The style of this communication talisman is almost indistinguishable from those of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Lu Fan carefully put it away and then, accompanied by Li Fan, who seemed to be in a daze, piloted the Samantabhadra True Boat and charged into the white mist barrier.
Surrounded by a blanket of whiteness, no matter how fast they traveled, their vision couldn’t penetrate the mist.
Inside the flying boat, Lu Fan had his eyes slightly closed, as if sensing something.
When the Samantabhadra True Boat finally broke through the Essence-Devouring White Mist, he excitedly opened his eyes: “The loss of life force has been reduced from about fifteen days to just one day. It’s almost negligible! This is truly worth more than its weight in gold!”
“With this item, the white mist barrier will no longer be an obstacle for us cultivators. The world is vast, and now we can explore it freely without worrying about losing our lifespan.”
Lu Fan couldn’t help but show a trace of regret: “It’s a pity that the principle behind this thing was first discovered by our Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, but it was the Five Elders Association that managed to spread its use first!”
“It’s certainly a great item. But we’ve already delayed long enough. We should hurry to the One Heart Immortal Sect,” urged the puppet body, whose body was sustained by a mere fragment of its original will.
“Heh, seems like Daoist Jiao is even more anxious than I am,” Lu Fan was momentarily startled, then revealed a knowing smile.
The territory of the Five Elders Association, like that of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, was vast and sparsely populated.
As they traveled along the road, it was common not to encounter any other cultivators for half a day. Even if they saw the light of a distant cultivator’s flight, both parties would consciously avoid each other.
What Lu Fan feared — that the cultivators of the Five Elders Association would come looking for trouble — never happened.
Thus, they peacefully crossed more than a dozen regions. When they flew out of the white mist barrier once more, however, the Samantabhadra True Boat suddenly lost control and plummeted toward the ground.
Fortunately, Lu Fan reacted in time, flying out of the boat and storing it in his storage ring before it crashed.
“This place…”
He looked up at the sky, his brows tightly furrowed.
This area seemed somewhat different from the place they had just been.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on what was different, but the strange feeling was undeniable.
“Is this the One Heart Immortal Sect?” Li Fan also looked around, his tone returning to its usual liveliness.
“Let’s scout out the situation first,” Lu Fan suggested.
“Sounds good,” Li Fan nodded in agreement.
Thus, the two began exploring Wangyu Prefecture. The general layout was similar to that of the Human Realm, with most of the population concentrated in small, scattered towns, where cultivators and mortals lived separately.
However, during their journey, both Li Fan and Lu Fan noticed something unusual.
In this One Heart Immortal Sect, things seemed strangely…
Harmonious?
Fighting and arguments, which were common in human interactions, seemed nonexistent in Wangyu Prefecture.
Even the haggling between buyers and sellers during business transactions was absent.
As they traveled, everyone was courteous and exceptionally friendly to one another.
While these scenes appeared heartwarming and touching on the surface, to outsiders like Li Fan, they felt a bit eerie.
Out of caution, both maintained smiles and tried to blend in with the crowd without standing out.
At the same time, they quietly gathered information about the true One Heart Immortal Sect.
In this land, the existence of the ‘Great Immortal Sect’ was no secret.
However, the answers they received from the locals left Li Fan and Lu Fan somewhat astonished.
Everyone here had known from a young age about the existence of the ‘Great Immortal Sect’ in the heavens and the earth.
The highest honor they could imagine in their lifetime was to be able to join the “Great Immortal Sect”.
However, they had no idea where this sect was located or what method was required to enter it.
There was only one thing they firmly believed in.
As long as one’s heart was sincere and they were exceptional enough, they could catch the attention of the great “Heavenly Sovereign” and be chosen to join the “Great Immortal Sect”.
This belief was somewhat abstract.
Li Fan and Lu Fan both felt a little confused.
After leaving Wangyue Prefecture, they had been traveling through various other states within the One Heart Immortal Sect for over a month. They discovered that everyone’s statements were shockingly consistent.
This inevitably left the two, who had been holding high expectations, a bit disappointed.
“Fellow Daoist Jiao, we’ve crossed dozens of states, yet are we still not considered sincere enough?” Lu Fan asked dejectedly, downing a cup of spirit wine in a tavern in the inner city of Weichang, Canghong Prefecture.
Li Fan sat silently, not responding.
“Or perhaps it’s because our strength isn’t sufficient, and we haven’t met Senior Sister Zhao’s selection criteria?” Lü Fan muttered in a daze.
Although Li Fan was merely a remnant thought, he had noticed the subtle changes in Lu Fan’s mentality along the journey. Lu Fan seemed to be losing his way.
At the beginning, Lu Fan had a casual attitude, merely deciding to follow Li Fan on this journey.
When it came to the stunning and peerless ‘Senior Sister Zhao’, Lu Fan mostly jested about her, not genuinely admiring her.
After all, to a cultivator, beauty was far less important than one’s cultivation level and realm.
But ever since they arrived in the territory of the One Heart Immortal Sect, Lu Fan had undergone a quiet transformation.
He grew increasingly fascinated with the existence of ‘Senior Sister Zhao’ and the Great Immortal Sect.
The more he learned, the more he became consumed by a desire to obtain something he couldn’t have, making him restless and obsessed.
Now, his thoughts had turned almost mad, nearly losing himself.
In contrast, the puppet body that only held the obsession of entering the One Heart Immortal Sect was less affected.
However, Li Fan did not awaken Lu Fan.
It wasn’t because he didn’t care about their bond, but because Li Fan knew that the subtle influence of the Heavenly Sovereign’s power wasn’t something that could be changed with a few words.
Even if he told Lu Fan about his changes, Lu Fan might just feel prideful about it.
As the two sat silently—one with a troubled look and the other expressionless—suddenly, a commotion arose from the streets outside.
“Wan Zailai from Canghong Prefecture, with just a Golden Core cultivation, defeated thirty-six Nascent Soul cultivators from Yilü Prefecture, finally catching the attention of the ‘Heavenly Sovereign’ and successfully joining the Immortal Sect!”
“No doubt about it, he’s the pride of Canghong Prefecture, finally giving Yilü Prefecture a taste of defeat!”
“Haha, now the number of Immortal Sect disciples from Canghong Prefecture will surpass Yilü Prefecture! Let’s see how they’ll flaunt their arrogance now!”
…
Hearing the discussions outside, Li Fan and Lu Fan exchanged a glance and immediately began to inquire about the details.
“I get it! As long as we do something extraordinary to catch Senior Sister Zhao… no, the Heavenly Sovereign’s attention, we can enter the Immortal Sect!” Lu Fan exclaimed in sudden realization.