Chapter 311: Qualified Actor

Li Fan subtly suppressed his aura, reverting it to the Foundation Establishment stage. In the Universal Courtyard, his breakthrough went largely unnoticed. Only Ji Hongdao, during a lecture, cast a surprised glance at Li Fan. Almost no one realized that Li Fan had already entered the Core Formation realm. However, even if the other students knew, they likely wouldn't dwell on it. After all, the Core Formation stage was quite common among them. Compared to cultivation level, they valued array mastery more.

The closed training for the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array was nearing its end. Since personally witnessing the sealing of the Sky-Profound Mirror surface last time, many students seemed to have gained new insights, and their scores had improved dramatically. In the final test, the Array Core Affinity Test, they had surpassed others.

Li Fan, on the one hand, was somewhat distracted, preoccupied with the major events concerning Congyun Sea and his own core formation. On the other hand, his talent in array formations was truly mediocre, offering him no particular insights. The combination of these two factors led to his scores practically stagnating. As the saying goes, "not advancing means retreating," and Li Fan's rank had fallen significantly. Fortunately, his scores in previous modules, such as array structure and soul contract identification, were among the best. Overall, he hadn't dropped to a very low position. His ranking remained in the upper-middle range.

That day, Ji Hongdao announced that the final test would be held in a month and a half. It would be a practical deployment of the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array. Only sufficient array materials would be provided; no one else would assist, and each person would deploy the array alone. The arrays would be evaluated based on their actual construction and ranked according to performance. High achievers would naturally receive rewards. However, Ji Hongdao kept the specific prize a secret. He only said it was extremely valuable, so much so that even he was tempted to participate in the competition himself.

Upon hearing this, the students couldn't help but feel excited. They eagerly returned to their respective courtyards to prepare thoroughly for the final test.

Li Fan was also about to leave but was called back by Ji Hongdao. "Although the final test is coming soon, rationally speaking, I should have kept this matter hidden for now," Ji Hongdao said. "However, this matter is too significant, and I believe you have the right to know."

Li Fan instantly grasped what Ji Hongdao was referring to. However, he had to maintain the act. Feigning a moment of surprise and pretending to be bewildered, Li Fan respectfully said, "Please speak, Senior. I can handle it."

Ji Hongdao nodded slightly. "In that case, listen carefully. Your home, Congyun Sea..."

"It's gone..."

Li Fan's response was well-executed. He showed no particular reaction, instead looking utterly bewildered: "Gone? What do you mean?"

A trace of sadness flickered in Ji Hongdao's eyes. "Gone, literally. The entire Congyun Sea has vanished."

Li Fan gave a wry smile. "Senior, you must be joking. Congyun Sea is immense. How could such a vast area simply disappear..." Mid-sentence, Li Fan suddenly fell silent. He stared blankly at Ji Hongdao, seeing that he was not joking at all. As if struck by lightning, his body slowly began to tremble. His eyes wide as saucers, Li Fan disregarded the disparity in their cultivation and status, lunged forward, and grabbed Ji Hongdao's arm.

"Is it true? How is this possible?"

"What exactly happened?"

"Alas," Ji Hongdao sighed, looking at Li Fan, who seemed to have gone mad in an instant. With a flick of his finger, he sent Li Fan back to his courtyard and said, "Go back and calm down first. As for what exactly happened, you can search for yourself in the Sky-Profound Mirror. Relevant information should still be available now."

With a blur before his eyes, Li Fan was back in his own small courtyard. Maintaining the same expression, Li Fan searched for Congyun Sea in the Sky-Profound Mirror.

"It seems the Demonic Scythe Sword was ultimately no match for Mo Sha. Congyun Sea has now completely become a void abyss," he thought. "The Cloudwater Heavenly Palace has also vanished without a trace."

"This outcome was expected. Perhaps the essence of the Demonic Scythe is of the same rank as Mo Sha, but she is currently only a remnant part of the sword. Even the hilt is gone."

"Moreover... for such a major event, the discussion is surprisingly subdued. It seems that the Celestial Venerable is at work again."

With such a major event, it would be impossible to hide it completely. The Myriad Immortals Alliance did not choose to block or censor the news; instead, they opted for a cold treatment. Initial discussions were very lively. The images of Mo Sha destroying the world, recorded by Jiao Xiuyuan, both startled many cultivators and ignited their greed. Besides sympathy for the unfortunate cultivators of Congyun Sea and questions about why Mo Sha resorted to such brutal means of world destruction, the most discussed topic surprisingly became the feasibility of integrating with Mo Sha.

As time passed, the number of people discussing the first two topics dwindled. Only those obsessed with power remained persistent.

"What level of combat power is required to integrate with Mo Sha? In my opinion, vast as the cultivation world is, no cultivator possesses that qualification."

"I'll suggest one: Young Master Jinglun. Legend has it that decades ago, he was already at the peak of the Soul Transformation stage, with unfathomable strength. He even once resolutely gave up an opportunity to integrate with a Spirit of Heaven and Earth, simply because that Spirit was too weak!"

"Though Young Master Jinglun is strong, he still falls short compared to Mo Sha."

"Those black particles annihilate everything; resisting them is incredibly difficult. I think if Zhong Shentong advances to Soul Transformation, his infinite colorful divine light might be able to contend with it."

"Zhong Shentong? A Foundation Establishment cultivator? And so old? Do you really think any nobody can come out and disparage Young Master Jinglun? I could crush him without the Young Master even needing to act!"

"Oh? This fellow Daoist speaks with great arrogance? Dare you leave your name and address? This old man will personally pay a visit to seek enlightenment!"

With an expression of profound grief, Li Fan browsed through this information. Yet, in his mind, he thought: "Having suffered such a misfortune, it would be quite reasonable even if my final test score was a little lower, wouldn't it?"

For the next few days, Li Fan stayed indoors and declined all visitors. He perfectly portrayed a cultivator who had suddenly suffered a great calamity.

As time slowly passed, Li Fan also clearly noticed that his memories of Congyun Sea were gradually fading. His thoughts were obstructed, and he hardly ever spontaneously recalled anything related to it. If not for Li Fan specifically creating a dedicated area in his Mind Dao Stone for special records, which he reviewed every few days, he would have almost completely forgotten about the extinction of Congyun Sea as well. All of this transpired in just over a month.

"The power of the Longevity Celestial Venerable is truly terrifying," Li Fan couldn't help but sigh with emotion, experiencing the Celestial Venerable's influence firsthand once more.

And so, everything returned to calm. After another ten-odd days, the final test of the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array closed training finally arrived.