NOVPUBApart from the treacherous terrain of Jiushan Province that renders Teleportation Arrays ineffective and prevents Cultivators below the Nascent Soul level from flying over the mountains,
the complete defection of the Elemental Spirit Sect was also an important reason why the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals’ attacks were repeatedly unsuccessful.
It’s unknown what benefits the Five Elders Organization promised the Elemental Spirit Sect.
Under the governance of the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals, this organization known for its many turnabouts, after being taken under the control of the Five Elders Organization, acted as if they had entirely changed their nature, displaying absolute loyalty.
They even tied up and handed over several emissaries who had secretly infiltrated from the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals on the spot,
to demonstrate their utter loyalty.
Following the setback in the invasion of Jiushan Province, the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals subsequently changed their strategy.
Switching from offense to defense.
They swiftly redeployed heavy troops to guard the bordering state regions.
Even the Protection Matrix was activated to cover the entire state.
"Heaven Yuan Life Formation..."
Li Fan looked up at the now earthy-yellow sky and at the essence being drained away from his surroundings, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"The Alliance of Thousands of Immortals’ Protective Array indeed has some tricks. Unfortunately, it is far inferior to the Tianxuan Soul Locking Array. With my Dissociation Disc in hand, it can be broken in an instant," a myriad of images flashed through his eyes.
In the blink of an eye, as Li Fan lightly pinched his fingers and cast a spell, a vacuum seemed to form around him.
The function of the Heaven Yuan Life Formation to extract the essence of heaven and earth was rendered ineffective near Li Fan.
And, more crucially, no one noticed any anomaly.
"The Immortal Alliance has activated the Protective Array, which under normal circumstances, is not something the Five Elders Organization could breach in a short period,"
"War may soon reach a deadlock and then slowly subside into the oblivion of people’s memory..."
"No, no! Let me lend you a helping hand once more!"
Li Fan uttered a soft chuckle, his figure ghostly as he fled toward the border of Shilin State.
He did not cross the defensive line to Jiushan Province,
but instead arrived near a small border town near the White Mist Barrier called Crane Stone.
A group of Fairy Alliance Martial Arts Hall Cultivators was stationed in the town.
The guard of Crane Stone, with a very tense expression, was accompanying them, checking the specifics of the Array Techniques and Forbidden Formations in defense.
Without alerting the guards, Li Fan sneaked into the town.
After they eventually parted ways, he quietly found the guard of Crane Stone.
The guard’s name was Yu Dayi, with only a newly attained Golden Core Cultivation Level.
With a bulging belly and a kind face, he seemed very honest and straightforward.
Having just taken a break and sipping Spirit tea, Yu Dayi was suddenly surprised to see Li Fan appear out of nowhere before him.
His complexion changed, and he was about to call for help,
but he noticed the interested look on the other party’s face and decided to swallow back the cry for help that had reached his lips.
"Who might you be?" Yu Dayi asked, squinting his eyes.
"United Federation of All Realms, you should know it," Li Fan said deliberately in a strange voice.
Yu Dayi’s face changed color instantly again, but he was very cautious and did not acknowledge it.
Li Fan kept sizing up Yu Dayi, scoffing, "Porous through infiltration, it seems the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals indeed shows signs of impending doom!"
Yu Dayi’s aura became elusive and dangerous in an instant, following Li Fan’s remark.
"No need to worry. Your identity as a Fifth Elder Club Spy is known only to us, the United Federation of All Realms," Li Fan glanced at the other and said indifferently.
By then, Yu Dayi was no longer pretending.
Although he did not know how he was exposed, Yu Dayi still maintained the basic composure of a spy and responded calmly, "What brings Your Excellency here, exactly...?"
"It’s just that your Five Elders Organization has let us down too much. Having taken Jiushan Province, you should have pursued the victory vigorously and swallowed up several more state regions. Why have you settled and ceased action?"
Yu Dayi looked somewhat uneasy: "Does Your Excellency really think that the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals is easy to deal with? This sudden success in Jiushan Province was also after thorough planning. Do you not see how well-guarded the border is here? Just take the Protective Array covering the entire state region, it is not so easy to break through."
"Heh, the weak always like to make excuses for themselves. Or is it that you fear the Celestial Dharma Bearer, hence you dare not act decisively?" Li Fan looked at Yu Dayi and sneered.
Li Fan didn’t wait for a response but continued on his own, "However, your concerns are valid. Now is indeed not the time for a full-scale attack."
"But still, pushing just a bit further, expanding the victory a little wouldn’t attract Celestial Dharma Bearer’s intervention."
As he spoke, Li Fan tossed a Jade Scroll over.
Yu Dayi’s reaction was swift; after catching it, he examined it closely.
No longer able to maintain his composure, he blurted out, "The flaw within the Heaven Yuan Life Formation?"
He looked at Li Fan, full of horror, "This..."
"True or false, one test will tell. I just hope you have the guts," Li Fan said with a dark smile.
Without waiting for a reply, he flickered and disappeared from the other’s sight.
Yu Dayi clutched the Jade Scroll tightly, his expression fluctuating.
This so-called cultivator from the United Federation of All Realms had a mysterious origin. His claims were frighteningly bold.
He not only knew Yu Dayi’s undercover identity but was also fully aware of the top-secret matters like the Immortal Alliance’s Protective Array.
"..."
At this moment, Yu Dayi fell into hesitation.
"Should I pass this message on or not?"
"The frontlines are too well defended. To succeed, I’d have to abandon this hard-earned identity," he considered.
After pondering for a while, Yu Dayi carefully read the contents of the Jade Scroll again.
He then went alone to a quiet part of the city, facing the Heaven Yuan Life Formation that hovered over the state region.
Half a day later, Yu Dayi’s outer expression remained unchanged.
But internally, his body couldn’t stop trembling slightly.
It was from excitement.
"It’s actually true," Yu Dayi took a deep breath, suppressing the thrill in his heart.
He went about his normal activities as if nothing had happened.
Until three days later, when he seized a rare opportunity and left Crane Stone City under some pretext.
Li Fan then slowly reappeared.
"I hope the Five Elders Organization won’t disappoint me."
...
Yu Dayi’s mysterious disappearance soon caught the attention of the cultivators stationed at the Martial Arts Battle Hall in the city.
By the time they confirmed his defection and hurriedly issued a warrant for his arrest along the border,
Yu Dayi had already successfully returned to Jiushan Province and found his organization.
Peace lasted only for a brief half-month.
Before the spy incident in Crane Stone City and the Immortal Alliance’s accountability process could be completed, the Five Elders Organization’s attack hit like a violent storm, arriving swiftly.
Not just Shilin State.
Wars erupted simultaneously along all the border regions.
The Immortal Alliance’s heavily relied upon Protection Matrix was utterly useless, as if it were a sham.
Caught completely off guard, the Immortal Alliance suffered devastating losses.
In less than seven days, news of several state regions falling came in.
Shilin State, however, still managed to hold on due to the heavy troops stationed there, albeit with difficulty.
The change in the battlefield dynamics caught everyone by surprise.
Immortal Alliance cultivators were thrown into a state of panic.
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I might really be coming down with something, my throat’s starting to hurt.
