"They sealed off the ruins, expelling the cultivators inside, and even checked their storage rings."
"It was as if there was some extraordinary treasure inside."
Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes gleamed as he whispered.
"Although I'm not afraid of them, I believe in making money peacefully, so I didn't cause any conflict and left obediently."
Li Fan listened, stroking his chin.
"The Garrison Command..."
It was quite peculiar that the Garrison Command, an elite armed organization present only in a few core states of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, would seal off and excavate the Medicine King Sect ruins.
Could it be that his past prophecy, "Heavenly Profound binds spirits, Xuanhuang reunites," had led the Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivators to eagerly deduce the future, thus foreseeing the imminent return of the True Medicine King Cauldron to the Xuanhuang Realm?
"Jiao fellow daoist, what do you make of this? Is it related to the potential opportunities concerning the Minor Medicine King Cauldron that I foresaw?" Li Fan pondered for a moment, then looked at Jiao Xiuyuan and asked.
To Li Fan's surprise, Jiao Xiuyuan shook his head in denial.
"After I returned, I made some inquiries. It wasn't just the Medicine King Sect ruins. All ancient sect ruins whose former locations were within the territory of our Myriad Immortals Alliance – such as the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Grand Sovereign Sect, and others – have all been sealed off by the Garrison Command's cultivators."
"They don't allow anyone to approach, yet they themselves are diligently tinkering with something inside."
Jiao Xiuyuan's tone held a hint of discontent.
"I sacrificed a few puppets and managed to sneak in. What I found was that they weren't so much looking for things as they were looking for people!"
"Looking for people?" Li Fan was stunned. "What makes you say that?"
"All the cultivators within the ruins were holding Spirit-Sensing Orbs. This kind of magical artifact is extremely sensitive to life auras. Even a cultivator who has fallen into a deep slumber, with only a trace of life remaining, can be detected." At this point, Jiao Xiuyuan couldn't help but glance at Li Fan.
Li Fan pondered, "You mean they might be searching for ancient cultivators who fell into slumber thousands of years ago, just like me?"
"There's a ninety percent chance," Jiao Xiuyuan asserted.
"This is truly strange..." Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.
The Myriad Immortals Alliance doesn't do anything without reason.
Such a grand display of force clearly indicates a targeted objective.
"This means they are certain that such an ancient cultivator, currently in slumber, exists, but they can't pinpoint his exact location."
"They only know he's within the various ancient sect ruins, which is why they are searching in such a needle-in-a-haystack manner."
"This person must be extremely important to the Myriad Immortals Alliance, and..."
"The reason the Myriad Immortals Alliance is looking for him must be connected to my 'Heavenly Profound binds spirits' prophecy."
Li Fan mused for a moment, but couldn't come up with any clues.
"Jiao fellow daoist, did you truly not dig up a single Minor Medicine King Cauldron?" He glanced at Jiao Xiuyuan and suddenly asked.
Jiao Xiuyuan hesitated for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly, "I still couldn't hide it from your keen eye, fellow daoist. I did get some harvest, after all."
"It was truly bad luck; just as I dug one up, the Garrison Command cultivators came knocking."
"Furthermore, due to this incident, the price of all items recently unearthed from sect ruins has skyrocketed."
"Many cultivators have already come to inquire about that Minor Medicine King Cauldron, so..."
Jiao Xiuyuan looked at Li Fan, his eyes clearly conveying the words 'I want more money.'
However, Li Fan waved his hand, "Since this item is so sought after, forget it then. Jiao fellow daoist, you should just sell it as you see fit!"
Jiao Xiuyuan didn't get the bargaining he expected from Li Fan, who simply gave up.
Upon hearing this, Jiao Xiuyuan was completely dumbfounded.
"Uh, Li Fan fellow daoist, wouldn't you consider..."
"A gentleman helps others achieve their goals and doesn't seize what others desire! It's just a minor opportunity; why would I lack it?" Li Fan nonchalantly rejected Jiao Xiuyuan.
