Chapter 841: Ruomu Senses an Omen of Death
Time seemed to stand still.
The cultivators present were torn, each lost in a fierce internal struggle.
After a long moment of silence, He Zhenghao was the first to make his choice.
He announced in a firm voice, "I'm willing to give it a try!"
"After all, I'm just the guardian of a minor island. Giving that up is hardly a great loss!"
A long-forgotten fire lit up in He Zhenghao's eyes. "With the help of the Mutual Aid Association, I've already obtained a Nascent Soul cultivation technique ahead of schedule."
"The Golden Core realm is within my grasp, and reaching Nascent Soul will be an easy feat after that."
"If I can pass the examination and enter the Immortal Alliance's Central Prefectures as a Golden Core cultivator..."
"My future would be worlds apart from what I could achieve by staying in the Cong Yun Sea!"
He Zhenghao's tone was resolute, carrying a persuasive, almost inflammatory, fervor.
With someone leading the way, three more cultivators quickly made the same decision.
Their number, however, stopped there.
The vast majority lacked the courage and confidence to abandon their comfortable positions and challenge themselves once more.
After all, even with the leaked exam questions...
...the sheer volume of information in the jade slip Ji Shaoli had provided was overwhelming.
Whether they could even memorize it all was one question.
And there was a world of difference between rote memorization and true mastery.
With the grand examination imminent, there simply wasn't enough time left.
It was nowhere near enough for them to prepare adequately.
To put it bluntly, the chances of success were slim.
Still, for four out of the eleven to be willing to take the gamble...
...was a higher ratio than Ji Shaoli had expected.
He laughed heartily, applauding the four of them. "Rest assured," he boomed, "you will not regret the choice you've made today."
"Prepare here on the island until the examination begins. I will provide you with all the necessary support."
The four were overjoyed.
The others, however, seeing Ji Shaoli's supreme confidence, felt a pang of regret.
Ji Shaoli, for his part, offered words of consolation to them as well.
"The Cong Yun Sea needs capable people to manage it, after all. There's nothing wrong with choosing to build your future here."
His words put them at ease.
...
Tianling Province.
Li Fan and his two companions had returned to the vicinity of the entrance to the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven.
The tremors in Qiling Prefecture had drawn the attention of the Immortal Alliance.
They had made the journey without alerting anyone.
The process of relocating the entrance to the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven was also proceeding in utter silence.
After all, Dao Integration cultivators represented the pinnacle of power among those who typically moved about the world.
With the combined efforts of Lin Ling and Tianyang, not to mention Li Fan's own mastery of formations...
...it was exceptionally easy to avoid detection by any cultivators within Tianling Province.
"We're only moving the entrance, linking it to the Spirit Wood Realm. We aren't changing the grotto-heaven's actual location in space."
"Strictly speaking, there's still some risk involved."
"If someone were to discover this, it would expose the Spirit Wood Realm."
"But once I've completely assimilated the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven, that threat will vanish on its own."
The spatial data on the Tianling Province side had been recorded.
Now, all that was needed was for one of them to return to the Spirit Wood Realm...
...and complete the connection from that end.
Sending Lin Ling wouldn't take long.
However...
Li Fan threw a casual glance at Lin Ling.
Ever since they had set foot in Tianling Province, she had seemed restless and distracted.
"Lin Ling, what's wrong?"
Li Fan asked via voice transmission. "I sense your mind is in turmoil."
"Master..."
Lin Ling's voice was tinged with panic. She hesitated for a moment before explaining, "There... there's an unsettling presence here."
"It's similar to the aura of the Mother Tree... the one the Ancient Earth Vein Tree warned me to stay away from at all costs..."
"It feels... similar."
Li Fan's pupils contracted at her words.
"Ruomu?"
The name surfaced in his mind in an instant.
In his 115th life, it was here in Tianling Province that he had coincidentally encountered an incarnation of Ruomu.
Daoist Xiumu.
It stood to reason, then, that Lin Ling would sense Ruomu's presence here now.
What sent a jolt of alarm through Li Fan, however, was a different thought.
If Lin Ling could sense Ruomu...
...could Ruomu also perceive Lin Ling?
A horrifying chill crept up his spine.
Li Fan immediately ordered Tianyang to escort Lin Ling out of Tianling Province at once.
He was to return only after she was safely back in the Spirit Wood Realm.
Tianyang accepted the command without hesitation.
As the two departed, the dread coiling in Li Fan's heart began to subside.
"That sense of imminent danger was no illusion."
"Lin Ling must have truly fallen under Ruomu's gaze."
"But whether through her own good luck or for some other reason, It chose not to act."
Only when Tianyang reported that they had both returned safely to the Spirit Wood Realm...
...did Li Fan finally let out a full sigh of relief.
In his assessment, Ruomu was even more dangerous than the Heavenly Doctor.
After all, Ruomu and Su Bai...
...were the only two beings he had ever encountered who could prevent him from even using Truth Realization.
"My previous survival was a stroke of luck."
"If it happens again, I can't be sure of the outcome."
"It's best to avoid such an ancient monster at all costs," Li Fan mused while he waited for Tianyang's return.
Without the aid of Lin Ling's earth-vein abilities, Tianyang's solo flight was considerably slower.
The need to avoid detection by cultivators along the route slowed him down even more.
As Li Fan waited patiently, a flash of insight struck him.
"Ruomu despises cultivators."
"From time to time, it lures and captures them, using them as tools to produce Golden Cores."
"And yet, its incarnation, Daoist Xiumu, doesn't appear often. At least, in my 115th life, when Ximen Yu went looking for it on my advice, he found no trace."
"The last time Ruomu manifested, it was because of the great war in Tianling Province, where countless cultivators perished."
"Could its appearance this time also be linked to the impending deaths of a great many cultivators?"
Li Fan's eyes gleamed with thought.
With Ruomu's power, if it truly wanted to ensnare cultivators, it wouldn't need to personally incarnate and waste breath on persuasion.
In Li Fan's opinion, Ruomu actually savored the process.
It enjoyed watching cultivators gradually lose themselves in its words...
...until they willingly let themselves be hung from its branches, serving as eternal incubators for Golden Cores.
For a being whose heart was consumed by hatred, this must bring an incomparable sense of pleasure.
"Perhaps it's like a human having a drink to celebrate a joyous occasion."
Li Fan speculated.
"Ruomu's reappearance now might truly signify that another mass death of cultivators is on the horizon."
"Even if it hasn't happened yet, It may have already sensed the signs."
While Li Fan was lost in these unsettling thoughts...
...Tianyang finally returned.
With some effort, they finally relocated the entrance to the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven.
Li Fan waited until the last of the residual spatial fluctuations had dissipated before departing.
Before leaving, he made sure to cast another secret art, sealing away any trace of the anomaly.
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