Chapter 117: Devouring White Mist Barrier
On the next day, Li Chenfeng and his two companions quietly left the island.
In the perception of the Formless Killing Intent, they continued northward, getting farther and farther away.
The perception became increasingly blurry, and Li Fan canceled the lock on Li Chenfeng.
"Is there still another four or five decades left?"
"If there's a chance in the future, we can visit their empire."
However, in this lifetime, Li Fan needed to first advance his cultivation to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Upon returning to the Ten Thousand Immortals Island, Li Fan first secluded himself to cultivate for some time, digesting his insights from observing the Foundation Establishment process.
After emerging from seclusion, he checked the "Geographical Map of the Cong Yun Sea Area" that his clone Fan Lin had obtained.
He had considered exchanging the entire map of the Xuanhuang Realm at once, but the Tianxuan Mirror displayed that he lacked the necessary authority to view it.
Therefore, he could only settle for a more limited exchange, starting with the geographical area around the Cong Yun Sea.
As the map materialized in his mind, Li Fan discovered that the seemingly boundless Cong Yun Sea was, in fact, an inland sea. It was as if someone had forcibly carved a gap into the mainland, nearly encircling the Cong Yun Sea.
Only in the southeast, through a relatively narrow sea area, was it connected to the endless ocean.
To the north of the Cong Yun Sea was Yongliang Province, where Li Chenfeng and his group had fled.
To the west and south, from top to bottom, were Jiushan Province, Shilin Province, and Yuandao Province, all of which belonged to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's territory.
Yongliang Province to the north was under the control of the Five Elders Association.
"It's been almost 14 years, and it's time to plan an escape."
"After obtaining the Canghai Pearl, we should leave the Cong Yun Sea as soon as possible. My clone can stay here to observe the situation."
"As for where to go..."
Li Fan thoroughly reviewed the information about the various provinces.
Yongliang Province, bordering Jiushan Province, was not very peaceful.
Shilin Province and Yuandao Province were relatively similar.
However, Yuandao Province was adjacent to the boundless ocean and had abundant water-based spiritual energy. Considering the need to use the Canghai Pearl for Foundation Establishment in the future, it made more sense to head to Yuandao Province.
Li Fan also noticed that in the Xuanhuang Realm, the boundaries between provinces were not artificially designated by humans.
The separation between provinces was naturally created by something called the "White Mist Barrier." Both mortals and cultivators could pass through it. However, the cost of crossing the White Mist Barrier was one's lifespan.
The longer the time spent crossing it, the more lifespan was consumed.
Mortals rarely dared to cross the White Mist Barrier on their own because, at their pace, they often perished before making it to the other side.
Even though cultivators could fly at extremely high speeds, each crossing of the White Mist Barrier cost at least thirty days of their lifespan. While it might not be a significant amount, frequent crossings would eventually wear down even a Golden Core cultivator.
Therefore, most cultivators adhered to a principle: they only moved when necessary and mostly stayed within their respective provinces.
Luckily, each province was vast, and they were well-supplied thanks to the existence of large organizations like the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, which spanned the entire cultivation world. So, for many cultivators, staying within one province for their entire lives didn't significantly hinder their cultivation.
Of course, there were long-distance teleportation arrays that allowed travel between provinces, reducing the lifespan cost to around ten days. However, the expense was substantial, and only a small number of cultivators used this method.
Li Fan checked and found that there was no White Mist Barrier between Yuandao Province and the Cong Yun Sea. Furthermore, there were specialized teleportation arrays within Ten Thousand Immortals Island to reach Yuandao Province.
"If I can successfully reproduce the 'Mountain Meditation Technique,' then learning about gifted prodigies will become more important."
For a moment, several figures flashed through Li Fan's mind.
"After leaving, maybe I can take them along to test the effectiveness of the 'Mountain Meditation Technique," Li Fan contemplated.
"However, it would be inconvenient to bring mortals along. I need to make some preparations in advance."
Li Fan had previously attempted to include living people on the Tai Yan Boat, but it couldn't be stored in [Truth] afterwards.
After some consideration, he decided to use the teleportation array to visit Yuandao Province.
The overall layout of Yuandao Province was similar to that of the Cong Yun Sea. Nearly every major mortal city had defensive formations and Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding them.
Above Yuandao Province, a massive floating city stood.
It was named after the province: "Yuandao Heavenly City."
The layout inside Yuandao City was identical to Ten Thousand Immortals Island, almost like it was copied from a template, which gave Li Fan a sense of familiarity.
In the center of the city, the Tianxuan Mirror was still present. When Li Fan entered, he found it to be exactly the same as when he used it on Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
Furthermore, in Yuandao City, Li Fan saw a familiar figure.
"It seems that this should be the case in areas under the rule of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. I wonder what the situation is with the Five Elders Association."
Mortals couldn't enter Yuandao Heavenly City. The largest city in Yuandao Province was called Zhuo Ling City.
After teleporting to Zhuo Ling City, Li Fan exchanged a courtyard with the city's guardians in exchange for 50 contribution points, which would serve as his base for future activities.
Following this, Li Fan took out the Tai Yan Boat and flew back from Yuandao Province to the Cong Yun Sea, to explore the route for their later withdrawal.
By the time he returned to Ten Thousand Immortals Island, the 14th year had already come.
During this period, Zhang Haobo had been constantly pursuing the trace of the wind disaster. Initially, he would sometimes misjudge the timing and location of the wind disaster's appearance. However, over time, Zhang Haobo's premonitions became increasingly accurate.
He would often arrive on the scene of each wind disaster right on time.
But now, Zhang Haobo had stopped chasing the winds.
He floated in the air, gazing up at something.
He remained as still as a stone statue.
This had been going on for quite some time.
However, gradually, an unusual aura began to emanate from Zhang Haobo.
Li Fan immediately refocused his attention on Zhang Haobo.
Suddenly, Zhang Haobo's clothes rustled without any wind, and he started to rise upward as if pushed by an invisible force from below.
He ascended slowly at first, then accelerated, becoming a streak of light shooting up into the sky.
His speed increased, and he soared toward the sky.
However, when he reached a certain height, he abruptly stopped.
Then he began to hover continuously in this space as if searching for something.
But...
He couldn't enter.
Zhang Haobo's face remained calm, and he turned into a gentle breeze, continually blowing through this area.
One day, two days, three days...
As time passed, it seemed he still hadn't found anything.
But Li Fan noticed that Zhang Haobo's range of activity was steadily decreasing.
When the final area was determined, Zhang Haobo let out a loud shout, accelerated suddenly, turned into a green light, and forcefully collided with the void.
A nearly imperceptible blue light also shone at the right time on his body.
Zhang Haobo's figure suddenly disappeared from the world.
And Li Fan's perspective was also taken into a strange space.
A translucent green figure stood there with closed eyes.
In their hands, they held a cage composed of green light.
A jet-black sword handle exuded a sinister aura, relentlessly striking the cage, attempting to break free.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Occasionally, strands of green light were released from the cage during its impact, floating down and landing in various places in the Cong Yun Sea.
Transforming into wind disasters.