Creating Discourse Practitioners to battle other figures was just one of Li Fan's many attempts to find a way to defeat Zhang Qianmo. Since he had no lack of contribution points at the moment, he decided to give it a try. There were no consequences for failing anyway.
If all else fails, I'll just have to wait until I break through to the Golden Core realm and capture him directly using the Insect Binding divine ability. Li Fan thought silently.
Temporarily setting the matter aside, Li Fan retrieved a deep blue stone from his storage ring and began examining it carefully. This was the very Dao Transformation Stone he had obtained from the Divine Lock Treasure Box in Yi Xing's tomb during this lifetime.
In his previous life, he had failed to memorize the decryption for the Divine Lock Treasure Box. But this time, when he asked the Tianxuan Mirror to help crack it, Li Fan, who now practiced the Unity of Dao Transformation and Mind, effortlessly committed the correct sequence of all 49,999 pages to memory.
Next time, I won't need to get the Tianxuan Mirror’s help, saving some contribution points. Li Fan mused.
He extended his divine sense to the Dao Transformation Stone in his hand. Instantly, it faintly shimmered with a deep blue radiance, and threads of energy from the stone were absorbed into Li Fan's divine sense. The identical blue crystal within his sea of consciousness seemed to grow even more profound.
These two Dao Transformation Stones were originally one entity. Though they won't merge automatically like Curios of heaven and earth, I can use the Unity of Dao Transformation and Mind technique to absorb it over time, eventually merging it with the one in my sea of consciousness.
Dao Transformation Stones are incredibly rare now. The one in my mind is only a low-grade specimen, not particularly precious. But with each simulation cycle, I can absorb another low-grade Dao Transformation Stone.
Even if another one or two don't yield significant changes, what about hundreds or thousands? A sufficiently large quantitative change can lead to a qualitative change. I might even be able to restore the original Mother Dao Transformation Stone of the Taiyan Sect.
At this thought, a peculiar light flickered in Li Fan's eyes.
The only limitation is that my divine sense is still too weak. The absorption and conversion efficiency are too slow. I still can't find methods to enhance my divine sense through the Tianxuan Mirror. I'll have to rely on the Fallen Immortal Realm.
The reason Li Fan was eager to change locations within the Fallen Immortal Realm was that the method of enhancing divine sense by absorbing Li Chen's body from the Purple Firmament Sect seemed effective only the first time. Subsequent deaths hadn't strengthened Li Fan's divine sense at all.
I can't rush this. In the end, I need to proceed step by step. Li Fan sighed softly.
With the power of multitasking, Li Fan cultivated the Mountain-Sitting Art and absorbed the Dao Transformation Stone simultaneously.
Time flowed quietly by.
Soon, it was Anchor Year 11, the day Cloudwater Palace opened.
Li Fan's true self didn't move, continuing his arduous cultivation within the Tianxuan Mirror. Meanwhile, his avatar acquired a Nascent Soul technique called Formless Hex of the Six Desires from Qin Tang.
This technique could harness humanity's six innate desires—joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, and hatred—transforming them into six distinct divine abilities.
He is indeed worthy of being the chief of the Technique Transmission Pavilion. Senior Brother Qin's treasures are truly inexhaustible. Now Su Xiaomei has a technique too.
Unfortunately, having learned from the Heavenly Physician's precedent, I dare not exploit him further after having studied his Cloudwater Dream Illusion Art. If this Senior Brother Qin who has already become an Oddity notices something wrong, I might be forced to activate Return to Truth again.
Li Fan shook his head regretfully.
Thinking of Su Xiaomei and the others, his perspective instantly switched to the remote island. He had long since locked onto Ye Feipeng and Xiao Heng through Formless Killing Mechanism.
As his attention turned there, Li Fan discovered that after a little more than a year, Xiao Heng had already reached the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm. It seemed he wasn't far from breaking through to the late-stage Qi Refinement realm either.
