The Truth of the Xuanhuang Realm

Liu Ruchen also sighed with emotion. "The founding master's unintentional act of kindness back then left an escape route for us descendants..." "Wait?" Liu Ruchen's voice suddenly turned astonished. "What is the matter?" Old Huang could not help asking. "Strange. Why has the Medicine King Cauldron's trajectory shifted?" Liu Ruchen sounded perplexed. "Could there be a problem with the beacon's resonance?" A moment later. "The Medicine King Cauldron is completely normal." "Then what in the world is..." Before Liu Ruchen could uncover the answer, Old Huang's panicked voice rang out. "Sect Master, something seems wrong!" "Why does it feel like we aren't moving forward, but rather falling upward?" The surrounding scenery changed abruptly. The perspective shrank continuously. Xiao Heng and the others watched as, not long after breaking free from the Xuanhuang Realm, the Medicine King Cauldron—originally fleeing straight into the distance—began to slowly alter its path for reasons unknown. It was as if something above were drawing it in. In the dark void, the Medicine King Cauldron traced a curve, helplessly and slowly falling upward. Faster and faster. There was not a single speck of starlight there, only boundless pitch darkness. Yet at this moment, it resembled a ravenous beast opening its gaping maw, waiting for prey to descend. Liu Ruchen's heart turned completely cold. Staring down at the glowing cloud that represented the Xuanhuang Realm—receding constantly and shrinking smaller and smaller—he seemed to see mocking gazes looking back from within it. In an instant, Liu Ruchen understood everything. Why the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao had known they intended to flee, yet had done nothing to stop them. Because they had known all along. There was simply no way out. "The Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao..." Liu Ruchen gritted his teeth in fury. The Medicine King Cauldron's speed had already exceeded the limits of what it could withstand, and it began to shake violently. "Sect Master!" Creaking sounds echoed from all directions, and Old Huang let out a terrified cry. Mere breaths later. "Sect Master, you..." First came Old Huang's scream of utter disbelief. "Disciples of the Medicine King Sect, hear my command..." Then Liu Ruchen began issuing orders to the disciples within the cauldron, telling them to return swiftly to their respective quarters. "Do not blame me..." Liu Ruchen's whisper echoed through the space. "Relying on my power alone, it is fundamentally impossible to escape from that place..." A trace of despair seeped into his voice. "However, for the sake of the Medicine King Sect..." "I must do this." A breath later, Liu Ruchen spoke with resolute firmness. Immediately after, an immense expanse of teal-green light enveloped the entire Medicine King Cauldron. "Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao!" Amidst a roaring shout laden with venomous hatred, the teal glow intensified. The Medicine King Cauldron's speed abruptly slowed by a great margin, yet it still could not alter its fate of falling upward. Gradually, however, wisps and threads of the same teal-green light began streaming out from within the cauldron. The glow grew ever more dazzling. The Medicine King Cauldron moved slower and slower, until it finally came to a complete halt within a realm of endless pitch darkness. An instant later, a vast quantity of green light was drawn out once more. Only then did the cauldron reverse the direction of its momentum. Avoiding the fate of being devoured, it plummeted back downward. During its escape, the teal brilliance flickered relentlessly, seemingly consumed at a rapid rate. Ultimately, when the cauldron crashed back into the Xuanhuang Realm, the green glow had dwindled to a faint, barely discernible glimmer. ... The projection came to an abrupt halt. "That is what happened back then," Linghu Chang said sorrowfully. Xiao Heng and the others remained gripped by the shock of the scene, utterly speechless. After a long silence, Su Xiaomei, who had always been fearless, asked in trepidation, "What was that?" Though she did not state it explicitly, everyone present understood what she meant. "That is the Immortal Ruins. Long, long ago, before the path to ascension was severed, that was where the passage to the Immortal Realm lay," Linghu Chang answered. "Before he passed away, the Sect Master came to understand many things," Linghu Chang said in a low, measured voice. "The obscurity of the immortal path, the severed ties with other cultivation worlds... all of it stems from the existence of that terrifying thing looming right above the Xuanhuang Realm. "It devours everything. It can even twist space and time. "Merely making a single turn before it, a thousand years had passed in the outside world. "Yet the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao clearly knew this truth back then. They stood by with folded arms, watching us rush to our deaths without offering a single word of warning..." Linghu Chang clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms. "The Immortal Ruins..." Xiao Heng and the others murmured, an inexplicable terror rising within them. "Could our... could this world be sucked up entirely?" Su Xiaomei parted her lips, asking in a daze. Linghu Chang let out a cold laugh. "Back then, the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao were locked in endless open strife and covert rivalries. But at a certain point, they suddenly grew remarkably united, speaking with a single voice. The fact that the Xuanhuang Realm has survived safely to this day is likely thanks in part to their efforts back then." Hearing this, Xiao Heng and the others breathed a slight sigh of relief, yet the unease surging in their hearts could not be dispelled so easily. ... Just as Xiao Heng and the others finally realized the true predicament of the Xuanhuang Realm, Li Fan—still completely unaware of any of this—had completed the final inspection of the Spirit-Locking Formation in the last province. With the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation on the verge of achieving full coverage, all array masters who had taken part in its construction received an invitation issued by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters. "'Head to Tianling Province to witness the grand spectacle of the Spirit-Locking Formation displaying its might for the first time?'" "What does this mean?" Li Fan held the invitation, which resembled a black-and-gold jade plaque, and asked Huangfu Song. "It might have something to do with the void in Tianling Province," Huangfu Song said in a hushed tone. "In any case, for reasons unknown, it is almost certain that the Five Elders Association is going to stir up war again. So the Alliance decided to use the Spirit-Locking Formation's debut as an opportunity to teach them a harsh lesson." Li Fan nodded slowly upon hearing this. Yet looking at the jade plaque, an inexplicable trace of unease suddenly surfaced in his heart. "Let's go. Many people have already arrived. It would be a pity to miss such a grand occasion." Huangfu Song piloted the Dust-Crossing Boat toward Yanghua Immortal City, after which they traveled toward Tianling Province via a series of teleportation arrays. Halfway there, Li Fan suddenly came to a stop. "Senior Huangfu, please go on ahead. I have an urgent matter and need to make a trip to the Alliance headquarters first," Li Fan told Huangfu Song after a moment, giving him a knowing look. "The Alliance headquarters?" Huangfu Song was startled, but quickly caught on. "Then let me offer my early congratulations, Fellow Daoist!" Looking at Li Fan with envy, Huangfu Song shook his head wryly and took his leave first. After Huangfu Song departed, Li Fan's expression remained calm, yet his mind was replaying the message Lu Xuejing had just sent him: *Peril.* *It seems my premonition was correct. There really is a problem with Tianling Province.* Li Fan began quietly calculating his options.