Chapter 1236 All Arranged

As Liu Yang stuffed the last top-grade spirit stone into his storage bag, the stone door of the secret chamber suddenly made a crisp "crack" sound. Three of the luminous pearls embedded in the rock wall went out in succession, leaving only a few barely hanging on, and the light dimmed instantly. Su Qingyao's hand gripping the Ice Soul Sword tightened abruptly, and she looked warily at the doorway: "Master, is the restriction on the underground palace about to completely collapse?"

“It’s a normal reaction after the power of inheritance is exhausted.” Liu Yang patted her shoulder, his gaze sweeping across the floor of the secret chamber—the scattered spiritual herbs had been packed up, and the ancient books and jade slips left by the Ice and Fire Hermit had been carefully stored away. The only thing left was the forgotten corpse of the mutated two-headed python in the corner. He walked over, raised his hand, and condensed a stream of fire-type spiritual power, completely peeling off the dark golden scales from the corpse’s surface. “These scales can withstand a full-force attack from a Golden Core cultivator. They can be used to forge decent protective gear when we take them back to Qingyang City. We can’t waste them.”

Seeing this, Su Qingyao also stepped forward to help clean up the remains of the corpse. She carefully used her Ice Soul Sword to cut off the fangs of the two-headed python and took out its gall bladder—these were the main ingredients for refining high-grade pills. She hadn't had time to collect them during the fierce battle, but now she could gather them all before leaving. The two of them worked quickly, and in less than half an incense stick's time, they had collected all the valuable parts of the two-headed python into their storage bags, leaving only an empty corpse behind.

"Let's go, or we really won't be able to leave." Liu Yang shouldered the cloth bag containing the spirit herbs and led the way towards the stone door. At this moment, a clear crack had appeared on the stone door, from which grayish-white powder was constantly seeping out, obviously caused by the collapse of the restriction leading to the weathering of the wall. He reached out and pushed the stone door, which originally required ice and fire spiritual power to open, but now it was as if it were made of paper, slowly opening with a gentle push, revealing a passage filled with rubble outside.

The situation inside the passage was even worse than in the secret chamber. Fist-sized boulders kept falling from the rock walls overhead, and deep cracks appeared in the ground, from which wisps of white smoke rose—signs of magma seeping up from the depths of the underground palace. Su Qingyao had just taken a step when the ground beneath her feet suddenly collapsed. She cried out in alarm as her body plummeted downwards.

"Hold on tight!" Liu Yang reacted quickly, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to his side. He channeled his spiritual energy, creating a pale blue protective shield around them to block the falling pebbles. "Follow me, and don't step on the cracked surfaces." Su Qingyao nodded, following closely behind him, her eyes fixed on the path beneath her feet, not daring to be distracted for even a moment.

The two hurried along the passage, encountering numerous demonic beasts disturbed by the collapse of the protective barrier. A third-tier ice-armored bear charged out of a side cave, its jaws agape as it lunged at Liu Yang, only to be struck in the chest by a casual burst of fire-elemental spiritual energy. The bear let out a mournful howl, collapsed to the ground, twitched a few times, and died. Watching this, Su Qingyao felt even more grateful for her decision to follow Liu Yang—if she had faced these beasts alone, she would likely have become their meal long ago.

After walking for about half an hour, a glimmer of light finally appeared ahead. It was the residual light from the restrictions at the entrance of the underground palace. Although it had become very faint, it was enough to guide the way. Liu Yang quickened his pace and reached the entrance, only to find that the stone door, which had been open, was now mostly closed, leaving only a narrow gap that could only allow one person to pass through. Small stones were constantly falling into the gap, and it seemed that it would be completely sealed off at any moment.

"Qingyao, you go first." Liu Yang pushed her to the gap, while he stayed behind, using his spiritual power to hold back the ever-pressing stone door. "I'll hold it from behind. Wait for me on the ground after you get out." Su Qingyao looked at the bulging veins on his arm, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes: "Master, what about you?"

"Don't worry, this weight won't hold me down." Liu Yang smiled, condensing a stream of ice and fire energy in his hand and injecting it into the crack in the stone door, temporarily stabilizing its descent. "Let's hurry up and not waste any time." Su Qingyao didn't hesitate any longer, bent down and squeezed into the crack, quickly disappearing into the light.

Seeing that she had left safely, Liu Yang withdrew his hand from the stone door and turned to slip into the crevice. Just as his body was completely out of the underground palace, a deafening roar came from behind him, and the stone door slammed shut, sealing the entire palace underground. Standing on the ground, looking at the entrance covered in rubble, he breathed a long sigh of relief—this trip to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison had finally ended without serious incident.

"Master!" Su Qingyao rushed over, holding a bottle of healing pills. "Are you alright? I heard a loud bang upstairs just now, I thought you..."

