It was apparent that Li Fan wasn't the only one who noticed this.
After the battle, watching the Falling Wood turn into ashes in the roaring flames, Yan Hang and the others showed no signs of excitement.
"Damn it, these monsters seem to have become stronger again." Yan Hang looked at the dry wound on his arm, his face ugly, cursing.
The other four also had some injuries to varying degrees.
"Hurry and report the situation of this battle. Hopefully, those above can come up with a solution soon. Otherwise, I'm afraid we won't last much longer," said a cultivator named Li Shifeng, sighing.
Yan Hang snorted coldly, not retorting.
He opened the Heaven Supervising Record and began reporting with closed eyes.
Li Fan was also checking the information in the Heaven Supervising Record.
Compared to when they first entered the Five Elements Dao Realm, the recorded information now was much richer.
"The overall completion progress of the grand formation is 78%."
"In line with the plan, even faster than initially expected."
"But obviously, things happening here are somewhat out of control."
"I wonder what measures the Immortal Alliance will take next."
Li Fan's eyes flashed slightly as his hands moved continuously.
Li Fan could almost be certain that the Immortal Alliance would undoubtedly complete the construction of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Formation as scheduled.
Most of the main forces acting in the Five Elements Dao Realm at this time were YuanYing-stage cultivators. However, the Immortal Alliance had no shortage of Nascent Soul-stage cultivators.
It was clear that their full power had not been exerted yet.
If they found that their current strength was insufficient to complete the task, the Immortal Alliance would naturally increase its efforts.
Whether the cultivators currently in the Five Elements Dao Realm could endure until the reinforcements arrived was another matter.
...
As Li Fan anticipated, the continuously strengthening strength of the Dao Realm monsters made people uneasy.
Qin Buyi quickly came out to reassure everyone.
Firstly, she explained to everyone that, due to the principle of mutual restraint among the Five Elements, the fusion of creatures with all five attributes was not supposed to happen. In the most extreme case, only creatures with a fusion of four attributes would be born. However, this extreme situation would only occur at the end of the "Five Elements Return to One" process. Therefore, people mainly needed to deal with monsters that fused two or three attributes.
Secondly, the headquarters of the Immortal Alliance had already learned about the current situation in the Five Elements Dao Realm.
Support would arrive soon.
Furthermore, she informed them that the scale of the reinforcements was enormous, with a total number of people greater than all the cultivators currently working in the Dao Realm.
Everyone didn't need to worry.
Although people were skeptical of Qin Buyi's words, getting a definite assurance eased the cultivators' worries.
With slightly relieved emotions, they continued to work anxiously, waiting for the reinforcements.
Time passed in this continuously tense atmosphere.
In the blink of an eye, two years had passed since entering the Five Elements Dao Realm.
During this time, cultivators had indeed come to support gradually.
However, it was far from the large-scale reinforcements promised by Qin Buyi.
Inquiries were met with various excuses from Qin Buyi.
Nevertheless, two new Hedao-stage cultivators arrived, which somewhat eased everyone's concerns.
With the arrival of new support, through them, everyone learned the reason for the delay in reinforcements.
In the outside world over these two years, significant events had occurred, creating a turbulent situation.
Chapter 387: External Threats and Internal Concerns
Firstly, there were external concerns.
The Five Elders' League had redeployed forces to the border, showing signs of probing and provocation. Unlike before, they didn't seem to have the intention of initiating a large-scale conflict. Instead, they concentrated all their forces on Fenglei Island, separated from Tianling Prefecture.
According to rumors from the common people, it seemed that the Five Elders' League coveted the mystery of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Formation, aiming to seize the entire territory from the Immortal Alliance.
They were meticulously analyzing and studying the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Formation. However, Li Fan knew that this was just a superficial excuse.
The true goal of the Five Elders' League should be the void that gave birth to the Five Elements Dao Realm in Tianling Prefecture.
"It seems that the truth can't be concealed. Indeed, in these two years, the abnormal activities of the Immortal Alliance in Tianling Prefecture have been enough to alert them," Li Fan thought to himself.
In addition to the pressure brought by the Five Elders' League, there was also unrest within the Immortal Alliance.
