Chapter 891: The Old Incident Comes to Light
Chapter 891: The Old Incident Comes to Light
A simple wooden sword, perfectly ordinary, was thrust straight into the earth.
It was identical to the one Li Fan had seen in the ruins of the Heavenly Sword Sect, deep within the Fallen Immortal Realm.
It was as if the very passage of time had lost its hold on the blade.
A millennium had passed, yet it remained unchanged.
Gazing at the sight before him, Li Fan felt a strange conviction, an illusion that the sword he had seen in the Fallen Immortal Realm was this very blade.
"I wonder how that kid, Shuo Feng, managed to take this wooden sword away," Li Fan mused.
He could now discern some of the secrets at play.
The millions of broken blades here, with the [Sword] as their core, formed a subtle and powerful array.
Even with his current level of cultivation, Li Fan could barely accomplish such a feat. It would undoubtedly create a massive disturbance, drawing the unwanted attention of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
"The only proper way is to convince it to leave willingly," he concluded.
"Unfortunately..."
Li Fan attempted to convey his will, but the wooden sword paid him no mind whatsoever.
Fortunately, Li Fan had no real intention of taking it anyway.
He took out an Enlightenment Pill, swallowed it, and sat cross-legged on the ground, beginning to sense the profound sword intent emanating from the wooden blade.
Of all the broken blades in the Sword Tomb, Li Fan now sat the closest to the wooden sword.
Ignoring the faint hostility radiating from the surrounding swords, Li Fan simply focused on his comprehension.
Aided by the Enlightenment Pill, and bolstered by his own considerable aptitude for comprehension and his prior experience meditating on the sword in the Fallen Immortal Realm, in an instant, a torrent of images flooded his mind.
"Hm?"
"It seems the wooden sword itself has undergone some kind of transformation over the past thousand years."
"Compared to the one I saw in the Fallen Immortal Realm, this one is more..."
Li Fan searched for the right word but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He couldn't say it was more perfect; the original [Sword], casually crafted by Mr. Bai, had been the flawless embodiment of the Xuanhuang Realm's Dao of the Sword.
Nor could he say it was stronger. The two simply possessed different qualities. The wooden sword from a millennium ago was not necessarily weaker than the one before him now.
"It's more accurate to say that as the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm has shifted, this Heaven's Wonder has changed along with it."
"All in all, the blade before me now is better suited to display its power in the current Xuanhuang Realm."
A realization dawned on Li Fan.
While Li Fan was deep within the Sword Tomb, striving to comprehend the true essence of the Xuanhuang Realm's Dao of the Sword and attempting to replicate Mr. Bai's magnificent feat of creating a Heaven's Wonder from nothing...
Meanwhile, in the Cong Yun Sea, on Haixuan Island.
A cultivator by the name of Yan Longjiang discreetly approached Li Fan's clone, Ji Shaoli.
Seeing the man's hesitant expression, Ji Shaoli offered a reassuring smile. "Fellow Daoist Yan, please, speak your mind. You're one of the founding members of our Congyun Mutual Aid Association. The association wouldn't be the size it is today without your tireless efforts to spread the word."
Only then did Yan Longjiang lower his voice, a hint of nervousness in his tone. "When the six of us first joined the association, Fellow Daoist Ji, you promised to provide each of us with the grotto-heaven required to advance to the Nascent Soul stage..."
"I... was wondering if that promise still stands..."
Yan Longjiang swallowed hard, his face a mask of apprehension.
It was no wonder he was so anxious. The Mutual Aid Association was a different entity now. In just a few short years, it had grown into a sprawling organization with deep and intricate connections. Many members had even taken up positions deep within the Immortal Alliance's territory, their futures looking bright.
As for Ji Shaoli himself, he was an enigma. Even mighty Dao Integration cultivators treated him with the utmost respect.
If Ji Shaoli were to refuse, Yan Longjiang wouldn't dare show even a hint of displeasure.
But to Yan Longjiang's surprise, Ji Shaoli was far more approachable than he had imagined.
