And so, facing opposition from virtually the entire sect, Senior Sister Zhao resolutely married Li Fan.
The wedding was extremely modest, bordering on crude.
Yet her master, Zhang Wangshuang, attended in the end. Looking down at the newlyweds, he sighed softly before forcing a faint smile.
That night, countless heartbroken disciples of the Dadao Sect drank themselves into a stupor, and numerous brawls even broke out.
It was worth noting that the reason so many young disciples throughout the Dadao Sect were deeply enamored with Senior Sister Zhao was not merely that both her beauty and strength stood head and shoulders above her peers.
More importantly, after cultivating the Heaven and Earth Mutual Conquest Rhapsody, an alluring feminine charm inadvertently radiated from her, growing ever more captivating—nearly impossible to resist.
Furthermore, in the eyes of outsiders, Senior Sister Zhao's primal yin remained unbreached, appearing for all intents and purposes as a maiden.
Thus, even though she and Li Fan were together day and night, there was never any shortage of relentless suitors.
After the wedding, upon Li Fan's reminder, Senior Sister Zhao discarded her disguise.
While this broke countless hearts all over again, there were still infatuated souls who refused to give up.
For once the innocent air of a young maiden had faded, the mature allure that accompanied her every smile and gesture made hearts itch all the more unbearably.
Fortunately, Senior Sister Zhao was utterly devoted to Li Fan, which eased some of the pressure on him.
Still, whether for the sake of Longevity or to protect Senior Sister Zhao, Li Fan threw himself into cultivation with ever greater diligence from then on.
With no lack of spirit stones and pills, compounded by their dual cultivation with the Heaven and Earth Mutual Conquest Rhapsody, Li Fan's realm progressed day by day.
Thirteen years slipped by in the blink of an eye.
On this day, an anomaly appeared across the heavens.
Every living being in the Xuanhuang Realm beheld a tall-crowned elder with benevolent features, towering between heaven and earth, propping up the sky with his hands.
The anomaly did not last long.
Yet in the hearts of all cultivators, an ineffable wave of complex emotion surged.
A mingling of sorrow, bewilderment, and anger.
A multitude of sentiments intertwined, an indistinguishable medley of bittersweet feelings.
After the elder's image faded, the realization gradually dawned upon all cultivators.
Today, the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Venerable had attained Longevity.
From this day forth, people would have to address him respectfully as the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable.
Single-handedly, he had altered the path of cultivation across the world. From then on, cultivators could only practice according to the method he had established—one that plundered Heaven and Earth.
Although after so many years, the vast majority of cultivators across the world had already switched to the new method, there were still quite a few who stubbornly persevered along the old method's path of Unity of Heaven and Man.
Now, he had severed that old path completely.
Of these ancient method cultivators, mockingly dubbed "old fogies," some killed themselves in despair.
Others departed in fury, retreating from the world never to emerge again.
Chaos unfolded across every corner of the Xuanhuang Realm, and the Dadao Sect was no exception.
Yet the new method was established, its momentum unstoppable.
This turmoil was merely a few small splashes rising against the surging torrent, incapable of altering the river's course.
Once the disturbances settled, what followed was a rare period of peace and explosive growth.
Both the number of cultivators and the speed of their advancement climbed at a terrifying rate.
Even someone of mediocre talent like Li Fan, having switched to the new method and lacking no resources, took only a little over twenty years to advance to the Soul Formation realm...
To say nothing of the sect's other elite disciples.
Had the animas of Heaven and Earth not been exceedingly scarce and their appearances elusive and unpredictable, the world would likely have seen a fountain-like eruption of Dao Integration cultivators.
As the most watched junior disciple in the Dadao Sect, Senior Sister Zhao passed trial after trial and ultimately achieved Dao Integration.
She became one of the few true disciples of the Dadao Sect.
"Congratulations! The tide raises all boats—what once took only Soul Formation to become a true disciple now requires Dao Integration to qualify." Li Fan kissed Senior Sister Zhao and embraced her in congratulation.
Yet there was little joy on her face; instead, a rare trace of worry surfaced.
Having spent decades together day and night and knowing her intimately, Li Fan was astonished. Such an expression on Senior Sister Zhao was rare indeed.
Concerned, he asked, "Senior Sister, what are you worried about?"
"During my breakthrough, an inexplicable premonition came over me." Senior Sister Zhao waved a hand, sealing off the surrounding space.
Then she transmitted her voice in a whisper: "The cultivation world today looks boundless in its flourishing bustle, but it is truly like oil cooking on a raging fire. Though prosperous to the absolute extreme, a certain crisis lurks beneath."
"Once it erupts..."
Li Fan shuddered with fright.
He knew that the brief instant of breaking through to the Dao Integration realm came infinitely close to the ancient method's Unity of Heaven and Man. An insight gained at such a moment was by no means an unfounded shot in the dark.
Though neither knew where the crisis would stem from, that did not stop them from preparing for a rainy day.
Having cultivated together for years, the two were already inseparable, bound as a community of shared interests.
Without alerting anyone, the couple continued their normal cultivation while quietly hoarding resources, making preparations for the upheaval that might descend upon heaven and earth at any moment.
What they never expected was that this wait would last over thirty years.
Time flowed swiftly by, and no crisis ever manifested. The couple came to regard that past premonition as nothing more than an illusion.
Over those thirty years, with her ever-deepening cultivation and overwhelming combat prowess, Senior Sister Zhao became the Dadao Sect's designated Dao Child and was bestowed the Heaven-Slaying Dao Scripture.
Barring any unforeseen accidents, several years later, once the current Sect Master passed on, she would be the next Sect Master of the Dadao Sect.
Senior Sister Zhao's spirits soared, and Li Fan felt genuinely happy for her from the bottom of his heart.
Yet their joy did not last long.
On this day, the earth-shattering upheaval they had nearly forgotten came crashing down without warning.
It came with such sudden dismay, so beyond all expectation, and so impossible for cultivators to accept, that all their "preparations" over the years were rendered a joke.
Li Fan and Senior Sister Zhao first felt the anomaly during dual cultivation.
"Hm?"
As an equally ecstatic session of dual cultivation drew to a close, Li Fan uttered a puzzled sound.
"What is it?" asked Senior Sister Zhao, not yet fully returned from her lingering bliss.
"Why does it feel like this dual cultivation session wasn't as effective?" Li Fan's brows knitted tightly.
"Could you have hit another bottleneck?"
After reaching Dao Integration, the boost to cultivation granted by dual cultivation was no longer as pronounced, so Senior Sister Zhao had not noticed anything amiss earlier.
Yet now, prompted by Li Fan's remark, she inspected herself and her expression shifted slightly.
"There is no bottleneck, yet the efficacy has plummeted."
"Let's try again."
Li Fan nodded in agreement.
A long while later.
Li Fan's expression turned grave. "How could it suddenly lose its effect entirely?"
"Could it be that the Heaven and Earth Mutual Conquest Rhapsody...?"
Even as he spoke, a tremendous clamor and uproar suddenly drifted in from outside.
"It's not just the dual cultivation technique—it's all cultivation techniques..."
"Something's gone wrong with all of them!"
Senior Sister Zhao finally understood, rising abruptly as her face turned deathly pale.
Chapter 514