"Young Lord, did this Diyi Jinglun originate from the Era?"
On the way to Tianshu Province in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, Sacred Embryo Li Fan voiced the question he had long wondered about.
Young Lord Shang paused, showing no surprise that Li Fan knew of Alliance secrets regarding the Era.
He replied in a low voice, "Yes, and no."
"As far as I know, the Alliance did indeed cultivate a batch of death-sworn soldiers using the Era. But in the end, they were not born and nurtured naturally by the Xuanhuang Realm, so they lacked a certain spark of spirit.
"Even though every one of them displayed astonishing, peerless talent within the simulations of the Era, their actual performance dropped drastically once they arrived in the real Xuanhuang Realm. They served well enough as fearless cannon fodder, but none could shoulder great responsibilities." Young Lord Shang shook his head slightly.
"Later on, however, the Alliance found a way to improve the process. Brother Li, you do know that every Dharma Transmitter possesses their own exclusive pocket world, correct?"
Sacred Embryo Li Fan nodded. "I have heard of this."
"Each Dharma Transmitter set aside a portion of their respective pocket worlds, joining them together to form the 'Great Primordial Realm.' It is said to be a truly brutal, chaotic world where a thorough purge of all living beings is carried out once every century. Only those who earn the collective praise of the Dharma Transmitters during that hundred-year span can be spared.
"Brother Li, you must realize that the beings in the Great Primordial Realm are either meticulously selected souls and consciousnesses drawn from the Era, or peerless prodigies from the Dharma Transmitters' own worlds. For someone to stand out and emerge from such an environment... their capability is beyond imagination."
Young Lord Shang's tone turned solemn. "That is precisely where Diyi Jinglun came from.
"From the Era to the Great Primordial Realm, Diyi Jinglun advanced step-by-step until he earned the esteem of the Dharma Transmitters. They remade his body using a supreme treasure left behind by the Heavenly Venerable. Because he was trusted so deeply, he was even granted a special exemption—his previous memories and experiences did not have to be erased. Even though he currently holds no specific official position within the Alliance, no one dares look down on him."
"If that is the case, this Diyi Jinglun truly is legendary," Sacred Embryo Li Fan remarked with a sigh of admiration after hearing the explanation.
Then a doubt crossed his mind. "With a figure like that, if we simply show up at his doorstep... are you not afraid, Young Lord, that he might bind us on the spot and deliver us directly to the Dharma Transmitters?"
Young Lord Shang burst into laughter. "Brother Li, you worry too much. Setting aside the fact that I once ventured with Diyi Jinglun and share quite a good friendship with him, the reason he enjoys such deep trust from the Dharma Transmitters is that, ever since his creation, the brand of loyalty to the Alliance has been etched into the depths of his soul. The more experience he gains and the stronger he becomes, the deeper that brand burns.
"He told me this himself. He does not mind it at all; in fact, he regards it as an immense honor. Is what we are doing not also for the sake of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals? If he learns of the many conspiracies lurking beneath the Alliance's surface, he certainly will not stand idly by. Given his temperament, he might even travel in person to verify our claims." Young Lord Shang appeared full of confidence.
Yet things did not go as smoothly as anticipated.
"What? Diyi Jinglun is not here?"
"We clearly made an appointment beforehand!"
Outside the Jinglun Residence, Young Lord Shang and Li Fan were turned away.
Young Lord Shang's expression turned foul, the surging aura of a Dao Integration cultivator rolling off him in waves.
Though somewhat pale, the two guards at the gate managed to remain calm and explained, "Please forgive us, My Lord! The master received a confidential Alliance order on short notice and departed in great haste. The matter was so urgent that he did not even have time to leave word..."
Young Lord Shang tried contacting Diyi Jinglun again with a communication talisman, but predictably received no response.
Exchanging a glance with Li Fan, he knew forcing the issue would accomplish nothing, so he could only let out a cold snort and give up.
"It seems Diyi Jinglun did not intentionally avoid seeing us, but truly has an urgent matter to attend to," Li Fan said softly.
"Mm. I know his character well; he wouldn't make petty excuses. I just wonder what could have happened in the Alliance. For Diyi Jinglun to be mobilized on short notice, this is no small affair," Young Lord Shang muttered.
With their first target out of reach, the two decided to change course and seek out Ji Hongdao in Tianyu Province.
To their surprise, Ji Hongdao had also been reassigned by a written appointment.
The two stared at each other in dismay and temporarily called a halt to their recruitment plan.
"Something is off. Allow me to make some inquiries," Young Lord Shang said, his brow tightly furrowed.
Meanwhile, Li Fan's divine sense hidden within the Boundless Mirror had already begun to move in secret.
Silently lifting a Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror from the Sun family, he stimulated the Boundless Mirror to peer into its contents.
As expected, the Heavenly Profound Mirror had long been aware of the Alliance's unusual movements.
However, the findings came as a bizarre surprise to Li Fan.
*The Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable has sent word: the Xuanhuang Realm may experience some turbulence in the near future, and the Alliance must prepare countermeasures in advance.*
*This...*
*Since the creation of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable has taken the initiative to send transmissions only a handful of times. The Dharma Transmitters are treating this with utmost gravity...*
Severing the Boundless Mirror's surveillance and soothing it slightly, Li Fan fell into deep thought.
He could not be certain whether the event of the Heavenly Venerable sending word had ever occurred in his previous reincarnations.
However, turbulence in the Xuanhuang Realm had definitely never appeared throughout all the lifetimes he had lived.
*The fact that the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable went out of his way to deliver a message proves that the commotion from this impending disturbance will not be small. If caught off guard without preparation, it could cause widespread panic.*
*Yet the Heavenly Venerable only sent a message instead of returning in person, which indicates this disturbance will not strike a truly catastrophic blow to the Xuanhuang Realm...*
*The disturbance he predicted will arrive roughly a month from now. Once the time comes, I will know whether this is an event unique to this lifetime.*
***
Young Lord Shang also managed to uncover some information.
While naturally not as detailed as what Li Fan had extracted from the Heavenly Profound Mirror, the gist of it was essentially the same.
"The entire Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, from top to bottom, has been mobilized. Relevant orders will likely reach the Eternal Immortal Bastion before long as well..."
"Brother Li, what do you think?"
Sacred Embryo Li Fan pondered for a moment, then said, "What you and I wish to accomplish is not the work of a single day. Since the entire Xuanhuang Realm is likely about to face a crisis, it would be best to prepare for this first.
"The Qingxuan Army cannot remain leaderless, and the Chizha Abyss might experience unusual disturbances when the time comes. Why don't we return to the Eternal Immortal Bastion for now and wait to see how things unfold?"
Young Lord Shang agreed with Li Fan's suggestion.
Thus, the two hurriedly brought their journey to a temporary close and returned to Broken Palm Immortal City.
Gazing toward the tranquil, profound depths of the Chizha Abyss not far away, Sacred Embryo Li Fan once again recalled the figure that had appeared at its bottom.
*Could the uniqueness of this lifetime be related to my own little maneuvers?*
Li Fan frowned slightly, perplexed.
Chapter 1174