“Junior Brother? Junior Brother?”
Everything around him felt muffled, as though separated by some thick, transparent barrier.
Sounds reached his ears warped and distorted. The figure in front of him was waving a blurred, unreal hand.
Then, images slammed into Li Fan’s mind without warning, sharp and sudden as a beast’s ambush.
He jolted, alarm surging through him. He instinctively readied himself to strike back, only to realize with horror that his divine abilities were gone. Techniques like the Congyun Sword, the Sky-Overturning Palm... none of them answered his call.
Cold sweat beaded on his skin.
Fragments of words floated up in his mind: “Fallen Immortal Realm,” “ritual,” “first exploration.”
And then, as if breaking the water surface, the world around him cleared. Light and sound snapped back to normal.
"Junior Brother? What are you thinking about? Why have you been spacing out for so long?"
A young cultivator wearing purple and white Daoist robes, with a purple lightning mark carved between his eyebrows, was looking his way.
"Is this your first time descending from the mountain in eighteen years? Are you thinking about all those fun places I told you about?
"Don't worry, whether it's the Mortal Dust Quarter or Drunken Immortal Tavern, I'll take you to experience them all!"
The young cultivator winked mischievously, behaving nothing like a proper senior brother.
Li Fan gradually regained his senses.
“Purple Firmament Sect, Li Chen.”
"Accompanying Senior Brother Zhang Qianmo down the mountain to Ningyuan City to collect longevity fruits."
Several pieces of information instantly appeared in Li Fan's mind.
"You must be joking, Senior Brother. Official business comes first!" Li Fan replied calmly, matching Li Chen's usual personality from his memories.
"Ah, how boring!" Zhang Qianmo rolled his eyes and sighed.
He then lay back lazily, ignoring Li Fan.
Li Fan took this opportunity to observe his surroundings.
They were riding on a purple cloud that appeared to be a flying artifact, moving rapidly at high altitude.
There seemed to be a protective array around the periphery of the purple cloud that blocked the fierce winds.
As they sat on the cloud, all was quiet and comfortable.
So this is the Fallen Immortal Realm...
Li Fan carefully sensed his surroundings, wonder flickering in his eyes.
A world derived from consciousness? It looks so real...
Li Fan touched the purple cloud beneath him, feeling the ever-present spiritual qi in the air.
If not for my previous memories, I'd almost think I had transmigrated again.
After a long while, Li Fan finally suppressed his astonishment.
I’m lucky to have an original identity the very first time I’m entering this place. Li Fan recalled Chen Ying's instructions.
After entering the Fallen Immortal Realm, one might turn into a divine sense incarnation, allowing for independent exploration. Or, one might end up occupying a native being's body, acquiring their identity. Both situations had advantages and disadvantages.
As a divine sense incarnation, one could utilize one's original strength and divine abilities, but having no identity made one a complete outsider to the realm.
With no knowledge about the surroundings, the search for opportunities became much more difficult.
Moreover, a divine sense incarnation was eroded far more quickly.
Having an original identity was like being granted a shell, which significantly slowed the rate of erosion. This allowed much longer stays in the Fallen Immortal Realm. Furthermore, one could easily participate in certain specific events.
The drawback was that one could only utilize the host's strength. On top of that, one had to avoid detection by those familiar with the occupied being. Otherwise, they would be seen as body-snatchers, invoking a merciless pursuit.
While flipping through Li Chen's memories in his mind, Li Fan quickly adapted to this identity.
Simultaneously, he perceived the depletion of his divine sense.
Indeed, even with the protection of a shell, Li Fan could clearly perceive his divine sense being constantly eroded. Its strength hadn't changed, but the total reserves were slowly decreasing.
When my divine sense is completely eroded away, I'll be forced to exit the Fallen Immortal Realm.
At this rate, I should only be able to maintain it for about half a month.
Li Fan couldn't help but frown inwardly.
No wonder Chen Ying said that Golden Core cultivators could only barely move about here. And that's with me having an original identity.
If I had arrived as a divine sense incarnation, I'd probably only last about seven or eight days in this Fallen Immortal Realm.
Never mind. I didn't expect much gain from this first exploration anyway. Consider it a learning experience.
With that in mind, Li Fan began examining the specific details of Li Chen’s background.
This place... I don't know where it is. The Purple Firmament Sect is the largest cultivation sect within ten thousand li.
Both Li Chen and Zhang Qianmo are inner disciples of Purple Firmament. They study under the Nascent Soul Eminence, Ling Yunzi.
His cultivation technique is the Purple Firmament Thunder Invocation Art. His strength is at the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm.
Li Fan searched his memories for information on the Purple Firmament Thunder Invocation Art, but came up empty.
Although his cultivation was at the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm, there was no trace of a Curio of heaven and earth within his body.
The Great Reformation had not yet descended; immortal techniques could still be shared. The Immortal-Mortal Miasma had not yet appeared either.
So I'm at this time point...
According to Chen Ying, different regions within the Fallen Immortal Realm could exist at different time points.
The period in which Li Fan now found himself was relatively tranquil for the cultivation world. From this perspective, his starting circumstances this time around appeared rather favorable.
His thoughts churned throughout the journey. After resting on the purple cloud for most of the day, Li Fan and Zhang Qianmo finally neared their destination: Ningyuan City.
Zhang Qianmo stretched and stood up.
"Junior Brother, let’s discuss something." Zhang Qianmo looked at Li Fan with a playful grin. "I haven't seen my beloved Chi Xia for years. The itch in my heart is unbearable; I can't wait another moment! So..."
He winked at Li Fan.
"I'll leave this trivial matter of collecting the longevity fruit to you."
Without waiting for a response, he patted Li Fan's shoulder and transformed into a purple streak of light, shooting downward.
It’s better that we act separately. This helps me avoid revealing any flaws.
This was exactly what Li Fan wanted. He controlled the Purple Firmament Flying Cloud and slowly descended.
"Which Senior Brother has come this time?"
Before he even landed, he saw another purple streak of light approach him slowly. The aura fluctuations from the other party’s technique were extremely similar to the Purple Firmament Thunder Invocation Art, just significantly weaker.
The figure halted. Li Fan looked over and saw a middle-aged man wearing gray Daoist robes. He appeared to be at the late-stage Qi Refinement realm.
The man seemed to recognize Li Fan. After getting a clear look at his features, he cupped his hands respectfully. "So it's Senior Brother Li himself. Forgive me for failing to greet you properly!"
At that moment, information about this person flashed through Li Fan's mind.
"Song Hesong, outer disciple of the Purple Firmament Sect, manager of Ningyuan City."
Li Fan said coldly, "No need for pleasantries. Official business takes priority.” He showed a haughty expression, adopting the demeanor he recalled from his memories. "Take me to retrieve the longevity fruit."
Song Hesong didn't take offense. The status gap between outer and inner disciples was vast. Moreover, Li Chen had reached the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm.
That Song Hesong could even address him as "Senior Brother" was only due to the privilege afforded by his position as manager of Ningyuan City.
Not daring to delay, he immediately ushered Li Fan into Ningyuan City, which seemed to be enveloped in an invisible barrier.
After passing through it, Li Fan's gaze sharpened, fixing intently on the sky above.