During this period, many voices opposing the widespread adoption of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Formation had suddenly emerged throughout the territories.
What was surprising was that these voices didn't come from insignificant figures. Instead, they were mostly Nascent Soul and higher-cultivation cultivators holding important positions in various territories.
For some reason, these cultivators, who had recently expressed unanimous support for the formation construction plan, suddenly changed their stance, clearly expressing opposition. Moreover, they had ample arguments and reasons.
Their main points were as follows:
It was well known that no matter how exquisite a formation was, there would always be a day when it could be penetrated and cracked. In the past, there had been many instances where protective formations were leaked, and the Immortal Alliance was caught off guard. This was also the reason why protective formations had to be completely replaced every so often. Now, the Immortal Alliance was painstakingly and at great cost constructing the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Formation to cover its entire territory. Could it guarantee that the Soul-Locking Formation would always be effective? If it was analyzed and deciphered shortly after construction by the Five Elders' League, wouldn't it be a huge joke?
In addition to this, these individuals were skeptical about whether the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Formation could achieve the advertised effects. Because the notorious "Thousand Faces Demon Ancestor," who had been haunting the Immortal Alliance's territory, had become increasingly rampant lately. Many high-ranking cultivators in the territories couldn't escape his clutches. Even in the territories where the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Formation had been completed, it only slightly slowed down his killing spree. In the end, he still managed to escape. Moreover, even if they caught him, what difference would it make? Since the Five Elders' League could cultivate one Thousand Faces Demon Ancestor, they could certainly cultivate two or three. The initial significance of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Formation, as promoted, was to make it impossible for any Five Elders' League cultivators to escape within the territory. Now, people were being blatantly violated within their territory, and they were powerless.
These people's opinions made a lot of sense, to the extent that when they questioned the Immortal Alliance headquarters, it resonated with many.
The opposition intensified, but the Immortal Alliance headquarters, contrary to its usual behavior, did not punish these dissenters but fell into a strange silence.
In this background, the Thousand Faces Demon Ancestor became even more elusive and ruthless in his slaughter.
In addition to internal concerns and external threats, Li Fan also heard an interesting piece of news.
Amidst the increasingly tense situation, in the Nine Mountains Province at the border between the Immortal Alliance and the Five Elders' League, an organization named Lingyuan Sect had been thriving.
It truly attracted the attention of many cultivators.
All this was because the Lingyuan Sect had a unique cultivation technique.
A cultivation technique that, the more people practiced it simultaneously, the faster their cultivation speed.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 387: Man Can Overcome Heaven
Since the creation of new laws by the Celestial Venerable, not long after the cultivators started practicing the Heaven-Seizing Cultivation Method, the world retaliated, and drastic changes occurred. The more people simultaneously practiced a cultivation method, the slower everyone's cultivation speed became. This is what is known as the immiscibility of immortal methods. This is the true principle of the heavens and earth today and the fundamental reason why cultivation methods are so precious.
But now, in an unknown small organization, a cultivation method contradictory to the principles of heaven and earth has emerged.
Who would believe it?
At first, cultivators treated it as a joke, paying no attention to it at all.
However, there were always those who, lacking a cultivation method, with a trial attitude, went to the Nine Mountains Province to explore.
After joining the Lingyuan Sect and officially starting to practice the "Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique," something shocking happened.
Indeed, all members of the Lingyuan Sect practiced this cultivation method.
From Qi Refining to Nascent Soul, practitioners existed in various realms.
Most importantly, the fundamental principle that immortal methods couldn't be practiced simultaneously seemed to be ineffective in the "Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique."
There were no instances of the cultivation method slowing down due to the large number of practitioners.
The fact was undeniable.
No matter how incredible it seemed, this was happening.
Soon, the news of this extraordinary technique in the Lingyuan Sect spread throughout the cultivation world.
The public's initial reaction was that the creator of this cultivation method must be an extraordinary Eternal Venerable who reversed the principles of heaven and earth to achieve such an effect.
However, people knew very little about the Eternal Venerable. Basically, they only had a glimpse through the "Five Spiritual Sensing Method," which recorded the sentence, "Opposing the principles of heaven and earth to prove eternal life."
