Chapter 868: Passing the Law to Restrain the Nine Mountains

The stone was quite similar to the device Zhou Qing’ang had previously used to contact his superiors.

Li Fan pondered for a moment, then placed his hands over it. He activated it using the secret technique of the Five Elders Association that he remembered.

It worked. As ripples spread across the stone’s surface, a blurry human face materialized. After seeing what was happening on Li Fan’s side, the face on the stone paused in surprise. Then the image shifted, seemingly changing to a different contact person.

The other party glanced at Li Fan, and after a moment, coldly snorted, “You even know the reception secret method that was only recently changed... Your Myriad Realms Alliance has indeed planted spies among us.”

Li Fan smiled and replied, “Not at all. I just tried it on a whim; it was merely a coincidence.”

The other side let out a loud bang, clearly displeased with Li Fan’s attitude. However, the communication didn’t end. Instead, the voice asked, “Why are you contacting us this time? You completely duped us last time. You spoke of ‘world-suppressing ultimate weapons’ and ‘sky-rending cannons.’ We prepared a full set of countermeasures, planning a surprise attack for victory. But we never expected...”

“Hmph, the misjudgment of our strategic direction due to faulty intelligence led to immense losses for us.” The human face on the stone’s reflective surface suddenly inflated, its appearance matching the grimness of his tone.

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, not replying immediately. After a moment of thought, he shook his head and sighed, “It wasn’t that I intentionally provided false information. The Myriad Immortals Alliance simply played their hand too convincingly this time; even we were deceived. Who could have imagined that such a powerful ‘world-suppressing ultimate weapon’ was merely a diversion?”

“However, you weren’t much better off, were you?” Li Fan’s tone suddenly shifted. “How could the venerable Five Elders Association establish such a significant strategic direction based solely on our words? You must have also investigated something yourselves before finalizing your plans. If even you were fooled, how could we have avoided it? One can only say the Myriad Immortals Alliance played their hand brilliantly.”

The human face of the Five Elders Association looked displeased. “We originally thought that the widely publicized Thirty-Three Immortal Chosen were just a smokescreen, and that their true trump card was hidden elsewhere. Who could have imagined the Myriad Immortals Alliance would be so arrogant, revealing everything without concealment? To put their final hand directly on display...” The voice in the face was filled with the frustration of someone who had mustered all their strength only to punch at empty air.

Li Fan seized the opportunity to ask, “What exactly happened on the battlefield in Nine Mountains State? You fell too quickly. When we received the news, we still had to come to the scene ourselves to confirm it before we could believe it was true.”

The human face of the Five Elders Association grew grim and remained silent. Seeing this, Li Fan immediately deployed his trump card. “Ziqiong Immortal Venerable, from the headquarters of the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s Martial Arts Hall, is actually one of yours, isn’t he?”

The face froze in stunned silence. Clearly, his rank wasn’t high enough to know about this.

“Go confirm with your superiors. This person... is problematic. He cannot be fully trusted,” Li Fan said with a grave expression.

The face lost its composure, hastily retreated, and vanished. Li Fan, however, waited calmly. Beside him, Lin Ling secretly observed Li Fan, unable to suppress the curiosity in her eyes.

The Five Elders Association’s response was swift. Before long, another figure reappeared on the smooth stone surface.

“My friend, what you said earlier about... Ziqiong Immortal Venerable not being fully trustworthy, what exactly did you mean?” The voice was no longer that of the previous person. It sounded like an older man, full of vigor.

“If our intelligence is correct, Ziqiong Immortal Venerable is a ‘Demonic Cultivator.’ His true loyalty isn’t to your Five Elders Association, nor to the Myriad Immortals Alliance. It’s solely to the Law Transmission Heavenly Venerable,” Li Fan whispered. “Sometimes his intelligence is accurate. But in certain situations... it’s likely that truth is mixed with falsehoods, making it hard to discern,” Li Fan said meaningfully.

Though his words were vague, the Five Elders Association side fell into a prolonged silence. “So that’s it...” From the Five Elders Association man’s murmured words, it was clear how shaken he was. After all, Ziqiong Immortal Venerable was the Five Elders Association’s most deeply hidden and crucial spy. Many vital pieces of intelligence had been provided by him. This matter was an absolute secret, known only to a select few within the Five Elders Association. Yet, the cultivator from the Myriad Realms Alliance before him already knew Ziqiong’s true identity. Coupled with the major defeat caused by erroneous intelligence, the implications sent a chill down the middle-aged man’s spine.

But his mental fortitude was exceptional, and he quickly regained his composure. Taking a deep breath, he thanked Li Fan, “We will thoroughly investigate this matter. Thank you for the warning, my friend.”

Li Fan, however, went straight to the point: “We need to know what exactly happened in Nine Mountains State at that time. Due to a similar misjudgment, our attention wasn’t focused on that battlefield. Although we’ve gathered some intelligence from within the Myriad Immortals Alliance, it’s too shocking to fully believe without your confirmation.”

“Actually, He should be able to manifest regularly after some more time... I’ll transmit the scene from that time to you; see for yourself.” The middle-aged man seemed eager to verify the truth of Li Fan’s information. After transmitting a data stream, he bid farewell and departed.

The smooth stone shattered, rendered unusable. Li Fan, meanwhile, watched the scene unfolding in his mind, his spirit profoundly shaken.

The serene, cloudless, and pristine blue sky of Nine Mountains State. A face suddenly appeared in it. It wore a tall crown and had a long beard. Its expression was solemn, and its eyes were downcast. It seemed to convey compassion for all living beings, yet also held an underlying infinite malevolence.

Any cultivator of the Myriad Immortals Alliance would be familiar with this face, because in every Heavenly City of every state domain, and indeed throughout every territory of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, statues of this being could be seen periodically. He was the creator of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, the pioneer of new laws that defied the principles of heaven and earth, the Law Transmission Heavenly Venerable who had dominated the Profound Yellow realm for thousands of years!

As the face of the Law Transmission Heavenly Venerable fully manifested, a shimmering, indistinct body rapidly appeared in the sky above. At that moment, the Five Elders Association cultivators within Nine Mountains State also noticed the anomaly in the sky. They quickly assembled, preparing themselves for battle. However, the Law Transmission Heavenly Venerable did not grant them much time to prepare before making his move.

The Law Transmission Heavenly Venerable, who had kept his eyes closed and downcast, suddenly opened them. Immediately, an unimaginable, terrifying force descended upon Nine Mountains State. Countless cultivators were crushed into flesh and blood, splattering the ground, without even time to utter a scream. Under this immense pressure, the nine mountain ranges rumbled incessantly. The mountains collapsed, fracturing layer by layer. They disintegrated continuously from top to bottom.

As long as the Law Transmission Heavenly Venerable did not avert his gaze, the terrifying pressure on Nine Mountains State did not cease. Inch by inch, the nine mountain ranges were flattened.