"That's it, give it to me!" Ye Feipeng's face lit up with delight upon seeing it, and he moved forward to snatch it.
But Xiao Heng easily sidestepped him.
"I found it. Why should I give it to you?" Xiao Heng smirked, firmly clutching the storage ring.
Ye Feipeng narrowed his eyes, a dangerous thought surfacing in his mind. However, after weighing the disparity in their strength, Ye Feipeng ultimately suppressed his inner agitation.
"Xiao Heng, we're both from the Li World. Now that we're stranded in this cultivation world with uncertain futures, we should stick together. It won’t do us any good to start fighting over a storage ring."
Xiao Heng nodded. "You make a good point."
"It wouldn't be right for you to keep everything in that storage ring for yourself, would it?" Ye Feipeng pressed.
Xiao Heng snorted. "Do I look like that kind of person?"
Ye Feipeng couldn't conceal his delight. "Then take out what's inside and let's split it between us."
"How could we just split it between the two of us? Changyu and Xiaomei deserve shares too. Don't worry, I'll divide it fairly and justly. The people of the Li World don’t cheat their own." Xiao Heng patted his chest in assurance.
Ye Feipeng choked on his words. But facing Xiao Heng, who was currently much stronger than him, he had no choice but to endure for now.
I'll make you pay for this later. Ye Feipeng thought to himself.
Xiao Heng looked completely oblivious to Ye Feipeng’s irritation.
He instinctively put some distance between himself and Ye Feipeng as he removed the items from the storage ring one by one.
A pile of spirit talismans.
A heap of spirit stones, a tattered umbrella.
A slightly yellowed array diagram, plus a jade-white skeletal hand.
And... that was it?
Xiao Heng was baffled. To make sure he wasn't mistaken, he checked again.
"So little? How is this Immortal Master so poor!" Xiao Heng found it hard to believe.
"Impossible!" Unable to believe it, Ye Feipeng snatched the storage ring and inspected it himself.
But Xiao Heng hadn't been lying. This Foundation Establishment cultivator truly only had these meager possessions left!
No technique jade slips, and barely any decent artifacts. These few items weren't worth many contribution points at all! This was far from the overnight wealth they had imagined!
This dealt a massive psychological blow to Ye Feipeng. In frustration, he threw the storage ring to the ground, which Xiao Heng quickly picked up.
After a while, Ye Feipeng gradually calmed down.
Maybe the previous battle was extremely fierce, and he exhausted all his resources? Or perhaps he traded all his valuable possessions to save his life?
No matter what, he's a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He can't possibly be this poor, right?
In my previous life, I only reached the Qi Refinement realm, and even I...
Ye Feipeng suddenly paused mid-thought.
He carefully recalled his situation in his previous life.
Aside from the numerous spirit talismans in his storage ring, he too had almost nothing else.
After all, technique jade slips and contribution points couldn't be carried around.
Looking at it this way, maybe this cultivator really was this destitute?
Ye Feipeng began to waver in his judgment.
"What's this pile of things?" Just as he was beginning to doubt himself, he noticed Xiao Heng squatting curiously beside the pile of spirit talismans, picking one up as if to test its function.
Ye Feipeng’s expression instantly shifted. In a flash, he closed the distance, snatched the talisman from Xiao Heng’s hand, and threw it to the ground. Then, he grabbed a rock and smashed it into pieces with several heavy, forceful blows.
“What are you doing?” Xiao Heng demanded.
“What do you know? This is a communication spirit talisman. If you accidentally activate it, you could expose our location. Once other cultivators come after us, we won’t be able to escape!” Ye Feipeng snorted coldly.
Without pausing, he destroyed every last communication spirit talisman left behind by Fan Li.
Xiao Heng knew Ye Feipeng was right, but he still felt somewhat indignant. “How do you know what kind of spirit talisman this is?”
Ye Feipeng opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. “I just know,” he finally replied irritably.
Xiao Heng looked unconvinced.
Ye Feipeng’s anger surged, but after a moment’s thought, he took a deep breath and suppressed it.
Forget it, he’s just a kid. You’ve already lived through one lifetime. Why bother arguing with him?
Not wanting to engage further, Ye Feipeng took advantage of the night to search Fan Li’s body again, hoping to find something more. Unfortunately, he came up empty.
He sighed and said to Xiao Heng, “Come on, lend a hand. Help me throw him into the sea.”
Xiao Heng stared blankly. “Why?”
Ye Feipeng felt a headache coming on but patiently explained, “Do you want others to know we’ve inherited this Foundation Establishment Immortal Master’s belongings? We barely got anything valuable as it is. If more people come to claim a share, we’ll end up with nothing!”
Xiao Heng nodded seriously.
Watching Ye Feipeng struggle to move the corpse, he stepped forward to help. With hardly any effort, he lifted it up.
“How are you so strong?” Ye Feipeng asked, stunned.
Xiao Heng was equally puzzled. “I don’t know either. I wasn’t this strong before.”
Ye Feipeng narrowed his eyes, carefully observing Xiao Heng. Through his senses, he detected spiritual qi flowing spontaneously into Xiao Heng’s body, strengthening his physique and elevating his cultivation level without him even realizing it.
This motherf–, what kind of cultivation talent is this? Ye Feipeng couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.
It’s fine, it’s fine. So what if he’s talented? I’m a regressor. My goal is to become a Dao Unity Immortal Venerable...
