Chapter 118: Five Elements Great Cavern

Zhang Haobo opened his eyes, and the wandering sword intent swiftly returned to his dantian. As the sharpness in his eyes slowly dissipated, his entire demeanor became unremarkable and harmless.

Li Fan observed Zhang Haobo's transformation, marveling at it. To be able to subtly conceal his aura and return to his natural state, even in the Foundation Establishment stage, was truly remarkable—quite astonishing, in fact.

After staying briefly at the bottom of the sea to familiarize himself with the power he had just gained from breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, Zhang Haobo immediately leaped to the surface. He didn't pause for a moment, immediately beginning to practice the Seaborne Divine Sword technique.

One by one, blue water swords appeared sequentially, dancing in the air. Under Zhang Haobo's control, blue light crisscrossed, and water dragons soared.

Li Fan, observing in secret, acutely noticed something: after building his Dao foundation with that unknown sword intent, the sword momentum of Zhang Haobo's Seaborne Divine Sword technique had undergone some noticeable changes. If the previous manifestation of the Seaborne Divine Sword was grand and straightforward, then the current Seaborne Divine Sword, imbued with the mysterious sword intent, contained a hidden, frenzied, and fierce killing intent within its immense and unparalleled momentum.

Furthermore, Li Fan had a faint feeling that Zhang Haobo was still holding back. A towering malevolent aura was constantly suppressed and not unleashed by him. Once this malevolent aura, originating from the black sword hilt, erupted, the power of the Seaborne Divine Sword would likely instantly increase severalfold.

On the deserted sea, Zhang Haobo ceaselessly practiced the Seaborne Sword Art, tirelessly. He continued practicing, day and night, through all weather. Specks of blue light converged from all directions in the ocean. In this Congyun Sea, which was almost his home ground, Zhang Haobo didn't have to worry about the depletion of spiritual energy, allowing him to practice freely and without restraint.

Thus, even though his cultivation realm was still at the early Foundation Establishment stage, his actual combat prowess was rapidly improving. The most outwardly apparent change was the number of water swords Zhang Haobo could condense, which had soared from thirty-six in recent days: thirty-six, seventy-two, one hundred and eight!

In just over a month, Zhang Haobo, who had only recently entered the Foundation Establishment stage, had mastered the Seaborne Divine Sword technique. While some external factors contributed to this, it was undeniable that Zhang Haobo's talent was truly astonishing.

With one hundred and eight Seaborne Divine Swords unleashed simultaneously, water dragons roared across the sky. In Li Fan's eyes, this display of power already surpassed that of Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi, both late-Foundation Establishment cultivators, on that previous day. This was even without Zhang Haobo utilizing any Foundation Establishment strange artifacts.

Seeing Zhang Haobo's rapid progress, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a hidden anticipation. "What will you do next? The Seaborne Divine Sword technique I gave you only goes up to the Foundation Establishment stage. Could you possibly deduce the Golden Core stage portion on your own?"

Li Fan was somewhat skeptical. In this cultivation world, it was indeed possible to create one's own cultivation techniques. However, it wasn't something that could be achieved merely with high talent. It also required an extremely profound understanding of existing cultivation methods as a foundation to innovate, create something from nothing, and deduce new ones. One could say, only a grandmaster could accomplish such a feat.

In the cultivation world, cultivators who could deduce new techniques were respectfully referred to as Weavers of Law. The status of a Weaver of Law was highly respected, far above that of masters in artifact refining, alchemy, talisman crafting, or array formations. In any organization, they would invariably hold crucial positions and be revered. There were even Weaver Grandmasters with exceptionally high skill and and extraordinary comprehension of cultivation methods, capable of "customizing" techniques for cultivators. Their status was even comparable to that of Dao Integration Immortal Venerables.

As for Zhang Haobo, while his talent was indeed high, the only cultivation method he had practiced so far was the Seaborne Divine Sword technique. The possibility of him successfully deducing the Golden Core chapter of the Seaborne Divine Sword technique existed, but the probability was very low. Instead, Li Fan was now somewhat anticipating what Zhang Haobo would do next.

However, for now, Zhang Haobo, being in the early Foundation Establishment stage, didn't need to worry about cultivation techniques. Like the best teacher, he repeatedly and meticulously demonstrated all the moves of the Seaborne Divine Sword technique before Li Fan. He was tireless and incredibly thorough.

Li Fan dedicated most of his attention to learning and comprehending. His remaining attention, however, returned to the Myriad Mystery Mirror.

The saying "cultivation knows no time" was indeed true. While Li Fan and Zhang Haobo were cultivating, time quietly slipped by. It was now Anchor Year 16. The grand curtain of the Crimson Flame Burning Sea was drawing ever closer.

Li Fan first checked the major events that had occurred in the past two years. Due to the influence of the Longevity Heavenly Venerate, although only two years had passed, many records were likely already lost. However, Li Fan later visited cultivators like Yuwen Xing, and through persistent questioning, managed to reconstruct some events from subtle clues. Li Fan returned to the Heavenly Mystery Mirror, organizing and recording them one by one. Although Li Fan would undoubtedly slowly forget them unintentionally soon after, it didn't matter. After his next "True Return," Li Fan would remember these events again in his next life.

Li Fan studied the records in his hand; there were a few entries that particularly interested him.

In Anchor Year 14, shortly after he and Zhang Haobo entered their enlightenment states, something major seemed to have occurred in the northwestern sea region of the Congyun Sea, near the border of Yongliang Province and Jiushan Province. The price of the local specialty, Gilded Flying Fish, had surged fiftyfold in a short period. This only lasted for a brief seven days before rapidly falling back. Furthermore, all surviving buyers could not recall what had happened or why they had purchased the Gilded Flying Fish. That was one event.

The second interesting event occurred in Anchor Year 15. A fiery meteor lit up the horizon, streaking across the night sky, its destination unknown. All cultivators who witnessed this meteor were simultaneously filled with feelings of dread and sorrow. Some had tried to locate the meteor's crash site, but apparently no one succeeded.

The third event had just happened recently. The rumor mentioned by Jiao Xiuyuan—that two other grotto-heavens existed near the wood-attribute spiritual energy grotto-heaven—had been confirmed. However, the reality was even more exaggerated than the rumor, because not just two, but four grotto-heavens were hidden. The five grotto-heavens, corresponding to the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth elements, subtly formed an array, appearing as one unified entity.

The discovery of these Five Elements Grotto-Heavens was truly astonishing. It even attracted the covetous gaze of the Five Elders Association. The two sides fought a battle near the grotto-heavens, and ultimately, the Myriad Immortals Alliance, at the cost of one fallen Soul Transformation realm expert, repelled the Five Elders Association. Later, to prevent further disputes and to protect these Five Elements Grotto-Heavens, the Myriad Immortals Alliance paid a significant price to relocate them entirely to their territory's heartland, near Tianyu Province.

Li Fan firmly committed this information to memory, as it represented crucial avenues for profit in his next life.