This time, making a move meant tearing faces with Li Yuanba in the Hell Cave Heaven. Fortunately, the mission in Hell Cave Heaven would conclude tomorrow, leaving Li Yuanba with no chance for revenge there.
Once the mission was over, they would return to the White Emperor Sect, and Li Yuanba would have to go to the West Yan Continent to find them.
The West Yan Continent is the territory of the White Emperor Sect. If Li Yuanba were to go there alone, it would be like delivering himself on a platter.
The White Emperor Sect had always been looking for Li Yuanba. If Li Yuanba really went to them, the White Emperor Sect was certain to keep him there.
The three Great Cultivators retracted their respective Mountain Peak Treasures and gathered up the gravitational Spiritual Objects they had arranged.
They looked at the Spiritual Objects with a bit of regret because using this Spiritual Object in Hell Cave Heaven had caused it to be contaminated.
The Spiritual Object was contaminated, and they had not achieved their anticipated victory. This operation had been a great loss.
With regret, the three Great Cultivators flew toward the direction of the space rift.
After a while, Li Yuanbaâs figure reappeared here. He hadnât retreated far before, using âDivine Eyeâ to observe the movements of the three Great Cultivators.
Only when the three Great Cultivators left did he return to the original place.
He shook his head; the three Great Cultivators hadnât discovered the secret of the hill.
He came to the hill and probed it with his Divine Sense, only to find that his Divine Sense couldnât penetrate it.
Instead of being alarmed, he was delighted, as this situation indicated the special nature of the hill.
If it were an ordinary hill, how could it block the exploration of his Divine Sense?
Li Yuanba took out the Spirit Treasure Xingyi Sword, and it shot out, sweeping continuously over the hill.
The soil on the hill was slowly cleared away. The Xingyi Sword was his Lifebound Flying Sword, which for a Sword Cultivator was akin to an extension of the body, possessing a sensing ability similar to Divine Sense.
Therefore, as the Xingyi Sword swept across the hill, it would immediately avoid any other materials.
With the soil cleared by the Xingyi Sword, a gigantic compass within the hill was revealed.
At the center of the gigantic compass resided a piece of âHell Disgust Crystal Essence,â though this piece was only half the size of a normal âHell Disgust Crystal Essence.â
Li Yuanba cast a Master Recognition Technique toward the gigantic compass. These unowned Cave Heaven Cores could possibly be directly claimed as oneâs own.
But it was obvious that this compassâs Cave Heaven Core was not easily mastered, as his Master Recognition Technique was rebounded.
"Why not recognize an owner? This Cave Heaven is already on the brink of collapse, and it wonât be long before it collapses completely. It would be better to follow me, and I will place you in another Cave Heaven," Li Yuanba said in a low voice.
He didnât believe the gigantic compass was an inanimate object; there must be an Artifact Spirit within it.
During prior battles with the Hell Creatures, the Artifact Spirit had manipulated them in some manner to fight.
The compass gave no response and rejected any contact with Li Yuanbaâs Divine Sense.
Li Yuanba was slightly angered, knowing he couldnât stay here for too long. The White Emperor Sect was still looking for trouble with him, and if other cultivators patrolled this area, the compass Cave Heaven Core could be discovered.
If the compass Cave Heaven Core were discovered, it would elude him.
No matter how great his contribution was, he couldnât possibly take the core of the Hell Cave Heaven in hand, as this mission had been executed collectively by all the superpowers, and the handling of spoils was jointly decided by them.
Despite making the greatest contribution on this mission, he couldnât hope to acquire the compass Cave Heaven Core.
Through his contributions and assistance, he had obtained all of this timeâs âHell Disgust Crystal Essence.â
Even though the âHell Disgust Crystal Essenceâ was of no preservable or usable value to other cultivators, the fact that Li Yuanba wanted it meant it had some use for him.
No one was foolish, but Li Yuanba had exchanged specific prices to make all the cultivators agree to give him the âHell Disgust Crystal Essence.â
Li Yuanba waved his hand, and the Xingyi Sword slashed down toward the compass.
With a âdingâ sound, the Xingyi Sword was repelled high into the air.
There was a flash of divine light in Li Yuanbaâs eyes. He had been using âDivine Eyeâ all along and sensed the Rule Power during the Xingyi Swordâs slashing process, a kind of defensive rule.
