Chapter 875: 阵炼联合会

Xiao Qing and Xiao Hong's hearts trembled. They instinctively knew that the menacing elder was not making an idle threat. If they failed to fulfill his demands, he would truly kill them!

"Spirit Qi Synthesis..." It was purely by chance that they had initially discovered the crystal nuclei within exotic beasts could produce spiritual energy. Achieving a breakthrough within three years, however, seemed incredibly difficult.

As Xiao Qing pondered with furrowed brows, Li Fan suddenly spoke again: "Heh heh, I always keep my word! To prevent anyone from holding onto false hope..."

The next moment, Li Fan instantly appeared above the Empire. Tens of thousands of blood-red threads extended from his body, whistling as they flew to every corner of the imperial capital. They returned in just a few moments, each thread binding an imperial mortal. Densely packed, they obscured the sky like dark clouds. This terrifying sight caused many people below to faint on the spot.

As the red threads contracted, those unlucky individuals couldn't even let out a cry of agony as Li Fan collected and suppressed them all within the Five Elements Grand Grotto-Heaven. Li Fan did not simply take these mortals' lives; instead, he planned to give them to Elder Yin as materials for studying the Immortal-Mortal Miasma. After severely intimidating the Empire, Li Fan conducted another search before departing contentedly.

As for the red rope Mr. Bai had left for Xu Ke, Li Fan did not take it for now. If needed, it could guide a "destined person" to retrieve it. As for his main body, he decided against getting involved.

After Li Fan, the oppressive and formidable demon, departed, the people of the Empire felt a sense of relief at surviving the ordeal, weeping openly. Xiao Qing's heart sank after tallying the list of missing persons. She was horrified to discover that all the people abducted by the World Alliance elder this time were from the Empire's conservative noble faction. They usually opposed the royal family, which often hindered various reform proposals. Now, this group was completely gone. From then on, they could coordinate all the Empire's strength to solve the issue of upgrading the Spirit Qi Synthesis technology.

"This is certainly not a coincidence, but a warning," she thought. "To have such an understanding of the Empire..." Xiao Qing felt a chill in her heart, completely losing any thought of resistance. She hastily summoned the Empire's technical experts and began discussing this crucial issue concerning their future and destiny.

After returning from the Empire's small world, Li Fan first collaborated with Tian Yang to relocate the entrance of this spatial passage into the Spiritwood Realm. Then, at the exit, he personally set up a formation to prevent any possibility of imperial personnel escaping. As for the rogue cultivators from the Empire who were stranded outside and might not find their way home in the future, that was not within Li Fan's consideration at all.

After doing all this, Li Fan took some time to visit Yinyin Island. While handing over the mortals to Elder Yin, he also inquired about his research progress.

"Soon, soon," Elder Yin replied. His expression was somewhat strange; there was no joy of an impending breakthrough. Instead, he seemed distracted and restless. Even his conversation with Li Fan was disjointed, with sporadic answers. Seeing this, Li Fan simply chose not to disturb him.

Returning to the Spiritwood Realm, Ou Daozi and Shang Tianci came to see him together. After several years of persistent and arduous construction, the World Alliance headquarters had finally taken initial shape. However, because of Li Fan's previous instructions, he needed to give the final approval for the foundation-laying ceremony. That's why they came together to ask for Li Fan's opinion.

Li Fan's divine sense swept across the Spiritwood Realm. He saw continuous architectural complexes surrounding the central Spiritwood, occupying roughly one-tenth of the Spiritwood Realm's area. If a visitor came, the first thing they would see would be a black jade gate tower, ninety-nine zhang tall. The plaque on the gate tower was still blank, waiting for Li Fan to inscribe it.

Behind the gate tower was a long, wide path. The road surface was entirely greenish-blue, just like the one in front of the Myriad Immortals Alliance Law Enforcement Hall headquarters, wholly constructed from Spirit-Transforming Stone. Walking on it would seal off spiritual energy. Combined with the anti-flight formation, it would compel visiting cultivators to walk slowly and step-by-step, like mortals, along this path of audience.

At the end of the long path was a circular grand hall. The center of the hall was currently empty; Li Fan planned to place the Xuan Tian divine statue there to give all first-time visitors a small shock of mystery. With the circular grand hall as a central hub, roads branched out in all directions, leading to buildings with different functions, such as the reception hall, meeting hall, martial arts arena, and the World Alliance member distribution center, the World Passages, and so on. All these buildings were not clustered together; they were interspersed with various breathtaking scenic spots, with mountains and waters interwoven, creating beautiful vistas.

Outside the World Alliance headquarters complex was a "miniature Xuanhuang Realm," artificially constructed to roughly resemble the Xuanhuang Realm. Using the iconic landscapes of various states collected in Shang Tianci's Heavenly Scenery Gourd, the Xuanhuang Realm was roughly recreated within the Spiritwood Realm. With a glance, Li Fan saw the Great Lake of Luoyan State, the Nine Mountains of Jiushan State, and the familiar Cloud Sea of Congyun, among others. In Ou Daozi's design, the terrain where the Alliance headquarters complex was located was specifically elevated, making the current Spiritwood Realm high in the center and low around the periphery. From a distance, it looked as if the World Alliance was overlooking and suppressing Xuanhuang.

"Good! Good!" As expected of a master builder's work, Li Fan grew more delighted the more he looked. "It wasn't in vain that I went to such lengths to bring Ou Daozi here. I even wasted a True Lure Fruit... Worth it!" If he had done it himself, it definitely wouldn't have been built so beautifully. "Excellent, I'm very satisfied!" Li Fan nodded.

Shang Tianci showed delight, while Ou Daozi wore a proud expression. "Then, honored elder, when can we hold the foundation-laying ceremony?" Shang Tianci quickly asked. Li Fan pondered for a moment, then replied: "No rush. Wait for my notification."

With that, Li Fan transformed into a rainbow light and flew up to the sky of the Spiritwood Realm. Looking at the brand new Spiritwood Realm below, which already exuded an ethereal aura, Li Fan settled his mind, sensing the formation materials that had been transported to various locations earlier.

"It's time to begin the initial formation refinement," he mused. "To refine an entire small world into a magical artifact cannot be completed in a short time. Especially since it's nourished by a large amount of rare heavenly treasures, the scale of this Spiritwood Realm seems to have a tendency to transform further... However, as long as the formation is first engraved on the world's surface, no matter how it grows in the future, it is destined to remain bound. It is both a formation refinement and the Alliance's protective formation. Instead of having to painstakingly maintain it in the future, it's better to do it right the first time." After some thought, Li Fan finally made up his mind to make this place as perfect as possible.