The waxy, leather-like skin slowly dissolved, absorbed by the unfamiliar cultivator within the corpse.
Faced with this bizarre spectacle, Zhang Qianmo didn't immediately strike to kill. Instead, he observed with keen interest, waiting patiently.
Moments later, Li Chen's physical shell was completely absorbed by the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra, and Li Fan’s true appearance was revealed.
Smiling slightly at Zhang Qianmo, Li Fan cupped his hands in salute. "Greetings, Senior Brother!"
Zhang Qianmo's eyes narrowed, the lightning mark on his forehead growing a deeper hue of purple. "What manner of creature are you? Some demon? Fiend? Or an otherworldly devil?"
Facing Zhang Qianmo's interrogation, Li Fan's expression remained unchanged. "Senior Brother Zhang, have you failed to recognize me just because I've changed my skin?"
Before his words faded, a flash of blue light illuminated heaven and earth. One Congyun Sword Strike and the Heaven-Overturning Palm were employed in quick succession.
Surprise flashed through Zhang Qianmo’s eyes. His long halberd moved like a dragon, purple lightning roaring as it clashed with the Congyun Sword.
Blue and purple radiance clashed and consumed one another, with the purple lightning eventually prevailing.
"Splendid sword technique!" Zhang Qianmo praised. Then, facing the formless palm technique descending from above, Zhang Qianmo neither dodged nor evaded the attack, instead meeting it with a soaring fist.
As fist and palm collided, a colossal burst of energy exploded outward from their position. The shockwave swept through Ningyuan City below, turning the already devastated settlement into complete ruins.
Only the Rebirth Longevity Tree at the center, protected by a barrier, remained vibrant with life.
Zhang Qianmo showed no concern for the lives or deaths of the mortals below. He simply stared at Li Fan, his expression grave.
"Who are you truly? Why have you infiltrated our Purple Firmament Sect in secret? I observe that this palm strike and sword strike of yours carry boundless grandeur, unlike some rogue cultivator's techniques."
Li Fan avoided answering directly, instead countering, "What is this technique you wield, Senior Brother? You’re clearly only at the Foundation Establishment realm, yet you've condensed a Golden Core within your body. Even slaying enemies across a whole cultivation realm seems effortless to you."
Zhang Qianmo snorted coldly. Seeing that Li Fan showed no intention of answering, his killing intent gradually intensified.
He no longer held back. His long halberd swept through the air, and with every movement, purple heavenly thunder descended from the sky to aid him in battle.
This was the first time Li Fan had ever encountered an opponent whose strength matched his own so closely.
He pushed his movement technique to its limits, forming an array with the Sea-Calming Sword Art to block the dragon-like halberd.
Between attacks and evasions, he employed the Congyun Sword and Heaven-Overturning Palm intermittently. But having rarely engaged in combat with others, his repertoire remained limited.
Zhang Qianmo, meanwhile, unleashed an endless stream of moves and Dao Techniques.
That body born from the Golden Core seemed impervious to anything Li Fan could muster. Even when his attacks occasionally landed, they only caused minor wounds that quickly healed.
In contrast, Li Fan’s divine sense incarnation gained increasingly severe injuries under the relentless barrage of purple lightning.
The whispering in his ears returned, disrupting his concentration. As one side weakened and the other strengthened, Li Fan's divine sense incarnation was finally cleaved in two after over twenty exchanges.
No blood was shed. His body simply dissolved into countless particles, scattering with the wind.
This person's techniques are profoundly mysterious, and his sword and palm strikes both hold infinite profundities. He must hail from a major sect. Yet his practical combat skills are mediocre, even absurdly weak. How peculiar.
Zhang Qianmo shook his head, filled with confusion.
***
Within the Tianxuan Mirror, Li Fan slowly regained consciousness.
He felt none of the weakness Chen Ying had mentioned; on the contrary, he sensed a slight enhancement in his divine sense.
Recalling his experiences in the Fallen Immortal Realm, Li Fan pondered thoughtfully.
It must be due to the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra.
Yet I wonder why the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra has such an effect within the Fallen Immortal Realm.
Generally, after dying in a host’s body, one would return directly to the real world. But I was able to devour my host and reassemble, forming a new divine sense incarnation. It’s as if I gained an extra life within the Fallen Immortal Realm.
I wonder if there are others who can do the same.
Although this first exploration yielded no tangible gains, my divine sense has strengthened somewhat.
Slightly pleased and feeling no fatigue, Li Fan immediately prepared to perform the ritual again, hoping to re-enter the Fallen Immortal Realm.
Unfortunately, he received no response. Thus, Li Fan could only reluctantly give up.
According to Chen Ying, it usually takes three months to half a year to enter again. What a pity.
If only there were no restrictions, and I could enter as many times as I wanted...
He shook his head, dismissing this unrealistic thought.
Checking the time, he realized that only half a day had passed since he entered the Fallen Immortal Realm.
During this first visit to the Fallen Immortal Realm, I witnessed the cultivation world before the Great Reformation, when the Immortal-Mortal Miasma had yet to appear.
It also exposed several of my current weaknesses. Although I possess divine abilities, my actual combat skills are rather lacking.
If I don’t rely on pre-set arrays, I can still hold my own against ordinary Golden Core cultivators. But if I encounter a true prodigy, I’m clearly outmatched.
However, this is less my own shortcoming and more a difference between two eras.
In Zhang Qianmo’s time, disciples of sects could freely study and practice various techniques and secret arts without restrictions. They could also easily find fellow disciples to spar with.
Nowadays, all ways of acquiring techniques are fraught with difficulties. To obtain any technique with relatively greater power, one must either derive it on one’s own or join the Myriad Immortals Alliance and redeem it with contribution points.
Moreover, it is incredibly difficult to find someone to spar with these days.
The Tianxuan Mirror can simulate various scenarios, but it lacks simulated combat with others. This is likely the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s method of restricting the combat prowess of ordinary cultivators.
However, with the existence of the Fallen Immortal Realm, I can hone and improve my actual combat skills there.
Of course, what’s even more important is advancing my cultivation realm.
Li Fan checked his contribution points: over 37,000. Enough to cultivate with the epiphanic state boost for some time.
First, I’ll cultivate to the final-stage Foundation Establishment realm.
With that, Li Fan took out the Exquisite Liuli Pearl and began cultivating in seclusion.
Some unknown span of time later, Li Fan was startled awake by a message transmitted through a communication spirit talisman.
It was He Zhenghao.
Before checking it, Li Fan assessed the gains from his secluded cultivation session.
After nearly two months in the Assisted Cultivation Mode, he had spent half of his contribution points.
Li Fan sighed. The gains were equivalent to three years of arduous cultivation under normal conditions. Yet, he was still far from reaching the final-stage Foundation Establishment realm.
Still, Li Fan understood the futility of impatience.
For cultivators with ordinary aptitudes, advancing through the Foundation Establishment realm and beyond took decades for each cultivation stage.
The Mountain-Sitting Art is still essential! Li Fan sighed inwardly before opening He Zhenghao's message.
"Fellow Daoist Li Fan, good news, the matter is settled! Through my extensive efforts and persuasion, I've secured you the array maintenance position under Zhang Zhiliang."