Chapter 820

Apart from the treacherous terrain of Jiushan Prefecture—where teleportation formation are ineffective and cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage cannot fly across the mountains—another crucial factor behind the repeated failures of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance’s offensives was the complete defection of the Lingyuan Sect.

No one knew what benefits the Five Elders Association had promised the Lingyuan Sect.

Under the governance of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, this organization had been known for its wavering loyalties. However, once it came under the control of the Five Elders Association, it was as if it had undergone a complete transformation—becoming utterly devoted and unwavering in its allegiance.

They even went so far as to capture and surrender several envoys secretly sent by the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance as a show of absolute loyalty.

With the offensive on Jiushan Prefecture thwarted, the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance promptly adjusted its strategy—shifting from offense to defense.

They reinforced their borders, dispatching heavy troops to guard key territories.

Even the defensive formations were activated to the extent of enveloping entire prefectures.

"Tianyuan Transformative Formation..."

Li Fan looked up at the sky, now tinged with a dull yellow hue, and sensed the vital energy being siphoned away from his surroundings. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he muttered:

"The Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance's defensive formation is indeed well-crafted. Unfortunately, it is far inferior to the Tianxuan Spirit-Locking Formation. With my Dissociation Disc in hand, I can break through it in an instant."

A myriad of images flashed through his mind.

In the next moment, with a subtle movement of his fingers and a whispered incantation, a vacuum-like space formed around him.

The formation’s ability to extract the world's vital energy ceased to function in his vicinity—yet not a single soul detected anything amiss.

"Activating a grand defensive array—under normal circumstances, even the Five Elders Association wouldn't be able to breach it in a short time."

"The war may soon reach a stalemate, and over time, as people forget, it will slowly subside..."

"No, no! Let me lend you all a helping hand!"

With a light chuckle, Li Fan’s figure flickered like a phantom as he flew toward the border of Shilin Prefecture.

Instead of crossing enemy lines into Jiushan Prefecture, he stopped near the White Mist Barrier—at a small border town called Heshi.

Inside the town, a squad of cultivators from the Martial Hall of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance was stationed.

Heshi's garrison commander, looking tense, was personally overseeing inspections of the formation arrays, restrictive spells, and other defensive measures.

Without alerting the guards, Li Fan silently infiltrated the town.

Once the patrols finally dispersed, he stealthily sought out Heshi’s garrison commander.

The commander’s name was Yu Dayi, a recently promoted Golden Core cultivator.

He had a round belly and a kind-looking face—an appearance of utmost honesty.

Just as he was taking a break, sipping a cup of spiritual tea to recuperate, he suddenly noticed Li Fan standing before him—without any prior warning.

His expression changed, and just as he was about to shout for help, he noticed Li Fan scrutinizing him with great interest.

Something clicked in Yu Dayi’s mind, and he swallowed back the words that had reached his lips.

"Who are you?" Yu Dayi narrowed his eyes and asked.

"You should be familiar with the Federation of All Worlds, shouldn't you?" Li Fan spoke in an eerie, distorted voice.

Yu Dayi's face changed again, but he remained cautious and did not confirm anything.

Li Fan, meanwhile, continued to size him up, letting out a sinister chuckle.

"The Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance is riddled with infiltrations—its downfall is already in sight!"

With those words, the aura around Yu Dayi subtly shifted, becoming unpredictable and dangerous.

"No need to worry. Aside from our Federation of All Worlds, no one else is aware that you are a spy for the Five Elders Association." Li Fan glanced at him indifferently.

At this moment, Yu Dayi finally dropped his pretense.

Though he had no idea how he had been exposed, he maintained the composure befitting a spy and responded calmly:

"Since you've sought me out, what do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious? The Five Elders Association has greatly disappointed us."

"After conquering Jiushan Prefecture, you should have pressed the advantage—seizing more prefectures in swift succession. Why are you content to stop here and remain idle?"

Yu Dayi’s expression darkened. “Surely you don’t actually believe that the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance is easy to deal with? This successful raid on Jiushan Prefecture was the result of meticulous planning. Have you not noticed how heavily fortified this border is? Just the grand defensive formation covering the entire prefecture is not something that can be easily breached.”

“hehe... Weaklings always like to make excuses,” Li Fan sneered, glancing at Yu Dayi. “Or perhaps... you all are afraid of that Immortal Ancestor, which is why you’ve been hesitant to make a decisive move?”

Before Yu Dayi could respond, Li Fan continued, “That said, your concerns aren’t entirely unfounded. Now is indeed not the time for a full-scale invasion.”

“However, making some further advances and expanding our battle gains a little won’t be enough to force the Immortal Ancestor to take action.”

As he spoke, Li Fan tossed a jade slip over.

Yu Dayi reacted quickly, catching it and examining its contents.

His composure shattered. “The flaw in the Tianyuan Transformation Formation?”

He looked at Li Fan in shock. “This…”

“You’ll know whether it’s real or not once you test it,” Li Fan said with a sinister smile. “The only question is whether you have the guts to do so.”

Without waiting for a reply, his figure flickered and disappeared from Yu Dayi’s sight.

Yu Dayi gripped the jade slip tightly, his expression shifting unpredictably.

This so-called cultivator from the Federation of All Worlds had a mysterious background and an astonishingly bold demeanor.

Not only did he know about Yu Dayi’s undercover identity, but he was also aware of top-secret information, such as the defensive formation of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.

"…"

Yu Dayi hesitated.

“Should I pass this information along?”

“The frontlines are heavily guarded right now. If I want to succeed, I’ll have to abandon this hard-earned identity.”

After weighing his options, Yu Dayi carefully reread the jade slip’s contents.

Then, he made his way to a secluded part of the city, facing the vast Tianyuan Transformation Formation that enveloped the prefecture.

A few hours later, his expression remained unchanged on the surface, but his body trembled slightly.

It was excitement.

“It’s real.”

Yu Dayi took a deep breath, suppressing his exhilaration, and carried on as if nothing had happened.

Three days later, seizing a rare opportunity, he found an excuse to leave Heshi City.

From the shadows, Li Fan slowly revealed himself.

“I hope the Five Elders Association doesn’t disappoint me.”

Yu Dayi’s sudden disappearance quickly caught the attention of the cultivators stationed in the city’s Martial Hall.

When they confirmed that he had indeed defected, they hastily sent out a border-wide alert for his capture.

But by then, Yu Dayi had already successfully returned to Jiushan Prefecture and rejoined his organization.

After only half a month of fragile peace—before the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance could even conclude its investigation into the Heshi City spy incident—a fierce storm of attacks from the Five Elders Association struck.

And it wasn’t just Shilin Prefecture.

Battles erupted simultaneously along the entire border.

The once-reliable defensive formation of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance proved completely useless, as if it had never existed.

Caught completely off guard, the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance suffered catastrophic losses.

Within just seven days, news arrived that several prefectures had already fallen.

Only Shilin Prefecture, due to its heavy military presence, was still barely holding out.

The sudden shift in the war was beyond anyone’s expectations.

The alliance’s cultivators were thrown into panic.