Chapter 385: Human Will Can Defeat Heaven

Shortly after the Heavenly Venerates created new cultivation methods, allowing cultivators to advance by plundering heaven and earth, Heaven and Earth retaliated, and great changes descended.

The more people cultivated the same technique simultaneously, the slower their cultivation speed became. This was known as the principle that immortal techniques cannot be cultivated together. This became a fundamental truth of the world, and the primary reason why cultivation techniques were so precious.

But now, an obscure, unknown organization had surprisingly produced a cultivation technique that defied this truth of heaven and earth. Who would believe it?

Initially, cultivators dismissed it as a joke and paid no attention. However, some individuals, desperate for immortal techniques but lacking access, traveled great distances to Jiushan State, enduring hardships to investigate with a 'what if' attitude.

After joining the Lingyuan Sect and formally beginning to cultivate the 'Cangsheng Lingyuan Gong', something astonishing happened.

Indeed, all members of the Lingyuan Sect cultivated this single technique. From Qi Condensation to Spirit Transformation, practitioners of all stages were present. Most crucially, the fundamental truth that techniques cannot be cultivated simultaneously seemed to have lost its effect on the 'Cangsheng Lingyuan Gong'. There was no slowdown in cultivation speed due to an excessive number of practitioners. The facts were undeniable. No matter how incredible it seemed, it simply happened.

Soon, news of the Lingyuan Sect's miraculous technique spread throughout the entire cultivation world. The public's first reaction was that the creator of this technique must be an unparalleled Heavenly Venerate of Longevity. Only by reversing the truth of heaven and earth could such an effect be achieved.

However, people knew very little about the Heavenly Venerates of Longevity. They had only caught glimpses, mainly relying on the phrase 'Reverse the truth of heaven and earth to attain longevity' recorded in the 'Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method'. How to reverse, what truly counted as reversing, and to what extent one must reverse to achieve longevity... all these questions were merely unreliable conjectures. Given the miraculous effects of the 'Cangsheng Lingyuan Gong', their speculation was understandable.

Evidently, this speculation was incorrect. After reviewing the 'Cangsheng Lingyuan Gong', Immortal Venerable Huangyue, a senior Dao Integration cultivator from Tianqing State, finally revealed the truth.

The truth of heaven and earth regarding techniques not being cultivable together had not been reversed at all. The reason cultivators of the Lingyuan Gong seemed unaffected was simply due to the unique characteristics of the 'Cangsheng Lingyuan Gong' itself.

The more people cultivated the Lingyuan Gong simultaneously, the faster their cultivation speed became. This was an effect inherent to the Lingyuan Gong technique. However, at the same time, due to the restrictions imposed by heaven and earth, the cultivation speed would slow down with each additional cultivator. These two effects existed simultaneously. The result was that the acceleration and deceleration canceled each other out. The Lingyuan Gong thus became a technique that could barely be cultivated.

In fact, according to Immortal Venerable Huangyue, when the number of Lingyuan Gong cultivators gradually increased from 1 to 5 at the very beginning, the restrictive effect of heaven and earth was far greater than the technique's speed-increasing characteristic. For ordinary techniques, five people cultivating together would already make it impossible to advance, no matter how talented one was.

However, as the number of Lingyuan Gong cultivators continued to increase from 5 to tens, hundreds, thousands, and then tens of thousands, the acceleration effect became increasingly pronounced, finally just barely offsetting the restriction against simultaneous cultivation. In a sense, this was 'man triumphs over nature'.

But that was the extent of its capabilities. Because the speed-increasing effect of the 'Cangsheng Lingyuan Gong' also had its limits. After offsetting the negative effects of heaven and earth, the Lingyuan Gong's ability to increase cultivation speed became almost negligible. Furthermore, aside from increasing cultivation speed, the Lingyuan Gong itself had no other special effects. This also meant that for most cultivators who had other options, it was not considered a good technique.

Additionally, the Lingyuan Gong seemed to have other limitations. However, Immortal Venerable Huangxing did not elaborate.

“The 'Cangsheng Lingyuan Gong' truly came at an inopportune time. In any other world, this would undoubtedly be an earth-shattering, heaven-defying technique. Unfortunately, in the Xuanhuang Realm, it is severely restricted.” Li Fan mused to himself, listening to Yan Hang and the others chat while building the formations.

Li Fan was also familiar with this Lingyuan Sect. It was the same organization Su Xiaomei and her companions had encountered, the one that set up checkpoints and collected fees at the Jiushan Pass. Shen Yurou, the androgynous individual possessing the Peach Blossom Cavern and wounded by his invincible sword, had also left an impression on Li Fan.

“According to Immortal Venerable Huangyue, only by gathering numerous cultivators to practice the Lingyuan Gong together from the very beginning is it possible to even get started.”

“In the chaotic region of Jiushan State, to gather such a large group of people, the leader of the Lingyuan Sect must be extraordinary.”

The influx of new blood slightly alleviated the increasingly tense atmosphere within the Five Elements Caverns. But it didn't last long. As the fusion monsters appeared with increasing frequency, the cultivators battling within the various caverns finally began to falter.

When the first casualties occurred, some formation masters chose to stop working directly. Of course, this wasn't openly declared. They merely used 'monster defense' as an excuse while secretly undermining efforts.

Qi Buyi was somewhat helpless in response. He couldn't very well ask the two Dao Integration Immortal Venerates stationed there to go on a killing spree, could he? Not to mention, the formation masters in the caverns all had considerable status and connections. If she really did that, forcing them would likely backfire, causing the formation construction within the Five Elements Caverns to halt entirely.

Qi Buyi, rarely encountering such situations, was at a loss for a while. She could only report the situation to Chief Lu while doing her best to appease everyone, to prevent an even worse revolt.

Although Li Fan personally didn't care about the turmoil outside, his formation-laying efficiency was inevitably affected. As Yan Hang and his four companions struggled increasingly to deal with the monsters, he also had to divert some of his attention to constantly monitor the battle. At critical moments, Li Fan would even participate in the fighting. Of course, only by assisting with formations.

Just as the situation was steadily deteriorating, a pillar of brilliant white light pierced through the entire Five Elements Caverns. Reinforcements finally arrived.

An enormously large Dust-Crossing Boat hovered outside the cavern's void, occupying most of the sky. Cultivators, like countless tiny black specks, flew in an orderly fashion towards the various caverns. Li Fan, who had been staying in the Water-attribute Cavern, was also able to glimpse the full scope of the Five Elements Caverns for the first time. It appeared like a series of interconnected rings, or perhaps a mixed palette of colors, both distinctly separate and yet hard to distinguish from one another.

As the pillar of light gradually dimmed, the illusory sights of the Metal, Fire, and Earth caverns slowly vanished. Simultaneously, the list of collaborative assignments in the Dutian Record nearly doubled. While checking, Li Fan also saw many familiar names. These were the young formation masters who had trained alongside Li Fan at the Huanyu Estate before returning to their respective regions to participate in the grand competition.

“It seems the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance is truly short-staffed now.”

“They're even bringing in the new recruits.”