Chapter 329: Heaven and Earth Rise Anomalies Again

Li Fan thought for a moment and decided against directly asking He Zhengmao. Instead, he sent a message to Daoist Jing Xuan. As He Zhengmao's direct superior, Daoist Jing Xuan held a much higher position. If Lu Junyi were to be promoted to Grand Commander, Daoist Jing Xuan should benefit significantly.

Jing Xuan did not respond immediately, and Li Fan did not press him. Next, Li Fan reviewed the matter of Venerable Jicheng's bounty for longevity treasures. With the three-year deadline approaching, only about eight months remained.

According to unofficial rumors circulating among the populace, aside from the Longevity Fruit, which clearly grants 500 years of life and has virtually secured the top spot, the competition for other treasures was extremely fierce. It had reached a point where professional cultivators were being hired to precisely determine the exact number of months each treasure could extend one's life.

"The Life-Creation Fruit only offers 300 years…" Li Fan sighed inwardly. "It's a bit of a stretch. But finding another longevity treasure is no longer an option. I can only rely on this world's fortunes now."

Closing the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Li Fan suppressed distracting thoughts, calmed his mind, and began cultivating in a state of selfless devotion. However, shortly after entering seclusion, Li Fan was interrupted by a sudden surge of cultivation feedback. The feedback flowed continuously. While not as substantial as the amounts received when He Zhengmao, Su Xiaomei, and others broke through to the Golden Core stage, it was certainly a welcome surprise for Li Fan at this moment, significantly accelerating his progress towards the mid-Golden Core stage.

"This is…" Li Fan sensed it for a moment, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Xue Mu? He visited the Mortal Transcendent Wall and actually gained something? Judging by the amount of cultivation feedback, he must have achieved at least a Three-Law Golden Core."

"Interesting. The Mortal Transcendent concept truly lives up to its reputation. It seems I should indeed visit it once this matter is resolved." As Li Fan mused inwardly, he also received an ecstatic message from Xue Mu. "Haha, Fellow Daoist Li Fan, I did it! I truly have to thank you. Without your recommendation of this marvel where myriad laws resonate, how could I have achieved a Golden Core with three laws? Your kindness, Fellow Daoist, I will never forget!" Li Fan smiled faintly but did not respond.

"Your diligent cultivation is the best reward for me," Li Fan thought to himself. Putting away the communication talisman, Li Fan once again settled into cultivation.

Unexpectedly, barely two months later, he was again disturbed by a powerful surge of cultivation feedback, forcing him to halt his practice. This feedback was several times greater than what he had received from Xue Mu. Clearly, this person had a deeper bond with Li Fan.

"This is Xiao Heng? He broke through to the mid-Golden Core stage?" Li Fan felt a pleasant surprise, sensing the subtle connection. "He should be in Shilin Province right now. Unfortunately, the distance is too great for me to check with my Formless Killing Intent. To break through again so quickly, he must have encountered some fortunate opportunity."

With another boost, the difficulty required for advancement decreased once more. "It seems reaching the peak of the early Golden Core stage before the deadline shouldn't be a problem. I just wonder if the Heavenly Calamity bottleneck for this minor realm will be troublesome."

With a hint of excitement, Li Fan resumed his cultivation. However, the events of the next few months, while bringing Li Fan a great harvest, also filled his heart with an inexplicable sense of dread.

Because, besides Xue Mu and Xiao Heng, over the past half-year, everyone except Su Xiaomei and Zhang Haobo, who disappeared in the Chaoyuan Sect ruins, had consecutively broken through. He Zhengmao, the Yin family sisters, and even Zhao Dabao and Su Changyu, all achieved breakthroughs. It should be noted that Su Changyu had planned to cultivate using the "Cultivating Myself to Foundation Establishment" method. The amount of cultivation he feedbacked this time was far from what a Foundation Establishment cultivator would provide. Could it be that he successfully achieved Foundation Establishment through his unique method? Even Venerable Yin, after dissecting hundreds of his own corpses, only managed half-success. When did Su Changyu's aptitude become so remarkable?

Furthermore, what concerned Li Fan even more was this: While one or two cultivators breaking through simultaneously could be explained as a coincidence, the widespread phenomenon of cultivators breaking through their realms in such a short period forced Li Fan to suspect that some inexplicable change was occurring. To verify his suspicions, Li Fan set aside his cultivation.

He began searching for information using the Heavenly Profound Mirror. Using "breakthrough" as a keyword, Li Fan discovered that information surfacing in the past year was indeed much denser than before. There were even signs of an information "explosion." From the excited accounts of cultivators, Li Fan learned that most of them had fortunately not encountered the Heavenly Calamity bottleneck during their recent breakthroughs. After their cultivation reached its peak, they naturally and smoothly advanced. This phenomenon was not an isolated case. Even many cultivators who had been stuck at bottlenecks for years had inexplicably broken through their realms.

"Cultivation seems to have become easier," many cultivators commented. However, because the number of low-level cultivators was still vast, and many had not yet broken through, most people simply regarded these comments as boasts from those who had successfully advanced, not taking them seriously. But Li Fan thought otherwise.

"Could it be that the Myriad Immortals Alliance's urgency in constructing the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array is related to this?" Li Fan couldn't help but connect these two events.

The number of cultivators should not be too many or too few. Through the previous mission to hunt the red-haired anomalous beasts on the desolate island, Li Fan understood that the Myriad Immortals Alliance intentionally controlled the number of cultivators under its command. The rush to build the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array implied that something capable of affecting, or even subverting, the Alliance's rule was about to happen. To maintain its stability, the Alliance had to resort to such an extreme array formation.

"Is the world changing again, and is the number of cultivators about to spiral out of control?" Li Fan narrowed his eyes. If his conjecture was true, then it was almost foreseeable that in the near future, the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Association would inevitably begin to drastically reduce the number of cultivators through various means. An overt massacre seemed unlikely. It might be another war, or perhaps…

As if struck by a thought, a sudden chill went through Li Fan's heart. He stood up abruptly, feeling as if he had plunged into the depths of winter.

According to the Myriad Immortals Alliance's propaganda, the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array was being established to expose the hidden spies of the Five Elders Association. The actual effectiveness of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array had been thoroughly proven in Jiushan Province. Cultivators held immense trust in its miraculous capabilities. Once the Spirit-Locking Array was completed, with the appearance of light pillars piercing through the heavens and earth, all spies would have nowhere to hide.

However… the core of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array was the Heavenly Profound Mirror, which possessed its own will. What if the Heavenly Profound Mirror deliberately marked legitimate Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivators as Five Elders Association cultivators? Under the shroud of the light pillars, would any other cultivator believe you were innocent?

The more Li Fan thought about it, the colder his heart grew. A seemingly justified massacre might be on the horizon.