Chapter 257: Sea Bottom Triple Faults

"Hahahaha, I'll take your good wishes, fellow Daoist."

He Zhenghao burst into laughter, eager to fly towards his destination.

"We're here! This is the place!"

After about half a day, He Zhenghao suddenly paused and then plunged into the sea. Li Fan followed, descending all the way to the deep sea floor.

His divine sense swept across, taking in the three great fault lines formed by countless rugged mountain ranges below. "Indeed, the scenery is extraordinary; compared to the mountains and rivers on land, it possesses a unique charm," Li Fan mused inwardly.

He Zhenghao stood suspended above the underwater mountain range, eyes closed in concentration, seemingly searching for something. Above his head, the "Array Map of Mountains and Hundred Veins" suddenly appeared. In an instant, an inexplicable fluctuation seemed to emanate from the continuous mountain range below, subtly forming a resonance with the array map.

He Zhenghao continuously adjusted his position, determining the optimal spot. Li Fan quietly observed from the side. After a while, He Zhenghao's eyes snapped open, revealing a sharp glint.

The "Array Map of Mountains and Hundred Veins" above his head rapidly expanded according to his will. It instantly grew to a full hundred miles in size. The sharp-eyed Li Fan also noticed that the mountain and river patterns displayed on the array map continuously transformed, gradually becoming increasingly similar to the underwater mountain range below.

The resonance waves grew stronger and stronger. When the scenery depicted in the map fully matched the actual landscape, He Zhenghao let out a loud shout. The array map emitted a dazzling white light, then seemed to completely merge into the mountains below, vanishing from sight.

He Zhenghao rapidly performed hand seals, and subtle yet wondrous changes subtly occurred in the mountain and river formation around him. It seemed to form a grand array, protecting He Zhenghao in its center.

"'All hundred veins and mountains can be arrays... What a remarkable technique,'" Li Fan thought. He had previously spied on He Zhenghao's "Explanation of Mountain and River Array Maps," so he was no stranger to this method of transforming natural landscapes into array formations with such ease.

"'I trouble you, fellow Daoist, to guard me!'" He Zhenghao said solemnly to Li Fan. After that, he calmed his mind and officially began forming his Golden Core. Although this place was quite remote and rarely visited by cultivators, Li Fan did not relax his vigilance.

He flew above He Zhenghao, observing his Core Formation while also monitoring the surroundings as a guard. Unlike the grand scene of sword, water, and wind energies filling the heavens and earth when Zhang Haobo formed his Core, at first, silence was the absolute main theme. No unusual phenomena occurred; He Zhenghao simply sat motionless above the three underwater fault lines. If Li Fan hadn't vaguely sensed something brewing beneath the expansive, fractured seabed, he would have almost thought He Zhenghao was merely in secluded cultivation.

Li Fan waited patiently. The process of accumulating power was longer than he had imagined. More than ten days passed before changes finally began to appear.

In the silent underwater world, a sound like a beating heart suddenly echoed. "Thump!" Li Fan narrowed his eyes. The moment he heard the sound, he momentarily had an illusion: the three underwater fault lines, stretching for a hundred miles, seemed to suddenly come alive. It was as if a deep-sea leviathan, dormant for countless years, had suddenly awakened, bringing with it an inexplicable sense of danger.

"Thump!" The heartbeat sound resounded again. The seabed trembled slightly. The feeling in Li Fan's heart grew even stronger.

From a higher vantage point, as he observed the mountain range below again, Li Fan vaguely saw more. As the heart-like sound continuously echoed, deep within the earth, streams of yellowish-brown energy surged like blood coursing through veins. Their flow brought endless power to the land.

"'The Art of Earth Veins...'" Li Fan had a realization.

The "Array Map of Mountains and Hundred Veins," now expanded to a hundred miles and integrated with the seabed below, suddenly erupted with bright light along its edges. It was like a silver dividing line, separating it from the original underwater mountain range. With the pulsating heartbeat, immeasurable vast yellowish-brown earth vein energy surged from the boundless, distant continental shelf. Like all rivers flowing to the ocean, all of it was absorbed by the array map.

"'The Art of Earth Veins alone possesses such a grand formation?'" Li Fan exclaimed. "'Extraordinary, truly extraordinary! He's indeed worthy of my high regard!'"

Li Fan marveled endlessly, eagerly anticipating the remaining two arts. The earth vein energy continuously surged and had gradually stabilized. He Zhenghao then began to perceive the Art of Mountains and Rivers.

Li Fan noticed that the surrounding seawater, which should have been still, now began to flow slowly. From the highest point of the seabed, it flowed downwards. Each time it plunged down a fault line several thousand meters deep, forming unique underwater waterfalls, its momentum and speed underwent a qualitative change.

After passing through the three major fault lines, the slow currents had transformed into surging underwater rivers. They swept and rushed through the underwater mountain range, roaring past. Compared to the heartbeat sound of the earth veins, it was like the sound of heavy breathing.

The currents rushed through the layers of mountains. Streaks of blue-green energy were drawn in and absorbed by the array map. "'The Art of Mountains and Rivers...'" A sharp glint flickered in Li Fan's eyes.

Earth veins and mountains and rivers complemented each other. The sounds of heartbeat and breathing continuously echoed around him. The three underwater fault lines below gave an increasingly distinct sense of "vitality." Blue-green and yellowish-brown lights continuously emerged from the seabed here.

This seemed to attract some cultivators to come and investigate. Most of them realized that a cultivator was attempting to form their Golden Core. Li Fan then declared his identity as an array maintenance official of the Myriad Immortal Alliance. These cultivators, seeing that someone was guarding the process and was also a member of the Myriad Immortal Alliance system, then abandoned their intentions and chose to detour away.

However, there were still some persistent and ill-intentioned cultivators secretly lurking. Most of them were nameless rogue cultivators, and their strength was below the Golden Core stage. Li Fan, without hesitation, activated his Binding Bug divine ability, directly capturing them and throwing them far away.

Three days passed in this manner. The rather magnificent commotion slowly began to subside. The heartbeat sound grew fainter, and the breathing sound became lighter. The power of the earth veins and the power of mountains and rivers gradually converged. The sense of "vitality" also slowly faded, and it reverted to the appearance of a normal deep-sea abyss.

However, Li Fan could clearly sense that this was a concealment, not a disappearance. An obscure, unnamable energy concealed all the unusual phenomena, making them difficult to detect. If Li Fan hadn't witnessed all the changes and developments from beginning to end, and observed them meticulously from his comprehensive perspective, he probably wouldn't have been able to perceive the inexplicable changes occurring there. As Li Fan observed the abyss below, it was like staring directly at an ancient fierce beast ready to devour anyone at any moment. An indescribable tremor occasionally arose in his heart.

"'The Art of Hidden Abyss...'" "'Marvelous!'" "'The three arts are complete. It seems fellow Daoist He is not far from successfully forming his Golden Core!'" Li Fan thought to himself.

The seabed returned to its previous quiet state. Another seven days passed. Yet He Zhenghao still hadn't successfully formed his Golden Core. The three arts—Earth Vein, Mountain and River, and Hidden Abyss—had all ceased their fluctuations. Logically, he should have been able to form his Golden Core by now, but He Zhenghao remained inactive. It didn't seem like a failure; it was more like he was waiting for something.