Chapter 1384: How Long Do You Plan To Watch?

Everyone suddenly felt the control of their Immortal Boats return to them.

Thirty years of free exploration—this meant Li Shanzi and the others were granting them thirty years to seek their own opportunities and harvest rewards as they pleased.

After those thirty years, they would likely leave this place with Li Shanzi, likely never to return here again.

For ordinary cultivators like them, whose Immortal Boats couldn't travel such vast distances, it was a miracle they even set foot here. Only the core disciples had the means to reach this far.

"You're all pretty lucky this time."

Everyone looked up to see Lin Dong arriving on Fang Chen's Immortal Boat with Wang Xuan, Xu Qian, and three other disciples.

Smiling, Lin Dong continued, "First time venturing out, and you happen to stumble into an Ancient Forbidden Zone war. Not only that, our Enlightenment God Palace won, securing ownership for at least a hundred years. Of that, thirty years belong to you as an opportunity—don't waste them. Opportunities like this are enough to make anyone envious."

"My junior brother's luck really is something." Wang Xuan laughed. "Even though I became a member earlier than him, this is also my first time experiencing a Forbidden Zone war. So, shall we explore this place together and split whatever we find equally?"

He glanced at Lin Dong. "Of course, with Master leading us."

"Um, I plan to explore on my own," Little Immortal Honglian said. She turned to Fang Chen. "Fang Daoist, would you like to come with me?"

"Master, I'd like to accompany Fellow Daoist Hong and look around," Fang Chen said, clasping his hands respectfully toward Lin Dong.

Lin Dong looked at the two of them, his gaze flickering with faint understanding, and smiled. "Very well."

He said nothing more, then turned and left with Wang Xuan and the others.

That left Lin Yuan momentarily speechless. He had wanted to follow the main group, after all, sticking with stronger allies was safer than exploring alone. But it was obvious that Lin Dong had come only to speak with their captain, not to bring the rest of them along.

"Captain, you're really going exploring just the two of you? Are you not taking us?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Don't stray too far," Fang Chen replied. "But if we all move together, we'll just get in each other's way and lose chances. It's better to split up."

"...Fair enough." Lin Yuan sighed softly. But then, noticing the surrounding cultivators already setting out, he perked up again. "In that case, no point wasting time, let's move! We'll meet back here when we're done."

There were millions of Enlightenment God Palace cultivators exploring the area, including Ascension Realm, first-transformation, and even fifth-transformation immortals.

If Tribulation Realm cultivators like them moved too slowly, they wouldn't even have a chance at the leftovers.

Soon, Yu Wuxia, Lin Yuan, and Meng Qingling each went their separate ways.

"Fellow Daoist Honglian, I'll take a moment to recover my strength. Wait for me," Fang Chen said.

"I'll stand guard for you," Little Immortal Honglian replied with a light nod.

At that moment, Li Shanzi and the other Enlightenment God Palace core disciples were gathered together.

This time, the Palace had sent several hundred core disciples. Ji Sheng was among them, though he seemed quite insignificant, having joined only recently and still possessing a low cultivation base.

Beside him, Ji Tianjun occasionally cast sidelong glances toward Little Immortal Honglian, watching her guard Fang Chen. A faint displeasure flashed in his eyes.

Fang Chen's attention, meanwhile, was fixed on the central figures.

Nanming Ruyue and Li Shanzi—he was already quite familiar with these two, having traveled alongside them for the entire journey.

Opposite Li Shanzi stood a female cultivator whose cultivation matched his own, a fourth-transformation immortal and one of the four who could wield Formation Immortal Arts. Beside her stood another woman, the true leader among the hundreds of core disciples present.

Her cultivation was unfathomable, most likely within the Ancient Immortal level. Whether she was a seventh or eighth transformation Ancient Immortal, Fang Chen could not tell.

Even Nanming Ruyue and the other core disciples showed deep respect before her, not as peers, but as though facing a senior elder.

"This time, we've gained ownership of Ancient Forbidden Zone No. 157," the woman said casually. "The duration is only 100 years. After that, we'll face another war for control. If we win again, the next ownership period will last 1,000 years. Though we won this time, a century passes in the blink of an eye. Even a millennium is short. The key lies in the third war. That will determine ownership for 10,000 years."

Everyone listened attentively.

Fang Chen listened too, though he wasn't interested in the details of ownership. What he wanted to hear about was Anomalies, or perhaps the Formation Heart.

Since Little Immortal Honglian planned to explore alone, it was likely because she knew that somewhere here lay the Formation Heart itself.

"Big Senior Sister," Nanming Ruyue said respectfully, "This battle was somewhat rushed. By the next contest, more senior brothers and sisters should be able to arrive. Guarding this place shouldn't be a problem."

The woman glanced at him and nodded slightly. "If they can make it, then yes, defending won't be an issue. But if they can't, I won't be able to stay here for long either."

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"They might not make it? Why?" someone asked in surprise.

"Several other Ancient Forbidden Zones will also reach the end of their ownership period," she replied. "They'll have to fight their own battles. So, more of you must learn to wield Formation Immortal Arts. In that regard, Junior Brother Li has done quite well."

Li Shanzi smiled humbly, and everyone congratulated him with envy in their eyes.

"I'll arrange the next ownership battle 100 years from now," the woman continued. "Since ownership has already been set, we'll proceed according to protocol, which means three formal battles. I won't have time to oversee them personally, so Nanming Ruyue, Li Shanzi, and Li Yuzhen will take the field. Fortunately, Junior Brother Li has mastered Formation Immortal Arts, so I don't need to reassign anyone else. Otherwise, we'd be short on manpower."

No one objected. After all, only those three and the senior sister herself could perform Formation Immortal Arts. Since she couldn't stay, the responsibility naturally fell to them.

"As for rewards, the usual rule applies: if you win, the next transformation immortal herb will be provided by the Enlightenment God Palace. If you lose, hand over the Formation Heart and forfeit your status as core disciples. Any objections?"

Fang Chen was startled.

The punishment for losing is that severe?

What surprised him even more was that none of Nanming Ruyue and the other two objected. Though their eyes grew solemn, they accepted the decree without hesitation.

The Enlightenment God Palace is far more united than I imagined,

Fang Chen thought.

Perhaps only such harsh regulations could make these core disciples grow ever stronger, and also prevent certain situations from arising—such as taking bribes and deliberately throwing fights.

One only had to imagine how valuable the core of an Ancient Forbidden Zone must be.

"The second matter," the woman continued calmly, "you've probably already heard, several Anomalies have appeared here. One of them followed an extremely rare Grand World Immortal Path. If we can find them, there's a chance to obtain the path itself. The Enlightenment God Palace already possesses information on the fifth to seventh transformation segments of that path. If we can obtain data on the fourth transformation this time, we'll finally be able to complete the sequence."

Her voice was calm but carried weight. "Go. If they're in the Formless Purgatory, find them."

Everyone exchanged glances.

"Yes!"

They then piloted their Black Dragons in all directions, scattering across the void.

Then the woman turned her gaze toward Fang Chen's position. "How long do you plan on hiding and watching?" she said coldly.