Seeing that all the various beams of light on the chessboard had completely vanished, Li Pingyi bolted toward the cave entrance like an arrow released from a bow.
In the middle section of the cave, a man and a bear were locked in fierce combat, the air thick with a mixture of dust and blood. The Earth-Shattering Bear's body was covered in wounds. Though none of them were very deep, they left it looking extremely disheveled; blood mingled with dirt, making its originally rough fur filthy and foul.
It panted heavily, every breath carrying a pungent stench, while a layer of earth-yellow Spiritual Qi swirled around its body like a sturdy suit of armor. At this moment, a blazing fury burned in its eyes as it glared fixedly at the woman who had repeatedly provoked it, its attacks growing increasingly ferocious.
The woman moved with nimble and fluid grace. Although she also had a few shallow scratches on her body, they did not affect her imposing momentum in the least. The long sword gripped tightly in her right hand flickered with brilliant, circulating Spiritual Qi, exceptionally fierce. Her left hand continuously formed incantations, sending bolts of falling lightning hurtling precisely toward the Earth-Shattering Bear with every movement, showing not a trace of fear.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Li Pingyi sneaking around on the side and constantly signaling to her, and she instantly understood. With rapid footwork, she moved like a fluttering butterfly, skillfully pinning the Earth-Shattering Bear in place.
Immediately afterward, her left hand swiftly pulled out a Spirit Talisman and ignited it in an instant. In a flash, a majestic surge of Spiritual Qi diffused outward, transforming into tough vines that tightly bound the Earth-Shattering Bear.
Seizing the opportunity, Li Pingyi darted out from inside the cave like a leopard, sprinting wildly toward the exit.
Seeing the figure rushing out of the cave, the Earth-Shattering Bear, low as its intelligence was, understood what had happened. Its eyes instantly turned bloodred, and it broke free from the binding vines with all its might, pursuing Li Pingyi.
Seeing this, Ning Susu swiftly spun around to block its path, thrusting out her spirit sword with all her strength.
The Earth-Shattering Bear took the blow head-on, its massive paw swiping fiercely to send her flying.
However, having first been hindered by the vines and then desperately entangled by Ning Susu, Li Pingyi was already more than thirty feet away.
Roaring angrily, it opened all four hooves and gave chase, vowing to tear this little thief who had stolen its things into pieces.
Yet at that very moment, a small fireball whizzed toward it and smacked right onto its face with a "pop," scorching away a mouthful of its fur and leaving it momentarily stunned in its tracks. Recovering its senses, the Earth-Shattering Bear threw back its head and let out a earth-shattering roar.
That harmless little fireball had acted like a fuse, completely igniting its wrath. Every hair on its body stood straight up, and its already massive frame instantly expanded severalfold, muscles bulging high and veins throbbing violently, making it look even more ferocious and terrifying.
Li Pingyi looked back at the Earth-Shattering Bear, which was catching up faster than ever after its power-up, and couldn't help cursing angrily, "I only threw a Fireball Spell at you, did you really need to overreact this much? That psycho chick was hacking away at you for ages!"
"Li Pingyi, what are you still waiting for?!" roared Ning Susu as she chased close behind the man and the bear.
As someone who knew the Li family inside and out, Ning Susu naturally knew what trump cards Li Pingyi possessed.
Gritting his teeth, Li Pingyi crushed the high-grade Wind-Swift Talisman, then clutched the middle-grade Spirit Stone in both hands and bellowed, "TURBO DUCK!! ENGAGE!!!"
With a blur of motion, his figure seemed to sprout wind beneath his feet, his pace as fast as lightning. Every step he took left a trail of illusory afterimages in the air, and in the blink of an eye, he was already dozens of meters away, leaving behind only a blurred trace of his form.
The man and the bear raced wildly ahead, leaving Ning Susu stranded amidst a chaotic mess.
"Li Pingyi, are you out of your mind? Can't you run toward my side?!" Ning Susu roared.
Glancing back and noticing that the distance between him and the Earth-Shattering Bear was growing wider, Li Pingyi finally set his mind at ease.
He had no intention of running toward Ning Susu. He couldn't even beat this stupid bear earlier, and now that psycho woman still wanted to fight? Risk his life in a brawl? Hilarious.
Besides, he still had his eyes on that lonely red beam of light. With Turbo Duck engaged right now, why not shake them both off...
The best of both worlds.
The more Li Pingyi thought about it, the more viable it seemed, so he instantly channeled his inner Oscar winner, squeezing out a few tears and choking out, "You go, don't worry about me. Hurry and leave, and take good care of the child in your belly. When he grows up, tell him his father was a great man—tell him I fought for you... Huh?"
Before he could finish, his eyes suddenly widened, his throat locking up as if something had choked him out of nowhere.
