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Chapter 378: The Hidden Mystery of Tianxuan

After Li Fan and the others disappeared from the sight of the crowd, the cultivators present were extremely excited.

They communicated with each other using their spiritual senses.

“We knew a big shot was coming, but we never expected it to be Senior Disciple Lu!”

“Excuse my ignorance, but who exactly is this Senior Disciple Lu?”

“Are you kidding me, brother? Which province are you from if you don’t even know the name of our Chief Formation Master from the Array Hall?”

“With Senior Disciple Lu’s mastery in Dao Integration, she can sweep through the entire Hualing Gorge with just a thought. Does she really need to inspect each place separately?”

“You don’t understand. It’s necessary to maintain appearances. If she just comes and goes without seriously inspecting any place, wouldn’t it seem…”

“Brother, watch your words!”

Li Fan did not participate in this lively discussion.

He simply proceeded with the examination of the formation units as if nothing had happened.

Because he faintly sensed a vast spiritual sense continuously scanning above the Hualing Gorge.

“Everyone knows they need to keep up appearances, yet they foolishly discuss under others’ noses using their spiritual senses. Do they really think spiritual communication is absolutely safe?” Li Fan shook his head inwardly.

He maintained his composure, refusing to engage in such reckless behavior.

After the initial excitement, an order was issued, causing everyone to groan in misery.

The Senior will depart in two days.

Before that, everyone needed to work harder.

They had to complete the construction of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array thoroughly.

Although the original progress was almost sufficient, now they had to compress the schedule forcefully into two days.

The suddenly increased workload was nearly tripled.

But since the command came directly from Dongfang Yao, the wording was extremely stern.

People knew Senior Disciple Lu was present, so they didn’t dare to complain.

They could only work desperately.

Fortunately for Li Fan, continuous work without rest was just ordinary for him.

His expression remained unchanged, without any variation.

To prevent mistakes during the busy period, Huangfu Song and Dongfang Yao also appeared from time to time to check the progress.

As for Senior Disciple Lu herself, after showing herself that day, she never appeared in front of everyone again.

No one knew what she was busy with.

But the massive spiritual sense enveloping the Hualing Gorge never left for a moment.

So Li Fan diligently continued his work, showing no signs of abnormality.

Time flew by amidst everyone’s dedicated efforts.

In the blink of an eye, two days had already passed.

Just as the Tianxuan Array Hub and Locking Spirit Array were about to take shape completely,

Senior Disciple Lu finally appeared again.

“Let me install this Tianxuan Mirror myself,” she proposed, surprising everyone.

Although it was unexpected, no one dared to disobey Senior Disciple Lu’s command.

Dongfang Yao looked a bit nervous as he handed the red phantom formed by the Tianxuan Array Hub to Lu Xichan.

In the central core area of the formation, amidst the attention of everyone present, Senior Disciple Lu placed the Tianxuan Mirror.

The mirror seemed extremely familiar to her.

Almost without manipulation, it cleverly found its position and began to integrate with the surrounding formation.

It looked exactly like the scene Li Fan witnessed outside the Abyss of Roaring Depths.

One after another, green rays of light expanded outward from the central hub of the formation.

“Huh?”

Li Fan keenly sensed that there seemed to be a slight difference in the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array here compared to the one he constructed.

He didn’t show any abnormality on his face.

His thoughts raced.

“What’s different?”

If one were to simply examine it from the perspective of formation knowledge, Senior Disciple Lu’s actions could be described as flawless, with no discernible flaws.

But Li Fan couldn’t shake off the feeling that somewhere in the key points of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array, there was a subtle change.

Quietly watching the formation take shape, that feeling of being constantly under surveillance reappeared.

Li Fan’s heart skipped a beat as he suddenly realized where his feeling came from.

Just as the construction of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array was completed in an instant, the previously unknown formation with transparent patterns enveloping the Hualing Gorge also dissipated at the same time.

And the massive spiritual sense Li Fan had sensed during this time was also nowhere to be found.

Everything seemed to fall into place naturally.

Even if someone noticed, they would only think that Senior Disciple Lu had withdrawn her spiritual power after the formation was completed.

But Li Fan didn’t think so.

A bold idea suddenly emerged in his mind.

Whether it was the formation that unfolded similarly to the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array,

or the remarkably similar surveillance effect,

it couldn’t help but make Li Fan speculate wildly.

“It hasn’t disappeared.”

“Has it merged?”

“Have the two merged into one? Or is it just lurking?”

Li Fan’s gaze remained as calm as ever, but his mind was in turmoil.

“Is this to leave a backdoor for oneself within the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array?”

