He Zhenghao nodded, immediately circulating the Taishang Primordial True Scripture to dissolve his cultivation of the Mountain-Sitting Art. Then, he began practicing the Mountain River Hidden Dragon Art.
When he re-entered the Foundation Establishment realm, Li Fan saw a panorama of endless mountain ranges spanning myriad li, woven with a star-studded network of rivers and lakes, slowly unfolding above He Zhenghao's head.
Within this majestic scenery, the clear roar of a dragon echoed faintly. Mists and clouds churned as if a divine dragon soared amidst them.
Magnificent and extraordinary. Truly worthy of a Nascent Soul technique. Li Fan praised inwardly.
The phenomenon lasted for most of the day before gradually dissipating.
When He Zhenghao opened his eyes, a sharp light gleamed within them.
He had already restored his cultivation to the mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm.
"How do you feel?" Li Fan asked, observing He Zhenghao's transformed demeanor and aura.
"The wonders of this technique exceed my imagination. It cannot be simply described with words. If my cultivation proceeds smoothly, I am confident I can reach the Golden Core realm within thirty years," He Zhenghao replied with great joy, then thanked Li Fan once more.
"Ah, I've told you not to stand on ceremony. We're in the same boat now. You growing stronger only benefits me; there's no downside!
"Focus on your cultivation and strive to reach the Golden Core realm as soon as possible," Li Fan encouraged.
He Zhenghao nodded in agreement.
"By the way, what do you plan to do with that Mountain-Sitting Art you practiced before? Sell it to the Tianxuan Mirror?" Li Fan asked casually.
"Yes. After all, it's a Golden Core technique. It should be worth at least some contribution points," He Zhenghao answered.
"How much can it fetch?"
"Let me check." He Zhenghao took out a jade slip and communicated with the Mini Tianxuan Mirror.
"Only 45,000 contribution points?" A moment later, He Zhenghao gave a look of disappointment.
"Never mind! Any amount is better than nothing." Gritting his teeth, He Zhenghao prepared to sell the Mountain-Sitting Art jade slip to the Tianxuan Mirror.
Just then, Li Fan suddenly interrupted him. "Wait!"
He Zhenghao turned to look at Li Fan. "What is it, Fellow Daoist?"
Li Fan shook his head. "Only 45,000 contribution points? Selling it to the Tianxuan Mirror is a terrible deal. With my connections, I can sell the technique at a better price. It should fetch at least fifty thousand."
He Zhenghao was overjoyed. "That's wonderful! Then I'll leave this matter to you, Fellow Daoist."
Without hesitation, he handed over the jade slip.
This was partly due to the Commercial Contract, but more importantly, from He Zhenghao's perspective, Li Fan possessed vast wealth. Even after lending him 250,000 contribution points, Li Fan still had at least 400,000 remaining.
With the ability to freely choose any Nascent Soul technique, why would Li Fan covet his Mountain-Sitting Art?
Sure enough, Li Fan didn't even glance at the jade slip and put it directly into his storage ring.
"Once I’ve sold it, I'll transfer the contribution points to you.
"When you receive them, don't rush to repay your loan from me. Use them on the epiphanic state boost and advance your cultivation as quickly as possible," Li Fan advised.
He Zhenghao nodded gratefully.
Li Fan didn't linger any longer and returned directly to the Tianxuan Mirror.
Dropping all pretense, he took out the Mountain-Sitting Art jade slip and carefully studied its contents.
A long time later, after memorizing everything in the jade slip, he crushed it into dust.
As expected, the Mountain-Sitting Art I previously reproduced was incomplete.
He had gone to such great lengths this time not only because he genuinely wanted to subdue He Zhenghao and gain an array master as his ally, but also because of the revelation he had received within the Fallen Immortal Realm.
Ancient techniques, such as the Purple Firmament Thunder Invocation Art, often encompassed not only the main cultivation technique but also other complementary techniques.
The Mountain-Sitting Art, passed down since ancient times, should be no different.
However, the version of the Mountain-Sitting Art that Li Fan had previously reconstructed only mentioned cultivation advancement and seemed to lack other components.
Moreover, He Zhenghao had indeed mentioned before that the Mountain-Sitting Art he practiced also encompassed various incredible abilities.
Li Fan speculated that a portion of it had been lost when he had reconstructed the technique through crafting an avatar.
Thus, after considerable effort, he had finally obtained the complete version of the Mountain-Sitting Art.
The result did not disappoint him. In addition to miraculous methods such as Sensing Earth Veins, Mountain-Lifting Strength, and Man-Mountain Unity, the complete version of the Mountain-Sitting Art included another powerful function comparable to reward-reaping.
This was the very essence of the "sitting" in the Mountain-Sitting Art—Sitting Atop the Summit. To sit atop the summit, unmoving.
While the mountain grows, one is indeed carried along, rising to greater heights. But more importantly, no matter how rapidly the mountain grows, no matter how high it reaches, it must always remain beneath the cultivator who practices the Mountain-Sitting Art.
As long as the cultivator does not leave, the mountain will forever be suppressed. The same principle applied when shifting from mountain to person.
If Li Fan selected a cultivator he had previously invested in and activated Sitting Atop the Summit, regardless of that cultivator's innate talent or the number of fortuitous encounters they experienced, their cultivation realm would never surpass Li Fan's.
It was as if they were carrying Li Fan on their back, advancing under a heavy burden.
When this cultivator's realm matched Li Fan's, any progress in their own cultivation would prioritize enhancing Li Fan's cultivation instead.
If Li Fan were trapped by a bottleneck for life, unable to break through, this cultivator would similarly find themselves unable to progress, stuck in place.
"Utterly vicious” was the only way Li Fan could describe this ability.
The reason He Zhenghao had never practiced this method was likely due to his personality and unwillingness to make enemies. This was why Li Fan had failed to reconstruct the complete technique earlier.
A method this unreasonably powerful naturally came with corresponding limitations.
For instance, only one target could be selected at a time. Also, the targeted cultivator's realm had to be at least one cultivation stage lower than the caster's for Sitting Atop the Summit to succeed.
Moreover, there were certain side effects. As the saying goes, to block another's path is to incite a fight to the death.
The longer the effects of Sitting Atop the Summit persisted, and the more severely the victim was suppressed, the stronger their subconscious perception would grow.
Though they might not directly discern the specific reason for their stagnating cultivation progress, they would instinctively undergo corresponding psychological changes.
Initially, they would develop an inexplicable aversion toward the caster. Then, this aversion would turn into hatred. Ultimately, this hatred would transform into an obsession, where either you die, or I perish.
Despite its numerous limitations, the suppressive effect of the Mountain-Sitting Art wasn’t much of a problem in Li Fan's view.
This was because the initiative of Sitting Atop the Summit always remained in the hands of the caster.
One could suppress someone for three to five years, reaping the benefits over this period. In such a span of time, both parties were unlikely to reach the point of mortal enemies. And at this point, one could simply switch to another target.
As for Li Fan, so long as his cultivation advanced, he cared little about life-or-death enmities.
A mortal enemy in this life might well become a close friend in the next.