Over the past two years, aside from Zhang Haobo riding the winds, several other significant events had occurred.
In Anchor Year 21, at the edge of the Congyun Sea, two Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences had engaged in a great battle for reasons unknown.
The conflict raged for over a month without a clear victor. It was only when the sky tore asunder, enveloping them in brilliant starlight, that the grueling fight which had drawn countless spectators finally concluded.
Also in Anchor Year 21, shortly after the battle of the two Spirit Transformation cultivators, a celestial phenomenon enveloped the entire Yuandao Province adjacent to the Congyun Sea. There, the Dao Unity Immortal Venerable, Lan Yu, had met his end.
It was said that Immortal Venerable Lan Yu was a powerful cultivator who had lived through the Great Reformation, ruling Yuandao Province for nearly three thousand years. Yet, he ultimately failed to achieve eternal life; his destined time arrived, his body perished, and his Dao dissipated. Following his death, Yuandao Province descended into considerable strife.
In Anchor Year 22, in the northwestern region of the Congyun Sea, a cave dwelling rose from the depths of the sea and flew directly towards Jiushan Province. This piqued the curiosity of many cultivators who followed to investigate. None returned, and their fates remained unknown.
Li Fan meticulously committed the events to memory and checked the records on his communication spirit talisman. The collection of Dao resonance relics seemed to be proceeding relatively smoothly.
With the help of a group of prodigies, progress was significantly faster than anticipated. However, the intervals between Zhao'er Bao's reports were growing longer; the last message was from half a year ago. It appeared another... memorable lesson was in order.
Xiao Heng had largely refrained from disturbing Li Fan. Su Xiaomei, however, sent him messages every few days. They were usually nothing particularly important—just greetings where she always addressed him as "Master" alongside news of her progress.
Her Innate Immortal Physique indeed allowed for rapid cultivation; in just over two years, she had already reached the late-stage Qi Refinement realm. Xiao Heng's progress was slightly slower, still at the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm, though it seemed he was nearing a breakthrough.
The other messages were just casual greetings from cultivators he had met while wandering the islands, nothing of importance.
However, when accessing the Tianxuan Mirror, Li Fan discovered that in Anchor Year 21, a Foundation Establishment cultivator named He Xinxin had sent several visitation requests. These continued sporadically until ceasing half a year ago.
At that time, Li Fan had been immersed in studying arrays under Zhang Zhiliang's tutelage and naturally had not received the messages.
He Xinxin...
He abruptly recalled that in a past life, during his first encounter with the stormflood on Liuli Island, it was indeed a female cultivator who activated the island protection array. He had simply never crossed paths with her afterwards and gradually forgot the matter.
Perhaps this He Xinxin only stayed in the Congyun Sea for a short time before leaving? Li Fan could only surmise. After some thought, he decided not to seek her out proactively. If fate willed it, they would meet again someday.
With all trivial matters settled, Li Fan delayed no further. He traveled via teleportation array to Liuyun Island.
According to what Agent Wu of the Wanhua Trade Association had said, he acquired the Deepsea Pearl from a fisherman on Liuyun Island. Therefore, the pearl must have initially formed in the sea, was subsequently swallowed by a fish, and then fell into the fisherman's hands. The only question was whether the pearl was still in the sea or had already been retrieved.
Out of habit, Li Fan activated a Form-Concealing Talisman, flew above Liuyun Island, and carefully attuned his senses. In his past life, he had once become the vast sea itself; he was intimately familiar with the aura of the Deepsea Pearl. If it were on this island, he would surely detect it.
Unfortunately, after circling the entire island, he found no trace of the pearl. Thus, Li Fan had no choice but to search the waters surrounding Liuyun Island.
The sea was vast, and the Deepsea Pearl was still in its nascent stage, its aura extremely faint. This endeavor was truly like searching for a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, it was just a matter of time.
Three months later, after some tense searching, Li Fan finally secured the Deepsea Pearl.
As one sea perishes, another is born. Li Fan murmured, carefully examining the Curio that felt so familiar from his past life.
He keenly observed that the Deepsea Pearl seemed weaker than when he had encountered it in his previous life. The blue contained within seemed diluted, lacking the profound depth of the sea, appearing instead as a faint, sky-like azure.
I thought I might not see you in this life. Li Fan mused, a strange glint flashing in his eyes. But it seems you also understand the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket.
He then activated the Object Devouring Technique and swallowed the Deepsea Pearl, sending it into his dantian.
True Foundation Establishment would have to wait until the pearl was fully formed, but that didn't prevent him from ingesting it now to begin attuning himself to its essence.
With the Deepsea Pearl in his possession, most of Li Fan's business in the Congyun Sea was concluded.
Afterwards, he made a trip to Yelan Island to check on the current status of the various young prodigies and exert another round of psychological pressure on Zhao'er Bao.
To make a lasting impression this time, Li Fan employed a multi-layered dream illusion.
Within the illusion, Zhao'er Bao once again found himself trapped in the nightmare where all his Dao resonance relics were being smashed. However, having already been through this twice before, he had developed a slight resistance.
After a struggle, he managed to wake himself from the dream. But he pretended to remain ensnared, hoping to deceive Li Fan.
He waited until Li Fan appeared before suddenly launching a desperate attack. With a single blow, he successfully struck Li Fan down.
Staring at the corpse on the ground, the nightmare that had weighed on his heart for years finally seemed to lift. Zhao'er Bao couldn't help but throw his head back and roar with triumphant laughter.
Yet, to his surprise, he saw no celestial phenomenon in the sky marking the death of a cultivator. When he looked back at the body, Li Fan's head lolled to the side, revealing an eerie smile.
The surrounding scene shattered like glass, layer after layer, and he found himself back in his own base. Time seemed to have rewound to the day he first met Li Fan. He was in the middle of explaining the origins of the Dao resonance relics to him.
But things took a different turn. After listening, Li Fan showed no interest in recovering the Dao resonance. Instead, he smashed the antiques in the base and then brought his palm down on Zhao'er Bao's head. The scene went black, and Zhao'er Bao jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat.
After a few disorienting moments, he frantically scanned his surroundings. He didn't see Li Fan, but he could no longer distinguish illusion from reality.
It took him the better part of a day to fully regain his senses. Realizing it was a warning from Li Fan, he hurriedly sent a report to Li Fan.
Watching Zhao'er Bao's expressions and actions from the shadows, Li Fan knew the intimidation had been successful.
Still, this is no long-term solution. When the opportunity arises, I will need to find a proper method to control cultivators.
Li Fan then went to check on Su Changyu.
The cleansing of his miasma was not yet complete, but Su Changyu worked with steady persistence, neither impatient nor discouraged.
Moreover, with Su Xiaomei and Xiao Heng occasionally bringing him treasures said to aid in expelling miasma, he was not far from success.