“This is…”
“Has He Zhenghao broken through to the late Foundation Establishment stage?”
Li Fan was somewhat surprised after sensing this.
“In just over two months, this speed is even faster than in his previous life.”
“What happened?”
After reviewing the surveillance images of He Zhenghao stored in the Transformation Dao Stone, Li Fan couldn’t help but smile.
Recently, He Zhenghao has indeed been riding high.
The news that he had changed his fate through the guidance of a ‘senior from the Heavenly Mechanisms Sect’ had spread like wildfire throughout the Congyun Sea.
Previously, due to practicing the “Mountain Sitting Art,” He Zhenghao had begun establishing connections and developing his network early on.
And because of his natural talent in formations, he maintained decent relationships with the formation masters in the Formation Strategy Hall.
So even though He Zhenghao was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his network of connections was not to be underestimated.
In his previous life, it was He Zhenghao who helped Li Fan secure a position in the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance!
This time, through a stroke of luck, He Zhenghao switched to a Nascent Soul technique that was extremely compatible with him.
It was clear to anyone with eyes that, barring any major mishaps, He Zhenghao’s achievement of the Nascent Soul stage was practically a certainty.
A formation master at the Nascent Soul level, and one skilled in social interactions.
With this, He Zhenghao’s status in the eyes of others changed dramatically.
People came to visit him constantly, and He Zhenghao welcomed them all with a warm smile.
He received so many gifts that his hands grew tired, and he felt incredibly happy.
His cultivation advanced rapidly, and he soon broke through to the late Foundation Establishment stage.
During this process, the visiting cultivators inevitably began to inquire about the so-called ‘ancient Heavenly Mechanisms Sect cultivator.’
After all, who wouldn’t be envious of such an opportunity to double one’s fortune overnight?
If they could also latch onto this person…
At first, He Zhenghao managed to brush them off with excuses like, “I haven’t been in contact for a while” or “I haven’t seen this senior again.”
But as more and more cultivators of increasingly higher status asked, He Zhenghao began to feel the pressure.
Because he refused to reveal any information about the Heavenly Mechanisms Sect cultivator, some cultivators began to express dissatisfaction.
Accusations that He Zhenghao was ‘hogging the benefits’ began to spread.
Even Chu Ming, the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Administration Hall who had helped Li Fan join the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance at He Zhenghao’s request, began to question He Zhenghao after being unable to reach Li Fan.
Heaven knows, He Zhenghao truly didn’t know where Li Fan had gone!
He couldn’t contact him through the Tianxuan Mirror.
Li Fan hadn’t even left him a single communication talisman.
Faced with increasing pressure from these cultivators, He Zhenghao was on the verge of tears.
He wished he could slap his two-month-ago self.
Why did you have to go around bragging for no reason?
Watching the repeated messages from He Zhenghao on the Tianxuan Mirror, Li Fan’s lips curved slightly.
“Let it simmer a little longer; the atmosphere is almost ready.”
“Five million contribution points are enough to support the first phase of the plan.”
“But for now, let Fellow Daoist He bear the brunt a bit longer.”
Li Fan then sensed the situation on the side of the Foundation Establishment master.
Li Chenfeng had already returned.
With him was a veiled woman in a blue dress.
Li Chenfeng and the other two showed great respect towards this woman, addressing her as the ‘Saint Master.’
Since arriving in the Xuanhuang Realm, this Saint Master hadn’t left the chamber on the island.
When Li Chenfeng exited the chamber, Li Fan managed to see that she was fiddling with a machine resembling an armillary sphere.
“Saint Master?”
“Interesting. The agreed three-month period has passed, so let me, as the envoy of the Messenger of the Federation of All Worlds go meet her.”
Li Fan didn’t sense any danger from this woman in blue.
Instead, he faintly felt a sense of familiarity.
This familiarity was so faint that even after searching the memories stored in the Transformation Dao Stone, he couldn’t identify its source.
This only made Li Fan more intrigued.
He resumed his previous appearance and swiftly flew towards the target location.
Before long, he arrived in the sky above the island.
Looking closely, he saw that Li Chenfeng and the other two were already waiting at the door.
“Senior, please follow us,” Li Chenfeng said softly, leading Li Fan into the chamber.
Li Fan’s expression remained calm, but he was somewhat cautious inside.
He stared at the veiled woman sitting not far away and asked, “Who is this?”
“I am here at the request of the Imperial Princess to see if this so-called ‘Immortal Ruins’ are real.” The woman in blue referred to herself as old, but her voice was clear and youthful, like that of a teenage girl.
“Oh? In that case, what have you found?” Li Fan asked with interest, eyeing the device in front of her.
In the center, a golden sphere remained still, while many differently colored spheres moved in irregular orbits around it.
The woman in blue sighed and shook her head, “Something seems to be concealing the existence of the ‘Immortal Ruins,’ making it impossible to detect.”
“However, it’s true that this place has become even more unusual.”
Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, “More unusual?”
The woman in blue waved her hand, putting away the device.
“This is the ‘Void Coordinator Locator,’ a device the Empire spent thousands of years crafting. It can mark and lock the position of one’s location within the endless void and map the surrounding environment.”
“It was originally intended for navigation through the void after leaving the Xuanhuang Realm.”
“Now, using it to detect the ‘Immortal Ruins’ can be considered putting it to good use.”
Li Fan listened quietly as the woman in blue explained.
“In this place, the Xuanhuang Realm’s main world…” A hint of nostalgia flashed in the woman’s eyes.
“The Locator’s data is all scrambled.”
“It’s as if there’s a massive distortion field nearby, affecting space-time and interfering with the mapping results.”
“From a theoretical standpoint, the observation results align with what you’ve said about the existence of a devouring ‘Immortal Ruins.’
Li Fan coldly replied, “I have no reason to deceive you in this matter.”
The woman in blue smiled gently, “No, you did deceive us.”
Li Fan’s eyes narrowed as his heart tightened.
“What do you mean?”
The woman in blue gazed at the Xuanhuang Realm’s sky and slowly said, “Because even if the ‘Immortal Ruins’ do exist, our Empirewill not be swallowed by it after leaving the Xuanhuang Realm.”
“Not just us; all the small worlds captured by the Ten Great Immortal Sects back then won’t suffer that fate either.”
Li Fan remained silent.
The woman in blue continued, “Because we aren’t in the same space-time as the Xuanhuang Realm at all.”
“We’re only connected by the Immortal-Severing Passage.”
“If we sever the connection with the Xuanhuang Realm, we will gain complete freedom.”
“And the Xuanhuang Realm wil eventually meet its end.”