How to oppose, what exactly counted as opposition, and to what extent one had to go to achieve eternal life—these questions were just unreliable speculations.
Given the miraculous effects of the "Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique," their conjecture was not unfounded.
Clearly, this speculation was incorrect.
Huang Yue Immortal, a senior Daoist from Tianqing Province, after reading the "Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique," finally revealed the truth.
The fundamental principle of the immiscibility of immortal methods had not been reversed.
The reason practitioners of the Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique seemed unaffected was simply due to the unique characteristics of the technique itself.
Simultaneously, the more people practiced the Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique, the faster their cultivation speed became. This was the effect of the technique.
However, at the same time, due to the limitations of heaven and earth, for every additional practitioner, the cultivation speed of the technique slowed down.
These two effects coexisted.
The result was a balance between speed and slowness, making the Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique a technique that could be practiced with difficulty.
In fact, according to Huang Yue Immortal, in the beginning, as the number of practitioners of the Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique gradually increased from 1 to 5, the limiting effect of heaven and earth was much greater than the accelerated growth characteristic of the technique.
For ordinary techniques, when five people practiced together, it reached a point where no matter how talented you were, you could make no progress.
However, when the number of practitioners of the Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique continued to increase from 5 to ten, a hundred, a thousand, and ten thousand, the accelerated growth effect became more and more obvious, ultimately barely offsetting the restriction of practicing different methods.
This was a kind of "Man Can Overcome Heaven" in a certain sense.
But it stopped there.
Because the accelerated growth effect of the Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique also had limits.
After offsetting the negative effects of heaven and earth, the growth rate of the Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique became almost negligible.
Moreover, besides increasing cultivation speed, the Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique had no other special effects.
This led to the fact that, for the vast majority of selective cultivators, it could not be considered a good cultivation method.
In addition, the Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique seemed to have some other limitations.
However, Huang Xing Immortal did not explicitly state them.
"The 'Worldly Elemental Cultivation Technique' is truly out of step with the times. In any other world, it would undoubtedly be an earth-shattering and shocking heaven-defying technique. Unfortunately, in the Xuanhuang Realm, it is restricted to death," Li Fan sighed inwardly as he listened to Yan Hang and others chatting while constructing the array.
Chapter 387: Lingyuan Sect
Li Fan was not unfamiliar with the Lingyuan Sect.
It was the organization that Su Xiaomei and the others encountered when they set up checkpoints for tolls at the Nine Mountains Pass.
Shen Yurou, the androgynous person with a Peach Blossom Cave and whom I injured with an invincible sword, had left an impression on Li Fan.
"According to the words of Huang Yue Immortal, it is only possible to get started by gathering many cultivators to practice this Lingyuan Technique together."
"In the chaotic land of the Nine Mountains Province, being able to gather such a large group of people, the leader of the Lingyuan Sect is not simple."
...
The infusion of fresh blood slightly eased the increasingly tense atmosphere within the Five Elements Sanctuary.
But it didn't last long.
As the frequency of appearance of fused monsters became more and more frequent, the cultivators struggling in various sanctuaries finally couldn't hold on.
After the first casualty occurred, some formation masters directly chose to stop working.
Of course, it was not announced publicly.
It was done under the pretext of dealing with monsters, doing things secretly.
Regarding this, Qi Buyi also felt a bit helpless.
You couldn't have the two Daoist Immortals who were sitting in command kill recklessly, right?
Not to mention that the formation masters in the sanctuary had quite a background.
If she really did that, it might backfire, leading to the direct suspension of the formation construction work in the Five Elements Sanctuary.
Qi Buyi, who rarely encountered such a situation, felt quite a bit of a headache for a while.
She had to report the situation to Chief Lu while trying to appease everyone.
To prevent a more disastrous riot.
Although Li Fan himself didn't care about the storms outside, the efficiency of his formations was inevitably affected.
Yan Hang and the others were gradually struggling against the monsters, and he also had to allocate some of his mental energy to pay attention to the battle situation.
At critical moments, Li Fan would also participate in the battle.
Of course, only in the form of assisting with formations.
Just as the situation was gradually deteriorating, with a beam of penetrating white light traversing the entire Five Elements Sanctuary.
