Strictly speaking, Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi were never members of the Myriad Realms Association.
They had merely belonged to its predecessor, the Congyun Mutual Aid Society.
Ever since the Dharma Transmitters destroyed the Congyun Mutual Aid Society, the two had lost contact with Li Fan.
Only their shared, steadfast faith in the Red Dust Compassionate Immortal had allowed them to faintly sense the Association's existence.
Now that the Association was gone, so long as they kept their silence, the great favors they had once received from it would never be exposed.
Yet both men were creatures of deep feeling and principle.
Upon hearing the decree issued by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals regarding the eradication of the Association, not only did they show no fear or try to conceal their pasts, but they did everything within their power to assassinate Alliance cultivators.
Even knowing that cultivators would rise from the dead under the divine power of Heavenly Venerable Rebirth, they remained determined to act simply to repay Li Fan's past kindness.
In this lifetime, guided by Li Fan, Dao Xuanzi had achieved Foundation Establishment using the Vast Sea Pearl, while Kou Hong had established his foundation with the Hundred Thousand Mountains Cauldron. Over the years, their progress had been astonishingly rapid, and both had already reached the mid Golden Core stage.
Yet before a colossus like the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, they were nothing more than ants. After killing just over a dozen insignificant Alliance cultivators, they were swiftly surrounded by Protector Hall cultivators who rushed to the scene.
Unwilling to become a captive, Dao Xuanzi detonated himself with booming laughter.
Kou Hong had intended to follow Dao Xuanzi in death, but the Alliance cultivators subdued him before he could.
After having both arms severed and one eye destroyed, he was sent into the Nether Prison to be suppressed for eternity.
"Enjoy your sharp tongue while you still can. I hope you stay just as tough after tasting the formations here," sneered the Alliance cultivator escorting him, indifferent to Kou Hong's relentless abuse.
Kou Hong, however, only continued to curse.
What followed surpassed even Li Fan's expectations.
Li Fan knew the power of the formations within the towering pillars of the Nether Prison better than anyone. An ordinary person facing such endless torture would break down before long, instinctively weeping and begging for mercy.
Yet even when pushed to the verge of death and fading into delirium from the agony, Kou Hong never stopped the faint stream of vitriol spilling from his lips.
"While the brainwashing from the Faceless True Immortal certainly plays a part, it also stems from Kou Hong's own unyielding willpower. Once he decides on something, he must see it through—even if it costs his life, he will have no regrets."
When Li Fan first met them, they could have easily earned a technique to advance to the Golden Core stage simply by joining the Alliance and toiling like beasts of burden for a dozen-odd years. Yet they had refused, preferring to risk their lives scouring sect ruins instead.
Later, upon discovering a Nascent Soul true technique, the two men, close as brothers, had fought to the death over a slim chance at attaining the Dao.
And in this lifetime, after Li Fan saved their lives from the mutated immortal-mortal miasma, they joined the Mutual Aid Society and became devout seekers of the Red Dust Compassionate Immortal...
All of these moments spoke volumes of their character.
"He is malleable material and can be put to good use. At the very least, he will prove far more reliable in hand than those so-called prodigies." Looking at Kou Hong not far away, whose face still held a resolute expression even while unconscious, a flicker of approval crossed Li Fan's eyes.
Earlier in this lifetime, when the Spirit Wood Realm stood on the verge of destruction and Li Fan led the members of the Association in their escape, he had taken mental note of everyone's conduct.
Even though the chosen talents of Shanhe Pavilion turned by Shang Tianci had sworn solemn oaths before the statue of the Faceless True Immortal, at the critical juncture between life and death, not one showed any resolve to stand and fall with the Association. Instead, they displayed only regret and the urge to flee or surrender.
In terms of sheer loyalty alone, they fell far short of Kou Hong.
With that thought, an inconspicuous beam of light pierced through the pillar of the cage and flew toward the unconscious Kou Hong nearby.
The contorted agony on Kou Hong's face instantly eased.
When Kou Hong finally came to and realized what had appeared in his mind, a strange look flashed across his eyes.
Yet he kept up his defiant facade, loudly berating the Alliance's shameless atrocities while simultaneously examining the knowledge he had just received.
"This is..."
"A detailed breakdown of formations?"
"And it's for the very formation that makes up this Nether Prison cage?"
"How did this appear in my head?"
After a long while, Kou Hong's heart was shaken to its foundation, and he fought back the urge to look around.
"If this formation breakdown is genuine, escaping from this place will be as easy as turning over my palm."
Having weathered countless trials, Kou Hong was far more composed than he had been in the past.
Rather than blindly believing it, he began to study and absorb the contents of the breakdown.
Though he had only a superficial grasp of formations before, this guide unraveled profound principles in simple, clear terms. Combined with Kou Hong's decent natural aptitude, after seven days, he had managed to grasp the fundamentals.
At the same time, doubt crept into his mind: "Could this be a trap?"
"This place is clearly where the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals locks away dangerous felons. How could the guarding formation be so simple? How could a beginner like me unravel it after only a few days of study?"
Quietly, Kou Hong attempted to tamper with the formation.
His body was currently frail to the extreme, and the spiritual energy within him was thoroughly suppressed and unusable. Yet by exerting every ounce of effort to stir a faint ripple of spiritual energy, Kou Hong still managed to exert a slight influence on the cage formation.
The result was that when the Nether Prison jailers activated the formation to torture him once more, the pain Kou Hong felt was noticeably lighter!
"It's actually real?" Wracked by agony, wild joy flared within Kou Hong's heart instead.
Yet he quickly calmed himself and began contemplating where this formation breakdown had come from.
"I am merely a petty Golden Core cultivator; there is no need for the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals to put on an elaborate play for me."
"And the level of mastery reflected in this formation breakdown far surpasses the Alliance..."
A sacred name immediately surfaced in Kou Hong's mind.
"The Red Dust Compassionate Immortal."
At that very moment, a warm current surged from within Kou Hong's body, circulating through all his limbs and bones.
In a flash, it shattered the Alliance's restrictions. Even as it nourished and repaired Kou Hong's mangled body, it rapidly elevated his cultivation.
Sensing the earth-shaking transformation within him, Kou Hong went rigid, daring not display the slightest anomaly lest anyone notice.
In truth, his heart was already weeping tears of gratitude.
The great and benevolent Red Dust True Immortal had not abandoned him after all!
"The Association is gone, and there are probably very few devotees of the True Immortal left in this world."
"I am trapped deep in prison, yet the True Immortal suddenly bestows a means of escape..."
As his thoughts raced, Kou Hong's eyes grew bright.
He swiftly lowered his head to conceal his excitement. "I understand. The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals destroyed the Association—this hatred is irreconcilable!"
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Everyone locked away here is a mortal foe of the Alliance. If I release them all..."
Chapter 1120