Chapter 382: The Reversal of the Five Elements ([email protected])

**Chapter 382: The Reversal of the Five Elements**

“This is for secrecy?”

Li Fan glanced at Huangfu Song and saw that he was already used to it, happily tapping the table and downing his cup of steaming spirit tea in one go.

“Wanxian Spirit Tea — fine stuff. They say the recipe dates back to the ancient era. Slightly nourishes the soul.”

“Each person only gets one cup. You should try it too.”

Li Fan followed suit. Compared to his *Xuanhuang Heart-Refining Chant*, the tea’s effects were weak, but he still showed an expression of delight.

He had just set the cup down when the *Crossing-Dust Boat* beneath them gave a faint tremor and began to slow.

“Could something have gone wrong?” he asked, watching as Huangfu Song rose calmly to his feet.

“Not a problem. We should’ve arrived at the Five-Element Grand Cave Heaven,” Huangfu Song said.

“So soon?” Li Fan was surprised. By his sense of time, barely a cup of tea had passed since departure.

He knew the maximum speed of the boat — by that logic, the Five-Element Cave Heaven should be right next to Zhupi City.

Sensing Li Fan’s thoughts, Huangfu Song smiled. “Don’t bother calculating. This vessel doesn’t just block your perception of space outside. It distorts your sense of time.”

“You think it’s been half a day? It might’ve been seven or eight.”

“Or maybe your sense of time is right. You’ll never know.”

“After the Ziqiong Immortal espionage incident, the Alliance has become extremely cautious.”

He shook his head and walked out toward the deck.

*Tampering with the perception of time itself…* Li Fan frowned. This was his first time seeing temporal interference used in a practical mechanism within the Alliance.

Still, it could just be cognitive distortion, not true time manipulation. He set the thought aside and followed.

Stepping onto the deck, he was immediately enveloped by a surge of water-elemental qi — so dense it was nearly tangible.

Li Fan, long attuned to the water element after his years by the Cloud Sea and through his *Sea-Pearl Foundation*, could feel its purity vividly. It shocked him.

“So this is the Water Domain of the Five-Element Cave Heaven? It’s like a magnified version of the *Condensed Sea Pearl*.”

He drew a breath of that spiritual essence and refined it. The result confirmed his suspicion — this was water qi of a level he’d never seen before.

Then he noticed everyone else staring upward.

Li Fan followed their gaze — and froze.

The boat floated on a perfectly flat boundary line. Below them stretched an endless blue ocean — a boundless Water Realm.

Above them, however, a vast inverted tree rooted in the heavens extended countless branches downward, intertwining with the ocean below.

Each branch was as broad as a mortal plain, and from afar, forests and vegetation could be seen growing upon them — even smaller trees sprouting on the trunks themselves.

“The Water Cave Heaven used to be only an endless ocean,” explained Qi Buyi, who appeared beside them. She, too, was looking upward. “But recently, above the sea appeared a Wood Cave Heaven. The two are merging. This is the phenomenon of the Five Elements returning to one.”

“Then below the sea… is the Metal Domain invading?” one cultivator asked.

Qi Buyi nodded. “Indeed, deep below the waters, golden radiance fills the depths. But it isn’t Metal invading Water — it’s Water invading Metal.”

“Just as above, Wood invades Water,” she said.

“Metal gives birth to Water. Water gives birth to Wood,” Huangfu Song murmured. “Now the cycle is reversed…”

He stopped, his eyes widening. “Then ultimately—?”

“Not as simple as you think.” Qi Buyi stepped forward, scooping a handful of water with her spiritual power. “Before the convergence began, this water was perfectly pure. But now…”

She flicked a spark of fire into the water.

Before their eyes, the impossible occurred — the water ignited.

Instead of extinguishing the flame, it flared brighter and hotter until the entire droplet combusted into a lump of blackened ash.

Li Fan watched carefully. It wasn’t that the flame was extraordinary — the nature of the *water* itself had changed.

“Can that even be called water anymore?” someone muttered.

“If this entire ocean could burn like that…” another whispered, horrified.

Qi Buyi raised her hand. “No. This reaction only happens when a small portion is isolated. As long as the entire Cave Heaven remains integrated, it will not ignite or collapse.”

The group collectively exhaled in relief.

“As for why this reversal occurs,” Qi Buyi continued, “we still lack a full explanation. That’s why we’re here.”

“This phenomenon differs greatly from a normal Five-Element unification. The Alliance is very interested. Based on previous calculations, the process should complete within five years — maybe much sooner.”

“Our mission is to complete the *Heavenly-Mystic Soul-Locking Array* over the entire region before that happens.”

“Ahead of us, one group of pioneers has already begun. More reinforcements will follow. We’re responsible for the Water Domain’s section.”

Her tone was brisk, professional.

“Even one domain of this Cave Heaven is vast — greater than an entire province of the Xuanhuang Realm. Most of it lacks any transmission arrays. Flying alone would take too long.”

“For efficiency, the Alliance has provided each of us with a special artifact.”

She took out a black-gold droplet-shaped device and held it up.

“This is a *Heaven-Piercing Shuttle*. Its speed…”

Her lips curved slightly.

“…is extreme.”

*(End of Chapter)*