Chapter 86: Su Xiaoyu’s Foundation Establishment

This was the Carefree Grotto-Heaven?

Seeing such a sight, everyone’s hearts plummeted as if on a rollercoaster.

“How can this be?”

Chu Yongjun couldn’t accept this reality at all. She immediately rushed into the Carefree Grotto-Heaven. The Carefree Grotto-Heaven she had longed for, the immortal destiny of her dreams—how could it be in such a ruined state?

Wang Ye, Li Ru, Deng Shangwei, Jin Xiaoqing—one by one, they struggled to accept this situation, entering the space in a daze.

Their arrival breathed a hint of new life into these ruins. The last remnants of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy in this broken world naturally surged towards them, brushing against their bodies.

It was the residual Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy of the Carefree Grotto-Heaven, extremely thin. Yet to Wang Ye and the others, even this thin energy felt incredibly rich. Their parched bodies were quickly nourished. Almost in the blink of an eye, they achieved breakthroughs, each advancing a full stage in cultivation.

They had been ready to break through for a long time, only held back by the lack of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.

After washing over their bodies, the energy began to rapidly leak out of the Carefree Grotto-Heaven, dispersing into the world.

Outside, Su Xiaoyu looked up at the Cave Heaven Passage.

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy from within was naturally seeping out, as if drawn to her, wafting over.

All things possess spirit, and Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy likewise has an instinct to seek out spirituality. This last wisp of energy, constrained within the Carefree Grotto-Heaven, would naturally seek cultivators, becoming a part of them. As a cultivator at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, Su Xiaoyu was hardly going to be overlooked.

The energy swept over her, settling into her body as she rapidly assimilated it.

“This isn’t ordinary Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy…”

Su Xiaoyu sensed something unique.

It seemed to be the concentrated essence of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy left behind after a world’s demise, which was why it possessed such an innate spirit.

But why had the Carefree Grotto-Heaven been destroyed?

Had its fall occurred recently, or a very, very long time ago?

Could Chu Yongjun’s ancestor have left precisely because the Carefree Grotto-Heaven was facing a catastrophe?

None of these questions could be answered by Su Xiaoyu at this moment.

She absorbed this special energy. The spiritual power within her guided it through circulation after circulation of the microcosmic orbit. With each completed cycle, the next one moved faster and faster.

Before long, this cycling reached a critical point.

In the next instant, Su Xiaoyu’s delicate frame trembled slightly as a unique sensation arose from the depths of her being.

She had achieved Foundation Establishment!

“Whoosh…”

After exhaling a long breath, Su Xiaoyu raised her head, her expression complex as she looked at the Cave Heaven Passage.

She hadn’t expected to reach the Early Foundation Establishment stage in this manner. It was the first time a force outside of her Diorama Box had helped her achieve a breakthrough.

This world might seem like a cultivation desert, but apparently, some treasures were still buried beneath the sands.

After a moment of reflection, Su Xiaoyu used her Heavenly Vision to check on Wang Ye and the others.

He was now at Qi Refining 4th Layer, but Wang Ye couldn’t feel happy about it.

What he wanted was a complete immortal destiny, not just this simple breakthrough. In a real world so difficult to cultivate in, how big could the difference be between the 3rd and 4th Layers of Qi Refining?

But why was the immortal destiny like this?

Li Ru also stood there in a daze. After a long while, he asked Wang Ye, “Do you have any clues to any other immortal destinies?”

Wang Ye’s lips trembled. “No.”

As he spoke, he looked towards Chu Yongjun.

His ability to find this place had been significantly aided by her.

At this moment, Chu Yongjun looked utterly distraught, unable to accept the reality before her. This wasn’t the outcome she had sought.

Why did reality never align with her imagination?

“No, I refuse to believe it! There must be something else!”

Chu Yongjun, completely unwilling to give up, immediately dashed towards the ruins, trying to find anything of value among them.

Seeing Chu Yongjun’s actions, a strong sense of unwillingness also flared in the hearts of Wang Ye and the others.

If they lived in a normal Cultivation World, they might not have reached a level where they could command the wind and rain, but they would at least have carved out their own place in the world. But as fate would have it, they were born into a world where Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy was so scarce, limiting them to only the most basic levels of cultivation. How could they be reconciled to this?

The group immediately scattered in all directions, searching for any potentially useful clues.

The Carefree Grotto-Heaven wasn’t particularly large; its boundaries could be seen at a glance. At the edges were invisible walls the color of the sky. The entire space was structured like the old cosmology of a round sky above a square earth.

The five of them moved with desperate urgency, scouring every part of the Carefree Grotto-Heaven, trying to find something—anything. But all their searching led only to deeper despair.

There was nothing.

They truly could find nothing.

This place had been abandoned for an unknown length of time. There was nothing but ruins, and the ruins contained nothing at all.

After a long while, the five regrouped at the entrance of the Carefree Grotto-Heaven, standing there in silence. Their eyes were filled with disappointment.

Wang Ye looked dejected, his face seeming older than ever. “Perhaps… the traces of cultivation were long ago eliminated by this world. We are the last cultivators on Earth.”

Li Ru sighed. “I think you’re right. Cultivation is so out of place in this era. This is a world of technology, of guns and cannons. As for cultivation? Maybe it was only ever meant to exist in novels and TV shows.”

The others said nothing, but they could not hide their disappointment.

Where was the immortal destiny?

Or rather… did immortal destiny even exist?

From afar, Su Xiaoyu watched this scene, unsure of what to say.

She didn’t want them to lose their morale. She believed that other traces of cultivation must still exist in the world. If possible, she hoped Wang Ye and his group would continue their pursuit of immortal traces.

But if they lost their will, how could they continue on the path of seeking immortality?

She pondered. Should she do something?

After a moment’s thought, Su Xiaoyu took flight.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, she could learn many Flight Spells to lift herself into the air. Before that, her Wind Thought Technique would work, but it required a carrier for sustained flight. For now, her carrier was her own Wheelchair.

Sitting in her wheelchair, she flew into the Cave Heaven Passage, arriving before Wang Ye and the others in this manner.

Since she was still concealed by her Water Concealment Art, even standing right before them, Wang Ye and the others couldn’t detect her presence.

Looking at the group, Su Xiaoyu internally reviewed her plan once more.

She wanted Wang Ye and his group to continue searching for immortal traces in the real world. It might benefit her future. Therefore, now might be a good time to make a suitable investment in them.