"Strange, where did he go?" As their injuries slowly healed, the four individuals searched around but couldn't find any trace of Li Fan.

"Could he have exhausted his energy, realized he was no match for us, and retreated first?"

A hint of confusion flashed across the faces of the black-clad cultivators from the Five Elders Association.

"Judging from the power of that palm strike just now, it's very likely. One strike almost shattered our Four Cave-Heavens. Even if he is incredibly strong, using such a technique should have caused considerable backlash."

"That might not be the case. Ancient cultivators are skilled in battle, and it's clear Li Fan was hiding something earlier."

"Either way, let's be cautious. First, we need to break this formation!"

The four exchanged glances and began to attack the Splitting Light Dragon-Trapping Formation that Li Fan had set up.

It seemed as though the formation was no longer controlled by a cultivator, and its previously impenetrable defenses had become incredibly weak.

The massive golden bowl wobbled precariously in an instant.

Overjoyed, the four accelerated their attacks.

Just as the formation was completely shattered, a golden rain began to fall from the sky.

The four were enveloped, and dazzling rays of light reflected off the falling gold.

As the golden light shone brightly, they couldn't help but squint.

"Be careful!"

At that moment, the leading cultivator suddenly shouted a warning.

Before the words even left his mouth, accompanied by a booming sound, some of the golden rain around them suddenly exploded.

A terrifying energy surged from the center of the explosion, sweeping in all directions.

There were as many as sixteen or seventeen sources disguised as golden light.

They completely surrounded the members of the Five Elders Association.

"Sky-Shattering Gilded Thunder?!"

Amidst their angry and shocked voices, the spots of gilded thunder instantly transformed into rings of light, completely engulfing them.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The earth-shattering explosions echoed across the sea.

It was unclear how long had passed before everything settled.

In the shattered remains of their Cave-Heavens, the bodies of the few cultivators began to slowly, painfully regenerate.

"Truly despicable..."

"I knew he hadn't gone far!"

Their faces were full of lingering fear as they quickly scanned the surroundings, but still, there was no sign of Li Fan.

"Don't get tangled up with him anymore. We need to retreat!" The leading cultivator gritted his teeth.

Collecting their Cave-Heavens powers, they no longer cared about anything else and swiftly fled toward the outskirts of Yongliang State on the edge of the Congyun Sea.

They flew for a long time, and the coastline of Yongliang State was already in sight. Li Fan did not reappear.

It seemed as though he had given up chasing them.

The four finally let out a long sigh of relief.

However, recalling their brush with death, something still felt off.

"Sixth Brother, don’t you think Li Fan was deliberately toying with us?"

"......"

The black-clad cultivator, codenamed Sixth Brother, remained silent for a moment before speaking in a deep voice: "I hate to admit it, but based on what happened, something indeed feels strange."

"After that one palm strike, he could have easily used the gilded thunder to end our lives. But he waited until we recovered before attacking again."

"It’s as if he was deliberately giving us a chance to breathe."

Another black-clad cultivator chimed in: "We were severely injured just now. If he had attacked even casually, he could have killed us. But instead, he let us go..."

"What is he up to?"

The four looked at each other, completely baffled.

"This Li Fan is an ancient cultivator who has been in slumber for thousands of years, having only recently awakened. It’s clear that someone like him wouldn’t have much loyalty to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance," Sixth Brother mused aloud.

"You mean..." The other three’s eyes lit up.

"He figured out that we are from the Five Elders Association and wants to build good relations, so he spared our lives?"

"Very possible."

"So that's it!"

"Does that mean we can convince him to defect and join the Five Elders Association?" Sixth Brother suddenly had a clever idea.

"According to the information we gathered, he was the one who first derived the prophecy of the Tianxuan Spirit Locking and the Unification of the Xuan-huang Realm. If we can win him over, not only will we avoid punishment for failing this mission, but we could also claim a great reward."

Hearing this, the others were tempted.

But in the end, reason prevailed over their desires.

The leading cultivator said, "Let’s return and report this first."

"This person exudes strangeness, and we can't take any chances," another black-clad cultivator nodded in agreement.

Sixth Brother sighed, feeling a sense of loss: "It’s a shame. This person’s whereabouts are unpredictable. Tracking him will be quite difficult."

Another person added: "Yes, if it hadn’t been for this mission and our coincidental encounter with him, we might never have gotten the chance."

"After all, he is a cultivator from the **Heavenly Mechanism Sect, proficient in the art of deduction. It's normal for him to counter and block deduction spells."

As they spoke, they drew closer to Yongliang State.

Gradually, they sensed something was wrong with their surroundings.

Although the coastline seemed just within reach, no matter how much they flew, they remained over the Congyun Sea, unable to close the distance.

Even more terrifying, the scene of Yongliang State appeared blurry upon closer inspection!

It was as if it wasn’t real, but merely an illusion.

The four stopped flying, their faces growing solemn as they stared ahead.

Moments later, the leading black-clad cultivator gasped in shock: "No! It's an illusion!"

"What?" The others were stunned, and after a moment of realization, they began to re-examine their surroundings in horror.

The clouds, wind, and waves...

Everything around them suddenly froze.

Then, like a cracked glass mirror, the entire scene shattered.

The sound of the Sky-Shattering Gilded Thunder echoed faintly in their ears, and their Cave-Heavens and bodies remained utterly wrecked, still drenched in blood.

Time had not moved since the moment Li Fan had ambushed them with the gilded thunder.

"He took advantage of the moment when our Cave-Heavens were under attack and our minds were confused to pull us into an illusion!"

Sixth Brother finally realized and cried out in shock.

"Deduction techniques, formations, illusions..."

"As expected of an ancient cultivator."

The leading cultivator coughed and remarked through gritted teeth.

He tried to draw on his Cave-Heavens, absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy, but was horrified to find that an array had already been set up, turning the entire area into a spiritual vacuum.

There was no way for Nascent Soul cultivators to quickly restore their bodies using their Cave-Heavens power.

"Impressive technique!" He stared into the sky.

There, Li Fan's figure slowly appeared.

There, Li Fan’s figure slowly emerged.

“Was it just a coincidence…” Li Fan frowned slightly, muttering softly.

With his skills, he could have easily slaughtered the four cultivators from the Five Elders Association long ago.

The reason he had gone through so much effort was to use the Cloud and Water Illusion Technique to probe their minds and discover how they had noticed him this time.

However, what he hadn’t expected was such an absurd answer.

Without further hesitation, the Five Elements Annihilation Sword swept out continuously.

The four cultivators from the Five Elders Association, already seriously injured, resisted briefly before meeting a tragic end under Li Fan's sword.

An ominous phenomenon of fallen cultivators appeared above them, but Li Fan paid it no mind.

Because he had just realized that during his fight with the Five Elders Association cultivators, a powerful suction had erupted from the giant whirlpool at the bottom of the sea, pulling Han Yi, who had been restrained by the Insect Binding, into a deep hole within the ruins.

“Fate…”

Li Fan stood before the whirlpool, a contemplative look in his eyes.