Chapter 387

Chapter 387: Small Heavenly Cave

Dense fog enveloped the sixty thousand shrines along the Li River, occasionally echoing with chanting sounds and roars.

“No, do you dare defy my orders?” The River God was furious, summoning the spirit generals and temple priests, who transformed into golden light and left in a rush, leaving behind some ambitious fools muttering to themselves.

At this moment, Li Hui arrived upstream, a strand of purple light drifting from his hand. He couldn’t help but reveal a joyous expression, thinking to himself, “It worked! Earlier, my Ideal Body responded to thunder with strength, to gold with magnetism, to fire with refinement, to wood with generation, and to earth with Earth Escape. Now, by fusing it with Heavenly Essence, I’ve added another marvel—transmitting through water. Not only that, the immense potential I expended to forcefully advance my profound skills has not been in vain; the Five Elements have formed, and the mysteries are boundless.”

By integrating Heavenly Essence to complete the Five Elements, the Ideal Body immediately transcended a significant level. However, it was exhausting as well, and the strong foundation accumulated in the treasure cabinet over the past six months had diminished considerably.

“It was worth it. Without this kind of breakthrough, I’d be too afraid to explore this secret place even if I had a thousand times more courage,” Li Hui stepped into the Li River and unleashed his Ideal Body, causing ripples to rise beneath his feet. His spiritual sense stirred as he moved further along the river, traveling a thousand miles with each step after the second.

Ghost Fox caught up, baring her teeth and shouting from a distance, “River God of Li River, what are you waiting for? Let us pass directly; he must not escape…”

“I know. This god is mobilizing my forces,” the River God appeared, towering at eighteen zhang (approximately 54 feet), clad in battle robes. He had once been the chief of water transport and, after death, gained opportunities, slowly growing in power.

“Let’s go!”

With a thunderous sound, hundreds of bronze artifacts appeared, consuming the collective willpower of beings madly, as the River God led his soldiers and spirit generals upstream.

At this moment, Li Hui stood in front of a stone door.

The surroundings were desolate, located in a semi-exposed stone cave. A nearby stone wall was covered in green moss. The stone door lay within a puddle, its surface marked by moss stains, weathered and unable to be dated.

In this very location, Bai Ze had faintly detected a glimmer of treasure light. Initially, he hadn’t paid it much mind, but upon his first entrance through the stone door, he lingered only briefly before fleeing outside.

Fortunately, he escaped quickly; otherwise, he would have perished inside! The interior was far more dangerous than the core area of Wan Nest Island, seemingly controlled by Dao Traces, and upon further inspection, one could see fierce spirits combining to create a terrifying forbidden formation.

The reason Li Hui dared to enter today was that this spot was located just upstream of the Li River; whenever the rainy season or storms came, the stone door would be submerged in water, having been drowned many times, creating a watery expanse inside, which was the opportunity to break the formation.

Suddenly, his figure melded into the stone door, disappearing from sight.

Just moments after he entered, the River God led his army to the scene. Ghost Fox remained vigilant, warning, “Be careful, Li Hui is skilled in breaking formations and restrictions; entering this place surely gives him some advantage.”

Knowing this was one thing, but watching Ghost Fox and the River God rush into the stone door was another matter altogether.

“Crack, crack, crack…” Dozens of Yin Thunderbolts exploded above, catching the River God off guard, as the malevolent energy swept through, scattering half of his soldiers and spirit generals’ souls.

No matter whether they were lonely souls, mountain spirit creatures, or ethereal beings formed by the willpower of the masses, they suffered greatly from the barrage of Yin Thunder, causing chaos among the ranks.

“Crack…” Following the Yin Thunder was the Yang Thunder, which proved even more lethal to the ghostly beings; even Ghost Fox struggled against it. However, the terrifying Four Fiends Forbidden Formation had just begun to expand, and danger still lurked behind.

Li Hui blended into the surroundings, using the vast expanse of water to teleport forward, occasionally unleashing sword light that cast the distant scene into his mind, making the experience far easier than the first time he entered.

