The spiritual essence contained within this sea cave is even more abundant than the spiritual energy provided by top-grade spirit stones.
After a night of cultivation, Li Xuan opened his eyes, a hint of joy within them.
Boom!
At that moment, a violent tremor instantly drew Li Xuan's attention.
"This power is so strong!" Li Xuan's expression turned somewhat grave, and he moved swiftly to appear outside the house.
"Innkeeper, judging by your expression, did something happen?"
As Li Xuan reached the first floor, he found that the lobby, which had been full of customers, was now empty. His gaze shifted, and he looked with surprise at the innkeeper, who wore a long face, and asked.
"Guest, you should return to your room quickly. It seems this Ancient Bronze City is about to face unrest," the innkeeper said nervously upon seeing Li Xuan descend. He then stepped forward and tugged at Li Xuan, gesturing for him to go back upstairs.
Li Xuan became even more puzzled. His senses indicated that there was no one walking on the street outside. Many shops had already closed their doors. This situation was vastly different from what Li Xuan had seen when he first entered the city.
"Innkeeper, if you don't tell me what happened, I can go and see for myself on the street, right?" Li Xuan said, making as if to walk out of the inn.
The innkeeper's expression changed drastically. He quickly blocked Li Xuan and said, "Are you trying to court death! Fine, fine, stop being curious, I'll tell you."
"Alas, I don't know which ignorant sea harvesters dared to secretly extract from one of the ten sea caves belonging to the City Lord's mansion. This has angered the City Lord."
"Unless these people are found, no one dares to go out freely. Already, quite a few sea harvesters have been arrested by the City Lord's guards."
"Sea caves? Are these sea caves also categorized? Innkeeper, since the City Lord's men are looking for those sea harvesters, it has nothing to do with us, right? Why can't we even go out on the street?"
Li Xuan's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he looked at the innkeeper and asked.
The innkeeper let out another wry smile and said, "Young man, is this your first time in Ancient Bronze City? These sea caves are the very reason why Ancient Bronze City was founded. And in this sea of sand, there are only ten areas where sea caves appear."
"And these ten sea caves have long been claimed by City Lord Wu Xue. Now, someone has tampered with City Lord Wu Xue's property, how can City Lord Wu Xue not be enraged?"
"Furthermore, a decree was issued by the City Lord's mansion yesterday. All individuals are forbidden to go out within Ancient Bronze City. Even the city gates have been sealed. If those unauthorized extractors are not found, the city gates will likely not open. If you go out now, you'll just be arrested by the City Lord's men, won't you?"
"Since there are only ten sea caves, why is there still the profession of sea harvesters?" Li Xuan asked, confused.
The innkeeper did not conceal anything and replied directly, "Although there are only ten sea caves in the sea of sand, cracks sometimes appear, forming small amounts of sea essence."
"This is how these sea harvesters came into being. Previously, City Lord Wu Xue did not take any action against the sea harvesters. This time, it seems these sea harvesters will not have an easy time."
After listening to the innkeeper, Li Xuan nodded slightly and then said to the innkeeper, "Thank you, innkeeper. In that case, I'll return to my room to rest. I wonder when City Lord Wu Xue will calm down. If it drags on, it might cause significant problems."
"Guest, you don't need to worry. Since Ancient Bronze City was established because of this sea essence, it naturally has methods to detect it. If the factions within Ancient Bronze City were not so uneven, these three days would have been enough to find them."
"However, City Lord Wu Xue is from the Wu Clan. I believe these dissenting voices will be quickly suppressed. By then, the one who privately extracted from City Lord Wu Xue's sea cave will be found."
The innkeeper smiled, without a hint of worry in his words.
However, Li Xuan's expression became more serious upon hearing this, especially the mention of the Wu Clan, which made him frown.
"Little Brush, it seems the sea cave I extracted from was City Lord Wu Xue's, wasn't it?" Li Xuan asked after casually setting up a soundproof formation in his room.
The Heavenly Dao Brush replied, "Since this sea cave is a derivative of this sea of sand, finding it is your luck, little master. Even if Wu Xue is from the Wu Clan, he doesn't have the ability to keep you, does he?"
