Chapter 634: From This Point, They Part Ways

By this point, He Zhenghao had already cast his daughter's warnings aside.

In his mind, even if refining the Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth was an extremely perilous process, he, He Zhenghao, was no reckless fool. He would act according to the situation. If the task truly proved impossible, he would not simply throw his life away.

Taking a measured risk for the chance to ascend in a single step—what was wrong with that?

And yet, He Zhenghao could never have imagined that a true Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth was of a caliber far beyond anything he could anticipate.

In the end, it came down to his limited horizons. He Zhenghao was merely at the Golden Core realm. Though he had traveled extensively and cultivated a wide circle of acquaintances, he had never witnessed with his own eyes, nor gleaned from any ancient text, the true majesty of a Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth.

He only knew that such a thing existed.

It was like a farmer imagining the emperor's golden hoe—so far from reality that it was laughable. And that, it seemed, had already sealed the tragic end of He Zhenghao's life.

Just as the crowd of cultivators remained within the Administration Hall debating the underwater cave dwelling that Li Fan had prophesied would rise from the seafloor, the very subject of their discussion had already arrived at that location.

Over a stretch of no more than several hundred li, the seabed dropped like a steep staircase, forming three major fault lines, with each layer separated by a vertical drop of four to five thousand meters.

Along every fault, violent earth vein activity had driven the seabed upward, raising countless mountain ranges from the depths. The sight was magnificent and strange, surpassing even the grandest landscapes of the surface.

This was precisely where He Zhenghao had achieved core formation in the previous life: the Three Undersea Faults.

In that life, though He Zhenghao had his share of frustration and unfulfillment, he never lost his will to strive. The moment he obtained the Mountain River Hidden Dragon Art, he was like a dragon breaking free from nine abysses, rising to power with unstoppable force. He comprehended a Four-Law Golden Core, and his future held boundless promise.

In this life, though He Zhenghao's political standing far exceeds what it once was and the technique he cultivates was a Dao Unity art, he has neglected his cultivation. He has achieved only a Single-Law Golden Core.

I gave you the opportunity. You just couldn't make use of it.

Li Fan sighed inwardly. He shook his head slightly, then turned his attention to the task at hand.

His divine sense swept across the fault mountain ranges below, and his eyes narrowed. The Chaoyuan Sect...

What Li Fan had said earlier in the Administration Hall was no lie. Though the Chaoyuan Sect was terrifyingly dangerous and mysterious, Shuo Feng, Su Xiaomei, and Zhang Haobo had all entered and returned unharmed in his past life, every one of them having advanced by a full cultivation realm.

Not accounting for the unexpected factor of He Zhenghao's Foundation Establishment in his past life, these ruins were originally supposed to leave the Congyun Sea and head for Jiushan Province in Anchor Year 22.

For now, they lay silently hidden beneath the fault lines.

Having fully inherited the memories of Dugu Chang of the Medicine King Sect, Li Fan searched through them carefully but found no trace of the Chaoyuan Sect. Not only that, even the Cloudwater Palace, reputed as the hegemon of the Congyun Sea, was likewise absent.

Neither sect existed in his memories.

How strange. According to the records in the Tianxuan Mirror, both the Cloudwater Palace and the Chaoyuan Sect were fairly famous sects of the ancient era. Though they couldn't compare to the Ten Immortal Dao Sects, they were certainly stronger than the Medicine King Sect. Why is there not a shred of information about them in the minds of the Medicine King Sect's disciples?

Could it be that they were not from the same time period? That the era of the Cloudwater Palace was actually more recent?

He pondered for a moment but found no answer. The clues he had only seemed to contradict one another, riddled with inconsistencies.

He filed it away and turned his gaze back to the seabed below, then unleashed his newly comprehended divine ability: the Heaven-Breaking Heart Sword.

In the next instant, countless beams of sword light erupted throughout the sprawling undersea mountain range. They illuminated the pitch-black depths, and tremendous roars rang out again and again.

Mountains cracked apart. Immense fissures tore through the seafloor one after another. Rent asunder by sword lights, the breathtaking underwater vista stretching a hundred li crumbled and vanished at a single thought from Li Fan. ℯℯ𝑙.

And amidst that cataclysm, he finally located the concealed traces of the Chaoyuan Sect.

He made no move to intervene; he simply watched as the ruins of the ancient complex rose upward and broke through the water's surface, then shrank to the form of a cave dwelling and sped away toward Jiushan Province.

Since reaching the Nascent Soul realm, Li Fan's spiritual sense had grown increasingly sharp. In the very moment he stood face-to-face with the ruins of the Chaoyuan Sect, he had felt a faint trace of deadly crisis stir in his chest.

The world is filled with endless opportunities. There's no need to take a risk on this one. Let the others rush in first. I'll uncover its true mysteries later.

He watched the Chaoyuan Sect depart.

Though Li Fan himself was unconcerned, the ruins still caused an uproar among the cultivators. No sooner had everyone been told of a cave dwelling rising from the seabed than one appeared.

What a coincidence!

Some cultivators even suspected that Li Fan had constructed the cave dwelling himself in an attempt to flaunt his uncanny ability to prophesy. The notion was quickly dismissed, however; the ancient, weathered aura of the Chaoyuan Sect ruins could not be faked.

Moreover, because so many eyes were fixed on the event, cultivators pooled their knowledge and swiftly traced the origins of the main hall, the Taiyuan Hall.[1]

These were the ruins of an ancient immortal sect: the Chaoyuan Sect.

A Spirit Transformation cultivator well-versed in the history of ancient cultivation personally vouched for it, confirming the ruins' authenticity. Word spread quickly, and from the Congyun Sea and all across the Myriad Immortals Alliance, cultivators lured by the promise of opportunity followed the trail of the ruins.

Among them was someone Li Fan had not expected.

Inside the Administration Hall.

"You're going too? That Chaoyuan Sect opportunity... well, in any case, it can't compare to... right? Or are you just going to scout it out and come back immediately?" He Zhenghao asked, staring at Gao Yuan in surprise.

"Heh. After I went back and thought it over, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. It took three whole days and nights before I finally understood." Gao Yuan sighed, a trace of feeling in his voice.

"A blacksmith must forge his own iron. No matter how much the Secretary-Envoy favors me, my cultivation is still only at the Golden Core realm. Here in the Congyun Sea, I can still hold my own. But if the Secretary-Envoy truly achieves Dao Unity, his ranks will surely swell with Spirit Transformation and Nascent Soul cultivators. How could I command their respect? If I wish to continue following the Secretary-Envoy, then I too must strive with everything I have."

He Zhenghao was not moved by his companion's righteous words. He eyed Gao Yuan with plain suspicion.

"Don't look at me like that." Gao Yuan gave a wry smile. "I'm not trying to fool you this time. I've already requested leave from the Secretary-Envoy. I'm setting off immediately." He turned, fixing He Zhenghao with a meaningful gaze. "And you, Fellow Daoist He? What say you?"

He Zhenghao hesitated. In the end, he declined Gao Yuan's invitation, citing the need to maintain and oversee affairs in the Congyun Sea.

Gao Yuan said nothing more. He cupped his hands in a brief salute, then drifted away into the distance.

1. Retcon: Taiyuan Palace has been changed to Taiyuan Hall. It just refers to one building/hall in the complex, and not the entire complex. ☜