Li Fan focused his senses once more.
The Fallen Immortal Realm is accessible again. While I still have some time, I can make another trip.
However, before that, I should first see what major events have occurred in the past six months.
Foreknowledge was his advantage. Every piece of valuable information could mean a heaven-defying opportunity in his next life. Naturally, Li Fan took this seriously.
He immediately began searching within the Tianxuan Mirror.
Countless strange tales and unusual events flashed before his eyes. Two matters, however, caught his attention the most.
First, Old Man Fisher, who had not been seen for a long time, had reappeared. This time, he was lingering in Tianchen. But unlike his usual solitary wanderings, Old Man Fisher was actually accompanied by a little girl of seven or eight.
She was dressed just like him, in a straw raincoat. She carried the fish basket that always accompanied him on her back; it was nearly as large as she was, making for a rather comical sight.
A bold cultivator had tried to strike up a conversation with this little fishergirl, only to be lectured by her in a tone far too mature for her years.
Despite appearing to be only at the Foundation Establishment realm, she spoke to even Nascent Soul cultivators with the condescending air of an elder admonishing a junior.
It was worth noting that Old Man Fisher had wandered for ages, appearing and vanishing mysteriously, and no one had ever managed to stay by his side. Thus, this little girl instantly aroused the curiosity of many cultivators.
They speculated wildly about the little fishergirl's identity, but opinions varied with no consensus.
When Li Fan saw this news, for some reason, he suddenly thought of the Heaven-Swapping Token he had traded to Old Man Fisher.
Sikong Yue? Li Fan narrowed his eyes, the guess forming in his mind.
Back when he first obtained the Heaven-Swapping Token and learned of its origins, he had harbored a vague suspicion.
Sikong Yue, the 38th generation successor of the Heaven-Swapping Sect, was the token's creator.
Perhaps, through some secret art, she had transformed herself into the token, seeking to survive the extraordinarily bloody Dark Ages.
When later cultivators attempted to cultivate the Heaven-Swapping Art using the token, fusing their bodies and souls with it, she could secretly siphon power, ultimately achieving a "heaven-swapping" resurrection.
Therefore, Li Fan had always maintained extreme wariness towards this token. After obtaining it, he had consistently left it abandoned in a corner of his storage ring, wanting nothing to do with it.
When Old Man Fisher asked for it, he handed it over without the slightest hesitation.
It seemed now that his premonition might have been correct.
I just don't know what method Old Man Fisher used to awaken her. Though, to finally be revived after slumbering for thousands of years, only to be forced into servitude as a fisherman’s assistant... that probably doesn't feel too great. Li Fan thought to himself.
Then, he pondered the second matter that had greatly concerned him.
Over the past year, rumors had been spreading throughout the Myriad Immortals Alliance.
It was said that the long-dormant Five Elders Council was on the move again.
A cultivator highly skilled in soul arts was said to have secretly infiltrated the Myriad Immortals Alliance.
This cultivator's power was unfathomable, reportedly having reached the Dao Unity realm a thousand years ago. Moreover, he had discarded his physical body, existing solely as a soul.
His soul was so powerful that it was virtually indistinguishable from a solid entity. He could even freely invade other cultivators' bodies, performing soul seizures and taking their places.
Not long ago, a bloody tragedy occurred in Lietu Province.
The guardian of Zhupi City suddenly underwent a drastic change in temperament, slaughtering every single mortal under his jurisdiction.
He then falsely reported that spies had committed the bloodshed and, under the pretext of investigating the details of the scene, lured dozens of Martial Hall cultivators from Lietu Province into Zhupi City.
He then erupted with power far beyond his own cultivation realm, annihilating the Martial Hall squad led by a Nascent Soul cultivator in an instant.
Before the cultivators of Lietu Province could even react, he departed with ease, leaving behind only a city drenched in blood, shocking and enraging the cultivators who arrived later.
After this, over a dozen similar incidents occurred. Cultivators would suddenly undergo drastic personality changes and then, as if disowning all familial ties, commit indiscriminate slaughter.
Yet the perpetrator was never found.
People connected these tragedies with the earlier news of the infiltration of a Dao Unity Immortal Venerable from the Five Elders Council.
Almost everyone believed that the reason these cultivators underwent such drastic changes was that they had been possessed by the Five Elders Council's Dao Unity Immortal Venerable.
And as the massacres continued to occur, a subtle sense of fear began to take hold among the cultivators of the Myriad Immortals Alliance.
After all, no one could guarantee that they wouldn't be the next target of possession. They also had to worry that their closest friends might, at any moment, stab them in the back.
The accumulation of this negative sentiment led to increasingly loud voices criticizing the incompetence of the Martial Hall.
And the calls for the rapid universal deployment of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array grew ever stronger.
The effectiveness of the Soul-Locking Array had already been clearly demonstrated in Jiushan Province.
The Myriad Immortals Alliance issued a rare public explanation stating that the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array's targeting function was only effective against cultivators below the Dao Unity realm. A Dao Unity realm cultivator could eventually break free with their own power.
But in the eyes of the Alliance’s cultivators, having some effect was far better than having no countermeasures at all, waiting passively to be slaughtered.
Besides, arrays could be improved and strengthened. Even if it couldn't deal with Dao Unity cultivators now, after numerous iterations of refinement, it could surely do so one day, right?
In short, the existence of this Five Elders Council spy, whom Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivators had taken to calling the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord, had reshaped public sentiment toward the universal deployment of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array.
What had begun as opposition softened into reluctant acceptance, and then into something closer to hope and active support. The widespread deployment of the array had become an unstoppable tide.
Not only was the official stance resolute, but the populace also welcomed it eagerly.
Of course, in the face of this surging tide, there were still some discordant voices of opposition. But before they could attract attention, they were decisively suppressed.
Simultaneously, the Martial Hall's incompetence in the face of the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord's invasion also stirred considerable dissatisfaction among many cultivators.
Some cultivators believed that the current Martial Hall could no longer adapt to the increasingly intense conflict with the Five Elders Council.
It would be better to follow the example of the Garrison Command in the central heartlands and establish a completely new military organization to ensure the security within the Myriad Immortals Alliance's territory.
This idea also garnered rather strong support.
The Myriad Immortals Alliance authorities also issued a statement, indicating they would fully consider and respect the opinions of the broader cultivator community. Discussion was underway, and specific measures would be announced in the coming days.
The Myriad Immortals Alliance's unusually proactive response heartened many cultivators. They believed this shift might be a sign that better days were coming.
But those who had glimpsed some of the underlying truth, like Li Fan, could only remain silent, their hearts chilled to the bone.
What a masterful move.
The appearance of the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord hasn't just drastically accelerated the implementation of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array universalization plan.
Once the array is fully established, its uses will be even more ingenious and boundless.
Spies can always be rooted out, given enough time.
But the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord is far too cunning. No matter how hard they try, they just can't seem to catch him.