Chapter 88 The Third Option

  "Huh?"

  She felt her spiritual sense, which had been sweeping towards the northwest corner of the cave, suddenly bounce back as if it had hit a barrier. Zuo Xiaoyao couldn't help but let out a soft cry. The reason she had personally walked through the cave earlier was to confirm with her own eyes that there were no abnormalities inside before releasing her spiritual sense. It was precisely because she was worried that her spiritual sense's reckless sweep would once again hit something that would get her into trouble, and after the unfortunate experience of encountering that mysterious black cauldron that had suddenly run into her body, she now felt a strong urge to avoid unknown things and hide first.

  Fortunately, the spiritual consciousness was only lightly shaken and not damaged, which made Zuo Xiaoyao feel a little relieved. Spiritual consciousness is an irreproducible object, although it can be recovered through cultivation after being consumed, just like the consumed spiritual power. However, if it is damaged, it will never be reborn, even if it does not affect the improvement of cultivation, and the intensity of spiritual consciousness will increase with the promotion of cultivation, but the damaged part cannot be compensated.

  After carefully scanning all the other spaces in the cave with her spiritual sense, she determined that only this northwest corner had an invisible anomaly. With some struggle in her heart, Zuo Xiaoyao finally decided to move forward, wanting to figure out what was going on there. At this point, she was quite certain that the sphere was related to the anomaly in the cave.

  Now that the black energy, also known as the evil energy, has dissipated from her body, the black tripod seems to be quietly staying in her dantian. However, both the sphere and the divine power of the grass and wood have disappeared without a trace. Zuo Xiaoyao can be very sure that the sphere and the divine power of the grass and wood had never left her body, but now through introspection, she can clearly 'see' that neither her dantian nor her shenhai has the existence of the sphere or that strand of divine power of the grass and wood.

  Even if she didn't mention those things, Xiaoyao still had many questions. After feeling the connection between herself and Zizun Sanbao being restored, she couldn't even be bothered to go back and revisit what was inside, let alone figure out what was going on. Why did she lose contact with Zizun Sanbao, who had already acknowledged her as his master? What happened to the large quantities of high-grade, rare spiritual medicine that she had risked taking to try and recover her spiritual power? Even though she had now recovered her mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, she didn't feel any discomfort at all. After all, with her current level of cultivation, the spiritual medicines she had taken back then were basically things that would have been impossible for her to withstand due to their immense medicinal powers.

  And what she is about to face next is also a big question mark, that mysterious sphere that can directly penetrate her body, the invisible ban on the northwest corner of the cave that can bounce off her spiritual consciousness, all represent the handwriting of those who should be cultivators. However, according to the information obtained by Zuo Xiaoyao's inquiry, it seems that there has never been any record related to cultivation in this world, although the monks he believes in seem to be cultivating their spiritual power through a special method, but it is far from the true way of cultivation.

  She arrived at the unusual place, standing in front of a stone wall in the northwest corner of the cave, with a flash of green light quickly passing through her eyes. Zuo Xiao Yao used her Wisdom Eye Technique to look over there. This glance made the scene that appeared in her line of sight even more unsightly.

  Life! Death!

  Two words were written on the stone gate, one word on each side!

  The two characters "Dragon Flying and Phoenix Dancing" were deeply engraved on the stone gate, making Zuo Xiaoyao feel a deep sense of awe and reverence from the bottom of her heart. She couldn't help but want to retreat humbly, but after experiencing the intense pain of having her bones almost crushed and her meridians repeatedly severed at the foot of the cliff, how could she be someone who would easily back down? Her will, tempered by hardship, had become even more resolute. Since she knew that there might be information related to the sphere and other cultivators here, she absolutely wouldn't give up!

  Having already embarked on the path of cultivation, phrases like 'life and death are determined by heaven's will' no longer applied to her. After infusing a bit of spiritual energy into that layer of invisible screen, the nearly dissipated illusionary seal disappeared, and the two doors of life and death directly appeared before Left Xiao Yao's eyes.

