Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1478 - 785: Compass_2
Previously on Cultivation is just so scientific!...
Making their move this time would signify an open feud with Li Yuanba inside the Hell Cave Heaven. Luckily, the Hell Cave Heaven mission was due to wrap up tomorrow, denying Li Yuanba any opportunity for retaliation on site.
With the mission finished, they’d head back to the White Emperor Sect, and Li Yuanba would need to venture to the West Yan Continent just to locate them.
The West Yan Continent served as the White Emperor Sect’s domain. For Li Yuanba to show up there by himself would be like walking straight into a trap.
The White Emperor Sect had long been hunting for Li Yuanba. Should he actually arrive, the White Emperor Sect would undoubtedly hold him captive.
The three Great Cultivators pulled back their Mountain Peak Treasures and collected the gravitational Spiritual Objects they’d set up.
They gazed at the Spiritual Objects with some reluctance, since deploying them in the Hell Cave Heaven had left them tainted.
With the Spiritual Objects now tainted and their expected triumph unrealized, this venture had turned into a major setback.
Carrying their disappointment, the three Great Cultivators soared off toward the space rift’s location.
Soon enough, Li Yuanba’s form emerged once more in the area. He hadn’t gone far earlier, relying on ’Divine Eye’ to monitor the three Great Cultivators’ actions.
He only came back to the spot after confirming the three Great Cultivators had departed.
Shaking his head, he noted that the three Great Cultivators had missed the hill’s hidden secret.
He approached the hill and sent his Divine Sense to scan it, discovering that his Divine Sense failed to pierce through.
Rather than feeling startled, joy surged within him, as this blockage highlighted the hill’s extraordinary qualities.
How could a regular hill possibly resist the probing of his Divine Sense?
Li Yuanba drew forth the Spirit Treasure Xingyi Sword, which darted out and swept repeatedly across the hill.
The hill’s soil was gradually stripped away. As his Lifebound Flying Sword, the Xingyi Sword functioned like a body extension for a Sword Cultivator, offering perception much like Divine Sense.
Thus, while the Xingyi Sword cleared the hill, it deftly sidestepped any foreign substances.
As the Xingyi Sword removed the soil, a massive compass embedded in the hill came into view.
Nestled at the heart of this massive compass lay a chunk of ’Hell Disgust Crystal Essence,’ albeit merely half the typical size of a standard ’Hell Disgust Crystal Essence.’
Li Yuanba directed a Master Recognition Technique at the massive compass. Unclaimed Cave Heaven Cores like this might be seized outright as personal property.
Yet clearly, mastering this compass’s Cave Heaven Core proved challenging, with his Master Recognition Technique bouncing back.
"Why refuse to acknowledge an owner? This Cave Heaven stands on the verge of total ruin, and soon it’ll crumble entirely. It’d be wiser to come with me, where I’ll install you in a different Cave Heaven," Li Yuanba murmured softly.
He refused to accept that the massive compass lacked life; an Artifact Spirit had to dwell inside it.
In earlier clashes against the Hell Creatures, that Artifact Spirit had somehow directed them in combat.
The compass offered no reply and blocked all attempts by Li Yuanba’s Divine Sense to connect.
A flicker of irritation rose in Li Yuanba, aware he couldn’t linger here much longer. The White Emperor Sect still sought to confront him, and if patrolling cultivators spotted this place, the compass Cave Heaven Core might fall into other hands.
Should the compass Cave Heaven Core get found, it would slip from his grasp.
Regardless of his immense contributions, he couldn’t claim the core from the Hell Cave Heaven, given that this joint operation involved all major superpowers, with loot distribution decided collectively.
Even as the top contributor in this mission, securing the compass Cave Heaven Core remained out of reach for him.
Via his efforts and support, he had claimed every bit of the ’Hell Disgust Crystal Essence’ from this expedition.
Though the ’Hell Disgust Crystal Essence’ held no lasting or practical worth for fellow cultivators, Li Yuanba’s desire for it implied some benefit to him.
No one acted without reason, yet Li Yuanba had traded certain favors to convince all cultivators to hand over the ’Hell Disgust Crystal Essence’ to him.
Li Yuanba flicked his hand, sending the Xingyi Sword slashing toward the compass.
