Leaving the cave

In the large cavern, Ling Xue reminisced about the events he experienced when he was in that peculiar state.

As soon as the snowflake on his forehead lit up, he felt extremely connected to something, but he didn't know what it was. It was an energy entirely different from anything he had felt before, lasting only for milliseconds.

Then he felt as if he were being sent to a different place.

It was as if he had entered another space or another world. He wasn't sure if it was his true body or just his consciousness.

This place was filled with pure ice—the pure ice that his physique used. Even though he was stuck in this place and couldn't move, he was extremely comfortable, more than ever.

Every particle of pure ice emanated a terrifying energy, yet it left him extremely comfortable in that space, as if he truly belonged there.

Then he felt connected to everything around him. He felt a connection that transcended just the physical, enveloping his soul in a frosty atmosphere.

While immersed in this space, information was sent to his consciousness intuitively. He received insights into his true identity, but they were blurry in his mind. His name, Ling Xue, was the only thing he truly understood about his identity.

Additionally, he discovered the names of his abilities and powers from his physique, comprehending the immense possibilities that pure ice could provide.

After receiving this plethora of information, Ling Xue looked towards the horizon of the space. He then saw something different, visibly distinct from the pure ice around him. It had a different shade and texture, suggesting profound properties. He understood that it was probably the next stage of his power. However, it felt extremely distant.

Then his connection to this place started to weaken. He assimilated the received information completely, and upon returning to reality, a slight feeling of confusion briefly clouded his mind, but he quickly regained control.

That place had been of great help. It brought not only his name but also the names of his abilities and a deeper understanding of pure ice.

He found it incredible and decided to ask Li Yuemei if she knew anything similar.

He had told Li Yuemei that he entered a special state, but not what happened in that place. She proposed that it might have been an epiphany.

It's a special state that can rarely occur when a cultivator has a moment of enlightenment. At this moment, their understanding is completely released, and their consciousness connects with their true nature. In this state, it's extremely easy to comprehend previously understood techniques or advance rapidly in cultivation.

There's no rule for what happens on the Epiphany or how it happens. It's known to be extremely rare, and almost everyone would die without experiencing it. However, those who enter this state reap great rewards.

Ling Xue didn't sleep that night, as usual, but Li Yuemei was lying nearby. He noticed that she seemed increasingly comfortable near him.

Before, she used to sleep on the other side of the cavern, but now she was sleeping just a few meters away from him.

Even though her needed even less sleep or could cultivate to avoid sleeping, for some reason, she decided to sleep that night.

She had decided to rest before they left the cavern the next morning.

So, the night passed quickly.

Ling Xue saw the beautiful girl waking up slowly while stretching her body.

Then she opened her eyes and looked at the handsome young man with white hair in front of her.

He then spoke with a slight smile on his face.

"Get up quickly; we're leaving now."

"Hm," Li Yuemei said, then remembered that they were leaving and nodded in agreement.

*************

In the fortress city by the sea, the ancestor of the Sacred Land of the Southern Earth was sitting in a room with the leader of the Sacred Land and the high elders.

Their faces didn't look pleasant. The man she had sent to verify information with the Su family had returned. The man said that the Su family's master confirmed that the boy had indeed passed by one of his restaurants, but didn't know anything else about Ling Xue—where he went afterward or what he was doing. After conveying this information, the Su family's master expelled him from the Su mansion.

It had been a month since Li Yuemei was kidnapped, and they were still concerned about her whereabouts. Because of this, there was a mission in the disciples' hall of the Sacred Land; the mission was to find information about Ling Xue's whereabouts. It seemed to be the easiest mission with the greatest reward, and hence, numerous disciples, deacons, and weaker elders were gathering information all over the Southern Continent.

The ancestor also sent a special force of cultivators to the Beast Mountain, the place where she believed they could be. However, that place was immense, and so far, no good news has come.

They were gathered today to brainstorm another idea on how to resolve this situation because they had heard that an important person from the Southern Medicinal Mountain was coming with information.

But before the people from the Medicinal Mountain arrived, a Thunder Eagle suddenly appeared in the hall. Everyone knew whose eagle it was, and all eyes were focused on it.

All significant people in the Sacred Land had Thunder Eagles as their fastest means of communication. Although their strength was low, their speed was the highest among all flying beasts on the Southern Continent.

As soon as the eagle entered the hall, the leader knew whose eagle it belonged to. A paper then came out of the eagle's mouth.

"Elder Xu? Has something happened in the sacred land?" Wei Ming, the leader of the Sacred Land, asked upon seeing that it was Elder Xu who sent his eagle.

Elder Xu was in charge of a significant portion of the Sacred Land's intelligence.

Then a face suddenly appeared on the paper, and a voice followed. It was the image of Elder Xu.

"I see the ancestral, leader, and grand elders. I come with important information."

"Something happened in the Su family. Guardians from the Su family suddenly appeared all over the Southern Continent, cattered every thousand kilometers, they brought some large devices that we don't know the purpose of., as if preventing people from entering the continent."

"Moreover, the teleportation gate is closed to everyone. The Su family's mansion branch's lord was seen entering the portal a few days ago and has not returned yet."

"The continent is completely sealed, and no one can leave. The guardians the Su family sent are mostly with purple masks, but at specific distances, there's a guardian with a purple mask with a golden stripe."

"I have written all the details on the paper. I will wait for the ancestral's orders on what to do about this." Then the image of Elder Xu disappeared as the paper flew towards the ancestral.

She touched it, receiving all the information, while everyone remained silent in the hall.

Then she said, "Tell everyone not to mind the Su family. Those who need to go to the central continent should just wait and not conflict with the guardians. The Su family is not a force we can disturb," the ancestral said with a strange expression.