Chapter 819: Goodbye Sister Zhao

In comparison, the Medicine King Valley from Li Fan’s previous life was utterly insignificant. Just this wood-attribute grotto-heaven alone could support the rise of a major power, not to mention the four other grotto-heavens with different attributes. Having arrived in the Xuanhuang Realm ahead of time and intercepted what the Myriad Immortals Alliance had discovered, Li Fan felt quite pleased with himself.

After a brief tour, he then successively visited the four other grotto-heavens: Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Li Fan had previously spent a long time in the water-attribute grotto-heaven, but only now did he realize that what he had seen back then was almost entirely the scene after it had been emptied. Unlike now, where countless fish species thrived and reproduced beneath the vibrant, life-filled ocean, and countless water-attribute spirit herbs and minerals filled the entire sea area, causing even the well-traveled Li Fan to repeatedly exclaim in admiration.

The metal-attribute grotto-heaven was a vast and boundless underground world, filled with various rare mineral veins and metallic lifeforms. The fire-attribute grotto-heaven was quite similar to the fiery world on the other side of Dali, though it was not as violent. And the earth-attribute world was a landscape of continuous mountain ranges.

After making a quick tour, Li Fan felt satisfied, but a question also arose in his mind. The five great grotto-heavens were simply too vast. If he wanted to devour them with his Golden Core cultivation and ascend to the Nascent Soul realm, it would probably take at least three to five years, making it almost impossible. This was assuming no one else discovered them, he wouldn't be disturbed, and that the five great grotto-heavens themselves wouldn't resist.

In fact, once they reached the scale of the five great grotto-heavens, even if they weren't yet considered minor worlds, they were almost indistinguishable from "worlds." Li Fan still clearly remembered that when they had previously tried to set up the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array to cover all grotto-heavens again, they had encountered fierce resistance from the grotto-heavens' consciousness. Innumerable bizarre and unkillable monsters were generated, launching attacks. Even with Lin Ling guarding him, he might not be able to handle it.

“Too large an appetite is also a problem,” Li Fan couldn't help but frown slightly. Although it would be difficult, Li Fan would absolutely not give up on these five great grotto-heavens. His own cultivation level was not the main concern. The most crucial thing was not to let the Myriad Immortals Alliance acquire them, to avoid adding unnecessary variables to the current world's war.

“While I haven't reached the perfected Golden Core realm, I should think of a solution. If that doesn't work, I'll just have to chip away at it patiently.”

He continued to stay in the five great grotto-heavens for a few more days. Li Fan only departed when the appointed time with the Council of Five Elders was approaching. “If I had two Dao Integration cultivators to help,” Li Fan thought before leaving, after re-concealing the entrance, “I could try to move the entrance of the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven. But the commotion would be too great, and there might be a risk of the Myriad Immortals Alliance discovering it.”

Still relying on Lin Ling, they traversed through the earth veins. Soon, the three returned to Jiushan State without a sound. As they left the earth veins, Li Fan also sensed a very rare feeling of reluctance from Tian Yang. “Tian Yang's puppet body was created using the Earth Fire Returning Origin Array,” Li Fan thought. “It seems the power of the earth veins has some special use for him. I can have Lin Ling take him around more often. The earth vein power of the Xuanhuang Realm is immensely abundant; I suppose the ancient earth vein tree wouldn't mind if we took a little advantage.”

Thinking this, Li Fan instructed Lin Ling accordingly. Lin Ling still had a very good impression of Tian Yang and immediately agreed.

Arriving at another location, Li Fan once again crushed a jade talisman, releasing a wave of energy. Not long after, Yu Dayi arrived in a hurry. This time, there was no grand entourage; only one other person was with him. The moment he saw the other person, an alarm immediately went off in Li Fan's mind. Although he had clearly never met them before, Li Fan sensed a very familiar aura from the other person! The answer was already obvious: the other person was one of Sister Zhao's "One Mind" avatars!

However, Sister Zhao did not appear in her female form this time, but as a very handsome young man of only fifteen or sixteen years old. “This must be the fellow Daoist from the Myriad Worlds Alliance, right?” he asked, looking at Li Fan with a smile. His eyes scanned Li Fan, as if trying to uncover all his secrets.

Li Fan's heart tightened, but he remained calm despite his surprise. Sister Zhao had many bodies, and the one before him was only at the Nascent Transformation cultivation level. Furthermore, even a Dharma Transmission Celestial Venerable could not be omniscient. So Li Fan wasn't worried that his secrets would be seen through with just one glance.

Gathering his thoughts, Li Fan narrowed his eyes after pondering for a moment, and directly chose to "call their bluff." “Hehehe, to think a Celestial Venerable would personally grace us with their presence. What an honor!” he said, revealing a strange smile and staring at Sister Zhao.

The young man's smile instantly froze. It was at this moment that he truly looked at Li Fan seriously. Meanwhile, Yu Dayi, who was standing by, seemed unaware of the true identity of the cultivator beside him. After hearing Li Fan's words, he was slightly stunned and confused. But as a native cultivator of the Council of Five Elders, he reacted only moments later. He abruptly turned his head, looking at the young man's somewhat playful smile, and his expression froze. His body began to tremble uncontrollably.

“Oh dear, I've been seen through,” the young man chuckled softly. “How interesting. It seems your so-called Myriad Worlds Alliance truly has some capability. I wonder, would you welcome this humble one to join?” Yet his tone was like that of a charming woman, full of allure. It should have been unsettling, but Li Fan felt no discomfort.

“Heh heh, actually, I also want to join the Celestial Venerable's Grand Dao Sect,” Li Fan quickly retorted without hesitation.

Sister Zhao was not angered, but instead chuckled alluringly, “If we were to merge, it wouldn't be impossible...”

Yu Dayi, listening from the side, was drenched in cold sweat, and his legs turned to jelly. He only regretted not being deaf, having overheard such an uninhibited conversation from a Celestial Venerable. At the same time, he had already categorized the Myriad Worlds Alliance and Li Fan as among the most formidable entities one should never provoke.

Li Fan let out an awkward laugh and avoided answering. He simply changed the subject and asked about the main business: “What about the things we need?”

Sister Zhao threw over a piece of ethereal mother lode stone. Li Fan skillfully caught it and examined it, finding it precisely matched the list he had provided. He put it away.

“Aren't you afraid this humble one put a trick on it?” Sister Zhao suddenly asked in a lingering tone.

“Sister, you always act openly and honorably; you're not the kind of person who would do such a thing,” Li Fan replied.

Sister Zhao's expression completely changed at this moment.

“Given that you, Sister, have personally appeared, I'll provide you with a top-secret piece of information for free.” Li Fan transmitted his voice. “The Puxian True Leaf can be used to create divine vessels. They can traverse through the white mist and negate the side effects of the Soul-Devouring White Mist.”

Then, without waiting for a response, he was enveloped in a green light and instantly vanished. Yu Dayi dared not move.

“A woman's thoughts are truly hard to guess.” Only Sister Zhao's soft chuckle remained, which sounded shortly after.