Li Xuan was speechless. "Little Brush, when did you learn to flatter? I just didn't expect it to cause such trouble. But this Wu Clan is one of the Nine Clans. For me to clash with the Wu Clan so soon after arriving on the Huayang Continent, it feels like an inauspicious start."
"And another point, those sea harvesters are clearly weak individuals without any backing. Now, they are implicated because of me. I may not have killed them, but they are dying because of me. This goes against my principles."
"Little master, you're not saying you're going to the City Lord's mansion voluntarily, are you?" the Heavenly Dao Brush asked.
Li Xuan smiled and said, "Since the trouble started because of me, it naturally falls to me to resolve it. As for whether City Lord Wu Xue is reasonable, we'll have to see when the time comes."
After speaking, Li Xuan moved, disappearing from the room in an instant.
In the City Lord's Mansion.
"Have those sea harvesters not confessed yet?" Wu Xue asked the elder who entered, while sitting on the grand hall.
The elder bowed and replied, "Those sea harvesters all claim they did not see the sea cave that was extracted. Since most of these sea harvesters are from various factions, we cannot easily employ coercive interrogation methods. Currently, we have reached a stalemate."
"Why should my Wu Clan bother with those factions? Fine. Since they dare to extract from my Wu Clan's property, these sea harvesters will not expose themselves so easily. It seems I can only use the Sea Charting Astrolabe."
Wu Xue frowned, then with a thought, a folded compass appeared in his hand.
Boom!
At that moment, a massive tremor accompanied by a condensation of the air. Wu Xue and the elder looked up at the sound, as if piercing through the hall to the sky outside.
"It actually revealed itself!" Wu Xue's expression turned cold as he saw the Sea Charting Astrolabe in his hand rapidly brighten. He vanished from the grand hall in an instant.
Meanwhile, above the City Lord's Mansion, Li Xuan held a piece of sea essence and directly landed before Wu Xue.
"Look quickly, could that person be the one who privately extracted from City Lord Wu Xue's sea cave?"
"Someone actually dared to touch something belonging to the Wu Clan. This courage is indeed immense."
"This person actually showed up voluntarily. Looking at it, it seems he's not planning to escape."
"That's good. This way, we won't be restricted by the Wu Clan's actions anymore."
"..."
As Li Xuan caused a stir, some forces within Ancient Bronze City sensed it and flew out. Upon seeing Li Xuan entering the City Lord's Mansion, they began to discuss.
"Your courage is quite significant. You even dare to take my Wu family's belongings so brazenly!"
A hint of surprise flashed in Wu Xue's eyes. The thief had voluntarily appeared and come to the City Lord's Mansion. However, despite this, Wu Xue had immense confidence in the Wu Clan.
Li Xuan smiled slightly and cupped his fists. "City Lord Wu Xue, this sea cave is ownerless property. I happened to encounter it, so it's not like I'm taking something from your Wu family."
"You are not from my Huayang Continent?" Wu Xue frowned slightly, glanced at Li Xuan, and then said.
Li Xuan was stunned. Wu Xue had seen through him at a glance.
"What does City Lord Wu Xue mean by that?" Li Xuan asked, his curiosity piqued.
"How could any spirit master from my Huayang Continent be unaware of our Wu family's rules? Moreover, of the ten sea caves in this sea of sand, our Wu family possesses two, while the remaining eight are distributed among the other eight clans."
"It can be said that no one on the Huayang Continent has ever dared to act so recklessly. If you weren't an outsider, it can only mean you have the audacity of a bear!"
Wu Xue snorted coldly, and his aura instantly surged. In mere moments, immense pressure occupied half the sky.
His advanced Profound Glimpse realm aura was evident.
After unleashing his astonishing aura, Wu Xue's expression was extremely cold, and he slowly said, "I'll give you one chance. Hand over the sea essence obediently. Otherwise, on the Huayang Continent, there will be no place for you to live!"
Li Xuan let out a wry smile and said, "I would like to hand it over. However, I've already absorbed thirty percent of that sea essence. City Lord Wu Xue, how about I compensate you for the price? I promise it won't happen again next time."
Wu Xue's mouth twitched slightly. He looked at Li Xuan, who was under his oppressive aura without any visible strain, and took a deep breath before slowly saying, "Since that's the case, then you shall stay!"