Chapter 551 - 523: No Way to Escape
Chapter 551: Chapter 523: No Way to Escape
Li Fan walked through the Great Taoist Sect, his mind full of thoughts.
The lanterns and decorations around the mountain gate somehow managed to lighten the oppressive atmosphere that the numerous tribulations had brought.
Occasionally, disciples within the sect would stop to pay their respects upon seeing Li Fan.
Li Fan would respond with a nod each time.
As the leader’s companion, Li Fan enjoyed access to almost inexhaustible cultivation resources and obligatory respect that ordinary cultivators could only dream of in their lifetime, even if that respect was insincere.
However, at this moment, Li Fan had already made up his mind. When an opportunity arose, he was determined to escape from the Great Taoist Sect as soon as possible.
“Sister Zhao was just assigned as the leader and is busy with the sect’s affairs. Representatives from other sects come from time to time to offer their congratulations, and she has to make time to see them.”
“Right now, she is the busiest, and has neglected me.”
“If I miss this golden opportunity and she recovers…”
At this thought, Li Fan finally made up his mind.
Two days later, unnoticed, he quietly went to the sect’s exit.
Looking back at the view within the Great Taoist Sect, Li Fan was reminded of Sister Zhao, with whom he had spent over a hundred years. He couldn’t help but hesitate.
But eventually, he gritted his teeth and flew out.
He sped eastward until he left the domain of the Great Taoist Sect.
The inexplicable feeling of danger in Li Fan’s heart finally began to dissipate.
“My premonition was indeed correct!” he thought to himself.
While congratulating himself on his escape, Li Fan suddenly saw two lights following him, overtaking him.
In the blink of an eye, they landed in front of Li Fan, blocking his path.
“Where are you headed, nephew?” An elderly man with long eyebrows looked at Li Fan and asked with a smile.
“Uncle Dong, Uncle Jiang…” Li Fan’s face suddenly turned unpleasant.
These two were members of the seventeen Unity-Path Elders of the Great Taoist Sect.
It looked like his escape plan had been discovered.
Despite this, Li Fan was not prepared to stake his claim without a struggle.
“Hehe, I want to let the two elders know that although Sister Zhao’s promotion brought me some honor, I’m actually quite bothered.”
“Now that she occupies a high position and is progressing rapidly, I, as her companion, only have God Transforming Cultivation Level, which inevitably makes others talk. The pressure is really great.”
Li Fan pretended to be very troubled and slowly approached the two: “All the disciples in the sect are doing their duties. Only I, who am idle all day long, feel abashed…”
Without any warning, a chaotic grey light shot out from Li Fan’s eyes, directly hitting the faces of the two Elders, Dong and Jiang.
This was a vicious Divine Technique from “The Technique of Severing Souls and Illuminating the Spirit” that Li Fan had been cultivating, called the God-Slaying Soul Extinguishing Radiance.
It could directly harm the Divine Soul of a cultivator. Even if the other party was an Integration Cultivator, Li Fan was confident that they would suffer greatly if caught off guard!
Without waiting to see the reaction of the two, he immediately activated the Divine Illumination Technique and tried to escape from there quickly.
But at that moment, Li Fan was shocked to discover that the surrounding space was entirely sealed off.
The technique might have been quick, but it was useless without any room to apply.
Moreover, the two elders, Dong and Jiang, seemed to have anticipated that Li Fan would launch a surprise attack. They each held a treasure mirror in their hands and blocked the God-Slaying Soul Extinguishing Radiance.
They simultaneously looked at Li Fan, their eyes filled with mockery.
“The entire sect has seen how the leader treats you. But you still insist on betraying the sect…”
“If the leader finds out, just imagine how heartbroken she would be.”
Li Fan still wanted to resist, but he was already captured by the combined efforts of the two and could not move.
“It’s over for me!” Li Fan lamented in his heart.
When he was returned to the sect, he did not see Sister Zhao.
Instead, he found himself sealed off from his cultivation and thrown into a secret room.
Although it was called a secret room, it was no different from a prison.
Initially, Li Fan thought he would meet Sister Zhao soon. He organized various kinds of words and phrases in his mind, hoping to use his eloquence to save his life.
But what he didn’t expect was that Sister Zhao, and even the entire Great Taoist Sect, seemed to have completely forgotten him.
There was no one else who ever came to visit him.
In the isolated room, apart from Li Fan, there was nothing else.
He couldn’t cultivate either. Every time he tried to concentrate his mind on cultivation or thinking, pondering his Divine Techniques, continuous taunting and mockery echoed from the surrounding walls.
This prevented him from calmly focusing his mind.
It was probably a precaution to prevent him from breaking the seals.
In the beginning, Li Fan was able to keep his cool. But as time passed, even he started to feel bored.
Later on, he became frustrated and angry.
Finally, he went insane.
He repeatedly hit the solid walls of the secret room with his own body.
Of course, apart from wounding himself, it did not do any good.
In the end, Li Fan’s eyes gradually became dull.
He sat on the ground in a trance as if he were a soulless statue.
After an unknown period, one day, the long-sealed door of the secret room was suddenly blasted open.
For a long time, no one entered.
Li Fan seemed to have not noticed, showing no reaction at all.
He just let the door stay open and ignored it.
It was not until more than ten days later that Li Fan’s eyes showed some spirit again.
He struggled to stand and, trembling, attempted to head to the exit.
But because he hadn’t walked for such a long time, his body could not adapt and he fell to the ground.
Li Fan struggled over and over, finally managed to get up and take a step.
Just after one step, however, he fell down again.
In this way, falling and crawling, he finally returned to the outside world and he could be considered normal again.
Everything about the Great Taoist Sect seemed to be exactly as he remembered it.
The disciples were moving around the mountains, cultivating.
It even seemed a bit more lively than before.
But…
It was perfectly quiet.
In the entire sect, there was no sound of talking or arguing.
It was as if all the cultivators living there were mute.
Or maybe…
Everyone shared the same mind, without needing the primitive way of communicating by “talking.”
They didn’t even need to use eye contact or spiritual consciousness to communicate. They could understand each other’s thoughts directly.
Li Fan walked unsteadily through the sect.
After being trapped for countless years, he was incomparably disheveled.
However, everyone seemed to not see him at all.
They were busy doing their own tasks.
Feeling rejected everywhere, this feeling ate away at Li Fan’s spirit.
Finally, after going to every corner of the sect and still not finding her, Li Fan couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Sister Zhao!”
“Sister Zhao, where are you?!”
After thinking for a long time, he remembered how to talk.
He then roared in his hoarse voice.
His voice got louder and louder.
It echoed throughout the Great Taoist Sect.
At that moment, all the cultivators in the sect turned to look at him.