As the first Dao Integration formation master to propose the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array plan,

Lu Xichan undoubtedly had the ability to do so.

But her motives left Li Fan puzzled.

“Is it to prevent the potential loss of control of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array in the future? So, she took this action.”

“Or is there another purpose?”

“Once the Tianxuan Locking Spirit becomes widespread, mastering it means holding supreme power.”

“Even the Chief Formation Master of the Array Hall is just a formation master.”

“There is still quite a distance from reaching the pinnacle of real power.”

“Perhaps, leveraging the Tianxuan Locking Spirit, one could achieve a qualitative leap.”

“Or even catch a glimpse of the Immortal Realm.”

As Li Fan’s thoughts continued to diverge,

The Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array, which had been completely formed due to Senior Disciple Lu’s personal operation, elicited thunderous applause from the cultivators inside the Hualing Gorge.

Lu Xichan also rarely showed a hint of a smile.

With a gentle expression, she looked down at the cultivators below.

As her gaze swept over the face of an old man with snowy white hair, her eyes suddenly froze.

Where had she seen this person before?

Lu Xichan felt somewhat surprised.

But he was just a Golden Core cultivator, unlikely to catch her attention.

Her thoughts raced, memories flooding her mind incessantly.

In an instant, they stopped at a few years ago, when her daughter, Lu Xuejing, disappeared for a while before returning.

Due to her reckless arrogance, Lu Xuejing had been kidnapped by an old fisherman.

Fortunately, a cultivator managed to retrieve her using the items he carried.

Her daughter, saved from a perilous situation, wanted to express her gratitude to the cultivator.

But he seemed to be in a hurry and left abruptly.

She didn’t know anything about her savior’s life, only remembering his face.

At that time, her daughter had described the appearance of the cultivator to her using the Water Mirror Technique.

She had memorized it immediately.

It should be this person.

But why had he aged so much in just a few years?

“Who is that person?”

Lu Xichan transmitted her voice to Dongfang Yao.

“As expected!”

Seeing both Senior Disciple Lu and Brother Dongfang look towards Li Fan simultaneously, Huangfu Song secretly commented in his heart.

Comments 7

  1. Offline
    + 00 -
    Be generous okay
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  2. Offline
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    ---

    Chapter 378 – The Hidden Secret of Tianxuan

    When Lu Shouxí and her entourage vanished from sight, the faces of the gathered cultivators were brimming with excitement.
    They immediately began exchanging thoughts through divine sense.

    > “I knew someone important would show up, but I didn’t expect it to be Chief Lu!”
    “Brother, forgive my ignorance — who exactly is this Chief Lu?”
    “You’re kidding, right? Which province are you from, not knowing the name of our Cezhentang’s Chief Formation Master?”
    “With Chief Lu’s cultivation at the Hedao level, her divine sense could sweep across the entire Hualingjian in a single thought. Why does she even need to inspect each section personally?”
    “You don’t understand. The appearance must be kept! If she just came and left without even pretending to look around, wouldn’t that seem—”
    “Brother, watch your tongue!”





    Li Fan didn’t join in the chatter.
    He continued calmly testing the formation units as if nothing had happened.

    Because he faintly sensed a vast divine consciousness sweeping repeatedly above Hualingjian.

    > “They all know how to put on a show, yet they’re still foolish enough to gossip right under someone’s divine sense. Do they think voice transmission is absolutely safe?”



    Li Fan silently shook his head.
    Eyes on nose, nose on heart — he focused his mind and stayed well clear of courting death.

    After the initial excitement passed, a new order was issued, and the cultivators began to groan in dismay.

    The Chief would be departing in two days.
    Before then, the entire Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation must be fully completed.

    Although their progress had already been nearly finished, compressing the remaining work into two days meant their workload suddenly multiplied several times over.

    But since the order came directly from Dongfang Yao, phrased with utmost severity, no one dared to complain — especially with Chief Lu herself present.
    All they could do was work themselves to the bone.

    Fortunately for Li Fan, such continuous work without rest was nothing new to him.
    His expression remained composed and steady.

    To prevent errors born of fatigue, both Huangfu Song and Dongfang Yao appeared now and then to inspect the progress.
    As for Lu Xichan, ever since her brief appearance that day, she had not shown herself again.

    No one knew what she was busy with.
    Yet that immense divine sense enveloping Hualingjian had not vanished even for a breath.

    Li Fan thus continued to act with utmost caution, showing no sign of abnormality.

    Time flew amidst the cultivators’ tireless labor.
    In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

    Just as the Tianxuan Formation Core was about to be set and the Locking Spirit Formation finally completed—

    Chief Lu appeared once more.

