Returning to the origin and swallowing the earth

In the pitch-black Void Realm, several Rift Whales were chasing and playing with each other.

Looking closely, one would notice a black-feathered, red-tailed bird standing atop one of them.

The bird strolled rather leisurely on the whale's broad back.

The Rift Whale was completely oblivious to its presence.

This black-feathered, red-tailed bird was naturally Li Fan.

After passing through the Immortal Severing Grand Formation with practiced ease, seeing the pod of Rift Whales sparked a sudden whim in him.

He wanted to test the actual deceptive capabilities of the Myriad Forms Furnace Technique.

And so, this scene came about.

"Rift Whales are extremely sensitive to external aura, capable of tracking even a Mortal across ten thousand miles."

"I'm standing so close, yet they have no stress reaction at all. To them, I must seem no different from a real bird."

Li Fan was very satisfied with the test results.

Flapping his wings, he flew off, leaving the pod of Rift Whales behind as he rushed toward the entrance to the Xuanhuang World at the bottom of the Void Abyss.

"If Great Xuan truly breaks free from the Xuanhuang World through the Rift Whales' efforts… will it be directly captured by the [Immortal Ruins]? Just like the Medicine King True Cauldron?"

"Back then, whose handiwork was this pod of Rift Whales?"

"However, it shouldn't be the work of the Ten Immortal Sects. They know of the [Immortal Ruins]' existence. Wouldn't letting Rift Whales dig away Small Worlds be digging their own graves?"

The light of the Cultivation World lay not far ahead. Looking back at the seemingly tirelessly working Rift Whales, a thought suddenly emerged in Li Fan's mind.

It was merely a fleeting thought, and his figure did not pause in the slightest.

The next moment, Li Fan reappeared above the vast ocean.

Sea and sky merged as one, a salty, moist breeze blowing gently.

Li Fan took a deep breath and sighed with emotion.

"The blue sky really is nicer to look at."

Having spent hundreds of years in the oppressive world under the shroud of the Xuan Net, Li Fan, now back at the beginning, finally realized how precious this uninhibited freedom was.

Instead of joining the Myriad Immortals Alliance first, Li Fan oriented himself and flew toward the border between the Congyun Sea and Shi Lin Province.

His destination was precisely the Celestial Mystery Sect ruins within the White Stone Cave Heaven.

Which was where Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi originally found the Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter.

In his previous life, with Linghu Chang's help, Xiao Heng unearthed several other Cultivation Techniques from the ruins in addition to the Golden Chapter.

Including the secret technique [One Hand Covers the Sky].

Li Fan naturally could not miss out on them.

Though he appeared to be just an ordinary bird on the outside, Li Fan's flight speed was not slow at all.

Over twenty days later, Li Fan arrived outside the Hundred Stone Cave Heaven.

The so-called Hundred Stone Cave Heaven was a massive underground karst cave located on the border of Shi Lin Province.

Inside the cave, countless paths branched and crisscrossed.

Every so often, the space would suddenly open up into a spacious underground hall.

Jagged, odd-shaped rocks grew wildly from the top downward and outward from the walls within the hall.

Of various shapes, resembling humans or beasts, they inspired a sense of trepidation.

Many Cultivators had lost their way inside, never to return.

As for just how vast this Hundred Stone Cave Heaven truly was, no one knew.

As one of the notorious perilous zones of Shi Lin Province, even knowing that secrets might be hidden here, very few Cultivators were willing to venture inside to explore.

Li Fan ventured deeper and deeper into the karst cave, yet did not run into a single soul.

The deeper he went, the more complex the paths became.

Often, a single intersection would have as many as seven or eight branching paths.

Moreover, it was not just one's Divine Sense that was affected to a certain degree.

The karst cave itself would also occasionally undergo changes.

A path taken on the way in might inexplicably disappear when trying to return.

To make matters worse, the rock inside this cave was extremely hard; forcibly carving out a path was simply impossible.

This was why the Hundred Stone Cave Heaven was so treacherous.

"According to Linghu Chang, this Hundred Stone Cave Heaven was very likely formed from the remains of an ancient exotic beast, the [Returning Origin Clam]."

"The Returning Origin Clam lives deep underground, feeding on mountain ranges and earth veins. It is a notorious terrain destroyer, capable of hollowing out the entire underground of a province."

Li Fan recalled the anecdotes Han Wuyou had heard.

"However, everything has its natural counter."

"Inside its body, there often exists a symbiotic creature called the [Stone Spirit Worm]."

"The Returning Origin Clam is greedy by nature, devouring earth veins without any restraint, sometimes even eating until it bursts."

"In most cases, they don't have enough time to digest and absorb the power of the earth veins inside them."

"As a result, vast stretches of earth vein stones coalesce within their bodies."

"These Stone Spirit Worms love to feed on earth vein stones. While helping the Returning Origin Clam relieve its digestive pressure, they themselves never have to worry about food."

"A perfect symbiotic relationship."

"I'm afraid the intricate underground tunnels within the Hundred Stone Cave Heaven were likely dug out by the Stone Spirit Worms."

Li Fan flew while carefully searching the darkness for a Stone Spirit Worm.

Half a day later.

"There you are!"

Li Fan revealed his true form, and the Five Elements Extinction Sword quietly unsheathed.

A deep hole instantly appeared in the stone wall of the tunnel.

A bluish-gray shadow flashed, attempting to flee deep into the wall.

"Insect Binding!"

Li Fan suddenly cast the Divine Ability, capturing it.

A chubby, bluish-gray giant worm about the size of an infant instantly appeared before Li Fan.

Unable to move at the moment, it couldn't help letting out urgent squeaking noises.

Li Fan tapped lightly on its body, producing a dull thud.

The fat all over the Stone Spirit Worm's body jiggled continuously, and under Li Fan's warning, it immediately behaved itself.

Infusing Spiritual Qi into its body, Li Fan closed his eyes to sense the Stone Spirit Worm's bodily structure.

Although it could devour earth vein stones, the complexity of its physiological structure was not even equal to the ordinary bird Li Fan had previously transformed into.

Before long, Li Fan released his restraint.

The next moment, enveloped in golden light, he transformed into the shape of a Stone Spirit Worm.

The original fat worm fell to the ground with a thud and, ignoring Li Fan, its newly appeared companion, hurriedly burrowed into the ground and fled.

The hole it dug hadn't been there long when, under Li Fan's watchful gaze, it actually slowly healed over.

"This place really is bizarre. The Returning Origin Clam is dead yet seems alive. Without a special method, exploring it would indeed be quite troublesome."

"As for now, though…"

Li Fan shook his worm body and plunged headfirst into the stone wall.

He felt as though these incomparably hard stones had turned into crunchy delicacies.

Li Fan effortlessly excavated a path.

With the approximate location of the Celestial Mystery Sect ruins in mind, Li Fan headed straight in that direction.

Seven days later.

In an underground cavern sealed on all four sides.

A rumbling sound suddenly echoed faintly from within the stone wall.

Before long, the Stone Spirit Worm that Li Fan had transformed into crudely burrowed out from it.

Falling onto the ground with a thud.

It lay on its back with its belly up, motionless.

Only after the earth vein stones in his body were completely digested into energy did Li Fan revert to human form.

"I actually ate until I was stuffed."

Li Fan shook his head, speechlessly amused.