Chapter 1104: Spirit Wood War Begins

Chapter 1114The Battle of the Spirit Woods Begins

In the Nether Prison, time seemed to lose its meaning. Every day brought only unchanging gloom and the ceaseless cries of agony.

The black mist jailers appeared to have limited intelligence. Faced with Li Fan, their unexpected new prisoner, they merely cackled eerily before mechanically activating the formations within the prisoner pillars, attempting to torture him. Naturally, Li Fan effortlessly neutralized all their attempts. However, he cooperatively feigned screams of agony, tricking the black mist jailers into leaving contentedly.

Besides these frequently appearing low-level jailers, patrolling cultivators from the Myriad Immortals Alliance were occasionally seen in the Nether Prison. There were three in total, coming in turns. Their inspections of the Nether Prison were often just a formality; after all, the Nether Prison had been peaceful for thousands of years, never experiencing any disturbances.

After a period of observation, Li Fan realized something. The area where he was currently hiding was merely the outermost layer of the Nether Prison. The Myriad Immortals Alliance did not seem to place much importance on the prisoners held here. Li Fan even witnessed one of his neighbors, unable to withstand the torture of the formations, have their soul dissipate. For a long time after that, no one came to check. It was only when the black mist jailers conducted their routine patrol that they discovered it, subsequently activating a purification formation to cleanse the black pillar in preparation for the next prisoner.

Li Fan was quite satisfied with the situation in the Nether Prison. The probability of being discovered was very low, and no one disturbed him ordinarily. Enjoying the tranquility, Li Fan prepared for his ultimate world-destroying plan while simultaneously observing the situation in the Spirit Wood Realm through his Holy Infant clone.

For a considerable time after Li Fan issued the full-readiness order and escaped, the outside world remained calm. There were no signs whatsoever that the Myriad Immortals Alliance was about to launch a war. This made everyone murmur with doubt, questioning Li Fan's judgment. However, intimidated by the power of the Benevolent Immortal of the Mortal World, they dared not show it. Yet Li Fan knew this was merely the calm before the storm.

Events proved Li Fan's prediction correct. One day, the sealing formation at the entrance to the Spirit Wood Realm subtly began to show faint signs of fluctuation. The Holy Embryo Li Fan immediately detected the anomaly. Focusing his mind to observe for a moment, Li Fan sneered, "They've certainly gained some skill. It seems the formations I gave the Myriad Immortals Alliance have been thoroughly studied. Compared to before, their formation mastery has improved by at least a century. What a pity... they are still more than a generation behind me!"

"At their snail's pace, they won't break the formation in less than three months, and that's only if I don't repair it. However, on second thought, the Myriad Immortals Alliance might not have that much patience. If they can't break the formation, they'll likely resort to a direct assault..."

Li Fan did not believe that a mere formation could withstand the assault of the Myriad Immortals Alliance army. "Better to feign a weakness, let them in, and then catch them like turtles in a jar!" Li Fan's thoughts raced, and he instantly had an idea. Although his true self had already departed for safety, Li Fan had no intention of completely abandoning resistance against the Myriad Immortals Alliance's coercion. After all, accumulating the resources of the Spirit Wood Realm in this lifetime had been no easy feat, requiring immense effort and dedication. Now that the Myriad Immortals Alliance was attacking, a counter-attack was certainly in order.

"This is a good opportunity to test the mettle of the Myriad Immortals Alliance," he mused. "Let's see if they are truly worthy of their reputation as one of the two dominant organizations in the Xuanhuang Realm."

The Holy Embryo Li Fan notified everyone in the Spirit Wood Realm to prepare for battle. At the same time, cooperating with the Myriad Immortals Alliance's formation-breaking methods, he gradually relaxed the formation's defenses. It appeared as if the formation had truly been breached. The weakness grew, and eventually, a subtle crack appeared in the entrance passage to the Spirit Wood Realm. The first wave of Myriad Immortals Alliance attacking forces instantly passed through these cracks and entered the Spirit Wood Realm.

The moment they met, both sides paused in slight surprise. The Myriad Immortals Alliance was surprised that the people of the Spirit Wood Realm seemed to have long discovered their covert actions and were already prepared for battle. Li Fan, on the other hand, was surprised that the Myriad Immortals Alliance's so-called vanguard was not composed of elite suicide squads. Instead, it was hundreds of arrows gleaming with cold light.

"'Sky-Patrolling Arrows?!'" Li Fan was somewhat surprised.

The Sky-Patrolling Arrows were powerful weapons developed by the Myriad Immortals Alliance in this era, incredibly fast, capable of traversing an entire province in just a few breaths. Their power was also astonishing, almost equivalent to the full strike of an ordinary Dao Harmonization cultivator. This was not even their most terrifying aspect. The true power of the Sky-Patrolling Arrows lay in their ability to form special formations with each other, creating a vast net that could even distort and influence the laws of heaven and earth. Previously, during the war between the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council, the Alliance used Sky-Patrolling Arrows to disrupt the laws of heaven and earth over a wide area, preventing the Longevity Celestial Venerables of the Five Elders Council from interfering in the battle.

"'It seems the Myriad Immortals Alliance intends to employ a decapitation strike. One hundred and sixty-eight Sky-Patrolling Arrows – if this were an ordinary small world, its vital forces would likely be completely annihilated by this move. However...'" Li Fan sneered and reacted swiftly. First, he used the grand formation covering the Spirit Wood Realm to interfere with the Sky-Patrolling Arrows, preventing them from forming their array. Then, he dispatched Tianyang, who, with overwhelming power, collected and suppressed the arrows one by one before they could disperse and cause damage. Although the Sky-Patrolling Arrows were fast, Tianyang was even faster! Tianyang transformed into a streak of green light, crisscrossing the sky. In the blink of an eye, he had them all under control.

"'Take a few for study and see if these things can be turned to our advantage,'" the Holy Embryo Li Fan said to Artisan Hermit. Artisan Hermit excitedly took the Sky-Patrolling Arrows and immediately went to disassemble and study them.

Meanwhile, the inexplicable loss of hundreds of Sky-Patrolling Arrows seemed to have caught the Myriad Immortals Alliance off guard. They remained stunned for a long time, delaying their next wave of attack. Seeing this, Li Fan's eyes darted, and he feigned activating the sealing formation at the entrance, as if to repair it. Observing the "hard-won" formation cracks slowly begin to heal, the Myriad Immortals Alliance predictably grew impatient. As expected, they soon launched another attack.

This time, passing through the entrance crack and appearing before the people of the Spirit Wood Realm, was a contingent of cultivators entirely clad in golden battle armor. Shrouded in golden light, their faces were indiscernible. Even their precise locations seemed impossible to pinpoint. Upon entering the Spirit Wood Realm, the golden-armored cultivators rapidly dispersed. Their speed was incredibly swift, even slightly faster than the Sky-Patrolling Arrows. Most troublesome was that they left trails of afterimages along their flight paths.