Four years ago, in Anchor Year 24, Zhang Zhiliang had explained the details of the closed-door array training in Tianyu Province.
Back then, he had said that the Myriad Immortals Alliance planned to blanket every inch of its territory under the coverage of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array within thirty years.
Which meant that even back then, the upper echelons of the Myriad Immortals Alliance had already faintly sensed the impending anomaly in the world?
From his limited interactions with the world's top powerhouses, Li Fan didn't think this was an exaggeration.
The duck knows first when the river warms in spring. Those at the Dao Unity or even Eternal Life realm already possess the strength to rival heaven and earth. Sensing anomalies early is perfectly normal.
The policy was set, but not everyone could grasp its deeper meaning.
They thought it was just another routine infrastructure project. That's why, for the position of Garrison Command Chief Commander, people like Guan Xingxiu casually used Tantai Tao and the others as pawns in their schemes.
But they clearly underestimated the importance of the universal implementation of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array.
And thus, they invited disaster. The Garrison Command commanders of the four core provinces—Tianyu, Tianchen, Tianshu, and Tianquan—such a rank is certainly not low. Yet they still didn't understand the true meaning behind the policy.
So then, who are the policy makers of the Myriad Immortals Alliance?
The departments of the Myriad Immortals Alliance that Li Fan currently knew of—the Administration Hall, the Martial Hall, the Strategy Array Hall, the Heavenly Mechanism Hall, the Garrison Command, and so on—each had their own duties. They were all the specific executors of policy.
As for the mysterious Enforcer Hall, it was only responsible for maintaining the integrity of techniques.
Who represented the true will of the Myriad Immortals Alliance?
Who, with a single thought, decided the fates of countless cultivators?
The Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher?
Li Fan had consulted countless secret records and knew that the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher's whereabouts were elusive. Furthermore, he had long since withdrawn from worldly affairs. This was a fact acknowledged by both the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council.
This wasn't something that needed to be avoided; a simple inquiry would reveal it.
So, besides the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher, did the Myriad Immortals Alliance have other Eternal Heavenly Venerables?
After all, if this decision maker were only at the Dao Unity level, how could they command respect?
Li Fan thought again of the enigmatic Heavenly Physician.
His strength was above Dao Unity. But he himself seemed to operate outside the Myriad Immortals Alliance system.
Otherwise, why bother with a bounty mission for the Cloudwater Model? Wouldn't it be easier to issue an administrative order?
Outside the public eye, there exists a group of unseen people. They are the true masters of the Myriad Immortals Alliance. Perhaps even...
Li Fan frowned slightly, a rather absurd thought suddenly surfacing in his mind.
He had always subconsciously believed that the Tianxuan Mirror was just an extremely powerful spirit treasure.
Although it possessed its own consciousness, it was still just an object, one that served the cultivators of the Myriad Immortals Alliance.
This was also the consensus of almost all Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivators.
But... what if the true leader of the Myriad Immortals Alliance was actually the Tianxuan Mirror itself?
The thought startled even Li Fan.
But upon careful consideration, it wasn't entirely impossible.
At the Tianxuan Mirror's level, the line between object and person had already blurred.
Li Fan believed that creating a body that could move freely would certainly be no difficult task for the Tianxuan Mirror.
And back during the Spirit Mist Grass incident, just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, the Tianxuan Mirror had promptly issued an announcement, settling the turmoil with a single decree.
That might not have been an order from some other cultivator, but a decision it made by itself.
Tianxuan Mirror...
At this thought, Li Fan, who was cultivating within the Tianxuan Mirror's space, suddenly felt a deep unease.
Even this spacious private chamber seemed to grow inexplicably dimmer and more oppressive.
He shook his head inwardly, suppressing the disturbing notion. He glanced around the Tianxuan Mirror's space, his eyes flickering with thought.
Even if my conjecture is true, as long as I don't display any obvious abnormalities, the Tianxuan Mirror might not notice me. After all, the Myriad Immortals Alliance has far too many cultivators, and I'm just an insignificant Golden Core cultivator. It's also possible I'm just scaring myself.
He took a deep breath, slowly forcing this line of thinking down. Regardless, with the current upheaval in heaven and earth, cultivation has become much easier. That's beneficial for me in the short term. I should seize this opportunity to push through to the mid-stage Golden Core realm in one go.
The Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra slowly circulated, grinding all distracting thoughts to dust. Li Fan regained his calm, immersing himself in cultivation once more.
In the remaining months of Anchor Year 28, Li Fan's own cultivation progressed at an astonishing rate. The cultivation feedback he received also came in a continuous, unending stream, indicating that everyone's realms were rapidly advancing.
Even that youth named Han Wuyou from the Li World had stepped into the Qi Refinement realm, sending a trickling stream of assistance like a babbling brook.
With all these factors combined, by the end of Anchor Year 28, Li Fan successfully cultivated to the peak of the early-stage Golden Core realm. And just as other cultivators had said, the bottlenecks that had once existed between every stage and realm, hindering a cultivator's progress, had now become as fragile as paper, easily pierced with a single poke.
Li Fan’s aura surged and roiled as he successfully advanced to the mid-stage Golden Core realm.
Breakthrough successful. Now I can start crafting the avatar.
This avatar would still serve as a decoy. Li Fan even planned to send it to Yuandao Province in Anchor Year 29 to investigate, to see what exactly had happened there during the lost decade, and to experience the difference between being inside and outside Yuandao Province simultaneously.
Since it was destined to be cannon fodder, there was naturally no need to expend great effort on it.
Li Fan left Tianyu City once more, chose a random direction, and flew for over ten days until he found a remote area.
As before, he excavated a hidden chamber and sealed the entrance.
This time there won't be such a big commotion. Hopefully, I won't be unlucky enough to be found again. Li Fan muttered under his breath as he began crafting the avatar.
Peak-grade Bone, Celestial Spirit Nectar, Bone-Shattering Treasure Sinew, Skycrystal Spirit Sand...
He skillfully added the materials one by one into the artificially created flesh and blood. He then added a mid-grade Curio of Man: the Rage-Flight Butterfly, as the essential item for Foundation Establishment.
Afterwards, he tossed in a Golden Core Fragment containing insights into the Law of Water for core formation.
The Rage-Flight Butterfly had been purchased earlier from the Wanfa Pavilion in Jiushan Province, originally intended for the Immortal Avengers.
The purchaser, Lin Fan, had vanished from the world along with the Congyun Sea, leaving no trail to follow.
As for that Golden Core Fragment... the number of cultivators in this world who formed their cores through the Law of Water was beyond counting, making it utterly untraceable.
All preparations were complete. Li Fan focused his spirit and began refining the avatar.
Seven days went by.
"Sever!"
Using his finger as a blade, Li Fan severed the avatar's fate from the surrounding environment.
Faint threads of vitality emanated from the avatar's form.
A brand new avatar, possessing the strength of the early-stage Golden Core realm, was born.
"You shall be called Xiao Fan!"
After clothing it, Li Fan examined the avatar for a long moment, then nodded in satisfaction.