"This is..."
"He Zhenghao broke through to late Foundation Establishment?"
Sensing it faintly, Li Fan felt a touch of surprise.
"It has only been a little over two months. This pace is even faster than in his previous life."
"What happened?"
Reviewing the surveillance footage of He Zhenghao stored within the Dao Transformation Stone crystal, Li Fan could not help but chuckle softly.
Lately, He Zhenghao had truly been riding high on success.
Word that he had received "guidance from a senior of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect" and altered his fate against heaven had spread like wildfire across the Congyun Sea.
Because of his past practice of the Mountain-Sitting Art, He Zhenghao had begun cultivating goodwill and expanding his network of connections early on.
Moreover, since he genuinely possessed solid talent in formation arts, his relations with the array masters of the Formation Planning Hall were fairly decent.
So despite He Zhenghao being merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his network of connections was truly nothing to scoff at.
In the previous life, Li Fan's ability to join the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had been entirely thanks to He Zhenghao's arrangements!
This time, by a stroke of fortune, He Zhenghao had switched to a Nascent Soul cultivation technique exceptionally suited to him.
Anyone with discerning eyes could see that barring an unexpected catastrophe, He Zhenghao reaching the Nascent Soul realm was practically set in stone.
A Nascent Soul–level array master who was also a smooth, adept socialite.
Now, his standing in everyone's eyes was completely transformed.
Visitors arrived in an endless stream, and He Zhenghao turned none away, warmly welcoming each and every one with beaming smiles.
Gifts poured in until his hands were sore, leaving him in exceptionally high spirits.
His cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds as well, swiftly breaking through to late Foundation Establishment.
Throughout this process, the visiting cultivators inevitably began prying into news about that "ancient Heavenly Mechanism Sect cultivator."
After all, doubling one's standing overnight—who wouldn't covet such fortune?
If only they could latch onto this senior's coattails as well...
At first, He Zhenghao could brush them off with excuses like "We haven't been in touch for quite some time" or "I haven't seen that senior since."
Later, however, as the inquiring cultivators grew more numerous and held ever-higher status, He Zhenghao gradually found it difficult to hold out.
Because he steadfastly refused to divulge even a sliver of information regarding this Heavenly Mechanism Sect cultivator, he had already begun stirring discontent among some of them.
Accusations that He Zhenghao was "hogging the benefits for himself" also gradually mounted.
Even Chu Ming, the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Administration Hall whom He Zhenghao had pulled strings with to help Li Fan join the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, began questioning He Zhenghao after being completely unable to contact Li Fan.
Heaven bear witness, He Zhenghao genuinely had no idea where Li Fan had gone!
No response came through the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
The man had not left behind a single communication talisman, either.
Faced with mounting pressure from more and more cultivators, He Zhenghao was practically driven to tears of anxiety.
He desperately wished he could slap his two-months-younger self in the face.
*Serves you right for running around showing off for no reason!*
Watching the endless stream of greetings He Zhenghao sent through the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Li Fan's lips curled slightly.
"Let it brew a little longer, and the atmosphere will be just about ripe."
"Five million contribution points are enough to carry me through the first stage of the plan."
"For now, though, Fellow Daoist He can hold out a bit longer."
Li Fan then checked on the situation with the Foundation Establishment Master.
Li Chenfeng had already returned.
Accompanying him was a veiled woman clad in a long cyan gown.
Li Chenfeng and the other two treated this woman with utmost respect, referring to her as the "Saint Teacher."
Ever since arriving in the Xuanhuang Realm, this Saint Teacher had not once stepped out of that secret chamber on the island.
When Li Chenfeng went in and out of the secret room, Li Fan caught sight of her tinkering with a mechanical device resembling an armillary sphere.
"Saint Teacher?"
"Interesting. The agreed three-month deadline happens to be up, so it is time for me, the 'Myriad Realms Association Envoy,' to pay her a visit."
Li Fan sensed no danger from this woman in cyan.
Instead, a faint trace of familiarity welled up within him.
This familiarity was exceedingly faint; even after searching through the memories stored within the Dao Transformation Stone, he could not identify where it came from.
This made Li Fan find it all the more intriguing.
Thereupon, resuming his appearance from that day, he sped toward the target location.
Before long, he arrived in the sky above the island.
Looking closely, Li Chenfeng and the other two were already waiting at the entrance.
"Senior, please follow us,"
Li Chenfeng said in a low voice, ushering Li Fan into the secret chamber.
Li Fan maintained an impassive expression, yet inwardly grew slightly vigilant.
Fixing his gaze on the seated woman nearby whose features were obscured, he asked, "And who might this be?"
"This old one has come at the Imperial Daughter's behest to see whether the so-called 'Immortal Ruins' truly exist." Though the woman in cyan referred to herself as "this old one," her voice was crisp and melodious, just like that of a teenage girl.
"Oh? In that case, have you reached a conclusion?" Li Fan examined the device before the woman with keen interest.
A golden sphere sat motionless at the center, surrounded by numerous spheres of varying colors moving irregularly along different orbits.
The woman in cyan shook her head and sighed softly. "Something seems to conceal the presence of the Immortal Ruins, making it impossible to detect."
"However, it is true that this place has grown even more abnormal."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Even more abnormal?"
With a wave of her sleeve, the woman in cyan stowed the apparatus away.
"This is the Void Warp and Weft Track Determiner, which took the Empire several thousand years to forge. It can mark and lock onto one's coordinates within the boundless void and survey the surrounding environment."
"It was originally intended for cruising and navigation in the void after breaking away from the Xuanhuang Realm."
"Now, using it to investigate the Immortal Ruins can be considered putting it to good use."
Li Fan listened quietly as the woman in cyan spoke.
"Here, in the primary world of the Xuanhuang Realm..." A hint of nostalgia flickered across the woman's eyes.
"The data surveyed by the Track Determiner is entirely disordered."
"It is as though a colossal distortion field surrounds this place, affecting space-time and interfering with the survey results."
"Theoretically speaking, the observations are consistent with the existence of that all-devouring Immortal Ruins you mentioned."
Li Fan said coldly, "I have no need to deceive you on this matter."
The woman in cyan smiled faintly. "No, you did deceive us."
Li Fan's gaze tightened, and his heart clenched abruptly.
"What do you mean?"
Looking toward the firmament of the Xuanhuang Realm, the woman in cyan said slowly, "Because even if the Immortal Ruins truly exist, our Empire will not be swallowed by it after breaking away from the Xuanhuang Realm."
"Not just us—none of the many small worlds captured by the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao back then will meet such an end."
Li Fan remained silent.
The woman in cyan continued, "Because we and the Xuanhuang Realm are not located within the same space-time at all."
"We are linked purely by the Immortal Severing Passage."
"If we sever our connection with the Xuanhuang Realm, we will attain complete freedom."
"Whereas the Xuanhuang Realm will ultimately face its doom."
Chapter 439