Reinforcements finally arrived.
A huge Dust-Transcending Boat loomed outside the sanctuary's void.
Occupying most of the sky.
Cultivators were like densely packed black dots, flying orderly towards various sanctuaries.
And Li Fan, who had been staying in the water-element sanctuary, also saw the overall view of the Five Elements Sanctuary for the first time.
It seemed like a connected ring, resembling a mixed palette.
Clearly distinguished, yet difficult to separate.
As the light column gradually dimmed, the illusory scenes of the metal, fire, and earth sanctuaries also gradually disappeared.
At the same time, the collaborative task list in the Command Record also nearly doubled.
When Li Fan looked through it, he saw many familiar names.
It was those young formation masters who trained with Li Fan at the Huan Yu Pavilion and then returned to various provinces to participate in the grand competition.
"It seems that the manpower of the Wan Xian League is really a bit tight now."
"Even the fresh troops have been brought over."
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 388: Are You Unconvinced?
About two and a half years ago, the most efficient formation masters had already completed the construction of the locking formation in their respective areas.
Some chose to rest.
Some went to incomplete areas to support for the sake of Grand Competition points.
However, for top-secret locations like the Five Elements Sanctuary, these young formation masters didn't have the qualifications to come.
Li Fan also relied on Chief Lu's relationship and the sudden change in the void of Tian Lingzhou to have the opportunity to come here.
Who would have thought that after two years, the place he painstakingly reached would now be accessible through a simple application.
"Oh, isn't this Senior Li Fan? I've long admired your reputation!"
A young formation master named Xiang Liu enthusiastically greeted Li Fan.
"Since two years ago, Senior, you've made a rapid advance in rankings, steadily among the top three, causing quite a stir and much discussion."
"Although everyone knows about your deeds, there are many cultivators who are no less determined than you are."
"At that time, people speculated that you must be responsible for building formations in some very important sanctuaries."
"Turns out they were right!"
Xiang Liu looked at Li Fan with deep emotion, but there was no hint of jealousy in his eyes.
On the other hand, another formation master named Gu Youguang couldn't hide the envy in his eyes: "I guess Senior Li Fan must have a deep background to have the chance to come to such a significant place."
"The points you can get in this Five Elements Sanctuary are more than three times those in the ordinary outer world!"
Li Fan coughed lightly, pretending to be extremely weak: "Hehe, Senior, you misunderstood. I was able to come here by chance, just benefiting from Senior Huangfu Song's favor."
"Moreover, my life is coming to an end soon, and I will return to the heavens in a few days. So, what's the use of points or rankings for me?"
"Regardless of where I am, it doesn't make much difference to me."
"As long as I am building the Tian Xuan Locking Formation."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Liu and Gu Youguang both put away the playful expressions on their faces and became extremely serious.
"Senior Li Fan's actions are truly admirable."
"This is also why, although the outside world speculates about you ranking second and various guesses are made, there aren't many people dissatisfied with you."
Li Fan didn't expect that the points bonus inside the Five Elements Sanctuary would be so high.
Combined with his non-stop work over the past two years, he surprisingly ranked second in the Grand Competition leaderboard.
"Who is first?" Li Fan couldn't help but be curious.
"Who else could it be? Isn't it that Guo Ye?" Gu Youguang seemed somewhat disdainful and said with a touch of contempt.
"Guo Senior, be careful with your words..." Xiang Liu glanced at Gu Youguang, then explained, "Now, the one stably holding the first position is Guo Ye Zhong, who used to be at the bottom of the ranking."
"Guo Ye Zhong..." Li Fan's eyes flashed slightly, pretending to ask knowingly, "Why can he go from the last to the first? And judging by Senior Gu's tone..."
Before Xiang Liu could explain, Gu Youguang interrupted and said, "What else does he have besides luck? It's said that after the battle in Tian Lingzhou, he was the first to propose the idea of the Tian Xuan Locking Formation. So, every time a locking formation is established, he gets credit."
"And now, with more and more formations being built, no one can surpass him naturally."
