To be frank, building a headquarters for the Myriad Realms Association that was both magnificent and truly worthy of its name was no easy feat.
Putting aside overall planning and the challenge of successfully completing such an expansive complex of buildings, simply designing structures befitting the name "Myriad Realms Association" required substantial effort.
Fortunately, Li Fan had once overseen the reconstruction of Congyun Heavenly City, so he was relatively experienced in this area. He had also interacted with the master builders sent from Alliance headquarters to assist back then. Thus, in all fairness, the blueprints he personally drew up were not bad at all.
It was just that...
Li Fan felt they still lacked a certain flair.
"After all, I picked this up halfway through; I'm no professional."
"Looks like I'll have to rope in someone reliable to oversee this."
Li Fan could not remain in the Spirit Wood Realm forever.
Lin Ling's strength had taken a massive leap forward, and she had received substantial resource backing from the Five Elders Association. It was now time to consider Tianyang's Dao Integration plan.
Scheming for an anima of Heaven and Earth—even with the detailed intelligence acquired through Mr. Bai—could never be guaranteed foolproof. It still carried considerable risk. Naturally, the more thorough the preparations, the better.
If Tianyang successfully achieved Dao Integration, Li Fan's next step would be to officially devour the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven and return to the Nascent Soul realm.
He would almost certainly be too occupied to pull himself away.
Therefore, before that, he needed to find a dependable figure to oversee construction in the Spirit Wood Realm.
Information on numerous cultivators flashed through his mind in an instant.
A moment later, Li Fan locked onto his target:
Master builder Ou Daozi.
Though he possessed only Soul Formation cultivation, his talent and insight regarding architectural design were heights others could never hope to reach.
Rumor had it that many buildings within the Alliance headquarters had been designed by him. When the Alliance Heavenly Cities were renovated and modernized, Ou Daozi had also been consulted.
Later, however, he grew disgruntled after the Alliance forcibly wiped his memories upon completing the blueprints. Consequently, he chose to retire into the mountains and forests, never again lifting a finger for the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Even without holding any official post, Ou Daozi was not someone the current Li Fan could simply persuade to move.
Therefore, Li Fan intended to directly use a Truth Enticement Fruit.
Ou Daozi was plenty strong himself, and coupled with his unmatched talent, using it could hardly be considered a waste.
The only challenge lay in how to coax and persuade him to swallow the Truth Enticement Fruit.
Li Fan, having considerable experience with this, prepared several contingency plans to adapt as circumstances required.
If all else failed, he would resort to persuasion by force.
After lingering in the Spirit Wood Realm for a few more days, he collected the one hundred copies of the Alliance induction examination question bank duplicated by Shang Tianci.
Only then did he set off with Lin Ling and Tianyang.
They traveled as before within the surging torrents of the earth veins.
It had to be said that with Lin Ling, routine travel across the Xuanhuang Realm was indeed vastly more convenient.
Half a day later, they reached their destination:
Guanglan Province, Fuxing Mountain.
This province was situated in the south of the Alliance, relatively remote and not particularly prosperous. It was roughly on par with the Congyun Sea.
Yet Fuxing Mountain within its borders was somewhat famous.
Originally, it had not been called by this name, but had been known as Baoyuan Mountain.
Roughly two years ago, in the normally tranquil Guanglan Province, the earth suddenly shook and the sky trembled.
Thousands of cultivators watched with their own eyes as Baoyuan Mountain collapsed amid deafening roars.
The anomaly lasted nearly half a day, and countless cultivators within the mountain had no time to dodge, perishing tragically.
Just as the survivors were still reeling from shock, an event occurred that left them dumbfounded.
Under the gaze of countless cultivators, Baoyuan Mountain—which had already sunk into the ground and turned into a ten-thousand-zhang abyss—shrouded in a yellow light, actually reappeared!
The scene at the time was like shattered porcelain piecing itself back together, or tea poured into a river returning to its bowl.
As if time were reversing, Baoyuan Mountain, which had unquestionably been reduced to ruins, restored itself completely!
Such a bizarre occurrence was destined to cause a massive sensation.
Yet precisely because it was so fantastical, cultivators who had not witnessed it with their own eyes simply refused to believe it.
However, though the mountain had reappeared, the consequences of its collapse had not vanished.
The cultivators who had perished tragically in the landslide, along with the earth vein turbulence triggered by the mountain's collapse, were undeniable realities.
Therefore, after extensive investigations and debates, even those who were skeptical ultimately accepted the fact.
They grew increasingly curious about how such a wondrous event had occurred.
The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals was no exception.
They dispatched several investigation teams in succession, practically turning Baoyuan Mountain upside down, yet still failed to uncover the cause.
As time trickled by, the Alliance, making zero progress, had no choice but to temporarily abandon its fanfare-laden investigation, leaving behind only a single investigator stationed here on watch.
From time to time, cultivators who happened to hear about the event from back then would come drawn by its reputation to see for themselves.
Consequently, Baoyuan Mountain gained a new name: Fuxing Mountain.
Yet the scenery of Fuxing Mountain was genuinely mediocre, with nothing captivating about it. Over time, fewer and fewer people came, and it was gradually forgotten.
Li Fan had also taken time to travel here during a previous cycle, yet he too had found nothing out of the ordinary.
Had it not been for Ou Daozi this time, he would not have revisited the place.
Having learned the man's specific residence, Li Fan and his party headed straight into Fuxing Mountain.
Upon arrival, however, they discovered that the thatched cottage in the mountains was already empty.
"Hmm?" Li Fan could not help frowning slightly.
Sweeping his divine sense through the cottage and inspecting the traces closely, Li Fan found that the occupant had departed not long ago.
Furthermore, beyond Ou Daozi, there were signs of another person living there.
"A child—likely Ou Daozi's son," Li Fan judged after recalling the records.
"Yet to leave in such a hurry..."
"Are they fleeing some enemy?" Li Fan stroked his chin.
"Master, are you looking for the people from this thatched cottage? I can find them," Lin Ling offered while Li Fan was pondering.
"Oh? What way do you have?" Li Fan grew intrigued.
He had just checked; Ou Daozi had deliberately wiped his traces to prevent tracking.
"There are so many trees in the mountains. I just need to ask them," Lin Ling said, slightly shy.
Having received Li Fan's approval, Lin Ling excitedly began casting her technique.
In an instant, specks of green light surged from all corners of Fuxing Mountain, forming what looked like a green river of light that flowed into Lin Ling's body.
"I see them!"
Soon after, Lin Ling clapped her hands happily and flew off.
Li Fan and Tianyang followed closely behind.
"Interesting. Instead of escaping via the Heavenly City's teleportation array, they fled into the wilderness."
"Was it a desperate, blind scramble, or..."
Tracking their flight path, Li Fan's previously indifferent attitude shifted into genuine curiosity.
Chapter 830