Of the Five Elders Association's territories, four regions were currently known: Carefree Paradise, the Country of Truth, the One Heart Immortal Sect, and the Heavenly Realm of Humanity.
As for the fifth and final region, it remained unknown for now.
The scholar had never mentioned it in passing during his lectures, keeping it shrouded in mystery.
As matters stood, exploring the Country of Truth and the One Heart Immortal Sect carried the highest risk.
The Heavenly Realm of Humanity and Carefree Paradise posed virtually no threat.
As for Li Fan knowingly heading toward danger—choosing the mountain with the tiger—it was naturally because he had long harbored deep admiration for Senior Sister Zhao...
All right, the true reason was that Li Fan wanted to seize this rare opportunity, using a mere wisp of consciousness piloting a puppet, to venture into Heavenly Venerable Yixin's domain and see what was really there.
From his experiences in his previous life, Li Fan had learned that under the power commanded by Senior Sister Zhao, individual beings were linked together into a single whole.
This was known as "All Minds as One."
Without question, once an individual was absorbed, swallowed, or added to "Senior Sister Zhao," all of their past experiences and memories would be shared across the entire collective.
For Li Fan, who possessed True Reversion, that was utterly unacceptable.
Thus, for his true self, the danger of the One Heart Immortal Sect was actually even greater than that of the Country of Truth.
However, if he used this puppet body belonging to Jiao Xiuyuan to explore, the risk would be vastly reduced.
This was based on several considerations:
First, according to the scholar's teachings, not every cultivator within the One Heart Immortal Sect had become a part of Senior Sister Zhao. As one of the world's most formidable hunters, Senior Sister Zhao was also exceptionally "picky." Only the most elite cultivators in the territory, vetted through layer upon layer of selection, were qualified to enter that fabled "Immortal Sect." This Heavenly Venerable was unwilling to absorb ordinary cultivators easily, let alone a puppet body carved from wood. Therefore, the likelihood of Li Fan drawing her attention was minimal.
Second, this puppet was one of Jiao Xiuyuan's avatars and possessed a built-in backdoor for self-destruction. Even if Senior Sister Zhao grew tired of rich delicacies and wanted some plain fare for a change, choosing to devour this puppet body, all she would ultimately obtain was a scrap of dead wood. The wisp of consciousness attached to it would have dispersed on its own long before then.
Even so, one could never underestimate the terrifying might of a Longevity Heavenly Venerable.
Spurring onward to the north, Li Fan proactively "pruned" this wisp of consciousness along the way. He excised all past memories from the consciousness, retaining only a single thought: "Go to the One Heart Immortal Sect."
Naturally, the side effects were stark. It had already been barely able to manipulate the body with just a single strand of consciousness; after continuous weakening, the consciousness became even frailer. His control grew clumsy, and the visible consequence was that this "Jiao Xiuyuan" became utterly dull and wooden, looking rather slow-witted.
Yet as long as it could relay what it saw, heard, and felt back to his true self, that was enough.
Controlling the puppet body, Li Fan pressed steadily toward the One Heart Immortal Sect.
"Daoist Jiao, wait for me!" Before long, Lu Fan finally caught up, panting for breath. "I thought it over and decided to come with you after all."
"Though Carefree Paradise has plenty of rare novelties, getting to see the peerless Senior Sister Zhao with my own eyes wouldn't be bad either." A flicker of yearning showed in Lu Fan's eyes.
Li Fan turned his head, glanced at him, and asked flatly, "Fellow Daoist, who are you?"
Lu Fan froze in stunned disbelief.
Seeing that Li Fan did not seem to be joking, Lu Fan examined him carefully and assumed something had gone wrong with Jiao Xiuyuan's puppet.
He had no choice but to introduce himself all over again.
Li Fan said nothing more, merely giving a slight nod without slowing his pace in the least.
Lu Fan felt rather exasperated, but having already spoken up, he was too embarrassed to back out.
The two traveled in silence, drawing steadily closer to the territory of the One Heart Immortal Sect.
Teleportation arrays naturally existed within the Five Elders Association's lands as well. However, they were located within the towns and cities of the provinces, and unassimilated Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals cultivators like them had no right to use them.
Unlike in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, there were no central immortal cities in any province under the Five Elders Association. Instead, large towns where mortals and cultivators coexisted were scattered far and wide like stars in the sky.
The settlements were split into inner and outer zones, separated by high, circular walls. Cultivators resided in the inner cities while mortals lived in the outer cities, living without encroaching on one another.
Beyond the towns and cities, various cave dwellings and sect gates built by cultivators themselves dotted the mountains and wilderness.
The overall layout was remarkably similar to the cultivation world of ancient times.
Though the customs differed vastly, the only common feature was the White Mist Barrier spanning heaven and earth, serving as the boundary between provinces.
Li Fan's current location was Wuding Province in the Heavenly Realm of Humanity.
Passing through the wall of Essence-Devouring White Mist ahead would bring him into neighboring Xuanyin Province.
To Li Fan's surprise, quite a crowd had gathered beside the White Mist Barrier, hawking their wares just like mortal street peddlers.
"Puxian True Boats! Thirty thousand Divine Soul Points apiece! Buy two get one free, better deals for bulk orders!"
"Anyone looking to cross the White Mist Barrier, come take a look! For just one hundred Divine Soul Points, you can ride a Puxian True Boat and save fifteen days of lifespan! One hundred Divine Soul Points—you won't lose out, you won't be fooled!"
"Puxian Boat rentals available in bulk! Contact quickly if interested!"
...
Shouts and cries rose and fell one after another, bustling and lively just like a mortal marketplace.
Their words caught Lu Fan's attention.
"Daoist Jiao, come look! These flying boats are built entirely out of mass quantities of Puxian True Leaves!" Lu Fan exclaimed after going over to examine them for a moment.
Seeing Li Fan's blank, uncomprehending look—his memories having been stripped away—Lu Fan had no choice but to patiently explain, "After the earlier frenzy over Puxian True Leaf grass, it was precisely because word got out that artifacts crafted from this material could mitigate the lifespan devoured by the Essence-Devouring White Mist that its price didn't collapse completely.
"Still, that was only ever rumors circulating through the grapevine; I'd never seen a real, functioning artifact myself. Who would've thought they'd be everywhere here in the Five Elders Association..."
He had hoped Li Fan would respond, but unexpectedly, Li Fan remained standing there looking as dull as a post.
Finding it like talking to a brick wall, Lu Fan sighed, dropped the subject, and turned to inquire of the cultivator peddlers by the road.
The so-called Divine Soul Points were the common currency of the Five Elders Association.
In reality, they served the exact same purpose as contribution points in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
As long as one joined the Five Elders Association, they could obtain free cultivation techniques, but as the price, they had to sign a soul covenant.
Supposedly, once enough Divine Soul Points were saved up, one could dissolve the soul covenant and redeem their freedom.
Very few cultivators could actually achieve that, however.
The vast majority chose to spend their Divine Soul Points redeeming higher-grade cultivation techniques to improve their ability to earn even more Divine Soul Points.
More than just indenturing oneself, everyday transactions in the Five Elders Association—and indeed every aspect of life—were inextricably bound to covenants.
Chapter 502