Emerging from the bushes beside them were two Qingxuan Sect disciples, their eyes wide open as well, weapons in hand.
Six eyes locked onto one another.
The two Qingxuan Sect disciples stood frozen in shock on the spot, only snapping back to reality like waking from a dream when the Earth-Shattering Bear swept past them with a roar. The constantly trembling ground mirrored their currently churning hearts.
Recovering their wits, they immediately raised their weapons and gave chase.
In the distance, Ning Susu stood motionless with a blank expression, her body appearing to tremble slightly. Her knuckles had turned white from gripping the sword hilt with excessive force.
Look closer, and her left hand was continuously forming incantations, her gaze darting back and forth between the two figures ahead and behind, as if locking onto a target.
"If I said I was just joking just now, would you senior brothers believe me?" Li Pingyi instantly recalled the beatings Ning Susu used to hand out to him when they were kids, and hastily tried to remedy the situation.
"Believe you, believe you. We all believe you." The senior brothers behind him nodded frantically like pounding garlic while blasting the Earth-Shattering Bear's backside with spells, their heads shaking so fast they blurred.
A bolt of lightning landed between Li Pingyi and the Earth-Shattering Bear, though it seemed a little closer to Li Pingyi's side.
"Sister Susu, I was wrong, I really was wrong! I'll never talk nonsense again!" Li Pingyi ran for his life with his head down, continuously begging for mercy and apologizing.
Another bolt of lightning fell, seemingly even closer to Li Pingyi.
Feeling a faint tingling sensation on his backside, he frantically boosted his speed once more.
"Ning Susu, have you lost your mind?!" Before Li Pingyi could finish speaking, an even thicker bolt of falling lightning struck the Earth-Shattering Bear squarely.
The bear, already at the end of its rope, was instantly knocked flat on its back by the electricity, whereupon the two senior brothers seized the opportunity to close in and unleash a flurry of attacks on it. Ning Susu, following closely behind, also joined the fray.
Three against one—the outcome went without saying.
Accompanied by a piercing howl, the bear's happy life came to an end.
Yet Li Pingyi didn't slow down at all; catching a glimpse of the fallen bear out of the corner of his eye, he smoothly dove straight into the forest.
Ning Susu kept her gaze fixed on Li Pingyi's retreating back, her brow furrowing slightly before she turned to the two junior disciples beside her and said softly, "Clean up here first, we'll split the loot back home." With that, she quickly gave chase.
After running just a few steps, as if suddenly remembering something, she slammed to a halt. When she turned around, her gaze turned instantly chillingly cold, and she said word by word, "Li Pingyi has been mischievous and flighty since childhood. Everything he said just now was purely a joke—don't you dare take it to heart, understand?"
Seeing the murderous aura radiating from the Outer Sect Senior Sister, the two junior disciples nodded repeatedly at a frequency resembling a miniature electric motor.
Only then did Ning Susu nod in satisfaction, lift the spirit sword in her hand, and dash off in the direction Li Pingyi had vanished.
...
As he traveled, Li Pingyi calculated the time in his mind. The Grotto-Heaven would end in about an hour, but even with the boost from Turbo Duck, getting there would take roughly an hour as well.
Time was running out for Li Pingyi.
After a whirlwind dash, Li Pingyi finally arrived at the location of the beam of light.
Discarding the middle-grade Spirit Stone whose Spiritual Qi had already been depleted, he began searching the surrounding area meticulously.
Scarcely had he searched for a moment when a melodious chime echoed, reaching straight into his Consciousness Sea.
He could only feel the divine sense within his Consciousness Sea solidify by a fraction.
This was the final reward bestowed by the Grotto-Heaven upon visitors.
Everyone who survived received it—nothing out of the ordinary.
Within a few breaths, the chime ceased, and the cultivators who had entered the Grotto-Heaven were about to return to the Canglan Continent.
"Still didn't find it. Serves me right for laughing at the senior brothers—this puzzle is way too hard, seriously way too hard." Li Pingyi sighed, his face filled with regret.
"Li Youdao: Golden Core Formation success rate -1."
Just as he was about to give up, his peripheral vision caught sight of the cliff face beside him, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
Among a cluster of vines hanging upside down from the cliff face, a single vine instantly caught his attention.
He lunged forward in a single bound, bent down to reach into the tangle of vines, and grabbed hold of that particular vine with both hands. Channeling Spiritual Qi into his hands, he gave his wrists a fierce twist, followed by a swift upward heave of his arm, instantly stuffing it into his Qiankun Pouch.
Fighting to free himself from the rest of the binding vines, Li Pingyi threw his head back and laughed wildly, paying no heed to the fact that the snakeskin belt tied around his waist had quietly slipped loose.
The chime stopped, and a sensation of weightlessness washed over his entire body...
When he finally came to his senses again, he was already back in Sifang Market.