The Heavenly Secret Hall was located in the central core region of Wanxian Island. The transmission instructed him to head to the entrance of the area, where someone would come to receive him.
Li Fan was also rather curious about this mysterious death incident, so without delay, he headed straight for the central core region.
Soon, the several magnificent buildings at the center of Wanxian Island came into view right before his eyes.
An eye-catching, seven-colored protective barrier and an encircling moat separated the core region from the central cave-dwelling residential area.
Standing on a small bridge, Li Fan halted his steps and waited for his guide.
He keenly sensed that from the moment he stepped onto the bridge, the floating seven-colored light overhead had locked onto him.
Bold as he was, Li Fan raised his head and closely observed the seven-colored radiance.
It seemed to be part of Wanxian Island's Island-Protecting Grand Formation, yet distinct and self-contained, its power even several notches more formidable.
"I wonder what formation this is," Li Fan mused inwardly.
Before long, a Foundation Establishment cultivator wearing a black-and-yellow patterned robe hurried over.
He sized Li Fan up and verified his identity.
Without another unnecessary word, he merely instructed Li Fan to stay close behind and not wander off.
Then he walked inside.
The killing intent locked upon Li Fan by the seven-colored light dissipated, and he followed behind at an unhurried pace.
As he walked, he took in his surroundings.
The cultivators inside were all dressed in the same black-and-yellow robes as his guide.
Their expressions were solemn and their steps brisk, appearing extremely busy.
Their cultivation ranged from Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment and beyond.
"This is what you'd call 'within the system,' I suppose," Li Fan thought to himself.
Deliberation Hall, Medicine Hall, Talisman Hall, Martial Practice Hall...
Passing building after building, they finally arrived at the Heavenly Secret Hall tucked in a corner.
Compared to the other places, this hall was considerably quieter and emptier.
Occasionally, one could encounter a cultivator or two whose cultivation levels could not be discerned, eyes closed and fingers pinching as though divining something.
The guide led Li Fan into a room, then quietly withdrew.
Incense smoke curled through the room. A cultivator stood with his back to him, gazing up at a massive map of the Congyun Sea.
Li Fan focused his gaze. The map was densely covered in countless markings.
There were cyan winds, red crosses, black dots...
Moreover, all these markings seemed alive, constantly drifting and shifting across the map without a moment's pause.
"This is..." Li Fan's heart stirred, and he began to study the map closely.
Yet to his surprise, after only a few glances, he felt a wave of dizziness and quickly averted his eyes, not daring to look any longer.
Li Fan stood in the room for quite a while before the cultivator finally turned around.
He was a young man with the air of a scholar, looking only in his twenties.
His face was languid, appearing rather unwell.
Coughing several times, he waved his hand, and dozens of miniature silhouettes instantly materialized before Li Fan.
"Do you recognize these people?"
Li Fan looked over, focusing his divine sense on one of the figures.
"Mao Fei, late Qi Condensation stage cultivator. Cause of death: Attacked by an undersea strange beast while traveling outside."
Li Fan shifted to examine another.
"Qiao Guangyu, middle Golden Core stage cultivator. Cause of death: Deranged state of mind while comprehending laws of heaven and earth; died of self-detonation."
Li Fan's eyelid twitched, and he inspected yet another.
"Ling Meng, middle Nascent Soul stage cultivator. Cause of death: Carelessly perished in a ruin cave dwelling while venturing out in search of opportunities."
...
After inspecting these silhouettes one by one, a chill struck Li Fan's heart.
Naturally, he recognized every one of them.
To his shock, they were precisely the group that had entered the thatched cottage back then!
He had thought it was a tremendous opportunity to advance by a minor realm.
Who would have thought it was actually a lethal trap?
It did not claim their lives on the spot, but in the near future.
The Master was truly toxic.
Moreover, these manners of death...
Li Fan was all too familiar with them.
Was this not Heaven unleashing killing intent?
Yet why would accepting the Master's fortune incur the killing intent of heaven and earth?
The Master, the Heavenly Physician, Cloud Water Heavenly Palace...
Countless thoughts flashed through Li Fan's mind in an instant.
Even as he pondered, he did not forget to nod and reply, "I indeed crossed paths with these people once."
Promptly, Li Fan recounted the scene from back then—the green ox pulling the cart, the lecture from the bamboo slips.
The frail cultivator seemed to have known this already and showed little surprise.
Instead, he sized Li Fan up with interest and asked, "With such an opportunity right before you, so many present went inside. Why alone did you not enter?"
Li Fan offered the same explanation he had used previously.
After hearing it, the frail scholar gave a noncommittal response, but did not press the matter.
He merely smiled. "You certainly have good luck."
He turned back to look at the silhouettes of the cultivators who had inexplicably perished.
With a sigh, he said, "When Heaven wills your death, you have no choice but to die."
Only after a long pause did he speak to Li Fan again: "You may go back now. I know this matter has nothing to do with you, but as the sole survivor of the event, the necessary formalities had to be carried out. That is why I summoned you here for questioning."
Li Fan nodded, glanced once more at the map on the wall, and quietly departed.
Faintly, he seemed to hear the cultivator's quiet lament coming from within the room: "Another case added."
Li Fan's steps paused briefly before returning to normal.
Emerging from the Heavenly Secret Hall, doubts surged within Li Fan's heart.
"'Another case added'? What does that mean?"
"Does it refer to anomalies harming people, or Heaven unleashing killing intent?"
"Under the Longevity Heavenly Venerable's imperceptible influence, how could he still remember?"
Li Fan recalled the countless markings on that map again.
"Perhaps, while one cannot remember specific events, by observing the ripples and effects those events produce, one can indirectly confirm that they truly occurred."
"For instance, large numbers of Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals cultivators suddenly dying en masse at a certain moment..."
As Li Fan walked, he pondered.
His train of thought was interrupted by a clamorous crowd ahead.
These people were all clad in black-and-yellow robes, looking rather young and untainted by the ways of the world.
Their cultivation was only at the early Qi Condensation stage, seemingly having stepped onto the path of cultivation not long ago.
Looking up at the flowing seven-colored brilliance in the sky, they pointed and gestured, chatting excitedly.
The man leading them was older, sporting a long beard.
He was heard saying, "This is the Seven-Colored Immortal-Felling Formation standard in the core region of every Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals outpost. Adapted from an ancient formation, its might is astonishing. Should an ordinary Soul Formation cultivator inadvertently fall into it, they would perish instantly, their Dao extinguished."
"So powerful!"
"Master Gong, Master Gong! How long do we have to study before we can set up such an amazing formation?"
Master Gong chuckled. "You brats, barely learning to walk, yet already dreaming of flying."
"Mm, let me think."
"Generally speaking, once you break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, you can attempt to lay out an Island-Protecting Grand Formation."
"At the Golden Core stage, you can barely participate in maintaining the Ten Thousand Immortals Grand Array."
"As for this Seven-Colored Immortal-Felling Formation..."
Master Gong smiled, offering no answer.
Chapter 125