Gu Youguang was quite dissatisfied, saying, "Actually, it's nothing. After all, he did contribute to the birth of the formation. What really infuriates everyone is that he relies on the advantage he has gained and lies down to win. He doesn't even want to put in a little more effort. He treats the efforts of fellow cultivators as a plaything, trampling on the meaning of our hard work..."
Seeing Gu Youguang getting more and more excessive, Xiang Liu quickly interrupted, "Actually, Senior Guo Ye is pretty good. He can be called a natural genius. It is said that he not only proposed the idea of the locking formation but also personally designed and created the prototype of the locking formation."
"Moreover, he had zero points before, and it was just delayed due to some urgent matters. It's not intentional..."
Gu Youguang snorted: "What is 'it is said'? Who would believe that! I also heard that it's because he has a good father!"
"When a fellow cultivator came to him to question, he not only didn't feel guilty but also questioned sensibly, 'What, are you not convinced?'"
"Truly shameless. Thinking that I once studied with such a person makes me feel nauseous!"
Xiang Liu, caught in the middle, looked at Gu Youguang with a frustrated expression, shook his head repeatedly, and stopped persuading.
"Guo Ye Zhong." Li Fan recalled the situation when he met this person in the Huan Yu Pavilion. "I really underestimated him..."
In the following conversation, there was no more mention of this person.
Only reminiscing about the past when they studied together, Li Fan asked about their experiences in the outside world.
After some casual conversation, they noticed it was almost time.
The two joined the construction of the Water Element Sanctuary's formation.
Xiang Liu and Gu Youguang were not inferior to Li Fan in their formation skills.
With their assistance, the progress greatly accelerated.
Moreover, many cultivators from the Garrison Institute also came to support, each carrying a glass bottle-shaped treasure that could release "Divided Luminance of Glass."
This mysterious light had a purifying function, effectively dealing with the fusion monsters in the Five Elements Sanctuary.
Without external threats, the overall construction progress of the Tian Xuan Locking Formation increased day by day.
However, after four months, it reached 99% progress.
At the same time, the process of the Five Elements merging into one was about to come to its conclusion.
The giant tree hanging upside down in the sky had countless branches deeply inserted into the azure water.
Strangely, when Water and Wood elements first lightly touched, there were continuous anomalies and strange monsters. However, now, with the real fusion of Water and Wood attributes, those eerie creations did not appear.
As Li Fan looked at the green branches stained with blue water, he once again saw those incomplete figures in front of him.
"Senior Li Fan, it's time to evacuate."
Xiang Liu reminded Li Fan, who seemed a bit lost.
Li Fan nodded slightly, unfolded the Heavenly Escape Shuttle, and headed towards the huge Dust-Carrying Boat appearing in the sky again.
The next work did not require them as formation masters.
While countless cultivators returned to the Dust-Carrying Boat, black figures flew against the crowd, heading towards various formation nodes built earlier.
They would use the "Eternal Destruction Essence Gold" to protect the crucial structures of the Locking Formation.
Once everything was ready and the Tian Xuan Mirror was placed, the Locking Formation enveloping the Five Elements Sanctuary would be considered completely constructed.
"I hope there won't be any more flaws." Li Fan thought as he returned to the Dust-Carrying Boat.
"Master, what do you think this sanctuary will become after the Five Elements merge into one?" A curious voice of a young child sounded in his ears.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 389: Five Elements Sky Secret Realm
"Master?" Hearing this word, Li Fan felt a bit bewildered.
In today's cultivation world, self-cultivation is no easy task. Who would still bother with guiding and teaching others?
Since embarking on the path of cultivation all these years, he had never witnessed a genuine master-disciple relationship.
Curious, Li Fan looked towards the direction of the voice.
On the massive Dust Crossing Boat, stood an old and young figure, both dressed in green robes. The old one had white hair and a youthful face, while the young one appeared weathered, with a worldly-wise demeanor.
What surprised Li Fan was that the tender voice he had just heard came from the mouth of the elderly, white-haired man.
Looking puzzled, the old man gazed down at the small child beside him, inquiring.
Though the child appeared to be only five or six years old, the words spoken were far from what a child could articulate.
"All things go from non-existence to existence, and from existence to non-existence."
"The unity of the five elements is just a return to their original state."
The young child in green answered with a smile.