A sharp ’ding’ rang out as the Xingyi Sword got flung upward.
Divine light gleamed in Li Yuanba’s eyes. He’d kept ’Divine Eye’ active throughout, detecting Rule Power in the Xingyi Sword’s strike—a defensive rule at work.
"Is this a Spirit Treasure?" He sensed his fortune was remarkably favorable.
After already gaining the Spirit Treasure Golden Rainbow Sword, stumbling upon yet another Spirit Treasure underscored their scarcity, reserved for the truly powerful.
Li Yuanba realized standard assaults couldn’t breach the massive compass’s barriers, so the Xingyi Sword descended once more.
On this attempt, he infused the Xingyi Sword with ’Chaos Sword Intent,’ letting the fearsome Chaos Sword Intent crash against the massive compass.
Another ’ding’ echoed as the Xingyi Sword soared high again.
He pressed on without yielding. The Spirit Treasure ’Ten Thousand Sword Peak’ launched forth, unleashing a dread gravitational field over the massive compass. Then, two thousand energy-forged Flying Swords infused with Great Cultivators’ Sword Intent fired off.
These energy-forged Flying Swords, brimming with Great Cultivators’ Sword Intent, hammered down on the massive compass one after another. Each one vanished upon impact, expending its full energy.
Li Yuanba had amplified the energy-forged Flying Swords’ strikes to maximum, where one blow drained all their Sword Intent and power.
The relentless barrage elicited a rain-like patter against the massive compass.
His Divine Sense kept probing, seeking dialogue with the Artifact Spirit inside the compass Cave Heaven Core. At last, as almost all two thousand energy-forged Flying Swords depleted, the Artifact Spirit linked with his Divine Sense.
Without pause, Li Yuanba unleashed a Master Recognition Technique. He left the Artifact Spirit no room to deliberate.
The Artifact Spirit’s link to his Divine Sense showed openness to discussion, making direct mastery the smarter path.
At the same moment, his Xingyi Sword unleashed its full might, while an additional energy-forged Flying Sword—drawn from Master Ge Guang’s Lifebound Flying Sword—hovered ready outside the compass Cave Heaven Core for a devastating blow.
Apparently detecting danger, the Master Recognition Technique this time pierced into the compass Cave Heaven Core’s depths.
A bond formed between him and the compass Cave Heaven Core, signaling the Master Recognition Technique’s success in claiming its core, establishing him as its owner.
"Master!" the Artifact Spirit conveyed to Li Yuanba via the recognition’s soul connection.
"Tell me about this compass’s capabilities. What issues would the Cave Heaven face if I removed the compass?" Li Yuanba inquired.
As an Artifact Spirit, politeness wasn’t required. To him, they resembled smart systems from his previous existence; still, in the Cultivation World, their human-like reasoning stayed quite constrained.
Yet such reasoning remained bounded, particularly once bound to a master, where the Artifact Spirit obeyed commands without defiance.
"Master, my true name is Heavenly Compass, forged to contain the Hell Fissure. Lacking my oversight, Hell Creatures entering the Cave Heaven via the Hell Fissure will run wild, but no other effects will occur."
"Having already endured one collapse in the Cave Heaven, my control has weakened to minimal levels, and my absence won’t make it any worse!" the Artifact Spirit responded.
The Artifact Spirit then transmitted detailed knowledge to Li Yuanba, far richer than its words, revealing the Hell Cave Heaven’s backstory.
The Artifact Spirit knew nothing of its former master’s identity, only that the previous owner had uncovered the Hell Fissure and positioned their Cave Heaven to enclose it.
To shield the Cave Heaven from Hell Creatures’ ravages, eight soaring towers were built, linked with the Spirit Treasure ’Heavenly Compass’ to create a system reining in the Hell Creatures.
Under this system, the Hell Creatures fell under the ’Heavenly Compass’ Artifact Spirit’s dominion.
Li Yuanba couldn’t tell if this powerhouse acted with noble or selfish motives; still, judging by the deeds, ignoring the Hell Fissure might have let Hell Creatures flood the Cultivation World by now.
But if it was purely for the world or the Cultivation World’s benefit, why isolate the Hell Fissure and generate ’Hell Disgust Crystal Essences’ using the ’Heavenly Compass’?