Seeing Jiao Xiuyuan's bewildered expression, Li Fan continued, "On the contrary, I'm very interested in what you said about the Myriad Immortals Alliance searching for ancient cultivators."
"Perhaps this person might even be an old acquaintance of mine."
"I know you're well-informed, fellow daoist, so please help me gather some information!" Li Fan's gaze was sharp as he looked at Jiao Xiuyuan.
"As for the Minor Medicine King Cauldron, forget it. But on this matter, you won't try to pull the wool over my eyes again, will you, fellow daoist?"
Li Fan's gaze swept over the three characters 'Thousand-Mile Hall' hanging outside the door, and he spoke slowly.
"Rest assured, rest assured! I, Jiao Xiuyuan, would never ruin my own reputation!" Jiao Xiuyuan, knowing he was in the wrong, repeatedly assured him.
"Then..."
Just as Li Fan nodded and was about to speak again, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.
The two exchanged glances, sensed an unusual atmosphere, and tacitly ended their conversation, moving outside.
On Myriad Immortals Island, the towering statue of the Celestial Venerable of Dharma Transmission was emitting rays of light that shot directly into the sky.
The island's grand protective array had activated at some unknown point.
Outside the defensive barrier, a gigantic purple portal stood.
Dense crowds of cultivators were continuously flying out from the portal.
"The Five Elders' Association?"
Li Fan and Jiao Xiuyuan exclaimed in surprise simultaneously.
"Are they crazy? Are they really going to declare full-scale war on the Myriad Immortals Alliance?" Jiao Xiuyuan's voice was filled with astonishment.
Evidently, the Five Elders' Association's sudden attack was extremely secretive, catching even Jiao Xiuyuan, who had eyes and ears throughout the entire cultivation world, completely by surprise.
What happened?
In this lifetime, the Five Elders' Association actually initiated the war?
Their target wasn't the Five Elements Grand Grotto-heaven, but rather this Myriad Immortals Island?
In an instant, Li Fan's thoughts raced.
"Jiao fellow daoist, have other states and cities also been attacked by the Five Elders' Association?" A moment later, Li Fan asked in a deep voice.
"No. Only Myriad Immortals Island in the Cloudsea Archipelago is the target of the Five Elders' Association's current assault." Jiao Xiuyuan replied after a pause, his tone still full of confusion.
Li Fan frowned slightly, feeling a moment of bewilderment himself.
The two remained silent, simply looking up at the battle unfolding in the sky.
With two Nascent Soul Immortal Lords from the island having been transferred to the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters, Myriad Immortals Island's defensive capabilities were clearly insufficient.
They dared not face the attack directly, relying solely on the formation to desperately hold on.
At the same time, they hoped for reinforcements from other places to arrive soon.
However, the Five Elders' Association was clearly prepared; not only were the teleportation arrays rendered useless, but communication also seemed to be blocked, preventing any messages from being sent.
Myriad Immortals Island gradually fell into a disadvantageous position, and the faces of all the cultivators watching the battle on the island turned pale.
Having enjoyed peace for a long time, they had never witnessed such a spectacle.
As time slowly passed, to everyone's surprise, when the Five Elders' Association finally gained the absolute advantage and broke through the grand protective array, they did not choose to invade the island. Instead, they directly began setting up a formation above Myriad Immortals Island.
Strands of light, like silk threads, descended from the central formation above, then shot towards various edges of the island.
"Heaven-Shifting Earth-Changing Array?"
Li Fan and Jiao Xiuyuan exclaimed in surprise simultaneously once again.
"The Five Elders' Association intends to move the entire Myriad Immortals Island away?"
The astonishment and suspicion in their eyes grew deeper.
The formation was completed in an instant, and the strands of light emitted a faint white glow.
The ground of Myriad Immortals Island began to shake violently.
[1 minute ago] Chapter 1443: All Cards Revealed
[4 minutes ago] Chapter 588: Small Test of Skills
[5 minutes ago] Chapter 1286: Unpredictable Talisman
[5 minutes ago] Chapter 476: Role Reversal
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