Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1478 - 785: Compass_2

By striking now, they were openly clashing with Li Yuanba right inside the Hell Cave Heaven. Thankfully, the Hell Cave Heaven mission was due to end the following day, denying Li Yuanba any shot at retaliation in that spot.

With the mission wrapped up, they'd head back to the White Emperor Sect, meaning Li Yuanba would need to venture to the West Yan Continent just to catch up with 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 turn up, the White Emperor Sect would surely hold onto him without letting go.

The three Great Cultivators pulled back their Mountain Peak Treasures and collected the gravitational Spiritual Objects they'd set up.

They eyed the Spiritual Objects with some disappointment, since deploying them in the Hell Cave Heaven had tainted them.

With the Spiritual Objects now tainted and their expected triumph falling short, this whole endeavor turned into a massive setback.

Carrying that sense of regret, 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 keep tabs on 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 probing into it, but discovered his Divine Sense couldn't pierce through.

Rather than feeling shocked, joy surged through him, as this blockage highlighted the hill's extraordinary qualities.

How could a regular hill possibly fend off his Divine Sense's scrutiny?

Li Yuanba drew out the Spirit Treasure Xingyi Sword, sending it flying to sweep repeatedly across the hill.

The hill's soil got gradually stripped away. As his Lifebound Flying Sword, the Xingyi Sword acted like a body extension for a Sword Cultivator, boasting detection powers much like Divine Sense.

Thus, while the Xingyi Sword scoured the hill, it deftly sidestepped any foreign substances.

As the Xingyi Sword removed the soil, a massive compass buried in the hill came into view.

Nestled at the heart of this massive compass lay a chunk of 'Hell Disgust Crystal Essence,' albeit just half the typical size of a standard 'Hell Disgust Crystal Essence.'

Li Yuanba unleashed a Master Recognition Technique at the massive compass. Unclaimed Cave Heaven Cores like this could often be directly bound to a new owner.

Yet it was clear this compass's Cave Heaven Core resisted easy binding, bouncing back his Master Recognition Technique.

"Why refuse to acknowledge an owner? This Cave Heaven is already teetering on total collapse, and it won't last much longer before shattering completely. Better to come with me, and I'll relocate you to a different Cave Heaven," Li Yuanba murmured softly.

He refused to see the massive compass as a lifeless thing; an Artifact Spirit had to dwell inside it.

In those earlier clashes with the Hell Creatures, the Artifact Spirit had somehow directed them into battle.

The compass stayed silent and blocked any link with Li Yuanba's Divine Sense.

A flicker of irritation rose in Li Yuanba, aware he couldn't linger here much longer. The White Emperor Sect still sought to challenge him, and if patrolling cultivators spotted this area, they might uncover the compass Cave Heaven Core.

Should the compass Cave Heaven Core get spotted, it would slip right out of his grasp.

No amount of his contributions could let him claim the core of the Hell Cave Heaven outright, given that this mission involved all the major powers working together, with loot distribution settled by group consensus.

Even with his top contributions to the mission, snagging the compass Cave Heaven Core remained out of reach for him.

Thanks to his efforts and support, he'd secured every bit of this mission's 'Hell Disgust Crystal Essence.'

Though the 'Hell Disgust Crystal Essence' held no real lasting or practical worth for other cultivators, Li Yuanba's desire for it proved it served some purpose for him.

Nobody lacked smarts, yet Li Yuanba had traded certain favors to convince all the cultivators to hand over the 'Hell Disgust Crystal Essence' to him.

Li Yuanba flicked his hand, directing the Xingyi Sword to chop down at 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 the whole time and detected Rule Power during the Xingyi Sword's chop—a defensive rule at work.

"Is this a Spirit Treasure?" He sensed his fortune was turning incredibly favorable.

After already claiming the Spirit Treasure Golden Rainbow Sword, stumbling on yet another Spirit Treasure drove home their scarcity, reserved for the truly powerful.

Li Yuanba realized standard strikes couldn't breach the massive compass's defenses, so he swung the Xingyi Sword down once more.

This round, he infused the Xingyi Sword with 'Chaos Sword Intent,' letting the fearsome Chaos Sword Intent crash into 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' burst forth, wrapping the massive compass in a dread gravitational field. Then, two thousand energy-transformed Flying Swords laced with Great Cultivators' Sword Intent launched outward.

These energy-transformed Flying Swords, infused with Great Cultivators' Sword Intent, hammered down at the massive compass one after another. Each one that connected would fade away after burning through its full energy.

Li Yuanba had amped the energy-transformed Flying Swords' assaults to maximum, where every blow exhausted all their Sword Intent and power in one go.

The barrage unleashed a rhythmic patter against the massive compass, like steady raindrops.

His Divine Sense kept probing nonstop, aiming to reach the Artifact Spirit inside the compass Cave Heaven Core. At last, after exhausting almost all two thousand energy-transformed Flying Swords, the Artifact Spirit linked up with his Divine Sense.

Without a second's delay, Li Yuanba fired off a Master Recognition Technique. He left the Artifact Spirit no room to second-guess.

By linking with his Divine Sense, the Artifact Spirit showed openness to terms, so claiming mastery outright made sense.

At the same time, his Xingyi Sword unleashed its full might, while an extra energy-transformed Flying Sword—born from Master Ge Guang's Lifebound Flying Sword—hovered ready outside the compass Cave Heaven Core for a devastating blow.

As if detecting the danger, the Master Recognition Technique this time slipped into the compass Cave Heaven Core's depths.

He sensed a bond taking shape with the compass Cave Heaven Core, meaning the Master Recognition Technique had breached its core, making him its rightful owner.

"Master!" the Artifact Spirit conveyed to Li Yuanba via the recognition's soul connection.

"Tell me about this compass's abilities. What issues would hit the Cave Heaven if I removed the compass?" Li Yuanba inquired.

This being an Artifact Spirit, politeness wasn't required. To him, Artifact Spirits resembled smart systems from his previous life; still, in the Cultivation World, their human-like reasoning stayed quite restricted.

Yet such reasoning remained bounded, particularly once bound to a master, when the Artifact Spirit could only obey commands without any power to defy.

"Master, my true name is Heavenly Compass, forged to hold down the Hell Fissure. Lacking my oversight, Hell Creatures slipping into the Cave Heaven via the Hell Fissure will run wild, but nothing else will change."

"The Cave Heaven has already crumbled once, so my control over it has dropped to a minimal level, and my absence won't make things any worse!" the Artifact Spirit replied.

The Artifact Spirit then shared a chunk of info with Li Yuanba, far richer in detail than the words alone, helping him grasp the Hell Cave Heaven's backstory.

The Artifact Spirit had no clue about its former master's identity, just that the old owner had found the Hell Fissure and positioned their Cave Heaven there to keep the Hell Fissure boxed in.

To stop the Hell Creatures from wrecking the Cave Heaven too badly, eight towering structures were built, working in tandem with the Spirit Treasure 'Heavenly Compass' to weave a control web over the Hell Creatures.

In that web, the Hell Creatures fell under the 'Heavenly Compass' Artifact Spirit's command.

Li Yuanba couldn't tell if this powerhouse acted from benevolence or malice; still, judging by their deeds, ignoring the Hell Fissure might have let Hell Creatures flood the Cultivation World by now.

But claiming it was all for the world's good or the Cultivation World's sake—then why confine the Hell Fissure solo and generate 'Hell Disgust Crystal Essences' using the 'Heavenly Compass'?