Three Undersea Faults

"Hahaha, may your words bring good fortune, my friend!" He Zhenghao laughed boisterously, unable to wait a moment longer as he flew toward his destination. "We've arrived. It's right here!" Nearly half a day later, He Zhenghao suddenly paused midair and plunged headfirst into the sea. Li Fan followed him all the way down, arriving in the deep seabed. His divine sense swept outward, taking in the three massive fault lines formed by countless rugged mountain ranges below. *It truly possesses an extraordinary aura. Compared to mountains and rivers on land, it has a distinct wonder of its own,* Li Fan thought to himself. He Zhenghao hovered above the undersea mountain ranges, eyes closed in concentration, seemingly searching for something. Above his head, the Mountains and Rivers Hundred Meridians Array Chart suddenly emerged. In an instant, an uncanny ripple seemed to emanate from the continuous mountain ranges below, creating a faint resonance with the array chart. He Zhenghao constantly shifted and adjusted his position, pinpointing the optimal spot. Li Fan quietly watched from the side. After a long while, He Zhenghao snapped his eyes open, a brilliant glint shining within them. The Mountains and Rivers Hundred Meridians Array Chart above his head expanded rapidly in response to his will. In a flash, it spanned a full hundred li. Li Fan's sharp eyes noticed that the shapes of the mountains and rivers displayed on the array chart were shifting continuously. To his surprise, they grew increasingly similar to the undersea mountain range shrouded below. The resonant vibrations grew stronger and stronger. When the scenery depicted in the chart matched the actual landscape below to perfection, He Zhenghao let out a loud shout. The array chart unleashed a burst of dazzling white light, after which it seemed to merge completely into the mountain range beneath, vanishing without a trace. He Zhenghao tapped out hand seals in rapid succession. Beside him, the configuration of the mountains and rivers subtly underwent a marvelous transformation. A great array seemed to form, shielding He Zhenghao at its center. *A hundred meridians, mountains and rivers, all can become an array... Impressive technique.* Having once perused He Zhenghao's *Detailed Explanation of the Mountain and River Array Chart*, Li Fan was no stranger to this ability to turn the natural contours of mountains and rivers into formations with effortless ease. "I must trouble you to protect me, Daoist brother!" He Zhenghao said to Li Fan with great solemnity. With that, he reined in his focus and formally commenced his Core Formation. Although this place was remote and rarely visited by cultivators, Li Fan did not let down his guard. He flew above He Zhenghao, observing his Core Formation from overhead while keeping watch over their surroundings to stand guard. Unlike when Zhang Haobo formed his core, where the sword, water, and wind techniques filled heaven and earth with grand, sweeping momentum, absolute silence was the dominant theme here at the start. No anomalies occurred. He Zhenghao simply sat cross-legged above the Three Undersea Faults, motionless. If Li Fan had not faintly sensed something brewing beneath the sprawling, fractured seabed, he might have assumed He Zhenghao was merely engaged in ordinary secluded cultivation. Li Fan waited patiently. The process of gathering power was even longer than imagined. A full ten days or so passed before a change finally surfaced. In the silent underwater world, a sound like a beating heart suddenly echoed. *Thump!* Li Fan narrowed his eyes. The moment he heard that sound, a fleeting illusion overtook him. The Three Undersea Faults spanning a hundred li seemed to have abruptly come to life. It was as if a deep-sea behemoth asleep for countless ages had suddenly awakened, giving him an inexplicable sense of danger. *Thump!* The heartbeat rang out once more. The earth trembled faintly. The feeling in Li Fan's heart grew even stronger. Viewing the mountain ranges below through his Heaven and Earth Vision, Li Fan could vaguely perceive even more. As the heartbeat-like sound echoed continuously, streaks of earthy yellow energy surged deep within the earth like blood coursing through veins, bringing boundless power to the ground. *The Law of Earth Meridians...* Li Fan had a flash of insight. The edges of the Mountains and Rivers Hundred Meridians Array Chart—which had expanded to a hundred li and merged with the seabed below—suddenly flared with brilliant light. It resembled a silver dividing line, demarcating the chart from the original undersea mountain ranges. With the beating of the heart, an endless, massive surge of earthy yellow earth-meridian power rushed forward from the vast continental shelf in the distance. Like a hundred rivers returning eastward to the sea, it was completely absorbed by the array chart. *Just the Law of Earth Meridians produces such an imposing display?* *Extraordinary, truly extraordinary!* *He is indeed a man worthy of my regard!* Li Fan marveled inwardly, growing eager to witness the remaining two laws. The earth-meridian power surged ceaselessly, gradually stabilizing. He Zhenghao then began to probe the Law of Mountains and Rivers. Li Fan noticed that the surrounding seawater, which should have been completely still, began to flow slowly at this moment. From the highest stretch of the seabed, it cascaded downward. Each time it plunged across a fault thousands of meters deep, creating a distinctive undersea waterfall, its momentum and speed underwent a qualitative transformation. After passing through the three great faults, the gentle undercurrent had turned into a roaring undersea torrent, sweeping through the submerged mountains and howling past. Compared to the heartbeat of the earth meridians, this was like heavy, ragged breathing. The torrents raced through layers of mountain ranges. Wisp after wisp of cyan-blue energy was drawn in and absorbed by the array chart. *The Law of Mountains and Rivers...* A glint flickered in Li Fan's eyes. The earth meridians and the mountains and rivers complemented each other. The heartbeat and breathing continued to echo in his ears. The sense of vitality emanating from the Three Undersea Faults below grew increasingly pronounced. Cyan-blue and earthy yellow radiance emerged one after another in this stretch of the seabed, which seemed to attract several passing cultivators. Most could tell that a cultivator was attempting a breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm. When Li Fan announced his identity as an array repairer of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, these cultivators saw that a protector was present and that they were members within the Alliance's system, so they abandoned any reckless thoughts and took a wide detour. A few harborers of ill intent still lurked in the dark, unwilling to give up. They were mostly nameless rogue cultivators whose strength fell below the Golden Core Realm. Li Fan showed no mercy, invoking his Insect Binding art to seize them outright and fling them far away. Three days passed in this manner. The magnificent commotion gradually began to subside. The heartbeat grew faint. The breathing grew soft. The power of the earth meridians and the mountains and rivers slowly turned inward. The sense of vitality receded as well, returning to the appearance of a normal undersea abyss. Yet Li Fan could clearly sense that this was concealment, not disappearance. An obscure, indescribable energy shrouded all the anomalies, making them difficult to detect. Had Li Fan not witnessed every stage of the development from start to finish and observed it meticulously through his Heaven and Earth Vision, even he might not have noticed the subtle shift here. Gazing at the ocean abyss below was like staring directly at an ancient beast poised to devour anyone at any moment. A vague, inexplicable throb rose within his heart from time to time. *The Law of the Hidden Abyss...* *Marvelous!* *All three laws are complete. It seems Daoist He is not far from finishing his Core Formation!* Li Fan thought to himself. The seabed returned to its former quiet state. Another seven days passed, yet He Zhenghao still had not succeeded in forming his core. The fluctuations of the three laws—Earth Meridians, Mountains and Rivers, and Hidden Abyss—had all ceased. By all logic, it was the perfect time to condense the core, yet He Zhenghao made no move. It did not seem like failure. Rather, it seemed as if he were waiting for something.