Liu Ruchen let out an emotional sigh. “All thanks to our Patriarch’s act of kindness all those years ago, we descendants are now left with a path forward...”
He suddenly paused. “Hm?”
“What is it?” Elder Huang asked instinctively.
“Something’s off,” Liu Ruchen said, frowning. “Why has the Medicine King Cauldron’s course deviated? Could there be an issue with the Waymark’s guidance?”
A moment passed.
“The cauldron itself is functioning normally,” Liu Ruchen murmured. “Then what could—”
Before he could finish, Elder Huang’s voice rang out in panic. “Sect Leader, something’s wrong! Why does it feel like we’re not moving forward at all... but upward?!”
The surrounding scene shifted abruptly.
Xiao Heng and the others watched in horror as the Medicine King Cauldron, which had originally been flying straight into the depths of the void, began to slowly alter its trajectory for no discernible reason shortly after breaking free of the Xuanhuang World.
It was as though something above was tugging at it.
Within the pitch-black void, the cauldron traced a curved arc. Powerless to resist, it began to fall upward, faster and faster.
Ahead lay absolute darkness. There were no starlight or landmarks, only a boundless blackness that now seemed to open like the gaping maw of a monstrous beast, patiently waiting for its prey.
A chill crept into Liu Ruchen’s heart.
He looked down at the glowing mass that was the Xuanhuang World, shrinking farther and farther away. In that instant, it felt as though a mocking gaze was looking back at him.
Suddenly, he understood why the Ten Immortal Dao Sects, despite knowing of their attempt to flee, had made no move to stop them.
They had known all along that there was no escape.
“Ten Immortal Dao Sects...” Liu Ruchen clenched his teeth.
By now, the Medicine King Cauldron was being pulled at a speed that exceeded its structural limits. It began to tremble violently.
“Sect Leader!”
Elder Huang cried out in terror as a creaking groan echoed throughout the cauldron.
Only a few breaths later, Elder Huang’s voice broke in disbelief. “Sect Leader, you—!”
“Disciples of the Medicine King Sect, heed my command...” Liu Ruchen’s voice resounded through the cauldron as he issued orders to all within, instructing everyone to return immediately to their chambers.
“Do not blame me...” His whisper echoed faintly, tinged with despair.
“With my strength alone, escaping that place is utterly impossible...”
Then, his tone hardened.
“But for the sake of the Medicine King Sect, I must do this.”
A vast expanse of green radiance erupted, enveloping the entire Medicine King Cauldron.
“Ten Immortal Dao Sects!!”
His roar brimmed with hatred.
The green light flared brilliantly.
The cauldron’s speed slowed dramatically, yet it still could not fully escape the fate of being dragged upward.
Slowly, thread after thread of the same green light began to stream out from the Medicine King Cauldron.
As the radiance grew ever brighter, the cauldron’s ascent slowed further, and further.
Until, at last, in that endless darkness, it came to a complete halt.
Moments later, more streams of green light were drawn out. Only then did the Medicine King Cauldron finally begin to reverse its trajectory.
It started to fall downward, avoiding the fate of being devoured.
During the descent, the green radiance flickered unstably, as though it were being rapidly consumed.
By the time the Medicine King Cauldron finally returned to the Xuanhuang World, the green light had dimmed to the point of near extinction...
The scene cut off abruptly.
"This is what happened back then," Linghu Chang said, his voice heavy with sorrow.
Xiao Heng and the others were still reeling from the shock of the vision they had just witnessed, unable to react.
A long time passed.
"What is that?" The usually fearless Su Xiaomei was now full of dread.
She didn't specify, but everyone present understood exactly what she meant.
"That is the Immortal Ruins," Linghu Chang answered. "In the distant, distant past, before the Immortal Path was severed, that was where the passage to the Immortal Realm once stood."
He paused before continuing, his voice low and heavy. "Our sect leader came to understand many things before the end. The Immortal Path lies hidden. Our connections to other cultivation worlds have been severed. All of it is because a terrifying existence like that now hangs above the Xuanhuang World.
"It devours everything. It can distort space and time itself.
"We merely circled before it once, and a thousand years passed in the world outside."
The weight of his words settled over them.
"And the Ten Immortal Dao Sects of that era knew this truth. They knew, and yet they watched us march to our deaths without a single word of warning."
Linghu Chang clenched his fists so tightly his nails threatened to pierce his own flesh.
"Immortal Ruins..." Xiao Heng and the others murmured, their hearts filled with an even deeper, nameless terror.
"Will we... will this entire world be sucked up there?" Su Xiaomei asked somewhat dazedly.
Linghu Chang gave a cold laugh. “Back then, the Ten Immortal Dao Sects were constantly at each other's throats, with never-ending open conflicts and covert struggles. And then, from a certain moment, they became remarkably unified, speaking as one. I imagine the Xuanhuang World owes its survival, at least in part, to their efforts back then.”
Hearing this, Xiao Heng and the others felt a measure of relief.
Yet the unease that rose in their hearts from time to time was not so easily dispelled.
***
Just as Xiao Heng and the others finally became aware of the Xuanhuang World's true predicament, Li Fan, still ignorant of all this, had completed the final inspection of the Soul-Locking Array in the last province.
The universal implementation of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array was imminent. All the array masters who participated in their construction received invitations from the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters.
"Head to Tianling Province to watch the Soul-Locking Array's debut performance? What does this mean?"
Li Fan looked at the black-and-gold jade slip-like invitation in his hand and asked Huangfu Song.
"Perhaps it has something to do with the void in Tianling Province," Huangfu Song said quietly.
"Anyway, for some reason, it's almost guaranteed that the Five Elders Council is about to stir up war again. So the Alliance has decided to use the occasion of the Soul-Locking Array's unveiling to teach them a harsh lesson."
Hearing this, Li Fan nodded slowly.
Looking at this jade slip, a thread of unease suddenly welled up in his heart for some reason.
"Let's go. Quite a few people have already arrived. It wouldn't do to miss such a grand spectacle."
Huangfu Song piloted the Dust-Crossing Boat towards Yanghua Immortal City. Then, taking teleportation arrays, they hurried towards Tianling Province.
Midway, however, Li Fan suddenly stopped. "Senior Huangfu, you go on ahead. I have some business to attend to. I need to make a stop at the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters first."
He gave a look that said, “you should understand.”
"The Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters?" Huangfu Song was startled, but comprehension dawned quickly.
"Then allow me to offer my congratulations, Fellow Daoist!"
He looked at Li Fan with envy, then inwardly shook his head and departed first.
After Huangfu Song left, Li Fan's expression did not change.
Inwardly, however, he was replaying the message Lu Xuejing had just sent him.
"Danger."
It seems my earlier premonition was correct. Something bad will happen in Tianling Province.
Li Fan began to deliberate silently.