Legacy of Immortal Restoration

"Huh?!" After a brief wave of dizziness, Xiao Heng looked at his surroundings and was stunned. The White Bone Vanguard Realm was in complete disarray, strewn everywhere with the aftermath of battle. What had once been a grand, magnificent vista was now broken and battered. "Senior Skull..." Xiao Heng's heart clenched, and he hurried toward the place where Senior Skull usually slumbered. Yet the closer he drew, the more pronounced the marks of battle became. The smooth, pristine white bones were now pitted and scarred in every direction. An ominous premonition grew heavier with every step. When Xiao Heng finally arrived, he froze completely. It looked as though a violent explosion had occurred. Senior Skull was nowhere to be seen. Only a pitch-black crater remained, bearing silent witness to the fierce battle that had taken place not long ago. "What on earth happened?" Xiao Heng's expression darkened. "Could the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals have tracked him down?" Remembering what Senior Skull had told him before going into slumber, Xiao Heng naturally arrived at this thought. Having spent more than a decade scraping by in Shilin Province, Xiao Heng was no longer the naive youth who knew nothing about the cultivation world. Precisely because of this, his heart ran even colder. Back in the Qi Condensation stage, he had possessed the audacity to boldly declare, "To topple the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and restore the glory of Immortal Restoration is our generation's inescapable duty!" Now that he was in the Golden Core realm, however, he no longer dared utter such reckless words. *Senior instructed that if he couldn't be reached, it meant this place had been exposed. For safety's sake, I must destroy the hand bone as soon as possible and sever all ties to this place.* Though reluctant, Xiao Heng was not an indecisive man. Before leaving, he conducted one last search through the Vanguard Realm. To his surprise, Xiao Heng discovered that the white-bone altar within the secret realm had not been completely destroyed. Faint, familiar ripples still pulsed from it. Stirred, Xiao Heng called out using the manner of prayer he had used before. "Senior Skull!" A moment later, Senior Skull's figure truly coalesced above the ruins of the altar. Xiao Heng was overcome with excitement, but in an instant, he calmed down. For what stood before him was merely a phantom projection. "Xiao lad, there's no time to say a proper goodbye." "I didn't expect that after hiding here for so long, they still had no intention of letting me go." "If you are seeing this image, it means disaster has befallen me." Even though he had mentally prepared himself, hearing Senior Skull say it with his own voice made Xiao Heng's eyes redden. "...Though I lured them away to keep you from being exposed, this place is no longer safe." "Once you return, sever all ties with this place, and never come back." ... "I have left four Small Medicine King Cauldrons for you within the altar." "They are the keys to entering the Medicine King Cauldron." "Several thousand years ago, Liu Ruchen, the sect master of the Medicine King Sect, led all the sect's members across realms and departed. But over ten years ago, I sensed that they returned to the Xuanhuang Realm. It was that fiery meteor that lit up the horizon and ultimately plummeted into the Abyss of Cangwu." "If I am not mistaken, some misfortune must have befallen the Medicine King Sect." "However, I faintly sense that a tremendous opportunity lies within the Medicine King Cauldron." "If you find the chance, you may go and investigate." "Keep in mind, there should be other Small Medicine King Cauldrons scattered out there. Others might be able to sense each other's positions through secret arts with their cauldrons." "Above all, look out for your own safety. If things truly prove impossible, selling the Small Medicine King Cauldrons for a good price would also be a fine choice." "Ah, right. Inside the Small Medicine King Cauldrons, I've stored some supplies I gathered over the years. Remember to retrieve them." "Consider it my final gift to you." ... "Remember: endure, bide your time..." "Carry on the legacy!" With Senior Skull's earnest parting words finished, the image vanished completely. Four small, archaic cauldrons appeared before Xiao Heng. Suppressing the grief in his heart, Xiao Heng collected the Small Medicine King Cauldrons. With resolve in his eyes, he left the Vanguard Realm. "Xiao Heng, what's wrong?" Seeing Xiao Heng's reddened eyes, Su Xiaomei and the others turned pale. Before everyone's eyes, he crushed the small hand bone that served as the entry token. He then led the members of Immortal Restoration into the stronghold's secret chamber and told them to do the same. Only after every connection to the White Bone Vanguard Realm had been thoroughly severed did Xiao Heng explain everything. "Senior Skull has fallen?!" Though startled, the others were not nearly as grief-stricken as Xiao Heng. After all, Xiao Heng was the only one who had ever had direct contact with Senior Skull. Even so, their smooth path into cultivation had been inseparable from Senior Skull's care. The people from the Li Realm were not ungrateful, so a touch of sorrow hung over all of them. Yet that was all. "What do we do next?" After a silence, a question loomed before them. Should they retain their identity as Immortal Restoration and keep resisting the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals? Or... After all, an arm could not twist a thigh. With their highest cultivation merely at the Nascent Soul realm, trying to overthrow the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals—an entity backed by Longevity Heavenly Venerables that had ruled half of the Xuanhuang Realm for thousands of years—was truly laughable. "The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals is nothing good," Su Xiaomei was the first to speak her