After absolute silence, a sharp ringing like scraping metal echoed ceaselessly in Li Fan's ears.
Gradually, it subsided, giving way to a lazy drawl.
"Anyone done teleporting, move forward! Don't block the way!"
Li Fan drew a deep breath, suppressing the discomfort churning within him.
Taking in his surroundings, he walked forward as directed.
This place looked little different from the super-long-distance teleportation chamber on Wanxian Island, except that the sea of stars in the background shone several times brighter.
It was also exceptionally bustling; in the brief moments Li Fan took to adjust to the physical strain, two or three more cultivators teleported in.
Li Fan stepped up to the cultivator who had spoken.
The man wore the standard black-and-yellow Daoist robes of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and casually tossed over a medicinal pill. "A Body-Cleansing Whisking Elixir. Swallow it to relieve the discomfort. Move ahead and submit to inspection! Next!"
Li Fan caught the pill, examined it briefly, and chose not to swallow it, merely stowing it into his storage ring.
Further ahead, a mirror glowing with faint, eerie light hung high in the air.
In appearance, it was identical to the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Li Fan walked beneath the mirror and paused.
A wash of radiance swept over him, and a moment later, the familiar yet bizarre voice of the Heavenly Profound Mirror sounded beside his ear.
"Cultivator Li Fan, welcome to Tianyu Province."
His vision blurred, and the scenery shifted.
When Li Fan gathered his wits, he had already left the interior of the Heavenly Venerable statue and stood upon Dharma Transmission Plaza.
The number of teleportation arrays on the plaza of Tianyu Province was likewise several times greater than on Wanxian Island.
They not only linked together the various cities within Tianyu Province, but even offered direct transport to the cities under the jurisdiction of Tianchen, Tianshu, and Tianquan Provinces.
These four provinces that guarded the headquarters of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals formed an interconnected whole.
Even more distinct from other provinces was the total absence of mortals across these four territories.
Every city was populated entirely by cultivators.
Consequently, the overall number of cultivators in these four provinces far surpassed that of any other region.
Sweeping his divine sense across the jade slip Zhang Zhiliang had given him, Li Fan learned his destination for this journey: the Cosmos Courtyard within Tianyu City.
Unlike Wanxian Island, where all departments of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals were crammed together in one place, every division in Tianyu City possessed its own independent compound.
Certain influential divisions, such as the Martial Practice Hall, even possessed more than one site.
This Cosmos Courtyard was a grand compound belonging to the Formation Planning Hall.
Following the guidance within the jade slip, Li Fan navigated his way through Tianyu City.
Before long, he arrived before the gates of the Cosmos Courtyard.
The heavy doors stood wide open, completely unmanned.
Li Fan took a step forward and walked inside.
The very next second, the air turned searing hot.
As far as the eye could see, a boundless, endless desert stretched in every direction.
Even the sand beneath his feet seemed to be silently shifting like flowing water.
"The Ten-Thousand-Li Quicksand Formation..."
Li Fan felt no panic, knowing this was the first trial to enter the Cosmos Courtyard.
Narrowing his eyes, he surveyed his surroundings.
In his gaze, the landscape of swirling yellow sands instantly resolved into structural patterns of array formations.
The Dao Transformation Stone within his sea of consciousness bloomed with faint blue light as Li Fan rapidly deduced the flaws of this Ten-Thousand-Li Quicksand Formation.
He did not remain standing still while breaking the formation. Instead, every so often, he cautiously leapt into the air to shift his foothold.
Shortly after each departure, a quicksand whirlpool would swallow the spot where he had just stood, consuming everything.
After about an incense stick of time, Li Fan finally discovered the path out of the formation.
Leaping and pausing in turn, he at last broke free of the Ten-Thousand-Li Quicksand Formation.
Yet he still had not entered the interior of the Cosmos Courtyard. Waiting to greet him was an entirely new formation.
The Black Stone Flowing Fire Formation.
It proved several degrees more perilous than the Ten-Thousand-Li Quicksand Formation before it.
Unsure whether getting trapped in this formation would mean instant death or if someone would come to the rescue, Li Fan focused every ounce of his concentration, proceeding with utmost caution.
After less than half a day, he broke through the formation.
Afterward came the Eight Gates Breath-Stopping Formation, the Misty Rain Immortal-Felling Formation, the Illusory Spirit Soul-Seizing Formation, and others in succession...
These were all formations Zhang Zhiliang had introduced in the Divided Spirit Jade Slip.
Though he had studied them systematically, only when Li Fan was truly trapped within them did he realize the vast chasm between theory and practice.
Fortunately, these formations did not seem to be fully activated, serving purely as an assessment.
Though left somewhat disheveled, Li Fan dismantled each one in turn.
When he finally breached the last formation, the Ten Directions Imperceptible Formation, Li Fan at last entered a safe space.
The surroundings bore a striking resemblance to the lecture hall where Zhang Zhiliang had taught him, and a young cultivator robed in white stood waiting.
"Li Fan, from the Congyun Sea."
"Total time to break the formations: one day and six shichen."
"Score: lower-middle."
"Did not rest for a single moment throughout the trial, nor show any sign of fatigue after its conclusion."
"Mental fortitude: graded upper-upper."
"Hmm..."
"Overall rating: lower-upper!"
The white-robed cultivator muttered to himself, and alongside his words, a silver jade token materialized out of thin air before Li Fan.
"This token serves as your identification during your stay in the Cosmos Courtyard. Keep it safe and do not lose it."
"The conveyance of notices and the distribution of pertinent supplies will all be handled through this token."
"You may go and rest first. Once all trainees have assembled, you will be notified!" the white-robed cultivator instructed.
Li Fan stowed the silver token and cupped his hands in gratitude toward the white-robed cultivator.
He then asked, "May I ask how to address Senior?"
The white-robed cultivator smiled. "Ji Hongdao of Tianyu Province. Off you go!"
With a wave of his hand, the silver token flared with a burst of radiance, engulfing Li Fan.
By the time the silver light faded, Li Fan found himself standing inside a small courtyard.
Though modest in size, the courtyard was exquisitely decorated.
At its center lay a lake and rockery, yet through the token, he could alter and transform the scenery at will into mountain peaks among a sea of clouds, a desolate Gobi desert, or a boundless ocean.
After experimenting with the settings, Li Fan discovered these were not mere illusions.
They were real spaces he could physically fly into, as though another dimension had been embedded into the courtyard.
Li Fan could not help but marvel at the extravagant materials used by the Cosmos Courtyard.
Not only was the scenery breathtaking, but the concentration of spiritual energy within the courtyard was astonishingly high.
Tracing the flow of spiritual energy to the room at its source, Li Fan discovered a small Heavenly Profound Mirror.
It differed little from those commonly seen across the provincial cities, offering basic functions such as inquiries and transactions, and even the ability to activate the auxiliary cultivation mode.
What truly astonished and tempted Li Fan was that within this courtyard, the use of the auxiliary cultivation mode was completely free of charge.
Although he did not lack contribution points right now, who could possibly refuse the joy of getting things for free?
Without hesitation, Li Fan entered the state of Spirit Enlightenment.
*A pity this is only a special privilege during the training period and cannot last forever. Otherwise, I could stay holed up here for a lifetime.*
*The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' heartland is truly lavish. The Congyun Sea cannot compare at all.*
*No wonder countless cultivators fight tooth and nail just to squeeze their way in here.*
*Even a little embezzlement or skimming of official perks would save an unimaginable amount of resources.*
Li Fan mused with sighing admiration.
Chapter 290