Quietly restoring his aura to the Foundation Establishment stage, in the Universal Separation Courtyard, Li Fan's breakthrough didn't attract much attention.
Except for Ji Hongdao, who gave Li Fan a curious glance during class.
Almost no one knew that Li Fan had already entered the Golden Core realm.
However, even if these students knew, they probably wouldn't think much of it.
After all, the Golden Core realm was too ordinary among this group of people.
Compared to cultivation level, what they valued more was proficiency in formations.
The closed training of the "Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock Formation" was coming to an end.
Since the last time they witnessed the sealing of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, many students seemed to have comprehended something, and their performance improved significantly.
In the final test, the compatibility test of the Formation Pivot, Li Fan lagged behind due to his concerns about the major event in the Cloud Sea and his own Golden Core breakthrough. Additionally, his talent in formations was quite ordinary, leading to a lack of insight.
The combination of these two factors resulted in almost no progress in his rankings.
As the saying goes, "If you don't advance, you retreat." Li Fan's ranking had experienced a significant decline.
Fortunately, his performance in the previous formation structure and soul contract identification projects had been outstanding, so his overall position did not drop too much.
He still ranked above average.
On this day, Ji Hongdao announced that the final test would take place in a month and a half.
The practical operation of the Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock Formation.
Only enough formation materials would be provided, and there would be no assistance from others. Each person had to set up the formation alone.
The evaluation would be based on the actual construction of the formation, and rankings would be assigned based on performance.
Those with outstanding results would naturally receive rewards.
However, Ji Hongdao kept the specific prizes a secret, only mentioning that they were extremely precious. Even he was tempted and wanted to participate in the competition himself.
Hearing this, the hearts of the students couldn't help but be stirred.
They hurriedly returned to their respective courtyards to prepare for the final test.
Li Fan was about to leave when he was stopped by Ji Hongdao.
"Although the final test is approaching, rationally speaking, I should temporarily conceal this matter. But this matter is too significant, and I believe you have the right to know."
Li Fan immediately understood what Ji Hongdao was talking about. However, the play had to be acted out.
After a moment of slight astonishment, pretending to be puzzled, Li Fan respectfully said, "Senior, please speak. I can bear it."
Ji Hongdao nodded slightly. "Since that's the case, listen carefully."
"Your hometown, the Cloud Sea."
"Gone..."
Li Fan's response was quite appropriate. There was no special reaction; instead, he looked puzzled. "Gone? What does that mean?"
Ji Hongdao's eyes flashed with a hint of sadness. "Gone means exactly what it says."
"The entire Cloud Sea, disappeared."
Li Fan smiled sarcastically. "Senior, don't joke. The Cloud Sea is vast. How can such a large area just disappear?"
Midway through his words, Li Fan suddenly fell into silence.
He stared at Ji Hongdao, seeing that he didn't seem like he was joking at all.
As if struck by lightning, Li Fan's body slowly trembled.
His eyes widened like copper bells. Ignoring the difference in their cultivation levels, Li Fan rushed forward, grabbing Ji Hongdao's arm.
"Is it true? How is this possible?"
"What exactly happened?"
...
"Ah." Ji Hongdao looked at Li Fan, who seemed to have gone mad in an instant, and sighed deeply.
He pointed towards Li Fan, sending him back to his courtyard, saying, "You should go back and calm down first. As for what exactly happened, you can search for it yourself in the Heavenly Profound Mirror."
"The relevant information should still be available."
In the blink of an eye, Li Fan was back in his small courtyard.
Maintaining the same expression as before, Li Fan began searching for information about the Congyun Sea in the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
"It seems that the Heavenly Annihilation Sword is ultimately not a match for Ink Slaughter. The Congyun Sea has now become a complete abyss of nothingness."
"The Cloud Water Celestial Palace has also disappeared without a trace."
"This result is within expectations. Perhaps the origin of the Heavenly Annihilation Sword is of the same level as Ink Slaughter, but at the moment, it is only a part of the broken sword. It doesn't even have the hilt."
"And... the discussion about such a major event is surprisingly low. It seems that the Venerable is at work again."
With such a major event, it was impossible to keep it a secret.
The Immortal Alliance did not choose to block or shield the information but instead adopted a cold treatment.
At the beginning, the discussions were intense. The image of the world being destroyed by Ink Slaughter recorded by Jiao Xiuyuan not only shocked many cultivators but also ignited a greedy desire in their hearts.
Apart from the sympathy for the unfortunate cultivators in the Congyun Sea and questioning why Ink Slaughter would use such brutal methods to directly annihilate the world, the most discussed topic was surprisingly the feasibility of combining with Ink Slaughter.
As time passed, the number of people discussing the first two topics decreased.
Only the faction advocating for strength persisted.
"What kind of strength should be demonstrated to combine with Ink Slaughter? In my opinion, although the immortal world is vast, no cultivator has the qualifications for this."
"I suggest a person, Lord Jinglun. Legend has it that decades ago, he had already reached the pinnacle of Nascent Soul, and his strength was unfathomable. There was even a time when faced with the temptation of the soul of heaven and earth, he resolutely gave up the opportunity to combine because that soul of heaven and earth was too weak!"
"Although Lord Jinglun is strong, he is still a bit less meaningful compared to Ink Slaughter."
"That black particle annihilates everything. It's incredibly difficult to resist. I think if Zhong Shentong advances to Nascent Soul, the boundless colorful divine light may be able to contend with it."
"Zhong Shentong? A Foundation Establishment cultivator? Still so old. Does he really think any trash can come out and step on Lord Jinglun? Even if Lord Jinglun doesn't make a move, I can crush him!"
"Oh? This daoist friend is quite confident? Would you dare to leave your name and address? I will personally come to learn from you!"
"..."
Li Fan's face was filled with sorrow as he browsed through this information.
In his heart, he thought, "Encountering such misfortune, even if my final exam results are slightly lower, it's quite reasonable."
In the following days, Li Fan stayed indoors and declined all visitors.
He portrayed the perfect image of a cultivator who had suddenly undergone a great change.
As time passed, Li Fan also clearly felt that the memories of the Congyun Sea in his mind were gradually fading.
His thoughts were obstructed, and he rarely actively thought about related matters.
If it weren't for Li Fan specifically allocating a section in his mental Dao Stone, dedicated to recording, and conducting retrospections every few days, he would have almost forgotten about the tragedy that befell the Congyun Sea.
This whole process only took a little over a month.
"The strength of the Eternal Venerable is truly terrifying."
Experiencing once again the impact of the Venerable, Li Fan couldn't help but sigh.
And so, everything returned to calm.
After another ten days or so, the final assessment for the closed training of the Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock Array finally arrived.
(End of this chapter)