storage bag was truly a hot potato. Tulong Jian nodded slightly and said softly,

"Leave it to me."

The few distributed the items, found a mountain peak to settle on, meditating in silence, awaiting the Cave Heaven's closure to depart.

Within the Cave Heaven, there was no alternation of day and night; only after several days of meditation and partial recovery did Li Xuanfeng and the others open their eyes at last.

The three, though all seated upon the peak, wore uneasy expressions. The course of events had far exceeded Tulong Jian's expectations, causing him to hesitate unspeakably, until the world itself resounded with thunderous change, clouds surging and ebbing like tides. Tulong Jian said,

"Seniors, I have urgent matters and cannot accompany you beyond the boundary; forgive me."

Li Xuanfeng and Xiao Yongling well understood, knowing that if Tulong Jian went out openly, he would surely fall into Zifu hands, and so they offered their farewells. Tulong Jian hesitated for a moment, then replied,

"About Yuanjiao, I, Tulong, deeply regret it. Should I have the fortune to escape with my life and find a foothold on the East Sea, I shall reestablish the Tujun Sect—and one day, I will visit your house, exchange cultivation techniques, and complete the Tujun Taoist Lineage."

Li Xuanfeng was unsure what connection his house had with the Tujun Sect, supposing this was why Tulong Jian had aided them, and accepted on his family's behalf, replying gravely,

"I do not know the details, perhaps it was Yuanjiao's personal fate. But in future, the younger generation of my house shall know your name, and await you as honored guests."

Tulong Jian nodded, offered two words of consolation, then rose on a stream of fire-red light, vanishing like a whirlwind at the horizon, sinking into the deep sea of clouds, and disappeared.

Of those remaining, the two mounted the wind to depart, only to find that everything around them was slowly growing faint, the stars above receding rapidly. Xiao Yongling paused a moment, unable to restrain himself, and whispered softly,

"My condolences…"

Li Xuanfeng waved his hand, grief flickering in his eyes for but an instant before transforming into deep endurance. Xiao Yongling studied his face, then gently said,

"Back in the days when Lixia cleared Tu County, you and Ruyu pursued together, righteously slaying members of the Situ Family—the memories are as fresh as yesterday. Decades have passed in a blink, and I feel you have changed so much."

Li Xuanfeng lowered his gaze and said,

"Those days are like a bronze mirror sunk in water, abraded by sand and stones, now so dim it cannot be seen; to think back today is as if recalling a past life—no longer to be hoped for!"

Xiao Yongling paused, at a loss for words, and could only softly say,

"Back then, I thought you were too sharp and quick to boast of merit, sure to suffer for it. I even intended to mention you to Tongya. But now it seems you surpass Ruyu in every aspect—it was my shortsightedness that made me a laughingstock."

Li Xuanfeng shook his head deeply, with no wish to continue the subject. As he was about to utter a few polite words, Xiao Yongling beside him suddenly vanished, disappearing completely from head to toe. Stars, clouds, mountains—everything faded into the distance.

"The Cave Heaven has closed!"

Li Xuanfeng lifted his brow to look—around him was nothing but a vast expanse of cerulean sea water.

The ground beneath his feet was the same starting island and sandstones; the great formation laid at his arrival still faintly shimmered. Lin Chensheng, all in black, stood clutching his chest, with crimson blood dripping steadily from between his fingers.

On the other side, Kan Ziyun collapsed with a thud, crossing her legs to meditate and recover. Li Xuanfeng swept the island with his spiritual sense, yet found no trace of Zhong Qian, and understood that this man was likely doomed; even if he had not perished within Cave Heaven, he had most probably fallen into Zifu hands.

Though he did not find Zhong Qian, he spotted a familiar figure—draped in jade armor, spear in hand, her eyes red-rimmed, staring intently at his hands.

"Qinghong!"

Li Qinghong nodded vigorously, uncertain of the circumstances and not daring to say much, only choking out a reply. Li Xuanfeng, having slain Yu Muxian, had no desire to linger here, and with a cupped gesture to Lin Chensheng, mounted the wind, speeding toward the Fenkui Island marketplace.

He had just risen to the wind when suddenly he froze; before his eyes, the Great Void tore open, swirling chaotically. A man in white-gold armor strode out, a familiar long halberd appearing in his grasp, and behind him stood an elder in green robes.

The old man's hair was white as a crane's, his visage youthful, a prominent nose, golden patterns spreading across his eyes. Something long and strange hung at his back as he stood silently in the air; at his side, a golden short sword buzzed sharply, its tip aimed squarely at Li Xuanfeng.

The sword rang crisply, seeming to declare an accusation, while on the old man's other hand, a familiar golden ring spun slowly, whispering in the wind, seeming aggrieved.

Tang Shedou's breath was weak, much of his armor broken, two scars marking his halberd. His face was the color of gold foil, looking far more enervated than when he had escaped before. Hoarsely, he said,

"Reporting to Perfected Person! It is this man!"