Chapter 380: Five Elements Disorder Manifested

“Is this for secrecy?” Li Fan glanced at Huangfu Song, noticing that the latter seemed entirely accustomed to it.

Happily tapping on the tabletop, Huangfu Song downed the spiritual tea that had appeared.

“Myriad Immortals Spirit Tea, this is quite the treasure,” Huangfu Song exclaimed. “It’s said to be an ancient recipe passed down from primordial times. Drinking it has the slight effect of strengthening one’s spiritual soul.”

“Each person is limited to one cup. Young friend, won’t you try some?”

After the spiritual tea entered his stomach, Huangfu Song rubbed his belly, let out a long sigh, and beckoned Li Fan.

Li Fan also followed Huangfu Song’s example and drank the Myriad Immortals Spirit Tea in front of him. Compared to the effects of the Profound Yellow Heart Refining Spell, this paled in comparison.

“What a treasure!” he exclaimed, though he still feigned delight.

No sooner had he set down his teacup than Li Fan felt the Dust-Traversing Boat beneath him gently sway, then slowly come to a halt.

“Could something have happened?” Li Fan asked, slightly surprised, as he looked at Huangfu Song slowly rising.

“Don’t just sit there,” Huangfu Song said. “We should have arrived at the Great Five Elements Grotto-Heaven.”

“That fast?” Li Fan was slightly startled, then couldn’t help but be surprised. In his perception, it had only been less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea since they departed. Li Fan was also aware of the Dust-Traversing Boat’s maximum speed. By that calculation, the Great Five Elements Grotto-Heaven must be located not far from Zhubi City?

As if sensing Li Fan’s thoughts, Huangfu Song chuckled and said, “Don’t bother calculating. This Dust-Traversing Boat can not only shield our perception of external space but also influence our perception of time.”

“You thought only half a day had passed?”

“In reality, it’s entirely possible that seven or eight days have already gone by.”

“Of course, it’s also possible that precisely the amount of time you perceived has passed.”

“The point is to keep you guessing.”

“After the previous incident involving the Purple Sky Immortal Venerable spy, the Alliance has become increasingly cautious.” Huangfu Song shook his head as he walked out of the cabin.

“Influencing the perception of time’s passage?” Li Fan’s heart sank. This was the first time he had encountered technology related to time within the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

“However, it might also just be a simple distortion of perception.”

Suppressing his thoughts, Li Fan followed Huangfu Song onto the deck.

Upon exiting the cabin, an unprecedented surge of water-attributed spiritual energy, almost solid in its density, washed over them. Having spent years in the Cloudsea and previously forming his foundation with the Azure Sea Pearl, Li Fan was exceptionally sensitive to water-attributed spiritual energy. Thus, he felt even more astonished.

“This must be the Water-attributed Grotto-Heaven within the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens? It’s practically like an enlarged, concentrated Azure Sea Pearl,” he mused.

Li Fan instinctively absorbed the spiritual energy. After refining and absorbing it, he gained a clear understanding of its purity. Looking around, Li Fan noticed that all the cultivators nearby, including Huangfu Song, were uniformly looking up at the sky. Their faces were filled with indescribable awe.

Li Fan followed their gaze. The Dust-Traversing Boat was currently situated on an incredibly flat boundary line. Below them was a vast, boundless azure water world. Above, however, was a colossal inverted tree, rooted in the firmament, its countless branches extending downwards to connect with the water world. Each branch was as vast as a mundane plain. Numerous plants could vaguely be seen growing on them. On some of the tree trunks, there were even continuous forests of smaller trees.

Qi Buyi suddenly appeared at this moment, also looking up at the magnificent sight in the sky, and explained to everyone: “Originally, the Water-attributed Grotto-Heaven was simply a vast, azure water world. But not long ago, beyond the water world, the scene of a Wood-attributed Grotto-Heaven suddenly emerged. The two began to gradually merge. This is the phenomenon of the Five Elements Unification.”

“Five Elements Unification. So, beneath the water world, are there signs of a Metal-attributed Grotto-Heaven invasion?” a cultivator on the boat couldn’t help but ask upon hearing this.

Qi Buyi nodded. “Below the endless water layers, one can indeed see a sky full of golden light. However, it’s not a Metal-attributed Grotto-Heaven invading. Instead, the Water-attributed Grotto-Heaven is invading the Metal-attributed Grotto-Heaven, just like the Wood-attributed Grotto-Heaven above us.”

“Metal generates Water, and Water generates Wood. But now it’s reversed?” Huangfu Song interjected. “Then, ultimately...”

Having said that, Huangfu Song was suddenly startled and stared blankly at Qi Buyi.

“It’s not as simple as you imagine,” Qi Buyi said. He walked to the edge of the Dust-Traversing Boat and, enveloping a mass of water with his spiritual energy, displayed it to the crowd. “Before the Five Elements Unification, the water in this Water-attributed Grotto-Heaven was incredibly pure. But now...”

Qi Buyi flicked out a spark, which flew into the water mass. Something astonishing happened to everyone present. The total volume of that water mass was clearly enough to extinguish the spark Qi Buyi had flicked out. However, after encountering the flame, it instead burst into fierce flames. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, it burned brighter and brighter. Ultimately, it even formed a clump of black scorched earth.

Li Fan saw clearly that this bizarre phenomenon wasn’t due to the strength of the flame. Rather, the nature of the “water” had changed. It had become capable of being ignited by fire.

“Is this still water?”

“Wait, if all this water in the grotto-heaven were to be ignited at once, what a catastrophe that would be?”

The people on the Dust-Traversing Boat exchanged glances, shuddering at the implications.

Qi Buyi seemed to discern their worry and said, “The change you’re seeing only occurs when the water is taken out individually. However, when it exists as part of the grotto-heaven as a whole, it will not ignite or turn into earth.”

Upon hearing this, everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

“As for why this phenomenon occurs, there is currently no clear answer,” Qi Buyi continued. “And this is also the purpose of our visit here. The anomaly occurring in this grotto-heaven is not the same as a typical Five Elements Unification. The Alliance is very interested in this. According to previous calculations, the Five Elements Unification would be completed within five years at most. However, as the process continues to accelerate, that timeframe could be significantly reduced.”

“What we need to do is ensure that the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array, which will envelop the Great Five Elements Grotto-Heaven, is completed before the Five Elements fully unify. Besides the vanguard who have already arrived, more reinforcements will arrive successively to oversee the array’s construction. We are part of them, primarily responsible for the coverage area of the Water-attributed Grotto-Heaven.”

Qi Buyi efficiently explained the objective of their mission to everyone.

“Even a single grotto-heaven is incredibly vast. It’s even larger than a province in our Xuanhuang Realm. Most of the areas here do not yet have teleportation arrays installed, so traveling by flight alone would be far too slow. To facilitate future work, the Alliance has prepared some special tools for you all.”

With that, Qi Buyi took out a teardrop-shaped object, black and gold, and displayed it before them. “This is the Heaven-Escaping Shuttle, a flying magical artifact specially crafted by the Alliance. Its speed... is extremely fast.”