The Fall of Lizhu Grotto-Heaven

Overview

For three thousand years, the Lizhu Grotto-Heaven existed as one of the thirty-six small grotto-heavens in the Haoran World. Formed over the fallen corpse of the world's last true dragon, it was suspended above the northern territory of the Great Li Dynasty like a pearl. However, as the pocket dimension reached the end of its predetermined lifespan, the protective heavenly laws that maintained the hidden town began to fracture. If the dimension were allowed to collapse naturally, the Heavenly Dao's backlash would completely crush the more than six thousand mortal inhabitants living within, potentially damning them to eternal suffering in the hungry ghost realm.

To save the townspeople from being annihilated by the collapsing laws, the local sitting sage, Qi Jingchun, chose a path of ultimate sacrifice. He decided to bear the full brunt of the three-thousand-year karmic weight and the Heavenly Dao's backlash alone. During the final moments of the dimension's collapse, Qi Jingchun manifested a towering法相 (Dharma idol) and held the shattering pearl in his hand. Despite facing a devastating onslaught from an immortal in the sky and enduring attacks from twelve flying swords dispatched from Bai Yujing, Qi Jingchun successfully buffered the town's descent into the mortal realm. He protected the residents but paid with his life, bleeding from his seven orifices as his soul shattered entirely.

Following Qi Jingchun's death and the dimension's physical fall into the Haoran World, the hidden town lost its protective barrier and was officially integrated into the Great Li Dynasty as Longquan County. The military sage and master swordsmith Ruan Qiong arrived to take over as the new sitting sage, establishing rigid rules to govern the influx of outside cultivators who immediately flocked to the area to harvest the remaining dragon fortunes and recruit the town's extraordinarily talented youths.

Outcome / Consequences

The fall of the Lizhu Grotto-Heaven is the primary inciting incident of the era, completely ending the town's isolation and exposing its miraculously gifted children—such as Chen Ping'an, Ma Kuxuan, Liu Xianyang, and Zhao Yao—to the broader cultivation world. This event fundamentally shifted the balance of power within the Bao Ping Continent, accelerated the Great Li Dynasty's southern conquest, and set the young Chen Ping'an on his lifelong journey of martial arts and cultivation.

References

• 剑来2：忽为远行客，第三章 — 树倒: Details the impending collapse of the dimension, Qi Jingchun's decision to shoulder the three-thousand-year Heavenly Dao backlash, his resistance against the twelve flying swords from Bai Yujing, and his ultimate sacrifice to save the town's inhabitants.
• 剑来2：忽为远行客，第四章 — 天亮: Describes the immediate aftermath of the town falling into the mortal realm, becoming Longquan County, and Ruan Qiong establishing order among the outside cultivators.