“That is quite an interesting experience after all,” Li Fan said with a faint smile after listening to the account.
“Within the Fallen Immortal Realm, aside from the world of that era, there are countless other derived space-times. It was merely a stroke of bad luck this time. If you still wish to try your fortune, Elder Liu, you can simply enter again after some time has passed,” Li Fan explained.
Liu San, however, let out a long sigh and said, “I have thought it through as well. What is gone is gone. Even if I were to see him, what would come of it? In the Sect Master’s eyes, I am no longer that devoted old servant. Let nature take its course! It would be far better to pour my energy into reviving our Medicine King Sect.”
“The opportunities within the Fallen Immortal Realm are boundless. Why not let the disciples have a try as well? It will keep them from suffocating from boredom after being forbidden from leaving all this time,” Liu San suddenly suggested.
Li Fan naturally had no objection.
Over the following period, everyone in the Medicine King Sect threw themselves entirely into building their new sect grounds within the Valley of Longevity.
The general layout still followed that of the Medicine King Sect of the past, with buildings rising from the ground one after another.
Watching the familiar scenery gradually reappear before their eyes, Liu San and the disciples beamed with excitement.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, to Li Fan’s surprise, the destruction of the Congyun Sea had hardly caused much of a stir.
By all common sense, the utter ruin of an entire province was such an appalling catastrophe that it should have become a fiercely debated topic among cultivators for quite some time.
Yet in this lifetime, perhaps because the commotion had been far too massive, both the severity of the information blockade and the speed at which the catastrophe was forgotten far surpassed the previous lifetimes.
Li Fan disguised himself as a passerby to inquire, only to find that in less than a month, memories of the countless living beings in the Congyun Sea had already faded from the world’s mind.
Even when someone occasionally brought it up, they only recalled it as if it were something from the distant past.
“The power of Heavenly Venerable Wuyou is truly awe-inspiring.” Even having lived through the event himself, the memories in Li Fan’s mind had grown somewhat hazy. Fortunately, he possessed the Spirit Unity with Dao Transformation secret art, allowing him to constantly alert himself.
In the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals today, the most widely discussed topic was a group of mysterious cultivators who had suddenly emerged from the white mist not long ago, plundering and destroying with reckless abandon.
They came and went like the wind, remarkably well-trained. Moreover, they appeared intimately familiar with the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, targeting exclusively garrison cities that produced specialized resources.
Furthermore, they never lingered in battle; the moment they sensed reinforcing cultivators arriving, they immediately withdrew into the white mist.
The Puxian True Boats, which could drastically reduce the influence of the Essence-Devouring White Mist, remained rare treasures in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and were far from something ordinary cultivators could be equipped with. Consequently, they could only watch helplessly as the raiders leisurely vanished into the white mist.
What? Give chase at the risk of one’s life?
Fellow Daoist, how much is your yearly stipend anyway? Why throw your life away!
Once reported upward, dedicated personnel would naturally handle it.
Thus, in no time, reports of attacks continuously flooded into the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters from every corner.
The Alliance authorities were naturally furious.
Ever since establishing rule over half of the Xuanhuang Realm, they had never suffered such an outrageous, brazen slap to the face on their own territory.
Consequently, specialized cultivators were dispatched to investigate every site of the attacks.
Yet these raiders acted with exceptional cunning and left behind neither clue nor evidence.
Instead, they skirted the areas where the investigation teams operated, continuing to strike in unpredictable, phantom-like fashion.
Such blatant defiance thoroughly infuriated the Alliance.
Squad after squad of black-robed cultivators, radiating killing intent, stepped through teleportation arrays toward each province, vowing to bring these culprits to justice.
Yet from that moment on, the raiders in the white mist seemed to vanish completely, never to appear again.
The Alliance, having mustered all its might, struck empty air, leaving them utterly humiliated and frustrated!
They had no choice but to have the black-robed cultivators patrol the provinces for a while, arrest a few suspicious, shifty cultivators to turn in their reports, and hastily close the matter.
As for the true identity of these raiders, the Alliance’s first suspect was naturally the Five Elders Association.
However, everything required evidence, especially an accusation of such extreme gravity that could very well provoke another war between both factions.
Before the Alliance could even make an official statement, the Five Elders Association had already spoken up.
They expressed regret and sympathy over the attacks suffered within the Alliance’s borders. Furthermore, in the spirit of their agreement for peaceful coexistence, they proposed that if the Alliance encountered any difficulty handling the matter, the Five Elders Association could dispatch specialists to assist in the investigation.
How could the Alliance ever agree to such a proposal? They strongly suspected the other side was merely rubbing salt into the wound after pulling off this series of strikes.
Yet, having never uncovered crucial evidence, the Alliance could only swallow this bitter pill in silence.
Not only were they unable to denounce the Five Elders Association, but they also had to pinch their noses and express gratitude for their concern.
In this round of confrontation, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals suffered a total defeat.
The direct consequence was that the Alliance began to take Puxian True Boats, which could travel freely through the white mist, with absolute seriousness.
They mandated that every province be equipped with an adequate number and that cultivators be scheduled for daily patrols and vigilance outside the White Mist Barrier.
This was to prevent surprise attacks from happening again.
As a result, Puxian True Leaves, whose prices had remained low for a long time, welcomed a brief explosive surge.
This allowed those cultivators who had previously been trapped holding them to recoup a tremendous amount of blood.
“After all, they maintain their rule through contracts; it seems the Five Elders Association is quite true to their word.”
“Though they certainly reaped a great deal of profit this time as well.”
Scanning the statistics on property losses from the attacks circulating privately among the populace, Li Fan smiled to himself.
“With such a good show, the matter of the Congyun Sea has nearly been completely forgotten.”
“In about another year, once the atmosphere settles down again, I can gradually send the Medicine King Sect disciples back to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.”
Exhaling a long breath, Li Fan adjusted himself to his peak state and arrived at the newly built main hall of the sect in the valley.
Forming hand seals, he entered a secret chamber deep beneath the main hall and sealed the entrance behind him.
He retrieved an ice-blue pill—the Supreme Passionless Pill concocted by Liu San—and swallowed it.
As the familiar sensation surged to his heart, Li Fan initiated the ritual.
“Heavenly Venerable of Fortune and Xuanhuang!”
He chanted in a low voice, and in the next moment, a faint dizziness washed over him.
Instead of entering the Fallen Immortal Realm immediately as he usually did, he felt as if he had arrived inside a distorted, transparent bubble.
Before him, two flickering images materialized.
Neither was unfamiliar to Li Fan.
They were precisely the two scenarios he had experienced in the Fallen Immortal Realm: Retrieving Longevity Fruits in Ningyuan and Disaster of the Beast Taming Sect!
“I can freely choose which scenario to enter—is this the change brought about by the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation?” Li Fan’s heart stirred.
Without much hesitation, Li Fan still chose to return to the Disaster of the Beast Taming Sect scenario.
In that instant, the light and shadows ahead projected all around Li Fan.
Everything came into sharp focus.
“Sigh, I wonder when Senior Brother Lu Ya will ever return.”
Xu Ke’s somewhat dispirited voice reached Li Fan’s ears at the exact same moment.
Chapter 651