Chapter 276: Chapter 134 The Cruel Heaven Mandate Domain
“The clan head said that the Landing Pearls cannot be dropped; once they hit the ground, they will disappear. Could it be that all these Landing Pearls are gone?” Fu Yingying suddenly spoke up after pondering for a moment.
“This…” Zhang Xuan originally didn’t have a clue, but upon hearing this, he was startled as if a thought struck him, his eyes growing brighter, “Right! If all these Landing Pearls have entered the ground and vanished, wouldn’t it mean that no matter how long we search, we won’t find them?”
“What do you mean?” Fu Yingying was full of confusion.
“It’s simple.” Zhang Xuan didn’t explain, but instead took a step forward, came to the cave’s rock wall, gently pressed his palm against it without any noticeable exertion, only a light tremor, and a palm imprint about half an inch deep instantly appeared on the wall.
Fu Yingying glanced at it and was immediately filled with admiration.
Creating a one-inch-deep palm imprint on the wall was very simple, but to leave such a mark as though lifting weight as if it were light, without the surrounding area bursting or any burring, as if it were cut and polished, was undoubtedly far superior to her own control of strength.
“You try…” Without concerning himself with her admiration, Zhang Xuan waved his hand.
“Me?” Fu Yingying’s face showed a trace of embarrassment, “I can’t do it!”
Although her cultivation realm was not much different from the other party, her true strength was far from the same level, not even in the same league.
“Try it!” declared Zhang Xuan.
“Alright!” Seeing him insist, Fu Yingying didn’t say more. She also came before the rock wall, gently pressed her palm against it, and as the power within her body surged out, she fiercely pressed down.
Crack! The rock wall also bore a palm imprint, identical to the one left by Zhang Xuan just moments ago, half an inch deep, as if cut by a knife.
“This…” Fu Yingying was dumbfounded. She was very clear about her own abilities; it was outright impossible for her to achieve this, yet now she had actually done it.
Ignoring her disbelief, Zhang Xuan looked at the ground in front of him and stomped hard, revealing a footprint that was neither too deep nor too shallow, exactly half an inch.
“This cave is strange…” At this point, even Fu Yingying, who was slow to react, understood.
The strength of hands and feet must be different, and the wall and ground are not the same. Yet now they could create imprints of the same depth, which meant there was only one possibility…
After hesitating for a moment, Fu Yingying said, “Could it be that we are still within the formation and haven’t left?”
“A formation shouldn’t feel this real…” Zhang Xuan shook his head. Possessing the Library of Heaven’s Path, his comprehension and understanding of formations was not inferior to those strong enough to comprehend the fragments of the heavens. With such discernment ability, to be deceived for a quarter of an hour was something a formation alone could not accomplish.
If there truly was such a formidable formation, then the Fu Family would likely not be confined to a place like Zouyi City but would have entered far more remarkable locations.
After some thought, Zhang Xuan turned his head, “Does your Fu Family possess any celestial treasures that can create a ‘Virtual Illusion’?”
“Virtual Illusion? Celestial treasure?” Fu Yingying pondered for a moment, “I haven’t heard of such a thing, but… if this cave is not real but virtual, is it possible that this is not a formation, but… the Heaven Mandate Domain?”
“Heaven Mandate Domain?” Zhang Xuan was stunned. When he was in Baiyan City, he had heard of this thing, said to be formed after the death of a practitioner strong in the fragments of the heavens, full of crises, difficult to leave alive if one fell into it. Empyrean Kong had even accidentally entered it and had not escaped to this day…
Of course, it was just hearsay, and he did not know what exactly was inside or what might be encountered. Hearing her say this, he couldn’t help but be astonished.
After a moment of recollection, Fu Yingying said, “Hmm! When I was young, I seem to have heard a family rumor that the old clan head left Qingqiu Mountain because someone wanted to take her mother’s remains, and her mother was a descendant of one of the eight branches of the Fox Charm Destiny, Charming Face. As for what happened later, I don’t know, but is it possible that the old clan head brought the remains to Zouyi City and planted them underground, creating a Heaven Mandate Domain?”
“A Heaven Mandate Domain can be planted?” Zhang Xuan was surprised.
“You didn’t know?” Fu Yingying came to a realization, “You must have been preoccupied with your practice and didn’t care about such trivial matters!”
After explaining for him, the girl continued, “Normally, that would be impossible, but some cultivators, whose descendants are unworthy and struggle to inherit all of the strength, would willingly give up their life and cooperate with their descendants, sealing the remaining strength and forming a controllable Heaven Mandate Domain. Such a domain is weak in power but can retain the strength not comprehended by the descendant, preventing leakage. However, because it is a remnant version, it can only be activated a limited number of times, three or four at most, before the power is completely depleted. Furthermore, each activation causes significant loss, and most strong practitioners cannot endure it, using it only in life-and-death situations…”
Zhang Xuan nodded. He had always thought that a Heaven Mandate Domain formed when a strong practitioner died and couldn’t control the fragments of the heavens; he had not imagined it could be manipulated.
“Voluntarily giving up life and sacrificing, I understand, but what do you mean by ‘cooperating with the descendants’?” Zhang Xuan asked.
Fu Yingying explained, “It means allowing the descendants to kill them! If the strength is not constrained before death, it ensures that the domain does not collapse; otherwise, the strength would simply diffuse and no one would be able to control it…”
“Allowing the descendants to kill them?” Zhang Xuan’s expression shifted subtly; everyone envied the unbroken lineage of great families, but as it turned out, maintaining it was not as easy as one might imagine.
To raise one’s hand against parents or beloved elders… that was not something just anyone could do.
Shaking his head to put aside these thoughts, Zhang Xuan looked around again, “If what you speculate is true, then it is highly likely that this is the Heaven Mandate Domain, no wonder our Heavenly Mandate Vitality, although it can find the direction, is actually like hitting a ghost wall, wandering aimlessly on the spot, because… even if we walk all the paths, we will not find the Landing Pearls! Nor will we find Qinghu.”
“Not find?” Fu Yingying looked puzzled.
“Yes!” Zhang Xuan nodded, “Because the Landing Pearls are not within the cave at all, but beneath the ground!”
With that, Zhang Xuan swept his hand again, and the Heavenly Mandate Vitality imbued with Fox Charm Destiny flowed out, forming a thin stream pointing to a passageway. Coming before it, Zhang Xuan continued to release Heavenly Mandate Vitality, dozens of strands finally converging at one place, no longer moving forward but gently circling.
They had previously passed here without noticing anything and had left, but this time, Zhang Xuan did not proceed further and suddenly stomped down.
Bang! The ground shattered, and rocks skittered, revealing a hole over half a foot deep.
Fu Yingying’s expression was solemn. Just now, no matter how much force they used, they could only make neat half-inch holes, and now, with just a single stomp, a half-foot-deep hole was created… Clearly, the ground at this location was entirely different from that of the previous position.