The first person to pass on the law

The other party's attitude had initially been quite amiable, but upon hearing Li Fan raise this question, his expression changed slightly.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist, I'm afraid you've misheard. I know nothing about any original preaching location!" He waved his hands hurriedly, looking as if he had found the wrong person.

Without waiting for Li Fan to respond, he flew off into the distance.

His speed was surprisingly even a few notches faster than an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator.

Li Fan had finally encountered someone in the know; how could he let this lead slip away just like that?

He immediately hurried to follow, though he did not get too close, merely trailing far behind.

At the same time, he kept sending voice transmissions: "Fellow Daoist, please don't misunderstand. I have no ill intentions. I am simply very interested in what you just said."

The person in front not only failed to respond, but instead increased his speed even further, attempting to shake Li Fan off.

Li Fan, however, remained tightly on his tail, persistently trying to persuade him.

After a full half-day had passed, seeing that he could not shake Li Fan, the other party finally slowed to a stop.

Looking left and right, and seeing that there was no one around, his expression became uncertain.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally whispered: "This is not a place to talk. Follow me, Fellow Daoist!"

Li Fan smiled slightly, cupped his hands, and said: "In that case, thank you in advance, Fellow Daoist!"

Following this person, they flew west for several hundred li before diving into the seabed.

They arrived inside a building that resembled a crystal palace.

Inviting Li Fan to sit in a room deep within the Immortal Cave, the other party sighed slightly: "It wasn't that I was unwilling to tell you earlier; I was truly afraid that loose lips might cause trouble!"

"How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?" Li Fan nodded, not rushing to delve deeper, but instead asking for the other party's name first.

"I am Sima Changkong!" With a wave of his hand, a servant with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish appeared.

After pouring tea for the two of them, the servant bowed and retreated.

Li Fan couldn't help but glance at the servant.

"Just a beast-breed, a personal hobby. I hope you aren't amused, Fellow Daoist!" Sima Changkong took a small sip, saying this without changing his expression.

"Beast-breed…" Li Fan's eyes flickered.

The half-beast, half-human skeletons once discovered in Mr. Bai's basement in Ningyuan City had been referred to by that same name by Senior Brother Zhang.

He had thought they were extinct, but he hadn't expected to see them again today.

However, Li Fan had no intention of interfering, simply nodding slightly and steering the conversation back on track.

"Daoist Zhou, is it…" Sima Changkong immediately identified the identity of Li Fan's external Clone.

"Now that we are in my private residence, we can speak freely."

"Do you know why Ten Thousand Immortals Island is called Ten Thousand Immortals Island?" Sima Changkong asked.

Li Fan had also had doubts about this question.

Because the heavenly cities of each province were all named after their province.

For example, Daoyuan City, Shilin City, Tianyun City, and so on.

But only the station in the Congyun Sea was not called Congyun City or Island, but Ten Thousand Immortals Island.

However, he had thoroughly checked the classics and found no special records, so for a long time, he just assumed it was a conventional name.

Now it seemed there was some hidden secret within.

"I would like to hear the details." Li Fan's expression was solemn as he listened attentively.

"A long time ago, when this place in the Congyun Sea was still a plain, there was a large lake."

"There was an island in the lake. The Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable first preached to the masses right here."

"At that time, thousands of Cultivators and Mortals gathered here to listen to the Immortal Venerable's teachings."

"In the end, they all comprehended the Heavenly Venerable's Immortal Law, establishing the initial Foundation of the Myriad Immortals Alliance."

Sima Changkong narrated slowly.

"Perhaps it was the Heavenly Venerable's protection, but even as mountains and rivers changed and the seas turned into mulberry fields, this island never changed its form."

"It wasn't until thousands of years later, when the current Myriad Immortals Alliance was established and they were choosing a location for the provincial city, that they chose this island to express their respect for the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable."

"To a certain extent, it is no exaggeration to say that this island is the place where the Myriad Immortals Alliance originated. Therefore, everyone called it [Ten Thousand Immortals Island]."

Sima Changkong concisely explained the ins and outs to Li Fan, took a deep drink of tea, and secretly sized up Li Fan.

Li Fan savored the meaning behind Sima Changkong's words, his brows slightly furrowed: "Since it is the place where the Myriad Immortals Alliance originated and where the Heavenly Venerable first preached, why is it so little known today?"

"Even relevant information is difficult to find."

"Not only that, but it was left poorly defended, allowing it to be snatched away directly?"

Li Fan shook his head, seemingly not quite believing Sima Changkong's words.

Sima Changkong sighed heavily: "This is the reason why I was unwilling to say more earlier."

He paused and remained silent for a moment.

Then he confessed in a low voice: "Tens of thousands of predecessors sacrificed their lives to spread the Heavenly Venerable's New Law. Only then did we have the current Foundation of the Myriad Immortals Alliance."

"This was originally a heroic undertaking worth writing about extensively, one that all current Cultivators should remember."

"But now it is being treated coldly, even sealed away."

"The reason is that the Heavenly Venerable has not appeared in the world for many years. And those who now control the power of the Myriad Immortals Alliance are long past being the original tens of thousands of Dharma Transmitters."

Sima Changkong drank the remaining tea in one gulp and said: "The struggle between the New and Old Laws was actually much more tragic than we imagine. The Sects of the past, facing an existence that could shake their own rule, naturally would not be stingy with the butcher's knives in their hands."

"The truly pure Dharma Transmitters almost all sacrificed themselves in the struggle against the Sects of that time."

"Those who survive today are nothing but petty scoundrels who have stolen the Heavenly Venerable's power."

Sima Changkong's tone revealed a trace of disdain.

…

Li Fan narrowed his eyes.

This reason was barely acceptable.

In Mortal dynasties, it was not a new thing for power transitions to cause the image of the previous generation's meritorious officials to be forgotten or even distorted.

This principle still existed in the Cultivation World.

"To be able to endure the changes of the world without changing its form. This Ten Thousand Immortals Island might indeed hide some secret."

"And the Myriad Immortals Alliance must have investigated it carefully before, finding nothing, which is why they ignored it."

"But the Five Elders Association must have recently received some news. That is why they risked an all-out war to forcibly abduct Ten Thousand Immortals Island."

Thoughts raced through Li Fan's mind.

Before long, he looked at Sima Changkong, who was still secretly seething, and asked again: "Fellow Daoist Sima, you seem to know quite a lot about the various secrets of the Myriad Immortals Alliance."

"However, according to what you said, the symbolic significance of this Ten Thousand Immortals Island seems greater than its actual value."

"It doesn't seem worth it for the Five Elders Association to take such a big risk to forcibly abduct it, right? I wonder what you think about this, Fellow Daoist?"

Sima Changkong's expression became serious.

He pondered for a moment and said slowly: "I do have an idea."

"The original Dharma Transmitters, because of their extremely fast cultivation speed, had concepts and habits quite similar to those of Mortals."

"After Mortals die, there is a saying about leaves returning to their roots."

"So back then, after the Dharma Transmitters died in battle against the Immortal Sects, their remaining bones were often sent back to Ten Thousand Immortals Island by their companions for burial."