"Could this be a Spirit Treasure?" He felt his luck was extraordinarily good.
Having already obtained a Spirit Treasure Golden Rainbow Sword, encountering another Spirit Treasure made him realize how rare Spirit Treasures were, only accessible to the mighty.
Li Yuanba found that ordinary attacks couldnât break through the gigantic compassâs defense, and for the second time, the Xingyi Sword slashed down.
This time, he imbued the Xingyi Sword with âChaos Sword Intent,â and the terrifying Chaos Sword Intent heavily struck the gigantic compass.
With another âding,â the Xingyi Sword was again knocked high into the air.
He didnât give up. Spirit Treasure âTen Thousand Sword Peakâ flew out, and a terrifying gravitational field enveloped the gigantic compass. Subsequently, two thousand energy-converted Flying Swords containing the Sword Intent of Great Cultivators shot out.
One by one, energy-converted Flying Swords containing the Sword Intent of Great Cultivators continuously slashed down toward the gigantic compass. After the first energy-converted Flying Sword hit, it would dissipate after consuming all of its energy.
Li Yuanba had raised the attack of the energy-converted Flying Swords to the highest level, where a single strike consumed all the contained Sword Intent and energy.
The continuous attacks produced a sound on the gigantic compass like the pitter-patter of rain.
His Divine Sense continuously probed, trying to communicate with the Artifact Spirit within the compass Cave Heaven Core. Finally, when nearly all two thousand energy-converted Flying Swords were consumed, the Artifact Spirit connected with his Divine Sense.
Without any hesitation, Li Yuanba delivered a Master Recognition Technique. He gave the Artifact Spirit no chance to ponder further.
Since the Artifact Spirit was willing to connect with his Divine Sense, it indicated a willingness to negotiate, so it was better to directly establish mastery.
Simultaneously, his Xingyi Sword fully erupted, while another energy-converted Flying Sword derived from the Lifebound Flying Sword of Master Ge Guang was poised outside the compass Cave Heaven Core for a full strike.
Seemingly sensing a threat, this time the Master Recognition Technique entered the interior of the compass Cave Heaven Core.
He felt a connection forming with the compass Cave Heaven Core, indicating the Master Recognition Technique had successfully entered its inner sanctum, and he became the owner of the compass.
"Master!" the Artifact Spirit said to Li Yuanba through the soul link of recognition.
"Introduce the functions of this compass to me. What trouble will arise for the Cave Heaven if I were to take the compass away?" Li Yuanba asked.
This was an Artifact Spirit, so there was no need to be polite. To him, Artifact Spirits were somewhat like intelligent systems from his past life; however, those in the Cultivation World possessed a limited capacity for human-like thought.
But these thinking abilities were still limited, especially after becoming the artifactâs master, as the Artifact Spirit would only follow its masterâs orders without the capability to resist.
"Master, my true name is Heavenly Compass, and I was crafted to suppress the Hell Fissure. Without my control, the Hell Creatures entering the Cave Heaven through the Hell Fissure will lose control, without other impact."
"Since the Cave Heaven has already collapsed once, my capacity to control it has diminished to a very low level, and it wonât worsen further without me!" the Artifact Spirit answered.
The Artifact Spirit then relayed a piece of information to Li Yuanba, which was more detailed than the explanation and allowed him to understand the origin of the Hell Cave Heaven.
The Artifact Spirit did not know the name of its previous master, only that the prior owner discovered the Hell Fissure, placing their Cave Heaven there to constrain the Hell Fissure within its boundaries.
To prevent the Hell Creatures from severely damaging the Cave Heaven, eight tall towers were constructed, coordinated with the Spirit Treasure âHeavenly Compass,â forming a network to control the Hell Creatures.
Within this network, the Hell Creatures would be governed by the âHeavenly Compassâ Artifact Spirit.
Li Yuanba did not know whether this mighty being had good or bad intentions; however, looking at their actions, had they ignored the Hell Fissure, the Cultivation World might now be overrun by Hell Creatures.
But to say it was entirely for the worldâs sake or the Cultivation World, then why seal the Hell Fissure alone and produce âHell Disgust Crystal Essencesâ with the âHeavenly Compassâ?