Chapter 818: Majestic Five Caves of Heaven

From the faint pressure emanating from the other party, Yu Dayi could almost certainly confirm that she was undoubtedly at the Dao Integration realm. Had they chosen to act just now, their group would undoubtedly have perished. The thought of having narrowly escaped death brought a sudden cold sweat to Yu Dayi's brow.

"This Myriad Realms Alliance is truly treacherous!" Yu Dayi cursed inwardly. "To think that mere Golden Core cultivators coming for trade would be overseen by a Dao Integration expert. Fortunately, I was cautious enough!"

As Yu Dayi prepared to bow to Lin Ling, a layer of green light suddenly enveloped them both. Moments later, their figures vanished, leaving only the group from the Council of Five Elders behind, their hearts still pounding with lingering fear.

"How did they leave? Did any of you see?" Yu Dayi asked, narrowing his eyes after a quick observation.

"There were no spatial fluctuations," someone replied. "Even if their escape speed was incredibly fast, it should have left some traces. Yet, they vanished without a trace in an instant..." Everyone instinctively looked towards the ground.

"The earth veins..." Yu Dayi mused, a hint of solemnity appearing in his eyes.

Traversing the surging earth veins once more, Lin Ling did not return directly to the Spirit Wood Realm. Instead, at Li Fan's instruction, she rushed towards Tianling State.

Not long ago, Tian Yang sent word that he had reached the vicinity of the Five Elements Grand Grotto-Heaven. So far, he hadn't discovered any Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivators guarding the surroundings. Li Fan instructed Tian Yang to wait nearby and not to enter in a hurry.

Less than half a day later, Lin Ling brought Li Fan to meet Tian Yang. Lin Ling was very curious about the rather simple-minded Tian Yang. Tian Yang, however, seemed to not notice Lin Ling at all, merely standing quietly beside Li Fan.

Li Fan first surveyed the surrounding environment. The entrance to the Five Elements Grand Grotto-Heaven was still a place rarely visited by cultivators. "I wonder what precisely led to its discovery in my previous life."

While thinking this, Li Fan's actions were anything but slow. Inside his sea of consciousness, the Dissolution Disc emitted a soft, white glow. Li Fan first set up the Heaven-Obscuring Secret Art around the perimeter to prevent any aura leakage. He then swiftly deployed the Infinite Array, deduced by the Dissolution Disc, to seal the entrance.

In truth, this approach felt somewhat like trying to cover up something only to draw more attention to it. It might even cause other cultivators to notice the abnormality here... "If I don't do this, the Five Elements Grand Grotto-Heaven will certainly be discovered. With these arrangements, I can at least buy some time. Furthermore, with the Infinite Array combined with the Heaven-Obscuring Secret Art, even ordinary Dao Integration cultivators would likely not discover it, unless they were intentionally searching meticulously. As long as it lasts until I reach Golden Core perfection and can absorb it, that's all that matters."

With these thoughts, Li Fan quickly completed the setup, concealing the entrance to the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven. He then led Lin Ling and Tian Yang into the grotto-heaven.

"Oh?" Lin Ling seemed quite surprised the moment they entered the grotto-heaven. Her gaze immediately fixed on the Wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven within. There, astonishingly, stood a colossal tree, its canopy seemingly touching the sky. In terms of sheer size, it was probably even larger than Lin Ling's true form in the Spirit Wood Realm.

"Is a senior of yours residing there?" Li Fan asked.

Lin Ling observed for a moment, then shook her head with a hint of regret. Her expression was also a little puzzled. "According to the Earth Vein senior, a tree this large should have already awakened its own sentience. It's so strange. Is something missing here?"

Li Fan pondered this, deep in thought. "The difference between a grotto-heaven and a minor world isn't merely size. This Five Elements Grand Grotto-Heaven is far vaster than the Spirit Wood Realm, or even the Grand Profound Realm and the Li Realm. Yet, despite its immensity, it remains categorized as a grotto-heaven." Li Fan then carefully recalled the 115th lifetime, specifically Mr. Bai's process of creating a miniature Xuanhuang Realm with his bare hands, trying to discern the exact distinction between a grotto-heaven and a minor world. After some fruitless deliberation, Li Fan temporarily set the thought aside.

Instead of immediately exploring the Wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven, he first began searching for traces of the other grotto-heavens. "At this point in time, among the Five Elements, only the Wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven is externally visible. The others—Metal, Water, Fire, and Earth—remain hidden. However, the Five Elements flow and are fundamentally interconnected. Furthermore, having personally witnessed the complete layout of the grotto-heaven before, finding the others should not be difficult."

Li Fan closed his eyes, his divine sense sweeping through the Wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven. He traced the changes in the wood-attribute spiritual energy within this realm. Before long, he located the passages leading to both the Fire and Water Grotto-Heavens. But Li Fan did not enter them immediately. Instead, he sought a passage that led to the void beyond the convergence point of the five great grotto-heavens.

Unlike the vast passages he had experienced previously, this area had not yet been developed by the Myriad Immortals Alliance. Not only were the passages narrow and difficult to locate, but even the void outside the grotto-heaven was only thinly veiled. Li Fan simply activated the Myriad Forms Furnace Art, transforming into a Rift-Realm Whale. This made the void slightly more expansive, providing a more stable footing. After considerable effort, Li Fan finally witnessed the full appearance of the Five Elements Grand Grotto-Heaven once more.

It appeared as five rings seemingly connected end-to-end, or perhaps like a palette of mixed colors. Because it had not yet undergone excessive exploitation and excavation by the Myriad Immortals Alliance, the grotto-heaven was still vibrant with life. From a distance, overlooking the grotto-heavens, one could even faintly sense their profound, unified aura. "Tsk, tsk, this sight is completely different from what I witnessed before, after the Myriad Immortals Alliance had ravaged it. However, I still don't know what exactly the Myriad Immortals Alliance did in that previous life when they mobilized such vast forces and nearly depleted this Five Elements Grotto-Heaven. But if I'm pushed to a desperate situation in this life, perhaps I'll have the chance to find out."

Li Fan lingered, admiring the view for a long time before flying back into the Wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven. He also took the opportunity to widen the passage. Only then did Li Fan and his two companions have the opportunity to carefully observe the full landscape of the Wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven.

A colossal tree, its canopy stretching to occupy almost a third of the sky, instantly filled their vision. The oppressive presence was palpable. Even Lin Ling seemed to feel a slight discomfort. Strangely, while the spiritual tree occupied the vast majority of the Wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven's space, it did not encroach upon the survival of other beings. Instead, it released wisps of dense vitality, nourishing the surroundings. The closer they approached the spiritual tree's main body, the denser the vitality became, almost forming a faint green mist. Thousands of different plants competed to flourish. Even though he had thoroughly studied the Heavenly Doctor Immortal Scripture, Li Fan could not name most of the plants he surveyed. This finally allowed Li Fan to understand what the Heavenly Profound Mirror's announcement meant when it described the Wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven as "extremely vast, with exceptionally high wood-attribute spiritual energy, and an abundance of various spiritual plants and herbs."

Now, this entire grotto-heaven belonged to Li Fan! "The resources here are far richer than those in my nascent Five Elements Grotto-Heaven from the previous life. I truly wonder how much time the Xuanhuang Realm took to nurture it into being."