Chapter 386: Internal Strife and External Threats

Li Fan was clearly not the only one who noticed this.

After the battle ended, Yan Hang and the others showed no signs of excitement as they watched the Fallen Wood turn to ash in the blazing fire.

"Damn it, these monsters seem to have gotten a bit stronger again." Yan Hang cursed, his expression grim as he looked at a withered yellow wound on his arm.

The other four were also injured to varying degrees.

"Hurry up and report the details of this battle. I hope those above can come up with a good solution soon. Otherwise, I doubt we'll be able to hold out much longer." A Cultivator among the four named Li Shifeng sighed and said.

Yan Hang gave a cold snort but did not argue.

He opened the Dutian Record, closed his eyes, and began his report.

Li Fan was also checking the Dutian Record.

Compared to when they first entered the Five Elements Cave Heaven, the information recorded within was now much more abundant.

"Overall Formation completion progress: 78%."

"It's on schedule, even a bit faster than originally anticipated."

"But clearly, what is happening here has spiraled somewhat out of control."

"I wonder what measures the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance will take next."

Li Fan's eyes flickered slightly, but his hands did not stop moving.

Could the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance actually complete the construction of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array on time?

Li Fan was almost certain they could.

At this moment, the vast majority of the main force active within the Five Elements Cave Heaven were merely Nascent Soul Cultivators.

The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance did not lack Soul Transformation Cultivators.

Clearly, they had not yet exerted their full effort.

If they found that their current strength was insufficient to complete the objective, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance would naturally increase their investment.

As for whether the Cultivators currently in the Five Elements Cave Heaven could survive until reinforcements arrived, that was another matter entirely.

…

Just as Li Fan expected, the constantly increasing strength of the Cave Heaven monsters caused widespread panic.

Qi Buyi soon came forward to soothe the people's hearts.

First, she explained to everyone that due to the principle of mutual restriction between the Five Elements, the five-attribute Fusion monsters people feared would not occur.

In the most extreme case, only four-attribute Fusion monsters would be born.

Even then, that would only happen at the final stages of the Five Elements United process.

What everyone needed to deal with were primarily monsters with two or three fused attributes.

Secondly, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance Headquarters was already aware of the current situation in the Five Elements Cave Heaven.

Reinforcements would be arriving soon.

Furthermore, the scale of the reinforcements was massive; the total number of people would exceed the sum of all Cultivators currently working in the Cave Heaven.

There was no need for concern.

Although everyone took Qi Buyi's claims with a grain of salt,

Having received a definite assurance, the Cultivators finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With their emotions slightly eased, they worked in trepidation, waiting for the reinforcements to arrive.

Time continued to flow amidst this constant atmosphere of tension.

In the blink of an eye, two years had passed since they entered the Five Elements Cave Heaven.

During this period, Cultivators did indeed arrive sporadically as reinforcements.

However, it was clearly a far cry from the large-scale reinforcements Qi Buyi had promised.

When questioned, Qi Buyi would always deflect with various excuses.

Two new Combined Dao Cultivators did arrive to oversee the situation, however, which put many people's minds at ease.

As more reinforcement Cultivators arrived, the others learned through word of mouth why the promised reinforcements had been so delayed.

The outside world had been incredibly turbulent over the past two years, with many major events occurring.

First were the external threats.

The Five Old Men Association had once again stationed troops at the border, frequently engaging in probing and provocative actions.

Unlike in the past, the opposing side did not seem to intend to start a large-scale conflict.

Instead, they concentrated all their forces on Fenglei Prefecture, which was separated from Tianling State.

According to rumors among the populace, it seemed the Five Old Men Association coveted the mysteries of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array and wanted to seize an entire state from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.

This was supposedly to conduct a comprehensive and detailed analytical study of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array.

Li Fan, however, knew this was merely a superficial excuse.

The Five Old Men Association's true target was likely still that patch of Void Realm in Tianling State that had birthed the Five Elements Cave Heaven.

"It seems the secret couldn't be kept forever. Indeed, after two years, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's unusual movements in Tianling State were enough to alert the other side," Li Fan thought to himself.

In addition to the pressure from the Five Old Men Association,

The interior of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was also far from peaceful.

During this period, many voices suddenly emerged across various regions opposing the popularization of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array.

And those speaking out were not some nobodies.

Most were Cultivators at the Soul Transformation stage or higher who occupied important positions in various states.

For unknown reasons, these Cultivators—who not long ago had collectively voiced their absolute support for the Locking Spirit Array construction plan—

Suddenly changed their tune and clearly expressed their opposition.

Furthermore, they weren't just opposing for the sake of it; they had ample arguments and reasons.

This was their viewpoint:

As everyone knows, all Formations, no matter how exquisite, will eventually be understood and broken.

In history, there were many instances where protective Formations were compromised without the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance knowing, only for them to be caught off guard by the enemy.

This was why protective Formations had to be entirely replaced periodically.

Now that the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance is going to such great lengths and expense to build the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array across its entire territory, can they guarantee it will remain effective forever? If it is analyzed and broken by the Five Old Men Association shortly after completion, wouldn't that be a massive joke?

Besides this, these people were also skeptical about whether the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array could achieve its advertised effects.

Because that Thousand-Faced Demon Lord, who had been haunting the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's territory like a lingering ghost, had recently become even more rampant.

Many high-ranking Cultivators in various states had failed to escape his clutches.

Even in some states where the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array had already been completed, it only slightly slowed down his killing spree.

In the end, he still managed to slip away.

Besides, even if he were actually caught, so what?

Since the Five Old Men Association could Cultivate one Thousand-Faced Demon Lord, they could surely Cultivate two or three more.

When first promoted, the greatest significance of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array was to ensure that all Five Old Men Association Cultivators within the borders would have nowhere to hide.

And now?

Others are wreaking havoc in your territory in broad daylight, yet you are powerless.

What, then, is the use of this Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array?

It had to be said that these people's viewpoints were actually very reasonable.

So much so that when they raised their doubts to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance Headquarters, it resonated with many people.

The tide of opposition grew stronger, yet the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance Headquarters uncharacteristically did not punish these dissenters, instead falling into an eerie silence.

Against this backdrop, the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord's movements became even more elusive, and his slaughtering even more vicious.

Aside from the internal strife and external threats, Li Fan also heard an interesting piece of news.

As the situation grew increasingly tense, an organization called the Lingyuan Sect in Jiushan State, located at the border of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Old Men Association, had recently been thriving.

It had certainly attracted the attention of many Cultivators.

This was all because the Lingyuan Sect possessed a unique Cultivation Technique.

A Cultivation Technique where the more people practiced it simultaneously, the faster the cultivation speed would be.