"I'm fine, it's just that the stone gate is completely sealed." Liu Yang took the healing pill, took one out and swallowed it. "But this is good, so that other cultivators won't discover this place in the future and covet the inheritance inside." He raised his hand and waved, and a force of ice and fire energy landed on the pile of rubble at the entrance, setting up a hidden restriction on it. Although this restriction was not as strong as the original restriction of the underground palace, it was enough to stop cultivators below the Golden Core stage. If someone forcibly broke it, it would trigger an alarm and notify him to come and deal with it.

Su Qingyao watched him skillfully set up the restriction, her eyes filled with admiration. She knew that setting up a restriction required extremely high control over spiritual power and a thorough understanding of array formations. Liu Yang's ability to set up such an exquisite restriction in such a short time was enough to show that his strength far exceeded that of ordinary late-stage Golden Core cultivators.

"We should head back to Qingyang City." Liu Yang withdrew his spiritual power and turned to walk towards Qingyang City. Su Qingyao quickly followed, and the two hurried along the path they had come from. On the way, Su Qingyao couldn't help but ask, "Master, what should we do next? Should we go settle accounts with the Li family first, or..."

"Let's go back to Qingyang City and see how things go first." Liu Yang shook his head. "The Li family cooperated with us to deal with the Zhao family before, so they were allies. Now that the Zhao family has been destroyed, the remaining forces of the Wang family are not a threat. There is no need to turn against the Li family for the time being. Moreover, we brought back enough resources this time, so we can use this time to go into seclusion and improve our strength."

Su Qingyao nodded and remained silent. She knew that Liu Yang's decisions always had their reasons, and besides, she was still too weak to question them. The only thing she could do now was to improve her strength as quickly as possible so that she could become his asset in the future, rather than a burden.

The two traveled swiftly and soon saw the city walls of Qingyang City. There were significantly more guards at the city gate than before, and each one looked vigilant, clearly indicating that the Li family had strengthened the city's defenses to prevent a counterattack from the remnants of the Wang family. Liu Yang and Su Qingyao had just reached the city gate when they were stopped by the guards: "Halt! Who are you? What are you doing in Qingyang City?"

"We are cultivators from out of town. We stayed in Qingyang City for a while before, and we've come back on business." Liu Yang took out a token he had previously obtained from the Li family and handed it to the guard. The guard took the token, examined it carefully, and his expression immediately became respectful: "So you are distinguished guests of the Li family patriarch. We were blind to your greatness, please forgive us."

“It’s alright, we just want to get into the city as soon as possible.” Liu Yang put away the token and walked through the city gate with Su Qingyao. After entering the city, the two found that Qingyang City had changed a lot—there were many more pedestrians on the streets than before, and everyone looked relaxed, obviously because the Li family had taken a series of measures to stabilize the people’s hearts after taking control of Qingyang City. However, most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, with only a few still open, and Li family cultivators were standing at the door, seemingly maintaining order.

"Master, are we going to the Li residence now?" Su Qingyao asked.

"Let's find a place to stay first." Liu Yang shook his head. "We just came back from the underground palace and we still have a lot of resources with us. Going directly to the Li residence would attract too much attention. Besides, I need time to digest the inheritance I just received, and I don't want to get too involved with the Li family for the time being."

Su Qingyao nodded, and the two walked along the street, quickly finding an inn. The innkeeper, seeing them, hurriedly and warmly greeted them: "Welcome, esteemed guests! Are you here for a stay or a meal?"

"Give us two superior rooms, and prepare some light meals to be delivered to the rooms." Liu Yang took out a mid-grade spirit stone and handed it to the innkeeper. The innkeeper took the spirit stone, his smile becoming even more enthusiastic: "Alright! Please wait a moment, gentlemen, I'll go and arrange it right away."

The two followed the waiter to a room on the second floor. The room was spacious and bright, and the furnishings were exquisite. Su Qingyao placed the storage bag on the table and breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, I can get some rest. I've been cooped up in the underground palace for the past few days."

"You rest for a bit, I'll go organize the resources I obtained this time." After saying that, Liu Yang went into his room. He poured the contents of his storage bag onto the table one by one—the complete "True Scripture of Ice and Fire Yin and Yang", the cultivation experience of the Ice and Fire Hermit, hundreds of top-grade spirit stones, more than a dozen thousand-year-old spirit herbs, several high-grade spirit artifacts, and the jade slip that recorded the location of the secret realm.

He picked up the jade slip, pressed it to his forehead, and carefully examined its contents. The jade slip recorded the locations of three secret realms, one of which was in the Black Wind Mountains near Qingyang City, containing fragments of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Pearl. Liu Yang's heart stirred—the Black Wind Mountains were not far from Qingyang City, and most of the demonic beasts there were below the third rank. With his current strength, he could definitely explore it.

