Is this for secrecy? Li Fan glanced at Huangfu Song and noticed that the man seemed completely accustomed to the procedure.
Huangfu Song tapped the tabletop in satisfaction, then lifted the steaming spirit tea that had appeared and drained it in a single gulp.
“Myriad Immortals Spirit Tea. Now this is good stuff. They say the recipe’s been passed down since ancient times. Drinking it can slightly enhance one’s divine sense,” he said with relish.
“Each person only gets one cup. You should try it, young friend.”
After the tea settled in his stomach, Huangfu Song patted his belly and let out a long, contented sigh.
Li Fan followed his example and drank the tea before him.
Compared to the effects of the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra, it was nowhere close.
“What a treasure!” He exclaimed anyway, deliberately putting on an expression of delight.
Just as he set the cup down, the Dust-Crossing Boat beneath them gave a faint shudder, then slowly came to a halt.
Did something go wrong? Li Fan wondered in surprise, turning to look at Huangfu Song, who was already rising to his feet.
“Don’t just sit there,” Huangfu Song said. “We’ve probably arrived at the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens.”
“So soon?” Li Fan was momentarily stunned, a jolt of shock running through him.
By his own perception, they had departed only a short while ago—barely the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
He knew the Dust-Crossing Boat’s top speed well enough. By that calculation, did this mean the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens were located extremely close to Zhupi City?
As if reading his thoughts, Huangfu Song chuckled. “Don’t bother calculating. This Dust-Crossing Boat doesn’t just block our perception of the world outside, it can also interfere with our sense of time.
“You think only half a day has passed? In reality, it could easily have been seven or eight days. Or it might really be exactly as long as you felt.
“The whole point is to keep you guessing.
“Ever since the Immortal Venerable Ziqiong spy incident, the Alliance has become far more cautious.”
Shaking his head, Huangfu Song headed toward the cabin exit.
Affecting one’s perception of time... A weight settled in Li Fan’s heart. This was the first time he had encountered technology within the Myriad Immortals Alliance that involved the concept of time.
Though it may simply be a distortion of cognition. He reasoned.
Suppressing his thoughts, Li Fan followed Huangfu Song onto the deck.
The moment he stepped outside, an unprecedented concentration of water attribute spiritual qi washed over him, so dense it was nearly tangible.
Having spent years in the Congyun Sea and having formed his Dao Foundation using the Deepsea Pearl, Li Fan was exceptionally sensitive to water attribute spiritual qi. The sensation left him deeply shaken.
This must be the water attribute grotto-heaven among the five elements. He thought. It’s like an enormous, concentrated Deepsea Pearl.
Instinctively, he inhaled and refined the spiritual qi, quickly grasping just how pure it was.
Yet when he looked around, he noticed that the other cultivators, including Huangfu Song, were not paying attention to the qi at all. Instead, they were all staring upward, their expressions filled with an indescribable awe.
Li Fan followed their gaze.
The Dust-Crossing Boat was resting upon an impossibly smooth boundary line.
Below lay a vast, boundless cerulean world of water.
Above, rooted directly in the sky, stood a colossal inverted tree. Countless branches extended downward from it, linking the heavens to the sea below.
Each branch was as wide as an entire plain in a mortal world, and one could faintly make out the growth of many plants and vegetation. Some of the trunks even supported entire forests of their own.
“The original water attribute grotto-heaven was simply a vast, cerulean world of water. Yet not long ago, the scenery of a wood attribute grotto-heaven suddenly appeared beyond the water world.
"The two have gradually begun to merge into one. This is the phenomenon of five elements convergence.”
Qi Buyi appeared at that moment, also gazing up at the magnificent spectacle in the sky as she explained to the group.
"Five elements convergence? Then, beneath the water world, are there signs of a metal attribute grotto-heaven intruding?" A cultivator on the boat couldn't help but ask upon hearing this.
Qi Buyi nodded. "Beneath the endless layers of water, one can indeed see a sky full of golden light. However, it is not an invasion by the metal attribute grotto-heaven.
"Rather, it is the water attribute grotto-heaven that is invading the metal attribute grotto-heaven, just as the wood attribute grotto-heaven above our heads is doing."
"Metal begets water, water begets wood. Yet now it is reversed?" Huangfu Song interjected. "Then ultimately..."
Having said this, Huangfu Song suddenly started, looking straight at Qi Buyi.
"It is not as simple as one might imagine." Qi Buyi walked to the edge of the Dust-Crossing Boat, using her spiritual power to gather a ball of water, which she then displayed to everyone.
"Before the five elements began converging, the water in this water attribute grotto-heaven was of unparalleled purity. But now..."
Qi Buyi flicked a spark of fire, sending it flying into the water ball.
What happened next astonished everyone present.
The total volume of that water ball should have been more than enough to extinguish the spark Qi Buyi had sent forth. Yet upon encountering the flame, it instead began to burn fiercely.
Before everyone's eyes, it burned brighter and stronger, ultimately transforming into a lump of black, scorched earth.
Li Fan saw it clearly—this abnormality did not occur because the spark was particularly powerful. Rather, the very nature of the water had changed. It had become something that could be set ablaze by fire.
"Is this still water?"
"Wait, if all the water in this grotto-heaven were to suddenly ignite, wouldn't that be catastrophic?"
The people on the Dust-Crossing Boat exchanged glances. The more they thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed.
Qi Buyi seemed to perceive their concern and said, "The phenomenon you witnessed only occurs when the water is isolated and removed.
"When it exists as part of the entire grotto-heaven, it will not ignite and transform into earth.”
Upon hearing this, everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
"As for why this phenomenon occurs, there is no clear answer yet. That is also the purpose of our visit here.
"The anomaly occurring in this grotto-heaven is not the same as a typical convergence of five elements.
"The Alliance is very interested in this. According to previous calculations, the process of five elements convergence will be completed within five years at most. And as the process accelerates, that timeframe will likely shorten significantly.
"Our task is to ensure the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array enveloping the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens is constructed before the five elements completely converge.
“A group of pioneers arrived ahead of us, and reinforcements have been coming in since to support the array's construction. We are part of that effort. Our primary responsibility covers the region around the water attribute grotto-heaven.”
Qi Buyi explained the mission objectives of their journey with great efficiency.
"Even though it’s a single grotto-heaven, it is extremely vast. In fact, it's even larger than a single province of our Xuanhuang World. And most of this area hasn't yet been equipped with teleportation arrays.
“Traveling by flight alone would simply be too slow. To facilitate our work, the Alliance has prepared some special tools for everyone.”
With that, Qi Buyi produced a teardrop-shaped object of black and gold, holding it up for all to see.
“This is a Sky-Soaring Shuttle, a flight artifact specially forged by the Alliance. One can reach... extreme speeds with it.”