Chapter 378: The Hidden Mystery of Tianxuan
After Li Fan and the others disappeared from the sight of the crowd, the cultivators present were extremely excited.
They communicated with each other using their spiritual senses.
"We knew a big shot was coming, but we never expected it to be Senior Disciple Lu!"
"Excuse my ignorance, but who exactly is this Senior Disciple Lu?"
"Are you kidding me, brother? Which province are you from if you don't even know the name of our Chief Formation Master from the Array Hall?"
"With Senior Disciple Lu's mastery in Dao Integration, she can sweep through the entire Hualing Gorge with just a thought. Does she really need to inspect each place separately?"
"You don't understand. It's necessary to maintain appearances. If she just comes and goes without seriously inspecting any place, wouldn't it seem..."
"Brother, watch your words!"
...
Li Fan did not participate in this lively discussion.
He simply proceeded with the examination of the formation units as if nothing had happened.
Because he faintly sensed a vast spiritual sense continuously scanning above the Hualing Gorge.
"Everyone knows they need to keep up appearances, yet they foolishly discuss under others' noses using their spiritual senses. Do they really think spiritual communication is absolutely safe?" Li Fan shook his head inwardly.
He maintained his composure, refusing to engage in such reckless behavior.
After the initial excitement, an order was issued, causing everyone to groan in misery.
The Senior will depart in two days.
Before that, everyone needed to work harder.
They had to complete the construction of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array thoroughly.
Although the original progress was almost sufficient, now they had to compress the schedule forcefully into two days.
The suddenly increased workload was nearly tripled.
But since the command came directly from Dongfang Yao, the wording was extremely stern.
People knew Senior Disciple Lu was present, so they didn't dare to complain.
They could only work desperately.
Fortunately for Li Fan, continuous work without rest was just ordinary for him.
His expression remained unchanged, without any variation.
To prevent mistakes during the busy period, Huangfu Song and Dongfang Yao also appeared from time to time to check the progress.
As for Senior Disciple Lu herself, after showing herself that day, she never appeared in front of everyone again.
No one knew what she was busy with.
But the massive spiritual sense enveloping the Hualing Gorge never left for a moment.
So Li Fan diligently continued his work, showing no signs of abnormality.
Time flew by amidst everyone's dedicated efforts.
In the blink of an eye, two days had already passed.
Just as the Tianxuan Array Hub and Locking Spirit Array were about to take shape completely,
Senior Disciple Lu finally appeared again.
"Let me install this Tianxuan Mirror myself," she proposed, surprising everyone.
Although it was unexpected, no one dared to disobey Senior Disciple Lu's command.
Dongfang Yao looked a bit nervous as he handed the red phantom formed by the Tianxuan Array Hub to Lu Xichan.
In the central core area of the formation, amidst the attention of everyone present, Senior Disciple Lu placed the Tianxuan Mirror.
The mirror seemed extremely familiar to her.
Almost without manipulation, it cleverly found its position and began to integrate with the surrounding formation.
It looked exactly like the scene Li Fan witnessed outside the Abyss of Roaring Depths.
One after another, green rays of light expanded outward from the central hub of the formation.
"Huh?"
Li Fan keenly sensed that there seemed to be a slight difference in the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array here compared to the one he constructed.
He didn't show any abnormality on his face.
His thoughts raced.
"What's different?"
If one were to simply examine it from the perspective of formation knowledge, Senior Disciple Lu's actions could be described as flawless, with no discernible flaws.
But Li Fan couldn't shake off the feeling that somewhere in the key points of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array, there was a subtle change.
Quietly watching the formation take shape, that feeling of being constantly under surveillance reappeared.
Li Fan's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly realized where his feeling came from.
Just as the construction of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array was completed in an instant, the previously unknown formation with transparent patterns enveloping the Hualing Gorge also dissipated at the same time.
And the massive spiritual sense Li Fan had sensed during this time was also nowhere to be found.
Everything seemed to fall into place naturally.
Even if someone noticed, they would only think that Senior Disciple Lu had withdrawn her spiritual power after the formation was completed.
But Li Fan didn't think so.
A bold idea suddenly emerged in his mind.
Whether it was the formation that unfolded similarly to the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array,
or the remarkably similar surveillance effect,
it couldn't help but make Li Fan speculate wildly.
"It hasn't disappeared."
"Has it merged?"
"Have the two merged into one? Or is it just lurking?"
Li Fan's gaze remained as calm as ever, but his mind was in turmoil.
"Is this to leave a backdoor for oneself within the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array?"
As the first Dao Integration formation master to propose the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array plan,
Lu Xichan undoubtedly had the ability to do so.
But her motives left Li Fan puzzled.
"Is it to prevent the potential loss of control of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array in the future? So, she took this action."
"Or is there another purpose?"
"Once the Tianxuan Locking Spirit becomes widespread, mastering it means holding supreme power."
"Even the Chief Formation Master of the Array Hall is just a formation master."
"There is still quite a distance from reaching the pinnacle of real power."
"Perhaps, leveraging the Tianxuan Locking Spirit, one could achieve a qualitative leap."
"Or even catch a glimpse of the Immortal Realm."
As Li Fan's thoughts continued to diverge,
The Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array, which had been completely formed due to Senior Disciple Lu's personal operation, elicited thunderous applause from the cultivators inside the Hualing Gorge.
Lu Xichan also rarely showed a hint of a smile.
With a gentle expression, she looked down at the cultivators below.
As her gaze swept over the face of an old man with snowy white hair, her eyes suddenly froze.
Where had she seen this person before?
Lu Xichan felt somewhat surprised.
But he was just a Golden Core cultivator, unlikely to catch her attention.
Her thoughts raced, memories flooding her mind incessantly.
In an instant, they stopped at a few years ago, when her daughter, Lu Xuejing, disappeared for a while before returning.
Due to her reckless arrogance, Lu Xuejing had been kidnapped by an old fisherman.
Fortunately, a cultivator managed to retrieve her using the items he carried.
Her daughter, saved from a perilous situation, wanted to express her gratitude to the cultivator.
But he seemed to be in a hurry and left abruptly.
She didn't know anything about her savior's life, only remembering his face.
At that time, her daughter had described the appearance of the cultivator to her using the Water Mirror Technique.
She had memorized it immediately.
It should be this person.
But why had he aged so much in just a few years?
"Who is that person?"
Lu Xichan transmitted her voice to Dongfang Yao.
"As expected!"
Seeing both Senior Disciple Lu and Brother Dongfang look towards Li Fan simultaneously, Huangfu Song secretly commented in his heart.