"In fact, compared to the great grotto-heaven where the five elements are converging into one, that region of the void in Tianling Province where the new Five Elements Grotto-Heavens emerged seems even more crucial."
"What was once a desolate place nobody cared about has suddenly become a top-secret vital area again, cordoned off completely by the Garrison Court."
"Word is that multiple Dao Integration experts have gone to garrison it."
Huangfu Song continued his wistful sigh.
Hearing this, Li Fan nodded inwardly as well.
By common sense, it was virtually impossible for two sets of Five Elements Grotto-Heavens to be born one after another in the very same area.
Yet now it had truly happened—something mere coincidence could never explain.
*Could it be that the void in Tianling Province can actually nurture Five Elements Grotto-Heavens?*
At this thought, Li Fan's mind could not help but stir.
*In Anchor Year 9, when I first stepped into the cultivation world, the wood-attribute grotto-heaven among the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens had already been discovered.*
*For me to achieve the Nascent Soul realm using the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven without alerting the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals would be difficult in the extreme.*
*Though I don't fear the challenge, I'd inevitably have to waste many lifetimes of reincarnation trying.*
*The void in Tianling Province, however, became a blind spot ignored by the Alliance ever since the original Five Elements Grotto-Heavens were relocated.*
*That lasted for over twenty years.*
*Moreover, a power capable of nurturing the five elements might even belong to a hierarchy above them...*
*In the next life, I can pursue both avenues in tandem and take whichever is superior.*
Li Fan fell into contemplation.
Huangfu Song assumed Li Fan was simply stunned by the news. With a faint smile, he chose not to disturb him and drifted away.
Whenever a matter was genuinely urgent, the efficiency of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals became remarkably swift.
Just one day later, Huangfu Song received notice to set out immediately for Quyang Immortal City.
A designated escort was already waiting there.
Not daring to delay, Huangfu Song gathered his subordinates, piloted a Dust-Crossing Boat out from the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine, and made straight for Quyang Immortal City.
On the return journey, fortune favored the group.
The volatile Ten-Thousand-Li Flame-Scorched Shoal was unusually calm.
It took them a mere two and a half days to reach their destination.
Quyang Immortal City, Dharma Transmission Plaza.
"Fellow Daoist Qi! A true pleasure!" Huangfu Song beamed as he greeted a rather handsome white-robed cultivator ahead who had masculine features despite being a woman.
Li Fan also sized up this female cultivator named Qi Buyi.
According to what Huangfu Song had mentioned earlier, though she was only at the Nascent Soul realm, she enjoyed great favor from Chief Lu Xichan.
Many affairs within the Formation Planning Hall were handled single-handedly by her.
And she never let Chief Lu down.
Whatever was entrusted to her was always organized down to the finest detail, free of any error.
"Fellow Daoist Huangfu, is everyone here? Without further ado, let us make haste and set out," Qi Buyi said after exchanging pleasantries.
Huangfu Song agreed with a nod, and the group proceeded to the foot of the statue of the Heavenly Venerable, right at the entrance of the super-distance teleportation array.
Qi Buyi had clearly given advance notice.
Upon seeing Qi Buyi leading the party, the guarding cultivators conducted only a token inspection before clearing them through.
The next instant, everyone stepped into that vast chamber filled with shimmering silver light, where the miniature cloud formation of the Xuanhuang Realm floated in the center.
Holding a jade medallion, Qi Buyi adjusted the destination of the super-distance teleportation.
"Senior Huangfu, why was this super-distance teleportation array constructed inside the body of the Heavenly Venerable's statue?"
"To hollow out a perfectly fine statue like this—isn't that a grave disrespect to the venerable Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable?"
While waiting for the teleportation array to take shape, Li Fan inquired via voice transmission to Huangfu Song.
Huangfu Song's face darkened, and he shot Li Fan a glance.
"Heh, young friend, do not let your imagination run wild. The Heavenly Venerable has long achieved eternal life and stands beyond all worldly affairs."
"Why would he care about such a thing?"
"Still, word is that when the super-distance teleportation array was first built, it was designed that way from the start. As for the reason, perhaps only the Dharma Transmitters who oversaw the project back then would know."
Though somewhat dismissive of Li Fan's question, Huangfu Song offered this extra explanation, as if reminded of something.
*Dharma Transmitters?* This was the first time Li Fan had heard the term.
His heart stirred, though his expression remained perfectly placid.
The super-distance teleportation array activated. Amidst the distorted, stretched, and fantastical visions, Li Fan contemplated the matter of the "Dharma Transmitters" that Huangfu Song had unintentionally let slip.
Literally, the words were simple enough to understand.
Yet once linked to the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable, the matter ceased to be straightforward.
Dharma Transmitters—whose dharma did they transmit?
Naturally, it was the Heavenly Venerable's new method, defying the principles of Heaven and Earth.
Two figures suddenly flashed across Li Fan's mind.
One was a spirited, high-flying young man, and the other a maiden clad in snow-white robes.
Both had appeared in the memories Li Fan extracted in the Fallen Immortal Realm, when he used the Purple Empyrean Soul Observation Technique to search the souls of the Alliance cultivators who had besieged Zhang Qianmo.
The youth had reached Golden Core in ten years, while the maiden had achieved Nascent Soul in twenty.
They were cultivators fortunate enough to have witnessed the Heavenly Venerable transmitting the dharma with their own eyes, and they were the first beneficiaries of the new method.
They had traveled across the realm of their own accord to preach and popularize the Heavenly Venerable's new method.
Even the embryonic form of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had been established by their very hands.
Previously, Li Fan had been uncertain whether any of these people could have survived the countless tribulations from ancient times to the present day.
Yet Huangfu Song's inadvertent remark today confirmed it for him.
Among that group of Dharma Transmitters, quite a few indeed still lived in this world.
Moreover, they held the reins of authority in pivotal positions within the Alliance.
*Before, I guessed that the Heavenly Profound Mirror might be the true sovereign of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. But looking at it now, the Dharma Transmitters are the real rulers concealed behind the Alliance.*
*Wait, no.*
Reaching this point, Li Fan suddenly froze.
*Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock.*
*Could it be...*
Just as he felt on the verge of brushing against the truth of the matter, the super-distance teleportation concluded.
A powerful wave of dizziness struck with sudden fury, cutting off his train of thought.
Evidently, many people in Huangfu Song's contingent had rarely experienced a super-distance teleportation array.
Caught completely off guard, their bodies wobbled and nearly tumbled to the floor, cutting rather disheveled figures.
Qi Buyi showed no surprise. With practiced professionalism, she drew Body-Cleansing Whisking Elixirs from her robes and distributed them to everyone.
Li Fan firmly etched that flash of insight into his memory and swallowed the elixir.
The pill, shimmering with a faint azure glow, melted upon touching his tongue, taking effect with astounding speed.
A moment later, the physical discomfort vanished without a trace.
Under Qi Buyi's lead, the group passed once more through the teleportation array on the plaza in Tianshu Province, arriving at Zhupi City.
There, Qi Buyi personally summoned a Dust-Crossing Boat to carry everyone forward toward the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven.
The moment he stepped into the cabin, Li Fan noticed the difference between this vessel and the one Huangfu Song had used before.
The hull thoroughly isolated the interior from the exterior; once inside, one lost all perception of the outside world.
Even as the boat sped forward at tremendous velocity, Li Fan felt as though he were resting inside a motionless courtyard residence.
He could not sense the slightest change outside.
Neither through physical sight nor divine sense could anything beyond be perceived.
Chapter 379