However, he didn't immediately decide to go to the Black Wind Mountains. He had just broken through to the late Golden Core stage and needed time to consolidate his realm, and Su Qingyao also needed time to cultivate and improve her strength. He planned to stay in Qingyang City for a while, and after both of them had stabilized their strength, they would then go to the Black Wind Mountains to explore the secret realm.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Liu Yang put away the jade slip and said, "Come in." The door opened, and Su Qingyao walked in carrying a tray with several dishes and a pot of tea on it: "Master, the food has arrived. Please eat first. You can take your time with organizing the resources."

Liu Yang nodded, took the tray, and placed it on the table. The two sat down to eat, and Su Qingyao suddenly spoke up, "Master, I want to start my secluded cultivation tomorrow. The resources I obtained this time are enough for me to break through to the Golden Core stage. I want to improve my strength as soon as possible so I can help you in the future."

"Alright." Liu Yang nodded. "The rooms in this inn are very quiet, suitable for secluded cultivation. I will protect you from outside, so you can focus on your cultivation."

Su Qingyao felt a warmth in her heart and quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Master!"

After finishing their meal, Su Qingyao returned to her room to prepare for seclusion. Liu Yang, meanwhile, sat in his room, took out the "True Scripture of Ice and Fire," and began to study it carefully. He knew that the inheritance he had received was key to improving his strength; only by quickly mastering the essence of the "True Scripture of Ice and Fire" could he go further on his path of cultivation.

As darkness fell outside the window, the streets of Qingyang City grew quiet. Liu Yang sat under the lamp, studying cultivation techniques while contemplating his future plans—searching for the Fire and Thunder Token, exploring secret realms, seizing the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Pearls, and the mysterious Burning Heaven Valley… His path of cultivation had only just begun, and many more challenges awaited him in the future.

On the third day of Liu Yang's consolidation of his late-stage Golden Core realm in his inn room, a series of orderly footsteps suddenly came from outside the window, accompanied by the soft hum of cultivators circulating their spiritual energy. He opened his eyes, and his spiritual sense instantly spread out—he saw a group of cultivators dressed in cyan outfits standing downstairs at the inn. The leader was none other than Li Shan, an elder of the Li family, followed by more than ten Golden Core cultivators. Their aura was solemn, clearly indicating that they had come specifically to find him.

"Master, it's someone from the Li family." Su Qingyao from the next room also noticed the commotion, pushed open the door and came in, holding the Ice Soul Sword in her hand, her expression wary. "Should I go and send them away?"

“No need.” Liu Yang stood up and straightened his robes. “We’ve just returned to Qingyang City, and the Li family will definitely come to test us. We can take this opportunity to see the current situation in Qingyang City.”

As soon as the two reached the foot of the inn, Li Shan quickly came up to them, his face full of respectful smiles. He cupped his hands in a salute and said, "Mr. Liu! You've finally shown up! I've been sending people to search for you all over Qingyang City these past few days, but I never expected you to be staying here. I'm so sorry for my rudeness."

Liu Yang nodded calmly: "Elder Li, is there something you need?"

“The clan leader has important matters to discuss and has specially sent me to invite you to the Li residence.” Li Shan stepped aside to make way and gestured for you to come. “The clan leader said that if you would do us the honor, the entire Li family will certainly welcome you with open arms.”

Liu Yang glanced at the cultivators behind Li Shan—these people, though respectful on the surface, had secretly surrounded the inn's exit, seemingly "inviting" but actually carrying a hint of coercion. He sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm: "Since Clan Chief Li has so kindly invited me, then I will go."

Su Qingyao followed closely behind Liu Yang, secretly gathering spiritual energy at her fingertips. If the Li family dared to make any unusual moves, she would immediately take action. The group left the inn, and pedestrians on the street, seeing Li Shan and his companions, quickly stepped aside, their expressions filled with awe. Liu Yang noticed that most of the shops on both sides of the street had reopened, with wooden signs reading "Li Family Oversight" hanging at their entrances. The patrolling cultivators were also members of the Li family; clearly, after the Zhao family's destruction, the Li family had completely taken control of Qingyang City's economy and security.

“Mr. Liu, you haven’t been in the city these past few days, so you might not know this,” Li Shan said as they walked, “Since you and Miss Su left, our Li family has followed your instructions and eliminated the remaining forces of the Wang family. Now, Qingyang City is completely under our Li family’s control. As you wished, the patriarch has reduced the taxes of the merchants in the city for half a year and opened up the Li family’s spiritual fields for low-level cultivators to rent. The cultivators and people in the city are very grateful to you.”