Chapter 382: The Manifestation of Five Elements’ Chaotic Reversal

"Is this for secrecy?"

Li Fan glanced at Huangfu Song and found that he seemed long accustomed to it.

He tapped the tabletop contentedly and downed the spiritual tea that had appeared in one gulp.

"Ten Thousand Immortals Spiritual Tea, this is good stuff. It's said to be an ancient recipe passed down from the primordial era; drinking it has the effect of slightly increasing one's Divine Soul."

"Limited to one cup per person. Why don't you have a taste, young friend?"

As the spiritual tea entered his stomach, Huangfu Song patted his belly, let out a long sigh of relief, and called out to Li Fan.

Li Fan followed Huangfu Song's example and drank the Ten Thousand Immortals Spiritual Tea before him.

Compared to the effect of the Profound Yellow Heart Refining Mantra, it was far inferior.

"A fine treasure!" he exclaimed, though he was merely putting on a show of great delight.

Just as he set down the teacup, Li Fan felt the crossing dust boat beneath him vibrate slightly as it unexpectedly slowed to a stop.

"Could something have happened?" Somewhat surprised, Li Fan looked at Huangfu Song, who was slowly standing up.

"Don't just sit there; we should have arrived at the Five Elements Great Cave Heaven," Huangfu Song said.

"So fast?" Li Fan was slightly stunned, then couldn't help but feel a bit shocked.

In his perception, less than the time it takes to finish a cup of tea had passed since their departure.

Li Fan was well aware of the crossing dust boat's maximum speed.

Calculating it this way, was the Five Elements Great Cave Heaven located not far from Zhupi City?

Noticing Li Fan's thoughts, Huangfu Song smiled and said, "Don't bother calculating. This crossing dust boat can not only shield our perception of external space but also influence our perception of time."

"You think only half a day has passed?"

"In reality, it's possible that seven or eight days have gone by."

"Of course, it's also possible that only the amount of time you perceived has actually passed."

"The point is to keep you guessing."

"After the previous spy incident involving Immortal Venerable Ziqiong, the Alliance has become increasingly cautious."

Huangfu Song shook his head as he walked out of the cabin.

"Influencing the perception of time's passage…" Li Fan's heart sank; this was the first time he had seen technology related to time within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.

"Then again, it might just be a simple distortion of cognition."

Suppressing his thoughts, Li Fan followed Huangfu Song onto the deck.

Upon leaving the cabin, an unprecedented Water-attribute Spiritual Qi, so dense it had almost solidified, rushed toward him.

Having spent years in the Congyun Sea and having established his foundation using the cang hai pearl, Li Fan was exceptionally sensitive to Water-attribute Spiritual Qi.

Consequently, he felt all the more appalled.

"This must be the Water Attribute Grotto-Heaven within the Five Elements Cave Heaven? It's like a giant, concentrated version of the cang hai pearl."

Li Fan instinctively inhaled and exhaled Spiritual Qi; after refining and absorbing it, he gained an even clearer understanding of the purity of the Qi here.

Looking around, Li Fan discovered that the Cultivators nearby, including Huangfu Song, were all looking up at the sky.

Their faces were filled with an unspeakable shock.

Li Fan followed their gaze.

The crossing dust boat was currently positioned on a perfectly flat boundary line.

Below was a vast, boundless blue world of water.

Above was an enormous, inverted tree rooted in the heavens, its countless branches stretching down to meet the water world.

Each branch was as wide as a plain in the mortal world.

One could faintly see many plants growing upon them.

On some trunks, there were even continuous forests of trees.

"The original Water Attribute Grotto-Heaven was simply a vast, blue world of water."

"However, not long ago, the scenery of the Wood Attribute Grotto-Heaven suddenly appeared outside the water world."

"The two have begun to merge. This is the phenomenon known as the Unification of the Five Elements."

Qi Buyi suddenly appeared, also looking up at the magnificent sight in the sky as she explained to everyone.

"Unification of the Five Elements… Then, below the water world, are there any signs of the Metal Attribute Grotto-Heaven invading?" a Cultivator on the boat couldn't help but ask.

Qi Buyi nodded. "Beneath the endless layers of water, one can indeed see golden light everywhere. However, it is not an invasion by the Metal Attribute Grotto-Heaven."

"Rather, the Water Attribute Grotto-Heaven is invading the Metal Attribute Grotto-Heaven."

"Just as the Wood Attribute Grotto-Heaven above is doing."

"Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood… and now it's reversed?" Huangfu Song interjected.

"Then ultimately…"

Having said that, Huangfu Song was suddenly startled and stared blankly at Qi Buyi.

"It's not as simple as you think." Qi Buyi walked to the side of the crossing dust boat, using her spiritual power to scoop up a ball of water to show everyone.

"Before the Unification of the Five Elements, the water in this Water Attribute Grotto-Heaven was exceptionally pure. But now…"

Qi Buyi flicked a spark into the ball of water.

Something that astonished everyone present occurred.

The volume of that water was clearly enough to extinguish the spark Qi Buyi had flicked.

Yet, upon encountering the flame, it instead began to burn fiercely.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, it burned brighter and brighter.

Eventually, it even formed a lump of black, scorched earth.

Li Fan saw it clearly; this bizarre phenomenon didn't occur because the flame was particularly strong.

It was because the properties of the "water" had changed.

It had become something that could be ignited by fire.

"Is this even still water?"

"Wait, with so much water in this grotto-heaven, if it all gets ignited at once, wouldn't that be disastrous?"

The people on the crossing dust boat looked at each other, the realization sending chills down their spines.

Qi Buyi seemed to sense their concern and said, "The change you see only happens when the water is taken out individually."

"As long as it exists as a part of the grotto-heaven as a whole, it won't be ignited or turn into earth."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"As for why this phenomenon occurs, there is currently no clear answer."

"This is also the reason for our arrival."

"The mutation occurring in this grotto-heaven is different from the usual Unification of the Five Elements."

"The Alliance is very interested in this. According to previous calculations, the Unification of the Five Elements will be completed within five years at most."

"And as the process continues to accelerate, this number is likely to decrease significantly."

"What we must do is ensure that the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array covering the Five Elements Great Cave Heaven is completed before the Five Elements fully unify."

"In addition to the group of pioneers who have already arrived, reinforcements for the construction of the Formation will continue to arrive."

"We are one such part, primarily responsible for the coverage area of the Water Attribute Grotto-Heaven."

Qi Buyi efficiently explained the mission's objectives to the group.

"Even just a single grotto-heaven is extremely vast."

"It's even larger than a single province in our Xuanhuang World."

"Most areas here do not yet have teleportation arrays, and traveling solely by flight is far too slow."

"For the convenience of future work, the Alliance has prepared some special items for everyone."

With that, Qi Buyi took out a teardrop-shaped, black-gold object and displayed it before them.

"This is the Heaven-Escaping Shuttle, a flying Magic Treasure specially crafted by the Alliance."

"Its speed is…"

"Extremely fast."