"The Roaring Abyss? What kind of place is that?" Li Fan couldn't help but ask. The name alone exuded an ominous air.
Ji Hongdao glanced back at him and chuckled. "There’s no point in telling you now. You'll understand when we get there."
"While there is some danger, you need not worry too much. With us old-timers around, nothing major will go wrong." Ji Hongdao was clearly confident, dismissing his concerns with a wave.
Since Ji Hongdao had spoken thus, Li Fan naturally couldn't press further. He and Xue Mu retreated to the side.
Not long after, the thin Shangguan Shi, whom they had seen once before at the Cosmos Branch Academy, arrived on the flying boat with five others.
These five were not members of the previous training group. They wore the standard robes of the Myriad Immortals Alliance. Their faces were mature, and their movements efficient.
They didn't seem to be first-time visitors to this flying boat, moving through its structure with familiar ease.
After paying their respects to Ji Hongdao, they headed straight for the cabins.
As they passed Li Fan and Xue Mu, they gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.
Xue Mu, momentarily failing to place them, stood frozen.
Li Fan, however, returned the greeting with practiced familiarity.
Once the figures had vanished from sight, a serious, inquiring voice transmission from Xue Mu reached Li Fan's mind.
"Fellow Daoist Li Fan, you seem to know them? May I ask, who are these people?"
Li Fan quickly shook his head. "I don't. But we're all members of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, as close as family. It's only normal to exchange greetings when we meet, isn't it?"
Xue Mu was rendered speechless, momentarily unable to come up with a reply.
Fortunately, the fat Huangfu Song came to his rescue.
"Come on, don't just stand there gawking. Pretty much everyone's here; we'll depart soon." Huangfu Song shot Li Fan a look and snorted.
Li Fan adopted the demeanor of one dutifully following a senior's lead and fell in step behind Huangfu Song.
Passing through the cabin corridors, Li Fan noticed that quite a crowd had already gathered on the flying boat.
It seemed that this mission involved more than just array masters from the Strategy Array Hall.
The faint, stern aura of bloodlust emanating from some rooms told Li Fan this mission probably wouldn't be as straightforward as Ji Hongdao had suggested.
The two followed Huangfu Song to an unoccupied passenger cabin and sat down.
Li Fan began to inquire with a smile. "Senior Huangfu, could you perhaps shed some light on the objective of our mission this time?"
Huangfu Song looked Li Fan up and down with a smirk. "Getting nervous, kid?"
Li Fan admitted freely. "My courage naturally cannot compare to yours, Senior. After all, Senior even dealt with Tantai Tao and the others—"
"Stop! Enough!" Huangfu Song's expression shifted slightly. "You brat, why must you bring up Tantai Tao with every other sentence?"
His eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing within as he scrutinized Li Fan carefully.
A moment later, Huangfu Song withdrew the killing intent in his heart, and a smile reappeared on his face.
"Hmph, no harm in telling you. Dean Ji didn't explain because it's a long story, too troublesome to get into."
Huangfu Song rapped the table before him, and a steaming cup of spirit tea suddenly materialized. After taking a sip, he began with a somewhat solemn expression. "We are heading deep into the White Mist."
"Deep into the White Mist?" Li Fan and Xue Mu exchanged a glance, a flicker of surprise in their hearts.
They didn't show it, however. Mimicking Huangfu Song, they tapped the table lightly and downed the steaming spirit tea in one gulp.
They then waited patiently for Huangfu Song to continue.
"You both know that the White Mist Barriers, spanning heaven and earth, demarcate the boundaries between provinces. Traversing the White Mist consumes one's lifespan, and one cannot avoid this cost even when taking a teleportation array.
"That's why, even we cultivators are reluctant to travel frequently unless absolutely necessary."
Li Fan gave a slight nod of agreement.
"Precisely because of this, our understanding of the White Mist is extremely limited.
"Most believe the White Mist Barriers originally manifested upon the land to serve as dividing lines.
"But in reality, the White Mist is far vaster than we imagine.” Huangfu Song chuckled darkly.
"So, if you have nothing better to do, don't get any funny ideas about traversing them physically. Otherwise, you might just get lost in the boundless mist, and even a Heavenly Venerable won’t have the power to save you."
Xue Mu was hearing this for the first time, and his expression grew tense and grave.
Li Fan thought for a moment, not cowed by Huangfu Song's warning. "The number of cultivators who physically cross the White Mist Barrier each year, while not large, is certainly not insignificant either.
"I imagine the vast regions within the White Mist Barrier that you speak of, Senior, must be exceedingly rare.
"Otherwise, if they were truly as perilous as you describe, people would have noticed long ago."
Huangfu Song abruptly stopped speaking. Exposed by Li Fan, he felt a pang of embarrassment.
But he immediately sneered in retort. "Countless cultivators who ventured into the White Mist and never returned had the very same belief as you.
"If you're not afraid of death, by all means, go ahead and try.
"There are places that seem a hand’s breadth away, yet getting to them is like trying to cross an impassable chasm. They are simply impossible to reach. We call these places within the White Mist Barriers, Lost Domains.
"I cannot disclose the number of Lost Domains currently mapped for now. But it absolutely exceeds what a youngster like you can imagine."
Seeing Li Fan nod in agreement and drop his stubbornness, Huangfu Song felt a surge of satisfaction.
He then continued. "Our destination, the Roaring Abyss, is a Lost Domain discovered long ago.
"As the name implies, it is a region where space extends downward infinitely. Its depths are unfathomable and endless.
"At regular intervals, inexplicable sounds of shock, desperate roars, and faint, indistinct murmurs, among other noises, emanate from the depths of the abyss.
"Ordinary cultivators, or those with weak wills, will easily suffer cultivation deviation and regression once tempted by these sounds.
"At worst, they lose their sanity entirely, warping into inhuman monsters that know only slaughter."
Huangfu Song seemed to recall something, a flash of fear in his eyes.
"Because this particular Lost Domain is so abnormal, it was placed under heavy surveillance by the Myriad Immortals Alliance upon its discovery.
"Thus, the Alliance was also able to observe that the sounds coming from the Roaring Abyss... are growing louder."
Xue Mu couldn't help but exclaim, "Louder?"
Huangfu Song nodded. "Affected by this, the Eternal Immortal Fortress established by the Myriad Immortals Alliance outside the Roaring Abyss has been forced to relocate steadily upward over the years.
"The Eternal Immortal Fortress has already retreated as far as it can go while containing the influence of the demonic sounds within the bounds of the Roaring Abyss.
"So, a century ago, the Alliance began experimenting with... special methods to counter the demonic sounds rising from the abyss's depths."
Special methods? Li Fan's thoughts suddenly sharpened, a realization dawning. Could it be...