Chapter 1094: The Yazi Revenge Array
Dharma Transmitter Zhou was delighted by how quickly Li Fan agreed. "Excellent," she said. "We'll meet there, then."
With that, she transmitted the coordinates.
After ending the communication, Li Fan began his preparations.
His claim of having "newly developed technology" wasn't entirely a fabrication. It was, in fact, the fruit of the Final Dissociation Disc's year-long deductions.
Ever since mastering the two immortal-grade arrays—the Mysterious Jade, Myriad Spirits Return to Number Array and the Desolate Fall, Void Room Generates Flowers Array—and undergoing a metamorphosis by devouring nine nascent sub-discs, the Dissociation Disc's analytical power had been growing at an unimaginable rate.
At every moment, it seemed to be deducing an endless stream of entirely new arrays.
The Dissociation Disc, much like the Deduction Jade, seemed determined to deduce every array in existence.
Even without any deliberate manipulation from its master, Li Fan, it had amassed a vast database of arrays over the course of a year.
By inputting a few parameters and running a quick search, Li Fan found exactly what he was looking for.
As its name suggested, the array's function was quite clear.
Keeping the array active allowed it to automatically scan the vicinity for any individuals bearing enmity toward the user, marking them for continuous tracking.
Its effective range was roughly the size of an entire province of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. Once the Yazi Array locked onto a target, they would be tracked continuously as long as they remained within its bounds.
The array had a peculiar limitation: a single instance of the formation could only be designated to track one specific target.
Li Fan tested it briefly and found that the Yazi Array's locking mechanism completely surpassed his current understanding. It was already bordering on the level of a true immortal technique.
However, Mo Rubin's performance last time had been deeply unsettling.
Therefore, an array alone would not be enough.
Li Fan then produced a small jade vial.
Inside were three medicinal pills.
They darted about inside the vial at high speed, their trajectories chaotic and unpredictable, yet hinting at some miraculous quality.
"Soul Separation Pills."
"After consuming one, your soul will appear to be dissociated and in a state of extreme chaos to any outside observer. In reality, however, you retain full control of your body. It's exceptionally effective against soul possession. Mo Rubin's possession technique is similar to Dharma Transmitter Jiang's; he assimilates his targets."
"But how can one possess or influence a soul that is a vortex of pure chaos?"
A cold glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes. "Even if it can't stop him completely, it will, at the very least, significantly delay the possession process."
"They come in sets of three. The Medicine King Sect's first batch produced over two hundred sets..."
...
With all preparations complete, Li Fan took Tianyang and headed to the rendezvous point.
He had, of course, disguised his true appearance.
Dharma Transmitter Zhou was already there, waiting with thirty-seven others.
They were roughly divided into three groups. The largest was a contingent of black-robed cultivators, their faces expressionless and their demeanor chillingly severe.
Their eyes were even more vacant than any Li Fan had seen before.
They seemed less like cultivators and more like puppets, devoid of independent thought, existing only to execute commands.
Of the other two groups, one consisted of two other Dharma Transmitters standing beside Dharma Transmitter Zhou.
The second group, however, was rather peculiar.
They didn't resemble humans. They were short, no taller than a child of seven or eight.
They were headless, their facial features—eyes, nose, and mouth—crammed onto their chests.
Their bodies were entirely jet-black, creating an appearance that was both grotesque and vaguely comical.
"To enter this forbidden land, we need members of the You clan to act as our guides," Dharma Transmitter Zhou explained. She glanced at Tianyang, who stood silently behind Li Fan with his eyes closed, offered a slight bow in his direction, and then turned back to Li Fan.
"The You?" Li Fan asked, studying the strange beings with curiosity. RAN0*BES
"We can talk as we go," she replied. "Here are the things you need to know before we enter."
At a signal from Dharma Transmitter Zhou, the You clansmen formed a circle, joined hands, and began to perform a strange, ritualistic dance.
It was like a ceremony. As they hummed in unison, a faint, obscure, and claustrophobic presence descended upon them.
At least, that was how it felt to Li Fan.
In truth, neither his naked eye nor his spiritual sense could detect any actual change in the space before them.
"Let's go in."
But the actions of the others confirmed Li Fan's premonition.
As the cultivators from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance flew into the space above the You clansmen, they vanished as if suddenly devoured by an unseen darkness.
They simply vanished into thin air.
The Alliance cultivators filed in one after another, and eventually, Li Fan followed them into the void.
Light was stripped away from the world.
He was surrounded by a complete and utter darkness.
It was slightly different from the Darkest Star Sea beyond the Xuanhuang Realm.
Though both were dark, the blackness of the Star Sea felt vast, empty, and deathly silent.
Here, however...
The darkness was oppressive, damp, and menacing, as if something were stirring within it, poised to strike and devour anyone who dared to enter.
The cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance who had entered before him seemed to have vanished entirely.
It was as if he were the only person left in this gloomy, forbidden place.
Li Fan instinctively tried to scan his surroundings with his spiritual sense, only to find it was useless here.
The moment it left his body, it was enveloped by the endless darkness, rendering him unable to perceive anything at all.
He then tried to conjure light to illuminate his surroundings, but that too failed.
It seemed that even light could not survive in this forsaken place.
Just then, without any warning, a hand suddenly fell upon his shoulder.
The hair on his arms stood on end, and Li Fan instinctively prepared to strike back.
But through that physical contact, their spiritual senses were able to connect.
Only then was Li Fan able to "hear" the other person's words.
The person first identified himself.
Dharma Transmitter Yan.
He then explained to Li Fan, "Here in this gloomy expanse, both spiritual sense and sound are useless. The only way to communicate is through physical contact, just like the You clansmen."
"We all entered together, so we haven't been separated. Everyone should be nearby. Let's regroup first."
Li Fan nodded slightly.
This gloomy domain was truly strange. Even his innate connection with Tianyang had been severed.
Fortunately, Tianyang hadn't strayed far, and Li Fan found him again without much difficulty.
With a silent command, and unnoticed by the others, Tianyang transformed into his immortal puppet armor and fused with Li Fan's body.
"'The Yazi Array is severely weakened here as well,' Li Fan noted inwardly. 'Its sensory range is reduced to barely ten meters around me.'"
The thought sent a chill through him.
After all, this was an array that bordered on the power of a true immortal formation.
"'I never imagined such a perilous place existed within the Xuanhuang Realm,' he mused. 'What on earth is Mo Rubin doing here?'"
Following the example of the You clansmen who had joined hands before entering, the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and Li Fan used the same method to find each other and regroup.
After a headcount revealed that three people were missing, the group made no move to search for them.
Instead, a kill-on-sight order was issued for the missing trio.
Then, as one, they pressed on into the depths of the darkness.
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