After some thought, the elderly man seemed to understand, joyfully saying, "I understand, Master. You mean that soon, this place will return to a chaotic void, just like we saw earlier, right?"
The child chuckled and looked at the old man with benevolent eyes, "You're correct. If there is no external interference, allowing it to evolve freely, it will indeed be like that."
"But if one day, outsiders enter here and take away some of the materials inside the cave, then it's hard to say."
The child looked down at the Five Elements Cave below, a bit lamenting.
Li Fan was slightly startled at the words, squinting his eyes to carefully observe the master and disciple before him.
This pair completely ignored Li Fan's presence.
The old man furrowed his brows, as if contemplating his master's words.
After a moment, he suddenly realized, "This cave, with its flowing elements, unity, perfection, can transform into five and return to one. But if an outsider takes a portion from each of the five elements, it will cause an imbalance. Then..."
"Then..."
At this point, the old man seemed to be at a loss for words, unable to figure out what would happen next.
The young child in green smiled, continuing the older man's words, "Actually, if it's only a small-scale, long-term extraction, the Five Elements Cave can rely on its own elemental circulation, self-regulating without causing an imbalance."
"But if, in a short period, someone massively exploits the resources in a few elemental caves..."
"The cave's regulation mechanism becomes insufficient, leading to a complete imbalance in the Five Elements Cave here."
"Master, what happens after a complete imbalance?" The young disciple asked with curiosity.
The young child in green restrained his smile, "Do you still remember what I told you about the Five Elements Sect back then?"
The old man nodded, "Disciple remembers. The Five Elements Sect is an affiliated sect of the Great Dao Sect. A few years ago, when their sect leader came to our Dust Crossing Sect to pay respects, I saw them!"
At this moment, Li Fan, hearing the conversation between the master and disciple, was deeply shocked.
Finally confirming that the two in front of him were not real beings on this Dust Crossing Boat.
Instead, they were like mirages, similar to a mirage city!
The conversation between the master and disciple seemed to take place in the ancient cultivation world before the great calamity, when the sects still existed.
Li Fan surveyed the surroundings and noticed that, despite the bustling activity on the Dust Crossing Boat, for some unknown reason, besides himself, no one else could see this illusion.
Without making any noise, Li Fan continued to observe the conversation between the ancient Dust Crossing Sect master and disciple.
Listening to the young child in green robes, he continued, "The strength of the Five Elements Sect back then was not weak. Apart from our ten major immortal sects, it was considered one of the top cultivation sects in the Profound Yellow Realm. Inside the sect, there was a mysterious place called the 'Five Elements Sky.' It formed its own world, incredibly rich in resources, almost limitless."
"Compared to the Five Elements Great Cave here, it was far superior."
"Relying on this secret realm, if the Five Elements Sect had gradually developed over hundreds or thousands of years, it might have become the top sect in the world."
"Unfortunately, the previous head of the Five Elements Sect, Lian Xiangfeng, had a narrow-minded vision..."
Here, the young child in green snorted coldly, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes.
The old man in green widened his eyes, not daring to speak, patiently waiting for the continuation.
After a moment, the young child in green continued, "At that time, it was said that the Heaven Sword Sect needed a massive amount of 'Primordial Essence Metal' to forge the legendary 'Breaking Boundary Divine Weapon.'"
"This Primordial Essence Metal is extremely rare, randomly found in metal ore veins, making it unpredictable. The Heaven Sword Sect had almost completely exhausted all the available sources on the market but still fell short of the required amount."
"It was heard that within the Five Elements Sect's Five Elements Sky secret realm, there might be a large inventory. So, the Sect Master of the Heaven Sword Sect personally went to negotiate."
"That notorious old man was so arrogant that he actually bowed to the Five Elements Sect. Lian Xiangfeng was elated and lost his sense of direction."
"Moreover, since the Heaven Sword Sect offered an extremely high price, all the elders of the Five Elements Sect were persuaded."
"So, the Five Elements Sect began to excavate 'Primordial Essence Metal' in the secret realm. Even this alone wouldn't have led to the subsequent tragedy."
