Where Is Li Wuliang? . . .
Cha Eun Xiao stood before the stone stele, his demeanor humble and reverent. He offered a deep bow and remained in that solemn posture for an extended period, paying his respects to the fallen heroes who had given their lives to safeguard the world.
After this heartfelt tribute was complete, Cha Eun Xiao's thoughts returned to the one question that had been on his mind since the outset of his journey into the precipice: Where was Li Wuliang? Where was his Fierce Sword? The heroes who had perished within this place had intentionally forsaken their weapons before the demonic war commenced. The magnetic mountain had stripped them of their armaments. However, Li Wuliang had fallen into this chasm merely two years prior, so his body may have decayed, but his sword should still be concealed within these depths.
Cha Eun Xiao remained perplexed about why he hadn't encountered any sign of Li Wuliang or his weapon thus far. He was confident in his ability to distinguish Li Wuliang's remains from the other corpses, but aside from the sword, he hadn't located Li Wuliang's body either. Additionally, when the departed cultivators' willpower had emerged, the bones had all turned to ash, making it improbable that any full bodies remained.
This raised another unsettling query. Li Wuliang hadn't possessed the extraordinary desire or potent willpower that the other fallen cultivators had exhibited. Since he had passed away only two years ago, even if he had been gravely injured, his body shouldn't have deteriorated so rapidly. Cha Eun Xiao meticulously scoured the area, yet his efforts yielded no results, leaving him with a sense of bafflement and disappointment.
Surveying the vicinity, he was confronted by an impenetrable fog that obstructed his vision, even with the assistance of his Yin Yang Eyes. His brows furrowed as he contemplated the situation. Cha Eun Xiao found it perplexing that Li Wuliang, who had fallen from such a great height and hit the ground here, appeared to have vanished without a trace.
"This is indeed puzzling," he mused. "Li Wuliang should have plummeted to the ground straight away without striking any obstacles, and even if he were in peak condition, such a fall would have been fatal. Yet he seems to have simply disappeared. There's no trace of him at all. What could have happened?"
As he ruminated on these enigmatic circumstances, Cha Eun Xiao casually approached a specific corner of the land. Here, an abundance of flourishing plants had congregated, creating a stark contrast to the desolation that pervaded the rest of the precipice. A peculiar realization dawned upon him as he studied a bush in this lush area.
"Something about this is peculiar," he mused. "The intense battle from bygone eras should have affected the entire region. Why are there no signs of plant life in other areas, yet this corner is teeming with growth? There must be something special about this place."
With a furrowed brow, he scrutinized a particular bush. After a moment, he executed a palm strike, unleashing a surge of energy that uprooted the plants.
To his astonishment, what lay beneath the verdant foliage left him dumbfounded. The removal of the plants revealed a massive crevice in the cliff. At its top, the crevice was barely half the width of a hand, but it expanded to nearly two meters at its base. Peering into the abyss, Cha Eun Xiao saw a gaping, dark tunnel whose depths remained concealed from view.
The enigma of the precipice deepened. Cha Eun Xiao considered that the fissure might have been formed by natural geological processes over the course of countless years, emerging long after the conclusion of the ancient battle. He speculated that the powerful cultivators would not have left behind such an opening. Regardless of its origin, this crevice held significant import, and Cha Eun Xiao was now left to ponder its contents and destination.
"What lies within this fissure, and where does it lead?" he wondered.
Cha Eun Xiao scoured the area in search of Li Wuliang's remains, but his efforts yielded no results. Filled with disappointment, he let out a long sigh and resolved to proceed into the mysterious hole before him. Without a moment's hesitation, his loyal feline companion, Erhuo, raced ahead of him, guiding the way.
As Cha Eun Xiao approached the entrance of the cave, a sudden realization prompted him to reach out and employ his telekinesis, swiftly drawing a substantial pile of mud toward himself. With a deft movement, he blocked the entrance with the mud, ensuring that the hole was concealed from view, and the passage remained known only to him and Erhuo.
With Erhuo leading the way, the two companions ventured deeper into the enigmatic cave. In the subterranean darkness, Cha Eun Xiao's Yin Yang Eyes, while not yet highly advanced, enabled him to perceive his surroundings to some extent, sparing him from total blindness in the cave's depths.
As they ventured further, the cave expanded, growing more spacious, and Cha Eun Xiao became acutely aware of an unmistakable chill in the air. He had grown accustomed to this particular coldness, having encountered it repeatedly during his journey. Along the way, his senses allowed him to detect various stalactites. Some were broken, their fractured remnants scattered across the cave floor. This, too, was a common occurrence, given the passage of centuries and millennia.
However, what captured his attention were the stalactites with fresh fractures. Their pristine breaks hinted at recent damage, and Cha Eun Xiao's keen intuition told him that something unusual had occurred in the cave. If only one or two stalactites exhibited new fractures, it might be deemed an ordinary event. Yet, he found that all the fractures he encountered were fresh. This signaled a single, significant possibility.
"Has someone entered this chamber ahead of me?" Cha Eun Xiao wondered aloud. "The recent fractures in these stalactites... They couldn't have occurred long ago. This could mean... Li Wuliang might still be alive, and he might have caused this damage. He must be alive!"
This realization stirred a sense of urgency within Cha Eun Xiao. Turning to Erhuo, he issued an imperative command. "Erhuo, let's pick up the pace! We must hurry!"