148: Tianyuan Enlightenment

In the flickering cavern, Li Xiangyun sat cross-legged on the ground, gritting his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, staining the ground with dark red marks.

Due to his previous use of spiritual power and his attempt to Cultivate The Dao Intent of Life and Death, the balance within his body was disrupted.

Thus, the four forces within his body began to tear at Li Xiangyun's Meridians like a noose-like.

The Ice Glaze Dao Intent froze his blood vessels, the Sword Intent ripped through his Qi Sea, and The Dao Intent of Life and Death collided fiercely in his Dantian, each impact feeling like thousands of steel needles piercing his bone marrow.

Outside the cave, black mist surged wildly like a living entity, the roar of it crashing against the Seal shaking loose rocks from the cave walls.

Amidst the roars, the eerie death aura of the Nine Nether seeped through the cracks into the cave, forming a strange counter-balance with the life force circulating on the cave walls.

These two diametrically opposed forces intertwined within the cave, unexpectedly forming a subtle field of life and death circulation.

Li Xiangyun's pupils were sometimes covered in icy blue, freezing the sweat beads on his eyelashes, and sometimes filled with scarlet blood, as if countless Revenantwailed in his eyes.

Tang Fu nervously clutched a jade pendant, guarding him, and watched as Li Xiangyun's body was sometimes covered in icy blue and sometimes glowed with scarlet blood, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

As a direct Bloodline of the Soul Transformation Tang family from Xuanwu Star, Tang Fu's ability to reach this place naturally meant his strength was not low; he was at the Golden Core Peak.

Therefore, with his discerning eye, he had noticed Li Xiangyun was severely injured from the very first moment they met.

But this was not the most crucial point; the most crucial point was that he had discovered Li Xiangyun was Cultivating The Dao Intent of Life and Death.

How ignorant and audacious was this!?

At the same time, he hadn't expected Li Xiangyun to choose to Cultivate Dao Intent at this moment.

Now, his soul was controlled by Li Xiangyun; logically speaking, even if he didn't cause trouble, he should still hope for his failure.

However, Li Xiangyun had saved him after all, which made him hesitate for a moment.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and sprinkled a black powder around Li Xiangyun.

It was well-known that Cultivating The Dao Intent of Life and Death would attract beings from the abyss.

The powder Tang Fu sprinkled was Powder of Ghost Flower, which could block the Qi of living beings, but he didn't know if it would be effective...

"Hmph~ I'm not doing this to help him; I just don't want to be implicated."

After doing all this, Tang Fu returned to his spot and snorted coldly.

Time slowly passed, and the black mist outside the cave became increasingly violent, as if some rebellious entity within it needed to be immediately destroyed.

"Life...Death..."

But Li Xiangyun knew none of this; instead, he murmured softly, enduring the intense pain and submerging his consciousness into his Dantian.

When the power of death surged like a tide, he no longer resisted but guided this power to meet the power of life.

The faint light from the cave wall reflected on his pale face, flickering on and off.

The moment the two forces met, he felt his Meridians being torn apart and then reassembled; the pain almost made him lose consciousness, but he bit his tongue fiercely, forcing himself to stay awake.

The Spirit Pill in his mouth gently shattered, instantly transforming into dots of green light that merged into his body, not only healing his broken body but also bringing him a brand new understanding of life.

He temporarily suppressed the Ice Glaze Dao Intent, focusing on guiding the forces of life and death to circulate within his Meridians.

Whenever the power of death tried to devour his vitality, the power of life would promptly repair it; this cycle continued, and eventually, a black and white Taiji diagram formed in his Dantian.

Outside the cave, the black mist, carrying the wails of the Nine Nether, furiously crashed against the spiritual light.

Every roar was like a summons from the abyss of the dead, and the putrid aura seeped through the cracks, colliding with the circulating life force within the cave.

Black and white Dao patterns spun frantically in the depths of Li Xiangyun's pupils—he saw the lingering souls of the dead floating in the black mist, saw the new sprouts of life pulsating in the spiritual light of the cave walls, and the scenes of life and death intertwined before his eyes into a distorted painting.

"Perhaps...life and death are inherently one..."

Li Xiangyun coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with ice crystals and swallowed his last Spirit Pill.

The moment the green light from the Medicinal Pill merged into his Meridians, a unique vitality surged in like a clear spring, but upon touching the power of death, it erupted into dazzling Chaos light.

In a trance, Li Xiangyun felt his consciousness forcibly pulled into the depths of his memory: the relief of witnessing an elder's peaceful passing in his youth, the fear of near-death while fighting Yao Beasts, and the Rebirth of Lord Thunder Dragon after enduring the Lightning Tribulation.

The excruciating pain of the tearing forces within his body at this moment...all these moments of life and death flashed by like a revolving lantern.

When the power of death from the Nine Nether surged in again, Li Xiangyun no longer resisted; instead, he actively guided it towards his heart.

The moment the cold light and red light violently collided at his Shanzhong acupoint, he felt as if he heard the roar of the heavens and earth at their creation.

"Life is the beginning of death, and death is the continuation of life..."

He murmured in agony, letting the power of death shred his damaged Meridians, then watching the life runes guide the vitality to reshape his flesh and blood.

Each tearing and Rebirth made the boundary between life and death increasingly blurred for him—just like the black mist outside the cave and the spiritual light inside, seemingly opposite, yet achieving a strange balance.

But at this point, Li Xiangyun felt little joy in his heart; instead, new doubts arose.

If he continued this way, he could certainly use The Dao Intent of Life and Death to heal his internal injuries, and his understanding of The Dao Intent of Life and Death would also reach a new level.

All in all, he had made great progress.

However, the Ice Glaze Dao Intent and The Dao Intent of Life and Death would also separate again.

"But is this truly what I want?"

Li Xiangyun couldn't help but question his inner self.

Spending such a great price just to heal his injuries!?

If that were truly the case, not to mention Cang Lanzi, even he himself would look down on himself.

Moreover, according to Cang Lanzi, the world was about to undergo a great change.

In such circumstances, how could he lead the Li family to the end with his current strength alone?

"But what should I do?"

Li Xiangyun fell into a deep state of confusion.

As he fell into silence, the surging black mist outside intensified, and even the roars grew denser.

Tang Fu couldn't help but look outside the cave, and in just an instant, he involuntarily shivered.

In a trance, he seemed to see dense figures in the black mist.

Fortunately, because of the existence of the cave, those things could not enter.

This made Tang Fu breathe a sigh of relief.

"Something's not right!" But then, Tang Fu frowned and said, "Normally, the dark night should have ended by now!"

"Is it because of him?" Saying this, Tang Fu looked at Li Xiangyun, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground not far away.

At this moment, Li Xiangyun's aura had stabilized. He no longer looked like he was on the verge of death; he was like a statue, completely motionless.

But Tang Fu still felt that the problem lay with Li Xiangyun, as such an anomaly had never occurred before.

This made Tang Fu somewhat uneasy, fearing that something unexpected would happen if it continued.

But with the black mist covering everything now, where could he run to...