Without a second thought, Li Fan showed a look of utter delight and said repeatedly, "Junior is willing to go!"
Li Fan's reaction did not exceed Zhang Zhiliang's expectations.
He nodded and explained, "The purpose of this training is to have the younger generation master the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation as quickly as possible.
"The goal is to bring every territory of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals under the coverage of the spirit-locking formation within thirty years."
Li Fan's expression stirred slightly. "The Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation? Could it be the formation that shone so brilliantly in Jiushan Province, marking every Five Elders Association cultivator with pillars of light?"
Zhang Zhiliang was very pleased with Li Fan's quick grasp and nodded. "Correct. The Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation was jointly developed after the Battle of Tianling Province by numerous formation masters through their research on captured Five Elders Association cultivators."
"Five Elders Association cultivators?" Li Fan was somewhat puzzled. "May I ask Grandmaster, why would formation research be connected to cultivators?"
Zhang Zhiliang had plenty of patience for Li Fan and promptly explained, "Do you know the difference between the Five Elders Association and our Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals?"
Li Fan replied, "Our Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals is a free alliance. We accumulate contribution points through our own efforts to earn cultivation methods.
"Whereas the Five Elders Association...
"Though one can obtain cultivation methods for free, one must sign an indenture.
"One is bound to others for life, unable to match the carefree freedom of our Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
"To be honest with Senior, back when I was a rogue cultivator, I once considered which side to join.
"After comparing the terms of both sides, I chose to join our Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals without hesitation," Li Fan said with solemn righteousness.
Zhang Zhiliang gave a faint smile, neither confirming nor denying Li Fan's feigned show of loyalty.
He continued, "Indeed. Every cultivator who joins the Five Elders Association signs such a soul covenant.
"Their divine souls naturally differ from those of ordinary cultivators.
"Long ago, we conceived the idea of using this difference to distinguish friend from foe.
"Unfortunately, there weren't enough research specimens, so it never succeeded.
"During the recent Battle of Tianling Province, although our Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals was on the back foot overall...
"...we did not come away empty-handed.
"This Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation is one of the fruits of that war."
Zhang Zhiliang seemed to recall something; an inscrutable look crossed his face, and his tone turned somewhat bleak.
However, he quickly returned to normal and continued, "Within the range of the grand formation, it can detect the anomalies in the divine soul caused by the soul covenant, thereby distinguishing friend from foe.
"The mark penetrates straight to the divine soul, and none beneath a Dao Integration cultivator can dispel it.
"The successful development of this formation is of monumental significance.
"At the very least, once it is widely deployed, ordinary spies will have nowhere left to hide.
"And those pillars of light piercing heaven and earth will put an end to any chance of surprise attacks by the Five Elders Association," Zhang Zhiliang spoke with easy confidence, unable to hide a touch of pride on his face.
"It is just that this formation touches upon a cultivator's divine soul, making it arduous and obscure.
"Ordinary formation masters are utterly incapable of constructing it.
"To roll out the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation as quickly as possible, we must train a cohort of formation masters skilled in this art.
"The training in Tianyu Province two years from now serves precisely this purpose.
"The reason for delaying it by two years is also because it involves the divine soul.
"Not only does the organizing side need to gather various materials,
"the young participants also need to be fully prepared."
With that, Zhang Zhiliang tossed over a storage ring.
Li Fan caught the ring and inspected it, his brow furrowing slightly.
For inside the storage ring lay a corpse.
Apart from the corpse, it was completely empty.
Even stranger, the body of this corpse was no different from that of an ordinary cultivator.
Even the attire was identical to that of a normal cultivator.
The only hair-raising part was that its head did not belong to a human, but was the head of a horse!
"This is..."
"This is the legendary Will Horse. It is exceedingly precious—even I wasn't allocated many—so do not lose it," Zhang Zhiliang's voice drifted over slowly.
"Will Horse?" Li Fan's thoughts stirred.
"Junior knows of the Mind Ape, which can strengthen and rapidly replenish consumed divine sense. May I ask what use this Will Horse serves?" Li Fan asked without hesitation.
"The Mind Ape strengthens divine sense, whereas the Will Horse strengthens the divine soul," Zhang Zhiliang said slowly.
"As for how it strengthens it..." A strange smile suddenly appeared on Zhang Zhiliang's face. "You will know once you try it yourself."
Li Fan nodded, indicating he understood.
"When the closed training begins, there will certainly be an assessment of the members attending from each province. You must work hard over these two years.
"When the time comes, do not bring shame upon our Congyun Sea," Zhang Zhiliang exhorted him, then handed Li Fan three Divided Spirit Jade Slips.
"There are six of my Divided Spirit Jade Slips in total. If you can master all of them, it means you are ready to complete your apprenticeship.
"I don't expect you to achieve that within two years. But I am giving them to you now as encouragement."
Li Fan bowed in thanks and accepted the jade slips.
"Go on, prepare well! I will notify you again before the training officially begins." Zhang Zhiliang waved his hand.
Returning to the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Li Fan first searched for information on the Will Horse.
The results were scant, offering virtually no useful information.
Evidently, it was not something an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator could know about.
After all, even Zhang Zhiliang had described it as precious, which gave an idea of its immense value.
"Try it myself..."
Li Fan's eyes flickered, and he released the horse-faced corpse with a human body from the ring.
"How should I test it?"
Li Fan first stood aside and quietly observed it for a while, but nothing unusual occurred.
After pondering for a moment, he touched it with his hand.
...
After a long time, nothing seemed to change.
It was as if what lay before him was merely an ordinary corpse that simply looked a bit bizarre.
"Strange..."
A while later, Li Fan still had not figured out how to use the Will Horse.
Puzzled, he subconsciously stroked his chin.
Yet the moment Li Fan's hand touched his chin, his entire body suddenly froze.
His heart stood still.
"Could it be..."
Li Fan cast a mirror technique and examined his own reflection.
"..."
"Just as expected."
Although he had already prepared himself mentally, seeing his own reflection with a human body and the face of a horse still sent a shiver down his spine.
"Could the Will Horse before me have come about this way?"
In an instant, an uncontrollable thought surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
"Then... how did it die?"
Li Fan could not help but wonder next.
Li Fan's gaze drifted to the corpse of the Will Horse lying quietly on the ground.
There was not a single wound anywhere on its body.
As he stared at it, a sudden chill rose within Li Fan's heart.
For he suddenly realized that the corpse of the Will Horse lying on the floor...
...had undergone an inexplicable change at some unknown point.
Its clothes and appearance were so familiar—they were completely identical to Li Fan's.
"No... not just the clothes."
Li Fan's heart sank.
The entire corpse of the Will Horse had quietly become a mirror image of Li Fan.
"Is this corpse the fate that awaits me soon?"
A thought suddenly emerged.
"Will I...
"...die?"
Terror descended in an instant.
Chapter 267