Ye Feipeng's cultivation speed was slightly slower; he seemed to have just broken through to the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm, and his aura was still somewhat unstable.
The two were currently sparring.
Xiao Heng could now condense nineteen Sea-Calming Swords. The blue water swords danced through the air like soaring dragons, roaring as they shot toward Ye Feipeng.
Yet Ye Feipeng remained unflustered despite the surprise, his movements phantom-like and unpredictable. Wind seemed to gather at his feet as he effortlessly dodged each attack from the water swords.
With every step he took, a water blade formed at his feet, silently flying toward Xiao Heng. But each time one got close to Xiao Heng, it was blocked by a water sword.
Ye Feipeng didn't get discouraged and continued pressing closer to Xiao Heng.
When the distance between them shrank to three meters, a triumphant smile appeared on Ye Feipeng’s face. But at that moment, he suddenly realized he had been tightly surrounded by nineteen Sea-Calming Swords without even noticing! No matter how good his movement technique was, he couldn't escape now.
"I surrender!" Ye Feipeng shouted decisively.
Xiao Heng smiled faintly, and the Sea-Calming Swords whistled past, slicing off a lock of Ye Feipeng's hair.
"You need to step up your game, Fatty. I’ve collected enough hair from you to dress you up as a young lady!" Xiao Heng said with a laugh.
"Don't get cocky. One of these days, I'm going to beat you to a pulp," Ye Feipeng snorted coldly, his feet tapping rapidly as he retreated far away.
Arriving at the seaside, Ye Feipeng pondered to himself: This won't do. If I keep cultivating on this desolate island, I'll always be one step behind that kid. It's truly an insult to my status as a regressor.
I remember that around next year, that Zhang Haobo will suddenly rise to prominence. He goes from a mortal to a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator in just a single year. Although I don't know what happens in between, that doesn't stop me from intercepting his opportunity and taking it for myself.
And the year after that, Tian Yang’s cave dwelling opens. Although that Tian Yang is actually a Spirit Transformation puppet, as long as I successfully flee before it reveals its complete form, it shouldn't be a major problem.
Hmm, going alone is a bit too much for me. I need to find a way to drag Xiao Heng along and have him block those puppets guarding the entrance. With my speed, I should be able to get in, sweep the place, and retreat unscathed.
Thinking of this, Ye Feipeng wrote the names “Zhang Haobo” and “Tian Yang” in the sand with an expectant expression on his face. Then he wiped the words away with his foot.
***
Within the Tianxuan Mirror, Li Fan smiled as he watched this scene.
So he's planning to seize Zhang Haobo's opportunity. No matter, I've already made preparations. Let's see if Ye Feipeng can attract the attention of the Congyun Sea's consciousness in this life and take on half a Deepsea Pearl.
Shifting his attention away from the desolate island, Li Fan checked the messages he had received. After reading them, he was caught between laughter and exasperation.
"Fellow Daoist, this 'Li Qianmo' you created is utterly outrageous. Being able to resurrect is one thing, but actually growing stronger after revival? That's just absurd!"
"I've already reported it to the Tianxuan Mirror. There must be a bug. How can a Foundation Establishment cultivator possess such ridiculous combat power?"
"Fellow Daoist, could you reveal which real person Li Qianmo is based on? I'm willing to pay five hundred contribution points for that information!"
These messages all came from cultivators who had lost to Zhang Qianmo.
Li Fan glanced at Zhang Qianmo's recent battle record: eight wins, one draw.
The victories spoke for themselves. After his rebirth with the Purple Core, they were mostly overwhelming triumphs.
But that one draw was rather intriguing. The opponent, while not particularly strong, possessed an utterly preposterous defensive technique.
His entire body was encased in a turtle-shell-like barrier. No matter what method Zhang Qianmo employed, he couldn't breach it. Even the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning striking the shell only left a black scorch mark. And with a dry chuckle from the cultivator, the mark instantly healed, leaving no trace.