After circling around, he found no abnormalities. His left eye turned red, his right eye turned gold, and his hair tips turned white, as dragon horns sprouted from his forehead, allowing him to discern with Bai Ze’s divine eye.

“What’s going on? Could the forbidden formation be masking the vital energy of this place?” Li Hui frowned slightly, quickly utilizing the exceptional Divine Bird Technique to strengthen his spiritual sense, feeling alarmed as his figure faded away.

Almost as soon as he left, a streak of blue light swept past where he had just stood, narrowly missing him and slicing through the air—how fortunate!

“This formation is even more terrifying than I previously imagined.” Once Li Hui had that thought, he no longer had time to be distracted, unleashing all his abilities to shift positions.

At this time, half of the Ghost Foxes perished, and the River God’s forces were utterly annihilated. They naturally wanted to escape, but where was the stone door now? Entering was easy, but leaving without a door was impossible.

During Li Hui’s first entrance, he sensed the murderous intent and quickly exited, seizing a fleeting moment. Though these Ghost Foxes were cautious, they vastly underestimated the level of danger here, and by the time they wanted to leave, it was already too late.

At that moment, everything depended on their skills.

“Sixty-two breaths, sixty-three breaths, sixty-four breaths…”

“What kind of array is this? The speed of the murderous energy is astonishing! Using the fifty-fold time flow, I’ve fallen behind and must continually consume acceleration talismans to evade.”

“It’s too strenuous; I can’t go on like this.” Li Hui held out until the count reached one hundred breaths, then flicked his hand, releasing five thousand middle-grade treasure talismans.

Even though they were just middle-grade talismans, piling up five thousand of them was still remarkable. Brilliant light erupted, and spiritual energy gathered as he inhaled the mist.

“The sharpness of the Geng Gold Talisman, the vitality of the Jia Wood Talisman, the grandeur of the Ren Water Talisman, the scorching nature of the Bing Fire Talisman, and the solidity of the Wutu Talisman combined to form the Great Five Elements Qi Yang Talisman.”

“Using my body as a vessel, lift, lift, lift…” Li Hui empowered his Ideal Body, his hands forming countless hand seals to accumulate talisman power, combining the Ideal Body with the Great Five Elements Qi Yang Talisman.

Suddenly, his body collapsed, transforming into countless specks of light, merging into the air, into the water, and into the ground, ignoring the shredding power of the murderous energy as he drifted away with the wind.

In that instant, Li Hui felt he had entered a profoundly mysterious realm.

As long as the Five Elements—gold, wood, water, fire, and earth—existed in this place, he was everywhere and could move freely. Simultaneously, his spiritual sense rapidly spread, faintly catching sight of a key location.

“My heavens! Who originated this place? The Four Fiends Forbidden Formation is only the outer layer; inward, it seems there lies a small heavenly cave.” Li Hui gasped in astonishment.

He actually discovered a hidden heavenly cave; no wonder it was arranged so meticulously. If he possessed a small heavenly cave himself, he would also find ways to conceal its presence and periodically come back to reap the benefits.

“It seems this place has not seen visitors for a long time; I wonder where the cultivator who set up the formation went?” Li Hui continued to infiltrate, merging with the Five Elements, encountering many Dao Traces as barriers.

As he contemplated, he realized these Dao Traces were also formations, filling him with awe: “Incredible! This is the first time I’ve seen a Dao Trace formation. If I hadn’t consumed the Eight Treasures Enlightenment Wine and harmonized my spiritual sense with the Dao Rhythm Residual Talisman, even with my Ideal Body layered with the Great Five Elements Qi Yang Talisman, I wouldn’t have been able to break through.”

“Bang…”

He continued to shuttle through, using up the five thousand talismans, and Li Hui fell from the profoundly mysterious realm, collapsing into a muddy pit, looking around at the desolation.

“Why is it like this? Why is this small heavenly cave so desolate?”

“Hmm? Tribulation soil! It’s everywhere; this was once a spot for cultivators to face tribulation.” Li Hui stood up and darted forward, merging into the desolation.