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Chapter 390: Time Mirage

Although Li Fan didn’t know why there would be ancient illusions at the moment when the Five Elements merged into one.

And only he could see it.

But Li Fan believed that the conversation between Master and Disciple were not groundless.

“Could the sudden convergence of the Five Elements in this Great Five Elements Subworld be due to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance exploiting the resources of a certain attribute subworld?”

Li Fan’s thoughts quickly turned, and after a moment of contemplation, he decided not to sit idly by.

Even if a major explosion occurred, it might not be safe on the Dust Crossing Boat.

Li Fan quickly contacted Qi Buyi using the Records of Hundred Matters and told her about the strange scene he had just witnessed.

To his surprise, Qi Buyi, upon receiving the news, showed no signs of panic.

“Oh, it turns out to be a ‘Time Mirage’! Friend, you’re lucky…”

“Huh? I remember you only have Golden Core cultivation, right? You can sense it too?”

“It seems that Friend has a strong soul, far beyond ordinary people.”

After some explanation, Li Fan finally understood what this so-called ‘Time Mirage’ was all about.

Just like the ‘Mortal Transcendence Wall’ in Tianyun Province once recorded the scene of Mr. Bai’s mortal transcendence, ascending in one step.

When certain conditions are met, phenomena that are recorded in the world will occur and then repeatedly appear at specific times.

And when the Five Elements merge into one, heading from being to nothingness, it is very easy to trigger the phenomenon of a ‘Time Mirage’.

Several years ago, when the Five Elements merged into one in the Great Five Elements Subworld, a pair of Master and disciple from the Dust Crossing Sect passed by.

The Master explained to the disciple.

This scene happened to be recorded by the ‘Time Mirage’.

Now, after countless cycles, the convergence of the Five Elements once again occurred.

The scene of the Master enlightening the disciple reappeared, and was sensed by Li Fan, who had a strong soul due to practicing the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Mantra.

Although Qi Buyi’s explanation calmed Li Fan about the origin of the illusion.

It didn’t completely ease his mind.

Li Fan frowned and asked, “Senior Qi, will the explosion mentioned in this mirage really happen?”

“Shouldn’t we take some defensive measures?”

Qi Buyi smiled and replied, “Don’t worry, it’s just a small matter. After we learned about the signs of the Five Elements merging into one, we predicted various possibilities. Including this explosion, it’s all within our plan.”

“Friend, just watch quietly.”

“Besides, the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation is almost completed now. Why bother adding unnecessary actions to make defensive measures?”

There was no response from Qi Buyi’s side, but her words made Li Fan sink into deep thought.

“Is the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation enough to ignore the imbalance caused by the merging of the Five Elements?”

A trace of doubt flashed through Li Fan’s mind.

Just as Zhang Zhiliang had said at the beginning, even as the builders of the Spirit Locking Formation, Li Fan and the others might not truly understand the true power of the ‘Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation’.

Perhaps, in the current Xuanhuang Realm, only a few people know what kind of power the fully activated Spirit Locking Formation will unleash.

“It’s just right to take advantage of this opportunity to see what kind of supernatural powers our creations, which we’ve worked hard on for several years, will have.”

Li Fan still had doubts about whether a seemingly ‘monitoring’ formation could withstand the explosion that would bring everything back to chaos.

But since Qi Buyi said so, it meant that she would not let it go to waste.

The existence of the ‘Eternal Chaos Gold’ used to protect the formation also indicated that the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had indeed made preparations.

So Li Fan stood by the side of the Dust Crossing Boat, quietly watching below, waiting for the convergence of the Five Elements.

The Great Five Elements Subworld, like a mixture of paint, became more and more chaotic.

The huge roars and collisions even pierced through layers of spatial barriers and reached the Dust Crossing Boat.

The branches of the upside-down giant tree grew wildly, covering the azure sea.

Fierce flames burned everything to ashes, giving birth to green wood in the midst of the ashes.

Bizarre scenes completely contrary to the real world continued to unfold in the nearing end of the Five Element Cave.

With the passage of time, the fusion of the Five Elements attribute subworlds became even tighter.

In the sea area covered with roots, the rocks stood tall, twisted, and melted into scorched earth.

Soon, flames were born from the wasteland, and wood and water intertwined.

Slowly, as the process of the Five Elements merging intensified,

these bizarre scenes no longer existed.

There were simply colorful spiritual energies mingling and intertwining below.

Dyeing the cave below into an incredibly abstract painting.

Li Fan concentrated, staring closely at the dying cave.

The various colors became increasingly dull.

The invisible darkness, like a fierce beast, swallowed the remaining colors.

It became faster and faster.

However, even after the area of the Five Element Subworld completely turned into nothingness,

there were still many indescribable colors that seemed to linger.

So, these overall grayish existences began to proliferate fiercely.

Like a constantly churning huge vortex, absorbing the surrounding blackness.