"Unfortunately, they were somehow persuaded to think that since various metal ores were being mined during the excavation, they shouldn't waste them but should also sell them. Other sects also heard about the abundance of metal ores in the Five Elements Sect and came to purchase them."
"In the heat of the moment, the Five Elements Sect's actions in extracting gold vein ores became increasingly frenzied."
"Feeling understaffed, they even hired wandering cultivators."
"Finally, one day, a massive loss of gold elements led to an imbalance in the Five Elements Sky."
"Inevitably, it evolved into a state of silence towards the unity of the five elements."
"Moreover, when the missing gold elements could no longer meet the requirements for the unity of the five elements, the remaining wood, water, fire, and earth elements underwent chaotic, never-ending energy collisions."
"The ultimate result was a massive explosion that completely destroyed the Five Elements Sky."
"The entire Five Elements Sect suffered losses that could not be described as anything but severe. The backbone strength was almost extinct, and from then on, it declined."
"To survive, they could only actively join the Great Dao Sect, becoming an affiliated sect based on the past relationship, receiving some support."
As the story concluded, the young child in green sighed.
Listening in, Li Fan felt a chill in his heart.
The plight of the ancient Five Elements Sky seemed to mirror the current situation of the Five Elements Great Cave.
Does this mean that after the unity of the five elements, there will also be a earth-shattering explosion here?
Cursing inwardly, Li Fan looked back at the Dust Crossing Sect master and disciple, only to find that their figures were becoming increasingly blurry.
The words spoken between their opened mouths became indistinct.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 390: Mirage of Temporal Epochs
Even though Li Fan didn't understand why an ancient illusion would appear during the unity of the five elements, and why only he could see it, he believed that the conversation between the Dust Crossing Sect master and disciple was not groundless.
"Could the sudden unity of the five elements in this Five Elements Great Cave be due to the transition of resources by the Wan Xian Alliance, exploiting a certain attribute cave?"
Li Fan's thoughts raced, and after pondering for a moment, he decided not to sit idly by.
Even if a major explosion occurred, the Dust Crossing Boat might not be safe.
Li Fan quickly contacted Qi Buyi using the Supervisor Record and described the strange scene he had just witnessed.
Unexpectedly, upon receiving the news, Qi Buyi showed no signs of panic.
"Oh, it's the Mirage of Temporal Epochs! Fellow Daoist is quite lucky..."
"Huh? I remember you only have Golden Core cultivation, right? You can sense it too? It seems Fellow Daoist has a remarkably resilient spiritual soul, far beyond ordinary people."
After some explanation, Li Fan finally understood what this so-called "Mirage of Temporal Epochs" was all about.
It was similar to the "Mortal-to-Deity Wall" in Tianyunzhou, where Mr. Bai's transformation from mortal to deity was once recorded, depicting a scene of rapid advancement.
When specific conditions were met, phenomena that were recorded and subsequently repeated at special times could occur in the world.
During the unity of the five elements, at the time of the return to nothingness, the Mirage of Temporal Epochs phenomenon was likely to happen.
Several years ago, during the unity of the five elements in the Five Elements Great Cave, a Dust Crossing Sect master and disciple happened to pass by.
The master explained to the disciple.
This scene happened to be recorded by the Mirage of Temporal Epochs.
Now, after countless cycles, the unity of the five elements happened again.
The scene of the master enlightening the disciple reappeared and was sensed by Li Fan, whose spiritual soul had strengthened due to practicing the Profound Yellow Refinement Technique.
Although Qi Buyi's explanation reassured Li Fan about the origin of the illusion, he was not completely at ease.
Li Fan frowned and asked, "Senior Qi, is the explosion mentioned in this Mirage real? Shouldn't we take some defensive measures?"
Qi Buyi smiled and replied, "Don't worry, it's just a small scene. After learning about the signs of the unity of the five elements, we predicted various possibilities, including this explosion, and it's all part of the plan."
"Fellow Daoist, just watch calmly."
"Moreover, now that the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array is almost complete, why bother adding unnecessary defense measures?"
Without waiting for a response from Qi Buyi, her words led Li Fan into deep contemplation.
"Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array, is it enough to ignore the massive explosion caused by the imbalance of the five elements?"