"Haha, what kind of talk is that, Fellow Daoist Yan?" Ji Shaoli laughed, clapping Yan Longjiang on the shoulder reassuringly. "When I, Ji Shaoli, make a promise, I keep it. It's only a grotto-heaven. Why would I begrudge rewarding someone who has contributed so much to our cause?"
Then he asked, "What cultivation art do you practice, Fellow Daoist Yan? And what kind of grotto-heaven do you require?"
In truth, Ji Shaoli was already well aware of the man's circumstances, but he asked anyway.
Overjoyed, Yan Longjiang quickly replied, "I practice the *Seven Fiends Wind Controlling True Art*. As for the grotto-heaven..."
"I dare not be greedy. One that is reasonably spacious would be more than enough," he said softly.
Ji Shaoli gave a slight nod. A moment later, a suitable target surfaced in his mind.
Without further delay, Ji Shaoli led Yan Longjiang, and the two departed stealthily for their destination.
In Juchao Prefecture, Ji Shaoli stood guard for him.
In a mere seven days, Yan Longjiang successfully absorbed the [Gale Grotto-Heaven].
Suppressing the turbulent aura still fluctuating around him, Yan Longjiang bowed respectfully to Ji Shaoli.
"Thank you for making this possible, Fellow Daoist."
"I can never repay this kindness. From this day forward, I pledge my life to the Mutual Aid Association!"
Ji Shaoli waved a dismissive hand. "There are too many eyes and ears here. Let's return before we discuss this further."
Not long after the pair departed, a middle-aged cultivator in a long, cyan robe ambled toward the location of the Gale Grotto-Heaven.
He glanced around, and after confirming the area was deserted, he formed a hand seal, preparing to enter the grotto-heaven.
To his shock, nothing happened.
The cultivator's expression changed dramatically. Refusing to believe it, he performed the hand seal once more.
The result was the same.
Now, he was thoroughly panicked.
He quickly took out a communication talisman and sent a message.
Before long, another figure arrived—a powerfully built cultivator dressed in black robes.
The black-robed cultivator's face was concealed, but the aura emanating from him was clearly that of a Soul Transformation expert.
After a brief inspection of the area, his expression turned grim.
"This Gale Grotto-Heaven... someone stole it!" he snarled.
The cyan-robed cultivator stared in disbelief. "What? The grotto-heaven is gone?"
He stared blankly at the empty space. "Who would dare!"
The killing intent in the black-robed cultivator's eyes was palpable. "Heh. It's always our Xiang family taking from others. And now someone has the audacity to steal from us, right under our noses!"
"Investigate! Find out who did this! I want to see just who is so brazen!"
The Xiang family moved quickly.
Within moments, five or six more cultivators had arrived at the scene.
After performing a tracing art, they managed to conjure two blurry silhouettes.
"A pity. The culprits were no amateurs. They used a secret art to cover their tracks. This is the best we can do," the white-haired man leading the investigation explained with a hint of regret.
"Can you track them?" the black-robed man asked.
"Not much time has passed. It should be possible," the white-haired man affirmed with a nod.
As he spoke, he produced a square, golden compass and tossed it into the air.
Two faint, silvery trails immediately materialized before them.
"By the looks of it, they're heading toward Juchao Heavenly City."
"Hmph. So they're insiders from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance?" the black-robed cultivator from the Xiang family sneered through gritted teeth.
"They are likely cultivators from another prefecture, not local to Juchao. The question is, how did information about the Gale Grotto-Heaven get leaked?" the white-haired man wondered aloud, a puzzled note in his voice.
"Speaking of which, Brother Xiang, have you heard about a recent incident?"
"Hm?"
"Not long ago, there was an inexplicable outbreak of the Immortal-Mortal Miasma. After it subsided, the Alliance sent investigators underground in Qiling Prefecture. They found traces of an Earth's Soul. But then, it suddenly vanished," the white-haired man explained via voice transmission.
"What are you implying?" the black-robed cultivator asked, his eyes narrowing.
"That Earth's Soul was repairing the subterranean void in Qiling Prefecture. Its disappearance is what triggered the miasma outbreak."
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