Comforting himself repeatedly, Ye Feipeng turned away, refusing to look at Xiao Heng any longer.
He gathered many rocks and stuffed them into the corpse’s clothing. Then, working together, they tossed the body into the sea.
Watching it slowly sink into the depths, Ye Feipeng finally let out a sigh of relief.
Xiao Heng started chattering again. “Fatso, what did you mean by ‘Foundation Establishment’ earlier? Also, you were giving me a strange look just now. Did you notice something? How do you suddenly know so much? Are you hiding something from us?”
Ye Feipeng ignored him, pretending not to hear. He walked over to the pile of loot and said, “Dawn is almost here. Let’s divide this stuff up.”
Xiao Heng glanced at the scattered items on the ground, then studied Ye Feipeng carefully.
His eyes shifted thoughtfully before he said, "You tell me what all these things are first!"
Ye Feipeng shot Xiao Heng an annoyed look but proceeded to catalog them one by one: "Five hundred sixty-eight low-grade spirit stones. Better than nothing, I suppose.
"This appears to be a defensive artifact? But it's nearly completely broken and barely functional, not worth much.
"This array diagram isn't bad. A pity it's purely defensive in nature.
"We could set it up near the flying boat. Keep those island beasts from bothering us."
Ye Feipeng listed them off like a seasoned appraiser as Xiao Heng watched him intently.
Then, Xiao Heng pointed at the final item: a pale, jade-like skeletal hand. "What about this one?"
"This is..." Ye Feipeng picked up the left-hand bone, examining it closely for a moment but finding nothing remarkable.
"I’m not sure about this one. But that cultivator named Fan Li was tricked by our emperor.
"This is not some ancient esoteric treasure passed down through generations. It just fell from the sky not long ago.
"Who knows what it's actually good for?" Ye Feipeng sneered as he explained.
"Fell from the sky?" Xiao Heng gasped in surprise.
Then he looked at Ye Feipeng with something like admiration. "Fatty, how do you know all this? I’ve never heard anything like it."
Ye Feipeng felt a swell of pride under Xiao Heng’s gaze and couldn’t help preening. "There’s plenty more I know."
Seeing this, Xiao Heng quickly said, "Then I’ll take this left-hand bone. If even someone as sharp as you can’t figure out its use, its origins must be extraordinary."
Ye Feipeng hurriedly replied, "In that case, I’ll take the pile of spirit stones."
"Deal!" Xiao Heng clapped his hands.
"This umbrella goes to Xiaomei, and this array diagram goes to Changyu."
In moments, the spoils were divided. Xiao Heng nodded, satisfied.
Watching this, Ye Feipeng felt an inward thrill.
So what if they have natural talent? They don’t have the foresight of a regressor. Choosing these external possessions—what use is that?
Spirit stones mean contribution points. Contribution points mean techniques.
With this pile of spirit stones, I’ll not have to waste as much time running errands and doing tasks once I join the Myriad Immortals Alliance. I’ll be able to redeem a Qi Refinement technique sooner.
In the cultivation world, techniques are the true foundation!
Still, he knew better than to flaunt his gains. He kept his smugness inside and his expression neutral.
"Alright, it’s settled then. No take-backs." Ye Feipeng reached out to pinky-swear with Xiao Heng, but then reconsidered.
He was a regressor now; such childish gestures were beneath him. He withdrew his hand.
"Keep the items with you for now. Once we are safe and have officially begun our cultivation practice, you can hand them over to me."
Xiao Heng nodded, gathering all the items from the ground into his storage ring.
"Let’s head back to sleep. Move quietly, don’t let anyone notice us." Ye Feipeng spoke in a hushed tone before the two returned to the flying boat.
Then, they sank into deep slumber.
Under the moonlight, Li Fan shook his head imperceptibly. He had been concealing himself the entire time, observing every moment of their exchange.
At the end of the day, he is no regressor. Just a nine-year-old child, forcibly implanted with a set of memories from his “past life” that are far from flawless.
Ye Feipeng still shows traces of childish habits in his gestures and mannerisms, and his temperament remains naive.
They say experiences can shape one's character to some extent. But my Cloudwater Dream Illusion Art is far from realistic enough to truly alter someone's personality.
Still, I did my best to weave the most authentic dreamscape memories. During those days in the Li World, my mental energy was severely depleted.
A human simply undergoes far too many experiences in a lifetime. Attempting to fabricate an entire life in perfect detail is just too difficult.
Li Fan suddenly recalled the third option of Return to Truth that he had never used before: preserve the memories of one person closely associated with oneself, and allow that person to inherit these memories.
The drawback of this option lies in its uncontrollable nature and inability to fabricate falsehoods.
Perhaps, combining Return to Truth with the Cloudwater Dream Illusion Art will allow me to achieve the completely authentic regression scenario I desire.
While pondering this, Li Fan flew into the flying boat.
The first thing he did was render everyone aboard completely unconscious.
Then, retrieving the jade-white skeletal hand from Xiao Heng's storage ring, he removed a segment from a finger bone.
After that, he began arranging a ritual around Xiao Heng, using the finger bone as a medium.
With a light tap to Xiao Heng's forehead, he activated the Cloudwater Dream Illusion Art.
Immediately, Xiao Heng rose from the ground and began muttering softly under his breath as if sleepwalking:
"Blessed be Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang!"
An inexplicable power descended.
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Heng's consciousness appeared within the vanguard realm Li Fan had rented.