A hint of doubt flashed in Li Fan's mind.
As Zhang Zhiliang said at the beginning, even the builders of the Locking Spirit Array, including Li Fan, might not fully understand the true power of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array when fully activated.
Perhaps, in the current Profound Yellow Realm, only a few people know the true power of the fully activated Locking Spirit Array.
"This is a good opportunity to see what wonders our creation, which we've worked hard on for many years, can achieve."
For a defensive array that appears to be "monitoring," whether it can withstand the massive explosion that returns everything to chaos makes Li Fan skeptical.
However, since Qi Buyi said so, it means she is not making baseless claims.
The existence of the Eternal Eon Essence Gold used to protect the array also indicates that the Wan Xian Alliance had indeed prepared for this.
So, Li Fan stood by the side of the Dust Crossing Boat, quietly watching the unity of the five elements.
The Five Elements Great Cave, like mixed paints, became increasingly chaotic.
The massive roars and collisions even broke through multiple layers of spatial barriers, reaching the Dust Crossing Boat.
Upside-down giant trees wildly grew, covering the azure sea.
Blazing flames consumed, giving birth to green wood within the ashes.
...
The bizarre scenes, completely contrary to the current world, continued to unfold in the Five Elements Great Cave nearing its end.
As time passed, the fusion of the five elemental caves became increasingly tight.
In the sea area covered with roots, golden rocks stood tall, twisted and merged into scorched earth.
Soon, flames were born from the wasteland, and wood and water intertwined.
Slowly, as the process of the unity of the five elements intensified...
These strange scenes no longer existed.
The colorful spiritual energy of the five elements mixed and intertwined.
The cave below turned into an incredibly abstract painting.
Li Fan focused his mind, staring closely at the cave that was about to vanish.
Various colors faded.
The invisible darkness, like a fierce beast, devoured the remaining colors.
Faster and faster.
However, when the region of the Five Elements Great Cave completely turned into nothingness...
There were still many indescribable hues, as if they still existed.
So, these overall gray-like entities began to proliferate violently.
Like a huge vortex constantly stirring, absorbing the surrounding blackness.
The lower region now looked like a rapidly expanding palette of dye.
Staring at it made Li Fan feel dizzy.
But he forced himself not to look away.
He had a vague sense that observing this catastrophic explosion of the imbalance of the five elements might be beneficial to him.
At this moment, the anomaly in the lower void also attracted the attention of other cultivators.
While they gathered to watch, there was no sign of worry on their faces.
Obviously, they had great confidence in the Wan Xian Alliance.
The colorful palette spun faster and faster until, at a certain moment, it reached its limit.
A tremendously dangerous aura suddenly erupted from below.
Li Fan instinctively took a step back.
Like the light of creation, illuminating the dark void.
Extreme white was born, carrying a power to annihilate heaven and earth, ready to sweep everything around.
Just then...
Outside the void, a trace of green brilliance appeared.
Subsequently, along the veins and nodes of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array built by Li Fan and others.
It rapidly expanded.
Its speed was several times faster than the white light caused by the explosion.
In an instant, countless intersecting green threads formed a massive network, completely enveloping the explosion area.
Then, before the cultivators could react, countless green threads shot out from the main network veins.
Endless and unending.
In an instant, the dazzling white light disappeared.
In its place, what appeared before the astonished cultivators was a gigantic cocoon covered in green brilliance.
A moment of wriggling, and the cocoon suddenly shrank a bit.
The green color on the main network veins of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array became even brighter.
Like a pulsating heart, continuously transmitting energy.
In the astonishment of the onlookers, the green cocoon became smaller and smaller.
Eventually, it disappeared.
And the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array, which effortlessly resolved the massive explosion caused by the imbalance of the five elements, bloomed with its own green brilliance in the dark void.
"So, this is the power of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array."
Li Fan was also somewhat dumbfounded.
He was absolutely certain that even in the ancient cultivation world filled with powerful experts, it would be impossible to easily resolve such a terrifying explosion.
But now, with the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array, the Wan Xian Alliance effortlessly achieved this.
Suddenly, a chill surged in Li Fan's heart.
If the defense is already so formidable...
Doesn't the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array have any offensive capabilities?