Stronger Against the Strong

"How could this have happened?" Li Fan was taken aback, asking in surprise. "Wasn't it said to be just the cave abode of a Golden Core cultivator? How could even a Nascent Soul grand cultivator have fallen?" Yuwen Xing shook his head. "No one knows the exact situation right now. However, the entrance to that cave abode has been temporarily sealed off to prevent unwitting people from charging in to their deaths." With that, Yuwen Xing sighed again. "Across the entire Wanxian Island, there are only a dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators. Losing one so suddenly is an immense loss. "Not to mention the four Golden Core and thirteen Foundation Establishment cultivators who lost their lives across the two expeditions combined. "Things aren't peaceful on the island right now. With so many cultivators having perished, all their posts on the island have become vacant. Various factions have begun wrestling behind the scenes to seize these lucrative positions. "The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals has also reopened its investigation into Zheng Xiaoyun. This time, Elder Gongsun of the Heavenly Secret Hall is handling it personally. Who knows whether they'll actually be able to get to the bottom of it. "Troubled times, indeed..." Li Fan could tell Yuwen Xing's worry seemed to stem from something else as well, but since he didn't elaborate, Li Fan couldn't very well pry. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Li Fan returned to Wanxian Island via the teleportation array. The atmosphere on the island had grown markedly somber, the relaxed demeanor previously seen on passing cultivators now gone. After making some inquiries, Li Fan learned the reason behind Yuwen Xing's gloom. As it turned out, Yuwen Xing's backing was none other than the fallen True Monarch Gouxuan. It was precisely through this connection that he had beaten out numerous rivals to become the guard of Liuli Island. Now, before his seat had even grown warm, his backer had collapsed. No wonder he looked so troubled. "If even a Nascent Soul powerhouse fell, that cave abode must be exceptionally perilous. "It seems Fellow Daoist He's remains won't be recovered anytime soon." That was what Li Fan originally thought. However, several days later, a turning point appeared. The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals published the findings of its investigation. There was nothing wrong with the Golden Core cultivator named Zheng Xiaoyun. The reason he had managed to escape during the first expedition despite being only at the Golden Core stage, while a Nascent Soul grand cultivator had perished during the second expedition, was actually due to a peculiar trait of the mechanism puppets inside Master Tianyang's cave abode: Weak against the weak, strong against the strong. When Zheng Xiaoyun led the team the first time, those mechanism puppets had only displayed combat power at the Golden Core stage. Zheng Xiaoyun's own strength was respectable, and with five other Foundation Establishment cultivators drawing their fire, he had barely managed to preserve his life. Yet when True Monarch Gouxuan led the second team, the combat power of those mechanism puppets actually surged to the Nascent Soul stage. With over a dozen Nascent Soul combatants erupting in an instant, the second expedition team was caught completely off guard and instantly annihilated. Of course, the mechanism puppets' so-called trait of growing stronger against the strong surely had an upper limit. Yet where that upper limit lay was truly hard to say. Although Master Tianyang had only been at the Golden Core stage during his life, before his demise he had established his cave abode inside an undersea volcano. For thousands of years, those mechanism puppets had continuously absorbed the energy of the earth fire. This had directly caused the undersea active volcano to turn dormant. Now that the earth fire had become active again, it likely meant that after all these years, the mechanism puppets had grown to their limit. Ancient mechanism arts had long been lost, so no one knew how strong mechanism puppets grown to their limit could be. Yet considering that mechanism arts had held a prominent place before the Great Calamity, an era when Nascent Soul cultivators were a dime a dozen, these puppets could hardly be weak. At minimum, they were at the Nascent Soul stage, and Soul Formation was not out of the question. So... True Monarch Gouxuan had certainly not died an unjust death. After all, no one would ever have imagined such terrifying combat power lay in ambush within the cave abode of a mere Golden Core cultivator. Once the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' official announcement was released, the haze hanging over Wanxian Island promptly cleared. People generally trusted the findings of this investigation. Elder Gongsun of the Heavenly Secret Hall had always been renowned for his skill in divining heavenly secrets and discerning cause and effect. The conclusions reached under his investigations rarely deviated from the facts. Consequently, the Qi Condensation cultivators—who formed the vast majority in the Congyun Sea—grew thoroughly excited. Over a dozen Nascent Soul mechanism puppets were indeed terrifying. But over a dozen Qi Condensation puppets... They possessed virtually zero deterrent! If one could bring back even a single puppet... Countless Qi Condensation cultivators immediately let their imaginations run wild, their hearts racing with desire. They clamored to form teams for a third expedition into Master Tianyang's cave abode. When Li Fan heard this news, even he couldn't help being tempted. Within the Qi Condensation stage, wasn't he practically invincible? Against anyone below his cultivation level, his Insect Binding divine ability could apprehend them directly. Against peers in the late Qi Condensation stage, he possessed numerous methods like the Formless Killing Intent, Cloud Water Illusory Dream, and the Blue Flame phantom spirit. Li Fan did not believe there was anyone in the Congyun Sea stronger than him. Should he explore this cave abode? Li Fan was tempted for a moment, but on second thought, something felt off. If those mechanism puppets were truly weak against the weak and strong against the strong, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals could easily gather a group of late Qi Condensation cultivators in secret, breach the cave abode, and haul all those puppets back. To suddenly gain over a dozen puppets with at least Nascent Soul combat power—how could the Alliance pass up such a prize and foolishly make this intelligence public instead? The only explanation was that there had to be some other peculiarity to the puppets in the cave abode. The Alliance wasn't certain either. So they chose to let this multitude of Qi Condensation cultivators risk their lives to scout the way. Li Fan had also heard of Elder Gongsun. Back when he completed the bounty for the anomalous beast, the dragon whale, this Elder Gongsun had investigated the matter. He had only identified the direct cause of the dragon whale's death: exhausted after being besieged by several deep-sea behemoths. He had failed to uncover the root cause: the Formless Killing Intent unleashed by Li Fan. Thus, Li Fan believed that while Elder Gongsun could indeed divine heavenly secrets, it was like the blind men feeling an elephant—he could grasp one part, but never the whole. Li Fan was not the only one who realized this. Once the initial rush of excitement faded, everyone cooled down in time. Yet there were always cultivators holding out hope, believing themselves to be favored by destiny. They banded together, about thirty or so people. A third expedition into the Tianyang Cave Abode. Li Fan merely reposted the bounty task for He Zhenghao's remains and settled back to watch the show. Ten days later, the expedition team returned in utter disarray. Most of the thirty-odd people managed to flee back. Amid their tearful lamentations, the onlookers finally learned what had happened inside the cave abode. Those seventeen puppets were simply too strong! Forged from unknown materials, their bodies were incredibly tough. No matter what spell struck them, it had zero effect. Not even a scratch could be left behind.