After the path was cut off

Tianxuan Sect, Xiaohuan Mountain, True Transmission Cave.

The quiet room was a mess.

Taoist books and medical texts were scattered about, empty jade bottles were rolled around everywhere, and the smells of medicine, blood, and burnt talismans were mixed together, making it nauseating.

Li Wangxiang sat cross-legged in the middle of the mess, his chest heaving violently.

He was dying.

This idea became clearer with each failed attempt to save himself.

"If the vital gate (mingmen) is not opened, the mysterious gate (xuanguan) will not leak..."

He raised his sword fingers and pressed them hard against the center of his chest. The life-binding talismans hanging around him lit up in response.

In his hazy state of consciousness, he vaguely saw a patch of snow.

In the snow, he and his brother knelt side by side at the foot of the sacred mountain. His brother's voice, carried by the wind and snow, fell again and again:

"Longing for home, let's wait a little longer."

"Wait a little longer, the immortal wouldn't lie to us."

Li Wangxiang bit his tongue hard to force himself to calm down.

"Seal my orifices, close my divine court."

He roared and a series of golden needles shot into the air, aiming at several of his major acupoints and suddenly piercing into them.

The chaotic spiritual energy within his body was abruptly suppressed by this self-destructive method.

He cannot die.

He still had to go back to see his brother.

"Wearing—"

The last golden needle pierced the top of the skull, and the sealing array beneath him shone brightly.

But then, Li Wangxiang's whole body trembled violently.

puff--

He spat out a mouthful of blood, which soaked the array diagram in front of him, making it a shocking sight.

The Life-Locking Talisman burned itself without fire; the Acupoint-Sealing Diagram only lasted for a moment.

The golden needles inserted into the Qi Sea, Mingmen, and other points all trembled, and were blown away by the chaotic spiritual power within the body, becoming embedded in the stone wall.

"Still... unable to lock it?"

Li Wangxiang's vision went black, and he collapsed completely.

……

I don't know how much time passed.

Li Wangxiang woke up from a nightmare; the quiet room was bone-chillingly cold.

The life-locking talisman had turned to ashes, and the sealing array diagram was long since cold. The nauseating smell still lingered in the air, making it hard to breathe.

He struggled to sit up, leaning against the stone wall, his last glimmer of hope shattered.

In this way, all methods have been tried.

He clutched his chest, feeling waves of excruciating pain.

Upon closer inspection, the Dao foundation within the Crimson Palace was riddled with cracks, almost transparent.

That foundation stone had become a sieve that let in the wind, and could no longer hold anything back.

That wasn't just ordinary scattered inspiration.

That was his fate, leaking away.

In the quiet room, only his heavy, suppressed breathing could be heard for a moment.

How did things get to this point?

Half a month ago, he was one of the six true disciples of the Tianxuan Sect. The sect was focused on him, his master placed his hopes on him, and his peers looked up to him. The path to the Golden Core stage was almost within reach.

Half a month later, he was trapped in his cave, flipping through evil books, vomiting blood, like a rogue cultivator on the verge of death.

There is nothing more embarrassing than this.

Li Wangxiang chuckled softly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Now that we've tried all the methods, going further isn't a matter of whether we're willing to give up or not.

He has to face reality.

The first unavoidable thing in reality is that the fact that his foundation was shattered has most likely been known to be true for a long time.

The reason is simple: he didn't come back on his own.

He remembered the day Bei Chen had the accident very clearly.

A Qi Refining cultivator who called himself Zhao Si'er forcefully stuffed a precious mirror into his arms.

He then fell into one strange dream after another. When he woke up, he was in his own cave, and the magic mirror had disappeared.

In other words, from the time he fell into a coma until he returned to his clan, he was always in the hands of others.

Since someone else brought him back, it was impossible for them not to check his body.

Now that they've investigated, there's absolutely no way they wouldn't have noticed that his foundation was shattered and his destiny was leaking out.

But the strangest part is right here.

It's too quiet.

Logically speaking, given his current condition, someone should have come knocking on his door long ago.

Whether it's questioning him or stripping him of his position, he shouldn't have been left to hide in his cave and cause trouble until now.

But these past few days, no one has come.

This deathly silence is more chilling than a direct trial.

These past few days, he's been gambling, betting that he can stabilize his injuries before the sect makes a move.

But repeated failures and daily silences made him increasingly anxious.

Now, their self-rescue efforts have finally come to an end.

He could no longer remain calm.

"No, we can't delay any longer."

If this drags on any longer, I'm afraid I won't even have the chance to go back and see my brother.

We must find out what exactly happened after Bei Chen, and clarify the sect's attitude towards him...

Li Wangxiang slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Once the decision is made, there is no time to hesitate.

Two paper figures flew out from the sleeves, landed and transformed into talisman soldiers, silently cleaning up the mess inside the cave.

He himself took out three slender jade pieces.

------------------

In the deepest part of his consciousness, a faint mirror light suddenly appeared, silently illuminating the space.

It's like an ancient artifact that has been dormant for too long, finally awakening a glimmer of consciousness.

The glint of light in the mirror paused for a moment, then suddenly dispersed.

One strand sank into the eyes, another disappeared into the crimson palace, and the rest all returned to the deeper depths, leaving no trace.