When Li Fan saw this cultivator's name, he felt even more speechless.
"E Xinren..."[1]
He immediately blocked this cultivator, permanently rejecting all future battle requests from him.
After blacklisting him, Li Fan felt refreshed, only to suddenly receive a message alert.
Opening it, he found it was from Array Master Zhang Zhiliang. It turned out their group had mostly completed their research on the Myriad Li Mountain River Array, and had returned to the Strategy Array Hall.
Since taking up his post, Li Fan had only met him once on that island.
Zhang Zhiliang was summoning Li Fan to the Strategy Array Hall to reassess his array proficiency and assign follow-up duties based on the results.
Without delay, Li Fan changed into his black and yellow Daoist robes and headed to the Strategy Array Hall.
Zhang Zhiliang was already waiting.
Besides Zhang Zhiliang, there was another unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivator. Like Li Fan, he seemed to be an array maintenance technician.
After exchanging greetings with both, Li Fan stood quietly to the side.
Zhang Zhiliang gestured for Li Fan to wait a moment.
Soon, three more Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived one after another.
Once all five were present, Zhang Zhiliang tossed each a Knowledge Appraisal Sphere and said, "First, let's test your current array proficiency. I want to see if any of you have been slacking off."
Li Fan took the black sphere, deftly extended a strand of divine sense into it, and began answering the questions. They were all familiar topics, and Li Fan completed the test swiftly. When he was done, the other four were still immersed in their spheres.
Zhang Zhiliang retrieved the sphere from him. A moment later, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face. "Not bad."
After the others finished, he frowned at one of them and said sternly, "Sun Ling, among the five of you, you ranked third. Yet I must dismiss you. Do you know why?"
The cultivator named Sun Ling turned deathly pale. He opened his mouth as if to defend himself, but in the end, no words came out.
He simply replied bitterly, “I understand, Senior. I have neglected my array studies recently. My skill level remains the same as it was three years ago..."
Zhang Zhiliang waved a hand. "Good that you know. You may go."
Sun Ling cupped his hands, bowed, and left in dejection.
The remaining four exchanged solemn glances at the sight.
"Alright, no need to be tense. You've all performed adequately." Zhang Zhiliang smiled and said, "Due to special circumstances, it's been quite some time since I last instructed you.
"Coincidentally, the island protection array at Haitong Island was recently attacked and severely damaged, requiring repairs. You shall accompany me to restore it.
"This will serve as an opportunity for me to explain the key considerations when constructing and maintaining large-scale arrays."
The other three nodded in agreement.
Li Fan felt a stir within and asked, "Master Zhang, if I recall correctly, Haitong Island is located at the northern border of the Congyun Sea, near Yongliang Province.
"This sudden attack... Could it be the work of the Five Elders Council?"
Zhang Zhiliang nodded. "It was indeed destroyed by a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Five Elders Council.
"However, the fault of this matter lies with our Myriad Immortals Alliance, so we have no choice but to accept responsibility."
Li Fan expressed surprise, "We are at fault? How so?"
Zhang Zhiliang replied with some resignation, "It's all because of that Jiang Zhengji from the Martial Hall. He claimed to be pursuing some swindler and chased him all the way to Yongliang Province.
"Not only did he fail to find his target, but he was discovered by cultivators of the Five Elders Council.
"However, Jiang Zhengji and Du Xingchang proved quite capable. The two joined forces and actually managed to escape from an encirclement by one Nascent Soul cultivator and five or six Golden Core cultivators."
1. 鄂鑫任 (È Xīn Rèn) sounds almost identical to 恶心人 (Ě Xīn Rén) which translates to: "To be a disgusting person."
Basically, the meaning of the pun is that E Xinren’s defense allows him to take zero damage and he can even regenerate, making him an incredibly frustrating and "disgusting" opponent to fight against. ☜