In the dark void, several Realm-Splitting Whales chased one another in play.
Had one looked closely, they would have noticed a black-feathered bird with a crimson tail perched atop the back of one such whale, strolling across its vast expanse with unhurried ease, while the whale beneath it remained wholly oblivious to its presence.
This black-feathered, crimson-tailed bird was, naturally, Li Fan.
Having passed through the Immortal-Severing Grand Array with practiced ease, he spotted the pod of Realm-Splitting Whales and was struck by a sudden idea.
He wanted to test how effective the Furnace of Myriad Forms truly was in practical deception.
And so, this little performance began.
Realm-Splitting Whales are extremely sensitive to external auras, able to track mortals across ten thousand li. Li Fan mused. Yet I am this close, and they show no sign of alarm. To them, I must be indistinguishable from a real bird.
He was quite satisfied with the test results.
Beating his wings, he took flight, leaving the pod of whales behind and heading for the entrance to the Xuanhuang World at the bottom of the Abyssal Chasm.
If Great Xuan truly breaks free from the Xuanhuang World through the efforts of the Realm-Splitting Whales, will it be captured directly by the Immortal Ruins? Just like that true Medicine King Cauldron?
The cultivation world lay just ahead. As Li Fan glanced back at the Realm-Splitting Whales, still tirelessly tearing through space, a fleeting thought crossed his mind.
Who was responsible for the first pod of Realm-Splitting Whales back then?
Almost certainly not the Ten Immortal Dao Sects. They’re well aware of the Immortal Ruins’ existence. Letting Realm-Splitting Whales gnaw away at minor worlds would be no different from digging their own graves.
The thought vanished as quickly as it came. His movements did not slow in the slightest.
An instant later, Li Fan emerged above a vast, boundless ocean.
Sea and sky blended seamlessly together. A salty, damp breeze brushed against his face.
Li Fan drew in a deep breath and sighed softly. A blue sky really is a beautiful sight.
After centuries spent beneath the oppressive Xuan Net, only now, having returned, did he truly grasp how precious freedom was.
Rather than heading straight for the Myriad Immortals Alliance, Li Fan adjusted his direction and flew toward the border between the Congyun Sea and Shilin Province.
His destination was the ruins of the Heavenly Mechanisms Sect, hidden within the White Stone Grotto-Heaven.
That was where Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi had once uncovered the Thousand Mechanisms Jade Cosmos Scripture.
In his previous life, with Linghu Chang’s assistance, Xiao Heng had excavated several additional techniques from those ruins. Among them was the secret art, A Single Hand Veils the Heavens.
Li Fan had no intention of letting such an opportunity slip by.
Though outwardly he appeared as nothing more than a mortal bird, his speed through the air was anything but ordinary.
More than twenty days later, Li Fan arrived outside the Hundred Stones Grotto-Heaven.
This so-called grotto-heaven was in truth a colossal subterranean cavern lying along Shilin Province’s border.
Inside, countless tunnels crisscrossed and intertwined. At irregular intervals, narrow passages would suddenly open into vast underground chambers.
Within these halls, bizarre rock formations jutted wildly, some growing down from the ceiling, others thrusting outward from the walls.
Their shapes were grotesque and varied: some resembled human figures while others looked like twisted beasts, all deeply unsettling to behold.
Many cultivators had entered this place only to lose their way, forever trapped.
No one truly knew how expansive the Hundred Stones Grotto-Heaven was.
Though it was rumored to conceal secrets, its reputation as one of Shilin Province’s most dangerous locations ensured that few cultivators were willing to venture inside.
Li Fan pressed deeper into the cavern system, yet not a single other soul appeared.
The farther he went, the more labyrinthine the paths became. A single junction might split into seven or eight diverging tunnels.
And apart from the partial suppression of divine sense, the grotto itself seemed to shift and change.
A passage that had been perfectly clear on the way in might vanish inexplicably when one attempted to retrace one's steps.
To make matters worse, the stone here was unnaturally hard; carving open open a new path through brute strength was all but impossible.
It was precisely these traits that made the Hundred Stones Grotto-Heaven so notoriously perilous.
According to what Linghu Chang said, this Hundred Stones Grotto-Heaven was likely formed from the corpse of an ancient exotic beast, the Origin-Returning Toad. Li Fan recalled the rumors Han Wuyou had heard.
“The Origin-Returning Toad dwells deep underground, feeding on the earth veins of mountains and rivers. It is a notorious destroyer of terrain, capable of hollowing out the entire underground of a province.
However, everything has its counter.
Within its body, a kind of Stone Spirit Insect often lives in symbiosis.
The Origin-Returning Toad is innately greedy, devouring earth veins without restraint, to the point it can gorge itself to death.
In most cases, it cannot digest and absorb the earth vein energy within its body in time. This results in vast formations of earth vein stones crystallizing inside it.
These Stone Spirit Insects love to feed on earth vein stones. While they help alleviate the toad's digestive pressure, they themselves never have to worry about food.
A perfect symbiotic relationship.”
These intricate tunnels within the Hundred Stones Grotto-Heaven were probably dug by those Stone Spirit Insects.
As he flew, Li Fan carefully searched the shadows for any sign of the insects.
Found you!
After a good half of the day had passed, Li Fan finally found one. He revealed his true form, and the Five Elements Extinction Sword silently left its sheath.
A deep hole appeared in the wall of the tunnel.
A bluish-gray figure flashed, trying to flee deeper into the rock.
Insect Binding!
Li Fan activated his divine ability, capturing it instantly.
A plump, bluish-gray insect about the size of an infant appeared before Li Fan.
Immobilized, it let out a series of frantic, chirping cries.
Li Fan tapped its body lightly, producing a dull thud.
The insect's entire fleshy body wobbled. Under Li Fan's warning, it immediately settled down.
Channeling spiritual qi into its body, Li Fan closed his eyes, sensing the insect's physical structure.
Although it could consume earth vein stones, its physiology was even less complex than that of the ordinary bird Li Fan had transformed into previously.
Before long, Li Fan released his hold.
In the next moment, bathed in golden light, he transformed into the likeness of a Stone Spirit Insect.
The original fat insect plopped to the ground and frantically burrowed away, paying no mind to its new companion.
Not long after it appeared, the hole it dug began to close slowly right before Li Fan's eyes,.
This place truly is strange. The Origin-Returning Toad is dead, yet it feels alive. Without a special method, exploring the place would be quite troublesome.
But now...
Li Fan wriggled his insect body and plunged headfirst into the stone wall.
The previously impossibly hard stone was now transformed into a crunchy snack. Li Fan carved a path forward with absurd ease.
A rough map of the Heavenly Mechanisms Sect ruins surfaced in his mind. He adjusted his course and bored straight toward it.
Seven days later, a low, grinding rumble began to emanate from the wall of a sealed, subterranean cavern. It grew louder and closer, until with a violent shudder, the Stone Spirit Insect that was Li Fan burst through the rock face.
He tumbled out with a heavy thud, landing on his back. He stayed utterly still, his pale underbelly facing the cavern ceiling.
Only after the earth vein stone within its gut had been fully digested and converted to pure energy did the worm dissolve, and Li Fan turned back into a human.
"I actually overate," he muttered, shaking his head at the sheer ridiculousness of it.