I Fabricated the Techniques, but my disciple really mastered them?

He was puzzled.

What is the Heavenly Grotto?

His best guess was that it was some kind of secret realm.

Did such a place exist in the Ling Domain?

He had never heard of it, not even in the vast repository of the Great Zhou.

"It's probably something like a secret realm. When the Heavenly Grotto appears, the token will show something and then I'd be able to enter," Li Xuan pondered.

"I'll just give it to Su Lingxiu. Who knows when it will show up."

He shook his head, no longer dwelling on the Heavenly Grotto token.

Even if it was a secret realm, it didn't hold much attraction for him, seeing that he wasn't practicing the martial arts of this world, but his own creation.

"Back to my martial arts career," Li Xuan muttered to himself.

Li Xuan shook his head, getting back into his routine of martial arts, creating Divine Skills and interpreting the Book of Tai Cang simultaneously.

After seeing off Xiang Wei, he prepared to leave Chang Qing Pavilion.

Zi Yun reluctantly returned to the palace of King Qing.

"Where to next?"

"Let's move on to Heavenly Mausoleum State and find the Red Cat. I miss that fat cat; it's been so long!", Su Lingxiu casually suggested.

"Alright, to Heavenly Mausoleum State it is!"

Chang Qing Pavilion's garden was folded up into a Flying Boat soaring into the sky, disappearing in an instant.

The powerful onlookers marveled at the Chang Qing Pavilion—truly a Divine Artifact unheard of before.

On the city wall of Da Zhou, Mu Qianliu watched the flying boat's departure. He made out a young girl's figure in the distance and was content. Soon thereafter, an estrangement flashed across his face.

"Tang Jinyan!"

The moment Meng Shushu mentioned the Yinlou Pavilion assault, he knew there was something bigger at play, and the first person he thought of was his official wife, Tang Jinyan.

"You deserve to die!"

Mu Qianliu turned around and left, not bothering to meet any of his lovers anymore. It was his final visit to see Tang Jinyan, to send her to her death!

After taking the elixir given by Meng Shushu, although Mu Qianliu didn't fully recover, his seemingly withered form improved, regaining his once good looks.

Within the Shui Xing Palace, Tang Jinyan had shut herself away, refusing any visitors.

Upon returning from the Thousand Martial Hall, a sense of dread shadowed her everyday life, realizing that something must be wrong based on the warning she received from the head of the Thousand Martial Hall.

So, Tang Jinyan secluded herself in Shui Xing Palace, choosing to focus solely on her cultivation, even momentarily forgetting about her desire to take down Su Lingxiu.

What she didn't expect was the long-lost Mu Qianliu to visit Shui Xing Palace to see her. Tang Jinyan was so delighted that she rushed out to greet her husband.

A few days later.

When a patriarch of a revered family visited Shui Xing Palace, trying to establish rapport with the martial arts sect and gain proximity to the Thousand Martial Hall, he was horrified to find Shui Xing Palace destroyed.

He was shocked. This was, after all, a subsidiary of the Thousand Martial Hall.

Who could so audacious to destroy the Shui Xing Palace? Could it be the All Ages Alliance?

But if it was the All Ages Alliance, there seemed to be no need for such covert behavior.

The news spread quickly, making waves in Luo State. Mu Family was also shocked, and they sent an elder to investigate as Tang Jinyan was, nominally, still the official wife of Mu Qianliu.

After thorough investigation, they found nothing of use.

Given that Tang Jinyan was dead and there was no word from Mu Qianliu, the Mu Family's elders deliberated and placed Mu Feiming's mother as Mu Qianliu's official wife.

With this, Mu Feiming assumed his legitimate role as the young master of the family!

Upon hearing of the demise of Shui Xing Palace, the Thousand Martial Hall naturally sent a powerfully unparalleled elder to investigate the cause. They also issued a notice pledging to capture the culprits who dared to challenge them.

"Who else could silently destroy the Shui Xing Palace, unnoticed by others, save for an unparalleled force?" The Lord of The Thousand Martial Hall chuckled.

"Master, could the news of the Gate of Lingyu have been leaked?"

"Whether it is or isn't, we just need a scapegoat to establish a symbol of power. As for the matter of Shui Xing Palace, let's put a rest to it. As long as the Transcending Spirit Sects are not opening up the Gate of Lingyu, it means that the news has not been leaked," said the Lord of The Thousand Martial Hall coldly.

Once the news was leaked, the disappearance of the terrifying Gate of Lingyu would certainly attract the attention of the other transcending sects who would seek to verify the news.

Not long after, a renowned Loose Cultivator who kept himself secluded, bearing the pinnacle strength, was caught by the Thousand Martial Hall and beheaded publicly in front of Shui Xing Palace.

The fact that his flesh and blood was scattered inside the gate of Shui Xing Palace signified that they had avenged Shui Xing Palace!

The reasoning put forth was that the Loose Cultivator had covertly plotted to seize the resources of Shui Xing Palace, weakened the power of the strong functionaries of Shui Xing Palace using secret poison over several decades, and finally was able to wipe out Shui Xing Palace without causing a stir.

Every martial artist in Luo state was stunned. The Loose Cultivator was audacious indeed.

The remaining sects and prestigious families became fearful and started conducting massive internal investigations.

...

The Azure Sea was vast, with no one knowing where it ended.

Compared to the Eighteen States of the Ling Domain, martial artists were relatively scarce in the vast Azure Sea, with only a few scattered sects. Only on famous islands were there martial artist residences.

The area centered around Yuntian city in the Azure Sea, with sects, elite families, and martial artists distributed across it, was known as the Yuntian Sea Territory.

No doubt, Yuntian Sea Territory was the most prosperous sea territory in the Azure Sea, bustling with martial artists of the Human Clan and Sea Spirit Tribe alike.

Naturally, outside of Yuntian Sea Territory, there were some sects and elite families, with martial artists also frequenting the area.

A large ship, sailing in the Azure Sea was trading its cargo at Yuntian city to exchange the necessary materials.