Operating on the principle of never wasting a single moment, Li Fan urged the Dao Transformation Stone in his sea of consciousness to spin at full capacity, initiating its multithreading mode once more.
On the surface, he appeared idle.
In reality, his mind had already split into distinct threads: studying array formations, reading through the Heavenly Physician Immortal Scripture, accumulating cultivation for his Tribulation Body... Multitasking in seamless harmony.
Flipping the silver token in his hand, he sent his divine sense inside, and an abundance of information instantly surfaced in his mind.
It was called the Cosmos Token, a dharma artifact crafted to accompany this Cosmos Courtyard.
Apart from basic functions like communication and storage, its most important use was controlling the private living quarters within the compound.
Residences within the courtyard were divided into three tiers: upper, middle, and lower, each offering different accommodations. What Li Fan had received belonged to the upper tier.
"Must be based on my performance in the entrance trial," Li Fan thought to himself.
Putting the token away, Li Fan activated the Heavenly Profound Mirror and checked the latest trending news.
Aside from major occurrences that affected the Xuanhuang Realm as a whole, most were hot topics from the surrounding areas.
Both the density of information and the sheer volume of discussions far surpassed what he had seen in the Congyun Sea, giving him a tangible impression of prosperity. His divine thought drifted across the postings one by one.
"The Chaoyuan Sect ruins have acted up again! This time, even a Soul Formation cultivator was lost inside! Fellow Daoists, you would do best not to risk your lives!"
"Immortal Venerable Jicheng has resigned as Commander-in-Chief of the Garrison Court. Word has it that during the 'Virtual-Real Heavenly Venerable Plan,' he fought an infiltrating Dao Integration cultivator from the Five Elders Association and was struck by an evil art, drastically depleting his lifespan. Depleted in spirit and vitality, he can no longer oversee the situation."
"Before the Mortal Transcending to Soul Formation Wall in Tianyun Province, another cultivator grasped the Great Dao this year, ultimately attaining the Five-Method Golden Core realm!"
"Wu Chi'er has recently been wandering near Tianquan Province. Fellow Daoists, take care to avoid him!"
"Old Man Yufu appeared yesterday in Xiaoxiang City in Tianshu Province, and is expected to stay for around seven days. Those seeking an opportunity should go immediately!"
"Old Man Yufu...?" Li Fan's interest was piqued, and he tapped into the thread.
It turned out that Old Man Yufu was a seemingly deranged cultivator.
Dressed as a fisherman, his cultivation level was unknown. He merely mumbled endlessly to himself, claiming he had lost his belongings. His whereabouts were erratic, with sightings recorded across multiple provinces.
The so-called opportunity was simply a gamble.
Cultivators could present their belongings for Old Man Yufu to inspect, hoping one might be what he was looking for. Normally, Old Man Yufu would shake his head repeatedly, muttering that none were his.
Yet occasionally, an object caught his eye, and he would offer to trade for it.
Old Man Yufu was exceptionally generous. The cultivation manuals or dharma treasures he offered in exchange almost always far exceeded the value of whatever the cultivator had presented.
Consequently, many cultivators sought to take bizarre or unidentifiable items to try their luck. Naturally, foolish cultivators had once attempted to rob him by force, but none who tried had ever survived.
"Fascinating..."
"A pity that once you enter this Cosmos Courtyard, you cannot leave until the closed-door training concludes. Otherwise, I could have gone to join the spectacle."
Looking over the information, Li Fan could not help feeling a touch of regret.
After cultivating and adjusting in his courtyard for several days, Li Fan finally received word through the Cosmos Token. Everyone had arrived, and the training would officially begin tomorrow. At the same time, a set of white robes and a glittering golden sphere appeared inside the Cosmos Token.
The sphere was forged from an unknown material, rock-hard to the touch, and completely impenetrable to divine sense.
Looking closely, golden brilliance flowed within it, as if containing some sort of liquid. Li Fan changed into the white robes and waited for the morrow.
The next day, a surge of energy rippled across the Cosmos Token before bursting into light.
Enveloped in silver brilliance, Li Fan arrived above a vast plain. Suspended in the sky, dressed in the exact same attire, were more than a thousand other cultivators.
"According to what Zhang Zhiliang said before, a province like the Congyun Sea was allotted three slots for this training."
"Does that mean the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals alone governs more than three hundred provinces?"
"No, perhaps certain provinces received several times more slots than the Congyun Sea."
"Even so, it shows just how boundless this Xuanhuang Realm truly is."
While Li Fan was lost in thought, Ji Hongdao, the white-robed cultivator he had met before, quietly appeared above the assembly.
He swept his gaze over the crowd and announced in a clear, resonant voice, "By now, you likely know the purpose of this training."
"It is to accelerate the deployment of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation throughout our Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, leaving every enemy from the Five Elders Association nowhere to hide before us."
"Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking—you have probably heard its name countless times. Yet very few among you have ever seen it in action."
"Today, you will first observe it."
As Ji Hongdao spoke, the silhouette of a mirror suddenly flashed above everyone's heads.
Immediately after, three heaven-piercing pillars of light descended from the sky, locking onto three distinct locations on the plain below.
Witnessing this, the crowd started in surprise, then concentrated their focus, extending their senses toward the locked locations.
Li Fan's brow furrowed slightly. No matter how hard he probed, the area appeared entirely empty. Judging by the expressions around him, nearly everyone felt the same.
At that moment, Ji Hongdao spoke again: "Surprised, aren't you? By all perception, nothing is there. Yet the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation has clearly marked those spots..."
His voice rose an octave. "This is the Five Elders Association's stealth secret art, the Unity of Dao and Self. It is precisely through this art that they have repeatedly invaded our borders, moving through our lands as if no one were there."
"Yet now, with the advent of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation, all of that belongs to the past!"
Ji Hongdao flicked a finger, and the three pillars of light flared with blinding brilliance.
The air twisted and distorted. Within the locked zones, three disheveled cultivators bound in shackles were forced into view.
The three cultivators glared with pure hatred at Li Fan and the others in the sky, yet they could neither move nor speak, reduced to mere specimens for this demonstration.
"The fundamental principle of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation lies in the soul covenant signed by every cultivator of the Five Elders Association..."
Ji Hongdao began his lecture to the array prodigies gathered from every province.
To showcase the distinct nature of a Five Elders Association cultivator's soul, he even employed a secret technique to forcefully extract the soul of one of them alive.
The pillar of light shifted in tandem, continuously tracking the soul, which shimmered with faint threads of gold. Extracting a living soul inflicted agony beyond the description of words. Several of the younger cultivators grimaced, unable to bear the sight.
Ji Hongdao let out a cold scoff without saying a word, simply noting their reactions in his mind.
Time slipped quietly away during the lesson.
After clearly explaining the basic architecture of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation, Ji Hongdao added, "The crux of building the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation is constructing an array hub capable of identifying these soul distinctions."
Chapter 291