Are You Not Convinced?

Roughly two and a half years ago, the most efficient formation masters had already completed the construction of the Spirit-Locking Formations in their assigned regions. Some chose to rest. Others headed out to assist where formations remained unfinished in order to earn Grand Competition points. However, young formation masters like them had not been qualified to enter a classified stronghold like the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven. Even Li Fan had only been fortunate enough to come here thanks to his connection with Chief Lu and the sudden cataclysm in the void of Tianling Province. Who would have thought that two years later, a place Li Fan had calculated painstakingly to reach could now be entered simply by submitting an application? "If it isn't Fellow Daoist Li Fan! A pleasure to finally meet you!" A young formation master named Xiang Liu greeted Li Fan warmly. "Ever since your ranking shot up two years ago and held steady in the top three, it has caused quite a stir, setting everyone abuzz. "Everyone knows about your past deeds, but when it comes to risking life and limb, quite a few fellow daoists certainly haven't lagged behind you. "Back then, everyone guessed that you must be responsible for constructing formations in some critically important grotto-heaven. "And sure enough!" Xiang Liu looked at Li Fan with great emotion, without a trace of jealousy in his eyes. Meanwhile, another formation master named Gu Youguang could hardly conceal the envy in his gaze. "Fellow Daoist must possess profound backing to have the opportunity to come to such a crucial place. "The points earned inside the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens are more than three times what one gets in the outside world!" Li Fan gave a light cough, putting on an appearance of utter frailty. "Heh, Fellow Daoist misunderstands. Coming here was purely a stroke of fortune; I was merely riding on Senior Huangfu Song's coattails. "Besides, my lifespan is nearing its end, and I will be departing this world before long. What use are points and rankings to me? "Wherever I may be, it makes little difference to me. "So long as I am building Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formations, that is enough." At these words, Xiang Liu and Gu Youguang put away their casual expressions, turning thoroughly solemn. "Fellow Daoist's actions are truly admirable. "That is precisely why, despite all the speculation outside about your ranking second, hardly anyone bears any resentment." Li Fan had not expected the point multiplier in the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens to be so high. Coupled with over two years of ceaseless, diligent toil on his part, he had actually reached second place on the Grand Competition Gold Ranking. "Who is in first place?" Li Fan could not help asking out of curiosity. "Who else could it be? Isn't it that Guo the Bastard?" Gu Youguang sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "Brother Gu, mind your words..." Xiang Liu glanced at Gu Youguang, then explained helplessly, "The one sitting securely in first place now is Fellow Daoist Guo Yezhong, who was originally dead last on the ranking." "Guo Yezhong..." Li Fan's eyes flickered, feigning ignorance. "How did he manage to surge from dead last to first place? And judging by Brother Gu's tone..." Before Xiang Liu could explain, Gu Youguang cut in, "What ability does he have? He just got lucky! Supposedly, after the battle in Tianling Province, he was the first to propose the concept of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation. So for every Spirit-Locking Formation erected, he gets a share of the credit, granting him a substantial reward in points. "And as more and more formations are completed, naturally no one can surpass him." Gu Youguang said with deep indignation, "Honestly, that wouldn't even be so bad. After all, he did contribute to the formation's inception. What really enraged everyone is that he relied on his established lead to coast to victory, refusing to lift another finger. He treats everyone's hard work like a joke, trampling on the meaning of our desperate efforts..." Seeing Gu Youguang getting carried away, Xiang Liu quickly interrupted him. "Actually, Fellow Daoist Guo is quite remarkable—a heaven-sent genius, one might say. Rumor has it he didn't just propose the concept of the Spirit-Locking Formation; he personally designed and created its prototype. "Besides, the fact that he had zero points earlier was only because he was delayed by some urgent matter. It wasn't intentional..." Gu Youguang snorted. "Rumor? Who believes that! I also heard that all of this is because he has a good father! "When fellow daoists went to his door to reason with him, not only did he show no remorse, he actually had the gall to question them right back: 'What, are you not convinced?' "Shameless to the extreme. Just thinking that I once studied alongside someone like that makes me sick!" Seeing the indignation written all over Gu Youguang's face, Xiang Liu gave a wry smile, shook his head repeatedly, and stopped trying to persuade him. *Guo Yezhong.* Li Fan once again recalled his encounter with the man at the Universal Courtyard. *I really misjudged him...* In the conversation that followed, no one brought him up again. They merely reminisced about the days when they had studied together, and Li Fan asked about what they had seen and heard in the outside world. After some casual chatter, seeing that enough time had passed, the two joined in the formation construction in the Water Grotto-Heaven. Xiang Liu and Gu Youguang's formation mastery was by no means inferior to Li Fan's. With their assistance, progress accelerated considerably. Furthermore, arriving alongside them as reinforcements were numerous cultivators from the Garrison Court. All of them carried a treasure shaped like a glazed bottle, capable of releasing Bipartite Glazed Light. This mysterious light possessed a purifying function that returned things to their source, proving miraculously effective against the fusion monsters within the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens. Free from outside threats, the overall construction progress of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation advanced by leaps and bounds with each passing day. Just four months later, it reached 99% completion. At the same time, the process of the convergence of the five elements was drawing near its final arrival. Countless branches of the colossal inverted tree in the sky had already plunged deep into the azure waters. Strange to say, when water and wood had first made slight contact, mutated monsters had continuously emerged. Now that the true fusion of the wood and water attributes had arrived, those anomalous creations no longer appeared at all. Yet as Li Fan looked upon the green branches stained by the blue water, those incomplete, mangled human silhouettes flickered before his eyes once more. "Fellow Daoist Li Fan, it's time to evacuate." Seeing Li Fan lost in thought, Xiang Liu called out to remind him. Li Fan nodded slightly, deploying the Sky-Evading Shuttle and heading toward the massive Dust-Crossing Boat that had reappeared in the sky. The work that followed would no longer require formation masters like them. As countless cultivators returned to the Dust-Crossing Boat, jet-black silhouettes flew against the flow of the crowd toward the previously constructed formation nodes. They would use Eternal Calamity Fine Gold to protect the critical structures of the Spirit-Locking Formation. Once everything was in place and the Heavenly Profound mirror plate installed, the Spirit-Locking Formation enveloping the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven would be completely finished. *I hope nothing else goes wrong,* Li Fan thought to himself as he returned aboard the Dust-Crossing Boat. "Master, what do you think this grotto-heaven will look like once the five elements converge?" a child's curious, tender voice echoed beside his ear.