The area below now looked like a rapidly expanding dyeing tray.

As Li Fan stared at it, he suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented.

However, he forced himself not to look away.

There was a vague sense in his heart that observing this imbalance of the Five Elements’ explosion might be greatly beneficial to him.

At this moment, the abnormality in the void below also attracted the attention of other cultivators.

While they gathered to watch, there was no expression of worry on their faces.

Evidently, they had great confidence in the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.

The colorful dyeing tray spun faster and faster, finally reaching its limit at a certain moment.

A highly dangerous aura suddenly erupted from below.

Li Fan subconsciously took a step back.

Like the light of creation, it illuminated the dark void.

An extreme whiteness was thus born, carrying the power to destroy everything around.

Just at this moment…

Outside the void, a hint of green light suddenly appeared.

Then, along the nodes of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation built by Li Fan and the others,

it expanded rapidly.

Its speed was several times faster than the white light caused by the explosion.

In an instant, countless intersecting green threads formed a huge network, completely shrouding the explosion area within.

Then, before the cultivators could react,

countless green threads jetted out from the main network autonomously.

Endless, continuous.

In the blink of an eye, the dazzling white light had disappeared.

In its place, appearing before the eyes of the cultivators, was a huge cocoon enveloped in green light.

With a slight movement, the cocoon suddenly shrank slightly.

And the green color on the main network of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation became even brighter.

Like a beating heart, continuously transmitting energy.

Amidst the stunned gaze of the onlookers, the green cocoon became smaller and smaller.

Until it disappeared completely.

And the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation, which easily resolved the imbalance explosion of the Five Elements, was blooming with its own green brilliance in the dark void.

“Is this the power of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation?”

Li Fan was also somewhat dumbfounded.

He was very sure.

Even in the ancient cultivation world where powerful individuals abounded, it would be impossible to resolve such a terrifying explosion so easily.

But now, with the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had effortlessly accomplished this.

Suddenly, a chill rose in Li Fan’s heart.

If defense was already this strong, could the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation also possess offensive capabilities?

TL Note: Go to patreon.com/fantasystories797

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  1. Offline
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    Opp
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  2. Offline
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    **Chapter 390: Mirage of Time**

    Although Li Fan had no idea why an ancient illusion would appear at the moment when the five elements merged into one—and why he alone could see it—he was certain the words of that master and disciple from the *Crossing Calamity Sect* were no mere nonsense.

    “Could it be,” he muttered, “that the sudden unification of the Five Elements Grand Heaven was also caused by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance over-extracting resources from one elemental region?”

    His thoughts raced. After a moment of silent deliberation, he decided he couldn’t just wait for fate to strike.

    If a cataclysmic explosion truly occurred, even the Dust-Crossing Vessel might not survive.

    He quickly used the *Record of Heavenly Supervision* to contact Qi Buyi, recounting in detail the strange vision he had just witnessed.

    To his surprise, Qi Buyi showed no sign of alarm.

    “Oh? So it was a *Temporal Mirage*—you’re quite fortunate, Fellow Daoist.”

    “Eh? If I recall, you’re only at the Golden Core stage, aren’t you? You could actually perceive it?”

    “It must be that your soul is exceptionally resilient—far beyond ordinary cultivators.”

    After her explanation, Li Fan finally understood what this so-called *Temporal Mirage* was.

    It was similar to the *Mortal-to-Divine Wall* in the State of Heavenly Fortune, which had once preserved the scene of Mister Bai’s mortal ascension.

    Under certain conditions, some moments in history were recorded by the world itself, replaying endlessly at specific times.

    And when the five elements merged into one and returned to nothingness, such *Temporal Mirages* were most likely to occur.

    Countless years ago, when the Five Elements Grand Heaven first underwent unification, a master and disciple from the *Crossing Calamity Sect* had happened to pass by.

    The master had been teaching his disciple—and that scene had been captured within the fabric of time itself.

    Now, after endless cycles, the merging of the five elements had come again.

    Thus the master-disciple dialogue replayed once more, and Li Fan—whose soul had been strengthened by cultivating the *Xuanhuang Heart-Refining Mantra*—was able to sense it.



    Although Qi Buyi’s explanation clarified the origin of the vision, Li Fan’s unease did not fade.

    He frowned. “Senior Qi, the explosion they mentioned in the mirage—will it really happen? Shouldn’t we make some preparations?”

    Qi Buyi laughed lightly. “Don’t worry. It’s a small matter. When we first detected signs of elemental unification, we accounted for every possible outcome—including such an explosion.”

    “Just observe quietly, Fellow Daoist.”

    “Besides, the *Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation* is almost complete. Why add unnecessary defenses now?”

    The communication ended there, but her words left Li Fan thoughtful.

    “Can the Spirit-Locking Formation truly withstand a cataclysm caused by elemental imbalance?”