mind. "Once in the Alliance, a beast of burden for life. Joining the Alliance is out of the question," Zhang Haobo chimed in. Su Changyu kept his eyes closed and said placidly, "I support Xiaomei." Watching the choice his companions had made, Xiao Heng felt a warmth rise in his chest. He knew better than anyone how vast the disparity was between Immortal Restoration and the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. He had originally planned to shoulder the mission of Immortal Restoration all on his own. Fortunately, none of them had let him down. Just as he was about to speak, a timid voice rang out, "The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals is nothing good!" Xiao Heng was momentarily taken aback. Looking toward the voice, he saw a green youth scratching the back of his head, his face flushed bright red. Xiao Heng smiled and praised, "Wuyou, well said! That's the spirit!" The youth's face burned even hotter. This youth was Han Wuyou, the descendant of the two mortals from the Li Realm who had fled the Congyun Sea alongside Xiao Heng. His parents had both passed away from illness years ago, and he had been raised by Xiao Heng, Su Changyu, and the rest. Han Wuyou possessed solid cultivation talent and had stepped onto the path of cultivation under Xiao Heng's guidance. Barely in his teens, he had already reached the late Qi Condensation stage. After praising Han Wuyou, Xiao Heng turned back to the others. "I understand how you all feel. But one thing is undeniable: the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals is far too powerful. With our current strength, confronting it head-on is no different from throwing eggs against a rock." "What Senior Skull said before his death is very true. Our primary objective is to endure and pass on our legacy." Xiao Heng's face was resolute, his gaze unwavering. "What has long been divided must unite, and what has long been united must divide; such is the grand momentum of Heaven and Earth." "For mortal dynasties, five hundred years is often the limit." "Though the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals is mighty, it has already endured for thousands of years." "As long as we pass down the ideals of Immortal Restoration from generation to generation and bide our time, there will eventually come a moment when the Alliance suffers a great upheaval and falls to pieces." "When that day comes, our opportunity will arrive." Xiao Heng spoke slowly. Su Xiaomei laughed it off, not taking it too seriously. The others merely nodded in a token gesture. Only Han Wuyou's eyes went wide, glowing with hope. "Xiao Heng, didn't you say Senior Skull left four small cauldrons for you?" "Bring them out quickly and let me see what kind of treasures they are!" Seeing the mood stagnate, Su Xiaomei stepped in to break the ice. Hearing this, Xiao Heng let out a long breath, retrieved the four Small Medicine King Cauldrons, and set them before everyone. Su Xiaomei drew one over with her spiritual power and examined it carefully. "Just this? It looks so battered and worn, hardly like anything good at all." "Wait, there seems to be a whole other world inside." A moment later, Su Xiaomei gasped in delight. "Whoa! So many spirit stones! We're rich!" "And heaps of herbs!" "Haha, now this is a real treasure!" Tossing the Small Medicine King Cauldron aside, Su Xiaomei happily fastened a silver necklace around her neck. Then she showed several identical necklaces in her hand to the others. "Come on, there's enough for everyone!" Seeing them, Zhang Haobo's eyes lit up as well. "Is that the necklace inscribed with the instantaneous teleportation formation?" Su Xiaomei nodded repeatedly. "That's the one! Back at the Chaoyuan Sect, we relied on this thing to cheat death several times!" The moment Su Xiaomei and the others put on the silver necklaces, far away in Lanlin Province, Li Fan's eyes flashed with a glimmer undetectable to others. *Thanks to the revised formation, I can finally sense the visual feed again,* he thought to himself. Under the surveillance of Formless Killing Intent, the scene of the Li Realm group gathered in discussion instantly appeared before Li Fan's eyes. ... "Xiao Heng, what do you think about the opportunity Senior Skull mentioned regarding the Medicine King Cauldron?" Su Changyu asked in a deep voice, picking up the small cauldron Su Xiaomei had tossed aside and neatly setting it back down. Hearing the question, Xiao Heng hesitated. Su Xiaomei, never one to shy away from excitement, chimed in, "Is there even anything to think about? Why would anyone turn down an opportunity dangling right in front of them? If not for our stroke of luck at the Chaoyuan Sect, Haobo and I would still be stuck at Golden Core!" Zhang Haobo narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded in agreement. After a moment's contemplation, Xiao Heng spoke slowly, "During his life, Senior Skull accurately predicted the great upheaval of the Congyun Sea. The opportunity with the Medicine King Cauldron in the Cangwu Abyss must certainly be real. But..." Something crossed Xiao Heng's mind, making him hesitate once more. Seeing him like this, Su Xiaomei flared up in frustration. "Xiao Heng, you're not getting cold feet again, are you? Last time, when Zhang Haobo and I wanted to go to the Chaoyuan Sect, you opposed it too. If you act like this again, I'm really going to get mad!" "Xiaomei, I..." Xiao Heng smiled wryly and began to explain. Yet Su Changyu interjected placidly, "If what Senior Skull said is true, these Small Medicine King Cauldrons are the keys to entering the Medicine King Cauldron. Ideally, it would be best for all four of us to go together." Su Xiaomei nodded vigorously. Then Su Changyu pivoted, "However... it's impossible for all of us to head out. Wuyou is still young and needs someone to look after him. Zhao Er and the Yin sisters are out searching for treasures and send useful things back from time to time. Someone needs to handle all of that."