Chapter 1356: Distorting Space

To be honest, Zhang Xuan was indeed disappointed.

He had thought that this Zhang Chun, as a genius of the Zhang family, along with the remaining four experts, could fight him on equal terms at the same cultivation level. Only after actually engaging did he realize—they were far too lacking!

Previously, simply cultivating true qi to the initial stage of the Out-of-Body realm allowed him to smoothly pass through the Jiazi Alley. Now, with his physical body and soul cultivation all catching up, although Zhang Chun and the others were geniuses, they still fell far short in comparison.

"They'll probably wake up a day and a night later. Don't worry, I'll have the Azure Dragon Beast watch over them and prevent other sacred beasts from harming them!"

Stretching lazily, Zhang Xuan walked up to the group: "Now that I have time, let's hurry and find the Dongxu Gourd!"

Although he was displeased with the Zhang family, he wouldn't go so far as to kill them.

If he left them unconscious here, they would be eaten by sacred beasts before long, which would be indirectly killing them.

Having the Azure Dragon Beast guard them ensured, first, that no sacred beast would dare cause trouble, and second, that even if they woke up, they wouldn't dare enter the cave again.

"Alright!"

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Luo Xuanqing nodded.

Zhang Chun, whom he had been contending with for years, was knocked unconscious just like that... This young friend he had only met a few days ago was truly extraordinary!

"Zhang Chun suffered such a loss; he won't let it go easily. You'd best be careful when you return to the Holy Son Hall. If he really comes to cause you trouble, be sure to let me know, and I'll handle it..."

As they walked toward the cave, he transmitted his voice.

He knew Zhang Chun's character. Although as a family scion and an eight-star mid-grade master teacher, he wouldn't resort to underhanded tactics, but... with his power and influence, it would be easy for him to make things difficult for someone in the Holy Son Hall.

Even if he didn't make things difficult, ruining one's reputation would be simple.

This young man had offended him to help him out, which would surely bring no small amount of trouble in the future.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

In truth, he had taught that fellow a lesson because he had improper thoughts about Ruoxi. However, if this also won over this future brother-in-law, it would kill two birds with one stone.

He could clearly sense that before, Luo Xuanqing had only regarded him as a talented ordinary friend, but now, he already considered him a close friend.

Although now was still not the best time to inquire about Luo Ruoxi, the closer their relationship grew, the more it would help in the future.

After all, his current strength wasn't great, and his identity as Hall Master hadn't been announced. There was no rush to slowly build relationships.

Without the threat of the Azure Dragon Beast, the group quickly entered the cave.

The cave entrance was narrow, but inside it opened up. The entire cave followed the mountain's fissures, layered and stacked, stretching unknown depths, with no end in sight.

"Xuanqing, I just carefully examined this place, but I didn't find anything special?"

Yuan Xiao looked over.

When he had been searching for the Azure Dragon Beast earlier, he had also studied this place. It was just an ordinary cave formed by a crack in the mountain, with nothing at all.

"What about you? Have you found anything?"

Without answering, Luo Xuanqing looked at Yun Lianhai, who was not far away.

As a treasure hunter, he was naturally sensitive to treasures and might be able to detect something different.

"Let me try!"

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Yun Lianhai's spirit stirred, and a drop of blood flew to his brow. Between his eyes, it seemed a third eye had appeared, probing the surroundings.

After a moment, he also shook his head: "I didn't find anything either."

"So this is the ability of treasure hunting? It really... can't be learned."

Zhang Xuan marveled.

He had just used the Eye of Insight to observe; the other party was using the power of bloodline to probe for treasures with spiritual energy.

It was like a compass detecting a magnet—even with formations in between, it could find irregularities and detect anomalies.

This ability, like a dog sniffing out lost items, was innate, not something that could be achieved through后天 cultivation.

He had never heard of anyone, no matter how talented, training themselves into a police dog.

He had thought of finding a chance to learn it, but now it seemed truly impossible.

"Zhang Shi, have you found anything?"

Luo Xuanqing looked over.

The others were also full of curiosity.

In just a few days together, this young man of modest cultivation had given them too much shock. They all wanted to see if he could discover something as well.

Without answering, Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes, and patterns quietly emerged in his eyes as he looked around.

When the formation wasn't activated, the Library of Heaven's Path was invisible, so he could only rely on the Eye of Insight to probe.

Soon, he also shook his head: "I didn't find it either."

Although the Eye of Insight was powerful, limited by his cultivation, many hidden things were also undetectable.

Just like at the Sealing Saint Platform, he hadn't found the so-called folded space either.

"Where exactly is it? Luo Xuanqing, stop being mysterious..."

Seeing that even he hadn't found it, Bi Hongyin on the side frowned and spoke.

"I'm not being mysterious."

Luo Xuanqing nodded: "To be honest, if I were alone, I wouldn't be able to find the exact location either. It was my sister who, based on the map, pinpointed the specific location of the formation's life gate, and only then did I come to investigate and notice something!"

