Over the following period, the dharma manifestation of the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable appeared with remarkable frequency.
In the span of a single month, it materialized five times in total.
On one occasion, the interval between appearances was a mere two days.
Li Fan had originally assumed that unleashing such a massive trump card would demand a considerable price from the Thirty-Three Immortal Chosen.
Yet judging by this frequency, reality did not match his assumptions.
Each time, the manifestation descended upon a different province within the Five Elders Association's territory. After forcing several of their Heavenly Venerables to intervene, it would quietly dissolve without a trace.
More frighteningly, with each fleeting glimpse, the manifestation seemed to grow increasingly lifelike.
At first, its sole move was simply opening its eyes.
Later on, it began attempting to strike with a palm.
The manifestation was progressing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It was hard to imagine whether, after enough attempts, it might truly become indistinguishable from the actual Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable.
"It wouldn't even need to reach the Heavenly Venerable's true level. Even a tenth of that might would be more than enough to give the Five Elders Association a severe headache.
"No wonder they're in such a rush. They've sent several urgent inquiries, hoping I can help uncover the details behind the Thirty-Three Immortal Chosen."
Li Fan sneered inwardly. "A pity that this time, I am truly powerless to help."
Ignoring the Five Elders Association, Li Fan shifted his attention to the newly arrived guest in the Spirit Wood Realm.
At that moment, Shang Tianci was giving the visitor a guided tour of the realm.
The newcomer was even younger than Shang Tianci, yet across his youthful, slightly callow features, a glint of malice occasionally flickered.
"Say, Tianci, the scenery in this pocket world isn't bad. But insisting on calling it the 'Myriad Realms Association'—isn't that a bit grand for what it is?"
The visitor was none other than Yan Fangzhou, whom Shang Tianci had gone to painstaking lengths to bring here.
Yan Fangzhou spoke with unmistakable disdain. "A so-called alliance of myriad realms, and yet this is all the people you have? What a letdown. Here I thought I was finally going to take part in something grand.
"Never mind toppling the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. You probably can't even handle the Martial and Protector Halls of Shilin Province, can you?"
Shang Tianci flushed red and was about to retort.
Suddenly, a frigid voice rang out: "So young, yet with such a big mouth. Why don't you invite them to try?"
The voice echoed like the wrath of heaven and earth, reverberating continuously throughout the pocket world.
Yan Fangzhou's expression shifted slightly as he tried to pinpoint the speaker.
Only then did he realize that, at some unknown moment, he had already been isolated. Shang Tianci had vanished from his side.
The entire world around him seemed to expand infinitely. Like an ant beneath the vast heavens, he felt the sky recede into dizzying heights and the earth stretch on without end.
Furthermore, his earlier words seemed to have incensed the world itself.
As the winds and clouds churned, an unfathomable killing intent clamped down upon him.
"Playing tricks!" Yan Fangzhou was a prodigy of his generation after all; he was not so easily intimidated.
"Break for me!"
The phantom image of a black flame abruptly appeared behind him.
The moment the black fire emerged, the turbulent sky instantly froze.
An aura of absolute annihilation drifted from the dark flame.
The killing intent of heaven and earth locked solid, sinking into total oblivion.
*Crack!*
The surrounding scenery shattered like glass, bursting apart layer by layer.
A look of smug triumph crept onto Yan Fangzhou's face.
Yet that satisfaction vanished almost instantly.
For what greeted him next was still the same vast world, saturated with limitless killing intent!
It was as though everything he had just shattered was merely a single layer of illusion!
"No matter how many layers you have, I'll shatter them all!"
Yan Fangzhou snorted cold fury. The black flame shot straight into the firmament like a shooting star flying in reverse.
Wherever it passed, space seemed to freeze, falling into dead stillness before being violently crushed by the black trail.
The scenery shifted abruptly once more, only to reveal the exact same vista.
Without losing momentum, the black streak rampaged across the sky.
In the blink of an eye, it had obliterated countless layers of heaven and earth.
And yet...
No matter how many layers he broke through, the realm that enveloped him remained unchanged.
It was like an endless labyrinth. Even if he disregarded the walls and smashed straight through them, there was no end in sight. He was doomed to remain trapped forever.
After an unknown stretch of time, the confidence on Yan Fangzhou's face began to slip away.
Stubborn defiance gave way to sheer panic.
When he finally confirmed that he could not breach the temporal and spatial seal of this realm, his expression twisted through several shades.
"If you have the guts, come out and fight me fair and square!
"Do you really think you can make anyone yield with petty tricks like this?"
Facing the world that imprisoned him, Yan Fangzhou shouted at the top of his lungs.
To his disappointment, the other party gave no sign of having heard him at all.
There was not the slightest response.
A fierce glint flashed in Yan Fangzhou's eyes. He drew out a golden talisman crackling with threads of lightning and flung it into the air.
Yet to his utter shock, this Void-Breaching Talisman—which had never once failed him before—proved entirely useless.
Not only did it fail to tear through space and carve an escape route, but it also seemed to lose its way, spinning aimlessly in midair.
Next, Yan Fangzhou ran through every single one of his life-preserving measures.
Every single one proved utterly futile!
Now, Yan Fangzhou truly panicked.
"I concede!"
"I shouldn't have bragged! The Myriad Realms Association truly lives up to its name!"
Suppressing the malice in his gaze, Yan Fangzhou shouted toward the sky, "Senior, I beg of you, grant me entry into the Association!"
The sky remained dead silent. Still, there was no reply.
Yan Fangzhou stood stunned. Assuming the other party had not heard, he shouted the plea several more times.
The result was the same.
A look of helpless bewilderment settled over him.
***
Within the Spirit Wood Realm.
Shang Tianci watched Yan Fangzhou, who had suddenly frozen in place, feeling thoroughly perplexed.
He called out several times, but the young man acted as if he couldn't hear at all.
Only then did Shang Tianci realize something was amiss.
An invisible barrier seemed to surround Yan Fangzhou.
Not only could outsiders not touch him, but he also seemed incapable of perceiving the outside world.
"Senior..." Shang Tianci said timidly, looking toward Li Fan, who had materialized beside him.
"The lad isn't bad, but he needs some tempering. Let him hang there for a year or six months first," Li Fan said calmly.
In his hand, a tiny black flame flickered uncertainly, thrashing about as if trying to break free.
Yet Li Fan held it in an unshakeable grip.
Shang Tianci dared not argue and could only bow his head in compliance.
Li Fan rubbed his chin as he looked at Yan Fangzhou, who was trapped by his Infinite Method.
With a single thought, he shifted Yan Fangzhou outside the black jade gateway of the Association.
He positioned him in a suitable pose, like a display figurine.
*Once he breaks down mentally, I'll let him out.*
*That will make him much easier to discipline, too.*
Li Fan mused to himself.
Chapter 886