    A flicker of doubt crossed his mind.

    As Zhang Zhiliang had once said, even those who helped construct the formation might not comprehend its true power.

    Perhaps only a handful of people in the entire Profound Yellow Realm knew what would happen when it was fully activated.

    “Well, this is a chance to witness firsthand the divine might of the creation we’ve labored over for years.”

    Still, he could not shake his uncertainty.

    Could a mere “monitoring” formation really suppress an explosion that could return all things to chaos?

    Yet since Qi Buyi had spoken with such confidence—and with the presence of *Eternal Calamity Gold* safeguarding the formation’s core—Li Fan concluded that the Alliance must indeed be prepared.

    He stood quietly at the edge of the Dust-Crossing Vessel, eyes fixed below, waiting for the five elements to merge.

    The Five Elements Grand Heaven below grew increasingly chaotic, like colors of paint swirling together.

    Deafening booms and collisions pierced through layers of space, echoing even to the vessel above.

    The inverted giant tree’s branches grew wildly, sprawling across the blue sea.

    Blazing flames devoured all, and from their ashes sprouted fresh green wood.



    A series of impossible, dreamlike scenes unfolded within the collapsing heaven—reversals of natural order.

    As time passed, the five elemental realms fused ever tighter.

    In the root-entangled seas, metal spires rose and twisted into scorched earth.

    Then, from the wasteland, fire burst forth anew as wood met water.

    Gradually, as the unification deepened, the bizarre visions faded away.

    Only a churning blend of five-colored spiritual qi remained, intertwining like an abstract painting stretched across the void.

    Li Fan focused all his attention, staring fixedly at the heaven on the brink of annihilation.

    The colors dimmed, fading into shadow.

    An unseen blackness, like a ravenous beast, devoured the last traces of light—faster and faster.

    Then, when the entire region had dissolved into nothingness, faint hues still lingered, indescribable and yet undeniably present.

    Those gray remnants multiplied violently, swirling like an immense vortex.

    As the surrounding darkness poured in, the region below became a rapidly expanding disc of turbulent color—like a spinning palette of paint.

    Watching it made Li Fan’s head spin, but he forced himself not to look away.

    Some instinct whispered that witnessing this elemental collapse might hold great meaning for him.

    By now, the strange phenomenon had drawn the attention of other cultivators as well.

    They gathered to watch in curiosity, without a trace of worry—clearly confident in the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.

    The whirling palette spun faster and faster until, at last, it reached its limit.

    A terrifying aura erupted from below.

    Li Fan instinctively took a step back.

    A light like the dawn of creation burst forth, illuminating the void.

    A blinding white radiance swept outward, carrying with it the power to annihilate all things.

    But at that instant—

    From beyond the void, a streak of azure light appeared.

    Following the network of nodes that Li Fan and the others had constructed, it spread rapidly along the channels of the *Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation*.

    Its speed surpassed even the expanding white light by several times.

    In an instant, countless intersecting azure threads wove together into an enormous net, completely enclosing the explosion within.

    Before the watching cultivators could even react, innumerable strands of blue silk shot out from the formation lines—endless and unbroken.

    In a flash, the blinding white radiance vanished.

    In its place, a massive cocoon of blue light appeared before their eyes.

    The cocoon pulsed once, shrinking slightly as the formation’s veins flared ever brighter—like a heart beating, pumping energy through its channels.

    Under the stunned gazes of all present, the blue cocoon grew smaller and smaller—until it disappeared entirely.

    The *Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation*, having effortlessly neutralized the cataclysm of imbalance, now shone resplendent in the dark void, its azure brilliance dancing like life itself.

    “So this is the power of the Spirit-Locking Formation…”

    Li Fan stood frozen.

    He was certain—even in the ancient era, when Dao-Fusing experts roamed freely—no one could have quelled such a devastating explosion so easily.

    Yet now, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had done it, relying solely on this formation.

    A chill crept into his heart.

    If its defense was so absolute…

    Then could the *Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation* also possess—offensive power?

    *(End of Chapter)*
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  3. Offline
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    Yes I'll be sure to check out fantasy stories #797 on patreon bro fk off evil
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  4. Offline
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    This is the first time I've read a novel where the main character is so talentless. He doesn't even understand the power of the formation he's building, and he's just going along with it.
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    1. Offline
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      bruh pepestop
      ...
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  5. Offline
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    I bet it would be a beautiful sight too. This is a really OP formation. pepeg_20 noted
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  6. Offline
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    #Supreme_Ancestor which novel are you leaking now?
    Mtl land is about to destroy me.
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    1. Offline
      + 60 -
      Keep another # after the name to tag him

      #Supreme_Ancestor#
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      1. Offline
        + 90 -
        👍...
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    2. Offline
      + 110 -
      I am only following COI atm, too busy irl. About to join for my Masters.
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      1. Offline
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        Congrats, which masters are you going for?
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