    > “I will personally install this Tianxuan Mirror,” she said.



    The unexpected statement stunned everyone present.
    But no one dared to object to the Chief’s command.

    Dongfang Yao’s face tensed as he handed over the crimson phantom representing the Tianxuan Core to Lu Xichan.

    Under countless gazes, she placed the Tianxuan Mirror into the central core of the formation.

    The mirror seemed intimately familiar with her presence—
    It aligned itself without resistance, swiftly integrating with the surrounding array.

    The sight was identical to what Li Fan had once witnessed outside Chicha Abyss.
    Streaks of azure light radiated outward from the core, spreading across the formation’s intricate patterns.

    > “Hmm?”



    Li Fan’s sharp perception caught something subtle.
    This Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation seemed… ever so slightly different from the one he had constructed before.

    His expression remained calm, but his mind was racing.

    > “What changed?”



    From the perspective of formation principles, Chief Lu’s actions were flawless—beyond reproach.
    Yet, some instinct told Li Fan that within the same Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation, a crucial alteration had taken place.

    As he quietly watched the array complete, that sense of being watched returned again.

    Li Fan’s heart trembled. He immediately understood the source of that feeling.

    At the exact moment the formation finished, the mysterious web of transparent sigils that had shrouded Hualingjian vanished without a trace.
    And so too did that immense divine sense he had sensed all along.

    Everything seemed perfectly natural —
    any observer would think Chief Lu simply retracted her divine sense upon the formation’s completion.

    But Li Fan did not think so.

    A bold thought arose in his mind.

    > The unknown formation that covered Hualingjian…
    The Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation that replaced it…
    Their activation patterns were identical, their surveillance effects uncannily alike.



    > “It didn’t vanish,” he realized.
    “It merged.”



    > “Did she integrate the two? Or simply conceal one within the other?”



    Li Fan’s gaze remained placid, yet stormy thoughts churned beneath.

    > “Is she planting a hidden backdoor within the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation?”



    As the first cultivator to propose the concept of this formation, Lu Xichan absolutely possessed such ability.
    But her motive eluded him.

    > “Could it be a failsafe — to prevent the formation from going out of control?”
    “Or… something else entirely?”
    “Once the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation spreads across the world, those who control it will wield immense power.”
    “Even the Chief Formation Master of Cezhentang is, in the end, merely a formation master.”
    “To grasp the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation is to grasp authority itself.”
    “Perhaps this is the key to ascend beyond her current station — maybe even to glimpse the realm of Changsheng.”



    As Li Fan’s thoughts drifted further, the formation beneath them completed in its entirety under Chief Lu’s personal hand.

    Thunderous applause erupted from the cultivators within Hualingjian.
    Lu Xichan smiled faintly — a rare expression of warmth.

    Her gaze swept over the crowd.
    When her eyes fell upon an elderly white-haired man, her expression suddenly froze.

    > “This person… I’ve seen him before.”



    A flicker of surprise crossed her heart.
    A mere Jindan cultivator shouldn’t have drawn her notice.

    But memories surged rapidly in her mind.

    Years ago—her daughter Lu Xuejing had vanished for some time before returning.
    Back then, out of arrogance, Xuejing had been captured by the fisherman elder Yufu.
    She was only saved because a certain cultivator had traded an item of his own to secure her release.

    Her daughter had wanted to thank the man, but he had departed in haste.
    She had never learned his name — only remembered his face.

    Later, using a Water Mirror Technique, Xuejing had shown her mother the man’s appearance.
    Lu Xichan had engraved that face into memory.

    It was him.

    But how could that same man now appear so old after so few years?

    > “Who is that man?”



    Lu Xichan transmitted the question to Dongfang Yao.

    > “So it’s come to this…”



    Watching both Lu Xichan and Dongfang Yao’s gazes fall simultaneously on Li Fan, Huangfu Song sighed inwardly.

    (End of Chapter)


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  3. Offline
    + 23 -
    Wait but I thought she couldn't care less about her daughter? To commit his face to memory and reward him now seems like wishful thinking...
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  4. Offline
    + 72 -
    Ahh It's time to reward your virtuous soul, Li Fan. cutie
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  5. Offline
    + 190 -
    How desolate, so much miasma In the dao exchange section that no fellow daoist is willing to partake. troll75
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    1. Offline
      + 100 -
      I am here fellow daoist
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    2. Offline
      + 50 -
      Fellow Daoist the Miasma of MTL has spread throught these chapter of the script, many have given up their cultivation due to it's foul presence.
      Read more