Li Xuan fell silent at Jiao Le's words.
However, Li Xuan soon relaxed and shook his head. It seemed he still hadn't reached a level where he could comprehend the strength of that person. But Li Xuan was now certain of one thing: his master was still alive.
Soon, Li Xuan arrived at the second stone coffin. A few minutes later, Shi Lezhi was released.
In the third stone coffin, as soon as Li Xuan pulled out the golden sword, He Yan's figure inside the stone coffin moved and disappeared.
What the hell!
He ran away?
Li Xuan was utterly bewildered. He Yan had just run away like that!
Li Xuan let out a bitter smile, clearly not expecting such an outcome. Li Xuan had initially thought that since the three individuals on the first level were not great evildoers, and Senior Yi Qin had said they could be released in exchange for an opportunity for them to protect him, why not release them earlier? But He Yan, after agreeing in advance, simply fled.
"Did he run away?" Jiao Le and Shi Lezhi came before Li Xuan and looked at the void.
Li Xuan nodded with a wry smile, "It seems I was too naive."
"Do you need me to stop him?" Jiao Le asked, looking at Li Xuan. Shi Lezhi, hearing this, also looked at Li Xuan, his eyes clearly sharing the same thought as Jiao Le.
Li Xuan shook his head, "Forget it, if he wants to run, let him run."
At the same time, in a boundless starry sky, a man walked as if on flat ground. The next moment, the man stopped and looked back at the void.
"One should not break their word." The man shook his head slightly and then pointed at the void. In the next instant, He Yan, who had already fled tens of thousands of miles across the Cang Mang Continent, suddenly trembled and then shattered like a porcelain vase.
At this moment, within the Zhen Prison, Shi Lezhi and Jiao Le's expressions changed drastically. They looked at the void simultaneously, their faces filled with shock.
"What's wrong?" Li Xuan asked, looking at them with some surprise.
Shi Lezhi swallowed and said with trepidation, "That person just now, he's dead."
Li Xuan was stunned. Dead? He Yan was at least of the same cultivation level as Senior Yi Qin. How could he be dead already?
"It was that person who made the move," Jiao Le said with a solemn expression.
Li Xuan immediately understood. But then he was shocked. Judging by the time the woman in yellow had left and returned, his master was likely an unfathomable distance away from this place. And now, He Yan had only been gone for less than ten breaths, right?
"You two, please cultivate here for the time being. If I need you, I will send you a message," Li Xuan said after some thought.
"Alright." Jiao Le and Shi Lezhi nodded, and then they moved to find a spot to conceal themselves.
"Little master, I've discovered a problem," the Heaven Dao Brush suddenly said after Li Xuan left Jiao Le and Shi Lezhi.
Li Xuan was startled and asked, "What problem?"
"Your Zhen Prison's level is clearly not low, and it was left by that person for you, so its grade cannot be lower than mine. Yet, for so long, little master, have you sensed the existence of the Zhen Prison's spirit?" the Heaven Dao Brush asked.
Li Xuan paused and nodded slightly. He realized he hadn't paid attention to this point. Logically, spiritual artifacts of the immortal-grade could produce their own spirits, and treasure-grade artifacts had even more powerful spirits. It was like the difference between a child and an adult. Zhen Prison was clearly a spiritual artifact, but Li Xuan hadn't found any trace of a spirit.
"Little master, my guess is this. Although that person gave you the Zhen Prison, and you are its master, in reality, you do not have full authority over it. Well, to give an example, disciples of a sect can cultivate in the sect's sacred training grounds. But it's impossible for them to use all the resources of the sacred ground at will, isn't it?"
"What you're saying makes some sense," Li Xuan nodded.
The Heaven Dao Brush continued, "I suspect, little master, that you only have the right to use the Zhen Prison, but you do not hold ownership. Or rather, you have partial ownership, but with severe restrictions."
Li Xuan pondered for a moment and asked, "What is the purpose of you telling me this?"
The Heaven Dao Brush became somewhat agitated and exclaimed, "Little master, are you an idiot? Just the time flow within the Zhen Prison, at least I haven't found it in other spiritual artifacts. Even if there were, the ratio would be at most one to one. But your Zhen Prison is one to ten!"
"Little master, think about it, how can such a function be possessed by an ordinary spiritual artifact? Moreover, it has its own space within it, which an ordinary spiritual artifact cannot have. If, little master, you could fully control the Zhen Prison, imagine its power."
Li Xuan was taken aback, then looked at the Heaven Dao Brush helplessly, "Little Brush, I've just realized you're quite a good talker."
Before the Heaven Dao Brush could reply, Li Xuan continued, "The Zhen Prison was given to me by my master. Even if everything you said is true, I am content with what I have. Living in the present, one must learn to be content and happy."
"And one more thing, I am a sword cultivator. Although I am tempted by everything you've said, I do not wish to rely on external forces. My own strength is the most important. Even if I lose all of this in the future, I will ultimately still be a strong individual!"
Sensing Li Xuan's immense confidence, the Heaven Dao Brush fell silent for a moment.
"Little master, I suddenly find you very handsome at this moment," the Heaven Dao Brush said after a long pause.
Li Xuan broke out in a sweat and then shook his head, taking out the Jing Hun to practice the Stacked Sword Technique.
Currently, Li Xuan could only stack the Stacked Sword Technique to seven hundred layers. This posed little threat to a half-saint, let alone a saint. Although Li Xuan had broken through to the initial stage of the Martial God realm, his sword skills and techniques had not yet improved. Li Xuan's purpose for entering the Zhen Prison was precisely this.
Seeing Li Xuan begin his cultivation, the Heaven Dao Brush lingered in the air for a moment before shooting towards the Cang Ling Pagoda.
Time passed gradually, and in the blink of an eye, three months had gone by. The Stacked Sword Technique had now been stacked to eight hundred and fifteen layers. Li Xuan stopped, a frown on his brow. The more layers added to the Stacked Sword Technique, the greater the difficulty.
When adding the layer after the eight hundred and fourteenth, Li Xuan had almost expended forty percent of his spiritual consciousness. The soul-tearing pain had nearly caused Li Xuan to faint. Li Xuan knew that with his current soul strength, he could not continue.
"Soul strength, let's continue," Li Xuan thought, adjusted his breathing for a moment, and then directly activated the Nine Revolutions of the God Grinding.
"Nine Revolutions of the Demon God, fifth turn!"
In the next instant, Li Xuan's soul was pulled into the grinding stone.
"This child's resilience is something even we would find hard to match at this time," Jiao Le and Shi Lezhi appeared side by side not far away.
Shi Lezhi nodded slightly and said, "If they were too mediocre to be chosen as inheritors by those people, wouldn't that be an insult to that person? I consider myself to have exceptional talent, yet I never expected to encounter that person. What makes me even more curious is that we were merely suppressed on this first level."
"Brother Shi wants to see the second level?" Jiao Le asked with a smile.
Shi Lezhi, however, gave a wry smile and shook his head, "Those who were imprisoned above us are likely not weaker than us. Being struck down by that person at least made me realize that there are always people better than oneself. I'd rather forgo the act of seeking humiliation by going to the second level."
Jiao Le smiled and looked at the grinding stone in the air, his eyes darting as he pondered something.
A month passed, and Li Xuan finally opened his eyes.
Phew!
Li Xuan exhaled a breath of stale air, his eyes full of joy.
His soul strength had finally advanced further!