"In comparison, the Medicine King Valley from my previous life pales into complete insignificance."
"The Wood-attribute grotto-heaven alone could support the rise of a major power."
"Not to mention the other four attribute grotto-heavens."
Having arrived in the Xuanhuang Realm ahead of time and intercepted the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' discovery, Li Fan felt thoroughly pleased with himself.
After taking a brief look around, he visited the four great grotto-heavens of Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water in turn.
Li Fan had stayed in the Water-attribute grotto-heaven for a long time in his past life.
Only now did he realize that what he had seen back then was virtually a landscape that had already been stripped bare.
It was nothing like the present, where beneath a teeming, vibrant sea, countless fish reproduced and thrived.
Innumerable water-attribute spirit herbs and spirit ores filled the entire ocean expanse, leaving even the worldly and experienced Li Fan marveling again and again.
The Metal-attribute grotto-heaven was a vast, boundless underground world, strewn with rare mineral veins and metallic lifeforms.
The Fire-attribute grotto-heaven was not much different from the Fire Realm behind Great Li, though far less violent.
As for the Earth-attribute world, it was an unbroken expanse of continuous mountain ranges.
...
After giving them a cursory sweep, Li Fan was thoroughly satisfied, but a problem also naturally arose.
The Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven was simply too massive.
If he wanted to rely on his Golden Core cultivation to devour it and achieve the Nascent Soul realm, it would be practically impossible without three to five years.
And that was assuming nobody else discovered it and he faced no interruptions, as well as on the premise that the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven itself would put up no resistance.
In fact, once a realm reached a scale on par with the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, even if it did not yet qualify as a pocket world, it was virtually indistinguishable from a full world.
Li Fan vividly recalled that back when they attempted to deploy the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation over all the grotto-heavens once more, they had met with fierce resistance from the grotto-heaven's consciousness.
It had spawned countless bizarre, unkillable monsters to launch attacks.
Even with Lin Ling guarding his flanks, he might not necessarily be able to endure it.
"Having too large an appetite is a problem in itself," Li Fan murmured, frowning slightly.
Though difficulties lay ahead, Li Fan would never give up on this Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven.
His personal cultivation progression was one thing, but above all, he could not allow the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals to obtain it, lest it introduce unnecessary variables into this lifetime's war.
"While I haven't reached Golden Core perfection yet, I'll think of a solution. If all else fails, I'll just have to grind away with slow, steady effort."
He lingered in the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven for a few more days.
Only when the appointed time with the Five Elders Association drew near did Li Fan finally depart.
*With two Dao Integration cultivators assisting, I could try relocating the entrance to the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens. But the disturbance would be too great, and it might even risk discovery by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals,* Li Fan thought before leaving, having resealed and concealed the entrance once more.
Once again relying on Lin Ling, they shuttled through the earth veins.
Soon, the three of them returned silently to Jiushan Province.
Upon leaving the earth veins, Li Fan even felt a very rare sentiment of reluctance emanating from Tianyang.
*Tianyang's puppet body was forged through the Earth Fire Origin-Returning Formation. It seems the power of the earth veins has some special utility for him.*
*I can have Lin Ling take him on more runs. The earth vein power of the Xuanhuang Realm is immensely abundant; taking a little advantage of it shouldn't bother the Earth Vein Ancient Tree too much.*
With this thought, Li Fan instructed Lin Ling accordingly.
Lin Ling was already quite fond of Tianyang, so she readily agreed.
Arriving at another location, Li Fan crushed a jade talisman once more, releasing a wave of fluctuations.
Before long, Yu Dayi arrived in a hurry.
This time he did not bring an entourage; only one other person accompanied him.
The instant Li Fan saw that person, warning bells rang violently in his mind.
Though he had clearly never met this person before, he sensed an extraordinarily familiar aura from them!
The answer was obvious—this person was one of "All Minds as One" Senior Sister Zhao's avatars!
However, Senior Sister Zhao had not arrived in female form this time, but as an exceedingly handsome youth no older than fifteen or sixteen.
"You must be the fellow Daoist from the Myriad Realms Association?" he asked, looking at Li Fan with a smile.
A pair of eyes swept over Li Fan, seeming almost capable of peering through every single secret he possessed.
Li Fan felt a chill in his heart, yet though startled, he remained calm.
Senior Sister Zhao possessed countless bodies, and the one before him had merely Soul Formation cultivation.
Furthermore, even the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable was not omniscient.
Therefore, Li Fan was not worried that his secrets could be laid bare at a single glance.
Reining in his thoughts and pondering for a moment, Li Fan narrowed his eyes and opted directly for a checkmate move.
"Jiejie, to think our humble meeting would draw the personal presence of a Heavenly Venerable. What an honor!" He flashed an uncanny grin, staring straight at Senior Sister Zhao as he spoke.
The smile on the youth's face instantly froze.
Only then did he truly look at Li Fan with utter seriousness.
Beside him, Yu Dayi apparently had no idea of the true identity of the cultivator at his side. Hearing Li Fan's words, he froze slightly, looking bewildered.
Yet he was, after all, a cultivator born and bred in the Five Elders Association; after merely a moment, he caught on.
He whipped his head around, looking at the faintly playful smile on the youth's face, his expression freezing stiff.
His body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Oh my, I've been seen through."
"How interesting. It seems this 'Myriad Realms Association' of yours truly possesses some real capability."
"I wonder, would you welcome this girl joining?"
The youth chuckled softly.
Yet his tone was like that of a charming, coquettish woman, dripping with seduction.
It should have made one's hair stand on end, yet Li Fan did not feel the slightest discomfort.
"Heheh, to tell the truth, I have also thought of joining Heavenly Venerable's Dadao Sect," Li Fan countered immediately without the slightest deference.
Senior Sister Zhao was not angry at all. Instead, she giggled sweetly, "If we merge together, it's not entirely out of the question..."
Listening from the side, Yu Dayi broke out in cold sweat, his legs turning to jelly.
He cursed himself for not being deaf, forced to overhear such completely uninhibited, taboo dialogue from a Heavenly Venerable.
At the same time, in his heart, he had already classified the Myriad Realms Association and Li Fan into the tier of existences that must never, ever be provoked.
Li Fan gave an awkward chuckle and avoided answering.
Instead, he shifted the topic to get down to business: "Where are the goods we requested?"
Senior Sister Zhao tossed over an Ethereal Stone Matrix.
Li Fan deftly caught and inspected it; it matched the specifications on the requisition list he provided down to the last detail.
He stowed it away.
"Aren't you afraid this girl might have tampered with it?" Senior Sister Zhao asked, her tone suddenly turning faint and haunting.
"Senior Sister, you act openly and honorably. You are not one to resort to such petty tricks," Li Fan replied.
Senior Sister Zhao's expression shifted completely at this.
"In deference to Senior Sister appearing in person, I shall provide you with another piece of top-secret information free of charge."
"The Puxian True Leaf can be used to construct divine arks. They can navigate through the white mist, immune to the side effects of the Essence-Devouring White Mist," Li Fan transmitted via divine sense.
Then, without waiting for a reply, a green light enveloped them, and they vanished on the spot.
Yu Dayi dared not move a muscle.
"A young maiden's thoughts are truly hard to guess."
Only Senior Sister Zhao's soft laughter rang out a moment later.
Chapter 827