After a moment of absolute silence, a sharp, metallic scraping noise echoed in his ears.
It slowly faded, dissolving into a single, lazily-spoken sentence.
"Those who have arrived, move forward. Don't block the way."
Li Fan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the discomfort within his body.
While surveying his surroundings, he followed the instructions and moved ahead.
This place didn't look too different from the ultra-long-range teleportation array on Myriad Immortals Island, except that the sea of stars in the background was several times brighter.
And it was incredibly busy. In the short time Li Fan took to adjust and acclimate, two or three more cultivators teleported in.
Li Fan walked over to the cultivator who had spoken.
The man wore the standard black and yellow Daoist robes of the Myriad Immortals Alliance and casually handed over a pill.
"Body-Cleansing Dust-Sweeping Pill. Swallow it to alleviate the discomfort. Move forward for inspection! Next!"
Li Fan took the pill and observed it for a moment, but did not consume it. Instead, he stored it in his storage ring.
Further ahead, a mirror shimmering with a faint, ghostly light hung suspended high in the air. Its appearance was identical to the Tianxuan Mirror.
Li Fan arrived beneath the mirror and stood still.
A beam of light swept over his body. Moments later, the familiar yet strange voice of the Tianxuan Mirror sounded in Li Fan's ear.
"Cultivator Li Fan, welcome to Tianyu Province."
His vision blurred, and the scenery shifted.
By the time Li Fan regained his senses, he had already left the interior of the Heavenly Venerable’s statue and arrived at the Dao Transmission Plaza.
Looking across the plaza of Tianyu Province, he saw that there were several times more teleportation arrays here than on Myriad Immortals Island.
They connected not only to various cities within Tianyu Province but could even reach cities under the jurisdiction of the three provinces of Tianchen, Tianshu, and Tianquan.
These four provinces, which guarded the headquarters of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, were subtly interconnected as one.
Furthermore, unlike other provinces, these four had no mortal inhabitants. Every city within them was populated solely by cultivators.
Consequently, the overall number of cultivators in these four provinces far exceeded that of other regions.
Sweeping his divine sense over the jade slip given by Zhang Zhiliang, Li Fan learned his destination: the Cosmos Branch Academy within Tianyu City.
Unlike on Myriad Immortals Island, where all Myriad Immortals Alliance departments were crammed together, here in Tianyu City, each department had its own separate compound.
Some of the more powerful ones, like the Martial Hall, even had compounds in multiple locations.
This Cosmos Branch Academy was a large estate belonging to the Strategy Array Hall.
Following the information in the jade slip, Li Fan navigated through Tianyu City. Before long, he arrived at the gate of the Cosmos Branch Academy.
The main gate stood wide open, unattended. Li Fan took a step forward and entered.
In the next instant, the air abruptly turned scorching hot. An endless, rolling desert stretched as far as his eyes could see, with no horizon in sight. Meanwhile, the sand beneath his feet seemed to flow like water, shifting subtly.
The Myriad Li Flowing Sands Array...
Li Fan felt no panic, knowing this was the first test for those wishing to enter the Cosmos Branch Academy.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing into the distance.
In Li Fan's vision, the surrounding vista of swirling yellow sand instantly transformed into layer upon layer of arrays.
A faint blue light blossomed from the Dao Transformation Stone within his sea of consciousness as Li Fan rapidly deciphered the flaws in this Myriad Li Flowing Sands Array.
While working to dismantle the array, he did not remain motionless. At regular intervals, he carefully flew to a new spot.
Not long after he left each time, a vortex of quicksand would appear at his previous location, swallowing everything.
After an incense stick’s time, Li Fan finally found a way. Flying in fits and starts, he finally broke free from the Myriad Li Flowing Sands Array.
Yet, he still had not entered the interior of the Cosmos Branch Academy. Instead, what greeted Li Fan was another, entirely new array: the Blackrock Flowing Fire Array.
It was several degrees more dangerous than the previous Myriad Li Flowing Sands Array.
Li Fan wasn't sure if getting struck by this array would mean immediate death or if someone would come to rescue him. He steeled himself with the utmost focus, proceeding with extreme caution.
A little over half a day later, he broke through the array.
After that came, in order, the Eight Gates Breath-Sealing Array, the Misty Rain Immortal-Felling Array, the Void Spirit Soul-Snatching Array...
These were all arrays that had been mentioned and described in Zhang Zhiliang's Jade Slip Consciousness.
Although Li Fan had studied them systematically, only when he was truly trapped within them did he understand the vast gap between theory and practice.
Fortunately, these arrays didn't seem to be activated in full, serving purely as tests.
Though it was a somewhat harrowing experience, Li Fan managed to crack them all, one by one.
When the last of them, the Ten Directions Silent Void Array, was breached, Li Fan finally reached safety.
This place was very similar to where Zhang Zhiliang had once held his lectures. A young cultivator dressed in white robes was waiting here.
"Li Fan, from the Congyun Sea.
"Total time taken to breach the arrays: one day and twelve hours.
"Result: B-
"Did not rest for a single moment during the array-breaching process. Showed no signs of fatigue after completing all of them.
"Mental fortitude: A+
"Hmm...
"Overall evaluation: A-"
The white-robed cultivator muttered to himself. As he spoke, a silver jade token materialized in the air before Li Fan.
“This token is your proof of identity during your time here at the Cosmos Branch Academy. Keep it safe, do not lose it.
"Notices and the distribution of relevant supplies are all handled through this token.
"You may go and rest now. Once all the trainees have arrived, you will be notified!"
The white-robed cultivator instructed.
Li Fan stored the silver token away and cupped his hands in thanks towards the white-robed cultivator.
He then asked, "Might I know how I should address you, Senior?"
The white-robed cultivator smiled. "Ji Hongdao of Tianyu Province. You may go now!"
With a wave of his hand, the silver token erupted with a burst of light, enveloping Li Fan.
When the silver radiance before his eyes faded, Li Fan found himself inside a small courtyard.
The courtyard was not large, but it was exquisitely decorated.
The center, which originally held a lake and rockery, could be freely adjusted via the token and transformed into different scenes: mountain peaks amid a sea of clouds, a gravel desert, or a vast, boundless ocean.
After experimenting with the adjustments, Li Fan discovered that this wasn’t an illusion. One could physically fly into these scenes, meaning they truly existed. It was as if other spaces had been embedded within.
Li Fan couldn't help but marvel at the extravagance of the materials used in this Cosmos Branch Academy.
Not only was the scenery beautiful, but the concentration of spiritual qi within the small courtyard was astonishingly high.
Following the flow of the spiritual qi to its source, Li Fan discovered a small Tianxuan Mirror in one of the rooms.
It wasn't much different from the common ones found in various provincial cities, offering basic functions like inquiry and trade. It could even allow one to activate the Assisted Cultivation Mode.
What truly made Li Fan gasp with astonishment and sent a thrill through his heart was that within this courtyard, use of the Assisted Cultivation Mode was completely free.
He wasn't short on contribution points now, but who could resist the simple joy of getting something without paying?
Without a moment's hesitation, Li Fan activated the epiphanic state boost.
What a shame this is only a special privilege during the training period and can't last forever. Otherwise, I could stay here for a lifetime.
The heartlands of the Myriad Immortals Alliance are just so lavish. The Congyun Sea can't compare in the slightest.
No wonder countless cultivators fight tooth and nail to get an official position here.
Just a little embezzlement under the guise of public duty, and who knows how much resources you could save.
Li Fan couldn't help but sigh.