"Found the formation's life gate location based on the map?"

Everyone gasped.

This little princess was too incredible!

It was already astonishing to deduce from a map that there was a relic here, but to also find the exact location... How did she do it?

"This is the map my sister specially refined for me. With it, we can smoothly find the core of the formation and enter the ruins containing the Cave Void Gourd!"

Turning his palm over, a jade token the size of a palm appeared in his hand. Luo Xuanqing lightly tapped it with his finger.

A flash of light flickered, and a faint mist immediately emanated from the jade token, enveloping the entire cave. In the mist, faint outlines of rocks, cracks, and the like were visible, like a landscape painting, slowly merging with reality until they were indistinguishable.

"Such a powerful use of space..."

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows twitched.

What emanated from the jade token seemed like mist, but it was neither an ink painting nor a formation—it was a spatial force.

Using space to paint, merging with reality without the slightest discrepancy... This ability was too formidable!

Once the mist had fully merged with the cave, the jade token flew up from Luo Xuanqing's hand and shot straight ahead.

The others followed closely behind.

Soon they arrived at a crevice.

Ahead, a wall blocked their path, making it seem like a sealed stone chamber.

They stopped at a certain spot, and the jade token spun continuously.

"The formation outside is too large; this life gate shifts over time. It's no longer in the same place as when I came last time... However, since the jade token has stopped here, it should be right here!"

Luo Xuanqing nodded.

Without saying much, Zhang Xuan's Eye of Insight stirred and looked again.

"There really is a spatial distortion..."

His eyebrows twitched.

Having pinpointed the location, he indeed noticed something amiss.

Beneath the jade token, there was a sesame-sized area where space was distorted. Without knowing the exact spot, even careful searching would make it hard to detect.

After all, such distortions could be produced by concentrating attacks from some Mortal Transformation realm cultivators at a single point, so no one would pay much attention.

No wonder the Hell Azure Dragon, a mighty Saint Domain Eighth Layer expert, had lived here for who knows how many years without noticing... It was simply too hard to find.

So difficult to find, yet by merely looking at a map and refining a jade token, one could locate it... Luo Ruoxin's strength once again made him feel pressured.

Before, not knowing her strength, he had liked her without reservation. Now, with such strength, he couldn't even resist the arranged marriage—the difficulty was immense, as one could imagine.

"No matter how hard, I will marry you openly and honorably!"

His eyes narrowed, and Zhang Xuan clenched his fists.

"I still can't see anything special here. Just open it, and we'll follow you in!"

Staring at where the jade token had stopped, Yuan Xiao and the others exchanged bewildered glances for a long while, still finding nothing, and finally shook their heads in frustration.

"Alright!"

Without further ado, Luo Xuanqing raised his brows and lightly tapped the air before him.

A drop of blood immediately materialized.

He formed several hand seals, and a special force fell upon the jade token.

With a buzz, the sesame-sized spatial distortion beneath began to spin, like stirred air currents.

Rip!

Space seemed to tear open, centered on the sesame-sized spot, funneling upward and spinning, the vortex growing larger.

"Let's go in!"

Seeming to have expended a great deal of energy, Luo Xuanqing's face turned slightly pale.

"Alright!"

Yuan Xiao nodded, said no more, and leaped first into the funnel.

As the foremost in defense, he naturally charged ahead into unknown and dangerous places.

Whoosh!

His two-meter-tall body, still large above the funnel, grew smaller as it descended, shrinking to the size of a needle tip in an instant, then vanishing into the distorted space.

"This..."

Seeing such a bizarre sight for the first time, everyone's eyebrows twitched.

"Is this... the [Creation] realm ability of the fourth layer of the Derivation Space Scripture?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

When Yuan Xiao jumped into the funnel-shaped vortex, it appeared as if he shrank, but in reality, it was spatial folding and visual distortion—the person himself had not changed.

It was like a person standing one meter away versus one hundred meters away: the size perceived by the eye differs.

A person a hundred meters away, even if over two meters tall, would appear no larger than a sesame seed to the naked eye.

The scene before them was just like that.

This funnel, to them, seemed only a few meters away and not very large, but in truth, it concealed countless layers of space, and the actual distance was probably over several kilometers.

"Using space as a foundation to create stable space without being detected... The person who left the Cave Void Gourd must have been at least at Saint Domain Ninth Layer, with an extremely high comprehension of space. Though not as good as Qiuwu Ancient Sage, he far surpasses ordinary cultivators..."

He grew cautious.

No wonder even the Eye of Insight couldn't detect it before. This spatial ability was too terrifying, far beyond what he could touch at his current level.

"Let's go. We'll enter too!"

Seeing Yuan Xiao enter, the others hesitated no longer. Bi Hongyin, Yun Lianhai, and the others followed closely and jumped in.

Seeing the two disappear, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and leaped in himself.

Whoosh!

In an instant, it felt like falling from a great height, plummeting straight down.