Chapter 679: Great Rift Maelstrom

Li Fan left Qihong Island and took out "A Study of Ancient and Modern Topography." His spiritual sense flipped through the pages, and in just a few breaths, he had read its entire content. A ball of flame leaped from his hand, incinerating the topography study. Li Fan looked towards the southeast.

"The extreme south has become south-by-east. The changes over time are truly incredible.""What Ximen Yu said earlier was indeed true. Over tens of millions of years, the Xuanhuang Realm has truly expanded overall. Some places have completely disappeared, while others have gained new land out of nowhere...""The former Sacred Beast Mountain of the Southern Abyss has now become a deep-sea vortex connecting to the boundless ocean.""Although Ximen Yu's probes suggest that there is no longer any Sacred Beast Mountain there... yet..."A glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes.

On the periphery of the great vortex, a ring of islands circled, resembling a dead giant python."This must be the red serpent I saw in the Immortalfall Realm, the one that coiled around the Sacred Beast Mountain of the Southern Abyss.""It's dead, so the demon race's journey out of the Xuanhuang Realm back then might not have been so smooth."Li Fan flew towards Tiancheng in Yueyang State.

On the way, he transformed back into his original appearance. As a guest elder of the Xuan family, with a permission level of thirty, he could use the long-distance teleportation array for free. Normally, traveling through ordinary teleportation arrays would take at least half a month. With the long-distance teleportation array, he could arrive in less than half a day.

Upon reaching Tiancheng in Yueyang, inside the statue of the Heavenly Venerate of Dharma Transmission, the reception staff were slightly surprised after verifying Li Fan's identity. They then respectfully led Li Fan into the long-distance teleportation array chamber, bypassing several cultivators who were waiting in line and activating the array for him directly. The cultivators who were cut in front of did not show much anger. Knowing Li Fan's identity was not simple, their eyes merely revealed a hint of curiosity and envy. A slight sensation of dizziness came, and the next moment, Li Fan arrived in Ningxu State, where the deep-sea great vortex was located.

"Hmm?" After exiting the teleportation array and adjusting to his body's unusual state, Li Fan noticed something out of the ordinary. He had used long-distance teleportation arrays before. Because they traversed many states, passing through multiple layers of white mist barriers, in addition to physical dizziness and discomfort, there was also a very noticeable physical abnormality caused by the loss of lifespan. It felt like a part of himself had been extracted, and a faint sense of loss would well up in his heart.

But this time... Li Fan checked his true cultivation panel's age. "It's not an illusion; my lifespan hasn't decreased much.""Has the effect of the Life-Devouring White Mist weakened, or has the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's long-distance teleportation array technology improved?"Li Fan recalled his previous experience of passing through the white mist from Longevity Valley. "The Life-Devouring White Mist's effect is still present. So, how to explain it..." He then remembered that the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was secretly dispatching personnel, seemingly searching for something deep within the white mist. "It seems that in addition to the Puxian True Boat, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance has also found a way to deal with the Life-Devouring White Mist.""What could be inside the white mist?" Li Fan instantly recalled the Chizha Abyss he had seen in his previous life, as well as the numerous mystical domains reportedly hidden within the white mist.

"Wait." Li Fan's steps paused slightly. He remembered the mystical domain where he had encountered the reflected monster and comprehended the Chaotic-Word Art from the fractured stone. "Could it be that the Chaotic-Word Art I unleashed back then led to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's deep dive into the white mist?" Li Fan's thoughts raced. "It's not impossible. However, logically speaking, the first direction of investigation should certainly be within the Xuanhuang Realm. Yet, they directly targeted the depths of the white mist.""Have they already investigated and found nothing within the Xuanhuang Realm? Or...""The Chaotic-Word Art appeared before. And its source was within the white mist?""If that's truly the case, what does that signify?" Li Fan couldn't help but fall into deep contemplation.

The Dao Transformation Stone crystal emitted a shimmering blue light, and Li Fan continuously deduced various possibilities. Meanwhile, his body did not stop moving, flying towards the great vortex. Before long, the increasingly dense and violent water-attribute spiritual energy in the air reminded Li Fan that he was not far from his destination.

"Hiss..." Waves of sharp pain pulled Li Fan out of his thoughts. "The spiritual energy here is a bit strange," Li Fan frowned slightly. With his current physique, even after inadvertently absorbing the violent water-attribute spiritual energy of this place, he felt an unbearable stinging pain. It was as if countless sharp blades were constantly cutting within his body.

Li Fan temporarily sealed his body, isolating it from the influx of external spiritual energy. He then captured a wisp, absorbed it into his palm, and studied it carefully. "Not only is its attribute violent and difficult for cultivators to absorb and utilize, but it also naturally contains a tearing property...""No wonder this state is sparsely populated, and the closer one gets to the great vortex, the more desolate it becomes." Li Fan continued to speed towards his destination, and the spiritual energy around him indeed grew sharper.

"Whoosh!" During his flight, the fierce winds that scraped his face caused Li Fan pain. He had no choice but to create another layer of spiritual energy protection around his body. "Fortunately, I have the Five Elements Grand Cavern, with self-contained circulation within my body. If it were an ordinary cultivator, they would likely exhaust their spiritual energy shortly after flying." Feeling the speed at which his internal spiritual energy was depleting, Li Fan was secretly astonished.

Thus, he flew rapidly. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he finally saw the magnificent deep-sea vortex and the snake-shaped islands coiled beside it. He did not approach, merely observing from afar. In a trance, it was as if he had returned thousands of years ago to the scene of the demon beast clans' collective evacuation.

"This vortex must be the anomaly caused by the Sacred Beast Mountain and the subsequent realm-splitting.""Thousands of years have passed, yet it still hasn't calmed down. This shows how massive it was back then. And how is this not a form of damage to the Xuanhuang Realm?" At this thought, Li Fan suddenly had an epiphany. "Every group that breaks through the realm and leaves is like cutting an opening in the Xuanhuang Realm, which is like a giant balloon about to be swallowed by the Immortal Ruins.""Naturally, the inhabitants of the Xuanhuang Realm would not allow this once they discovered it.""They would surely come to stop it. The red serpent might have died in such a battle.""So, what about the Heavenly Sword Sect back then? Was it because they were also one of the Ten Immortal Sects that no one came to confront them? Or was it that not only people from the Heavenly Sword Sect left with the realm-splitting divine weapon?""Or perhaps, the other cultivators of the Ten Immortal Sects only realized what happened after the Heavenly Sword Sect had already left."

Li Fan's thoughts continued to churn, and he couldn't help but look forward even more to his next journey to the Immortalfall Realm."The greater the winds and waves, the stronger the Dao laws comprehended!""This place is precisely where I should achieve my Dao!"Suddenly, amidst the howling winds caused by the great vortex, a series of frantic shouts faintly reached Li Fan's ears.