  Uncertain what kind of obstacles she would encounter after pushing open any one of the doors, but from the records that have been circulating in the modern Xiu Zhen world, there are some cultivators' experiences and gains when obtaining certain treasures. They all mention that before getting a certain treasure, they encountered an array or restriction that was difficult to break through. Zuo Xiao Yao did not doubt that if she wanted to enter, she would also have to go through a lot of twists and turns. However, what the back of the Gate of Life and Death represented, she had no way of judging.

  Standing in front of the door, she bowed her head and thought for a moment before raising it again to look at Zuo Xiaoyao. A determined glint flashed across her eyes, clearly indicating that she had already come up with a plan!

  First, she added a layer of spiritual power shield around herself, then took out the Yun Kong ribbon, and after making these preparations, Zuo Xiao Yao's two hands suddenly simultaneously exerted force, striking the stone gate with the words "Life and Death" on it.

  Neither choosing life nor death, as if it were a daily habit, she chose to release her spiritual power and strike both doors at the same time. This was Zuo Xiao Yao's decision after repeatedly thinking about various possibilities, like breaking an axe to sink a boat. Although she had been practicing for a long enough time, she had lived in the Cultivation Realm for a very short period. Except for the alchemy insights passed down by the purple-robed woman, she had no opportunity to learn other techniques of the Cultivation Path, such as talismans, artifacts, and arrays, about which she was completely ignorant.

  In that case, no matter what choice she makes other than retreating, it is very likely that she will be at a loss. Since it's all a gamble anyway, why not make such a reckless choice? After all, the outcome is unpredictable either way.

  The force of the blow was strong enough, and the two gates of life and death immediately opened with a bang. What appeared next was a five-element diagram flashing with cyan, red, yellow, white, and yellow light. However, Zuo Xiao Yao, who had been standing guard in front of the gate of life and death, had already disappeared from her original position.

  She felt as if she had suddenly entered a foggy world in an instant, her spiritual consciousness was suppressed within three meters around her. Ling Xiao Yao's heart skipped a beat, but then reacted quickly, immediately guarding her mind and taking out the Bi Huo Huan that was almost destroyed by Song Yuan Shang Ren, protecting herself with it.

  At this moment, a clear and cold voice suddenly appeared in her ear: "Ha... Ha, between life and death, there is still a third choice, unfortunately, people who can make such a choice are always too few!"

  Even in laughter, the voice was clearly quiet and uncertain of the other's intention, let alone knowing who the other person was. Zuo Xiao Yao's heart was quite apprehensive, and she replied with a very respectful tone, "Junior Zuo Xiao Yao, intruding into this place uninvited, disturbing Senior, please forgive me!"

  "Don't be nervous, little girl. If it wasn't for fate, how could you have arrived here... the Purple Venerable's Three Treasures? How did they end up in your hands? Who are you?"

  It was as if she had suddenly discovered something, and the calm and composed woman suddenly spoke with a tone of astonishment, her voice filled with incredulity.

  She only felt a power similar to the mighty force that had been exuded by the grass and wood gods in her divine sea before, sweeping over her. In the face of this enormous pressure, Zuo XiaoYao, who was as still as a cicada in winter, couldn't help but feel a little frightened from the bottom of her heart, even though this power only swept through her body for an instant without any malicious intent.

  At this time, Zuo XiaoYao was somewhat taken aback by the woman's surprisingly sharp question, but fortunately the woman didn't continue to press for an answer, seemingly understanding that her casual actions might put pressure on others, and gave her some time to react.

  After calming down, Zuo Xiao Yao finally found her voice "Reporting to senior, this is a family heirloom passed down from our ancestors, but none of our predecessors had discovered what they were. It wasn't until they were passed into my hands that I accidentally learned they were the Zi Zun San Bao."

  PS: Thanks to book friends 101122084131097, wsdjn and Xingyun Declaration for their support. I have to apologize again, today was busy from morning till night, only one update was made, tomorrow will definitely work hard!