In the realm of the Cave Heaven stage, cultivators are naturally much stronger, and as long as a strand of divine consciousness escapes the future, they can be reborn.
Originally, Xu Yang thought that Lu Kaishan had died completely, with no chance of survival. However, he was shocked to find that a trace of Lu Kaishan's divine consciousness had managed to escape.
Xu Yang quickly pursued this divine consciousness of Lu Kaishan.
Without the constraints of a physical body, Lu Kaishan's divine consciousness moved at an incredible speed.
Xu Yang chased him for a while before catching up with him at the back mountain.
With a swift wave of his hand, Xu Yang released his own divine consciousness.
Xu Yang's divine consciousness was clearly a hundred times stronger than Lu Kaishan's. When Xu Yang's divine consciousness collided with Lu Kaishan's, it let out a tragic scream.
The already weak divine consciousness of Lu Kaishan suffered severe damage, growing even weaker.
"Keep running," Xu Yang said with a smile, watching Lu Kaishan's fading consciousness.
"Senior, please spare me!" A faint, feeble voice echoed in Xu Yang's ears.
This voice wasn't a physical sound—since Lu Kaishan had no body, he couldn't produce audible sounds. This was a mental transmission that only Xu Yang could hear; no one else could.
Xu Yang listened to Lu Kaishan's pleas and gave a light chuckle, asking, "Give me one good reason not to kill you."
Lu Kaishan thought for a moment before replying, "I am a general of the empire. If you kill me, the empire will never forgive you. If you spare me, I can speak on your behalf before the emperor, as if this never happened. What do you think?"
Hearing this, Xu Yang's eyes narrowed, and his powerful divine consciousness immediately crushed Lu Kaishan's remaining essence.
In the next moment, Lu Kaishan's divine consciousness vanished into the ether.
Xu Yang sneered coldly and spat on the ground, saying, "Hmph, you're on the verge of death and still trying to threaten me. I wonder what you were thinking."
With Lu Kaishan destroyed, Yunshan Sect was truly annihilated.
From the sect's founder to the lowest-level disciples in the Qi Refining stage, none were left alive.
However, Xu Yang began to think about something else. There was some truth in Lu Kaishan's words before he died.
The Tianlan Sect was located in a lower region within the Great Xia Empire's territory.
As it was part of an empire, there was naturally an emperor.
In a world where martial strength was supreme, the emperor of the Great Xia Empire was undoubtedly the strongest figure in the entire empire.
If Xu Yang killed a general of the Great Xia Empire, would this provoke the emperor to seek revenge?
Xu Yang paused and shook his head. "What's there to fear? When soldiers come, we fight; when water comes, we dam."
News spread quickly that the ancestor of Tianlan Sect had killed the Cave Heaven stage Lu Kaishan.
People were shocked at how deep Tianlan Sect had hidden its strength.
Located in a remote corner of Qi State, many had recently believed that the Tianlan Sect was on the verge of being wiped out.
Even the sect leader, Ling Qingshu, only had foundation-building cultivation.
Yet, no one had expected that the Tianlan Sect actually had an ancestor capable of annihilating a Cave Heaven stage cultivator in a single strike.
All the major forces began to reconsider their positions.
Now, Tianlan Sect wasn't just the number one force in Qi State—it could easily be considered the top force in Tianwu Prefecture as well.
Inside the room of the Tianwu Prefecture's Princess, Zhao Tianxun gazed at the map of Qizhou on the wall, a mysterious smile curling on her lips.
"Interesting, truly interesting," she muttered to herself.
"Originally, I thought you were just a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, but it seems you've hidden your strength so well."
With that, Zhao Tianxun took a step forward and vanished in an instant.
After rebuilding Tianlan Sect, Xu Yang was considering his next steps when, suddenly, Yu Sanniang arrived again.
"You've come. Any news?" Xu Yang asked lazily.
Yu Sanniang's face lit up with excitement as she replied, "Ancestor Xu, I've learned that in Dongling Nation's Dongshan Sea, a Deep Sea Blue Heart has emerged!"
Xu Yang's eyes widened, and his voice trembled as he asked, "What did you say?"
"In Dongling Nation's Dongshan Sea, a Deep Sea Blue Heart has emerged!" Yu Sanniang repeated, looking confused.
"The Deep Sea Blue Heart... it takes twenty thousand years for one to appear. But the last one didn't appear even twenty thousand years ago!" Xu Yang muttered to himself in disbelief.
"Could it be the same one from before?" Xu Yang's eyes flashed with a hint of guilt.
While Xu Yang wasn't particularly interested in the Deep Sea Blue Heart, it represented a painful memory for him.
Twenty thousand years ago, his only disciple had tragically died while trying to obtain the Deep Sea Blue Heart.
Fortunately, at the last moment, his disciple's divine consciousness escaped and hid within the Blue Heart.
Xu Yang had searched for the Blue Heart ever since, but to no avail.
Now, Yu Sanniang had brought the news that the Blue Heart had appeared once more.
"Has it been hiding for twenty thousand years, and still hasn't been harvested?" Xu Yang muttered. "Why has it appeared now?"
Xu Yang pondered deeply but couldn't figure it out.
Nevertheless, no matter the reason, Xu Yang was determined to go to Dongling Nation's Dongshan Sea and investigate the Blue Heart!
"Yu Sanniang, this information is vital. If it's true, when I return, I'll promote you to the Nascent Soul stage!"
Xu Yang said, his body still at Tianlan Sect, but his heart already flying toward Dongling Nation's Dongshan Sea.
Yu Sanniang was stunned at Xu Yang's words before her face broke into a smile.
"Thank you, Ancestor Xu!" Yu San Niang said, her voice filled with gratitude.
Xu Yang didn't say anything more and quickly summoned Ling Qingshu. Together, they made their way to Dongling Nation's Dongshan Sea.
Ling Qingshu, who had been organizing Tianlan Sect's treasure storehouses, was suddenly brought aboard the spiritual ship without any explanation. She was completely bewildered.
Though she didn't know what was happening, she followed Xu Yang without question.
Onboard the spiritual ship, Ling Qingshu finally had time to catch her breath and ask, "Ancestor, where are we going?"
Xu Yang didn't hide anything and told her everything.
"Ah, so it's about my senior sister," Ling Qingshu finally understood after hearing Xu Yang's explanation.
"Master, don't worry. Senior sister will be fine. Perhaps she's only come out now because she heard that you've come out of seclusion and wants to see you."
Xu Yang nodded. That possibility wasn't entirely out of the question.