Chapter 1069: Trouble Brews Again in the Earth Veins
"Unless I'm mistaken... has someone actually succeeded in reversing the logic of life and death?"
"To think the Xuanhuang Realm was hiding a figure of this caliber? And you failed to inform me of something so crucial?"
Li Fan's voice was laced with irritation.
"With the Rebirth Palace in play, I'm afraid that no matter how many cultivators die, it will no longer pose a threat to the Xuanhuang Realm."
"It seems the plan to force Dharma Transmitter Jiang out of hiding is doomed to fail," Li Fan sighed.
A puzzled expression crossed Dharma Transmitter Zhou's face.
"You may find this hard to believe, but we Dharma Transmitters know nothing about this new Longevity Heavenly Venerate."
"And I don't just mean the three of us exiles. Even those still on the Dharma Transmitter Council are in the dark!" Dharma Transmitter Zhou declared, her tone firm and certain.
With that, she fixed Li Fan with a suspicious gaze. "This Longevity Heavenly Venerate... are you certain he isn't one of yours? From the Federation of All Worlds?"
"Impossible!" Li Fan shook his head, denying it outright.
Their eyes met, and in that shared glance, they both saw the same flicker of shock and suspicion.
"It seems that after all these years of expansion, the Xuanhuang Realm's waters run deeper than I imagined." Dharma Transmitter Wei's eyes grew distant, his brow furrowing in thought. "This new Heavenly Venerate must have slipped into the Xuanhuang Realm at some point and has been living here in seclusion ever since."
"But judging by his actions—or lack thereof—he's spent all these years cultivating in silence, detached from worldly affairs. As long as we don't provoke him, he should pose no threat."
Li Fan, however, suddenly recalled the countless bodies he had seen, frozen in ice within the Life and Death Reversal Grand Array.
He fell into a thoughtful silence.
"The sudden appearance of this Rebirth Heavenly Venerate was certainly unforeseen. However, it's too soon to declare our plan a failure." It was Dharma Transmitter Huang, who had been silent until now, who spoke.
Li Fan and the others immediately turned to look at Huang.
"In truth, we are but a single step away from forcing Jiang's hand."
"The spiritual energy in the Xuanhuang Realm has mutated, turning cultivators bloodthirsty. This is a monumental event, one that will fundamentally alter the state of the entire realm."
"The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance bears the responsibility of maintaining stability; they will have no choice but to investigate and resolve this. All we have to do is eliminate every Alliance member they send. Eventually, Jiang himself will be forced to act."
"Besides, the celestial phenomena that mark a cultivator's fall have vanished. Even if we act, we won't be exposed," Huang added matter-of-factly.
Hearing this, both Dharma Transmitter Zhou and Wei wore peculiar expressions.
Li Fan, however, gave a slight nod of approval.
"It's a sound strategy."
"Then I'll leave it in your hands."
"However, we cannot simply pin our hopes on Jiang taking the bait. I will return and petition the Federation to see if we can activate a new world-annihilation protocol."
As he spoke, without waiting for a reply, Li Fan severed his connection to the three Dharma Transmitters.
"With the Rebirth Palace in the picture, the lives of cultivators are no longer an effective threat."
"The approach must target the Xuanhuang Realm itself."
He had already used the [Submerge] character once before when confronting Dharma Transmitter Jiang.
And though Dharma Transmitter Jiang seemed to have no memory of the event after undergoing the "Return to Origin,"...
...the current goal was merely to force him out of hiding and, through him, deal with Mo Rubin.
It was not about true animosity.
Therefore, it was best to avoid using the [Submerge] character again.
Li Fan pondered for a moment before turning his attention back to the mutated Dao One worms.
After a period of rapid proliferation, the Dao One worms, which released a slaughter-infused spiritual energy, had quietly occupied a vast, contiguous region deep beneath the surface of the Xuanhuang Realm.
However, under Li Fan's deliberate control, they had done nothing untoward, merely continuing their normal cycle of reproduction and emission of spiritual energy.
Otherwise, given their current numbers, it would be a simple matter to trigger another Great Stench across the Xuanhuang Realm.
After careful deliberation, Li Fan changed his strategy.
The target of his hostility shifted from the cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm to the Xuanhuang Realm itself.
To avoid incurring the wrath of heaven and earth, which might cause complications later when he used the False Claiming Heavenly Dao to absorb the World Birthing Change,...
...all subsequent control of the worm swarm would be handled by his immortal puppet.
Upon receiving their orders from the worm mother, the mutated Dao One worms stirred into frenzied activity.
They did not fly towards the surface, but instead burrowed deeper underground.
Following the flow of spiritual energy through the earth veins, they began to gnaw on the branches of the ancient tree hidden within.
Li Fan had not forgotten how this ancient earth vein tree had repeatedly tried to incite Lin Ling to rebel against him.
Although Lin Ling had been awed by his display of power and ultimately chose to see the light,...
...that didn't mean he was willing to let the matter slide.
Lin Ling was currently atoning for her transgressions with hard labor for the Federation.
Now, it was time to settle the score with this ancient earth vein tree.
The ancient earth vein tree was rooted deep underground.
Its roots spread throughout the Xuanhuang Realm.
But in the end, its main body was still just a tree, albeit a colossal one.
It might be a tough bite, but for the innumerable, boundless swarm of mutated Dao One worms, no tree was too tough to chew.
The underground Dao One worms went into a frenzy, heedless of their own lives, as they began to devour the ancient tree's roots spreading through the earth veins.
The ancient earth vein tree was already one with the earth veins.
When all the ancient tree's roots in a given region were annihilated, the immediate consequence was...
Subsidence.
A terrifying, cataclysmic subsidence, on a scale that could level mountains and fill seas.
Without warning, catastrophic land subsidences began to plague certain regions of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Even though most cultivators resided in floating celestial cities and were largely unaffected, the matter still immediately drew the full attention of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Moving much more swiftly than before, the Alliance dispatched investigation teams to the affected areas on the very next day to get to the bottom of the matter.
Li Fan sent a message to the three Dharma Transmitters, telling them to cooperate in secret.
Amazed by the Federation's seemingly endless repertoire of tactics, the three Dharma Transmitters cooperated fully. Each displayed their unique powers, secretly capturing all of the Alliance's investigation teams.
When the first wave of investigators vanished without a trace, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance abruptly realized something was amiss.
And so, the ones leading the second investigation team were, to everyone's surprise, two Dharma Transmitters.
Upon receiving the summons, Li Fan, clad in the Tianyang Immortal Armor, arrived at the scene of the confrontation, acting as the final, decisive power.
"I don't detect the aura of any Xuantian Sect techniques," Dharma Transmitter Zhou sent via a secret voice transmission. "It seems they haven't been possessed by that Law King."
"What should we do?"
"We'll try to reason with them, appeal to their sense of duty. If that fails, our only option is to suppress them for now. We can release them once everything is back on track." Dharma Transmitter Wei decided quickly.
While the four were still conferring, the two opposing Dharma Transmitters stared at the sudden appearance of Zhou, Wei, and their companions, their expressions a mixture of shock and fury.
"I can't believe it's you, pulling strings in the shadows!"
"You were the ones who chose to leave the Dharma Transmitter Council all those years ago. Even if you harbor resentment now, it doesn't justify committing such atrocities!"
the Dharma Transmitter named Chu lamented, his face a mask of disappointment.
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