"Who am I?"
As Li Xuan's eyes fluttered open, a sharp glint flashed within them, only to be instantly replaced by confusion.
After murmuring to himself, Li Xuan, as if sensing something, raised his head and surveyed his surroundings. His brow furrowed deeply. It was evident that Li Xuan was attempting to recall his memories.
"Heh heh, this grand formation actually contains a spirit formation. No wonder Blood Demon Venerable and the others couldn't break through it. Fortunately, this formidable weapon left by King Yi can finally be put to use."
Just as Li Xuan stood in a daze, a piercing voice reached his ears from not far away.
"Spirit formation... King Yi..." Li Xuan frowned slightly, but then shook his head, having no recollection.
Boom!
At that moment, a deafening roar erupted from nearby. The earth and mountains violently trembled.
Seeing this, Li Xuan ceased his contemplation and instinctively stood up, intending to flee. However, as the ground shook, beams of spiritual light shot out, sealing all escape routes.
Crack!
With a faint cracking sound, Li Xuan looked up again. A fissure suddenly appeared on the ground, from which a thick black mist emanated. As time passed, this fissure rapidly widened, eventually splitting into several cracks before all of them ruptured.
Boom!
As the black mist intensified, the space seemed unable to withstand it and exploded.
Witnessing this, a flicker of panic involuntarily appeared on Li Xuan's face.
Rumble!
With another tremendous explosion, the earth and mountains surrounding Li Xuan instantly shattered and then detonated violently.
Li Xuan had no time to react and was immediately sent flying by the shockwave.
At this very moment, a spatial rift appeared rapidly. The astonishing explosion had torn space itself apart.
Cracks in space appeared one after another, forming a vortex that condensed a powerful suction force. In mere moments, Li Xuan's figure was instantly pulled in.
"My lord, the two formations left in the Central Domain have both been broken. What should we do next?"
After Li Xuan vanished, the surrounding earth and the mountains, now reduced to ruins, continued their violent explosions for a while before slowly fading.
"Strange, why do I feel like there was a figure in that formation just now?" A foreign race expert, standing not far from the spirit formation, mused with a hint of suspicion as he gazed at the now vanished formation.
However, after considering the ferocity of the explosion, the foreign race expert felt reassured. Even if there were any experts from the Central Domain inside, they would surely not have survived such a cataclysmic blast.
After all, even he himself would have been in grave peril from such an explosion.
Meanwhile, Li Xuan, having been drawn into the spacetime vortex, closed his eyes and fell unconscious again. It was clear that in the vicinity of the terrifying explosion, Li Xuan had inevitably sustained some injuries.
Bang.
With a thud, Li Xuan's body crashed heavily onto the ground. The immense force of the impact created a large crater. Had Li Xuan's physique not been exceptionally sturdy, he would have likely bled profusely and died from such a fall.
The vast, desolate land, momentarily disturbed by Li Xuan's sudden descent, saw its silence broken. As time wore on, the spacetime vortex in the sky slowly repaired itself, returning to its pristine state, leaving no trace of a fissure.
At this moment, a group of people some distance away from Li Xuan exchanged glances as they watched the direction of his fall.
"Do you think that light we just saw was a foreign race expert?"
Within the group, a strikingly handsome man pondered for a moment before speaking to the other members of his team.
"I don't think so. If it were a foreign race expert, they would have discovered our team long ago," a man of similar age beside him replied, shaking his head.
"Perhaps our team is too weak to pique the interest of foreign race experts?" a boy, who appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen, piped up.
"Impossible! The powers of our Central Domain are mortal enemies with the foreign races. If they discovered us, they would attack immediately. They wouldn't care if we were strong or weak. You don't know this, but I've heard that the foreign races particularly like to target spirit masters like us. If captured, we're eaten alive by them," the former retorted, waving his hand dismissively.
"That terrifying!" The boy's face immediately registered a look of horror.
"Li Shang, stop talking nonsense and frightening the young master," the handsome man reprimanded sternly.
"Li Cong, how am I talking nonsense? Isn't that what everyone says? Do you know otherwise?" the man muttered under his breath.
"Young master, what Li Shang said is mostly true. Therefore, we must proceed with extreme caution on this journey. However, one thing Li Shang said is correct: if it truly were the foreign races, they would likely attack us. It seems it's not them, then it must be an expert from our Central Domain. Let's go and investigate."
Li Cong shot Li Shang a glare before speaking softly to the young master.
His words fell, and Li Cong's gaze shifted to Li Shang.
"No way? You want me to go?" Li Shang asked indignantly.
"If not me, then who? If I go, who will look after the safety of the young lady and the young master?" Li Cong shot Li Shang another glare.
"Alright, I'll go then." Li Shang pouted, shrugged, and then darted swiftly towards the spot where Li Xuan had fallen.
"Li Cong, will Li Shang be in danger?" the young master asked with concern after Li Shang departed.
Li Cong smiled slightly and watched Li Shang's receding back. "Young master, worry not. Although my strength surpasses Li Shang's, when it comes to survival skills and speed of escape, I am far inferior to him."
"Li Cong, come here quickly!"
In a short while, a somewhat urgent voice carried from afar. Li Cong frowned slightly, glanced around, and then with a thought, shot towards the source of the sound.
"What did you find?" As Li Cong's voice faded, he stopped and immediately saw the large crater at Li Shang's feet. Without waiting for Li Shang's reply, Li Cong took a few steps forward and saw Li Xuan in the pit.
"Li Cong, Li Shang, have you found something?"
Just then, a clear, melodious voice, like a warbler's song, rang out.
Li Cong and Li Shang immediately stood up, exchanged a glance, and then turned to look at a graceful figure who had just alighted from a carriage.
Finally, it was Li Cong who spoke slowly, "Replying to the young lady, there is a corpse in this pit."
"A corpse?" The graceful figure addressed as "young lady" frowned slightly and then tightened her grip on the young man beside her.
"Li Cong, what do you mean it's a corpse? I've already examined it. At this location, at this distance, this person should be the one who just fell from the sky. Moreover, we haven't even checked if this person is alive or dead. How can you definitively say they are dead?"
As the woman's voice ceased, Li Shang, with a disgruntled expression, interjected.
"You know better than I do how dangerous this place is. With the young lady and the young master present, we should hurry on our way. Whether this person is alive or dead, we should not interfere," Li Cong stated, glaring at Li Shang.
"But if this person is still alive and we abandon them, what if some foreign race individuals pass by and capture them for sustenance? Our Li family would never do such a thing," Li Shang countered, shaking his head.
"Enough, stop arguing. Li Cong, I understand your concerns clearly. I also deeply understand your desire to escort my brother and me back to the branch sect as soon as possible. However, Li Shang is right, abandoning someone to die is not the way of our Li family."
The woman paused before continuing, "Furthermore, you both know the high level of danger here better than I do. How about this: Li Shang, you check him first. If he still has a breath, bring him back to the branch sect. If he is truly dead, bury him. We can only do so much for a fellow human."
"Yes, young lady." Upon hearing this, Li Shang moved instantly, dropping into the crater. Clearly, he intended to ascertain whether Li Xuan was alive or dead. Li Cong, standing above the pit, silently watched Li Xuan within, awaiting Li Shang's findings.
"Huh? He's still alive!" At this moment, Li Shang, having entered the crater, draped an outer garment over Li Xuan. After a brief examination, he discovered that Li Xuan's breathing was extremely even. He looked as though he were merely sleeping.
"Young lady, this person is still alive!"